Free Republic

Al-Arabiya reports that military aircraft, believed to likely be Israeli, are currently flying over Southern Syria.

In response to a threat by Iran to attack U.S. bases in the region, the State and Defense Departments have authorized the evacuation of dependents and non-essential staff from embassies and bases in the region, mainly Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain. The threat by Iran comes as negotiations between the U.S. and Iran over the fate of Iran’s nuclear program continue, with the U.S. insisting Iran give up enrichment to prevent attainment of nuclear weapons or face military attacks on its nuclear facilities by either the U.S. or Israel. In an interview earlier this week with Fox News anchor Bret Baier,...

Massachusetts called in the National Guard on Friday to deal with the “humanitarian crisis” that locals claim was set off by just 50 migrants being flown to Martha’s Vineyard by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — before the deep-blue state shifted the new arrivals to Cape Cod. Three buses rolled up to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Edgartown to take the mostly Venezuelan migrants on the first leg of their journey from the elite island of multimillion-dollar mansions — including a seven-bedroom home owned by former President Barack Obama — to Joint Base Cape Cod on the mainland.The National Guard members...

Brian Wilson has left behind a multi-million dollar legacy. The former lead singer of The Beach Boys has passed away at the age of 82 after an ongoing battle with dementia. Before facing health struggles, he created a net worth of $100 million, made primarily from his time with the 1961 rock band. His net worth of $100 million could have been a lot higher if his father Murry hadn't sold the publishing company, Sea of Tunes, which controlled the rights of the majority of Brian's biggest hits. In 1969, he had made a deal with Irving Alamo Music for...

“I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump …”After a week of public feuding, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk delivered an apology to President Donald Trump via his X platform during the early morning hours Wednesday. Musk, who recently deleted posts warning that Trump was named in the files relating to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, had mostly broken with Trump over the “One Big Beautiful Bill” currently moving through the Senate. He went so far in a number of posts to call for people to vote against anyone in Congress who supported it. In his Wednesday morning...

Christopher Wray Lied: The FBI Was Targeting American CatholicsA US Senate investigation reveals that anti-Catholic animus in the FBI runs deep, and several unsettling questions remain.Over two years ago, the nation’s top law enforcement agency landed in hot water when a memo leaked detailing plans to infiltrate and illegally spy on certain Catholic parishes and classifying American Catholics devoted to the Tridentine Mass as “Radical-Traditionalist Catholics” and “Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists.” The memo, drafted and approved by the FBI’s Richmond field office, caused outrage and initiated a series of congressional hearings, during which then-FBI director Christopher Wray attested,...

Veteran soap actor Chris Robinson has died at the age of 86. The star was best known for roles as Dr Rick Webber in General Hospital and Jack Hamilton in The Bold and the Beautiful. Musician MJ Allen, who directed his last screen role in the 2022 feature film Just for a Week, wrote on Facebook: 'Prolific Hollywood actor Chris Robinson has passed away at the age of 86. 'He peacefully passed in his sleep at his ranch near Sedona, Arizona at 12:30am on June 9, 2025. 'He had been in heart failure for some time, and is his official...

Thousands of gallons of nitric acid, a hazardous chemical compound that can irritate eyes, throats and lungs, leaked from a tank at the Austin Powder Red Diamond plant in McArthur on Wednesday morning.The company produces industrial explosives used for construction and mining purposes. It is unclear how the leak started - but thick orange plumes of smoke were seen billowing across the blue sky in the area.

A Detroit high school student who was detained by federal agents last month was denied a request to pause his deportation, according to his attorney. The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, which represents 18-year-old Maykol Bogoya-Duarte, said it received a notice from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wednesday. "While we are angry and sad about this decision, we are heartened by the overwhelming support for Maykol shown by so many of you — fellow students, educators, neighbors, friends, faith leaders, community members, elected officials, and the DPSCD Board of Education. In the words of Maykol's mother, 'mil mil gracias,'" the...

In 1970, the State of Florida passed sweeping emergency measures laws which conferred enormous powers to Sheriffs and Municipal officials (Mayors and Chiefs of Police). The law was meant to contain and prevent riots and the widespread breakdown of the rule of law. The officials could declare an emergency under the “imminent threat of violence”, which gave broad discretion. The emergency could only be in effect for 72 hours, after which time the county commission or the city council would be required to approve any extension of the emergency.There were many riots during the Vietnam era, particularly at universities.Part of...

Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson was hailed by his fellow stars as tributes poured in following the legendary musician's death aged 82. The God Only Knows hitmaker shot to fame as the frontman of the Beach Boys, for which he served as the principal songwriter as well as the co-lead vocalist. Last year, weeks after the death of his longtime wife Melinda, it emerged that he had been diagnosed with a neurocognitive disorder similar to dementia. When news of his death broke Wednesday, his fans leapt to social media to share their grief, including Elton John, who shared a throwback...

Philadelphia police clashed with people protesting the Trump administration’s accelerating deportation efforts Tuesday night in Center City. A clip circulating on social media shows an officer pushing demonstrators before tackling to ground a masked protester dressed in black. The Inquirer posted a video that appears to show a PPD officer kneeling on an individual’s head and neck to subdue them. Both pieces of footage were taken on East Market Street. Law enforcement said two demonstrators and two bicycle officers were treated for minor injuries. Fifteen adults were arrested, with the most serious allegations against a man set to be charged...

As the riots raged this week in Los Angeles, four things became clear: L.A.’s leaders are feckless; foreign money is behind the rioters; protesters are expressing a soup of different grievances; and all this may happen elsewhere. As with the BLM riots in 2020, the L.A. disturbances are not spontaneous or chaotic. They have been planned, supported, and even staffed by activist organizations whose goals have nothing to do with immigration law or the plight of day laborers lingering in Home Depot parking lots. On the most recent episode of The Drill Down, co-hosts Peter Schweizer and Eric Eggers break...

The left is on the warpath over the GOP’s ‘heartless’ welfare reform.Read it and weep: The US national debt now sits at an almost unfathomable $37 trillion. If you run the numbers, it is easy to understand how impossible – or at best improbable – it will be to extricate ourselves from the colossal hole the central state has dug over decades. No less than 75% of the massive federal budget is devoted to so-called mandatory spending on entitlement programs, such as Medicaid and interest payments, while another 13% is dedicated to national defense and is virtually mandatory. This means...

First lady Melania Trump, Vice President Vance, and second lady Usha Vance are also expected to attend the performance. President Trump's attendance at the Kennedy Center's "Les Miserables" play on Wednesday is expected to include $2 million tickets and a boycott by some cast members.The million-dollar ticket includes box-seats a reception and photo with Trump, according to the Washington Post. To attend the reception and get a photo with the president without the box seat will cost $100,000.Some cast members are planning to boycott the show and not perform, according to CNN.A Kennedy Center staffer told The Post the Wednesday...

As Hamas supporters hurl bogus charges against Israel.Last month, Megha Vemuri, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology class of 2025, denounced the “genocidal Israeli military” and contended that the MIT community “would never tolerate a genocide.” Such proclamations, widely repeated on Ivy League campuses, invite a look at the actual genocide going on 50 years ago.In April, 1975, troops of the communist Khmer Rouge occupied Cambodia’s capital of Phom Penh. One of the last correspondents to leave was David Aikman of Time magazine, author of “Cambodia: An Experiment in Genocide.” As Aikman recalled:After a few hours, the black-uniformed troops...

New research reveals that our extinct Neanderthal relatives were surprisingly savvy navigators who used river valleys to zip across continents in record time. Computer simulations show they could cross from western Russia to Siberia in as little as 1,600 years, a prehistoric speed record that shows the efficiency of their migration skills.A new study published in PLOS One reveals that Neanderthals could have traveled from the Caucasus Mountains to the Altai Mountains of Siberia in the blink of an eye in prehistoric terms. Using sophisticated computer simulations that model ancient migration patterns, researchers from New York University discovered that these...

To the media a flag is just a flag, after all — unless it can be used to destroy a conservative.As riots raged in Los Angeles on Sunday, The New York Times rushed to reassure readers that Mexican flags being waved by protesters were symbols not of insurrection or lawlessness, but of “pride in their heritage.” The Times’ sympathetic view of anti-law-and-order rioters is hardly notable, but comparing its glowing review of the symbolism and meaning of the Mexican flag’s use in the L.A. upheaval to its screeching hysteria over the Alito flags a year ago is a sharp reminder...

When archaeologists were sifting through layers of sediment from the San Lázaro rock shelter in Segovia, Spain, they noticed an unusual looking stone that seemed to contain a small red dot in the middle. BBC News reports that deeper analysis of the object revealed that the strange mark was actually a Neanderthal fingerprint, the oldest known human fingerprint in existence. The researchers suggest that the small rock's three natural indentations resemble the two eyes and mouth of a human face. The dot seems to have been added to the stone's surface with red ocher to create the missing nose. Multispectral...

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The global watchdog of doping in sports said Wednesday it will urge public authorities to shut down the drug-fueled Enhanced Games planned in Las Vegas next year.“We will urge the U.S. authorities to find legal ways to block this initiative,” World Anti-Doping Agency president Witold Banka said on the sidelines of a meeting of Olympic sports bodies.Organizers of the games scheduled for next May promise $1 million bonuses to beat world-record times by athletes who will be encouraged to use performance-enhancing drugs under medical supervision.“This initiative seeks to normalize the use of potentially dangerous drugs,” Banka...