Free Republic

Across advanced economies, the rental market is undergoing a profound change. In the years before covid-19 struck, rents were high but not growing fast: the cost of leasing a home rose by about 2% a year, according to official data. During the pandemic, rental inflation slowed and, in some cities, rents fell as landlords desperately looked for tenants. Today it is a different story. Rich-world rents are growing at an annual pace of 5% or so, the fastest sustained increase in decades—presenting a huge challenge for the quarter of rich-world households that rent. In some places, rental markets have gone...

Deep in mid-winter blues and suffering through never-ending images of shrieking Karens, their soy-boys and the judges and elected officials obstructing the deportation of rapists, fraudsters, and run-of-the-mill 75 IQ illegals, I thought we could use a pick-me-up, a bit of cheerful news. Well, I've got it. The UN is facing bankruptcy. UN operations may cease by the end of February, and the last flabby, underworked UN bureaucrat could receive a final check, assuming it doesn't bounce, in July.The United Nations said on Friday that it was facing imminent financial collapse and would run out of money by July if...

‘ICE Out of Everywhere’ demonstrations, including vigils and marches, follow Friday’s national strike More than 300 demonstrations are expected to take place across all 50 states and Washington DC, today, in what organizers are calling “ICE Out of Everywhere”.Organizers, led by the national grassroots organization 50501, say today’s protests are a response to a series of recent deaths involving federal immigration agents, including the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this month, the homicide of Geraldo Campos in an immigration detention facility in Texas and the shooting of Keith Porter Jr by an off-duty Immigration...

Haitian migrants in Springfield face uncertainty as Temporary Protected Status ends Tuesday. For thousands of Haitian migrants living in Springfield, the possibility of federal agents coming to the city looms large. According to the city's website, it's estimated that between 12,000 and 15,000 migrants live in Clark County. A majority of them are from Haiti and fled to the United States because of safety concerns.Many live under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a program that allows people from countries in conflict a chance to live and work in the U.S. for a period of time.However, TPS for Haitian migrants is set...

Donald Trump said in 2016 to the Republican National Convention, “We must abandon the failed policy of nation-building and regime change.” Earlier this month, after the current administration launched a war against Venezuela and ousted—one might say changed the regime of—President Nicolás Maduro, Trump said, “We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.” U.S.-led regime change in Venezuela seemed to fly in the face of Trump’s prior warnings against regime change wars. But the president’s defenders said this was a different kind of military operation, unlike the Iraq,...

Illegal alien who allegedly admitted to 5 murders in El Salvador arrested in Virginia just weeks before Gov Spanberger ended ICE cooperationFIRST ON FOX: An MS-13 gang member and alleged mass murderer has been taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Virginia, Department of Homeland Security sources told Fox News Digital. The announcement of the arrest of Edwin Antonio Hernandez Hernandez, 27, of El Salvador, comes after newly sworn-in Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed an executive order saying local and state law enforcement are no longer required to cooperate with ICE, repealing an order from her...

Iranian officials have warned of an "immediate and unprecedented" response to any US attackAmid the din of global speculation over US military build-up in the Middle East, Israel's leaders have remained unusually silent.Aside from some remarks in support of Iran's anti-government protests this month, Israel's prime minister has had little to say publicly about his superpower ally taking on his biggest enemy. His government has remained equally silent."It shows you the importance Netanyahu puts on this moment," said Danny Citrinowicz, who served for 25 years in Israel's Defence Intelligence, and is now senior Iran researcher at Israel's Institute for National...

Five people were killed, and 14 were reportedly injured in two blasts that rocked Iran’s port city of Bandar Abbas and Ahvaz.Further explosions were reported in Karaj, and the Parand neighborhood of Tehran.Five people were killed, and 14 were reportedly injured in two blasts that rocked Iran’s port city of Bandar Abbas and Ahvaz.Further explosions were reported in Karaj, and the Parand neighborhood of Tehran.According to a Reuters report citing local officials, one person was killed and 14 were injured in the Bandar Abbas blast. An additional five people were confirmed dead from blasts in Ahvaz, Iran International reported.According to...

In recent days, it has become clear that the Battle of Minneapolis is, at its core, a battle over the continued existence of sanctuary cities. During the 2024 presidential campaign, President Donald Trump promised to pursue “the worst of the worst” of illegal immigrants. As of September 30, 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported that there were 1,426,932 people who were in the country illegally and who had received a final order of deportation from an immigration judge. Many Trump supporters thought those people were the best place for Trump to begin a ramp-up of federal immigration law enforcement. After...

"In a stunning 5-4 ruling, the U.S Supreme Court has granted President Donald Trump broad wartime authority under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act" - breaking news dropping like thunder. This means Tren de Aragua thugs get shipped straight to El Salvador's monster prison - no more games, real enforcement hitting violent gangs hard and making streets safer for American families.

The ‘experts’ predicted market crashes, massive inflation and recession. They were all wrong.When I imposed historic tariffs on nearly all foreign countries last April, the critics said my policies would cause a global economic meltdown. Instead, they have created an American economic miracle, and we are quickly building the greatest economy in the history of the world, with other countries doing just fine! Countless so-called experts, including those featured frequently in The Wall Street Journal, predicted confidently that the Trump tariffs would crash stock markets, crush economic growth, cause massive inflation, destroy American exports, and trigger a “worldwide recession.” Nine...

As recent American military deployments to the Middle East and President Donald Trump’s escalatory rhetoric have heightened speculation of an imminent attack on Iran, there are increasing signs that such action would trigger a regional and even global “Shiite jihad,” particularly should the U.S. take out Iran’s clerical leadership. This would present a new phenomenon which is likely to pose daunting security challenges, not least for the United States itself. In a recent speech, the secretary-general of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, Sheikh Naim Qassem, warned that a new war on the Islamic Republic would engulf the entire region. The assassination...

Germany has issued a travel advisory to its citizens travelling to the United States, citing risks linked to immigration enforcement and public-order situations. Germany’s Federal Foreign Office said on Tuesday that German citizens should be aware of demonstrations and clashes with American migration and security authorities. Why It MattersThe advisory is not a political statement about the U.S. but aims to give impartial information for German citizens travelling to the country at a time of increased tensions during President Donald Trump's aggressive deportation drive.Protests have been held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and other cities against the actions of Immigration and Customs...

Senior U.S. military officials warned key Middle East allies on Friday to prepare for a possible strike on Iran as multiple reports said Washington and Jerusalem now view military action as decided, with one source saying the only remaining question is timing, not whether an attack will occur. According to an exclusive report published Friday by Drop Site News, senior U.S. military officials informed the leadership of a key U.S. ally in the Middle East that President Donald Trump could authorize strikes on Iran as early as this weekend, and the ally was told operations could begin as soon as...

Internal orders issued by China’s top military authority have met widespread resistance at the grassroots level following the purge of two of the country’s most senior generals, according to multiple sources close to the People’s Liberation Army who spoke to The Epoch Times. After Central Military Commission (CMC) Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and chief of the Joint Staff Department Liu Zhenli were placed under investigation on Jan. 24, at least two directives issued by the CMC General Office to theater commands and group armies were ignored or only passively acknowledged. Sources said the grassroots troops within the military are expressing...

One of the more horrible aspects of the mass illegal immigration that was allowed to fester under the presidency of Joe Biden and whoever was running the autopen was the number of unaccompanied illegal alien children that went missing. Most estimates place the number at 300,000. Until recently, we didn't know what had become of those children. Now, we have nearly half of them back. On Friday, Border Czar Tom "The Hammer" Homan took a few moments off from staring down ICE protestors in Minneapolis to take note of this on his official X account.The dedicated, talented, and compassionate men...

<p>Federal investigators arrested an Alabama man this week for attempting to assassinate then-US president Joe Biden in 2024, the latest in a string of violent incidents or attempted attacks in the US tied to the anti-Israel movement.</p><p>Adam Benjamin Hall, 23, allegedly brought a firearm to a debate between Biden and Donald Trump, then the Republican candidate, held in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024, to kill Biden. Hall failed to enter the debate, federal prosecutors said.</p>

As the Trump administration slashes funding and exits multiple international bodies over criticism that the U.N. has failed to promote U.S. interests, the United Nations is warning it could face a cash crisis by July.In a Jan. 28 letter from U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres to ambassadors, he cited record unpaid dues and rigid budget rules that have left the organization exposed.Guterres said the U.N. is trapped in a "Kafkaesque cycle" in which rigid budget rules force it to return "unspent" funds even when those contributions were never paid. He said outstanding dues reached a record $1.568 billion at the end...

No-one should be surprised that China has swiftly executed the 11 members of a organised crime family from north-eastern Myanmar who were sentenced to death in September.China executes more people than anywhere else in the world, according to human rights groups – the exact figure is a state secret. Officials are often executed for corruption. The accusations made against the Ming family were far more serious.The Ming, Bau, Wei and Liu clans have dominated the remote border town of Laukkaing in Myanmar's impoverished Shan state, since 2009.They rose to power after General Min Aung Hlaing, the current coup leader in...

A U.S. jury found Linwei Ding guilty of economic espionage and trade secret theft after he stole Google’s sensitive AI infrastructure data.In brief -Former Google software engineer Linwei Ding has been convicted of economic espionage for siphoning Google’s trade secrets to China-based companies. -Federal agents arrested Ding in March 2024, accusing him of stealing 500+ confidential AI files while secretly collaborating with China-based companies. -Ding built his own AI startup in China, pitched investors on replicating Google’s tech, and applied to a Shanghai government talent program. A 38-year-old former Google software engineer has been convicted of siphoning thousands of...