Free Republic

The flow of natural gas from Russia to Europe was suspended Wednesday after Ukraine said it would not renew a deal allowing Russian gas to transit its territory, ending an energy supply route that dates back some 60 years.In a statement posted to Telegram, Russian energy company Gazprom said it was no longer sending gas because of the expiration of the agreement Wednesday.“Due to the repeated and explicit refusal of the Ukrainian side to extend these agreements, Gazprom was deprived of the technical and legal ability to supply gas for transit through the territory of Ukraine from January 1, 2025....

The assassination attempts against President-elect Donald Trump last year reportedly occurred after lawmakers and presidential administrations failed to address weaknesses within the Secret Service during the past decade. Separate 2014 investigations by the White House and Congress found that the Secret Service was in crisis and pushed beyond its capabilities. Leadership also tended to cover up problems rather than address them, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. The result was recommendations that included an increase in agent training and the hiring of fresh leadership. However, the Post reported that instead of being fixed, some Secret Service problems have grown worse. For...

When President Biden appeared on camera to pay tribute to former President Jimmy Carter, he sounded almost as if he were thinking of himself in these final days in office.“In today’s world, some look at Jimmy Carter and see a man of a bygone era — with honesty and character, faith and humility,” Mr. Biden said in breaking away from his Caribbean vacation on Sunday after the former president’s death. “It mattered. But I don’t believe it’s a bygone era.”Mr. Biden, too, has been dismissed as a man of a bygone era, an old-school politician in a new-school world, an...

Tim Young @TimRunsHisMouth Anne Kirkpatrick, New Orleans elderly, female police chief ran over 2 people in her car in August.

An FBI official said Wednesday the bureau does not believe the suspect in the fatal New Year’s Day truck crash in New Orleans acted alone. A man identified by authorities as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, rammed a pickup truck into a crowd, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens of others before being shot to death by police, authorities said. The FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism. An Islamic State group flag was found on the vehicle's trailer hitch, the FBI said. The bureau said Jabbar was a U.S. citizen from Texas and added it is working...

Diplo ended 2024 on a high — literally. The 46-year-old DJ shocked Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper when he revealed he was tripping on LSD during his virtual appearance on CNN’s New Year’s Eve special. “I’m so curious, what’s the most conventional place that you’ve done LSD?” Cohen, 56, asked Diplo. “Right now,” Diplo responded. Cooper, 57, burst out laughing as Cohen was in disbelief over Diplo’s confession. “Yeah, I did some on the helicopter, on the way here,” Diplo explained. “Oh my God, hold on. Hold on. Please tell me. You’re tripping right now?” Cohen asked Diplo, who said...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business; End to Sex Slavery; Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14)Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

To imagine the kind of future a hotter, dryer climate may bring, and the geopolitical challenges it will create, look no farther than two parts of the world that Donald Trump wants America to control: Greenland and the Panama Canal.The president-elect in recent days has insisted that both places are critical to United States national security. He’s called to reclaim control the Panama Canal from Panama and acquire Greenland from Denmark, both sovereign territories with their own governments.They have something else in common as well: Both are significantly affected by climate change in ways that present looming challenges to global...

Two men were stabbed within the city’s subway in separate Wednesday morning attacks as transit violence spilled over into the new year, cops said. A 30-year-old man got into an argument with another commuter on the No. 1 train platform at 110th Street-Cathedral Parkway around 9:30 a.m., when his rival knifed him once in the arm, authorities and sources said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside, where he was listed in stable condition. It’s unclear whether the two men knew each other. The attacker took off and no arrests have been made.

Meteorologists are raising alarms over worsening polar vortex conditions that could bring extreme cold and widespread disruptions.Why It MattersSo far, this winter has seen one of the warmest Decembers on record in much of the northern United States. Though many residents experienced snow around the holidays, snow coverage was still at or near 20-year lows.However, the polar vortex could bring severe weather conditions, including heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures, that could affect travel conditions or prompt school closures.What To KnowAccording to temperature outlook data, mapped by Pivotal Weather, North Dakota could see temperatures as low as 8 degrees on New...

Video of Shamsud Din Jabbar, born in Texas, former U.S. Army soldier.

From tomorrow, the minimum wage will increase by 80 cent to €13.50 per hour, directly benefiting an estimated 195,000 workers. However, many small businesses are warning it will be the latest in a series of cost increases and that ultimately it could be the consumer that will have to pay in the form of higher prices. Mark O’Keeffe runs the Brown Sugar hair salons in Dublin. “This is another increase in the minimum wage and it means it has gone up by 36% since 2020,” Mr. O’Keeffe said. “It’s becoming very challenging for us to absorb because to have deal...

President-elect Donald Trump has made clear his intent to supercharge his “America First” approach to foreign policy in his second term — and Mexico looks set to be at the tip of the spear.While many of Trump’s predecessors have also followed a “realist” strategy — that is, one in which relative power is at the forefront of international relations and diplomatic success is viewed through how it benefits one’s own nation — the incoming president has displayed an apparent unwillingness to consider the pain that his plans would inflict on targeted countries or the responses this will engender.Trump’s proposed policies...

Senator John Kennedy (LA) spoke briefly at New Orleans press conference. He hints at the larger conspiracy we all suspect and promises that, at the appropriate time, the public will have the full story, with or without the FBI's cooperation.

A Virginia man, Brad Spafford, 36, was arrested earlier this month after authorities discovered what they claim is the largest stockpile of homemade explosives in FBI history. Spafford, who reportedly used images of Joe Biden for target practice, is being labeled by federal agents as an “extreme danger to the community.” During a search of Spafford’s 20-acre property, authorities found over 150 homemade explosive devices, including pipe bombs labeled as “lethal.”

A Texas children’s hospital is refusing to both treat and discharge a young boy in dire need of a new, unvaccinated kidney, despite the fact that he has a matching and qualified donor standing by ready and willing to donate her own kidney – the boy’s mother. Exclusive audio and phone call recordings obtained by National File confirm that Doctors at Medical City Hospital in Dallas refused to disclose the Covid vaccination status of the deceased donor of a previous kidney doctors attempted to transplant. That transplant attempt failed catastrophically, ending with rapid clotting taking over large portions of the...

President Joe Biden is being criticized for his 'tone deaf' response after an overnight tragedy left at least 10 dead and 30 others injured at a New Orleans New Year's Eve celebration. Biden's first post on X in 2025 was a simple 'Happy New Year, folks' at 10am ET. That comes just hours after an alleged attacker plowed into a joyous crowd on Bourbon Street around 3 a.m. local time on Wednesday. Furious social media users immediately pointed out his 'heartless' blunder, calling it out of touch and insensitive to the victims and their families. 'Joe Biden is a heartless...

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon reacted to the deadly ramming attack in New Orleans on New Year's Day. "The horrific terror attack in New Orleans, taking the lives of innocent people as they celebrated the new year, is heartbreaking. I extend my deepest condolences to the victims' families and pray for the swift recovery of the injured, including two Israelis," Danon said. "This is not how 2025 should begin. How many more lives must be shattered before the world wakes up? The international community cannot turn a blind eye to the brutal reality of terror. We must eliminate...

Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Tuesday warned that judges nationwide are under increasing threat from violence, intimidation, disinformation and officials threatening to defy lawful court decisions. Roberts said that robust criticism of judicial rulings is part of American civic life, but that some recent attacks had gone too far in threatening to undermine the independence necessary for judges to rule impartially. “Violence, intimidation, and defiance directed at judges because of their work undermine our Republic, and are wholly unacceptable,” Roberts wrote in his annual report on the state of the nation’s judiciary. The justice’s message follows...

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Federal agents found one of the largest stockpiles of homemade explosives they have ever seized when they arrested a Virginia man on a firearms charge last month, according to a court filing by federal prosecutors. Investigators seized more than 150 pipe bombs and other homemade devices when they searched the home of Brad Spafford northwest of Norfolk in December, the prosecutors said in a motion filed Monday. The prosecutors wrote that this is believed to be “the largest seizure by number of finished explosive devices in FBI history.” Most of the bombs were found in a...