Free Republic

It is always happy hour in Helsinki! Finland was dubbed the world’s happiest nation for the sixth consecutive year in the annual World Happiness Report, released Monday. The list is largely based on Gallup World Poll evaluations on matters such as GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption. “Citizens of Finland’s strong feelings of communal support and mutual trust” were factors in helping the country navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and again grab the top spot, authors of the study wrote. “Additionally, Finlanders felt strongly that they were free to make their own choices, and showed...

New York City authorities have no specific timing in mind for a potential indictment and arraignment of former President Trump, but many are now concerned that arresting Trump is likely to be dangerous, a source told Fox News Digital.

Credit Suisse said 16 billion Swiss francs ($17.24 billion) of its Additional Tier 1 debt will be written down to zero on the orders of the Swiss regulator as part of its rescue merger with UBS (UBSG.S), angering bondholders on Sunday. FINMA, the Swiss regulator, said the decision would bolster the bank's capital. The move reflects authorities' desire to see private investors share the pain from Credit Suisse's troubles.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is moving full-steam-ahead with her predecessor Andrew Cuomo’s insane anti-carbon energy plan, yet the Legislature wants to make it worse. In their one-house budget bills this week, lawmakers took Hochul’s plan to cap greenhouse-gas output and require companies to buy “allowances” (indulgences?) for emissions and added new requirements of their own. That’d make it even harder for companies to meet standards, stay under the caps and/or pay for those allowances — more poison for the state’s business climate. The added costs will also bring higher prices for consumers: added, New York-only “inflation.” And where Hochul would allow...

Here's something to keep your eye on. If Donald Trump is indicted by a Manhattan Grand Jury at the behest of far-left District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the House Republicans will almost certainly refer criminal charges against the Biden family, perhaps including the President himself. That's because everyone knows the Stormy Daniels situation is being used to punish Trump politically, just as the two impeachments were. The GOP rightly will fight back. In the middle of this political chicanery are we the people. All of this certainly does not help strengthen our country. In fact, major damage is being done to...

The United States will send Ukraine another $350 million in military assistance including more missiles and air defense ammunition, the Biden administration announced Monday. The lethal aid package includes more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and howitzers, as well as ammunition for Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, High-speed Anti-radiation missiles, anti-tank weapons and riverine boats, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. A separate Defense Department release said the package also included grenade launchers, heavy fuel tankers, mine clearing equipment, mortar systems and rounds and additional artillery. “This week, as Russia’s unconscionable war of aggression against...

John Hay was President Lincoln's personal secretary, a position that began nearly five decades of public service. A diplomat who served multiple Administrations from Lincoln to Roosevelt, he was a central figure in defining the U.S. foreign policy that would be the basis of the United States role on the world stage in the twentieth century.This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for...

A New York City family is heartbroken after an animal shelter in Brooklyn killed their lost, senior dog just hours after a good Samaritan brought it. The 19-year-old dog named Leona deserved a chance to live out her life, said the devastated owners.

Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) ruled out a run for the U.S. Senate on Monday, keeping a big name on the sidelines in the GOP’s push to oust Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) next year. Walker told the Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel in an interview that he plans to stay put as chairman of the Young America’s Foundation (YAF), an organization aimed at promoting conservatism to students and young adults, through 2025. He added that he’s not interested in the position after spending two terms in the Madison governor’s mansion. “Plus, I don’t see myself in the Senate,” Walker said. “After getting...

Dr. Ben Carson said the idea of arresting and filing charges against former President Donald Trump is “absolutely absurd” and “embarrassing.” Carson, who served as the secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Trump, was interviewed by Newsmax Sunday and did not hold back on the issue. He specifically pointed to Venezuela and how quickly that once idyllic country collapsed under this kind of political corruption. “Look how quickly Venezuela changed,” he said. “That is high in my thinking because I’ve been there several times when it was a wonderful place to visit, with beautiful resorts and hotels.” Carson pointed...

For many electric vehicles, there is no way to repair or assess even slightly damaged battery packs after accidents, forcing insurance companies to write off cars with few miles - leading to higher premiums and undercutting gains from going electric. And now those battery packs are piling up in scrapyards in some countries, a previously unreported and expensive gap in what was supposed to be a "circular economy." "We're buying electric cars for sustainability reasons," said Matthew Avery, research director at automotive risk intelligence company Thatcham Research. "But an EV isn't very sustainable if you've got to throw the battery...

(The Center Square) – The Hunter Biden investigation reached a new level in recent days after lawmakers announced that millions of dollars were transferred from a Chinese energy company with much of it ending up in the hands of the Biden family and associates. Now, critics say the Hunter Biden scandal could jeopardize the president’s reelection hopes. “The promise of Joe Biden the candidate was a return to normal. He presented himself as the kindly older guy who had seen and heard everything and would be a transition away from the tumult of Trump,” Republican strategist and Co-founder of South...

Texas middle school students were asked to pose as 'seducing hookers' in a role-playing game ... A Texas mother rejected an apology from her daughter's former school as "not good enough" after it took months for officials to notify parents about a teacher's "hooker" role-playing game played with students. Laura Maria Gruber pulled her seventh grader out of KIPP Poder Academy in San Antonio after learning she was "absolutely grossed out" when her teacher had the class play a rock, paper, scissors alternative, prompting some to pose as "seducing hookers." Gruber told "Fox & Friends First" Monday she appealed to...

American Democrats are continuing their descent into a Trump-induced madness from which there obviously won’t be any return. They’ve escalated their insane war on Donald Trump to a point that has the potential to backfire in grand fashion. They really didn’t think this one through. Then again, they haven’t thought any of their Trump tantrums through. They’re blinded by rage and won’t stop until they get some red meat footage for the 14 viewers who still watch MSNBC and CNN. Robert writes that the arrest of Trump that was originally planned for Tuesday may no longer be happening: But now...

Some 186 financial institutions in the United States are vulnerable to a collapse if uninsured depositors seek to withdraw their funds, according to a study from analysts with the National Bureau of Economic Research. The research comes shortly after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, where the vast majority of accounts exceeded the $250,000 threshold guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Financial authorities scrambled to back all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank such that the remainder of the financial system, in which roughly half of deposits surpass $250,000, would remain safeguarded against bank runs. Silicon Valley Bank had...

Banana republic justice, banana republic chaos. When law is tossed out the window, is anybody surprised that chaos follows? That's apparently what we have in the Manhattan district attorney's office, where Soros-financed District Attorney Alvin Bragg is reportedly presiding over a chaotic shambles in the wake of news that his men intend to indict President Trump on politicized charges. [Bon Homme Patriots tweet: NYC law enforcement sources telling me that the Manhattan DA’s office is “in chaos.” They’re telling me about 60% of the office wants no part of this and wishes Bragg and Reiss would just stop the nonsense....

Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary Matthew 1:16, 18–21, 24a Friends, today we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph.Every episode of Joseph’s life is a crisis. He discovered that the woman to whom he was betrothed was pregnant. He resolved to divorce her quietly, but then the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream and explained the anomalous pregnancy. So Joseph understood what was happening in the context of God’s providence and took Mary as his wife.Next, discovering that the child was in mortal danger, Joseph took mother and baby on a perilous journey to...

On Monday, during a press conference in Panama City Beach, Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis responded to the claims. “So I’ve seen rumors swirl, I’ve not seen any facts yet, and so I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do know this, the Manhattan District Attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor, and so he like, other Soros-funded prosecutors, weaponize their office to impose a political agenda on society at the expense of the rule of law and public safety,” said DeSantis.

Ana Navarro told her co-hosts Monday on ABC’s “The View” Navarro said, “It really bothers me, though, to hear Trump and his minions talk about trying to extort the American legal system, try to extort the American people, threaten them, be thugs about it and say, if you arrest me, there’s going to be protests. If you arrest me, there’s going to be bedlam and people go on this, you know, kind of echo this message and say, you know, you shouldn’t arrest him because it’s going to embolden his supporters. It’s all a political prosecution. No what would be...

A group funded by Ben & Jerry’s founder Ben Cohen is running a media campaign against U.S. military support for Ukraine. The organization—Eisenhower Media Network (EMN)—has been reaching out to reporters to push claims that the U.S. is spending too much money trying to help Ukraine fight off Vladimir Putin’s invasion. EMN is a project run by the People’s Power Initiative, a group that counts Cohen as its president and a major backer. The ice-cream mogul and long-time Bernie Sanders campaigner has given more than $1 million to the People’s Power Initiative via the Ben Cohen Charitable Trust, according to...