Free Republic

President Trump confirmed the US isn’t expanding the window for peace talks with Tehran on Monday as the US-Iran memorandum of understanding’s 60-day deadline for negotiations expired. “Well, they want to make a deal, but they’re not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary,” President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. The president has demanded a ceasefire that will end Iran’s nuclear program but Tehran wants to pursue a “nuclear energy” program. The MOU failed to meet major objectives, like reopening the Strait of Hormuz, ending Tehran’s nuclear program and reaching...

She’s breaking for Bruce. A dyed-in-the-wool Democratic donor who previously contributed to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s campaign is raising funds for her Republican gubernatorial opponent Bruce Blakeman, The Post has learned. Bonnie Englebardt Lautenberg, a professional photographer and philanthropist who’s the widow of late New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg, plans to hold a fundraiser for Blakeman’s campaign, she confirmed Monday. “It’s the talk of the Hamptons,” said one Democrat who expressed surprise. “It’s a good get for Bruce.” The tongue-wagging switcheroo is all the more surprising given that Lautenberg, 79, donated $1,000 to Democratic incumbent Hochul’s re-election campaign in July...

President Donald Trump’s administration announced Monday that it is pausing all border construction in Big Bend National Park following bipartisan backlash over the project’s potential impact on the West Texas wilderness. CBP is pausing all construction activity in Big Bend National Park while I visit and conduct a personal, on-the-ground evaluation. CBP is firmly committed to protecting America, and that includes our national treasures like Big Bend National Park (BBNP). We know the current and… pic.twitter.com/UkmzvTluwH — CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott (@CBPCommissioner) August 17, 2026 U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott announced the halt, adding he had just...

“A sane society cannot debate its way out of psychosis. It must diagnose the patient with lethal precision and restore the ancient boundary between the mad and the free.” —LHGrey on "X" Back in the days of sailing ships, a certain subtropical zone of the ocean became known as the “horse latitudes.” There, an eerie windless calm prevailed, sometimes for weeks, stalling the progress of ships in mid-crossing. In desperation to save water on-board, captains ordered the horses being transported to America to be cast overboard, and the animals’ bloated carcasses drifted in an ominous cortège of warning to other...

Shocking video captured a vicious fight that sent two women's hijabs flying off inside a Target store. Footage of the scrap has been heavily circulating online, racking up tens of thousands of views and comments across several uploads. The two women, who appeared to be wearing traditional Muslim attire, could be heard shrieking as their hijabs lay on the ground while they tried to rip out each other's hair. Several bystanders attempted to break up the brawl, except for a security guard who appeared to wait a little too long before stepping in. The asset protection associate, wearing a high-visibility...

[Catholic Caucus] The Friends of Governor Maura Healey The following news analysis is courtesy of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts…Catholic social media — in America and around the globe — is reacting with horror and disgust at the scene of women clapping and cheering as Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed into law a bill which eliminated all remaining restrictions on late term abortion in the Commonwealth.That scene occurred on Monday, August 10th, in the Corner Office (the Governor’s Office) of the Massachusetts State House in Boston.Joining Maura and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll were their friends from the Planned Parenthood...

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) confirmed via its public health agency on Sunday that at least 2,325 people have died of Ebola infections in the current outbreak in the east of the country, making it the deadliest such outbreak in the country’s history. Experts noted that the extremely high death toll is likely not a full count of the people killed by the disease, as the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) was slow to identify an outbreak in the affected area, and that only one other known Ebola outbreak – the 2014-2016 outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia...

A South Dakota high school soccer player went viral for all the wrong reasons, kicking and repeatedly punching his opponent in the head on Friday, resulting in calls for a lifetime ban. The incident between Rapid City Central’s Jaxson Bergman and Brookings’ Kyle Soost occurred just before halftime of a match on Friday as the two fought for the ball. Bergman shoved Soost to the ground after the latter got ahead of him, and instead of chasing the ball, attacked Soost. Bergman kicked him in the back of the head, then punched him five times in the head. Caylon Peters,...

In sales psychology, questions are more persuasive than statements — and it’s not even close. That’s because (scripted) questions can lead audiences towards a very specific conclusion, and our own conclusions are more credible than anyone else’s. If I tell you something, your defenses are up; when you tell yourself something, it’s almost certainly true. Quick example: Grocery stores want you to return (over and over again). Their business model, after all, relies on customer loyalty. Therefore, grocery stores have a vested interest in shoppers leaving satisfied, happy, and content. Which is why cashiers are trained to ask, “Did you...

A top California dentist and professor at Triton College has made no secret of his hatred towards Zionists since October 7th, and has posted hundreds of Instagram stories calling for the “death” of people who support Israel. According to a review of his social media, Dr. Ahmed Mataria — who owns Mataria Dental Group in Torrance, California — is currently calling for “DEATH TO ZIONISTS EVERYWHERE” according to his Instagram bio. “F*** ISRAEL, DEATH TO ZIONISTS EVERYWHERE,” his Instagram bio currently reads as of publication time. The prof is a self-described Palestinian who lives in the United States of America....

The earthworm eels look, well, just like an earthworm. Image credit: Ishan Agarwal (CC BY) ========================================================================== Avideo of an unusual earthworm-like fish posted on TikTok has resulted in the description of an entirely new species. Named Gangaichthys indonepalicus, the fish is thought to live deep underground in aquifers, making studying these animals almost impossible. “We came across a video posted on the social media platform TikTok in 2024 from the India-Nepal border area that showed a tiny, apparently stygobitic fish, with little melanin and reduced eyes, that had emerged from a borewell (a machine-drilled shaft used to access groundwater from...

Iran announced on Aug. 16 that it will offer a bounty of $30,000 to any individual who “kills or captures a U.S. soldier and hands them over to authorities,” according to Iranian state media. Iranian Army Commander-in-Chief Major General Amir Hatami revealed the bounty on Sunday at a ceremony that was allegedly held to honor journalists. Hatami suggested he’d double the reward if an Iranian woman killed or captured a U.S. soldier. The government suggested that it would even purchase the weapon used in the murder and display it in a museum. In a separate announcement on Sunday, Iran’s armed...

Fourteen years ago, on August 15, 2012, the first DACA applications were accepted. The Trump administration is dismantling DACA through a thousand cuts while moving to strip status from millions more -- a mass delegalization agenda that treats working people as disposable. About 500,000 people currently have DACA. 80,000 live in Texas where a federal court ruling could stop DACA recipients from working in the state at all. We're in the most dangerous moment in DACA's history. The DACA Renewal Fund was created to pay for the $555 renewal cost. No one loses status because they couldn't afford the fee....

President Trump ripped “Fox News Sunday” anchor Shannon Bream over on-air guests, charts and polls that he said weren’t reflective of the successful measures undertaken by his administration. “In any event, Shannon’s ‘show’ is beyond redemption. Fortunately, MAGA, which is close to 100% of the Republican Party, understands that, and watch her ‘Ratings’ start to fall,” the president wrote Sunday on Truth Social. “Watching FoxNews with Shannon Bream is always like watching the Worst of Fake News CNN. I don’t know Shannon, but she always seems to pick guests, charts, and ‘polls’ that are negative, never talking about all of...

Explanation: This total solar eclipse appeared not only poetically beautiful but scientifically interesting. Usually the solar corona appears white, and to some observers the corona of last week's total solar eclipse did appear this pearly color. But this time, totality observers in Spain saw a corona that appeared unusually golden. For one reason, from Spain, the totality occurred when the setting Sun was near the horizon. That low, sunlight travels through a large amount of air which scatters out blue light. An unusual amount of smoke in the air from nearby forest fires acted as a second filter, further scattering...

Archaeologists in El Salvador are examining a discovery that may date back to around 850 B.C. According to a news release from El Salvador's Ministry of Culture, a pre-Hispanic burial site was found in Antiguo Cuscatlán, a suburb of San Salvador, earlier this month. An excavation of the remains began on July 21... A human skull was found alongside a small Usulután ceramic vessel shaped like a sea turtle, per the news release. Layers of volcanic ash also preserved the remnants of cassava branches... The remains, which were found face down, are set to undergo radiocarbon dating to determine their...

There’s not much to say here, since the woman posted the full account of the encounter on Facebook. Then the video was uploaded. Jessica Watson just wanted to get her eyebrows done at a salon in Alexandria, Virginia. As is common at these establishments, a conversation started, but when she mentioned her Jewish heritage, the owner of the salon, an Afghan, decided to go full terrorist on her. Jessica got kicked out. I’m nauseated even having to write this, but I won’t be quiet about it. I want my friends—Jewish and non-Jewish—to know what I experienced at a salon in...

Saratoga 19-year-old Jerahleigh Johnson can weld a roll cage, rebuild an engine and smash a Cadillac with the best of them. “I’ve had grown men say, ‘I haven’t been hit that hard in years,’” her dad says of Jarahleigh's demolition derby domination. After the engines shut down and 19-year-old Jerahleigh Johnson climbs out of her demolition derby car, people finally get a good look at the person who has been smashing them into oblivion. Off comes the helmet and out falls her long blonde hair. “I've had grown men say, ‘I haven't been hit that hard in years, let alone...

Terry Moran, former ABC News correspondent, revealed on The Fifth Column (Members Only episode #339) that the network gave the Dr. Anthony Fauci editorial oversight on a story about the COVID lab-leak theory. “The day that it’s supposed to air, it gets reviewed and it comes back to me and it is incomprehensible. I’d never been angrier,” said Moran. “Lawyers, standards, and I was told… Fauci. SNIP

Flock Safety, whose surveillance cameras blanket the United States, released a slate of new privacy and transparency “safeguards” Thursday amid reports of police officers abusing the system and spying on innocent people. But critics say the move is largely about optics, warning Americans not to miss the forest for the trees: that a surveillance state has been built right before their eyes.“As long as Flock continues to value profits over privacy and continues to treat legitimate privacy concerns as mere PR issues, we are going to continue to see more Flock efforts like today’s that seek to create headlines about...