Free Republic

The Senate did its job.Former congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) will not become attorney general, withdrawing from consideration this week after he spent a day on Capitol Hill learning that at least four Republicans would oppose his nomination — enough to tank it on the Senate floor.On the most basic level, this shows that President-elect Donald Trump feels constrained by the constitutional order. It also suggests that enough Republicans will refuse to let him make “recess appointments” — a maneuver of questionable constitutionality that would have allowed Mr. Trump to install high executive branch officers without Senate consent, at least in...

On Monday at 11 a.m., the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) confirmed Shandong, together with cruiser CNS Yan’an (106) and destroyer CNS Zhanjiang (165), were sailing in an area 447 miles south of Miyako Island. A map included with the release showed the PLAN carrier strike group (CSG) located east of the northeast tip of the Philippine main island of Luzon.Shandong launched and recovered fighters and helicopters. JMSDF destroyer JS Yugiri (DD-153) surveilled the Chinese strike group, according to the release.The Shandong CSG had previously deployed to the Philippine Sea Jul. 9-18 before returning to its homeport. The carrier deployed...

Using standards set forth by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act identify the country’s internal waters, archipelagic waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone, continental shelf and sea lanes. Manila wants these acts to solidify its rights and sovereignty within the Philippines’ maritime zones.Following the seizure of Scarborough Shoal in 2012 by Chinese forces, Manila turned to international courts to delegitimize Beijing’s claims in the region, culminating in the 2013 arbitration case and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitration. Despite the outcome of...

Egyptian authorities say 16 people are missing, including foreigners, and 28 have been rescued after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea. Two of those missing are British, the BBC understands. Finland has confirmed one of their nationals is unaccounted for, while authorities say four Egyptians are also missing. The boat with 44 people on board sent a distress signal at 05:30 (03:30 GMT), according to the governor of Red Sea province. Authorities have not indicated the possible cause of the incident, but added accounts of people onboard mentioned a wave hit the boat and caused it to capsize....

“The task force is comprised of U.S. forces providing our Philippines allies with enhanced cooperation and interoperability for their maritime operations,” reads a Monday statement from Pentagon spokesman Maj. Pete Nguyen provided to USNI News.Nguyen said the task force assists in planning and training for the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command. Philippine naval and air forces within this command frequently encounter their Chinese counterparts in the West Philippine Sea, an area of the South China Sea that Manila claims as its exclusive economic zone. Task Force Ayungin’s efforts included the integration of U.S.-funded unmanned surface vessels, which were...

Ryan Kobayashi, father of a 31-year-old Maui woman who vanished in Los Angeles nearly two weeks ago, was found dead near LAX early Sunday morning, officials confirmed. Ryan and other family members traveled to Los Angeles to search for his daughter, Hannah Kobayashi, who disappeared shortly after missing a connecting flight at LAX. On Monday, Nov. 18, Ryan spoke with KTLA in hopes of reaching his daughter. “I miss her,” he said. “Just want her to know that, and just want her to reach out – anything.” Hannah’s family has not heard from her since Nov. 10, and her last...

The object entered our orbit in September. Image credit: buradaki/Shutterstock.com Earlier this year, the number of moons orbiting Earth temporarily doubled, admittedly from the low starting point of "one". Taking a closer look at the new mini-moon, astronomers have learned more about its origin. On August 7, astronomers discovered a new near-Earth object, dubbed 2024 PT5. Analyzing the object, around 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter, astronomers from the Complutense University of Madrid, Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos, found that it was on a pleasing trajectory. For 56.6 days, the asteroid would become captured...

Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton, speaking at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event, added “for the United States nuclear deterrence is baseline strategy” stopping adversaries from crossing thresholds because they know American capability to respond.China, being a nuclear power and rapidly expanding its arsenal, changes the strategic equation from the Cold War with the Soviet Union, he said. Where there was little economic interaction between Moscow and Washington in the Cold War, Beijing is a major trading partner with the United States.That “makes the whole dynamic a little different.” Later in the session, Cotton, Strategic Command’s commander, asked...

Russia has recruited hundreds of Yemeni mercenaries to reinforce its lines in Ukraine under the false promise of high salaried work and Russian citizenship, sources claim. Recruits say they have already been sent to the frontlines after being inducted into the Russian military with help from a Houthi-linked company. Many of those heading to Russia claim to have been press-ganged into the military under the promise of a well-paid career away from the frontlines, recruits told the FT. Yemenis expecting substantial salaries and safe employment in manufacturing roles say they were threatened and taken to Ukraine with little training after...

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said Sunday that President-elect Trump’s picks for his next administration have “got to get their background checks together.” Earlier in an interview, Klobuchar told ABC News’s Jonathan Karl that as a Senate Judiciary Committee member, she and her colleagues on the panel have a role “to look at the FBI background check and is to ask them questions to make sure they’re fulfilling the mission of the department” for Cabinet picks.

Authorities in Germany are drawing up plans to use metro stations as air raid shelters in response to the growing risk of war with Russia. The Federal Office for Civil Protection is looking at public buildings that could be converted into bunkers and plans to develop an app to help the public find shelters, Bild newspaper reported. The German public would also be encouraged to set up shelters at home, such as in basements. Germany has been scaling back its public bunker network since 2007, when the authorities decided they were no longer necessary. But Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,...

WHAT DO WE SEE IN THIS NEW VIDEO? In this video, men are seen desperately trying to save the life of Rosanne as they attempt to perform CPR. They use tools from a CPR kit in someone’s backpack on the ground. A man in an aviator hat pumps on her chest. A protester in a tan jacket cuts Rosanne’s shirt off to perform CRP. Ronald McAbee, a Sheriff from Tennessee, unbuttons Boyland’s pants and removes her belt to access the femoral artery in her leg to take a pulse. (McAbee still sits in pre-trial detention for the January 6th crime...

ecretary of State Antony Blinken has been receiving a major pummelling online after reports emerged that he held therapy cry sessions for White House employees following President-elect Donald Trump‘s election victory. The therapy sessions the State Department held for employees dealing with election fallout. An internal State Department email titled “Managing stress during change” encourages employees to attend a one-hour session to discuss their feelings about the election results. In other words, White House staff experiencing a major flare ups of TDS symptoms can come and have a group cry together at the expense of the American taxpayer. “Change is...

PALM BEACH, FL — Less than one month after the presidential election and still eight weeks away from his inauguration, experts have already confirmed that President-Elect Donald Trump now has the hottest cabinet of all time. Trump has quickly assembled his roster of officials as he prepared to commence his second term as president, drawing strong reactions from analysts who hailed his team as by far the sexiest cabinet in American history. "I just can't stop ogling his picks, especially that Border Czar," said one political expert. "We've always known that Trump had an affinity for surrounding himself with beautiful...

President-elect Donald J. Trump has always demanded loyalty from his aides, but few have answered the call quite like Natalie Harp. A 33-year-old former far-right cable host, Ms. Harp is nearly always at Mr. Trump’s side. She has written him a series of devotional letters, including one that says, “You are all that matters to me.” Once, when Mr. Trump was playing golf in Scotland, she ran behind his cart to keep him up to date with positive stories and social media posts. Little known beyond Mr. Trump’s immediate orbit, Ms. Harp is now poised to play a potentially influential...

cott Bessent spent the past 40 years studying economic history. Now, as Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Treasury Department, he has the chance to make his mark on it. As a hedge-fund manager, first at George Soros’s firm and later at his own, Bessent specialized in macro investing, or analyzing geopolitical situations and economic data to wager on big-picture market moves. He generated billions of dollars in profits betting on and against currencies, interest rates, stocks and other asset classes around the world. He was motivated to step out from behind his desk and get involved with Trump’s campaign...

Donald Trump’s popularity has surged among young Americans, jumping nearly 20 per cent with those aged 18-29 in the space of just over a week. “Conducted from November 17 to 19, the survey revealed that 57 percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 now hold a favorable view of Trump, marking a net favorability increase of 19 points in that demographic since the YouGov poll on November 9 and 12,” reports Newsweek. This segment of the demographic represented 16 per cent of the 2024 voting electorate A video posted to TikTok by a young woman underscores the enthusiasm towards Trump...

Should we do it again? Have been getting a lot of calls with a lot of strong opinions. Newscum is out in 2026.

In the last 10 days, the most liberal city in Texas has seen six murders, a unusual phenomena in the red state that prioritizes public safety. Austin's murder rate has spiked in recent years, along with crime, which has spiraled out of control. With several weeks in the year left, the capital city has recorded 62 homicides; compared to 73 in 2023. An all-time high of 88 murders took place in 2021. 'You're looking in Austin, prior to 2020, I believe it was the norm to have 25 homicides a year, so to go up from 25 to 30 homicides...

WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith has filed a motion to drop all four felony charges against President-elect Donald Trump in connection with his effort to overturn his 2020 presidential election in the lead-up to the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S Capitol. Trump was first indicted on four felonies in August 2023: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. The case was then put on hold for months as Trump’s team argued that Trump could not be prosecuted.