Free Republic

On February 28th, Ukraine’s President, Prime Minister, and Speaker signed Ukraine’s official EU membership bid. There is a high chance that the application will be approved, with the process due to begin this month. To understand the realistic timeframe of Ukraine’s legal and cultural re-integration into the European family, read European Pravda editor Sergiy Sydorenko’s article Ukraine’s EU Membership: When and How the Union Will Review the Bid. Putin has always wanted Ukraine to be neutral. By invading the country in 2014, he aimed, among other things, to block Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the EU. Moscow has never really...

Russian natural-gas giant Gazprom, oil-producer Lukoil and leading bank Sberbank are all penny stocks based on their trading on the London Stock Exchange, as the local market was shut for a third day. Sberbank SBER, -87.43%, which had assets of over $500 billion at the end of 2021, was trading for 3 cents a share in afternoon action. The European Commission on Wednesday approved the resolution plan for its Croatian and Slovenian arms that will be sold. Its Austrian and Czech operations will be wound down, with depositors compensated up to €100,000. Lukoil LKOD, -96.03%, Gazprom OGZD, -84.21%, and Rosneft...

President Joe Biden’s state of the union address on Tuesday was so unremarkable that even the Hollywood celebrities who campaigned for him had little to say. So they spent the hour attacking and snarking at Republicans instead, with one star even calling for physical violence against a sitting member of Congress. Stars including Mark Ruffalo, Bradley Whitford, Rosanna Arquette, and Oscars co-host Wanda Sykes stoked hatred toward the GOP while completely ignoring the president. Some even brought up former President Donald Trump, who was not mentioned once during the televised address. [cut]Comedian and newly appointed Oscars co-host Wanda Sykes advocated...

There is no question that Russian President Vladimir Putin has seriously miscalculated and violated international law by invading Ukraine. After getting assurances that Ukraine would not be invited to join NATO, the Russian strongman should have taken a deep breath and focused on some domestic political reforms. Instead, he appears to be in over his head — and the Russian Army appears grossly incompetent. What the Western democracies don’t need to do is commit an equally grave miscalculation and provide the opportunity for Putin to ignite a third world war that could lead to nuclear conflict. Are we in the...

While Russia wages a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. Army is putting its soldiers through training on gender pronouns and coaching officers on when to offer soldiers gender transition surgery,

Ukraine State Emergency Service/Reuters Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that a third world war would be “nuclear” and “destructive,” essentially warning NATO not to intervene militarily in Ukraine, a day after peace talks failed to temper the bloodshed and as Russian paratroopers descended on the city of Kharkiv, the second largest city in the nation and the epicenter of fierce fighting. Ukraine’s defense ministry confirmed the arrival of Russian airborne troops on Telegram, though it is unclear if they are involved in a ground battle just yet. “There is an ongoing fight between the invaders and the Ukrainians,” they...

Pictures have emerged from the streets of Ukraine showing the smouldering wrecks of Russian tanks destroyed amid brutal urban fighting as Putin's invasion of his neighbour continues. Huge convoys of Russian armour have rumbled into several Ukrainian cities, only to be met with fierce resistance as well-armed troops used a mixture of their own and NATO-supplied anti-tank weapons to wreak havoc on the invaders. Some of the most shocking images of the devastation inflicted on Russian armour came from the town of Bucha on the outskirts of Kyiv, where an entire column of tanks and armoured vehicles were obliterated. Taken...

Vladimir Putin’s propaganda machine has waged another misinformation campaign to justify his illegitimate invasion. But this time around, we can’t afford to buy in. The war will be won with weapons, but history will judge truth from falsehood. I am the son of Ukrainian-Jewish refugees. My entire extended family lives in the Eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, where they face artillery bombardment and threat of ground force invasion. Even worse, Russian president Vladimir Putin now threatens to prepare his nuclear arsenal. My family are no strangers to bloodshed. My great grandparents perished in the Holocaust and on the battlefields of...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made clear Wednesday that the Fed will begin raising interest rates this month in a high-stakes effort to restrain surging inflation. In prepared testimony he will deliver to a congressional committee, Powell cautions that the financial consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are “highly uncertain.” He says the Fed will “need to be nimble” in responding to unexpected changes resulting from the war or the sanctions that the United States and Europe have imposed in response.

Democrats and Republicans in Washington at times displayed unity as President Joe Biden addressed the nation at his first State of the Union on Tuesday night. Members of both parties stood to applaud the Ukrainian ambassador and Biden's announcement that United States airspace would close to Russian planes. But sharp divides between the parties were evident, too, including when the president brought up his late son, Beau Biden, an Iraq War veteran who died of brain cancer in 2015. Biden on Tuesday called on Congress to pass legislation to aid veterans exposed to toxins while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan...

BRENTWOOD, Calif. (KGO) -- There are new details in the case of a Brentwood Police Department canine that ripped the scalp off a woman suspected of shoplifting. She's suing the police canine handler and city

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Pelosi sparks new SOTU meme during Biden ‘burn pits’ moment House Speaker Nancy Pelosi drew massive attention on social media during President Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening for her oddly giddy reaction to Biden’s remarks about “burn pits” in the Middle East. During his address, the president outlined four items in a “Unity Agenda for the Nation” that included support for US veterans. “My administration is providing assistance with job training and housing, and now helping lower-income veterans get VA care debt-free,” Biden said. “Our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan faced many dangers. One was stationed at...

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Nearly all members of Cleveland police’s bomb squad are leaving the unit because of concerns about safety and supervision, according to the city’s police union. Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association President Jeff Follmer said at least six of the eight-member team have requested to leave the unit over the past few days. He said police officials have no power to force them to remain in the unit. Follmer said bomb squad officers are concerned with the sergeant in charge of the unit after several recent incidents and tactics he deployed during calls. During a Jan. 5 training exercise...

Today, Canada. Tomorrow, California? If that state's Democrats have their way, the Golden State could well become this nation's version of the Great White North. Two bills introduced five days apart in the Assembly, the Legislature's lower house, expose the Democrats' plan to exploit COVID-19 to seize absolute power. On Feb. 10, four Assembly members introduced AB 1993, a bill that would force anybody with a job -- whether full-time employees or independent contractors -- to prove they were vaccinated against COVID-19. The bill states its provisions would expire when “the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory...

Last week, Texas federal judge Jeremy Kernodle struck down part of a Biden administration rule on surprise medical billing. In 2020, Congress passed the “No Surprises Act,” to establish a process to resolve billing disputes through independent dispute resolution. Judge Kernodleruledthat the process the administration set up with its interim final rule (IFR) went against the text of the 2020 law. What was originally meant to address a legitimate problem in the medical space has been badly bungled by the administration, with effects that will reverberate across the healthcare ecosystem. After the passage of the No Surprises Act, patients would...

The shame of the State of the Union. Absolutely unconscionable that there was no tribute to the thirteen service members or their families killed in Afghanistan. Instead a child diabetic was honored.

Just like that, the world is a different place. Its scary times ahead. As a 47-year old, in my lifetime I cannot remember a more serious time of conflict. Like many worldwide praying for Ukraine, I worry about what Russia’s action means for the State of Israel. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett avoided condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine — or even mentioning Russia by name - saying “The world order as we know it is changing. The world is much less stable, and our region too is changing every day.” And while the world has changed, Ukraine is fighting...

As fighting involving Russia and Ukraine enters its sixth day, Germany is starting to reconsider its decision to dial back its reliance on nuclear power in an effort to secure its energy supply which is presently dependent on natural gas imports from the Russian Federation. Reversing an earlier policy adopted under former Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany has decided to extend the lifespan of its remaining nuclear power plants, according to Economy Minister Robert Habeck. It’s part of a broader plan for Germany to derive 100% of its energy from “renewable” sources by 2035. Previously, Germany had planned to shutter its...

While Corelogic’s January home price index was hot, hot, hot (UP 19.1% YoY), today’s mortgage applications index for the week ending February 25, 2022 was not, not, not. Mortgage applications decreased 0.71 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 25, 2022. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1.76 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1.16 percent compared with the previous week and was 9 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The Refinance Index increased 1 percent from...