Free Republic

A 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who recently fled her war-torn home for a safer life in the US was knifed to death by a homeless career criminal at a North Carolina train station last week, according to family members and authorities. Iryna Zarutska suffered multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the East/West Boulevard light rail station in South End, Charlotte just before 10 p.m. Friday, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Saturday. Zarutska had “recently arrived in the United States, seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning,” according to a GoFundMe page set up to fundraise...

The crackdown on small-dollar imports has left businesses and consumers scrambling. Postal services in Japan and Switzerland are the latest to pause shipments to the United States this week, days before an exemption for certain import taxes is about to expire. The loophole, known as “de minimis,” has allowed goods worth less than $800 to enter the United States duty-free since 2016. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month to abolish the practice. It is set to end Friday. The change has rocked small businesses and consumers, leaving many concerned about shipping backlogs and higher costs. Some business...

U.S. stock futures were lower Tuesday, adding to a slide in the major averages to start the week, after President Donald Trump removed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from the board of the central bank....Trump’s unprecedented move adds to the pressure the president has been putting on the central bank’s independence. By law, a president may only remove Fed governor “for cause.” As a result, it is possible the matter will be challenged in the courts.

Key Points Trump administration military leaders are “thinking about” whether the U.S. should acquire equity stakes in top defense contractors, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said. Lockheed Martin, which makes most of its revenue from federal contracts, is “basically an arm of the U.S. government,” he said. Lutnick’s remarks on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” came days after the U.S. government acquired 10% of Intel stock in a roughly $9 billion deal. =============================================================================== Trump administration military leaders are “thinking about” whether the U.S. should acquire equity stakes in top defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin , Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday. The...

A Missouri resident has died from a brain-eating amoeba infection after contracting the deadly parasite during recreational water activities, highlighting serious gaps in public health warnings about these lethal waterborne threats. Story Snapshot * Adult Missouri patient dies from rare Naegleria fowleri brain infection after Lake of the Ozarks waterskiing * Brain-eating amoeba has 97% fatality rate with only four survivors nationally since 1962 * Patient died within six days of hospitalization despite intensive care treatment * Health officials refuse to close recreational water sites despite deadly risk to families Deadly Parasite Claims Missouri Life An adult Missouri resident died...

Conservatives are up in arms about Trump's decision to have the government buy a stake in Intel. Classic, textbook socialism. Trump sees the Intel deal as a first step toward creating an American "sovereign wealth fund," with many more investments to follow. This is about keeping America competitive with Communist China, which controls the world's second and third largest sovereign wealth funds. Traditionally, countries rich in national resources, particularly oil, have used sovereign wealth funds to diversify and grow their economies.

A teenage girl has been charged by police after allegedly being caught brandishing a bladed weapon in the middle of the street. Police Scotland said the youngster was dealt with in Dundee at the weekend. The schoolgirl was identified after officers were called to the city's Lochee area on Saturday evening. Officers attended St Ann Lane, just off Coupar Angus Road, in the area, which is in the west of the city. Reports had been made that there was a girl in possession of a weapon. Police vehicles were spotted at Balgay Street car park as officers investigated. The force...

Korean Air announced a $50 billion order on Monday for 103 Boeing airplanes and GE Aerospace engines and servicing, coinciding with the visit of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to Washington. The order, the largest in the Korean air carrier’s history, includes a mix of 787s, 777s and 737 Boeing airplanes worth about $36.5 billion. Reuters first reported the deal earlier Monday. Korean Air also announced a separate deal Monday with GE on the purchase and maintenance of engines valued at $13.7 billion. Many countries negotiating trade deals with the Trump administration have announced or plan to announce significant...

The president in recent days is leaning even further into using the National Guard as a glorified police force, visiting the troops and allowing them to be armed. He’s suggested he’s eyeing Chicago and New York next for their next deployment. On Sunday, he needled Maryland Gov. Wes Moore for Baltimore’s notorious crime statistics, hinting he could send troops there as well. It's a sign that despite polling showing how unpopular Trump’s moves are in Washington, the president is playing to a national audience — and betting this is a battle he and the GOP can win. If his recent...

Key Points President Donald Trump said he is removing Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook from her position. Trump said there is sufficient reason to believe Cook made “false statements” on one or more mortgage agreements. “I will not resign,” said Cook, who hired high-profile attorney Abbe Lowell to challenge her purported termination. Trump has complained for months that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has not lowered interest rates. =============================================================== President Donald Trump on Monday said he had fired Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, an unprecedented and dramatic escalation of his attacks on the U.S. central bank’s independence over its...

On February 14, 2022, Logan Hunter Vagle had a rollover accident near the intersection of Interstate 94 and Highway 65 in Fridley, Minnesota.When a Minnesota State Trooper arrived and investigated the accident, Vagle admitted he had a pistol in the vehicle. The pistol was a homemade version of the Glock 19, which Vagle had assembled himself. Vagle is now listed as 24 years old, so he may have been less than 21 years old in 2022. Vagle does not appear to have any criminal history. Logan Hunter Vagle has a youtube channel, but we have not verified if the owner...

White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller told reporters Monday that the Trump administration has uncovered a “massive scandal” in Washington D.C. involving the doctoring of crime statistics. He said the alleged corruption is currently under investigation and said details of the corruption will soon be brought to light. “The results will stun you,” he said. Miller made the remarks in the Oval Office after President Trump signed a slew of new executive orders to end cashless bail throughout the United States and in the District of Columbia, prosecute the burning of the...

The liberals have gotten so absurd that they have turned themselves into comedy material. Therefore Justine Brooke Murray is now performing MRCTV comedy based on material published in Newsbusters. Here is Justine commenting on the absurdity of a Politico editor whining about no mass protests in DC against the federal takeover of the police department in the Capital. Oh, and look closely to see which Newsbusters article provided the comedy material. I would tell you the name that can be seen on that article but I'm much too (BLUSH!) humble..@Justine_Brooke schools the editor of Politico who is upset that there's...

The suspected instigator in the racially motivated Cincinnati brawl that left one mother unconscious has now been slapped with federal drug charges — on top of the laundry list of offenses he’s facing for his role in the brutal beatdown. Jermaine Mathews, 39, was indicted for conspiracy and intent to distribute a whopping “40 grams or more of fentanyl,” the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio wrote in a press release on Monday. He was also charged with “operating a premises on Kenton Street in Cincinnati for the purpose of trafficking narcotics” alongside three other co-conspirators based...

Ever since the Europeans signed on to the F-35 program, it has been clouded by one persistent fear: that in some future geopolitical crisis, Washington might seek to exercise leverage by denying software updates or spare parts, thereby rendering the European fleet inoperable. But where does this geopolitical anxiety come from? Is it grounded in historical fact (i.e., have there been precedents in which the United States weaponized its control over advanced weapon systems against its allies)?

tate Senate District 1 Special Election includes Polling Locations for Precincts 1-22 only. All other precincts are in State Senate District 7 and are not eligible to vote in the 8-26-25 Special Election.

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Two men in Palm Beach County have been formally charged in relation to crimes against a child. The Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office announced Friday that a grand jury has formally charged Josue D. Mendez-Sales, 27, and Pablo N. Cobon-Mendez, 23, each with two counts of sexual battery on a person less than 12 years of age. “My office pursued an immediate grand jury indictment for two individuals who committed a heinous crime against a child. These allegations represent the most serious and disturbing violations of a child's safety and trust. Their actions warrant...

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – A man died Monday night after he was shot by nine officers following a tense and chaotic series of events that began at a boat ramp and ended in a crash in Atlantic Beach, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said. According to JSO, the incident began around 6 p.m. at the Dutton Island Preserve boat ramp, where a couple from Georgia was fishing when they heard gunshots from across the water. The couple told police they saw a man, 37, shooting a rifle into the water, and the husband decided to approach the man and ask him...

A young Ukrainian woman who fled to the United States seeking a better life has been identified as the victim of a merciless stabbing on Friday night. Iryna Zarutska, 23, was found dead at 9.55pm on Friday at South End light rail station in Charlotte, North Carolina. The woman had only recently moved to the US from Ukraine in an effort to escape the ongoing war with Russia. PICTURED: Career criminal arrested for brutal murder of Ukrainian woman, 23, who fled war for new life in America By BRITTANY CHAIN, US SENIOR REPORTER Published: 21:38 EDT, 25 August 2025 |...

"Well, I mean, I'm talking about the — the — I had had, there was a. . . . —Ghislaine Maxwell. Did you happen to bother reading the transcript of Ghislaine Maxwell’s interview? It’s tough sledding at times — both Ms. Maxwell and Deputy AG Todd Blanche tend to speak in choppy, incomplete sentences (as does, you might have noticed, President Trump) — but altogether the confab reveals that just about everything you think you know about the scandal might not be so, and her story is full of shocking surprises, assuming you can believe her. For instance, Ms. Maxwell...