Free Republic

China has warned countries against striking a broader economic deal with the United States at its expense, ratcheting up its rhetoric in a spiraling trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. The Asian country respects all parties resolving economic and trade differences with the United States through consultation on an equal footing, but it will firmly oppose any party striking a deal at China’s expense, its Commerce Ministry said. Chinese officials “will take countermeasures in a resolute and reciprocal manner” if any country sought such deals, a ministry spokesperson said, addressing a news report that the Trump Administration was...

"The door is closed," said a would-be migrant to the US. Yorman Briceno, who was anticipating applying for asylum in the United States, has found his plans stalled as he waits at a shelter in Ciudad Juarez, near the border crossing at El Paso, Texas. The Trump administration has not only quashed illegal immigration but has put a chill on legal immigration as well. "There's no more hope for entering legally as long as Donald Trump is there," Briceno told The Wall Street Journal, "and anyone telling you otherwise is lying." Border crossings have hit their lowest level since the...

Chinese researchers have successfully detonated a hydrogen-based explosive device in a controlled field test, triggering devastating chemical chain reactions without using any nuclear materials, according to a study published last month. The 2kg (4.4lbs) bomb generated a fireball exceeding 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit) for more than two seconds – 15 times longer than equivalent TNT blasts – without using any nuclear materials, it said. Developed by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s (CSSC) 705 Research Institute, a key player in underwater weapon systems, the device uses a magnesium-based solid-state hydrogen storage material. Chinese researchers have successfully detonated a hydrogen-based...

It looks as though trade progress is being made with Japan, as concessions about automobiles were reported on this weekend, signaling that Trump administration could be heading towards a revised agreement with the key ally nation. Japan may loosen auto safety rules for U.S. imports to address President Trump’s concerns over the low number of American cars sold there, Nikkei reports. With differing safety standards between the two countries, Tokyo is eyeing crash test regulations as a possible trade concession, according to Nikkei. During a White House meeting, Trump criticized Japan’s trade surplus and poor U.S. auto sales. Cabinet-level talks...

Four American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) affiliates filed a lawsuit on April 18 asking a federal court to reinstate the legal status of international students who have had their visas revoked. Multiple ACLU affiliates and the law firm Shaheen & Gordon filed a federal class action lawsuit representing more than 100 foreign students in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico who they say had their F-1 student immigration status “unlawfully and abruptly terminated with no specified reason as to why.”The students include several at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design, who had their student...

Inflation risk has been a significant topic of discussion in the mainstream media for the last few years. Such is unsurprising given that inflation spiked following the pandemic in 2020 as consumer spending (demand) was shot into overdrive from stimulus payments and production (supply) was shuttered. To understand why that occurred, we need to revisit “Economics 101.”“In economics, inflation is a general increase in the prices of goods and services. Changes in inflation are a function of fluctuations in actual demand for goods and services (also known as demand shocks, including changes in fiscal or monetary policy or recession), changes...

Is the media serious with this story? They’re trying to do Signalgate 2.0, but this time trying to rope in Secretary of Defense’s Pete Hegseth’s wife? It would appear so. In March, the Wall Street Journal ran with a story in which Hegseth shared sensitive information at a meeting where his wife was allegedly present. We don’t know if this is true because no one would go on the record to confirm it. Now, we have The New York Times trying to rehash the Signal stuff again, based on “four people with knowledge of the chat” (via NYT): Defense Secretary...

Last week, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) scrambled to contain the fallout from his tone-deaf El Salvador stunt that quickly turned into a political fiasco. The Maryland Democrat, who initially grandstanded about his efforts to “rescue” a deported MS-13 gang member, is now in full damage control mode—desperately trying to rewrite the narrative of a trip that backfired spectacularly. Van Hollen even hit the Sunday talk shows to contain the fallout. Curiously insisting to Jonathan Karl of ABC News’s “This Week” that he’s not defending Kilmar Abrego Garcia, but that he’s defending “the rule of law.” Host Jonathan Karl pressed...

Please join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media.1 Timothy 2:1-2 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.Religion Forum threads labeled “Prayer” are closed to debate of any kind.

Sunday is a “clearing the spindle” day, and one of the things on my spindle has been Nate Silver’s prediction last week that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, aka AOC, is currently the most likely person to be the Democrat party’s 2028 presidential candidate. Frankly, I think he’s right. She’s telegenic, has name recognition, and manages to make the same politics that killed tens of millions of people in the 20th century seem user-friendly. She’s also Bernie Sanders’ anointed heir, and he missed the nomination in 2016 and 2020 only because the Democrat party panicked. Last week, Nate Silver, while acknowledging that it’s...

Ridicule and intrigue seem to hang on Joe Biden even three months after he was evicted from the White House. The latest controversy stems from the Biden family Easter photo which was clearly manipulated to add the patriarch.X users instantly sniffed out the Photoshop subterfuge.[snip]Here is Grok’s Artificial Intelligence analysis:To determine whether Joe Biden was photoshopped into the image, I’ve carefully analyzed several key aspects of the photo: lighting and shadows, edges and blending, interactions with others, and overall composition. Here’s the evidence that suggests Joe Biden was indeed digitally added to the scene.

Giorgia Meloni’s interpreter has apologized for faltering during a high-stakes meeting with Donald Trump earlier this week, prompting the Italian prime minister to jump in and translate her own comments about NATO and defense spending. Valentina Maiolini-Rothbacher, who was interrupted by Meloni when providing a translation at the White House meeting on Thursday, said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that the mishap was the “worst thing that can happen to an interpreter, a terrible setback.” Footage of the meeting shows President Trump asking Maiolini-Rothbacher for a translation of Meloni’s response to a question from an Italian...

Some arrogant BBC reporter tries to lecture Bukele about “human right” for gang members in El Salvador, after Bukele was elected for his second term. Let's just say it did not end well for the BBC reporter. Trouble with these moronic western legacy media is, they'll do everything possible to defend vicious criminals. Meanwhile, they never run anything in their lives. They just write nonsense every day and get paid for it too. Worth watching.

Watch VideoFox News host Mark Levin gives his take on the judicial branch’s role on ‘Life, Liberty & Levin.’

Sydney Johnston grew up in a nondenominational Christian household — but now the Upper West Side millennial is a devout Catholic. “There’s just something so beautiful and transcendent about the rituals and the ancient history in the Catholic Mass that’s been preserved,” Johnston, 30, told The Post. “The church really communicates a degree of reverence that I didn’t find in the more liberal, laissez-faire approach of nondenominational churches.” Confirmed in December 2024 at the Church of Notre Dame in Morningside Heights, Johnston is one of a growing number of young people turning to the Catholic Church from other denominations, religions...

For the first time, archaeologists discovered an industrial purple-dye factory that remained in business for 500 years between 1100 and 600 BCE in Israel, highlighting a famous and mysterious color in textile history.The color purple had long symbolized political and spiritual authority and wealth. However, until now, little evidence has surfaced of a physical location where extraction and processing took place.A team from the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University and the University of Chicago recently uncovered the first site in "the entire world" at the fishing village of Tel Shiqmona on Israel's Carmel coast. And the number...

Their critics call them MAGA Catholics. Others label them as traditionalists — even fundamentalists. What is certain is that conservative or “faithful” Catholics, as they often prefer to be known, seem to be everywhere right now — from the new candidate for America’s ambassador to the Holy See to holding dinners and prayers services at Mar-A-Lago. This small but fervent wave of new conservative Catholicism is exploding nationwide — more visible than ever as they celebrate their resurrection victory this Easter Sunday.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - While Christians have often complained of bias in the selection of which days Google honors with its "Google Doodles," believers around the country were reportedly ecstatic to find that the search and advertising giant chose to honor the empty tomb of Jesus on Easter morning with an empty homepage. While many significant holidays like International Women's Day, Labor Day, and "Celebrating Pad Thai" are honored with a specially designed Google logo for the day, the celebration of Jesus's resurrection was given the highest honor, with a completely unaltered Google homepage. "Just as Christ left a completely...

Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects approximately 280 million people globally and is one of the leading causes of disability. One in every three people suffering from MDD also has to deal with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), a condition where patients do not respond to at least two antidepressant trials. Esketamine nasal spray, a rapid-acting anti-depressant, is known to be effective against TRD when administered alongside antidepressants like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI). A study retrospectively compared the effectiveness of both the combinations in treating TRD and found that esketamine plus SNRI showed significantly better overall...

Blue laser vaporization alleviates lower urinary tract symptoms while preserving sexual function in patients undergoing benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) surgery, according to a study. Zun-Jie Hu and colleagues assessed the impact of 450-nm blue laser vaporization on sexual function in 67 patients (median age, 65 years) undergoing BPH surgery and followed for three months. The researchers found that blue laser vaporization significantly improved International Prostate Symptom Score, quality of life, and International Consultation on Incontinence Modular Questionnaire for Male Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (ICIQ-MLUTS) scores. Blue laser vaporization was also significantly associated with a reduction in postvoid residual volume. There...