Free Republic

War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Tuesday another lethal strike against a drug trafficking vessel in the Eastern Pacific. Two were killed in the attack. According to NewsNation, at least 66 people have been killed in at least 16 strikes since the United States campaign in South America started in September. This strike came “the same day an aircraft carrier began heading to the region in a new expansion of military firepower,” per NewsNation. Hegseth wrote in a statement on Tuesday, Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a...

New York City’s Jewish fire commissioner Robert Tucker handed in his resignation first thing Wednesday — just one day after anti-Israel Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was elected, The Post has learned. Tucker, a Jewish philanthropist and businessman, will step down from the role he has held for just over 12 months on Dec. 19, sources said. He will go back to running the private security firm he headed before joining Mayor Adams’ administration, the sources added. News of Tucker’s resignation came just as the FDNY boss was set to fly to Israel later Wednesday to meet with a fire commissioner in...

On Wednesday's Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough sought to present himself as the kindly, non-partisan political consultant, saying he had warned Republicans not to overreach after their 2024 victories, or imagine they'd occupy the White House forever. How phony. That was just cover for his gloating proclamation that Republicans didn't listen to him: "And if you go too fast, voters will knock you on your ass immediately. And that's what happened yesterday." Democrat ex-senator Claire McCaskill didn't even bother trying to disguise her glee, saying of President Trump: "Yeah, I'd say he's on his ass." Morning Joe proceeded to give the...

The engine of a UPS cargo plane that crashed on Tuesday could have detached from the jet, an expert has warned, causing a devastating fireball that killed at least nine people. There are fears the death toll could rise after Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced this morning that sixteen families had reported their loved ones missing. The Boeing MD-11 plane exploded shortly after departing from Kentucky's Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville last night. Speaking with CNN, Mary Schiavo, former Department of Transportation Inspector General, said she believed the engine had come off before the explosion. 'You can see there...

One year after the discovery that golden mussels had invaded the Delta, thick colonies coat boats and piers and threaten water supplies for cities and farms. Yet the state has no specific funding or plans to tackle harms in the heart of the invasion.

Next week my firm will hold its annual health insurance information meeting. The news won’t be good. Premiums are expected to increase 10-15% after increasing a similar amount last year. If only my 401(k) could grow like that! The bottom line is that my paycheck will become smaller and my health care costs will become larger. My wife and I have also spent most of this year scurrying through the endless maze of our byzantine and befuddling health care system. Our journey began when my wife’s father had a stroke in April… Over the past seven months we have had...

The Magnum Ice Cream Company has concluded that the chair of its Ben & Jerry's brand no longer "meets the criteria" to serve as a board member after internal investigations, it said in an SEC filing, as an ongoing internal feud continues. The Magnum-led ice cream venture, which also incorporates the Wall's and Cornetto brands, is being spun off from consumer goods conglomerate Unilever in an Amsterdam listing now planned for Dec. 8 after a delay of around one month due to the U.S. government shutdown. Unilever and Ben & Jerry's have been at odds since at least 2021 when...

Tucker Carlson’s Populist Poison Laced with pro Nazism Is Driving Some Young Jews Toward the Radical Left e.g. Mamdani (just like Charlottesville 2017 helped Biden). Tucker Carlson’s Populist Poison Laced with pro Nazism Is Driving Some Young Jews Toward the Radical Left e.g. Mamdani. Tucker Carlson built his brand on the illusion of defending “real America,” but what he’s actually done is mainstream grievance politics and conspiracy rhetoric that corrodes the conservative movement from within. By flirting with isolationism, even pro-Hitler Fuentes, Holocaust denier Darryl Cooper, excusing antisemitic tropes, and casting suspicion on Israel’s moral legitimacy, Carlson has alienated countless...

@RepThomasMassie Maybe it suggests not alienating independents and shrinking the GOP tent… which has been done through attacks on the non-interventionist liberty wing of the party and by calling the Epstein situation a hoax.

While Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke with citizens in the street in Mexico City’s historic downtown Tuesday, a man who appeared to be inebriated stepped up behind her and touched her before a government official intervened. In a video circulating widely on social platforms, the man appeared to lean in for a kiss and touch the president’s body with his hands. She gently pushed his hands away, maintaining a stiff smile as she turned to face him. She could be heard to say in part, “Don’t worry.” The president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about...

The asian-fusion restaurant brand Wagamama USA is relocating its corporate headquarters from New York to Tampa. In December, the company will move to The Towers at Westshore, located at 1408 N. Westshore Blvd., according to a Wednesday media release. There will be between 15 and 20 employees based there. “Relocating to Tampa positions us for long-term growth,” CEO of Wagamama USA, Stephen Judge said in a statement. “It allows us to continue building a world-class team and strengthen the foundations required for disciplined expansion.” Wagamama USA currently operates seven locations across the U.S., including one at Tampa’s Water Street, which...

Daily Readings from the USCCBGreat crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:25–26After this startling opening line from our Lord, Jesus concludes today’s Gospel by saying, “In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” Thus, at first read it appears that we are called to not only renounce all we possess but also to hate those within our...

The former White House chief strategist has long preached the idea that populism is the engine of modern politics. And he sees Mamdani’s election as mayor of New York City as proof of its staying power — and a sign of the growing anti-establishment force on the left that Republicans would be foolish to ignore. “Tonight should be a wake up call to the populist nationalist movement under President Trump,” he said in an interview with POLITICO Magazine just after midnight on Wednesday. “These are very serious people, and they need to be addressed seriously.” Bannon seemed impressed by the...

On October 26, Zohran Mamdani held a rally at Forest Hills Stadium—a venue that sits right across the street from my apartment. It was hard not to despair as tens of thousands of New York’s most caffeinated and clinically unstable activists flooded my quiet, tree-lined Queens neighborhood like a swarm of earnest locusts. I decided to treat the ordeal as fieldwork. Stepping outside with what I told myself was a neutral disposition, iPhone Notes app at hand, I talked to his devotees, observed their rituals, and tried, against all odds, to understand what gospel this man was preaching that could...

Earlier this year in March, the book War Memories of an Army Chaplain by Henry C. Trumbull was completed as audio. I don't always make a fuss out of every single work we finish around here, I sometimes choose to avoid feature creep and some works I pick up simply for collaborative reasons. This work was recommended to me by an acquaintance at church and I am very strongly oriented toward home schoolers so it stirred my thoughts. That said, it has come to my attention that in the last six months the popularity of this work has ballooned, and...

It’s not so much the idea that rich Christians are bad people. It’s more the idea that we live in a land that is quite literally the richest nation that has ever been and yet, we are surrounded by a large population of people who lack basic necessities. It raises the question – Why? …It doesn’t matter if we are hearing prophets like Jeremiah and Isaiah, or Jesus’ own words. The message is the same – God cares how the poor are treated and does not look kindly on those who exploit the poor for their own benefit because when...

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is demanding the resignation of Charleston Airport CEO Elliot Summey and threatening legal action after airport officials accused her of mistreating staff. "My lawyers are examining EVERY LEGAL OPTION," Mace wrote in a post to X. "Elliot — I’m waiting for that resignation letter. Tomorrow morning. Get your computer ready and start typing. You’re completely and totally COOKED."

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, a Democrat, cruised to reelection Tuesday, capturing more than 70% of the vote over Republican challenger Terrie Donovan, with nearly all ballots counted, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. The result extends Democrats’ long dominance in North Carolina’s largest city, which hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since former Gov. Pat McCrory left office in 2009, according to WFAE.

This is a video of President Trump's speech 11/5 during a breakfast with Republican senators. Skip to 29 minute mark. The earlier portion is commentator filler. Apologies IDK how to post Rumble at a time stamp. This speech is remarkable for Trump's impassioned & reasoned plea for the Senate to end the filibuster now. The President also addresses the blue slip tradition very bluntly. On a day when good news is hard to find it appears that once again when the going gets tough the tough get going.

A good Wednesday morning to you on this day after the you-know-what. Thanks for stopping by. I admit to being a little over-tired today. I was up until late, backgrounding today's offering. Yesterday, I was busy enjoying the last few days of fall. Temps in the 50s and most of the leaves are gone now. As it happens, I live in one of the more beautiful areas of New York, near the entrance of Letchworth State Park, known as the Grand Canyon of the East. Here's a look at the Genesee River as it runs through the park. The bridge...