Free Republic

Authorities identified the suspect in the explosion at a Palm Springs, California, fertility clinic as Guy Edward Bartkus, 25, of Twentynine Palms, saying at a news conference Sunday that he is the man suspected to have died in the bombing that injured four other people. Akil Davis, the head of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said that all embryos at the facility were saved. “Good guys one, bad guys zero,” Davis said. Investigators called the explosion on Saturday an “intentional act of terrorism.” The suspect posted writings online and attempted to record the explosion, though authorities said the video...

DALLAS - Gateway Church founder Robert Morris asked the church for millions of dollars shortly after resigning, the church alleges in court documents filed in Tarrant County. Morris is accused in court documents of asking for a $1 million payout and for the church to pay between $600,000-$800,000 to retirement accounts for himself and his wife for as long as they live. The church said it refused the payments and said that Morris had attempted to circumvent the mediation process. The church is asking the court to issue a stay on Morris' request for an arbitration hearing on the funds,...

MOSCOW (Reuters) -The founder of the Telegram messaging app said on Sunday he had refused a request by a Western government, which he did not name but appeared to imply was France, to silence conservative voices in Romania ahead of a presidential election run-off there.

The first Democrat is now officially running for Sen. Mitch McConnell's seat. Pamela Stevenson, the top-ranking Democrat in the Republican-led Kentucky House, has launched her bid for the seat. Stevenson, a retired Air Force colonel, has served in the state House since 2021. Republican and former attorney general, Daniel Cameron, is also running for McConnell's seat. There are several other Republicans considering running, including Congressman Andy Barr. McConnell announced in February he would not seek re-election. His term ends in January 2027.

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy in Rome Sunday for ongoing peace talks as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues. "During our talks we discussed negotiations in Istanbul to where the Russians sent a low-level delegation of non-decision-makers. I reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible," Zelenskyy shared on X of the meeting. "We have also touched upon the need for sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defense cooperation, battlefield situation and...

He's not exactly a buttoned-down Brooks Brothers suit-wearing — or even a beer-drinking MAGA hat-wearing kind of Trump supporter that you would expect. But he's hellbent on making New Jersey a red state, following his great success in helping President Donald Trump win Pennsylvania. He targeted low propensity voters in Pennsylvania and got them to register and vote. Groups like truckers, hunters and even the Amish were receptive to his message and turned out to vote Republican in the election last year, handing over the important and pivotal state of Pennsylvania to Trump. Presler is in his mid-30s and came...

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that America was stuck with a “madman” in the Oval Office because Democrats did not force then-President Joe Biden to step down. Murphy said, “The president should have gotten out of the race earlier, there’s no doubt the Democratic Party would have been better served by having the ability to have a primary, Kamala Harris probably would have done very well in the process but in retrospect, we lost so we can’t defend the way in which our politics played out.”

…House and Senate leaders are already in close consultation with the White House about key candidates who would benefit from Trump's endorsement, both to navigate primaries and to gin up general election support. His political operation is banking millions of dollars in explicitly Trump-aligned political groups that will play heavily in the midterms alongside Republicans' party committees and principal congressional super PACs. And then, top Republicans expect the rest of the party to lean into Trump's message to make the best possible pitch to his supporters to vote in 2026. “The push needs to be to push that energy. In...

Billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, whose list of clients included some of the world’s most elite, really killed himself inside his jail cell, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino said.Speaking to Fox News Sunday Morning Futures’ Maria Bartiromo, Patel and Bongino both confirmed the deceased hedge fund manager who owned Pedophile Island died by suicide inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City.“You said Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide. People don’t believe it,” Bartiromo pressed the pair.“They have a right to their opinion,” Patel responded.“But as someone who’s been a public defender, a prosecutor, who’s worked in that...

There has been a lot of discussion about who was running the Biden administration against the backdrop of numerous revelations about his cognitive incapacity while in office. However, one key point keeps being overlooked about the DOJ during his tenure.Merrick Garland was not selected to be Joe Biden’s Attorney General because the crew in control of the events wanted Merrick Garland as Attorney General. Garland was removed from his position as DC Circuit Court Justice in order to make room for Ketanji Brown-Jackson to take Garland’s place, get Senate confirmed and then await the resignation of Supreme Court Justice Stephen...

The Tijuana River stinks. So, what could be more fitting than renaming it in honor of Donald Trump?

PALM SPRINGS — Palm Springs was left reeling from a bomb explosion Saturday outside a fertility clinic that caused damage for blocks and has been classified as an intentional act of terrorism.One person was killed in the blast. Officials would not confirm he was the bomber but said there is no longer a threat to the Palm Springs area.The bombing shattered the Saturday morning quiet, with many residents thinking they felt an earthquake.“I’m really saddened by today’s attack on our city,” Palm Springs Police Chief Andrew Mills said. “But I am also hopeful because our city will rise.”There was extensive...

In this context, he changed the name of his channel from the French-style Du Rove's Channel to the Latin transcription of his name, Pavel DurovMOSCOW, May 18. /TASS/. Telegram turned down a Western European country’s request to silence channels of Romanian conservatives ahead of the presidential election in that country, the messenger’s co-founder, Pavel Durov, said. "A Western European government (guess which) approached Telegram, asking us to silence conservative voices in Romania ahead of today’s presidential elections. I flatly refused," he wrote on his Telegram channel, posting a baguette bread emoji in the brackets. "Telegram will not restrict the freedoms...

From prices to tariffs to dealmaking, Trump’s involvement in economic issues prompts both frustration and applause.President Donald Trump is trying to force down drug prices to specific levels. He has directed tariff rates on virtually every country. He declared that the Federal Reserve “must” lower interest rates. He takes a personal interest in the fate of individual companies like TikTok. He appears frequently with CEOs to tout investment deals, including many that were hatched before his presidency.And in his just-concluded Middle East trip, Trump pitched business leaders on doing business in America for one big reason: his personal involvement in...

Even before President Trump was re-elected, the Heritage Foundation, best known for Project 2025, set out to destroy pro-Palestinian activism in the United States.In late April, the Heritage Foundation dispatched a team to Israel to meet with power players in Israeli politics, including the country’s foreign and defense secretaries and the U.S. ambassador, Mike Huckabee.The conservative Washington-based think tank is best known for spearheading Project 2025, a proposed blueprint for President Trump’s second term that called for reshaping the federal government and an extreme expansion of presidential power.Now the Heritage contingent was in Israel, in part, to discuss another contentious...

Daily Readings from the USCCBWhen Judas had left them, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and God will glorify him at once.” John 13:31–32If the life we live here and now is all we will ever have, then it makes sense to believe that death is our worst enemy. But as we know, this life is but a grain of sand in the ocean in comparison to eternity. For that reason, we must see death as our passing...

Over the past three months, a growing number of universities have added or dropped entire sports programs on the eve of dramatic changes coming to college athletics under the $2.8 billion NCAA settlement.UTEP dropped women’s tennis, Cal Poly discontinued swimming and diving, Marquette added women’s swimming and Grand Canyon shuttered a historically dominant men’s volleyball program. It was a dizzying set of decisions that appears to offer no pattern except one: Every school is facing a choice on which programs to carry forward once the money really starts flowing.While top-tier athletes in high-revenue sports like football and basketball can look...

SummaryTrump's Gulf tour sidelines Netanyahu, marks new Middle East order Netanyahu's stance on Gaza, US-Iran talks creates rift with US Massive arms and financial deals signal US pivot to wealthy Gulf Domestic critics say Netanyahu's policies leave Israel paralysed Dubai, May 18 (Reuters)- - Nothing captured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's isolation more starkly this week than the image of U.S. President Donald Trump shaking hands with Syria's Islamist leader Ahmed al‑Sharaa - a man Israel has branded "an al‑Qaeda terrorist in a suit." "He's got the potential. He's a real leader," Trump told reporters after talks with Sharaa on...

A 25-year-old Southern California man has been identified as the attacker who detonated a car bomb outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs Saturday — killing himself and injuring four other people, according to sources. Guy Edward Bartkus, of Twentynine Palms, is believed to have detonated an explosive device in his car outside the American Reproductive Centers, which performs IVF treatments, egg collections and other procedures, law enforcement sources told The Post. On Saturday, FBI agents swarmed his home and evacuated the neighborhood, declaring it a “blast zone” over concerns that he could have left explosives behind, ABC7 reported. During...

Former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that President Donald Trump should not accept a jet from Qatar to use as the next Air Force One. Pence said, “First, we’ve got to remember who Qatar is. We’ve got a military base there. I have members of our immediate family that have deployed to the region. But Qatar has a long history of playing both sides. They support Hamas. They supported Al Qaeda. Qatar has actually financed pro-Hamas protests on American campuses across the United States.” Host Kristen Welker said, “So you are saying President Trump...