Free Republic

More than 200 Border Patrol agents descended on a Chicago Home Depot parking lot early Thursday morning in a sweeping immigration enforcement action under President Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz. The operation marked one of the largest federal deployments yet in the crackdown on criminal illegal aliens shielded by Chicago’s sanctuary policies. The early morning sweep of the home improvement store parking lot was conducted like operations that have been underway in Los Angeles in recent months. The Border Patrol agents participating in the operation are volunteers from stations around the country. The agents are detailed for an undetermined amount of...

Donald Trump just pulled off a political maneuver that has Democrats reeling — and, frankly, they should be. With a potential government shutdown looming on September 30, the Trump administration has made it clear that if Congress can’t pass a clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government running, federal workers could be facing mass firings. Not furloughs. Firings. Real jobs on the line. For years, Democrats thought they could weaponize shutdowns as a way to extract concessions from Republicans. Now, Trump has flipped the script by putting the pressure right back where it belongs: on them.

A Kentucky congressman and senator are touring northern Kentucky together as the election season begins. “Is it the Republicans fault or the Democrats fault? And I just say ‘yeah,’” Sen. Rand Paul said humorously as he began remarks to a packed room at the Robertson County Community Center. It was one of four community forums held on Wednesday, co-headlined by Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie. Later in the day, both appeared at a coffee meet & greet and a “Massie for Congress” rally that staff said were campaign events. Both Republicans have taken national heat for their own independence from...

The sinking of the RMS Titanic is perhaps the most famous shipwreck in history, but its sister ship, the lesser-known HMHS Britannic, also suffered a tragic fate. During World War I, the luxury cruise liner was requisitioned as a hospital ship, the largest in the world at the time. As it was sailing through the Aegean Sea on November 21, 1916, it struck a mine and went down off the island of Kea in less than an hour. Thirty of the more than 1,000 people onboard perished when their lifeboats were hit by the ship's whirling propellers. The Associated Press...

Two Syracuse University students have been charged with burglary as a hate crime after one of them was alleged to have thrown a bag of pork into a Jewish fraternity house as people gathered to observe Rosh Hashanah, police said Wednesday. The two 18-year-olds were also charged with one count each of criminal nuisance in the incident at the Zeta Beta Tau house about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, police in Syracuse, New York, said. Allen Groves, the university’s chief student experience officer, called it a “deeply troubling incident" in a message to the campus community Tuesday night. “Tonight’s incident as reported...

Serial killer Robert Pickton, shown here during his murder trial in 2006, was fatally assaulted at the Port-Cartier federal penitentiary in May 2024. (Jane Wolsack/The Canadian Press)An inmate who has pleaded guilty to murdering Robert Pickton in prison last year says he did it for the serial killer's victims. Martin Charest admitted on Thursday morning to fatally assaulting Pickton with a broken broom handle at the Port-Cartier federal penitentiary in May 2024. Charest pleaded guilty to first-degree murder during a court appearance in Sept-Îles, Que., northeast of Quebec City. Pickton was convicted in 2007 of six counts of second-degree murder,...

SAN RAMON, Calif. (KGO) - Several people have been arrested following an armed robbery at a shopping center in Northern California. Police say nearly 25 people were involved in the brazen robbery, where they stole about $1 million worth of merchandise. San Ramon Police Department Lt. Mike Pistello said the robbery happened at Heller Jewelers at City Center Bishop Ranch on Monday afternoon. “They used crowbars and pick axes and basically took whatever jewelry was available,” Pistello said.

With the push of a button, the 540’ cooling tower in Hartsville, TN, safely came down this morning. The iconic structure was removed to make the Hartsville site safer and ready for tomorrow’s potential opportunities. ⚡🏗️ 0:30 VIDEO AT LINK.................VERY COOL!............

"Quite a few planes violate Russia's airspace, accidentally and not accidentally. No one shoots them down," Alexey Meshkov emphasizedPARIS, September 25. /TASS/. Russia’s ambassador to France Alexey Meshkov has warned that if NATO were shooting down Russian planes allegedly violating the airspace of the alliance's member countries, that would mean war. "There would be war. What else could there be?" Meshkov said on RTL radio, responding to a question about Russia's possible response. "Quite a few planes violate our airspace, accidentally and not accidentally. No one shoots them down," the ambassador added. Meshkov also stated that Europe has not provided...

Explanation: This year Saturn was at opposition on September 21, opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky. At its closest to Earth, Saturn was also at its brightest of the year, rising as the Sun set and shining above the horizon all night long among the fainter stars of the constellation Pisces. In this snapshot from the Qinghai Lenghu Observatory, Tibetan Plateau, southwestern China, the outer planet is immersed in a faint, diffuse oval of light known as the gegenschein or counter glow. The diffuse gegenschein is produced by sunlight backscattered by interplanetary dust along the Solar System's ecliptic plane,...

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered a meeting with top military leaders from around the world to gather on short notice. The meeting is slated to take place at Quantico in Virginia next Tuesday, per the Washington Post. A meeting of the officials was confirmed by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, who said Hegseth "will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week," but did not address additional details, the outlet reported. Military members from around the world have been ordered to attend the meeting, the outlet reported. The order also comes as Hegseth has been looking to overhaul...

Friedrich Merz.... He has insisted that Hamas cannot be allowed a role in Gaza’s future and that hostage release and disarmament are non-negotiable. This is not callousness; it is the minimum moral logic of diplomacy. A peace plan that includes Hamas is not a peace plan at all – it is surrender to fanaticism and rewards the wrong side. And here Germany’s historic responsibility comes into sharp relief. No European nation has a deeper obligation to the security of the Jewish people. For Germans, the Holocaust was not a tragic accident; it was a state-driven programme of annihilation, which can...

Two Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill that would authorize the minting of 400,000 silver dollar coins featuring the image of Charlie Kirk, FOX News reported Sept. 24. The proposal, brought forward by Reps. August Pfluger, R-Texas, and Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., seeks to memorialize Kirk through limited-edition legal tender bearing his likeness, full name, and the inscription “well done, good and faithful servant.” The year 2026, the motto of the U.S., and other official markings would also appear. The final coin design would be selected by the Treasury Secretary in consultation with President Donald Trump. The text of the bill...

Buy Now, Pay Later programs like Klarna, Afterpay, and Affirm promise interest-free payments and instant approval—but behind the scenes, they’re fueling a dangerous new debt trap. In this video, we break down how BNPL really works, why it's exploding in popularity, and how it's psychologically designed to make you spend more than you can afford. From hidden fees to data selling, here’s what they’re not telling you.

A radical magistrate judge denied the Justice Department’s request to detain a man who tried to take down Marine One with a red laser pointer. The Justice Department on Monday charged a man for trying to take down Marine One with a red pointer laser on Saturday. According to a legal complaint filed on Monday, the suspect, Jacob Samuel Winkler, pointed a red laser at Marine One while President Trump was onboard. “The red laser beam hit Officer Santiago’s eyes and briefly disoriented him. At this time, Marine One flew at a relatively low height and directly above Officer Santiago...

The Trump administration is warning migrant sponsors to take financial responsibility for them or expect to be slapped with steep fines, lawsuits, or even prosecution. American citizens who sponsor migrants that end up using taxpayer-funded benefits like food stamps or housing assistance will be held financially liable and could even face criminal charges, according to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) memo obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The announcement, which is intended for all migrant sponsors across the country, marks the latest policy crackdown by the Trump administration. “It is crucial for sponsors and aliens to meet...

Ahead of a possible government shutdown on October 1st, the White House Office of Management and Budget has instructed federal agencies to prepare for mass layoffs. Thousands of federal employees — specifically in agencies that lack funding and don’t align with President Trump’s goals — could permanently lose their jobs if the shutdown happens. ...details: BREAKING: TRUMP ADMIN THREATENS MASS FEDERAL LAYOFFS IN SHUTDOWN OMB Director Russ Vought ordered agencies to prepare Reduction in Force (RIF) notices for “thousands” of federal employees if government shuts down October 1. The memo directs layoffs for any programs that: lack funding, aren’t covered...

OREM, Utah — Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of assassinating Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University earlier this month, "made contact" with a police officer near where investigators recovered the alleged murder weapon wrapped in a towel in the woods at the edge of campus, according to two law enforcement sources. It happened around 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 10, roughly six hours after a sniper's bullet struck Kirk in the neck as he was engaging the audience during a speaking event sponsored by the UVU chapter of his organization in Orem, Utah. The officer was guarding...

President Trump warned Thursday that right-wing Americans could fight fire with fire if the “radical left” continues to attack conservatives and immigration enforcement. “The radical left is causing the problem. They’re out of control,” Trump said in the Oval Office when asked about political violence including the Wednesday attack on an ICE facility in Dallas. “They’re saying things, and they’re really dumb people, and I look at [Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine] Crockett, I look at some of these people that are very low-IQ people, actually. But the radical left is causing this problem, not the right.” “It’s going to get...

Taking two common painkillers may be raising your risk of suffering from a deadly bacterial infection, a study suggests. Ibuprofen, brand name Advil, and acetaminophen, brand name Tylenol, are readily-available over-the-counter drugs taken by millions every year to ease headaches, back and neck pain and fevers, among other ailments. But researchers in Australia warn that the drugs, sold for about 20 cents a pill, could turbocharge antibiotic resistance, making deadly bacterial infections harder to treat. In lab experiments, they found that the drugs made bacteria more resistant to a common antibiotic used to treat infections when used on their own...