Free Republic

JERUSALEM — After two decades of research and experimentation, Israeli defense officials now say they have a working prototype of a high-powered laser gun that can intercept rockets, mortar shells, drones and anti-tank missiles in flight. Officials said that the system performed successfully in a recent series of live fire tests in the southern Israeli desert, destroying a rocket, a mortar shell and a drone, and prompting a standing ovation from officials watching the action onscreen. The government has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to develop the weapon, which Prime Minister Naftali Bennett described this week as a “strategic...

Controversy is again swirling around Capitol incursion figure Ray Epps as the Department of Justice calls for him to spend no more than six months in jail and face a $500 fine. Epps was highly visible in multiple videos from the incursion and was seen urging people to go to the Capitol building. Because he was not initially charged, speculation ran rampant that Epps was a federal agent whipping up and organizing protesters. He was eventually charged with one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct in September. American Greatness reporter Julie Kelly noted in a post on X at the time...

THE NEWS President Joe Biden is heading into 2024 with concerning numbers among Hispanic voters: A new USA Today/Suffolk survey shows him trailing Donald Trump by five percentage points, with many reluctant to back either candidate. While it’s an especially rough poll, others have also shown him struggling to match his 2020 numbers with a key swath of the Democratic base — and Hispanic leaders say they’re seeing the same problems on the ground. “It’s a matador red flag flying out there — the Hispanic vote is totally up for grabs,” Domingo Garcia, national president of the League of United...

EEOC won't release its own employees' complaints against the workplace discrimination watchdog, to protect them from "embarrassment, say former Trump Education Department lawyer Hans Bader. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ow many anti-white discrimination complaints have been leveled by employees against the federal watchdog for workplace discrimination? Who is shaping federal policy on "indigenous knowledge" and its implications for scientific research? The public apparently won't get those answers unless a judge says so. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and National Science Foundation invoked Freedom of Information Act exemptions on personal privacy to withhold select information from separate FOIA requests by Hans Bader, a former...

The House Homeland Security Committee is moving forward with the impeachment of Department of Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, as proceedings are scheduled to start Jan. 10, Punchbowl News reported Wednesday. Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., said last month at the conclusion of the panel's probe that it has provided House Republicans with enough evidence to impeach the secretary. Green accused Mayorkas of misusing taxpayer funds and intentionally ignoring border security measures.

Various world leaders and institutions have raised their concerns that the presumed Israeli strike in a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, that killed a top Hamas leader could escalate and expand the conflicts in the region. Deputy leader Saleh al Arouri — who was allegedly responsible for leading multiple attacks on Israel and had ushered in a closer relationship between Hamas and Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia in Lebanon — was one of a handful of people killed in the Tuesday night strike. His killing marked a possibly pivotal moment in the powder keg that is the Middle East. Israeli leaders have...

<p>Finlayson called police for protection from her violent ex-boyfriend and was shot and killed by police in front of her 9-year-old daughter.</p><p>A woman who called 911 asking for help and protection from a domestic violence situation involving her ex-boyfriend was shot dead in front of the violent ex and her 9-year-old daughter by a deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.</p>

The release of the highly anticipated list of names associated with the late Jeffrey Epstein has been postponed to January 22 after an enigmatic figure, known only as “Doe 107,” was granted a 30-day extension by the court. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York confirmed this decision to release the list at least until January 22 to NewsNation. In the ongoing legal battle of Giuffre v. Maxwell, the Court has granted an extension for the submission of supplemental materials in support of continued sealing. This decision comes after a letter from the law firm of...

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) endorsed Donald Trump for president Wednesday, the latest high-profile endorsement for Trump leading up to the January 15 Iowa caucus. “When Donald Trump was president, America was safe, strong, and prosperous,” Cotton told Fox News Digital. “With Joe Biden as president, everything has gone to hell: families can’t afford groceries, our border is wide open to a full-blown invasion, and our enemies are starting wars everywhere. “I endorse President Trump and I look forward to working with him to win back the White House and the Senate so we can help hardworking Arkansans suffering from Joe...

On December 6, 2023, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo sent a letter to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Mandy Cohen regarding questions pertaining to the safety assessments and the exit disclaimer icondiscovery of billions of DNA fragments per dose of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. On December 14, 2023, the FDA provided a written response providing no evidence that DNA integration assessments have been conducted to address risks outlined by the exit disclaimer iconFDA themselves in 2007. As...

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, the lawsuit by Stephen Richer is backed by Protect Democracy, the same far-left Soros-tied nonprofit behind Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss’ $148 million defamation lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani after he claimed the two women contributed to voter fraud in Georgia’s 2020 election. Protect Democracy also worked tirelessly and petitioned the DOJ to shut down the Arizona 2020 election audit. ...... Snip...... The leftist group wants to bankrupt and destroy anybody who questions elections in America. Protect Democracy attorneys claim that Kari Lake used her social media platforms, interviews, and public speeches to defame Stephen...

Billionaire Harvard donor Bill Ackman is calling for the resignation and replacement of the school's board, which he says is just as much to blame for its problems as ousted president Claudine Gay.Gay resigned yesterday, finally bowing to calls to stand down a month after her calamitous congressional testimony about campus antisemitism and amid growing accusations of academic plagiarism throughout her scholar career...Unsatisfied with Gay's resignation, he says the school's leadership is so deeply flawed that it requires a total overhaul.'The Corporation Board should not remain in their seats protected by the unusual governance structure which enabled them to obtain...

Jan 6 as related by DemocratsIf you want to see hyperbole in action, spend some time on Twitter (X). It is populated by quite a diverse assortment of liberal yokels. Someone seizes upon a theme and when the dog whistle is blown they come a runnin' for a day or two and then the air comes out of the balloon. But one theme persists-that Jan 6 was an insurrection. It wasn't. But that doesn't dissuade the left from continuing the nonsense. Tell me which part of this isn’t true: pic.twitter.com/2mUf5S1kvm— Andrew—Author of America Rises On Substack—Wortman (@AmoneyResists) January 1, 2024And:As...

Mayor Eric Adams wants to add trains and planes to his executive order limiting migrant buses arriving in the Big Apple — as City Hall attempts to stem the flood of asylum seekers now flocking in on New Jersey transit trains. The call comes as Adams was scheduled to huddle with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy over the new wrinkle in the crisis, which saw busloads of migrants thwarting the crackdown by heading to the Garden State, where asylum seekers would then hop trains into Manhattan. “We’re dealing with a person who just wants to disrupt,” Adams said Tuesday, referring...

Predictably, in her resignation statement, she played the victim, offered no apologies and blamed her downfall on those who exposed her misconduct. In a key passage showing that her sense of entitlement remains intact, she wrote that “it has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor — two bedrock values that are fundamental to who I am — and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus.” In another passage, she ignored the elephant in the room by insisting that her appointment let people from...

The Republican primary race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah has gained two more challengers with Rep. John Curtis and the son of former Sen. Orrin Hatch both launching bids on Tuesday. Curtis changed his mind after previously declining a bid while several other Republican candidates emerged, and announced in a video he’d be running for the seat. Brent Orrin Hatch, whose late father used to hold Romney’s seat, launched his campaign in a statement reported by local outlet KSL.com. “As a father and a grandfather, I care deeply about Utah’s future. That’s why today, I’m announcing...

An imam is in critical condition after he was shot early Wednesday outside a mosque in Newark. The imam of Masjid Muhammed was reportedly preparing to engage in the first of his daily prayers when an unidentified gunman approached him and opened fire outside the mosque around 6:15 a.m., near the intersection of Camden Street and South Orange Avenue, according to RLS Media. A motive for the shooting remains unclear, and it is also unclear whether any students were inside the attached Clara Mohammad School-Newark at the time.

The United States Navy has appropriated $34 million for six new workforce initiatives at Bath Iron Works (BIW) as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 Defense Appropriations bill. This inclusion came at the request of Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) as part of a larger effort to improve the infrastructure at shipyards responsible for building the Navy’s destroyers. “The crews of the Bath-built DDG-51 destroyers defending commercial shipping in the Red Sea today serve as vivid reminders of how important it is that the United States maintain a robust shipbuilding capability to support the U.S. Navy,” Sen. Collins said in a...

Three employees at a Metairie, Louisiana, Academy Sporting Goods were fired after chasing a shoplifter who was allegedly stealing a pistol. FOX Business reported that the alleged shoplifting incident occurred December 16, 2023, and three employees–including Michelle Sutton–pursued the shoplifter. WGNO noted that Sutton was working “team lead” at the store when the incident occurred. She heard other employees reporting the alleged shoplifting and immediately gave chase, saying, “I just took off, I knew I needed some form of way to help the police.” Two other employees ran outside the store with Sutton, trying to locate the shoplifter, but were...

The sealed list containing over 150 names associated with the late, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein will remain sealed until at least January 22. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York announced the delay in filing on Wednesday. The extension came after Judge Loretta Preska approved a 30-day extension requested by an unidentified “John Doe 107” who wished to maintain their anonymity out of “a risk of physical harm.”