Free Republic

President Donald Trump’s top consumer protection and antitrust official has approved a massive $13.5 billion merger that will reshape the advertising industry, effectively putting the final nail in the coffin of coordination against outlets based on their political viewpoints. The Federal Trade Commission announced Monday morning that it has decided not to block a merger between Omnicom and IPG, two rival firms which together make up a third of the world’s “Big Six” advertising agencies. But rather than rubber stamp the deal, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson extracted a major concession: the firms have agreed to cease all coordination related to...

The Paris Peace Conference in 1919 was to settle the terms for the end of WW I. Wilson US, Clemenceau France, Lloyd George UK led the conference. By the end of it, the Germans were forced to accept these terrible terms whereby Germany gave up big chunks of Germany, gave up all German colonies like Namibia, and Germany was forced to pay these reparations a lot of it to France. These conditions essentially guaranteed the Germans would go into ear again. No country was going to tolerate paying such high reparations to other countries at the expense of their own...

Explanation: This interstellar skyscape spans over 4 degrees across crowded starfields toward the constellation Sagittarius and the central Milky Way. A First Look image captured at the new NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, the bright nebulae and star clusters featured include famous stops on telescopic tours of the cosmos: Messier 8 and Messier 20. An expansive star-forming region over a hundred light-years across, Messier 8 is also known as the Lagoon Nebula. About 4,000 light-years away the Lagoon Nebula harbors a remarkable cluster of young, massive stars. Their intense radiation and stellar winds energize and agitate this cosmic lagoon's turbulent...

Watch Democrats FUMBLING to explain after being called out for their FAKE POLL that adds up to 110%. Rep Brian Jack : “Is it meant to add up to 110% or is that an error?” *gibberish* Rep MTG : "It still adds up to 110%. That's a fake poll right there!" Can someone help Democrats like @Rep_Stansbury figure out the math on their fake polls? They have ZERO substance.

Globalizing the intifada apparently begins in New York City. In one of the most stunning upsets for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s unseating of Joseph Crowley in a 2018 primary battle, state Rep. Zohran Mamdani cruised to an apparent victory in the New York City mayoral primary, handily beating former governor and the presumptive favorite in the race, Andrew Cuomo. While New York City uses ranked-choice voting and the results won’t be official until next week, Cuomo has already conceded the race with Mamdani ahead by a 43.5 percent to 36.4 percent margin. Given that...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked President Donald Trump after they had a talk Wednesday at the NATO summit in the Netherlands — months after Vice President JD Vance called out Zelenskyy for not voicing more gratitude for U.S. support for Kyiv as it battles Moscow. When Zelenskyy visited the White House in February he sparred openly with Trump and Vance in the Oval Office over engaging in diplomacy with Russia to end the conflict, prompting Vance to ask the Ukrainian leader if he'd "said thank you once this entire meeting." But on Wednesday Zelenskyy made sure to thank Trump and...

NEW YORK — Workers digging at Manhattan's World Trade Center site 15 years ago made an improbable discovery: sodden timbers from a boat built during the Revolutionary War that had been buried more than two centuries earlier. Now, over 600 pieces from the 50-foot (15-meter) vessel are being painstakingly put back together at the New York State Museum. After years on the water and centuries underground, the boat is becoming a museum exhibit. Arrayed like giant puzzle pieces on the museum floor, research assistants and volunteers recently spent weeks cleaning the timbers with picks and brushes before reconstruction could even...

Congress issued subpoenas Tuesday to compel testimony from two ActBlue witnesses, significantly escalating a probe into whether the massive online fund-raising platform allowed itself to be misused by foreigners to route improper donations to Democrats in the 2024 election. The subpoenas issued by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, House Oversight Chairman James Comer and House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil require the two witnesses, former ActBlue Vice President of Customer Service Alyssa Twomey and a senior workflow specialist, to appear for testimony by July 15. Both witnesses were offered a chance to voluntarily submit to transcribed interviews, but their lawyer...

The polls are in… And, despite the MSM continuing to spout off a narrative about a brewing ‘MAGA civil war’ over President Trump’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, a new YouGov poll from CBS News shows something very different. According to the poll’s results, an overwhelming majority of Republicans surveyed approve of the strikes — with an even higher percentage of MAGA Republicans approving! Check it out: InteractivePolls @IAPolls2022 CBS News Poll: Do you approve or disapprove of US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities? Republicans 🟢 Approve: 85% (+70) 🔴 Disapprove: 15% MAGA Republicans 🟢 Approve: 94% (+88) 🔴 Disapprove:...

President Donald Trump publicly humiliated CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during a live press event at the NATO summit in The Hague. Collins, representing the deeply discredited network that Trump has long labeled “fake news,” asked a loaded question about Trump’s recent strike on Iranian nuclear facilities — and she got more than she bargained for. “Go ahead. Oh, fake news CNN? Ayayai, here we go,” Trump began, gesturing at Collins. “Wait ’til you hear this question. You should REALLY say how great our soldiers and warriors are.” The question, predictably slanted: COLLINS: “Are you relying on Israeli intelligence for your assessment...

Around 6 million student borrowers are 90 days or more past due on their student loan payments, and around a third of them, or 2 million, could start having a portion of their wages garnished by the federal government starting in July to pay back their loans. According to the Wall Street Journal, the number of borrowers at risk of wage garnishments is higher than the 1.2 million that was estimated by TransUnion. Wage garnishments—a legal procedure allowing a portion of wages to be withheld by the government to pay down a debt—could spell lower pay for the student borrowers...

For the first time, mice born to two fathers have grown up and produced offspring, scientists in China have revealed. The researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University managed to insert two sperm cells - one from each father - into a mouse egg whose nucleus had been removed. A gene editing technique was then used to reprogram parts of the sperm DNA to allow an embryo to develop – a process called androgenesis. The embryo, featuring the genetic material from two fathers, was transferred to a female womb and allowed to grow to term. Finally, the resulting offspring (male) managed...

The Trump administration has secretly launched an intensive vetting process for hundreds of foreign scientists brought into the United States from "countries of concern" like China, using visas procured with the help of the National Institutes of Health and other federal research agencies, officials told Just the News. The review involving intelligence and security agencies began weeks ago over concerns prior administrations did not adequately vet the backgrounds of scientists or their ties to actors like China's military or its Communist Party. But the initiative has taken on additional urgency after three Chinese scientists were arrested in the last month...

Following the United States' weekend strike on Iranian nuclear enrichment sites, the Trump administration's Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the arrest of nearly a dozen Iranian nationals who are illegally in the country. The former Biden administration's open-border policies have sparked concerns that potential terrorists and other threat actors have flooded into the U.S. undetected, raising the risk of the formation of sleeper cells. ICE's arrests, which took place over the weekend, included a suspected terrorist, an individual with admitted ties to Hezbollah, and an alleged former Iranian Army sniper, according to a Tuesday press release from ICE. The Department...

While the radical left would like everyone to believe that men possess no inherent physical advantage when it comes to sports, that defies all reality, biology and common sense. If you need proof of that – although you shouldn't – take a look at what happened to the Switzerland Women's National Team on Wednesday. As part of their preparation for the upcoming Euro 2025 tournament, they faced Luzern's U15 boys' team in a friendly match. Yes, U15 stands for "under 15 years old," which means the boys' team comprises players 14 and younger. One might think that adult females –...

An accused co-conspirator in last month’s terror attack at a Palm Springs, California, fertility clinic has died in federal custody, authorities confirmed. Daniel Park, 32, had been facing conspiracy charges for allegedly shipping explosive materials to Guy Edward Bartkus, who detonated a car bomb at the American Reproductive Centers clinic in the SoCal desert oasis. “Daniel Park was found unresponsive at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Los Angeles, California. Responding employees initiated life-saving measures. … Mr. Park was transported by EMS to a local hospital and subsequently pronounced deceased,” the Federal Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. The...

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Spain's refusal to meet the NATO defense spending target of 5% of gross domestic product will mean a tougher trade deal for the southern European country. Speaking at a news conference at NATO's annual summit in the Netherlands, Trump said it was "terrible" that Spain wouldn't commit to meeting the target by 2035. "You know they are doing very well. The economy is [doing] very well. And that economy could be blown right out of the water with something bad happening," Trump said. "You know what we're going to do? We're negotiating with...

Trump appeared concerned for a BBC Ukraine reporter during a press conference at the Nato leaders' summit in The Hague. The US president asked about her husband and family in Ukraine before answering her question, acknowledging the difficulties faced by the Ukrainian people during the war.

..... Members of Kentucky’s congressional delegation say Massie’s sprawling district, which runs along the northern border along Ohio and Indiana and stretches from the southern Cincinnati suburbs to the outer bands of the Louisville metro area, is a unique cross-section of the state that appears to relish Massie’s independent streak. It’s home to some of the most prominent members of the “liberty faction” of the Kentucky Republican Party, a group that embraces Trump while also gravitating toward libertarian-leaning Republicans like Massie and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. The senator has weathered his own barrage of attacks from Trump for voicing opposition...

President Donald J. Trump and Secretary Noem appointed new members to the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) and announced the date of the council’s first meeting. Formed on March 19, 2002, the HSAC leverages the experience, expertise, and national and global connections of its membership to provide the Secretary of Homeland Security with real-time, real-world and independent advice on homeland security operations. This new-look, America First HSAC will draw upon a deep well of public and private sector experience from homeland security experts committed to fulfilling President Trump’s agenda. The Homeland Security Advisory Council will hold its first meeting at...