Free Republic

The Labour Party government has argued that allowing Sharia courts to operate in the United Kingdom is a fundamental “British value” and has refused to distance itself from a broad stroke definition of so-called Islamophobia, which critics say would brand discussions around Muslim child rape grooming gangs as potentially illegally racist. -- Pressed on Tuesday in the House of Commons by Reform UK’s Sarah Pochin as to whether the government supported the existence of Sharia courts in the UK, Minister of State for Courts and Legal Services, Sarah Sackman, unequivocally backed their right to operate. The Labour MP for Finchley...

A Chico police sergeant engaged in numerous sexual relationships while on duty before his termination in January 2025, public records from the Chico Police Department show. Documents acquired by this newspaper state Sgt. Michael Williams received previous discipline for an on-duty relationship with a subordinate officer. The revelation of his continued on-duty sexual relationships with multiple women indicated “a very concerning progression,” of behavior, stated Chico police Capt. Omar Pena in one of the documents. According to the documents, Williams had sexual relationships with what appears to be five women while on patrol in 2023. The department became aware of...

Pooja Tilvawala knows it’s a gamble to use more than $46,000 of her own savings to help young people get to the United Nations climate summit in Brazil. But she thinks it’s a necessary one. As national delegations, activists and other attendees struggle to find affordable places to stay by November, with some deciding not to go at all, Tilvawala, who lives in London, has spent hours working from afar to find lodging in Belem, negotiate prices and contracts and put down deposits. She did all that to create a housing portal specifically for young people who want to be...

French President Emmanuel Macron wants to pull off a grand diplomatic coup on Monday by collecting several Western countries together to recognize a Palestinian state, but he’s a long way from delivering a genuine breakthrough in Gaza. The limits to what he can achieve at the United Nations General Assembly are clear. European heavyweights like Germany and Italy will not be joining his initiative and there’s little prospect his efforts can sway U.S. President Donald Trump or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war. The big idea in New York is to trumpet the recognition of Palestinian statehood...

The death of Robert Redford has inspired more than the usual somber eulogies, and one dominant message is that Redford was "the last movie star" and that his passing is an elegy, marking the end of Hollywood's best way of getting the most people in front of screens. "A star is different from an actor," wrote Joseph Epstein in the Wall Street Journal. "Stars always play themselves, while actors play characters. In an earlier day, one went to see a John Wayne or a Jane Russell movie, often not bothering to mention, or even learn, the movie's title. Redford, who...

Unofficial royal boycott, aunts who supported the Nazis, grandmother who saved Jews from them and full recognition of the Holocaust: the tumultuous relationship between the royal family and Israel… The British royal family has always fascinated the Israeli public. The palace dramas have been a staple of news and gossip websites in Israel over the years, ever since the time of Princess Diana, whose tragic death broke hearts worldwide, including in Israel. To this day, Israelis avidly follow the dramas and stories emerging from Buckingham Palace. But is this interest, if not affection, mutual? Spoiler: No. During her 70-year reign,...

WASHINGTON — Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said that Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr's comments threatening to take action against Disney's ABC last week were "absolutely inappropriate." Asked whether Carr's comments, threatening to revoke broadcasting licenses from ABC after late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel made remarks about Republicans' response to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, were appropriate, Paul said no. "Brendan Carr's got no business weighing in on this, but people have to also realize that despicable comments, you have the right to say them, but you don't have the right to employment," Paul added.

Alleged murderer Luigi Mangione said his rights have been violated and wants the death penalty indictment against him dismissed ahead of a December hearing. Mangione’s legal team filed a 118-page motion to dismiss the death penalty indictment against him on Saturday in the U.S. District Court for Southern New York. His legal team said the case has received “monumental attention from the press and public as well as from politicians and law enforcement officials.” They wrote that New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the New York Police Department and the FBI “staged an intentionally televised ‘perp walk’ where a phalanx...

I regret that the President of the United States is quite so susceptible to the blandishments of a dying monarchy. While he was swanking about Windsor Castle, just a few miles away this was happening to one of his fellow Americans:The Free Speech Union @SpeechUnion 🚨🚨🚨BREAKING: An American cancer patient and Trump supporter was confronted by British police and told to apologise for her online posts or face an investigation. Deborah Anderson, a mother of two, was visited at her home in June by an officer from Thames Valley Police. He told her someone had lodged a complaint about her...

"The Israeli government is far from perfect... It's a very complicated country. But Israel has a right to exist, and Israel has a right to defend itself. One of the reasons why Israel should have a right to defend itself is Israel is a civilized country. Hamas are a bunch of savage animals. And I hate to be that simple, or that black and white, but it really is that way." Accusations of antisemitism In August, when Kirk appeared as a guest on Megyn Kelly's podcast, she said she felt the pro-Israel side had a "knee-jerk about calling you antisemitic...

NASHUA, NH — Nashua police have one person in custody after a shooting at the Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua on Saturday night, where one man was killed and several others injured.

VIDEOIt's on! A Word Salad Showdown between The Candidate, Bill McKay, and The Virginia Candidate, Abigail Spanberger. The winner will be the one who can say the least using the maximum amount of utterly meaningless words as possible. The winner of this contest will go on to the finals where they must provide another meaningless word salad while trying to define what a woman is.

The U.S. Capitol has been considered the most suitable place for the nation to pay final tribute to its most eminent citizens by having their remains lay in state (in the case of government officials and military officers) or in honor (in the case of private citizens). If his family agrees, then I believe that both houses of Congress should authorize the Archetect of the Capitol (AOC) SHOULD arrange for a ceremony that honors Charlie Kirk in the Rotunda.

@AlboMP My statement formally recognising the State of Palestine.

Americans paying attention have long known Biden’s Handlers weaponized the DOJ/FBI against Normal Americans. They’ve also known Joe Biden was their doddering, stumbling, little girl and woman groping, barely conscious mouthpiece. President Autopen was the man that very nearly wasn’t there. The FBI surveilled and harassed parents who expressed their concerns about the political and sexual indoctrination of their children to local school boards. Likewise, were Catholics branded “radical traditional Catholics” surveilled. Then FBI Director Christopher Wray serially lied about that, claiming those tactics were confined to a single FBI field office and he immediately ended the practice, so shocked...

"The USA Strategic Oil reserve is an imporatant safeguard to buffer the effects of any event that could cause problems to the general supply and price of the main products such as diesel or gasoline. So, how's it looking?" My latest blog analyzing data to see how long would it really take to refill the Strategic Oil Reserve.

Charlie Kirk’s critics branded him “divisive,” but his defense of common-sense values made him a unifying voice for millions—until the Left sought to silence him.Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is exercised that Charlie Kirk once said that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was “a mistake.”Rep. Bennie Thompson sees AOC’s charge and raises it: “The fact is,” he said in an official statement, “Charlie Kirk’s rhetoric was divisive, disparaging, and too often rooted in grievance. The beliefs he evangelized normalized fringe views on race, sex, and immigration. Unfortunately, his rhetoric resurrected dangerous prejudices of a dark past.”Gosh. Here’s a question, Congressman. What...

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces that the UK now formally recognises a Palestinian state "Today, to revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution, I state clearly - as prime minister of this great country - that the United Kingdom formally recognises the state of Palestine," he says in a video statement Earlier, Canada became the first G7 nation to make the move, closely following by Australia Starmer's deputy, David Lammy, earlier defended the move - telling the BBC "now is the time to stand up for a two-state solution" Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has previously opposed countries recognising...

Bill Maher rejects Kamala’s claim that America wasn’t ready “for a ticket with a black woman and a gay man.” @billmaher: “I know the Republicans would say, “Well, if you had the right politics, we don’t care if you’re black. We’ve had Herman Cain run. We’ve had lots of people run. 20% of black men voted for Trump in the last election. And gay, we don’t care about that either.”

A mix of high borrowing costs, dwindling job openings and growing economic and political uncertainty have left many U.S. households at a standstill, with many Americans saying they feel unable to buy new homes, take new jobs or move to new cities. The Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut last week — the first of the year, with the expectation that more will follow — may have boosted stock prices, but it isn’t likely to make much of a difference to everyday Americans, economists say. While the economy is generally in good shape, many people feel stuck. “Consumers have been increasingly...