Free Republic

Former Ukrainian politician Andriy Portnov, a top adviser to ousted President Viktor Yanukovych (thanks, CIA!), was shot dead this morning outside the American School of Madrid shortly after student drop-off. Spanish media reports that 2-3 suspects are being hunted. Portnov faced treason charges in Ukraine and was accused of collaborating with Russia ... Former president Yanukovych was overthrown in 2014. According to the US Treasury Department, Portnov was "credibly accused of using his influence to buy access and decisions in Ukraine's courts and undermining reform effort." He was sanctioned by the US for corruption and bribery in 2021 under the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As debate continued over President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill," the United States Congress was said to be split between those who want to spend a ridiculous amount of money and those who want to spend an even more ridiculous amount of money. "My colleagues are out of line!" Republican Senator Kevin Cramer said during open debate on the Senate floor. "They want to spend a whole, whole lot of money. I want to spend slightly less because I'm responsible!" The ongoing struggle in Congress only served to highlight a near-even split along ideological guidelines between those...

Bitcoin erased most of its gains after briefly setting a new record price...Earlier, Bitcoin rose about 3% to $109,857, surpassing its January record...Since the beginning of the year, the number of Bitcoin held by public companies has grown 31% to about $349 billion...15% of the total Bitcoin supply.

President Trump truths a meme of him driving a golf ball into Bruce Springsteen's noggin. Congrats to on the posting of his meme. 👊

EDISON, New Jersey (WABC) -- Several teens were arrested after a brawl broke out at the Menlo Park Mall in Edison, New Jersey on Saturday night. The chaos erupted after hundreds of teens showed up for a gathering planned through TikTok. One officer was injured in the mayhem. It started with a call out days before by a social media influencer for his followers to descend on Menlo Park Mall on Saturday night. "They were having a brawl, they were pushing and shoving, when our officers arrived, they actually started fighting with our officers," Chief Thomas Bryan with the Edison...

Axios reporter Alex Thompson said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that former President Joe Biden’s inner circle of family and advisors chose loyalty to him over duty to the country. Co-host Jonathan Lemire said, “So every White House, no matter which party Republican or Democrat administration part of the job is to make the president look good.” He asked, “What makes this administration do what they did to protect their principal? Why is that a cover-up?” Thompson said, “I think a lot of these things start innocently enough, to your point. You know, the speechwriting team early on realized that...

President Donald Trump used a White House meeting to confront South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing his country of failing to address the killing of white farmers. "People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety," said Trump, who at one point dimmed the lights in the Oval Office to play a video of a communist politician playing a controversial anti-apartheid song that includes lyrics about killing a farmer. "Their land is being confiscated and in many cases they're being killed." Ramaphosa, who sat quietly watching these videos, pushed back against Trump's accusation. "I'd like to know where that is...

1:36 VIDEO AT LINK.............. https://x.com/i/status/1924973995696296323 4 bullets!...............

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — A woman was arrested Monday after being accused of entering a school bus and threatening a juvenile student in downtown Charleston last week. Kytazia Ryeshia Watson, 29, was charged with interference with the operation of a school bus, according to online jail records. A member of Sanders-Clyde Elementary School's administration said Watson got on a school bus Wednesday, May 14 in the area of the Bridgeview Apartments on North Romney Street and threated a male juvenile student, according to a Charleston police report. "I'm going to beat your a** and wait for your mom to come,"...

The decision revives a lawsuit against a Texas officer who shot a driver after endangering himself by jumping onto a moving car. ============================================================= During a routine traffic stop near Houston in 2016, a police officer killed Ashtian Barnes by blindly firing two shots into his car after jumping onto the doorsill as Barnes began to drive away. Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that the shooting was justified by the threat that the officer, Harris County Constable Roberto Felix Jr., faced when he shot Barnes. Last Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected the...

Dear FRiends, We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. This means no spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers. And because we are not a 501C, we have preserved our God-given, constitutionally protected right to free speech without government intervention. If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today: Click here: to donate by Credit CardOr here: to donate by PayPalOr by mail to: Free Republic, LLC...

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa wasn't expecting this!

A transgender student filmed three boys in a Virginia high school locker room who he claimed were bullying him for his gender identity. But his attempt to ostracize them backfired when parents of the accused tormenters and the state's governor questioned why the three boys were being filmed secretly inside the locker room in the first place. Earlier this month, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) launched a Title IX investigation after the trans student recorded a friend group that was uncomfortable with a biological female being in the changing room. Stone Bridge High School, where the video was taken, is...

Elon Musk criticized Bill Gates for his past association with the late convicted sex offender and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, following Gates’ condemnation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Gates had claimed that the proposed government reductions could lead to “millions of deaths,” prompting Musk’s pointed response. Gates continued, arguing that DOGE was endangering children worldwide by slashing USAID, as it is the United States’ foreign aid apparatus. However, the Microsoft co-founder refrained from addressing complaints regarding how many Americans do not believe that U.S. taxpayers should “pick up the check” when it comes to other foreign nations’ problems. “The...

Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett has alleged that staffers in Joe Biden’s administration engaged in a “cash for clemency” scheme, using an autopen to issue pardons in exchange for financial payoffs. An autopen is a device that mechanically reproduces signatures. On Tuesday, Rep. Burchett appeared on “The Benny Johnson Show” and stated, “You are gonna find staffers that were able to take forms, get them and run them through some sort of bogus legal system, then they auto-penned them.” Burchett said he believes there was a pay-for-pardon scheme happening, and pointed to a historical scandal involving former Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton,...

Five tornadoes rated EF4 have struck the U.S. so far in 2025 after two more were confirmed following the most recent siege of severe weather in mid-May. Tornadoes in the violent category like these makeup less than 1% of twisters this century, so how does this year's number stack up compared to the average? Big Picture -Defining Violent Tornadoes: While all tornadoes are dangerous, meteorologists reserve "violent" for those with the two highest ratings on the Enhanced-Fujita scale - EF4 or EF5. That's because these strongest tornadoes are capable of devastating damage, such as crushing and throwing vehicles, leveling well-built...

BBC'S SUMMARY In an extraordinary Oval Office meeting, Donald Trump confronts South Africa's leader with video over discredited claims of a white genocide in South Africa Trump says white farmers are "fleeing South Africa" and plays footage showing people chanting "kill the Boer, kill the farmer" This is the first time we've seen this sort of ambush in the Oval Office, reports Bernd Debusmann Jr Responding to the footage, Ramaphosa says the chants don't represent government policy There were parallels with the infamous Zelensky meeting in the Oval Office, writes Anthony Zurcher, but Ramaphosa kept his composure A group of...

"Every man has by nature the right to possess property as his own," wrote Pope Leo XIII, in his famous 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, laying down the basics of Catholic social teaching. The plans of contemporary socialists to seize private property, Leo XIII denounced as "emphatically unjust, for they would rob the lawful possessor, distort the functions of the State, and create utter confusion in the community." The last Pope Leo's defense of private property adds no small amount of irony to the small Chicago suburb of Dolton, Illinois' plan to honor the new American-born Pope Leo XIV by seizing...

Sir Keir Starmer has announced plans to ease cuts to winter fuel payments, in a U-turn following mounting political pressure in recent weeks. More than 10 million pensioners lost out on the payments, worth up to £300 ($400), when the pension top-up became means-tested last year. Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir said ministers would change the threshold to allow "more pensioners" to qualify again. But it remains unclear how many will regain their entitlement for the payments, or when the changes will take effect. Sir Keir said the policy would be changed at the autumm Budget, adding ministers...

Charged with "causing fear" to someone or other a year ago, criminal proceeding to commence right after release. He supposedly was leading the South Port riots from Spain. Transcript linked below video.