Free Republic

Tensions between a president and a Federal Reserve chairman are nothing new. Up until now, they may have reached a peak when Lyndon Johnson shoved William McChesney Martin at the LBJ ranch. Martin gave in a while later, another step into the inflationary quagmire from which the U.S. emerged only after Paul Volcker reasserted the Fed’s independence. However bad that Texas moment, it falls far short of the Department of Justice’s serving the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas on Friday. They relate to testimony given to the Senate Banking Committee concerning an over-budget renovation project and come with the...

Saudi Arabia has conveyed to Washington that it will not permit the United States to use its airspace for any military action against Iran

Jan 13 (Reuters) - Sugary drinks and alcohol are not being sufficiently taxed and remain affordable, making it harder to tackle the chronic health problems caused by these beverages, according to two reports from the World Health Organization. The WHO has called for higher taxes on alcohol and sugar-sweetened drinks multiple times in recent years, arguing it would help cut consumption of the products which contribute to diseases such as diabetes, as well as raise money at a time when development aid is shrinking and public debt is rising. According to a report from WHO, sugary drinks have become more...

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good last week in Minneapolis, Jonathan Ross, suffered internal bleeding to the torso following the incident, according to two U.S. officials briefed on his medical condition. It was unclear how extensive the bleeding was. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Ross' injury, but has not yet responded to CBS News' requests for more information. This story will be updated as we learn more. Videos from the scene showed Ross walking away after the incident. Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary, previously acknowledged that Ross was taken to the hospital after...

"Being a male is a matter of birth. Being a man is a matter of choice." —Edwin Louis Cole The day the Democratic Party lost testicle #1 was in 2016. They limped by for another eight years and severed part #2 in the summer of 2024. Both times, the root cause of its neutering was exactly the same: The Dems tried to rig a presidential election to help a female candidate. Historians, I suspect, will credit the Democratic Party’s PR emasculation to two events. The first was rigging the 2016 primaries in favor of Hillary Clinton. All the grassroots liberals...

House Speaker Mike Johnson poured cold water on President Donald Trump’s proposal to cap credit card interest rates, telling reporters Tuesday that Trump “probably had not thought through” the negative consequences for consumers. Trump, as part of his affordability push, floated a temporary 10% cap on credit card rates Friday, adding that he wants a freeze to begin for one year starting on Jan. 20. The proposal would likely require Congress to act, but Johnson signaled his chamber would not be taking up legislation anytime soon. “You’ve got to be very careful if you go forward in that, in the...

Florida GOP Rep. Neal Dunn said Tuesday that he plans to retire from Congress, rather than seek reelection. “After much prayerful consideration and discussion with my family, I have decided not to seek re-election to the United States House of Representatives. This will conclude my service after five meaningful terms representing the people of Florida’s Second Congressional District,” Dunn posted on X. “The time has come to pass the torch to new conservative leaders, return home to Panama City, and spend more precious time with my family and our beloved grandchildren. I am deeply grateful for your trust, support, and...

Lawrence of Arabia's portraits have been given a trigger warning for the cultural appropriation of a traditional Arab outfit. The National Portrait Gallery cautioned the 'sensitive' images of the British Army officer dressed in his thobe and keffiyeh over fears they differ from 'today's attitudes'. Born in Wales in 1888, Thomas Edward Lawrence went on to fight alongside the Arabs against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War and was presented with the robes as a gift by the Arab ruler Emir Faisal. Pictures of Lord Byron and other Europeans in the dress of predominantly Muslim cultures have also...

Progress in the fight to throttle back inflation appeared to stall in December amid price pressures from groceries, dining out, utility gas, clothing and other categories of consumer spending. The consumer price index, a key inflation gauge, rose 2.7% in December from 12 months earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday. That was unchanged from the previous month and in line with estimates. “The bottom line is, I think inflation is still uncomfortably high,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s. “Inflation for staples, necessities, remains elevated.”

GENEVA -- U.S. President Donald Trump will return to the World Economic Forum's annual meeting of business, political and cultural elites in Davos, Switzerland next week, leading a record-large U.S. delegation, organizers said Tuesday. The Geneva-based think tank says Trump, whose assertive foreign policy on issues as diverse as Venezuela and Greenland in recent months has stirred concerns among U.S. friends and foes alike, will be accompanied by five Cabinet secretaries and other top officials for the event running from Monday through Jan. 23. A total of 850 CEOs and chairs of the world's top companies will be among the...

The Supreme Court released opinions in three cases this morning.The first case is by Justice Jackson in Barrett v US, a case about whether a defendant who commits a single act that violates two separate provisions of 18 USC 924 can be convicting under only one provision or the other, or instead can be convicted under two.The court holds that Congress did not clearly authorize convictions under both.Barrett opinionNext in Case v. Montana, by Kagan, the Court ruled:"The court holds that the "objective reasonableness" standard for warrantless entries to render emergency aid applies "without further gloss." And it was satisfied...

The Alaskan Independence Party has voted to dissolve following a December meeting of its state leadership, according to a recent statement. Party leaders cited member apathy, confusion over the organization’s purpose, and declining engagement as key factors behind the decision. The Alaska Watchman first reported earlier this month that the party’s board of directors had met on December 7 in Fairbanks, during which members voted to disband the organization. Following the vote, the board released a brief public statement to local media detailing the reasons behind its decision. The Alaskan Independence Party was formally established as a political party in...

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Rep. Mike Bost’s lawsuit challenging his home state of Illinois’ mail-in ballot policy to move forward, issuing an opinion that could have major implications for future elections. In a 7–2 decision, the high court determined that Bost (R-Ill.) and the others who joined his suit have standing to sue despite lower courts concluding that they hadn’t provided evidence of harm. “Candidates have a concrete and particularized interest in the rules that govern the counting of votes in their elections, regardless of whether those rules harm their electoral prospects or increase the cost of their...

There’s a deeper, darker truth lurking beneath the Somali-dominated, multi-billion-dollar Minnesota welfare fraud schemes that have commanded the attention of federal authorities and stoked nationwide outrage. And it may explain in part why for weeks, Democrats and regime media have been gaslighting the country, casting critics as bigots, and shooting the messengers who sent the long-neglected story viral — and why, now, state and local leaders are trying to turn Minneapolis into a powder keg. These dodges and diversions distract from the fact that the fraud is a feature of what we might call The Blue Model of government. Fueled...

Meta Platforms on Monday named former Trump administration official Dina Powell McCormick as its president and vice chairman, boosting the company’s lobbying efforts in the U.S. capital. President Donald Trump congratulated Powell McCormick in a post on his Truth Social account minutes after the company announced her promotion. “Congratulations to DINA POWELL MCCORMICK, WHO HAS JUST BEEN NAMED THE NEW PRESIDENT OF META. A great choice by Mark Z!!! She is a fantastic, and very talented, person, who served the Trump Administration with strength and distinction!” the president wrote. Her appointment is the latest in a series of changes Meta...

Energy Louisiana Trial Lawyers Steered Thousands to Judge Overseeing Their Case Against Oil Companies—Then Won a $744 Million Judgment 'The whole thing is set up as a kangaroo court,' former AG Bill Barr tells Free Beacon L: Offshore oil and gas platform (Mario Tama/Getty Images) R: Chevron logo Thomas Catenacci January 12, 2026 The Louisiana attorneys who helped secure a landmark verdict requiring U.S. oil company Chevron to pay $744 million in environmental damages gave nearly $15,000 to the state judge who presided over the case, ethics filings reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon show. The Baton Rouge-based law firm...

Pete Hegseth flashed a Vulcan salute Monday as he joined Elon Musk at SpaceX headquarters, where the war secretary touted the Pentagon’s wartime approach to unleashing technological innovation. “We want to make Star Trek real,” Musk said as he welcomed Hegseth to Starbase, the small South Texas town incorporated by SpaceX employees and home to the tech tycoon’s massive rocket-building facility and launch site. “Star Trek real,” Hegseth quipped after being introduced by Musk. The war secretary’s remarks – part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour – emphasized the need for the US to “win the strategic competition for 21st...

Sen. Rand Paul ripped into his fellow Republicans Tuesday over their tepid response to the Trump administration’s series of strikes against suspected drug-running vessels, saying his colleagues on Capitol Hill “don’t give a s— about these people in the boats.” “We’ve been blowing up these people in boats off the coast of Venezuela. They’re accused of running drugs, but nobody knows their names and nobody’s put up any evidence,” Paul (R-Ky.) said during an apperance on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “And so what I think is bizarre is I hear mostly my Republican colleagues say, ‘Well, we shouldn’t have...

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, the Massachusetts-based Obama judge who blocked the Trump administration from cutting federal funds to Planned Parenthood last month, issued a temporary restraining order on Saturday preventing the Department of Homeland Security from revoking the legal status of tens of thousands of foreigners. The Trump administration announced last month that it was terminating all categorical family reunification parole programs and corresponding work authorization for aliens from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras as well as for their immediate family members, effective Dec. 15. Per the announcement, the "temporary parole period of aliens who...

As unrest spreads across Iran and authorities tighten controls on communication, news reports suggest that the government is using foreign military technology to block satellite internet services. Iran has reportedly turned to Russian military technology to disrupt Elon Musk-owned Starlink satellite internet services. According to a Forbes report, specialised jammers have interfered with as much as 80 per cent of Starlink’s uplink and downlink traffic in the country.