Free Republic

Washington (CNN) -- Two U.S. F/A-18 jet fighters bombed artillery batteries of Sunni Islamic extremists in Iraq on Friday, escalating America's military involvement more than two years after President Barack Obama brought home forces from the country. Obama authorized "targeted airstrikes" if needed to protect U.S. personnel from fighters with the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. The U.S. military also could use airstrikes to prevent what officials warn could be a genocide of minority groups by the Islamic State fighters. The U.S. aircraft dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on a "mobile artillery...

President Obama said Thursday that United States military aircraft had dropped food and water to thousands of Iraqis besieged by Islamic militants on a mountaintop in northern Iraq. Speaking from the State Dining Room at the White House, the president said he had directed the United States military forces to conduct targeted airstrikes on the militants if they moved to take Erbil, threatening the American citizens and military personnel there.

President Obama has approved a mission to to drop humanitarian aid in Iraq for the 40,000 or so religious minorities stranded on a mountaintop in the country's north after Islamic militants forced them to flee, senior U.S. officials told Fox News Thursday night. However, the officials said the air drops had not yet begun. If all goes well, they said, the mission will be completed following a single pass of U.S. military cargo jets. The officials did not disclose the planes' starting point due to host nation sensitivities. It was possible the mission also could include air strikes to protect...

Obama speaks from the White House

The United States is sending cargo planes to drop pallets of humanitarian aid and supplies to stranded Iraqi citizens threatened by the militant Islamic group ISIS, U.S. officials said today. The air drop mission has begun, officials told ABC News

<p>American military forces bombed at least two targets in northern Iraq on Thursday night to rout Islamist insurgents who have trapped tens of thousands of religious minorities in Kurdish areas, Kurdish officials said.</p> <p>Word of the bombings, reported on Kurdish television from the city of Erbil, came as President Obama was preparing to make a statement in Washington.</p>

HELENA — Sen. John Walsh said Thursday he is pulling out of the Senate race because his campaign was distracted by the controversy over allegations that he plagiarized a U.S. Army War College research paper. Walsh, a Democrat, said he decided to drop out of the race. He had canceled campaign events this week as he and his family discussed what he would do. The New York Times reported July 23 that Walsh had plagiarized large portions of the research paper in 2007. Walsh will serve out the rest of his Senate term, which ends in early January 2015. “I...

Should be an interesting night.

A United States Army major general was killed on Tuesday by an Afghan soldier, shot at close range at a military training academy on the outskirts of Kabul, an official of the American-led coalition and Afghan media reported Tuesday. The officer was the highest-ranking member of the American military to die in hostilities in the Afghanistan war. The coalition official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and would not release the name of the major general, said an unspecified number of other service members of the American-led coalition and Afghan soldiers, including a senior Afghan commander were also shot. Their...

A plane has landed at Manchester Airport in England after being escorted by the Royal Air Force, Manchester police confirm to Fox News.

Woman seeking dissolution of Vermont civil union not recognized in Fla. ....Because civil unions can only be dissolved when both individuals sign the requisite forms, Brassner sought to find Lade so that she can be married. .....

LUBBOCK, Texas — A leaked intelligence analysis from the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reveals the exact numbers of illegal immigrants entering and attempting to enter the U.S. from nearly every nation on Earth. The report was obtained by a trusted source within the CBP agency who leaked the document and spoke with Breitbart Texas on the condition of anonymity. The report is labeled as "Unclassified//For Official Use Only." The report indicates that the data should be handled as "Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU)." The numbers provided are in graphics and are broken down into “OFO” and “OBP.” The Customs and...

Sulaimaniyah (Iraq) (AFP) - Jihadists raised their black flag in Iraq's northern town of Sinjar Sunday in a second straight day of advances against Kurdish forces, sparking mass displacement the UN called a humanitarian tragedy. The Islamic State's capture of Sinjar raised fears for minority groups that had found refuge there and further blurs the border between the Syrian and Iraqi parts of the "caliphate" which the IS declared in June. "The (Kurdish) peshmerga have withdrawn from Sinjar, Daash has entered the city," Kurdish official Kheiri Sinjari told AFP, using the former Arabic acronym for the IS. "They have raised...

The Talk Shows August 3rd, 2014 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Reps. Steve King, R-Iowa, and Hakem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Dr. Tom Frieden, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Ambassador Riyad Mansour, Palestinian representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Ron Dermer, Israeli ambassador to the United States; Sens. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and John Thune, R-S.D., Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.; Frieden; Dr. Toby Cosgrove, president and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Pierre Krahenbuhl, United Nations Relief and Works Agency Commissioner-General; Valerie...

The Israeli military says a soldier reported missing in Gaza on Friday is dead. Hadar Goldin was believed to have been captured by militants during fighting, leading to the collapse of a ceasefire shortly after it had been declared. The Israel Defense Forces said it had determined that Lt Goldin, previously considered captured, had died. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said the operation in Gaza will continue according to Israel's security need

Governor John Kasich has issued a state of emergency for Lucas County and surrounding communities due to algae toxins detected in the water during routine testing. Do not drink the water. Alternative water should be used for drinking, making infant formula, making ice, brushing teeth and preparing food. Pets should not drink the water. Do not boil the water.. Boiling the water will not destroy the toxins. It will increase the concentration of the toxins. Consuming water containing algal toxins may result in abnormal liver function, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, numbness or dizziness. Seek medical attention if you feel you have...

Azerbaijan raised in air fighter jets Saturday, August 2, 2014 | 14:58 Azerbaijan raised raised military fighter jets Tensions in the combat zone increases This morning, the Azerbaijani mass media disseminated information about the deaths of four more soldiers as a result of the attack, carried out with the Karabakh territories now occupied by Armenian FORCES. In response to these acts of sabotage Azerbaijan raised in air fighters. Aircraft were flown along the front line, told reporters at the Ministry of defense of Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, the Armenian media, citing Defense Ministry writes about massive artillery and rocket bombardment by the...

The House late Friday revived and approved a Republican-authored border crisis bill after GOP leaders hurriedly resolved an internal battle that scuttled the vote a day earlier – but with the Senate on recess and the House soon to follow, there’s little chance of any bill reaching President Obama’s desk until the fall. The president now is vowing to act unilaterally to address the illegal immigration issue. The House legislation was approved on a 223-189 vote. The new version of the bill adds additional funding for the National Guard and includes policy changes meant to speed deportations of illegal immigrant...

Let's not beat around the bush. You give to Free Republic. But you wait....and wait....and in the 2nd month you pull the trigger. Then you feel better, because when it comes down to it you understand the value of Free Republic. It is the lone conservative voice out there that gives average Joes like us a voice to combat the BS of the media, the politicians, and the robots. The election is upon us...3 short months away, give or take a few days. The early days of the campaigns are important days. We all know it. Obama has gone into...

U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in July and an unexpected rise in the unemployment rate pointed to some slack in the labor market that could give the Federal Reserve room to keep interest rates low for a while. Nonfarm payrolls increased 209,000 last month after surging by 298,000 in June, the Labor Department said on Friday. Data for May and June were revised to show a total of 15,000 more jobs created than previously reported, showing underlying momentum.