Free Republic

The White House released a statement on the Bondi, Bongino clash on Friday afternoon. Earlier Friday it was reported that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino took a day off from work after a clash with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the handling of the Epstein files. The blowup between Bondi and Bongino happened after the FBI, DOJ released a 2-page memo on Sunday concluding Jeffrey Epstein did not have a “client list” and that he committed suicide. “Bongino did not report to work Friday amid speculation about his whereabouts, said a source familiar with the perspectives of DOJ leaders who...

SummaryUS Treasury reports small budget surplus for June Gross customs duties reach $27 billion in June Bessent says US 'reaping the rewards' of Trump's tariff agenda Treasury chief says US tariff revenue could reach $300 billion in 2025 WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - U.S. customs duty collections surged again in June as President Donald Trump's tariffs gained steam, topping $100 billion for the first time during a fiscal year and helping to produce a surprise $27 billion budget surplus for the month, the Treasury Department reported on Friday. The budget data showed that tariffs are starting to build into a...

[Catholic Caucus] German bishop suggests guidelines for blessing same-sex ‘couples,’ divorced and ‘remarried’Bishop Georg Bätzing recommended implementing heretical 'blessings' for 'divorced and remarried couples, couples of all gender identities and sexual orientations.'Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, president of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK), recommended implementing the conference’s official guidelines for the “blessings” of same-sex “couples,” the divorced and civilly “remarried,” and other irregular unions in his diocese this week.The Diocese of Limburg published Bätzing’s recommendation to implement the heterodox “blessings” in its official diocesan journal on July 9. The bishop’s recommendation follows April announcement from the German Bishops’ Conference and...

The Trump administration is launching a new visa program for migrant workers as farmers and hotel owners express concerns that their labor force is being threatened by the president’s mass deportation raids. The Department of Labor’s newly-created Office of Immigration Policy will help fast track visas for foreign laborers — but the administration has made it clear that the initiative is “not amnesty” for illegal migrant workers, a senior administration official told Axios. “This is not amnesty. It’s not amnesty lite,” the official told the publication. “No one who is illegally here is being given a pathway to citizenship or...

VIDEOThere is a lot of frustration that Jeffrey Epstein's list has not yet been publicly released despite the promise to do so. However, there is universal acknowledgement that the list does have one name for sure at the very top. And now you can hear that person at the very top of the Epstein list complain about the conspiracy theories directed at him.

Donald Trump issued an ominous warning to Vladimir Putin after a maternity ward was struck by drones in Ukraine. The US president responded to news that drones had damaged a maternity hospital in Kharkiv, as he said: “I know. You'll be seeing things happen.” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that among the nine wounded in Kharkiv were women in the hospital - “mothers with newborns, women recovering from surgery.” He said: “Russia is targeting life itself – even in the very places where it begins.” It comes ahead of Trump’s “major statement” on Monday for Russia as he grows frustrated...

The latest version of Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok is echoing the views of its billionaire creator, so much so that it will sometimes search online for Musk’s stance on an issue before offering up an opinion. The unusual behavior of Grok 4, the AI model that Musk’s company xAI released late Wednesday, has surprised some experts. Built using huge amounts of computing power at a Tennessee data center, Grok is Musk’s attempt to outdo rivals such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini in building an AI assistant that shows its reasoning before answering a question. Musk’s deliberate efforts...

A divided federal appeals court on Friday threw out an agreement that would have allowed accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to plead guilty in a deal sparing him the risk of execution for al Qaeda's 2001 attacks. The decision by a panel of the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., undoes an attempt to wrap up more than two decades of military prosecution beset by legal and logistical troubles. It signals there will be no quick end to the long struggle by the U.S. military and successive administrations to bring to justice the man charged with planning one...

A pair of switches that control the fuel supply to the engines were set to "cutoff" moments before the crash of Air India Flight 171, according to a preliminary report from India's Air Accident Investigation Bureau released early Saturday in India. A total of 260 people were killed when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after it took off from Ahmedabad last month. Indian investigators determined the jet was properly configured and lifted off normally. But three seconds after takeoff, the engines' fuel switches were cut off. It's not clear why. According to the report, data from the flight recorders...

Victims think they’re talking to Keanu Reeves. Or Kevin Costner. Then come the pleas for cash. The brazen AI-fueled con that fleeces lovestruck fans and has Hollywood finally fighting back. In November, Margaret climbed into her Toyota Camry, left her husband of 10 years at their comfortable brick home in the rural South and drove an hour to a hotel where — she was sure — Kevin Costner was coming to meet her. By this point, Margaret, 73, had spent months making weekly bitcoin deposits for Costner totaling about $100,000. He had messaged her that he was using the money...

After four decades of conflict with the Turkish state, the outlawed Kurdish PKK has held a ceremony to mark a symbolic first act in laying down its arms... ...Some 40,000 people have been killed since the conflict began, and the PKK is listed as a terror group in Turkey, the US, EU and UK. Its disarmament will be felt not just in Turkey but in Iraq, Syria and Iran... ...The Turkish government launched talks with (imprisoned PKK Leader Abdullah) Ocalan via the pro-Kurdish Dem party, and then in February came his historic appeal for the PKK to disband, read out...

One of the biggest marketing blunders in history was rectified on July 10, 1985, when Coke executives announced that the soda’s original formula would return as Coca-Cola Classic. Less than three months earlier the soft-drink company had rolled out its updated version of Coca-Cola. Informally referred to as “New Coke,” it marked the first change to the signature soda’s recipe in 99 years. Officially, the brand claimed it was re-energizing its famous drink, but the reasoning went much deeper than that. In 1985, Coke had seen its popularity among consumers declining, with many soda drinkers switching to Pepsi during an...

FBI Director Kash Patel is reportedly also frustrated with Pam Bondi and considering resigning if Dan Bongino leaves.Earlier Friday it was reported that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino took a day off from work after a clash with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the handling of the Epstein files.On Sunday night a new FBI, DOJ memo obtained by Axios concluded Jeffrey Epstein did not have a client list that he used for blackmail.The FBI earlier determined that Epstein did commit suicide in August 2019.According to Axios, Bongino was blamed for the oversight of the missing minute. CNN reported that Bongino...

The Billboard Hot 100 dated July 4, 1964 showed the Beach Boys climbing to the top of the chart with ‘I Get Around.’It’s one of those lovely poetic facts that the band who have come to represent the spirit of America had their first US No.1 on Independence Day. The Billboard Hot 100 dated July 4, 1964 showed the Beach Boys climbing to the top of the chart with “I Get Around.” The song that it replaced at the summit was one of the early non-Beatles bestsellers from the British Invasion of that year, Peter & Gordon’s “A World...

Another source told Fox News Digital Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have been in touch several times and are on the same page FBI deputy director Dan Bongino is considering resigning over the Justice Department's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, a source told Fox News Digital, noting that Bongino took a day off from work on Friday due to his frustrations. Bongino has not been seen in the office since Wednesday, a source told Fox News Digital. He has yet to make a final decision about his future, the source said. The latest revelation comes on the heels...

The federal government posted an unexpected budget surplus in June, fueled by a sharp rise in tariff revenues and higher-than-anticipated tax receipts, marking a notable vindication for President Donald Trump’s economic strategy. The $27 billion surplus reported Friday by the Treasury Department stood in stark contrast to forecasts for a $50 billion deficit, representing one of the largest upside surprises in recent budget data. Monthly surpluses typically occur in April, when many Americans file their taxes. Surpluses are also common in January and September. A June surplus is highly unusual. Much of the improvement stemmed from a 301 percent increase...

A man who was raised in the belly of the beast and knows the brainwashed violence of fanatical Islam from the inside has another warning for Europeans and Americans foolishly welcoming in hordes of Muslim migrants: the Muslims will absolutely destroy Europe, given the smallest opening. Mosab Hassan Yousef knows from personal experience both that not every young Muslim is irreclaimable, but that many of them are. After all, while he defected to Israel and converted to Christianity, even though his father was a co-founder of the terrorist group Hamas, he has also warned repeatedly that the majority of the...

The US government recently announced the formal closure of the Epstein case, stating there was no client list, despite widespread public speculation and pressure to disclose the names of those involved with the convicted sex offender.In a startling revelation in the Jeffrey Epstein case, Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz has alleged that key documents are being deliberately hidden to protect influential individuals. Speaking on The Sean Spicer Show, Dershowitz claimed he has firsthand knowledge of the suppression and the names involved but is legally bound from disclosing them. “I know for a fact [Epstein] documents are being suppressed and...

The oboe, a double reed instrument in the woodwind family, is one of the most beautiful, important, and unique musical instruments. With a long history dating back as far as ancient Greece

It was celebrated at the time as a major milestone for progressive education. In 2021, California became the first state to make ethnic studies a graduation requirement, mandating all high schools teach the subject by fall 2025. The idea, championed by California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, was to bring modern concepts into the classroom. At its core, ethnic studies, an academic discipline born on California campuses during the civil rights movement, elevates the experiences of historically marginalized groups. Its materials push students to question their biases, reimagine power structures, and think critically about the enduring legacies of colonialism. In California high...