Free Republic

A colonel general dubbed "General Breakthrough" for distinguishing himself in key battles in Moscow's more than three-year-old war in Ukraine has been appointed head of Russia's land forces, the daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta said on Friday. The government daily said Andrei Mordvichev was born in 1976 in what was then Soviet Kazakhstan and last year was decorated as a Hero of Russia, the country's highest award. Mordvichev, previously head of the Central Military District, commanded operations that led to the 2022 surrender of Ukrainian units holding out in the Azovstal steelworks after a siege of about 80 days in the southern...

Living on Meds, Vitamin C and Ibogaine is not a high quality of life, and the only thing that has any real meaning is the quality of life of the majority of the citizenry, particularly the bottom 60% who own the fewest income-producing assets (i.e. capital). If the quality of life of the majority is tanking, all the glowing economic statistics in the world are nothing. We hear that high-paying jobs are stressful. Yes, they are, but precarity is stressful without the reward of ample compensation. Most people working for a living are stressed out, and so anti-anxiety / anti-depression...

While the peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are still showing a lot of promise, the war continues unabated – top Russian negotiator Medinsky quoted famed French General Napoleon to say that ‘Wars & negotiations take place at same time’. And it seems that the longer the conflict lasts, the more painful the territorial losses of the Kiev regime will be. As rumors have been circling around for a few months of an upcoming big Russian offensive, President Vladimir Putin made a pivotal change in the command structure of his army, elevating a young, hungry and accomplished General that –...

During an interview aired on Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” President Donald Trump stated that Iran wants to trade with the U.S. and he’s fine with that, because “I’m using trade to settle scores and to make peace.” Trump said, [relevant remarks begin around 8:30] “Iran wants to trade with us, okay, if you can believe that, and I’m okay with it. I’m using trade to settle scores and to make peace. But I’ve told Iran, we make a deal, you’re going to be really — you’re going to be very happy.” He continued, “But, more...

A federal judge in Texas struck down guidance from a government agency establishing protections against workplace harassment based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Thursday determined that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission exceeded its statutory authority when the agency issued guidance to employers against deliberately using the wrong pronouns for an employee, refusing them access to bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity, and barring employees from wearing dress code-compliant clothing according to their gender identity because they may constitute forms of workplace harassment....

Axios has obtained recordings of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s October 8, 2023 interview of President Biden in the Biden version of the documents case. Marc Caputo and Alex Thompson introduce the four-minute audio clip below: “Amid long, uncomfortable pauses, Joe Biden struggled to recall when his son died, when he left office as vice president, what year Donald Trump was elected or why he had classified documents he shouldn’t have had, according to audio Axios obtained of his October 2023 interviews with special counsel Robert Hur.” Caputo and Thompson observe in their summary: “The recordings appear to validate special counsel...

A prominent critic of President Donald Trump sends what would appear to be a coded message: They subtly display four digits: an “86” followed by the two digits that denote Trump’s presidency.But the year is not 2025 with former FBI director James B. Comey; it’s 2020 with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D). While Comey on Thursday stoked controversy by posting a photo of seashells arranged in a formation of “86 47,” Whitmer engaged in a similar form of political protest five years ago. She appeared on television with a tiny “86 45” pin displayed on the table next to her.The...

With their party facing record low approval ratings, many top Democrats are trying to reposition themselves from Biden boosters to truth-tellers of what really happened in 2024.In February 2024, when quizzed on President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s ability to communicate his re-election message, Senator Chris Murphy, the Connecticut Democrat, quickly vouched for him.“I know that he is ready for this campaign,” he told CBS News. “I have seen how effective he has been up close and personal.”But five months into 2025, Mr. Murphy is on the leading edge of top Democrats aiming to Etch A Sketch away their past endorsements...

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s not really about the books.President Donald Trump’s abrupt firing of top officials at the Library of Congress and equally sudden attempt to appoint a slate of loyalists as replacements has instead morphed into an enormous fight over the separation of powers, as the White House tries to wrest control of what has for centuries been a legislative institution.It’s a power struggle with potentially vast consequences. The Library of Congress not only stores the world’s largest collection of books but also an office overseeing reams of copyrighted material of untold value. There is a research institute that...

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is working on a plan to permanently relocate as much as one million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya, NBC News reported on Friday, citing five people with knowledge of the matter. Citing two people with direct knowledge and a former U.S. official, NBC also reported that the plan is under serious enough consideration that the U.S. has discussed it with Libya's leadership. In exchange for resettling the Palestinians, the administration would release to Libya billions of dollars of funds the U.S. froze more than a decade ago, according to NBC...

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department plans to press ahead with a merger of its two agencies that investigate drug and firearms offenses, though the effort would still need approval from Congress, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.In a meeting on Thursday, officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were informed that the merger could be executed as soon as October, one of the sources said, speaking anonymously because the discussions are not public.The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade...

Herlyn Barrientos wasn’t happy to run into a fellow member of his gang in the produce section of his local grocery store.A burly man with tattoos inked on his head and face, Barrientos was from MS-13, a group notorious for savage killings. Federal prosecutors alleged the Honduran national, nicknamed “Doctorazo,” supplied methamphetamine to MS-13 members across Los Angeles, who sold the drug and kicked up a cut to the gang’s imprisoned leader. Charged with drug trafficking in 2023, Barrientos decided to turn on his gang and cooperate with the FBI. A judge signed off on his release from jail, and...

The justices did not address the broader question about whether Trump officials can legally invoke the Alien Enemies Act to target alleged gang members.A divided Supreme Court on Friday kept a block on the Trump administration’s use of a rarely invoked wartime power to deport migrants in Northern Texas and said administration officials had not given those targeted for removal last month sufficient time to challenge their deportations.The majority called the detainees’ interests “particularly weighty” because of the risk of removal to a notorious megaprison in El Salvador where the migrants could face indefinite detention.President Donald Trump’s use of the...

Amid long, uncomfortable pauses, Joe Biden struggled to recall when his son died, when he left office as vice president, what year Donald Trump was elected or why he had classified documents he shouldn't have had, according to audio Axios obtained of his October 2023 interviews with special counsel Robert Hur.

A public health alert has been issued for some ready-to-eat wraps amid concerns that the products may be contaminated with listeria. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) earlier this week issued the alert for Rachel’s Food Corp. chicken and bacon ranch wraps sold in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. A recall was not requested because the affected products are no longer available for purchase, according to the announcement. “The problem was discovered when a state public health partner notified FSIS of a product sample that tested positive for listeria monocytogenes,” the FSIS said.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men worldwide, accounting for more than 1.4 million new cases each year. For many patients, radiotherapy is a standard treatment option that offers outcomes comparable to surgery, particularly for localized disease. As an outpatient procedure, it allows men to maintain much of their daily routine during treatment. However, traditional radiotherapy schedules typically span several weeks, which can be burdensome for patients and put pressure on health care structures and radiotherapy capacity. A major clinical trial (HYPO-RT-PC) has shown that a significantly shorter course of radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer is just...

Russia told Ukraine it could fight for at least another 21 years during peace talks that ended in acrimony in Istanbul. Vladimir Medinsky, a Kremlin aide who led the Russian delegation, said Moscow wanted peace but would fight “however long it takes”. “We don’t want war, but we’re ready to fight for a year, two, three, however long it takes. We fought Sweden for 21 years. How long are you ready to fight?” he told the Ukrainian delegation. The Great Northern War, fought between Russia and Sweden, lasted for 21 years, from 1700 to 1721 during the rule of Peter...

Last September, I found myself — confused, groggy and irritable — staring into the surgical dome light of my local hospital’s emergency room. I had been found by a passing police officer, not breathing, and with no pulse, after my ventilator hose had become disconnected and severe hypoxia kicked in. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation brought me back, and I’d been transported to the ER. I was alive — thanks to the determination of law enforcers and local medical personnel to keep me that way. New York’s proposed Medical Aid in Dying Act threatens to undo this presumption in favor of lifesaving, especially...

Ed just wrote an excellent piece on the "Biden Nightmare" being an anvil around the neck of the Democrats. And it is true that both the media and the Democrats have taken a major hit in their approval ratings, and that some Democrats and left-leaning Independents have reconsidered their allegiance to both. And yet, many of those people who say they have lost trust in these institutions are still accepting their characterizations of what Trump is doing. This phenomenon is called the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect. The Gell-Mann amnesia effect is a cognitive bias describing the tendency of individuals to critically...

The newly elected Pope Leo XIV has suggested that the Vatican could host high-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, as Istanbul talks were watered down following Russian President Vladimir Putin's refusal to come face to face with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin's statement on Friday, the supreme pontiff plans to "if necessary, provide the Vatican, the Holy See, as a direct meeting (place) between the two sides." Parolin has also expressed his disappointment with the talks in Turkey, which took place on Friday. "It's all tragic because we hoped that a...