Free Republic

Last Tuesday Florida’s Board of Governors rejected Dr. Santa Ono for president of its flagship school, the University of Florida (UF). This came just one week after UF’s Board of Trustees (BOT) unanimously approved Ono. In what is typically a procedural process, it marked the first time in the 22 years since the Board of Governors was established that it had rejected a candidate in this fashion. It was a blow for not only Ono, but also UF’s BOT. How did Ono nearly get approved as UF’s next president? The short answer is the almost childish simplicity of UF’s BOT,...

ICE bad, illegals rioting good. You can bet that’s Democrats’ calculation. Riots have been underway in Los Angeles. Mask-wearing provocateurs are waving Mexican flags. LA is their Mount Suribachi. A lot of people say that if illegals love Mexico so much, then go back home. But they miss the point. What’s happening in LA is about conquest.Hoisting Mexican flags on U.S. soil stakes a claim. This real estate is ours, declare the troublemakers, among whom are surely homegrown leftist agitators. LA, in part, smells like a George Floyd riots redo. In this instance, federal agents, acting on behalf of American...

Harrowing footage captured the moment California police shot a New York Post photographer in the head with a rubber bullet during Los Angeles’ violent protest Sunday evening. Toby Canham, who was on assignment for The Post and standing just off the 101 Freeway at an elevated level, was filming video of the chaos between cops and rioters when a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer suddenly turned his weapon toward him and fired from about 100 yards away. Canham, 59, who was wearing his press pass, was struck in the forehead and quickly fell to the ground, according to the disturbing...

The Muslim world often gets away with things that would send shockwaves through the international community if anyone else did them. On May 29, reports surfaced that Egypt was preparing to seize and potentially shut down the Greek Orthodox Monastery of St. Catherine — the oldest continuously functioning Christian monastery in the world, nestled right at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Built by Emperor Justinian I around 550 AD on Mount Sinai, it has stood for nearly 1,500 years—making it centuries older than Islam.

California Governor Gavin Newsom is playing a dangerous game—one part gaslighting, one part constitutional ignorance, and all parts political theater.After violent anti-ICE riots swept through Los Angeles and now San Francisco—complete with federal agents injured, cars torched, and highways blocked by destructive insurrectionists flying the flags of other nations—President Trump exercised his clear constitutional authority and federalized portions of the California National Guard under Title 10.Newsom’s response? He called—completely lacking any hint of circumspection—the deployment “unlawful” and “a direct assault on state sovereignty”. He even labeled it “purposefully inflammatory.”That’s not just wrong—it’s nearly laughable, save that it actually gives aid...

Rite Aid, the embattled Pennsylvania-headquartered drugstore chain of 1,240 stores nationwide, recently filed bankruptcy for the second time since October 2023. Last month, the company announced that it would be shutting down more than 300 locations, including dozens of stores in California. For Californians, the Rite Aid name — and the impending store closures — comes with an entirely different set of memories. It could mean the end of an era that dates back nearly a century to the origins of Thrifty, the LA-based drug store and soda fountain. For many, the best reason to visit a Rite Aid is...

Adams, Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) promised that if he is elected mayor of New York City he will "spend eight years in Washington leading the fight against Trump." While acknowledging that this campaign promise "might seem to be outside the normal scope of a mayor's job, vowing to fight Trump has been a key factor in the elections of other Democrats in New York. Democrats hate Trump more than anything. Two-thirds of the City's voters are registered Democrats. It's a winning platform." Cuomo also dismissed the chances of his rivals, saying "the typical budgets and boroughs issues that Republicans...

Lots of footage from scene. Transcript linked below video.

A family dog named Zeus summoned the strength of his namesake and managed to escape the literal jaws of death when an alligator dragged him from his backyard into a nearby pond, the dog’s owners said. “The vet told us the gator had just missed his jugular — it looked like Zeus’ entire head had been in the gator’s mouth. The fact that he made it out alive is nothing short of a miracle,” the family wrote in a GoFundMe post. Even the vet said, “‘I don’t know how he survived,’” the family added. Zeus, a German shepherd, heard a...

In 1895, a significant chapter in the Czech brewing industry began. This distinctly Czech company was established in response to the Czech-German rivalry in Budějovice and the dominance of the German Měšt'anský Pivovar. Czech national brewers, led by August Zátka, established a brewery that continued the long-standing tradition of Budějovice beer production. On October 7, 1895, the first brewmaster of the Czech Joint Stock Brewery brewed the first batch of beer. This moment marked the beginning of the history of the famous Budějovice brewery. In 1930, the Budvar trademark was registered, becoming synonymous with quality and a leading brand of...

Isabel Oakeshott, Talk’s international editor joins Kevin O’Sullivan to discuss how a convicted foreign criminal escaped from a deportation flight at London’s Heathrow airport, sprinting across the runway in a major security breach. It is thought the man asked to use the toilet before take-off, then ran past Mitie security staff while still wearing a waist restraint. Isabel says, “This is an extraordinary display of incompetence.”

Clashes between protesters and law enforcement bled into Orange County on Monday, as an anti-immigration rally in Santa Ana grew heated in the evening after a day of reported U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations around the region. ... Just before 6:30 p.m., someone from the crowd launched an object toward the agents, which triggered another round of tear gas and the crowd to move back. After 7 p.m. law enforcement declared the gathering a riot and told people they needed to leave and be off the street or they would be arrested. ...

The Ukraine war won't end until NATO withdraws troops from the Baltics, a top Russian official has warned. Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister responsible for U.S. relations, nonproliferation and arms control, made the remarks in an interview with state-run news agency Tass.

The literature on Chinese warfare is replete with descriptions of how the country will annex Taiwan. The date usually bandied about by China watchers is 2027 for a successful amphibious attack on the island. This would be preceded by a shock and awe bombardment campaign aimed at bringing the city of Taipei to its knees. But another Chinese gambit would provide less violence but still do significant damage to the Taiwanese government and its residents. I am referring to a blockade or quarantine by the Chinese navy and a no-fly zone executed by its air force.

Unrest broke out in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, after two 14-year-old Romanian boys appeared in court for attempted rape. Social media footage captured plumes of fire near residential buildings, with police present at the scene.In Short Riots broke out in Ballymena over attempted rape About 2,500 people protested in Harryville, which turned violent against police Protesters damaged properties and threw missiles at PSNI officers Riots erupted in the town of Ballymena in Northern Ireland on Monday night after two 14-year-old boys appeared in court over an alleged attempted rape -- a case that has inflamed local tensions, particularly after it was...

At a farm near Moscow, newly arrived guest workers from India are planting potatoes and cabbages - work closely monitored by central bank analysts as they prepare for board meetings to set interest rates. While in developed economies such as the United States food accounts for about 14% of the basket used to calculate inflation, in Russia it makes up a hefty 40% or so, and surging prices for potatoes and other staples have been a major reason for its tight monetary policy. The central bank trimmed its benchmark rate to 20% on June 6 but even that is around...

Researchers have found a genetic link between the nighttime production of the sleep hormone melatonin and ADHD symptom severity in children. The study enhances our understanding of the complexities associated with this prevalent neurodevelopmental condition. Sleep disturbances, including insomnia, restless sleep, and daytime drowsiness, are common in people with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. It’s been hypothesized that people with the condition have a disrupted circadian rhythm. However, the exact mechanism connecting sleep problems and ADHD has remained elusive. A new study led by the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan may have provided the answer. The researchers...

But privately Elon's issues with the president ran deeper than concerns over the ballooning public debt. He was pushed to the brink when his NASA nominee, billionaire payments entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, was axed by Trump in a late-night Truth Social post. Before launching into space, Isaacman explored a different galaxy entirely: Atlantic City. By his mid-20s, the payments whiz-kid had money to burn - and under the neon constellations of the Boardwalk, he had his first brush with Trump. In 2009, the Trump Taj Mahal sued Isaacman over four bad checks totaling $1 million. The case settled in 2011 for...

Disturbing allegations are coming to light about a federal employee forcing his pregnant girlfriend to have an abortion she didn't want. Justin Banta, 38, faces an attempted capital murder charge in Tarrant County, where officials say he spiked his girlfriend's drink with 'Plan C', abortion-inducing pills, late last year. Officials say it happened on October 16, 2024, at a coffee shop in Benbrook when Banta met his six-week pregnant girlfriend to discuss the pregnancy. According to an arrest affidavit, the woman said she "intended on keeping the baby" even though Banta had "encouraged her, and offered to help her get...

Nucor Corporation has announced a price increase for its hot-rolled coil (HRC) consumer spot price (CSP), marking a shift in the steel industry as new tariff policies begin to reshape market dynamics. Effective June 9th, 2025, Nucor has raised its CSP HRC base price to $890 per ton for all producing mills, with California Steel Industries (CSI) pricing set at $950 per ton. This represents a $20 per ton increase for all mills and a $40/ton increase for CSI from the previous week’s pricing of $870 per ton for standard mills and $910 per ton for CSI, signaling a potential...