Free Republic

Tariff revenue spiked in April as President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" import taxes went into effect. The government collected $15.9 billion in tariff revenue in April so far, compared to $9.6 billion in all of March. The tariffs were partly devised to raise money to fund the government, but economists warn they could also push up the cost of living. President Donald Trump's tariffs have become a financial reality at the nation's borders. Trump's stated goals for his import taxes include raising revenue to fund the government, restoring U.S. manufacturing by protecting it from foreign competition, and pressuring foreign governments...

Three people have been killed in a shooting in the Swedish city of Uppsala, police have confirmed. The shooting took place at a hair salon close to Vaksala Square in the centre of the city, local media reported. The shooter, who fled on a scooter, is still on the run, according to the reports. Officers have cordoned off a large area and a murder investigation is under way. The incident happened on the eve of the Walpurgis spring festival, which brings large crowds onto the streets of Uppsala, a city located north of the capital Stockholm, and known for its...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that he had "proudly ended" the Women, Peace and Security program at the Pentagon on Tuesday, a program signed into law by President Donald Trump in his first term. "WPS is yet another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops – distracting from our core task: WAR-FIGHTING," Hegseth wrote in a post on X. "WPS is a UNITED NATIONS program pushed by feminists and left-wing activists. Politicians fawn over it; troops HATE it." Hegseth said the department would comply with the minimum requirements of the program dictated by law and lobby to...

The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that a former college football player who was shot by his teammate cannot sue gunmaker Beretta over his injuries. a victory not only for the firearms company, but for common sense as well. In 2018, about four months after Andre Lewis purchased a Beretta APX 9mm handgun, Lewis decided to show it off to his Emporia State University teammate Marquise Johnson while the pair were idling at a stoplight in the town of Emporia. According to the complaint, Lewis wanted to show Johnson that he knew how to properly disassemble the pistol, and apparently...

HÀ NỘI — Promising developments are being made in the ongoing tariff negotiations between Việt Nam and the US, despite persistent trade challenges. That's according to Đỗ Ngọc Hưng, Trade Counsellor to the US, speaking at a conference for Việt Nam trade offices abroad held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on April 28. The conference underscored that while global tariff tensions are creating hurdles, they also present opportunities for Việt Nam to restructure its trade strategies, boost innovation and expand its global footprint. Strengthened international cooperation, improved domestic competitiveness and agile policy support remain key to navigating this...

China, the European Union, Mexico, and Canada are among the United States’ largest trading partners and some of the most vocal opponents of the new tariffs. Their leaders and citizens try to create the illusion that they can do without the U.S. as a client, but the reality is different. There is no alternative market capable of replacing the American consumer. These countries already trade globally, and there is little room for world demand to grow enough to offset lost exports to the U.S.Their dependence extends beyond trade. They rely heavily on access to U.S. dollars, U.S. investment, and foreign...

PULSE POINTS:❓What Happened: Walmart has announced new programs, including “Grow with US” and the 2025 Open Call, to expand support for American-made products and American small businesses, as President Donald J. Trump pursues a policy of supporting American producers through tariffs on foreign goods.👥 Who’s Involved: Walmart U.S., led by President and CEO John Furner and CFO John David Rainey, alongside U.S. small businesses and entrepreneurs.📍 Where & When: Announced on April 29, 2025, with Open Call events starting May 1 in Orlando, Florida, and the main event on October 7-8 in Bentonville, Arkansas.💬 Key Quote: John Furner stated, “We’ve...

[Catholic Caucus] Appeal for a Worldwide Crusade of Prayers for the Upcoming ConclaveMay the Lord in His infinite mercy look upon the prayers, tears and sacrifices of all true Catholics who love our Mother Church, who in these days humbly and confidently implore the infinite Mercy of God to grant us a new Pope, who burning with the zeal for the glory of Christ and the salvation of souls, will “strengthen the brethren in faith” (Luke 22:32), being uncompromisingly faithful to his name and duty as Successor of Peter and Vicar of Christ on earth.May through a new Pope, burning...

Canadian Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is projected to lose the parliamentary seat he has held for more than 20 years in a stunning defeat to Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), a state-owned outlet, projected the loss on Tuesday morning following Monday’s federal election. However, Elections Canada’s decision to pause the counting of special ballots means it remains unclear whether the Liberals, led by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, will walk away with a minority or majority mandate. Fanjoy, who is projected to take Poilievre’s seat in Parliament, worked in business and marketing and lives in a...

From Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, Russian schoolchildren are preparing for the most important holiday of the year: Victory Day. Commemorated with a grand military parade on Moscow’s Red Square every May 9, the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany has long been used by authorities to rally support for the state. And it starts in school. In September 2016, three history textbooks were sanctioned by the Ministry of Education, all of which gloss over Stalin’s crimes and his initial alliance with Nazi Germany. “My main issue with the textbooks is that they do not reveal the whole truth,” says historian and...

A Labor Department program designed to train 16- to 24-year-olds to join the workforce spends more per person annually than Ivy League colleges, but participants wind up making minimum wage on average — raising questions about whether it should continue to exist. The Job Corps pays teenage runaways, high school dropouts, and twentysomething ex-cons to live in dormitories and receive their GEDs and vocational training. The national cost per graduate was $188,000, with the average graduate staying 13.5 months. Of more than 110 campuses, the 10 least efficient averaged a cost of $385,000 per graduate. Job Corps participants earn $16,695...

A report that Amazon would display price increases due to tariffs on its goods — which the company has since denied — landed CEO Jeff Bezos a phone call from President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Breitbart News can confirm. CNN White House reporter Alayna Treene, citing two senior White House officials speaking anonymously, reported that Trump personally called Amazon’s founder to confront him about the report. A source familiar verified to Breitbart News that there was a call between Trump and Bezos in the morning. Punchbowl News first reported on Amazon’s alleged plan “to showcase how much tariffs were contributing...

WATCH LIVE: Trump delivers remarks to Michigan National Guard The appearance is part of back-to-back events in Michigan marking the 100th day of the president's second term.

Sir Tony Blair has called for a major rethink of net zero policies, arguing that limiting energy consumption and fossil fuel production is "doomed to fail". In a new report, the former Labour prime minister says voters "feel they're being asked to make financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle when they know the impact on global emissions is minimal". He does not call for Labour to halt its push to decarbonise the UK economy - but says all governments need to rethink their approach, as it is not working. The Tories - who have joined Reform UK in opposing net...

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) is set to join President Trump during a Tuesday visit at the Selfridge Air National Guard Base in the Great Lakes State, the White House said. The appearance comes just a couple of weeks after Whitmer took heat from both sides of the aisle for a White House visit earlier this month, her second since the inauguration. After Trump brought the governor into the Oval Office during an executive order signing involving her state, a photo of Whitmer appearing to hide her face behind folders garnered ridicule and underscored the tough political terrain of the...

Stalin, a cynical and clever leader, didn’t experience any epiphany but simply knew that taking it easy on the Orthodox Church was important for winning the war. First, many Soviet citizens remained secretly religious (which was not directly forbidden), so the “legalization” of Orthodoxy helped to keep the nation at war united – quite a crucial thing. Second, the Allies were pushing Stalin towards loosening his grip on the religious: the oppression of the faithful was bad publicity, internationally speaking. Third, in 1943 the Red Army was regaining the Soviet lands previously occupied by Germans. The occupants, trying to gain...

While more than 55,000 unionized workers for Los Angeles County are set to strike Monday evening, county officials said there is simply no money to meet the employees’ demands. The members of Service Employees International Union Local 721, including public works employees, library workers and mental health professionals, were expected to walk off the job for 48 hours, starting at 7 p.m. Monday, accusing the county of failing to negotiate a new labor contract fairly. “We faced nothing less than disrespect at the bargaining table,” a union leader said during a rally, claiming the county's proposal was a 0% increase...

This is what I am fighting for: Here are the Ten Commandements of Real Journalism: Journalists are not lawyers in a court of law trying to prove a case or activists campaigning for a cause. Our job is to seek the truth no matter what and follow the facts wherever they lead us regardless of political outcomes or consequences. It is not the role of a journalist to decide what people should think. Our duty is to search for the whole truth and communicate accurately and honestly so the audience or reader can make up their own mind.Thou shalt not...

SICK Putin has returned the disfigured body of a tortured Ukrainian journalist - after Russian pawns removed her brain and eyes. Award-winning reporter Viktoria Roschyna, 27, was brutally beaten to a pulp in occupied Ukraine where she was being held as a prisoner of war. Vile Vlad's troops sent a body bag to Ukraine, marking the corpse as an "unidentified male". But DNA testing confirmed the emaciated body - with her head shaved and a neck bone broken - was Roshchyna's. Ukrainian authorities confirmed there were "numerous signs of torture and cruel treatment". Investigators also found burn marks on her...

Europe would struggle to collectively muster 25,000 troops to be part of a “deterrence” force in Ukraine because its armies are undermanned and underfunded, sources have disclosed. The Times was given a rare insight into conversations between Europe’s defence ministers and military chiefs as they thrashed out plans for a “coalition of the willing” force. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the British chief of the defence staff, is said to have asked his counterparts on the Continent if they could put together a 64,000-strong force to send to the country in the event of a peace deal.