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Ukraine's head of military intelligence says the war with Russia is going so well, that it will reach a turning point by mid-August and be over by the end of the year. It is the most precise and optimistic prediction by a senior Ukrainian official so far. In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Major General Kyrylo Budanov also said a coup to remove Vladimir Putin is already under way in Russia and the Russian leader is seriously ill with cancer. The general's office is dark and stuffed with the paraphernalia of war and espionage, sandbags stacked on its windows,...

California expects the largest budget surplus in the state’s history with $97.5 billion projected by summer 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on May 13.“Here in California, we’re putting in the work to grow our economy and implement real, inclusive policy change to create a brighter future for all,” Newsom said in a statement.Newsom announced the surplus while introducing the $300.7 billion budget that will go into effect at the start of the July fiscal year, if approved by lawmakers.The budget includes a $18.1 billion inflation relief package to “get money back into the pockets of Californians,” according to Newsom’s office,...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is entering the next budget year with a record-smashing surplus of nearly $100 billion, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday. Newsom unveiled a revised budget plan of just over $300 billion for the next fiscal year, the highest in state history and fueled by surging tax revenues. The state has collected $55 billion more in taxes than officials expected in January, leaving it with an estimated $97.5 billion surplus.

We’ve reported extensively on President Biden’s health woes and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rumored cancer. Add another major world leader to the list of the afflicted, because several media outlets claim Chinese President Xi Jinping, 68, is suffering from a brain aneurysm. Making his life more difficult are rumors of a possible coup by rivals tired of the nation’s uber-strict, economy-killing COVID lockdowns.Xi Jinping reportedly suffering from 'cerebral aneurysm' https://t.co/SIysIo0O9D pic.twitter.com/TIQuVz8EzN— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) May 10, 2022According to New Delhi-based ANI news service, Xi decided against surgery, instead choosing treatment involving traditional Chinese medicines that soften the blood...

Press Secretary Jen Psaki leaves the Biden White House today after more than a year overseeing a dishonest operation that helped a partisan and malleable press keep the American public in the dark. Dishonesty was a calling card at Psaki's briefings. As President Joe Biden hid from the press in an unprecedented fashion, Psaki asserted, "It's just not accurate to suggest that he isn't accessible or doesn't answer questions." And while pledging to fight "disinformation," she used her bully pulpit to spoonfeed it to the national media. She was dishonest as the Biden administration grappled with the pandemic. She pushed...

House Democrats are undercutting bipartisan legislation to bolster security for Supreme Court justices as heated protests erupt outside their homes. The Senate passed an emergency, bipartisan bill to beef up security for the justices and the Supreme Court building, sending it to the House on Monday night. Democrats in the House, however, don't appear to be eager to get the bill passed into law. Leadership members said on Wednesday they haven't even read the legislation, which is a single page, and they are now considering a new bill with an added provision that extends the security to the Court's 40-odd...

Just a brief reminder as you review the decisions in the pre-trial motions for the case against Clinton Lawyer Michael Sussman. It is worth remembering that Judge Christopher Cooper is married to Amy Jeffries, Lisa Page’s lawyer. Additionally, Judge Cooper and Michael Sussmann both worked in the DOJ together. When he was selected as judge in the Sussmann trial, Cooper revealed the potential conflict of interest in the event the Durham prosecution wanted him to recuse himself from the case. Special Prosecutor John Durham did not ask Judge Cooper to recuse himself.

Doug Mastriano did not mince words when he addressed the gathered crowd at Kirby Park Friday afternoon. "Pennsylvania should be the light of freedom for around the nation and the entire world," he said from under the Martz Pavilion. "So many important things happened in Pennsylvania. I'll say most of the key moments in American history." He queried the audience, "The government derives its consent from whom?" In unison nearly all in attendance responded, "The people." "The consent of the people," Mastriano repeated continuing, "And we clearly did not consent to the overreach over the last few years." He reflected...

Column: Biden gets desperate A wise man once said: "When the economy is bad, people blame the party in power. When the economy is good, people look at other issues." Well, the economy is bad. Nice-sounding growth, job, and wage numbers do not count for much when the American standard of living is in decline. Inflation has outpaced income gains since last year. It remains at a 40-year high. Gas costs more than four dollars per gallon—sometimes much more—in every state. Americans under 40 years old are experiencing consumer delays, shortages, and scarce necessities, including baby formula, for the first...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) slammed the arrest of a Catholic cardinal in Hong Kong, calling it “one of the clearest signs yet of Beijing’s worsening crackdown” in an op-ed published Friday in The Washington Post. Cardinal Joseph Zen and four other people were arrested earlier this week by national security police in Hong Kong but were later released on bail amid continuing arrest operations, the Post reported.

Join together with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

Early in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it wasn’t just Moscow that believed its offensive could succeed quickly. In February, even U.S. officials warned Kyiv could fall in days. Russians had numbers on their side, or more precisely a number: the 3:1 rule, the ratio by which attackers must outnumber defenders in order to prevail. It is one of several “force ratios” popular in military strategy. Russia, it seemed, could amass that advantage.

Midland, Texas is just one of the many American cities that is struggling to keep pace with scorching inflation in the country. The city, whose economy relies on oil, was called the “number 1 spot for inflation” by a new Bloomberg profile of its residents, who shared stories of how the rising cost of living was negatively affecting everyday life. Inflation in Midland has been at about 10% for the last 6 months, the article notes, resulting in “menus at local restaurants [with] sticky notes telling diners that prices have been raised” and a gallon of gas reportedly costing about...

An early summer heatwave pattern continues to boil parts of the Central and Southern Plains. This means parts of Texas will continue to roast with temperatures forecasted to reach triple digits next week. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state’s power grid operator, is already warning of record energy demand next week as customers crank up the AC. Power consultant Doug Lewin, who actively monitors the Texas grid, told FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth that triple-digit temperatures are very concerning because it’s “still not even summer.” On Tuesday, ERCOT reported power grid demand jumped to 70,703 megawatts, smashing...

On Friday’s “CNN Newsroom,” House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) responded to questions on whether the White House and the federal government could have acted on the baby formula shortage sooner by stating “the White House has come out with solutions.” And “we are reacting now.” Co-host Alisyn Camerota asked, “Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says that the White House has basically been asleep at the switch on this. Could they have engaged sooner?”

The Washington Post is out with some amazing reporting that says President Joe Biden’s recent use of “MAGA” and “Ultra MAGA” to insult former President Donald Trump “was the result of a six-month research effort by liberal groups”: Biden's attempt to reappropriate "MAGA" and "ultra MAGA" was the result of a six-month research effort by liberal groups. My latest w @michaelscherer. https://t.co/foVeidRgZn — Ashley Parker (@AshleyRParker) May 13, 2022 From the Washington Post: Biden’s attempt to appropriate the “MAGA” brand as a political attack was hardly accidental. It arose from a six-month research project to find the best way to...

The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö has told a news conference in Helsinki that Russia's invasion of Ukraine "changed the picture" on the country's security.In a message to Russia he said, "you caused this - look at the mirror".Mr Niinistö was speaking after he signed a joined security pact with Boris Johnson.

WASHINGTON — New rules proposed by the Education Department to govern a federal grant program for charter schools are drawing bipartisan backlash and angering parents, who say the Biden administration is seeking to stymie schools that have fallen out of favor with many Democrats but maintain strong support among Black and Latino families. The proposal would add requirements to the application process for grants from the federal Charter Schools Program, which has doled out billions of dollars over nearly 30 years to help open new charter schools or expand existing ones. It sets tighter restrictions on the schools’ relationships with...

As an extreme weather event stampeded across South Dakota Thursday evening, images that emerged on social media called to mind the 1930s Dust Bowl era. A destructive line of storms rips across Nebraska and South Dakota on May 12, leaving damage scattered all over the region.(Please go to the site to view the video)The multi-day severe weather threat across the Plains escalated on Thursday, with thunderstorms delivering powerful winds and massive hailstones across the region a day after a meteorologist was killed in a crash during a preceding storm. The extreme weather event has been declared a Derecho, a long-lived...

Harvard University economics professor Kenneth Rogoff warned on Friday that it will be "really hard" to get the "inflation rate down" without causing a recession. If [the Fed] have to raise interest rates that much, it will cause a recession, no doubt," Rogoff told "Cavuto: Coast to Coast." "I don't think they'll go that far. My best guess is they fall short. They raise interest rates to 3-3.5, and we're left with a very soft economy and still inflation."