Free Republic

A former waitress in Minnesota became entangled in an elaborate scam that funneled millions of dollars to North Korea through a network of remote workers using stolen U.S. identities. The scheme also enabled North Korean spies to snoop on Zoom meetings and download sensitive materials from the companies that hired them. The Wall Street Journal reports that federal prosecutors have uncovered an intricate scam orchestrated by North Korea, involving the infiltration of the U.S. remote jobs market. The scheme, which has netted an estimated $17.1 million from over 300 American companies, relied on the unwitting participation of everyday Americans like...

United States President Donald Trump admitted on Wednesday that he "can't tell" if his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin truly wants to end his country's ongoing military campaign in Ukraine. Speaking at the White House amid the Swearing-In for the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Trump said that "I'll let you know in two weeks" after more negotiations have taken place. He also complimented US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff for "doing a phenomenal job" mediating the talks between Russia and Ukraine and for "dealing with him [Putin] very strongly." Asked about his...

The Trump administration will send Congress a package to claw back $9.4 billion in funding next week, an Office of Management and Budget spokesperson confirmed to The Hill, as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) pledges to “act quickly” on codifying cuts spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The package will in part target the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS, and USAID, which was largely dismantled by the administration earlier this year. Plans for the roughly $9 billion recissions package were forecasted weeks ago and originally projected to be transmitted from the White House by the...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new visa restrictions the Trump administration is implementing against foreign authorities who it says are "complicit" in censoring Americans. "For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed, and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising their free speech rights," Rubio wrote on X. "Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans. Free speech is essential to the American way of life – a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority." Foreigners who work to undermine the rights of...

New Hawley Legislation to Speed Up Labor Contracts Earns Teamsters Endorsement, Bipartisan Support Tuesday, March 04, 2025Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) led a bipartisan group of colleagues in introducing new, Teamsters-endorsed legislation to speed up first contracts for new unions. The legislation would ensure that when workers vote to unionize, a labor agreement ultimately becomes a reality. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) joined as original cosponsors.“The status quo hurts workers. Despite exercising their legal—and moral—right to bargain collectively, workers are often prevented from enjoying the benefits of the union they...

A team from the Department of Government Efficiency can now access a sensitive Treasury Department system that controls trillions of dollars in federal payments, a judge ruled late Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas gave permission for four DOGE employees to access the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which essentially serves as the checkbook for the federal government. Vargas said she would no longer require the Trump administration to get permission from the court before expanding access to other DOGE representatives.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that United States President Donald Trump wants a "speedy" settlement to the conflict in Ukraine after being asked about Trump's comments that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "playing with fire." "It is clear that the American side, which is making considerable efforts for peaceful regulation, and President Trump personally, want a speedy settlement. And we repeat once again and are grateful for the mediation efforts of President Trump personally," Peskov said. "There is definitely a huge number of nuances in the context of what is to be discussed, which cannot be sacrificed. And...

"For months, LA fire victims have been asking: where did the $100M from the FireAid concerts go? I followed the money — and it leads to a shadowy nonprofit called the Annenberg Foundation. Let’s just say the rabbit hole gets dark — fast." 5149jamesli X (3 min. video)

Caltrain has installed RailSentry, an AI-powered technology, at the Churchill Avenue rail crossing in Palo Alto to enhance safety. The system uses cameras and lidar to detect and distinguish between objects, alerting a security operations center if any intrude on the tracks. While RailSentry is a significant improvement, it is part of a larger effort including pavement markers, signage, and upgraded fencing to address safety concerns at the crossing. There were more than 230 vehicle-track incursions in which a tow truck was required to get a vehicle off the tracks on Caltrain’s corridor between 2020 and April 23, 2025, according...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a potential Democrat presidential primary candidate, is again calling for the abolishment of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which enforces the nation’s immigration laws. Ocasio-Cortez won her congressional race in 2018 partly on a platform that promised to dismantle and ultimately abolish ICE, even suggesting that illegal aliens deserve a “right of passage” into the United States. Ocasio-Cortez eventually dropped the “Abolish ICE” talking point from her stump speech after polls found that even a majority of Democrats did not want the federal agency to be wiped out. In a new campaign email, just as...

French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife delivered a scathing four-word remark just moments after shoving him in the face, a lip reader has revealed. Shocking footage showed Brigitte Macron, 72, place both hands on her husband’s face before shoving him firmly just moments after the president’s plane door opened upon arrival in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, on Sunday evening. While the embarrassed-looking leader claimed the pair were “squabbling,” a professional lip reader has since decoded the shocking exchange. “As the aircraft door opens, President Macron is seen turning toward Brigitte. In an unexpected moment, she pushes him in the face,” a...

Stephen Hawking had a frightening response when asked about his thoughts on the future of artificial intelligence in 2014. The world-renowned theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author, who passed away in March 2018 at the age of 76, was best known for his work in the fields of general relativity and quantum gravity. He went on to pen the 2002 book The Theory of Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Universe, which has sold more than 25 million copies across 40 different languages. However, it was in his final book, published seven months after his death, titled Brief Answers to...

One of my favorite things about traveling is being able to see how laws and social taboos (what silly things they are) change across countries. Differences between Japan and the United States extend beyond simply bowing and taking off your shoes to enter places. The following ten things are not only rare in the United States, but most of them are also illegal. And so naturally, I feel compelled to do all of them whilst adventuring in the Land of the Rising Sun. Snip Buy Cigarettes from Vending Machines Japan has an interesting relationship with cigarettes. Should you need a...

Since the beginning of the Oregon legislative session in January, my wife and I have been having ongoing discussions about whether we should leave Oregon for another state, where the leftists are not in control, or whether we should stay and fight to stop the landslide of insanity that grips Oregon right now and will cross borders to contaminate other red states. We have many friends here, established doctors and dentists, and a great one-story house between the mountains to the East and the Pacific Ocean to the west. We attend a strong church that teaches out of the Bible....

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a statement on Wednesday that the Russian delegation led by President Vladimir Putin's aide Vladimir Medinsky is ready to present a memorandum to Ukraine on June 2 in Istanbul. "The Russian side, as agreed, promptly developed a corresponding memorandum, which sets out our position on all aspects of reliably overcoming the root causes of the crisis. Our delegation is ready to present this memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation and provide the necessary explanations during the second round of resumed direct negotiations in Istanbul next Monday, June 2," the Russian diplomat stated.

Over the decades, NASA has managed to capture a number of astonishing photos from space, showcasing how beautiful the cosmos really is. Take these unique details on Saturn’s moon Iapetus as the perfect example. Or how about an eerie snapshot taken by the so-called ‘most isolated man in the universe?’ These photos have a way of pulling you in and honestly, I could scroll through them for hours on end. I'm not alone; one social media user has re-shared two stunning photos of Uranus captured by NASA which have since gone viral. The US agency launched its James Webb Space...

In recent years, Americans have learned a hard truth: “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” During COVID-19, we were told to trust the experts, obey mandates, and silence our dissent. Over time, the truth emerged—much of what we were sold was false, and the price we paid in lives, education, and finances from their false narrative scam was extreme.Now, many of those same voices are repeating another falsehood: that cutting Medicaid will cause Americans to die.Recently, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and 19 House conservatives called for “structural reforms” to Medicaid in a letter supporting...

The Babylon Bee would like to announce that we have officially joined National Public Radio in suing the government for not giving us tens of millions of dollars. The Bee only recently became aware that the government is supposed to give us a bunch of money for reporting the news. Apparently, the government not giving us truckloads of cash is totally illegal. Our not knowing that was frankly a pretty big oversight, and we fired all of our lawyers as a result. We hired new lawyers though, and they filed a motion this morning to join NPR's lawsuit in order...

The industry’s blame game will not end the US national health care nightmare. The shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was met by many people online with a morbid sense of inevitability. The often callous nature of the US health care system has long been a point of wide discussion, with evidence piling up that the way the country provides medical services is costly in both money and human life. The health industry’s executives — insurers, pharma, even hospitals — have become popular villains. The killing of a human being is morally repugnant — full stop. But many people still...

A rapid 14-day environmental review has seen a new uranium mine approved in Utah. The endorsement is part of a refreshed Trump administration process to fast-track permissions for energy and mining projects. The Velvet-Wood uranium project received a green light on Friday. It is owned and operated by the Canadian company Anfield Energy. The approval tick comes 11 days after the Interior Department ordered the Bureau of Land Management to review the mine’s environmental impacts within two weeks, as opposed to the prior timeline of months or years.The dynamic new approach has been expected since President Donald Trump declared a...