Free Republic

Russia could consider partially opening diesel exports once it returns to a production surplus, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told its Federation Council Oct. 2, describing the market as balanced and sufficiently supplied, local media reported. Traditionally the world's number-two diesel exporter, Russia started shutting in its diesel production in July following persistent Ukrainian drone attacks on its refining sector, now extended until the end of October. For non-producers, which include traders and refineries with capacities of less than 1 million metric tons/year, the ban will remain in place until the end of January. The deputy prime minister added that...

I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, wherein it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter. Additionally, based on the condition of their Diesel Refineries, Russia will then deliver, within a short period of time, 3,000,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel. Between our TOTAL CONTROL of the Strait of Hormuz, and this great announcement on Russian Energy, Diesel Prices for Americans and, indeed, the World, will be COMING DOWN,...

President Trump decided to make a diesel fuel deal with Russia after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ignored half a dozen U.S. requests to stop attacking Russian oil refineries, a U.S. official with direct knowledge told Axios. "Zelensky is misreading the room. By continuing to hit refineries, he is eroding the good will that he has built with Trump over the last six months," the U.S. official said. Zelensky, in an interview with Axios after the announcement, said he was blindsided by the deal, which he called "not fair and not honest" and an unwarranted gift to Putin. Ukraine's strikes on...

Pastor rebukes man who invoked Satanic Prayer at a city council meeting in Iowa.

Donald Trump was on a fresh collision course with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European allies on Friday after a stunning agreement to buy Russian diesel, upending years of US and western pressure on the Kremlin to end its four-and-a-half year war against Ukraine. Zelenskyy reacted furiously to Trump’s announcement of the deal with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, calling it “absolutely terrible” and “not fair and not honest”. Zelenskyy, who told Axios that it “looks like a happy birthday present for Putin. It looks absolutely terrible.” The Russian leader turned 74 earlier this week. In a long social...

Daily Readings from the USCCBWhile Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” Luke 11:27–28Any loving mother would understand the sentiment expressed by this woman in the crowd. We can reasonably infer that she was likely a mother herself, one who took great joy in her children. After being deeply moved by Jesus’ words and presence, she looked upon Him with maternal admiration, expressing the...

The chart below shows definitively that data centers are the engine powering blue-collar employment these days. Former Obama economist Jason Furman makes the twisted argument that data centers are “crowding out” other construction activity. No, Jason. Data centers are the key to the reindustrialization of America, as your own chart shows: The media are trying to downplay the blue-collar data center boom. Watch this reporter who tried to tell a worker that his job is only temporary. His reply was priceless: And we love this headline about the unions shifting towards Republicans over the issue:

Pro-terrorist activist Mahmoud Khalil was asked by CNN the other day if he would condemn Hamas. He, of course, would not, calling the question "silly" and "disingenuous." It is not "black and white," he whined. Even if you oppose Israel's reaction to the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, the answer is still black and white for any person with a conscience. Certainly, it should be for any person who wants to become a naturalized citizen of the United States. After all, Hamas is designated by the State Department as a terrorist organization for, among other things, murdering Americans. But the fact...

Elon Musk is moving closer to competing for the monthly cellphone bill that millions of Americans pay to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. SpaceX has agreed to acquire a nationwide wireless spectrum portfolio that would help its Starlink Mobile business expand service from both satellites and equipment on the ground. The announcement came Thursday, October 8, and the stock-market reaction continued Friday morning. MarketWatch reported Verizon shares down approximately 6%, with AT&T and T-Mobile each down about 9% in morning trading. Those figures are an intraday snapshot, rather than closing prices. For consumers, the potential payoff is more competition and better...

Millions of Americans could face an unwelcome surprise when Medicare open enrollment begins October 15. Major insurance companies are eliminating plans, reducing benefits and pulling out of markets, leaving older Americans with fewer choices and potentially higher healthcare costs in 2027. For retirees already struggling with rising living expenses, the changes could make healthcare an even bigger financial concern.According to healthcare research organization KFF, the average Medicare beneficiary will have access to approximately 35 Medicare Advantage plans in 2027, down from 39 in 2026. Meanwhile, at least 3.8 million enrollees are expected to need new coverage as insurers discontinue plans...

The facts hadn’t even come in before the Democratic Socialist New York City Mayor began trashing ICE Thursday and calling them “rotten to the core.”What was known: a suspected illegal alien criminal, 28-year-old Oscar Belgal, was shot (but survived) during a confrontation with officers. What we didn’t know was if the shooting was an accident, a self-defense move, or something else.The NYPD released surveillance video and bodycam footage Friday, but neither catches the gunshot. You can see, however, at the beginning of this clip, Belgal allegedly refusing to stop for agents as they pound on his car and smash a...

South African jurist Navi Pillay, who accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, wins the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize; The Nobel Committee declines to comment on the Gaza allegations, while Israel's Foreign Ministry denounces the award.The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded to Navi Pillay, a South African jurist who served as the fifth United Nations high commissioner for human rights, the selection committee announced Friday in Oslo. Pillay also served as president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and as a judge on the International Criminal Court. She is known for her harsh criticism of Israel, which she has...

Seven ancient coffins containing human remains — including a toddler’s — were mysteriously discovered near the North Dakota’s governor’s residence by archaeologists, state officials confirmed. The caskets and an empty wooden box were found while contractors were performing security upgrades at the Bismarck property and resulted in a months-long excavation process, according to the state Office of Management and Budget. The remains appear to be that of two women, two men, two teenage boys and one toddler, People magazine reported. The shocking discovery was made in the area of what was Bismarck’s first cemetery from 1873 to 1877, but many...

Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s mayor, set off a firestorm of criticism Wednesday morning with a social media post ostensibly intended to commemorate the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Israelis. It devoted a brief paragraph to condemning Hamas and commiserating with its victims. The rest was a much longer denunciation of Israel’s “ongoing genocide in Gaza,” a “world in which occupation and apartheid continue” and a situation in which “our federal government continues its complicity with every arms shipment.” In response, Ammiel Hirsch, the president of the New York Board of Rabbis, said the statement was “so offensive to so...

The Bamiyan Buddhas: Giants of the Silk Road, Gone But Not Forgotten For nearly 1,500 years, the Bamiyan Buddhas stood watch over the Silk Road. Carved into the sandstone cliffs of Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Valley in the 6th century, these monumental statues — one rising about 55 meters tall, the other 38 — were among the largest standing Buddhas in the world. They gazed out across a crossroads of civilizations, where merchants, monks, pilgrims, and conquerors once passed between East and West.

President Donald Trump announced billions of dollars in Medicare fraud discovered, with payments to millions of seniors going out starting tomorrow, during a rally in San Antonio on Oct. 7. “My administration has located billions and billions of dollars that were supposed to be spent on improving Medicare ... but it never got spent, so they tried to hide it, and by hiding it, they tried to make their numbers look better, which was impossible because their numbers are so bad,” Trump told thousands of supporters in the Freeman Coliseum on Oct. 7 during an event to boost support for...

The Iron Curtain is cracking. A civil war is brewing inside the DSA over its support of Mayor Zohran Mamdani — with his socialist comrades up in arms over his attendance at an Oct. 7 vigil and his support of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Youth chapters within the New York City Democratic Socialists of America endorsed a protest outside City Hall Wednesday — on the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel — condemning the mayor’s “failures to uphold his commitment to the Palestinian Liberation Movement.” Sources said that the heads of the local chapter moved swiftly to...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he has struck a deal to obtain diesel from Russia, a stunning reversal of years of U.S. pressure on Moscow over its war with Ukraine and an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. Trump said on social media on Friday that he struck the deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call in which he was expected to discuss a suspected case of plague in Russia. Instead, Trump announced that Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by an additional 500,000...

Pastor Frederick D. Haynes III, who leads the 13,000-member Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas and is running for Congress, was accused in a 2009 lawsuit of sending $2,000 to a woman who allegedly mailed him a topless photo. Haynes is the pastor of Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, and has her endorsement to succeed her in Texas' deep-blue 30th Congressional District. His former executive assistant, Elizabeth Payne, claimed he told her to wire the money to a female "mentee" named Lisa Harrod for travel expenses, The Washington Free Beacon reports. (snip) Payne claimed in the lawsuit that she was fired in...

According to the latest data from Statistics Canada, the Canadian economy lost a net of 68,300 jobs in September. This follows a loss of 41,700 positions in August and wipes out all job gains for the entire year 2026.The alarming results come after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has led all provincial premiers in a coordinated effort to confront U.S. President Donald Trump through an “elbow’s up” program of political antagonism and trade conflict.Based on economic scale, Canada losing 68,000 jobs in a month would be the U.S. equivalent of losing 500,000 jobs. The “elbow’s up” program may be politically...