Free Republic

A leading Muslim advocacy group slammed President Biden’s speech Thursday decrying the anarchy on college campuses, saying he failed to condemn attacks on protesters by law enforcement and supporters of Israel. Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director for the Council for American-Islamic Relations, said the Democratic president should have called out attacks on protesters and violence by law enforcement. “President Biden’s vague, both-sides speech failed to specifically mention and condemn the violent attacks that pro-Israel rioters and law enforcement officers have launched against students protesting the Gaza genocide at UCLA and other schools across the country,” he said.

“You know, one of the reasons why our economy is growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants,” Biden mused at a DC fundraiser with Asian American and Pacific Islander donors before launching into a riff about the global economy. “We look to — the reason — look, think about it,” the 81-year-old president said. “Why is China stalling so badly economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia? Why is India? Because they’re xenophobic. They don’t want immigrants.” ... Republicans were appalled by the president’s remarks, with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) writing on...

A State Department official is pushing Thursday for China and Russia to declare that only humans – and not artificial intelligence – will make decisions on deploying nuclear weapons. Paul Dean, an official in the State Department’s Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability, said during a press briefing that the U.S. has already made "a very clear and strong commitment that in cases of nuclear employment, that decision would only be made by a human being. "We would never defer a decision on nuclear employment to AI. We strongly stand by that statement and we’ve made it publicly with...

NATO countries have not delivered what they promised to Ukraine in time, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday. This has allowed Russia to press its advantage on the battlefield, while Kyiv’s depleted forces wait for military supplies from the US and Europe, the NATO chief added. "Serious delays in support have meant serious consequences on the battlefield” for Ukraine, Stoltenberg told a news conference in Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine was recently compelled to make a tactical retreat from three villages in the east, where the Kremlin's forces have been making incremental gains, Ukraine's army chief said on...

The U.S. ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, doesn’t expect the alliance to offer membership to Ukraine during its 75th anniversary summit in Washington in July. But, she added, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy won’t go away empty-handed. Speaking to the Atlantic Council from NATO headquarters in Brussels, Ms. Smith on Monday said the 32 NATO allies are working on an “actual deliverable” that will demonstrate the alliance’s loyalty their commitment to ensuring Ukraine’s sovereignty. Last year, NATO formally said Ukraine’s future lies with the alliance. “I am expecting allies to construct a bridge to membership by offering Ukraine a ‘deliverable’ that...

Ukraine has sidelined U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press. The U.S. agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine in January 2023 after an aggressive monthslong campaign by Kyiv arguing that the tanks, which cost about $10 million apiece, were vital to its ability to breach Russian lines. But the battlefield has changed substantially since then, notably by the ubiquitous use of Russian surveillance drones and...

The U.S. military has begun to build the long-awaited port and causeway off the coast of Gaza that will establish a maritime corridor to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza, the Pentagon said Thursday. "I can confirm that U.S. military vessels, to include the USNS Benavidez, have begun to construct the initial stages of the temporary pier and causeway at sea," Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon's press secretary, told reporters, referring to the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, system floating pier delivery system. "We are aware of the significant interest in this important effort and will provide much more information...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday blamed Tucker Carlson for turning some Republicans against the idea of providing military aid for Ukraine by demonizing the war-torn country. The top Republican in the Senate argued that Carlson’s outspoken stance against US support for Ukraine was one of the primary reasons why approving more than $60 billion in emergency spending for the former Soviet state took so long to achieve. “I think the demonization of Ukraine began by Tucker Carlson, who in my opinion ended up where he should have been all along, which was interviewing Vladimir Putin,” McConnell said during...

Instead of fining democrats for waving flags, the House Sergeant at Arms just called and said I will be fined $500 if I don’t delete this video post. Mike Johnson really wants to memory hole this betrayal of America. This is the U.S. House of Representatives under the direction of Speaker Mike Johnson. Democrats are celebrating his total capitulation with no victory for securing our border. #MTV

Russian forces have made significant advances in a narrow corridor in eastern Ukraine as an offensive by Moscow to take territory before western military aid arrives appears to be gathering pace. Footage posted by Kremlin military bloggers shows a Russian tricolour flying above the shattered village of Ocheretyne. Russian troops reportedly entered the territory on Sunday, north-west of the town of Avdiivka, after advancing about 5km in 10 days. It comes as Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it was suspending consular services for military-age men living abroad, except for those heading back to Ukraine, in a move designed to increase conscription....

Germany's domestic spy agency urged Berlin on Monday to give it more powers to monitor financial flows amid growing concerns over potential Russian financing of regional far-right parties ahead of European parliamentary elections. While Germany's interior ministry said in February it was working on adapting existing legislation to this effect, the issue has gained fresh urgency following a report that a lawmaker for the far-right Alternative for Germany party had received money from a pro-Russian news portal. "I would hope to have more authority" to monitor financial developments, the head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency Thomas Haldenwang told a news...

European Union countries, including the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden, are hesitant to provide Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems. The Netherlands is exploring options to support Ukraine financially and is considering depleting its stock of Patriot systems. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said existing capabilities across the alliance could be made available to Ukraine.

Police in Los Angeles arrested a suspect following a break-in at the home of Mayor Karen Bass on Sunday morning, officials said. Bass and her family were not harmed when a suspect gained access to Getty House, the LA mayor’s official residence on Irving Boulevard. “Around 6:40 AM this morning an individual smashed a window to gain entry into the Getty House while occupied,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement on social media, adding that police responded and took a suspect into custody without incident.

Conservative Brazilians heaped praise Sunday on Elon Musk at a rally in support of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, whose legal troubles are mounting in tandem with the billionaire entrepreneur's feud with the South American nation's Supreme Court. “Brazil Thanks Elon Musk,” read one giant sign in English at the rally alongside Copacabana beach in the seaside city of Rio de Janeiro. Thousands of die-hard supporters of Bolsonaro attended. Musk, a self-declared free speech absolutist, is a target in an ongoing investigation over the dissemination of fake news by supporters of Bolsonaro. Musk said the social platform X wouldn't comply...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday thanked U.S. political leaders for approving an aid package to Ukraine over the weekend, saying the newfound aid will give the country a chance at "victory" as the country defends itself from Russia. “I think this support will really strengthen the armed forces, I pray, and we will have a chance at victory if Ukraine really gets the weapons system, which we need so much, which thousands of soldiers need so much,” Zelenskyy, who spoke via an interpreter, said on NBC News' "Meet the Press." ... Asked whether this aid will help Ukraine win...

The House has renewed its push on legislation that would ban TikTok if its Beijing-based parent company doesn’t divest from the popular social media platform, escalating the fight over the hot-button issue. The TikTok legislation, which was included in a package of bills that would send aid to Ukraine and Israel, could become law as soon as next week if Congress moves quickly. In March, the House passed legislation that would require ByteDance, TikTok’s parent, to sell the platform within six months, or face a ban in the United States. But some senators, including the Democratic Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman...

The Israeli attack on an Iranian air base in Isfahan hit a crucial part of an air defense system, a New York Times analysis of satellite imagery found. Images showed that the precision attack at the Eighth Shekari Air Base damaged or destroyed the “flap-lid” radar, which is used in S-300 air defense systems to track incoming targets. The Times used several satellite images in its analysis; the location of the damaged area was first pointed out on the social media platform X by Aurora Intel, and the findings have also been confirmed by a former U.S. government imagery analyst,...

14 IDF soldiers were wounded on Wednesday by two Hezbollah drones and two anti-tank missiles at and around a community center in Arab al-Aramshe, a Bedouin village in the northern Galilee. Regarding the 14 soldiers, six are seriously wounded, two moderately wounded, and six more lightly wounded. Reports indicate that four civilians were also wounded in multiple waves of attacks. In addition, a vehicle was hit by an anti-tank missile at the scene, and the wounded were brought to the Galilee Medical Center. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack on Wednesday,

President Biden fired back at former President Trump's repeated assertions that he was behind the criminal charges his predecessor faces. In an interview with Nexstar correspondent Reshad Hudson, Biden was asked about the comments made by Trump, whose trial in New York City started this week on the charges brought by Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg pertaining to his 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. "He directly blames you, President Biden, as being responsible behind those prosecutions. How do you respond to that?" Hudson asked. "His lack of ethics has nothing to do with me," Biden responded.

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday unveiled a proposal for sending wartime aid to Israel and Ukraine as he seeks to fend off a right-wing revolt that could put his leadership in peril. The Louisiana Republican said he plans to put four separate bills on the floor, separating aid for Israel with assistance for Ukraine, which has faced fierce pushback among some members of his conference. A third measure includes aid for Taiwan and the final bill addresses other Republican foreign policy demands. "We won't be voting on the Senate supplemental in its current form, but we will vote on...