Free Republic

The column of Russian military vehicles that bore down on Kyiv in the early days of the war was brought to a smoldering halt because a 15-year-old boy was helping to aim Ukrainian artillery. Ukrainian teenager Andrii Pokrasa flew his drone over the Russian forces, relaying photos and coordinates to artillery units, effectively saving the capital city in late February, Canadian outlet Global News reported. “He’s a real hero, a hero of Ukraine,” Yurii Kasjanov, a commander with Ukraine’s unmanned recon unit, told the outlet. “He was the only one who was experienced with drones in that region.” Pokrasa said...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly a year since its inception, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will go public with its findings starting this week as lawmakers hope to show the American public how democracy came to the brink of disaster. What you need to know ahead of the hearing: WHEN WILL THE HEARING TAKE PLACE? The first of six hearings is set to go live at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday. It will take place in a large House office building in the U.S. Capitol complex. HOW TO WATCH THE HEARING Several major networks...

The family of an unarmed black man who was shot and killed in his car by sheriff’s deputies over a year ago has reached a $3 million settlement with authorities. Andrew Brown Jr. was killed on April 21, 2020 by Pasquotank County sheriff’s deputies while they were serving drug-related warrants at his home. His family filed a $30 million civil rights lawsuit claiming he died because the officers displayed an “intentional and reckless disregard of his life.” As officers surrounded his BMW, Brown backed up and moved forward, prompting the deputies to open fire. He was fatally struck in the...

The driver of a traction engine towing a long load was pulled over after holding up traffic at 5mph (8km/h) on a busy main road. The engine was towing a vintage caravan, a 4x4 and a trailer on the A47 near Trowse, Norfolk, on Monday. Police said traffic had been held up as the engine had been travelling so slowly on its 40-mile (65km) journey. "This amazing piece of engineering [was] towing an 'odd' combination of three 'trailers'," officers noted. Posting about it on Twitter, officers from the Norfolk and Suffolk Roads Policing Unit described this as "a different sort...

Homeland Security warns of individuals using high-profile events to justify violence against ideological opponents, public gatherings, schools and more The Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin Tuesday warning of a "heightened threat environment" over the next several months as they monitor both risks of domestic terrorism and foreign adversaries looking to sow discord within the U.S. to promote acts of violence. "The United States remains in a heightened threat environment, as noted in the previous Bulletin, and several recent attacks have highlighted the dynamic and complex nature of the threat environment," DHS said in a new bulletin from the...

Scott Ritter is the man who was right about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq when the whole narrative was against him. He again stands alone against the the chorus coming out of the Western media machine.

Jim Seals, who as part of the duo Seals and Crofts crafted memorably wistful 1970s hits like “Summer Breeze” and “Diamond Girl,” died Monday at age 80. No cause of death was immediately given. Several friends and relatives confirmed the death. “I just learned that James ‘Jimmy’ Seals has passed,” announced his cousin, Brady Seals, a former member of the country band Little Texas, Monday night. “My heart just breaks for his wife Ruby and their children. Please keep them in your prayers. What an incredible legacy he leaves behind.” Wrote John Ford Coley, “This is a hard one on...

Roberts said, “Real impassioned plea there, and the best presentation we have seen from that podium in an awfully long time, he is part of Hollywood, but a Texas native, Uvalde native very down to earth guy.”

This weekend, we took down our post because the overwhelming vitriol was alarming, and we wanted to protect our authors. We stand by our EerdWord post, so we have tweeted the link again. But we think we should also offer some explanation. Some of the replies to our original tweet could be summarized as: “With this tweet, you have gone over to the dark side. Your company is now useless and we hope you go bankrupt and your employees become jobless.” For those who thought that cursing and reviling would be an appropriately Christian response to an invitation to try...

The Polish government and state forestry agency have taken steps to make it easier for people to collect firewood, in an effort to ease the pressure created by soaring energy bills and shortages of coal. “It is always possible, with the consent of foresters, to collect branches for fuel,” reminded deputy climate and energy minister Edward Siarka last week. He noted that this year, amid “the war in Ukraine and turmoil on the energy market”, enquiries to local forestry units about obtaining permission to collect firewood have increased. “[Our] priority has been to ensure that local communities have precedence in...

“The Pneumonia of the Church”: Archbishop Aguer on the Sickness and Its Remedy Archbishop Emeritus Hector AguerThe title of this note comes from an eloquent image used by the African Cardinal Robert Sarah, who was Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments—and who was “mercifully” retired from the Roman Curia, as soon as was possible without causing too much of a scandal. His Eminence, author of books of rare theological depth and spiritual dimension, compared the current disastrous situation of the Catholic Church with that which Pius X had to face: modernism, which...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A garbage company has stopped picking up yard waste in at least seven metropolitan cities due a lack of drivers. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Thursday that Waste Management confirmed Thursday that it had suspended yard waste service in Robbinsdale, Stillwater, Columbia Heights, Little Canada, St. Anthony, St. Paul and Vadnais Heights due to a staffing shortage. Company spokeswoman Julie Ketchum said high demand for people with commercial driver’s licenses has created the shortage. She said the yard waste pickup suspensions could last weeks and could expand to other cities going forward. ...

CNN's Laura Jarrett has unwittingly exposed the contempt with which the liberal media views so many Americans. On Tuesday morning's New Day, Jarrett, daughter of Obama consigliere Valerie, was asked by co-host John Berman what it says that the Dems brought in James Goldston, the former president of ABC News, to produce their January 6 committee hearings. Replied Jarrett: "I think it shows you that they want to make this compelling. They know that a certain segment of the American public has a tin ear to this, sadly, and shouldn't, but has seen that video of them storming the Capitol...

An upgraded model of China's massive AG600 amphibious plane took its first flight on May 31, lifting off and landing at an airport in southern China's Guangdong Province. The latest model of the AG600 brings a new configuration and a higher maximum takeoff weight to the world's largest amphibious aircraft. Once fully operational, the AG600 would extend China's reach in the maritime-centric Pacific theater. The US military, which is increasing its own focus on Pacific operations, is also looking into developing aircraft with amphibious capability for similar uses.

How do you solve a problem like MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart? By considering leaving the United States. The Washington Post columnist published a column on Tuesday that he and his husband, Nick Schmit, are ready to leave the United States due to what he calls “crazy White people.” He cited the SPLC poll, which states that “nearly 7 in 10 Republicans surveyed agree to at least some extent that demographic changes in the United States are deliberately driven by liberal and progressive politicians attempting to gain political power by ‘replacing more conservative white voters.’” “What’s terrifying is that this twisted...

John Hinckley Jr., the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, reportedly will perform a sold-out concert in New York City in July. Hinckley, 67, sings and plays guitar and hopes to pursue a music career. He shares his music on a YouTube channel.

After a handful of Tampa Bay Rays players refused to wear rainbow-clad uniforms for Pride Night on Saturday, the only openly-gay active player in professional baseball said "discrimination and hate has a voice in baseball and you saw it in Tampa." "We have seen a lot of teams selling rainbow merchandise and doing Pride Nights, which is great, but they need to actually support their players," Bryan Ruby said of the situation in Tampa, which he called "sad and frustrating." "We get one night at the ballpark to be ourselves all year, and it just was an indication that a...

Joe Biden's Commerce Secretary admitted Tuesday that the administration can't do anything to help relieve the surging price of gas – instead placing the blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine at the end of February. 'Unfortunately, that is the brutal reality,' Gina Raimondo told CNN when asked what President Biden can do to relieve Americans' wallets at the gas pump. 'You know,' Raimondo added, 'this is, in large part, caused by Putin's aggression. You know, since Putin moved troops to the border of Ukraine, gas prices have gone up over $1.40 a gallon, and the President is...

Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” that he believed former President Donald Trump and others “conspired in a criminal way to overturn” the 2020 election and prevent President Joe Biden from taking power. Woodward said, “I think people are going to watch. They realize the stakes are our democracy and what happened. I’m am convinced, having spent part of my life on Donald Trump, that he and others conspired in a criminal way to overturn the election and prevent Biden from taking power legitimately.”

On the cusp of nonstop, around-the-clock (primetime!) coverage of the Jan. 6 committee hearings, a couple of domestic terrorists are actually getting their day in court, and it is informative to see how Merrick Garland's Justice Department is handling their prosecution. Recall Garland's breathless declaration, during his confirmation hearings, that "150 years after the Department's founding, battling extremist attacks on our democratic institutions also remains central to its mission." Colinford Mattis and Urooj Rahman were arrested in the "mostly peaceful" protests following George Floyd's murder. The two lawyers handed out Molotov cocktails to the crowd, and Rahman tossed one into...