Free Republic

Ankara’s official death toll stood at 33 on the morning of Feb. 28, with 60 other troops wounded, among them 16 with serious injuries. It was still unclear whether any soldiers could be still trapped under the rubble. According to unconfirmed information obtained by Al-Monitor, the actual death toll is somewhere between 50 and 55. What caused Russia to react so violently and provocatively while a Russian delegation was holding talks in Ankara in a bid to ease the tensions in Idlib? The battlefield had grown highly explosive since Feb. 20, when two Turkish tank crewmen were killed in an...

South Korea confirmed 594 more coronavirus cases on Saturday, the biggest increase to date for the country and taking the national total to 2,931 infections with three additional deaths. (Please see link, for full article)

Five sanctuary bills are currently under consideration by the Maryland state legislature. HB 677 and its Senate companion, SB 850, would prohibit state and local detention facilities from entering into agreements to house ICE detainees. These bills will force ICE to send many immigration detainees far away from their families and lawyers, potentially to remote areas where ICE is able to secure detention space. SB 649 would prevent any of the state's MVA custodians of records from providing ICE access to any such "public record that contains personal information unless the custodian is provided with a valid warrant or valid...

PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon has its first presumed case of novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. State officials will hold a news conference at 6 p.m. Friday to provide more details on the case. You can stream it live on KGW.com or watch live on The Story with Dan Haggerty on KGW.

Fresh off years of drug addiction, a presidential impeachment saga that involved his work in Ukraine, and agreeing to pay child support to an Arkansas stripper he impregnated, Hunter Biden is pursuing a career in painting. In a pool house-turned-art studio behind his 2,000-square-foot Hollywood Hills home, Biden, dressed in work boots and a pearl snap button-down shirt, is painting psychedelic florals in ink. The New York Times featured the son of former Vice President Joe Biden in a lengthy profile in which Hunter Biden said painting is "literally keeping me sane." “For years, I wouldn’t call myself an artist....

The Left has long lost this debate, but they keep trying to relitigate it on the campaign stump. The Second Amendment grants the individual right to keep and bear arms. That was the landmark D.C. vs. Heller decision, though it applied only to federal enclaves. The McDonald v. Chicago decision extended this right to the states proper. But the Left is obsessed with the militia portion of the amendment: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed” The Atlantic has a good...

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR ECONOMIC POLICY THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY SUBJECT: The Effect of Titanium Sponge Imports on the National Security By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862) (the “Act”), it is hereby ordered as follows:...

Since my election, the United States economy has experienced a historic revitalization. Americans across our country have been the beneficiaries of and the driving force behind this extraordinary resurgence. Wages are growing at their fastest rate in a decade; the unemployment rate has reached its lowest level in half a century; and for the first time on record, there are more job openings than unemployed Americans. The vitality of our economy has led to high levels of consumer confidence. Even as we grow more prosperous, however, we must remain vigilant for bad actors seeking to harm and exploit honest and...

The Ninth Circuit’s decision, another reckless nationwide injunction threatening our constitutional structure, obstructs the Executive Branch from faithfully executing the immigration laws passed by Congress and from protecting American citizens and legal immigrants. The Immigration and Nationality Act, in 8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(2) provides that, when an alien is arriving “from a foreign territory contiguous to the United States” and is found by the Department of Homeland Security not to be “clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted,” the Department “may return the alien to” the contiguous territory of arrival pending a removal proceeding. Using the express authority that...

South Lawn 4:30 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. I’m going to South Carolina, a big rally. A lot of people — thousands of people outside and it’s going to be very exciting. We have a big day tomorrow, in terms of the Democrats watching. See what happens. And then, on Tuesday, you have a very big day, so it will be interesting to see. We’re at the same number. A lot of people are getting better. Very much better. The 15 number. Plus we took in, as you know — from Japan, we took in some great American people...

Greece has completely shut down its borders Friday, sending dozens of naval vessels to patrol the Greek islands after Turkey announced it would allow all Syrian migrants to head to Europe. A government representative, who wished to remain anonymous, told German media that Greece has closed its entire land and sea border with Turkey and will allow no one to cross the border at all, German tabloid Bild reports. Citing sources, the newspaper claimed 50 naval ships — likely predominantly patrol vessels — of the Hellenic Navy supported by helicopters were being sent to the European Union’s external border. The...

Cabinet Room February 27, 2020 5:22 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Well, I want to thank you very much. We’re here with some of the black leaders of our country and — people that are highly respected and people that have done a fantastic job and, for the most part, have been working on this whole situation with me right from the beginning. And we’ve done a lot. We’ve done Opportunity Zones. We’ve done criminal justice reform. We’ve done things that people didn’t even think possible. Criminal justice reform — we’ve let a lot of great people out of jail. (Applause.)...

I explore some of the final surahs from the Koran, and explain the vast difference between pure religion, undefiled, and the warped religious principles espoused by Muhammad and his followers.

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 28 (C-Fam) The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders launched online medical abortion guidelines that its partner group acknowledges will be used for do-it-yourself abortions. Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), says it “has teamed up with” HowToUseAbortionPill.org to create an online video guide on how to use pills to abort an unborn child up to 22 weeks. In a cartoon-based guide, MSF shows how to “push out the pregnancy,” in “a process that is similar to miscarriage.” MSF says its “goal is to ensure that everyone” can get the information “no matter who...

BELLEVUE, Wash. — A patient with "extreme flu-like" symptoms checked into a Bellevue hospital Friday and will be tested for possible coronavirus, according to a hospital spokesperson. The spokesperson said a patient is currently in isolation at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue. The patient came to the hospital Friday morning while experiencing "extreme flu-like" symptoms, the spokesperson said. ...

East Room February 27, 2020 6:57 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much. AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! THE PRESIDENT: We love you. Thank you very much, everybody. I want to just — first of all, a person that’s doing an unbelievable job — loves everybody in this room. She’s got tremendous heart. She’s been through a lot and she handles it better than anybody I know: our great First Lady. And she — (applause) — she heard you were all here, so she just wanted to come down and say hello....

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Oregon state officials have announced the “first presumptive case of [the] novel coronavirus,” and are expected to hold an evening press conference on the development, said Oregon Health Authority on Friday. The pending press conference will discuss Oregon’s first case of the COVID-19 in “an individual living in the state.” Governor Kate Brown, along with OHA Director Patrick Allen, and a few other public health physicians are expected to speak. The press conference is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be held at the Portland State Office Building.

Russia on Friday said it was sending two warships armed with cruise missiles to waters off the Syrian coast and blamed Ankara for the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in Syria's Idlib region the previous day. The killing of the Turkish soldiers on Thursday and the wounding of 32 others, announced by the governor in Turkey's Hatay province bordering Syria, raised the Turkish military death toll in the region to 54 this month. Turkey has sent thousands of troops and heavy military hardware into Syria and Erdogan has warned that Turkey will launch a full-scale offensive to repel Syrian forces...

The supply of extra workers does not have much effect on wages, so the government should import more workers to grow the economy, says a February 27 New York Times article titled “Why a Top Trump Aide Said ‘We Are Desperate’ for More Immigrants.” “Proponents of restraining immigration, particularly among low-skill workers, often argue that newcomers can supplant American workers or depress their wages, even if they help the economy as a whole … But the evidence supporting that argument is limited,” said the article. The newspaper’s claim that the law of supply and demand does not impact Americans’ wages...

Nearly 19 years ago, American service members went to Afghanistan to root out the terrorists responsible for the 9/11 attacks. In that time, we have made great progress in Afghanistan, but at great cost to our brave service members, to the American taxpayers, and to the people of Afghanistan. When I ran for office, I promised the American people I would begin to bring our troops home, and seek to end this war. We are making substantial progress on that promise. Soon, at my direction, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will witness the signing of an agreement with representatives of...