Free Republic

Two men accused of trying to lure children into a van where Cicero police allegedly found condoms, lubricant, and a mattress were not detained on the charges because prosecutors and the judge mistakenly believed attempted child abduction is not a detainable offense under Illinois’ cashless bail system. Both men have been detained for other reasons, one for violating parole and the other for violating probation. However, if those holds are released, they will go home on electronic monitoring. During an initial appearance at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse at 26th and California on Sunday, Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Dale-Schmidt presented the...

Residents in a region hit by the deepest drone strikes within Russian territory since the start of the war in Ukraine have been warned that air defenses may not be able to protect them from future attacks. Since the start of its full-scale invasion, Russia has been hit with drone strikes reaching Moscow as well as ammunition depots and warehouses around the country linked to the war effort. Russian authorities blame Ukraine for the attacks, which Kyiv rarely claims responsibility for. In the latest incident, a drone attack on the Russian republic of Tatarstan on Tuesday reportedly hit industrial areas...

Chicago health officials have announced that a "small number" of tuberculosis (TB) cases have been reported at some migrant facilities following a recent outbreak of measles among migrants living in the Windy City's shelters. The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) said the TB cases were reported in "a few different shelters" in the city. However, officials did not disclose the exact number of confirmed cases or which shelter locations they originated from, Fox 32 Chicago reports.

The State Department said on Wednesday that while the Biden administration remains committed to a “two-state solution” for Israel and the Palestinians, it opposes the Palestinian effort to negotiate statehood at the United Nations. The Palestinian delegation to the U.N. said on Wednesday that it wants the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) to vote by the end of the month on giving the Palestinians full membership in the United Nations, which would be tantamount to conferring Palestinian statehood. The Palestinians first submitted a formal application for full U.N. membership in 2011. Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour (pictured) said 140 countries already...

The effort to rebuild the recently collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge near Baltimore, Maryland, could quickly turn into a years-long quagmire as a result of environmental red tape under the Biden administration, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation. The Baltimore Bridge was struck by a container ship navigating the Patapsco River out of the Port of Baltimore in late March, sending several cars and workers into the water and rendering the passageway unusable. It is unknown exactly how long the bridge could take to rebuild, as officials could expedite the process, but experts warned the DCNF that government red...

Before I even knew what a "meme" was, I remember discovering the most incredible ones and knowing exactly who crafted them. Since then, many of their names have escaped me in the span of time. As I reflect on over 20 years since joining FR, I'm reminded of members who are no longer with us (due to bans or departures) but whose art shaped much of our common history. Calling all our long-standing members! Do any of you recall specific names or have memorable examples from our community's golden era, spanning from the late 1990s to 2010? Share your stories...

President Joe Biden’s welcoming Easter Sunday message posted on X that, “Today, on Transgender Day of Visibility, I have a simple message to all trans Americans: I see you…” was shocking. Most could not understand how the President’s judgment can be so skewed on the most holy day for Christians. As offensive as this was, it provides a window through which all can see what’s happening. With Biden’s cognitive decline being so obvious, there can be little doubt that he is being used by internal and external enemies of America intent on breaking down the constitutional republic of the United...

NATO is going to “build a bridge” towards Ukraine becoming a member state of the defensive alliance, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on the organisation’s 75th birthday. North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member states met in Brussels at the alliance’s headquarters on Thursday to toast the 75th anniversary of its founding, among them U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken who like others used the occasion to discuss renewed Russian aggression and the potential place of Ukraine among its members. He emphasised the view, already articulated multiple times by NATO leaders in recent years, that “Ukraine will become a member...

A number of indigenous leaders across the Pacific have signed a treaty granting all whales legal personhood in an effort to protect whale populations from the effects of climate change, NPR reported Wednesday.

Former President Donald Trump has spoken recently with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, according to a report. The phone conversation between the presumptive Republican nominee for president and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reported by the New York Times, comes as the Biden administration pushes to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Normalizing relations between the Jewish state and a number of Muslim majority countries was one of Trump’s landmark foreign-policy achievements during his only term in office. It’s unclear exactly when the conversation between the 38-year-old de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia and the 77-year-old former president...

An elderly, single friend of mine had to quickly downsize due to some health issues and contracted with an estate liquidator, with my help. The liquidator was listed as a preferred servicer in some trusted real estate literature, so we thought it would be safe. It was an off-site sale since his home needed to be empty for listing (long story) and the liquidator said it would be 30 - 45 days for settlement of the sale. Contracted movers were very friendly, local, and vouched for the estate liquidator. More than six months later and dozens of calls, and the...

The New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils were quick to choose violence during Wednesday's matchup, engaging in an all-out fight that saw all but two players ejected as soon as the game opened. Eight players were assessed fighting majors and ejected during the line brawl, which took place right after the puck drop at Madison Square Garden. The Devils' Curtis Lazar and Rangers' Jimmy Vesey were hit with fighting majors but remained eligible to play as they were ruled to be the "first fight." Every other skater on the ice was ejected because of their "secondary altercations." The tossed...

DETROIT – Ford Motor is delaying production of a new all-electric large SUV and pickup truck, as it shifts to offer hybrid options across its entire North American lineup by 2030. The Detroit automaker on Thursday said it will continue to invest in EVs, but it is postponing production of the three-row SUV at a plant in Canada from 2025 to 2027 to allow for the market to mature more. The pickup is being pushed back from late 2025 to 2026. The shift in EV plans is the latest for Ford and the entire automotive industry as adoption has been...

Republican strategist Karl Rove urged Democrats to “go hard” at former President Trump’s rhetoric surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, calling the former president’s pledge to free imprisoned rioters a “critical mistake.” “If they were smart, they’d take the January 6 and go hard at it. And they would say, ‘He wants to pardon these people who attacked our Capitol,'” Rove said told MSNBC’s Ari Melber. “One of the critical mistakes made in this campaign is that Donald Trump has now said ‘I’m going to pardon those people because they’re hostages,'” Rove said in the interview, which...

One of the officials of the US Treasury Department reiterated EAM S Jaishankar’s words on Russian crude oil. Anna Morris, Acting Assistant Secretary for Terror Financing (US Treasury), was in Delhi on April 04. She was asked about US buying a large portion of refined oil from India, the country which imports crude from Russia.

Sometimes it’s hard to know what exactly to write. I don’t mean in general staring off into space or watching the clouds in your coffee kind of stuff, I mean when you see something so extraordinarily evil that you’re left speechless. That happened to me a few weeks ago when I saw the video of a white female student being brutally beaten by a black female student in Missouri. As you have no doubt seen, the black girl beats the white girl into unconsciousness and repeatedly slams her head into the concrete. The victim went into convulsions and as of...

The nationwide average price for regular gas topped $3.54 a gallon, a spike of more than 45 percent under President Joe Biden, AAA reported Wednesday. In the past month, gas prices rose 20 cents ($3.34), about one dollar more expensive ($2.38) than when Trump left office. Gas prices remain high and could go higher due to industry and political factors. Biden’s economic war on American energy independence during instability in the Middle East and in Ukraine are significant factors. According to Goldman Sachs, gas prices could reach $4 by May.

Dramatic video captured the moment a Texas National Guardsman was captured after allegedly smuggling an illegal immigrant to the southern border and leading police on a high-speed chase in his government-issued SUV. Specialist Savion Amari Donovan Johnson, 26, is seen being dragged out of the vehicle by members of the Texas Department of Public Safety and Kinney County sheriff’s deputies. He was arrested Sunday in Bracketville after the chase, which reached speeds at over 100 mph and charged with evading arrest, smuggling of persons and unlawful carry of a weapon. Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe told the outlet that Johnson...

Nato countries that do not spend two per cent of GDP on defence spending are playing “Russian roulette” with the West’s future, Grant Shapps has warned. In an article for The Telegraph to mark the military alliance’s 75th anniversary, the Defence Secretary argued that allies must accept we are now in “a pre-war world”. Last year, just 11 Nato members met its two per cent target, first set almost two decades ago, with France and Germany among the nations that spent less on defence.

The National Maritime Authority issued a warning for ships to avoid part of the Great Belt strait due to a risk of "falling missile fragments". A naval exercise began in the area last March and is due to end on Friday. In a statement, the Danish military said the problem with the missile occurred "during a mandatory test where the missile launcher is activated and cannot be deactivated." "Until the missile launcher is deactivated, there is a risk that the missile can fire and fly a few kilometres away," the military added. It provided a map of the area off...