Free Republic

President Donald Trump said his call with Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Monday went very well and that Moscow and Kyiv "will immediately start negotiations" toward a ceasefire and end to the war. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, "Just completed my two hour call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. I believe it went very well. Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War. The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is hosting the Kennedy Center ‘s leadership at the White House on Monday night, reinforcing how much attention he’s devoting to remaking a premier cultural center as part of a larger effort to overhaul the social and ideological dynamics of the national arts scene. The meeting of the center’s board in the State Dining Room comes after Trump fired its previous members and announced in February that he’d serve as the board’s chair. The new board, which unanimously approved Trump as its chair, is stocked with loyalists. Members include White House chief of staff...

WASHINGTON (AP) — For months, American consumers and businesses have been hearing that President Trump’s massive import taxes – tariffs – would drive up prices and hurt the U.S. economy. But the latest economic reports don’t match the doom and gloom: Inflation actually eased last month, and hiring was solid in April. For now, the disconnect has businesses and consumers struggling to reconcile what they were told to expect, what the numbers say and what they are seeing on the ground. Trump and his supporters are quick to point out that the trade wars of his first term didn’t translate...

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department is expected to declare that fuel economy rules issued under then President Joe Biden exceeded the government's legal authority by including electric vehicles in setting the rules, automakers said on Monday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday submitted its interpretive rule, "Resetting the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Program" to the White House for review. He said in a statement the prior administration had "illegally used CAFE standards as a backdoor electric vehicle mandate – driving the price of cars up."

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Monday introduced a bill that would prevent any foreign aircraft from being used as Air Force One, the aircraft that transports the U.S. president. Schumer introduced the "Presidential Airlift Security Act" after news last week that President Donald Trump planned to accept a $400 million airplane from Qatar, which legal experts said raised a raft of questions about the scope of laws that relate to gifts from foreign governments and are intended to thwart corruption and improper influence. Retrofitting the luxury plane offered by Qatar's royal family would...

Demery Ardell Wilson filed a petition last month in Texas’s 269th Judicial District Court of Harris County, which claimed he asked for no onions on his burger, but got some anyway, the “Today” show reported. Wilson accuses Whataburger of failing “to act in accordance with the appropriate standard of care,” and which caused him to “suffer personal injuries.” Wilson said he ordered a meal on July 24, 2024, at an undisclosed Whataburger location, USA Today reported, and that when he ate it, he had an allergic reaction that needed medical attention. He did not specify what he ordered, but the...

– The U.S. government has agreed to pay nearly $5 million to the family of Ashli Babbitt, the Jan. 6 rioter who was fatally shot by police during the 2021 attack on the Capitol, according to multiple reports on Monday. The Washington Post first reported the settlement, citing two people “briefed on the matter” who said the Trump administration has agreed to it, with roughly one-third of the money going to the lawyers representing Babbitt’s family. Tom Manger, the outgoing U.S. Capitol Police chief, confirmed the settlement news to CBS, adding that he told the police force he was “extremely...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday evening issued a statement responding to the UK, Canada and France’s ultimatum to Israel to end the war in Gaza or face sanctions. “By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities,” he said. “The war began on October 7 when Palestinian terrorists stormed our borders, murdered 1,200 innocent people and abducted...

The payment, if approved, would represent an extraordinary concession by the Justice Department, which prosecuted nearly 1,600 people in connection with the riot.The Justice Department is discussing giving the relatives of Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran killed by the police during the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, about $5 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit they brought against the government last year, according to two people familiar with the matter.But the people cautioned that the negotiations, which have largely taken place since President Trump took office, have not yet been finalized.A tentative settlement agreement was announced...

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi declared that Iran would persist with its enrichment activities regardless of the outcome of the talks

May 19, 2025:The somber face of Caitríona Perry reporting on Netanyahu getting basic aid trucks into Gaza. Caitríona Perry is current anchor of BBC America. Just like typical BBC bigoted propaganda "journalists" only so happy if and when they can bombard Israelophobia. They, constantly, stream genocidal Hamas provided or/and controlled footage - to shock. Amazingly they can't show adult terrorists being eliminated. Adults - the key. And of course they wouldn't mention cruel Palestine Hamas using = robbing aid as a controlling power.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office returned eight artifacts to Peru during a ceremony at the Peruvian consulate in New York on May 15. The items returned included funerary items that were taken illegally from tombs in northern Peru during the 1960s and ’70s. The return marks the second time New York officials have repatriated a group of works to Peru. Also among the returned objects is a copper mask believed to represent a fanged Moche deity Ai Apaec, which has historically been associated with protection. The mask, which dates to approximately 300 BCE, is believed to have been taken from...

This is an amazing find by MAZE and just stunning to watch, knowing what we know now. This video takes us back to the 2020 vice presidential debate, and Kamala Harris and Mike Pence are asked, "Is the president's health information something voters deserve to know?" Harris didn't just stop at "yes" — she went on to claim that "Joe has been incredibly transparent over many, many years." "The one thing we all know about Joe," she added, "he puts it all out there." Check out that smug look on her face as she's asked the question.

“The root causes of the conflict.” These were startling words from a man purportedly on the path to peace.But it is the nub of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s position of what must be solved for peace, after two weeks, or three months, depending on how you count, of mounting pressure for an immediate unconditional 30-day ceasefire. Unbothered, taking this most consequential of calls at a music school on the Sochi coast, the Kremlin head has returned to the start – to his false narrative about this war of choice being sparked by NATO expanding too fast.Five other, different words emerged...

The Times of India is reporting that a 13-year-old rape victim, granted permission to abort her 33 week old baby, gave birth Saturday night to a girl. “The hospital staff are monitoring both the young mother and the newborn, who will remain under observation for a week,” B Division police station’s police inspector Sudhir Rane told The Times of India. As of the time this story is being written, there is no further information how healthy the baby and her mother are. On May 6th, a special POCSO [Protection of Children from Sexual Offences] court rejected her application to abort...

Mexican authorities are extremely restrictive when it comes to access to ancient Aztec, Mayan and other archaeological sites. Since COVID, the pyramids have been cordoned off and access to them prohibited. However, and as is typical with the Mexican malinchismo (a term used for locals who give preferential treatment to foreigners), MrBeast was granted unfettered access not only to the pyramids themselves but also permission to enter areas millions of Mexicans have never seen. “I can’t believe the government’s letting us do this,” he said. “Nobody gets to go where we’re going,” he said inside one of the pyramids. He...

Apparently, a high volume abortion facility in Illinois has a big, dirty problem. This same abortion business is well known for a high number of abortion-related medical emergencies that have sent at least four women to the hospital in March and April alone. But the Hope Clinic’s latest woes may be part of a nationwide pattern of grisly consequences when conducting the high-volume extermination of unborn children. Pro-life activists reported interacting with a representative from Embrich Plumbing outside the Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, Illinois, on the morning of May 3, 2025. The plumber opened a nearby manhole...

Italy’s Chamber of Deputies witnessed an unusual and symbolic protest when a lawmaker entered the chamber draped in a white sheet like a ghost, with the word “Referendum” written across the front. The stunt was led by Riccardo Magi, secretary of the liberal party +Europa, who used the theatrical gesture to denounce what he sees as an attempt by Giorgia Meloni’s government to suppress public debate and encourage voter abstention ahead of the national referendums scheduled for 8 and 9 June. A ghost haunts Italy’s parliament: theatrical protest against government. Credit: Italian Congress TV Italy’s Chamber of Deputies witnessed an...

A woman in her 70s in Norrbotten, Sweden, started selling homemade bread and pastries in 2019, but without a registered business and without having a government-approved kitchen for food production. Her cinnamon buns, in particular, became a hit with locals. She was given a fine by the local council, but despite repeated pressure, she did not pay. The case first gained attention in autumn 2024 when the woman was ultimately sentenced to one month and 14 days in prison after continuing her sales and not paying any fines. The verdict is being appealed to the Court of Appeal for Upper...

Conviction and condemnation can feel similar for a Christian. Conviction is from God and is necessary for joy. It should be cultivated. Condemnation is from Satan. It is a lie and should be resisted and thrown off. How do we tell the difference in our own lives? How do we help students discern the distinction in their hearts as well? An Example The night Christ was arrested, Peter and Judas both committed big sins. (This example isn’t perfect because Judas wasn’t a true Christian, but he was a professing believer and a member of Christ’s discipleship group. There’s much we...