Free Republic

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a press conference on Sunday evening local time, insisting that an invasion of the city of Rafah in southern Gaza was needed to eliminate the last Hamas battalions and win the war. “There is no victory without entering Rafah and there is no victory without eliminating the Hamas battalions there,” Netanyahu said. “This is a fundamental part of the goals of the war, which also include returning all of our hostages.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that "no one" is coming into the U.S. without a thorough background check amid terrorism concerns following the evacuation of more than 120,000 people from Afghanistan in the final weeks of the U.S. military withdrawal. "I can absolutely assure you that no one is coming into the United States of America who has not been through a thorough screening and background check process," Psaki said during her daily press briefing. The press secretary said the individuals who have not yet passed the screening have been sent to third countries, like Qatar and...

Arrests of illegal immigrants crossing into the United States have nearly tripled in recent months — in anticipation of Congressional efforts to enact comprehensive immigration legislation, border patrol agents told CBS News Wednesday. “Once the first group gets across, they call their family, they call their friends and let them know, ‘Hey the time is right, come on over,’” Border Patrol agent and union representative Chris Cabrera told CBS News. In March, 7,500 illegals were arrested in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas — which includes McAllen — Cabrera told CBS News. That’s up from 2,800 in January.

Ship operators who reduce pollution by observing a speed limit while entering the Port of Long Beach will be rewarded with lower dockage rates. The reduced dockage rates are part of the port's Green Flag Incentive Program, an annual $2.2 million clean air initiative that provides financial incentives and recognition to those who voluntarily reduce their speeds. The tariff reduction plan was approved Monday by the Board of Harbor Commissioners. Under the program, carriers will qualify for a 15 percent discounted Green Flag dockage rate during the following year if 90 percent of their vessels comply with a 12-knot speed...

Alicia Kelly was lying on the couch in the den of her West Ashley home nursing her 3-month-old daughter when she felt something nudge against her side. She thought it was her 45-pound dog, Serena. Half- asleep, she turned to shoo the dog away, but instead of finding a paw on her side, she found a hoof and a 300- pound buck hovering above her and her baby.