Free Republic

Thursday’s indictment of presidential prodigal son Hunter Biden on three gun-related criminal counts is the latest twist in the long, winding and rapidly escalating saga that is the Biden crime family. The indictment...comes a month and a half after Weiss’ obfuscatory plea agreement was summarily rejected by Judge Maryellen Noreika. That prior plea deal, curiously, would have handled the same gun crimes for which Hunter has now been indicted with a slap-on-the-wrist pretrial diversion agreement. Fact is, Hunter transparently lied that he was “not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance”...

An international research team led by maritime archaeologist Staffan von Arbin of the University of Gothenburg has studied what might be Europe's oldest shipboard cannon. The cannon was found in the sea off Marstrand on the Swedish west coast and dates back to the 14th century. The findings from the interdisciplinary study contribute new knowledge about the early development of artillery on land and at sea, but also bears witness to a troubled period for seafarers as well as coastal populations. The small, muzzle-loading cast copper-alloy cannon, found by a recreational diver at a depth of 20 metres in the...

If there's "no evidence" of wrongdoing, as many pundits insist, why is the Republican House majority fooling with an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden's business dealings with his son, Hunter? Well, when talking heads say, "no evidence," they mean "no smoking-gun proof." And they're right; the current case against the president probably wouldn't prevail in court. But there really is evidence of corruption and sleaze around Joe Biden, even if, so far, it doesn't rise to courtroom standards. While impeachment proceedings will likely go nowhere, Americans are entitled to pass their own judgments based on that evidence. Absolutely No...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) defended former President Trump’s policy on Russia on Sunday, after praise from Russian President Vladimir Putin spurred criticism from others in the GOP. “The idea that Trump is some type of lackey for Putin — that’s just false,” DeSantis said told Howard Kurtz on Fox News’ “MediaBuzz”. “He had a very, very strong Russia policy,” DeSantis added. “He actually provided a lot of support, defensive support for Ukraine. And so I think the idea that somehow he wants to be buddy-buddy with Putin, I know there’s circles that say that, but I don’t really see...

CHICAGO — At least 11 people are facing felony charges in connection with Mexican Independence Day festivities over the weekend. Chicago police officers recovered at least six firearms downtown, and two drivers are charged with trying to run down cops working the celebrations. City officials tried to seal off the downtown area by blocking access with police cars and salt and garbage trucks. But their efforts seemed to only inconvenience downtown residents, tourists, and working folks trying to get to their jobs. Chicago police arrested 33-year-old Roberto Valencia in the 5100 block of South Pulaski around 10:22 p.m. Saturday. They...

Ukrainian forces have made progress in the area south and east of Robotyne in southern Ukraine, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said in a post on her channel on the Telegram messenger app on Sept. 18.The Ukrainian Armed Forces are now consolidating the positions they have gained, Maylar said.In the south, Ukrainian troops are continuing to conduct an offensive on the Melitopol section of the front line, she said.

Three Russian soldiers blew themselves up in a grenade explosion after getting drunk during a resupply run in Russia's southwestern Voronezh region, according to local media reports. The three servicemen died in a house in the city of Rossosh, and a further two were injured, according to the Telegram channel of independent Russian-language news outlet Astra, and the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, which has close ties to Russian security forces. The news comes nearly 19 months into Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Publicly available data released by Kyiv's military indicates that more than 270,000 Russian troops have been...

I knew there was something wrong with Mitt Romney, really wrong, when my mom – a daughter of Pennsylvania’s steel mill country, but a dedicated Republican, told me back in 2012, “I just don’t like him.” Of course, those steel mills are all gone now, moved to China by guys who either were, or looked exactly like, Mitt Romney. Now he’s finally calling it quits as a senator, apparently by popular demand. His departure is cause for celebration. Mitt Romney is a bad person who pretends to be a good person. He is the blow-dried embodiment of everything awful about...

Photo: AlamyThis week, President Trump addressed swirling narratives amid conservative and liberal critics of Joe Biden, arguing that Biden was not too old but rather “too incompetent” to lead the country.On Thursday, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “A poll just came out showing that almost everyone thinks Crooked Joe Biden is too old, but they don’t think I’m too old (and I’m not!). Actually, Crooked Joe is not too old, he’s too incompetent, and the WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”A late August poll from AP-NORC found that 77 percent of Americans see...

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) expressed frustration Thursday with the Biden administration's lack of urgency in addressing what the United States has described as a "rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation" in Nagorno-Karabakh, a hotly disputed region at the center of rising tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.Menendez, while chairing of a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the crisis, said he was "amazed" by the responses from Yuri Kim, the acting assistant secretary for the State Department's Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs...The senator's frustration centered on the administration's application of Section 907 of the United States Freedom Support Act, which bans direct...

Mayor Eric Adams warned that the cost of the ongoing migrant crisis will hurt low-income New Yorkers as he’s forced to dip into the city coffers and address the disaster without more federal or state help. Adams made the dire warning during an interview with Rev. Al Sharpton about a week after he said all NYC agencies may have to slash up to 15% from their budgets by springtime to cover the expenses tied to the crisis. The Democrat said the city has already spent $2 billion and is projected to spend $5 billion to care for and house asylum...

There's no climate emergency. And the alarmist messaging pushed by global elites is purely political. That's what 1,609 scientists and informed professionals stated when they signed the Global Climate Intelligence Group's "World Climate Declaration.""Climate science should be less political, while climate policies should be more scientific," the declaration begins. "Scientists should openly address uncertainties and exaggerations in their predictions of global warming, while politicians should dispassionately count the real costs as well as the imagined benefits of their policy measures."The group is an independent "climate watchdog" founded in 2019 by emeritus professor of geophysics Guus Berkhout and Marcel Crok, a...

On Friday, Reuters and Ipsos released a 2024 presidential election poll between the leading 2024 presidential candidate and 45th President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden and, according to the poll, Trump will win the election in an electoral landslide.The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted from September 8 to 14 and surveyed 4,413 U.S. adults.The poll spelled doom for Biden as it showed Trump leading him in all of the seven most crucial states that determined the 2020 presidential election - Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Nevada, North Carolina, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.In all seven states, Trump crushed Biden by six points, with 41...

Those F-35 stealth fighters must be even closer to invisible than I thought because the Marines lost one on Sunday and nobody can find it. A Marine piloting the special vertical takeoff and landing version, the F-35B, suffered some kind of “mishap” and was forced to eject over South Carolina. He ejected safely. He’s fine. We can go on and laugh. The plane, however, was nowhere to be found. Weighing in at over 32,000 pounds even when it isn’t filled with jet fuel, you’d think the missing jet would be easy to find, but no. There was genuine concern that...

When Lariba was growing up in James Town — a coastal neighborhood in Accra, Ghana — they never felt criticized for living the life they wanted to live, they said, even as an LGBTQ person. ... Introduced in 2021, this bill not only criminalizes LGBTQ relationships, but also those who support LGBTQ rights, with the possibility of being extended to journalists for what the bill calls “promoting” these issues, too. It also gives citizens a “duty to report,” encouraging people to report suspected LGBTQ people to the police or other authorities — a condition that has been particularly concerning for...

Portland, Ore., shelled out thousands of taxpayer dollars to a group of homeless people to have them evaluate the city's new Police Accountability Commission after the city said that its "houseless community" should shape the way cops are disciplined. Portland's Police Accountability Commission hired a marketing firm in June and July to hold focus groups with participants from "communities that have been historically underrepresented … or who are vulnerable to police misconduct or discrimination," according to a commission report. The city held one session at a local homeless shelter, which invited "twenty participants from the houseless community" to provide their...

On Saturday, as RedState reported, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer was ambushed and shot in the head while sitting in his patrol car, stopped at a traffic light just down the street from the Palmdale station house. Deputy Clinkunbroomer ultimately succumbed to his injuries. Following the shooting, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna gave a press conference in which he shared his belief that it had been a targeted shooting and asked for the public's assistance in identifying and locating the suspect(s). It is now being reported that an arrest has been made regarding the shooting. Sources close...

18 September 2023 Monday of week 24 in Ordinary Time Basilica of San Giuseppe da Copertino, Osimo, Italy Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(I).First reading1 Timothy 2:1-8 ©Pray for everyone to God, who wants everyone to be savedMy advice is that, first of all, there should be prayers offered for everyone – petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving – and especially for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet. To do this is right, and will please God our saviour: he wants everyone to be saved...

Ron DeSantis is attending a Texas fundraiser hosted by Lamar Smith, a former Texas Congressman who is now a registered foreign agent and a donor to Democrat politician Jamie Raskin, who led impeachment efforts against Donald Trump over January 6th.Smith is advertised by Team DeSantis as one of the hosts of the Friday fundraiser in San Antonio. The Florida Governor is currently polling at 10 percent to Trump’s 61 percent in Texas, and Smith seems unlikely to help burnish the Floridian’s America First credentials, being a registered foreign agent.Despite his background as a GOP legislator, Smith is also a donor...

A “person of interest” was detained in the investigation of the fatal shooting of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, a department spokesperson said early Monday.There was no additional information about the detained person but officials planned to hold a news conference later in the morning, said law enforcement technician Kimberly Herrera at the sheriff's information bureau. (Snip) The department released grainy surveillance video of a dark-colored sedan that pulled alongside the patrol car in the moments before the shooting. Luna said investigators believe the “vehicle of interest” is a gray Toyota Corolla manufactured between 2006 and 2012.