Free Republic

A former British soldier has been arrested for allegedly helping Russia assassinate Ukrainian politicians in exchange for money, intelligence officials said. Ross David Cutmore was detained by Ukraine’s state security service in October after he was accused of importing and doling out weapons that were used in the slayings of three prominent Ukrainians, the Kyiv Independent reported. Months after he arrived, he allegedly quit the job and started acting as a spy for the Kremlin. He later provided the weapons used to murder politician, Andriy Parubiy, as well as activists, Demian Hanul and Iryna Farion, officials alleged. Cutmore, who had...

A Danish sperm bank has introduced a minimum IQ requirement of 85 for potential donors. This new rule has sparked debate about genetics, ethics, and parental expectations in assisted reproduction. Setting a Minimum Intelligence Standard The Danish sperm bank Donor Network now screens donors by intelligence, becoming the first in the world to require a minimum IQ of 85. It also bars anyone with a criminal record. So far, the company has turned away about 18 percent of applicants who failed to meet the IQ standard. The average IQ is about 100, and researchers estimate that intelligence is 50–80 percent...

There is still more net migration to Britain from Israel. Even as a growing number of British Jews say it is getting harder to envision a future in their native land Not many British Jews have been moving toward the exits. He says that the expense of moving and the cost of living in Israel – by some measures among the highest in the developed world – are obstacles for many.

According to the U.K. Daily Mail, Kohberger is now apparently a “nightmare prison diva,” and part of his unruly behavior has to do with his thoughts on the bananas offered in prison. “He’s complaining about the type of bananas he’s being served,” McDonough told the British outlet. He added: “They’re not the kind that he likes. I’m not sure if that means they may have bruises on them and he doesn’t like that or if there is a particular type of banana that he likes. But he’s complaining about the food he’s getting.” Through its sordid history, the Idaho Maximum...

Ken Burns has set himself the impossible task of retelling a national origin story that all Americans will embrace as their own. He began work on the resulting six-part, twelve-hour series, The American Revolution, nearly a decade ago, just as the so-called Great Awokening got going. The years 2015-2025 have been energizing and inspiring for culture warriors and historical polemicists. But Burns is neither. His craft consists in conveying, intelligently, artfully and respectfully, the mainstream historical consensus. And that consensus has become so politicized it no longer meaningfully exists. Burns’s earnest effort to reconjure it merely results in incoherence. The...

A woman who steered her car into a crowd of people protesting President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies in the Loop earlier this year has been sentenced to “second chance probation,” according to court records. Judge Peggy Chiampas imposed the sentence after Deidre Kemp, 30, pleaded guilty to aggravated reckless driving causing bodily harm last week. Prosecutors said Chicago police had already cordoned off much of the Loop for the anti-Trump demonstration when Kemp ignored officers’ verbal and physical attempts to redirect her. With her children in the car, she drove her 2003 Kia Spectra into the crowd near State...

What will it take to get crime under control in our subways and public transit systems? On Monday, news broke of another passenger set on fire in New York City's subway -- though this story wasn't all it seemed. The homeless man who at first said he was the victim of an attack turned tight-lipped when police pressed him about what happened. Had he set his own clothes ablaze to attract attention? In the wild environment our subways have become, a malicious attack or a madman's self-inflicted injury are both all too believable. Most trips on the New York subway...

Key Points: The national median rent for apartments fell 1% in November from October, and now stands at $1,367, according to Apartment List. The national multifamily vacancy rate was 7.2% in November, a record high. The historic surge in multifamily construction over the past few years is now pulling back, but a good supply of new units is still coming online at a time of much weaker demand. A slew of new supply is still making its way through the multifamily housing market. That, coupled with weakening demand, especially from the youngest workers, is pushing vacancies up and rents down....

Donald Trump is right. Tim Walz is a retard. Oh, I know that many are inflamed at the choice of the pronoun, but we've moved on from that word on to other descriptives "person with an intellectual disability" (most formally correct and preferred by advocacy groups like The Arc or Special Olympics)"person with a developmental disability""intellectually disabled" or "developmentally disabled" (as adjectives, not nouns) So now we're left with using retard as a pejorative. And it fits. Tim Walz came close to becoming Vice President of this country and that is frightening. Tim Walz said he is friends with school...

NATO is weighing a more "proactive" and "aggressive" posture in countering Russia's hybrid-warfare campaign — potentially including "preemptive" actions, said Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone. Dragone, NATO's most senior officer and chair of the alliance's Military Committee, made the remarks in response to myriad attacks at the hands of Russia, including sabotage, cyberattacks, and airspace violations. "We are studying everything. ... On cyber, we are kind of reactive," Dragone said. "Being more aggressive or being proactive instead of reactive is something that we are thinking about." Dragone added that a "preemptive" strike could be considered a "defensive action," adding that...

“This isn’t just about Maduro. This is the final nail in the coffin for the CIA-black-budget narco pipeline that’s been running since the 80s.” —The Ghost of Ezra on “X”. CIA Headquarters, Langley, Va. You must wonder: what exactly has CIA Director John Ratcliffe been doing over in Langley, VA, lo these many months since things changed bigly in Swamptopia? Does he wander the hallways of that giant black box howling ineffectually. . . sit barricaded in his office playing sudoku. . . or is he doing what needs to be done: methodically uncovering and disassembling the diabolical racketeering operation...

A billion-dollar scandal in Minnesota has solved the puzzle of why Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz as her running mate. It wasn’t because she was drunk (although she was). It wasn’t because he is the only national politician who is dumber than she (although he is). It wasn’t because he is a Chairman Xi-approved communist (although he is).Follow the money.Kamala picked Tampon Tim because he is a loyal soldier who does what the capos tell him to do. He is FJB without the senility. He is Rip Taylor without the confetti. Walz has turned his head while taxpayers coughed at...

A Maryland mayor’s decision to eliminate the city’s only rainbow crosswalks has become the latest flash point in a nationwide campaign to strip LGBTQ+ symbols from public spaces. The Salisbury crosswalks, installed in 2018 and repainted each year by volunteers, were removed on November 11 after Salisbury Mayor Randy Taylor ordered crews to mill away the paint at dawn, The Washington Post reports. Taylor, who narrowly won office in 2023, said the city must ensure “neutrality” on government property.

Tesla’s recall of certain Powerwall 2 units is escalating as affected owners file a class action lawsuit over what they describe as “bricked” batteries. The complaint alleges that instead of promptly replacing potentially dangerous units, Tesla remotely limited or drained the batteries, leaving homeowners without functional backup power. Many customers argue this action has deprived them of the core functionality of their Powerwalls, including backup power and energy storage, essentially turning $8,000-plus systems into non-functional wall decorations.

If you live in this district, GO VOTE!

Japanese pop singer Maki Otsuki was in the middle of a concert in Shanghai on Friday when her performance was abruptly cut short, her sound system was turned off, and the organizers ordered her to leave the stage. Otsuki was never given a reason for the rude treatment, but it appears to be part of China’s escalating feud with Japan over Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s comments on Taiwan. Otsuki was performing at the Bandai Namco Festival 2025 in Shanghai, an event dedicated to animation and video games produced by a massive Japanese entertainment company. One of her songs is...

Drivers have complained that their vehicles have suddenly locked up, lost power and refused to start, as owners and dealerships warn of a growing wave of failures that has left hundreds of vehicles stuck in place. The nationwide meltdown hit Porsche models built since 2013, which are all fitted with the brand's factory VTS satellite-security unit. The vehicles have been 'bricked' with their engines immobilised, due to connections with the satellite system being lost. Rolf dealership service director Yulia Trushkova said 'all models and all engine types' are impacted. The company does not rule out that the malfunction may have...

Russia has begun evacuating its citizens from Venezuela, a sudden move that analysts say signals a major shift in Moscow's stance toward dictator Nicolás Maduro's embattled regime — and comes as U.S. military pressure on Caracas steadily intensifies, La Derecha Diario reported. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia confirmed that flights are being organized to remove Russians from Venezuela. The announcement, circulated widely by Russian media, sparked immediate speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for instability or distancing itself from Maduro after years of backing the socialist strongman. The evacuation order comes at an unusual moment. Russian...

We’ve heard a lot about “Color Revolutions” lately. What are they? It’s a regime change strategy that leverages U.S. taxpayer-funded agencies like USAID, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and the International Republican Institute (IRI) to overthrow governments. Their playbook evolved from Cold War-era clandestine operations but shifted to “democracy promotion” over the last 50 years. Bond villain George Soros has been a consistent benefactor and collaborator in these taxpayer-funded endeavors. Here is a simple graphic playbook to show how it was done. And following that is a graphic depicting how it’s been done to us.

Alleged gunman Luigi Mangione will be back in court Tuesday for a second day of testimony as the judge overseeing his state murder case weighs whether to throw out key evidence. On Monday, Judge Gregory Carro heard a 911 call a McDonald’s employee in Altoona, Pennsylvania, made telling the dispatcher some customers were concerned the alleged killer of United Healthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson, who was fatally shot in Midtown Manhattan, was in the restaurant. Two corrections officers who work at SCI Huntingdon, the state prison where Mangione was held until he was extradited to New York to face charges,...