Free Republic

Former CIA Director and retired Army Gen. David Petraeus said Sunday that he's dubious that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. "There's not that much right now that would lead us to believe that," Petraeus told ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl. “I don't think, in fact, out of the last two weeks, really, Jonathan, I think what should be clear to all, and I think it is even clear to President Trump, is that despite all of his efforts, again, which we applaud to end the...

Summary Ukrainian drone sparks fire at nuclear plant Nuclear reactor cuts capacity after attack Ukrainian drones strike Ust-Luga fuel export terminal Attacks come on Ukraine's Independence Day MOSCOW, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Ukraine launched a drone attack on Russia on Sunday, forcing a sharp fall in the capacity of a reactor at one of Russia's biggest nuclear power plants and sparking a huge blaze at the major Ust-Luga fuel export terminal, Russian officials said. Despite talk of peace by Russia and Ukraine, the deadliest European war since World War Two is continuing along the 2,000 km (1,250 mile) front line...

"As President, I would much prefer that he clean up this Crime disaster before I go there for a 'walk.'"President Donald Trump targeted Governor Wes Moore (D-MD) in a post on Sunday morning, lashing out at him over an invitation to “walk the streets” in Maryland and saying that he would not do so until Moore took steps to clean up crime. Trump took aim at Moore — who has been floated as a potential contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028 — in a post shared first on his Truth Social platform, comparing him to another of the...

Online Safety Act draws fire for stifling free expression. Children are suffering psychological harm from unfiltered social media platforms that expose them to disturbing adult content as well as online predators. The United Kingdom’s initiatives to police the internet to protect children have attracted opposition by those claiming the Online Safety Act (OSA) is a Trojan horse being abused to regulate free speech. Finding the balance is proving to be an ongoing challenge. Protecting Children OnlineThe explosion of social media platforms in recent decades has created unprecedented threats to children from unfiltered exposure to pornography, internet predation, self-harm, suicidal...

The Democrats’ hackneyed falsehood that Republican gerrymandering in Texas is racist and will end American democracy is not only hysterical – it’s hypocritical. While gerrymandering is ethically impaired, it has been part of U.S. politics for more than 200 years, and a mainstay of Democratic Party ...... According to Article I, “[t]he Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations….” The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment provides that “[n]o State shall...

US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan blocked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from investigating Media Matters for America's targeting of conservative media outlets and personalities in an attempt to put them out of business on the grounds that "exposing Media Matters' tactics to public scrutiny would undermine their effectiveness. Efforts to get advertisers to stop placing ads on conservative media outlets is a very potent strategy for countering the propaganda of these outlets. The right to use this strategy is protected by the First Amendment." US District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered "Alligator Alcatraz" to be torn down on the grounds that...

According to letter to Bondi, emails show seminars were conducted by experts who were ideologically motivated in favor of the plaintiffs in these cases. An energy advocacy group is asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to examine the involvement of the Federal Judiciary Center, a research and education agency of the judicial branch of the U.S. government, in educating judges involved in climate litigation. According to a letter to Bondi from Power the Future, the Federal Judiciary Center (FJC) is engaged in a secretive effort to bias judges as part of a “coordinated, national lawfare campaign” against oil companies and...

“I’ve come to the conclusion that we’ve been sold a bill of goods.”“And the bill of goods was called multiculturalism.”So said liberal evolutionary biologist, researcher, ex-academic, and now podcaster and commentator Brett Weinstein. He made his comments recently during a very intellectual discussion with famed clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson, part of which was posted Friday to the latter’s YouTube channel. And the two men essentially issued a warning, albeit in the most highbrow tone. To wit:Multiculturalism threatens Western civilization itself by prioritizing differences (read: diversity) over unity. If it is not “canceled,” the West very well may be.The Multi-cultThe video...

When reading Scripture, it’s not uncommon to come across passages describing corrupt, evil judges and rulers who oppressed their people. These wicked judges and rulers exhibited moral failure and corruption. They accepted bribes, prioritized personal gain, and led entire societies away from righteousness. They serve as cautionary tales of how authority can be abused, causing societal decay and even divine judgment.It continues today. Here is a short list of modern judicial actions that have interfered with the policies of the Trump administration. Comparing corrupt judges from the biblical and modern eras reveals themes of ideological bias, the perversion of justice,...

VIDEOFor years I've been hearing that Chinese dictator Xi Jinping has been suffering from health problems and/or he is facing a coup from factions within his own Communist party. When nothing materialized I grew skeptical of all such reports. HOWEVER, I am now of the opinion that Xi has only WEEKS left in power. Why? Well, amid growing reports of top generals in the People's Liberation Army having formed a strong faction opposing Xi, there are images of Xi from his recent trip to Tibet in which he appeared to be in HORRIBLE health as you can see. His shuffling...

It’s commonly known blue states are experiencing enormous and financially debilitating out-migration from their people’s republics. Renting a U-Haul for the trip from LA to Austin is massively more expensive than renting one from Austin to LA. That trip is doing U-Haul a favor, so it’s accordingly and dramatically cheaper. My U-Haul experience when we retired and moved from Texas to Wyoming was pleasantly inexpensive. Most Americans haven’t yet discovered the joys of life in Wyoming, a situation with which Wyomingites in the least populated state in the union are satisfied.Fortunately for red states, most people escaping blue utopias are...

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said it would continue to provide air cover to ground troops dismantling jihadist bases in the north-east. More than 35,000 people have been killed and two million displaced in the conflict, according to the UN. Earlier this month, the US State Department approved the sale of weapons worth $346m (£256m) to Nigeria in a bid to help it to quell unrest. The Institute for Security Studies think-tank said that at least 15 jihadist attacks had been recorded so far this year in areas near Nigeria's border with Cameroon and Niger. The jihadists were using modified...

A mom-and-pop casino in Las Vegas is set to close in the fall, after Sin City's rip-off prices sent tourism into freefall. Poker Palace, a casino in North Las Vegas situated on the Las Vegas Boulevard, notified its 126 employees on July 29 that layoffs were set for September 30, with a final closing date of October 1, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification. WARN notices are required by federal law to inform employees of closings and mass layoffs at least 60 days in advance. The casino was sold, impacting all of the employees' jobs, but it's unclear...

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How restrictions on property rights destroy the land.Some laws extinguish fires; others ignite them. In Spain, a country that has mastered the art of legislating against reality, we have more of the second kind. Every time private property is violated and individual responsibility is replaced with state imposition, problems multiply. The State tends to cover a bad law with an even worse one, like trying to put out a fire with gasoline.For decades, the 1957 Forestry Act imposed strict limits on the private management of woodlands. Owning a forest did not mean deciding how to use it: activities were tightly...

Democratic mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani and his comrades at the Democratic Socialists of America want to wipe out the enforcement of all misdemeanor offenses, The Post has learned. In its most recent platform, the group blasts policing and detention as “instruments of class war” designed to “guarantee the domination of the working class” — and demands an end what it calls “the criminalization of working-class survival.” “For all of the working class to achieve collective liberation we must constrain, diminish, and abolish the carceral forces of the state — from prisons and police themselves, to their manifestations in all forms...

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) on Saturday upped her crusade against conditions in the Gaza Strip following a declaration of famine in the region by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. “U.S. taxpayers fund Israel $3.8 billion annually for military aid. That means every U.S. tax payer is contributing to Israel’s military actions,” Greene wrote in a Saturday post on X. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to pay for genocide in a foreign country against a foreign people for a foreign war that I had nothing to do with. And I will not be silent...

Russia accused Ukraine Sunday of launching drone attacks that sparked a fire at a nuclear power plant in its western Kursk region overnight, as Ukraine celebrated 34 years since its independence. Russian officials said several power and energy facilities were targeted in the overnight strikes. The fire at the nuclear facility was quickly extinguished with no injuries reported, according to the plant’s press service on Telegram. While the attack damaged a transformer, radiation levels remained within normal ranges. The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said it was aware of media reports that a transformer at the plants had caught fire “due...

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — A Georgetown County woman has been found not guilty after being arrested and charged with food stamp fraud. Briana Renea Hunt Simmons, 35, was charged with the fraudulent acquisition or use of food stamps valued $10,000 or more, according to the S.C. Department of Social Services. Simmons allegedly knowingly fraudulently received an overpayment of $56,762 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits from November 2019 to May 2024 based on submitted forms, according to an arrest warrant. Furthermore, the warrant states that she left her cohabiting husband and his income off the eight submitted SNAP...

The Rhode Island assistant attorney general whose arrest went viral earlier this week after she seemingly tried to use her position to evade arrest, telling officers they'd "regret" putting her behind bars, will be placed on unpaid leave. Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan, who was arrested for trespassing, was placed on paid leave after the incident while the Rhode Island Attorney General's office reviewed the matter. Starting Monday, Flanagan will go on unpaid leave, the office told Fox News Digital. It is unclear how long Flanagan will remain on unpaid leave until a final determination is made on her...