Free Republic

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and media baron Jimmy Lai on Monday was found guilty of sedition and collusion with foreign countries by a Hong Kong court. The 78-year-old was charged under Hong Kong’s controversial national security law, enacted by Beijing in 2020 after pro-democracy protests swept the region in 2019. The court said Lai was guilty of a “conspiracy to commit collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security.” It also said that Lai and his tabloid Apple Daily, requested a foreign country or entity outside of China “to impose sanctions or blockade, or engage...

The Trump administration on Monday unveiled a new initiative dubbed the “U.S. Tech Force,” comprising about 1,000 engineers and other specialists who will work on artificial intelligence infrastructure and other technology projects throughout the federal government. Participants will commit to a two-year employment program working with teams that report directly to agency leaders in “collaboration with leading technology companies,” according to an official government website. Those “private sector partners” include Amazon Web Services , Apple , Google Public Sector, Dell Technologies , Microsoft , Nvidia , OpenAI, Oracle , Palantir , Salesforce and numerous others, the website says. The Tech...

The daughter of one of the victims of Sunday's Bondi Beach terror attack told CBS News on Monday that her father was "shot dead for being Jewish," and she now believes Australia is not a safe home for Jewish people. Sheina Gutnick said that her father, Reuven Morrison, a 62-year-old Soviet-born member of the ultra-orthodox Jewish community in Australia, was killed while attempting to stop one of the two gunmen during Sunday's mass shooting, which Australian authorities have called an antisemitic terror attack. "From my sources and understanding, he had jumped up the second the shooting started. He managed to...

Adam tried to engage the teenager in conversation before continuing to target her aggressively as she desperately tried to flag down passing cars for help. Terrifying footage shows Adam attempting to grab the 'petrified' young woman and drag her across the road as she tried to break free. But the scuffle and her screams are noticed by hero bus passengers who jump off and come to her rescue - chasing her would-be kidnapper away.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — A heroic man who bravely wrestled away a rifle from an Islamic terrorist during the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach on Sunday has been formally charged with the unlawful possession of a firearm. "Rest assured, this man is going away to a long, long time," confirmed Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon. "No one breaks our gun laws and gets away with it. No one. We have him on video, dead to rights." Authorities identified the man who illegally held a gun for three minutes as Ahmed Al Ahmed, a Syrian fruit shop owner who thought he was helping...

PROTECTING AMERICA’S FOOD SUPPLY AND FAMILY BUDGETS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to stop price fixing, anti-competitive behavior, and foreign influence that drives up grocery prices and threatens the security of America’s food supply.The Order directs the Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission to each establish a Food Supply Chain Security Task Force within their respective agencies to aggressively investigate price fixing and anti-competitive practices across the food sector.Both Task Forces are empowered to bring enforcement actions and propose new rules to stop anti-competitive behavior and restore competition.The Attorney General is directed...

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — The Jacksonville Beach Police Department arrested three people after they were allegedly aggressive toward officers on Sunday morning. According to police, officers saw a disturbance involving individuals consuming alcohol in a car while revving the engine in the Pier Parking Lot. Two individuals became aggressively violent toward officers as officers addressed the situation, says police. A third individual attempted to interfere, disregarding lawful commands from officers. All three individuals were arrested, with the one who interfered arrested under the HALO Law (Interference with a First Responder on Duty).

HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — The conservative candidate in Chile’s presidential election has won. José Antonio Kast, a former lawmaker on the far right, defeated Jeannette Jara, a liberal ex-official of the current administration. Kast won in the Sunday runoff race with over 58% of the vote, a margin he reportedly said is like a "broad mandate” that carries a “tremendous responsibility.”

Police departments in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, and other major cities said they are on high alert after a shooting in Australia’s Bondi Beach over the weekend that left numerous people dead. Officials in Sydney said that at least 11 people were shot and killed in an attack on Sunday as hundreds gathered to celebrate Hanukkah. Authorities indicated that it was a terrorist attack targeting Jewish people. “We are closely monitoring the horrific attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, during a Hanukkah celebration,” the New York Police Department (NYPD) said in a statement. “We are in touch...

JAW-DROPPING report from the House just confirmed the left-wing D.C. police chief FALSIFIED crime statistics, "cooking the books" to make the city seem MUCH safer than it was. - Chief Smith PUNISHED and RETLIATED if they tried to report rising crime data, BERATING them - Chief Pam Smith PRESSURED commanders to lower crime stats "by any means necessary" - Chief Smith pushed for lesser-pursued charges EVEN for serious crimes - Required certain crimes to be reviewed by her office WOW.

Authorities moved to release a person of interest they arrested Sunday over a deadly mass shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, extending the manhunt to its third day. The FBI and police have not identified a suspect since the perpetrator opened fire with a handgun in the school’s engineering building during final exams on Saturday, killing two students and wounding nine others, officials said Sunday night. The FBI pursued a local police lead to arrest the initial person of interest in Coventry, FBI Director Kash Patel said on X earlier that day, thanking “the men and women of...

iRobot, the maker of the Roomba vacuum cleaner, filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday, saying that it would go private after being bought by Picea Robotics, its primary manufacturer.The company, which raised concerns about staying in business in March, filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court as it grapples with increased competition from lower-priced rivals and new U.S. tariffs. iRobot generated about $682 million in total revenue in 2024, but its profits have been eroded by competition from Chinese rivals like Ecovacs Robotics. iRobot remains dominant in key markets like the U.S. and Japan, but competition forced it...

Hungarian Justice Minister Bence Tuzson said Budapest “will not allow Brussels to force it to accept migrants.” Hungary has filed a lawsuit against the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over migration-related fines requested by Brussels, Justice Minister Bence Tuzson announced on Monday, December 15th, describing the move as an “unprecedented step in EU history.” According to the minister, Hungary had already amended its rules following a 2020 ECJ ruling on transit zones. Despite these changes, he said, the European Commission continued to push for sanctions in order to force a change in Hungary’s migration policy and took the case back...

Democrat lawmakers circulated a photo of President Donald Trump released from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate with several women’s faces redacted to suggest possible wrongdoing on the part of Trump—only for the unredacted version to show that Trump standing with adult women who were models at an event.

MSM: "Global warming" is the reason it's so cold. Video on X.

Kash Patel is at the center of another embarrassing fiasco after the FBI released a person of interest detained over the mass shooting at Brown University. The FBI had wrongfully detained a 24-year-old Army sniper whose name and photo was leaked to the press by cops, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha admitted on Sunday. A gunman opened fire during a review session for an introductory economics final exam at around 4pm on Saturday. He killed two students including Ella Cook, 19, vice president of the Ivy League school's Republican club, and injured nine others. Forty-eight hours later, the FBI...

At least 15 people were killed by gunmen at Sydney's Bondi Beach.Among the 15 victims of a mass shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach targeting an event for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah on Sunday (Dec 14) were a rabbi who was a father of five, a Holocaust survivor and a 10-year-old girl, according to interviews, officials and local media reports. Some 40 people were taken to hospital, including two police and four children. Police say the attack was carried out by a father and son, and their victims' ages ranged from 10 to 87. The 50-year-old alleged gunman was killed...

The suspects have been accused of plotting coordinated bombing attacks on New Year's Eve across Southern California.Federal authorities on Monday (Dec 15) announced the arrests of four alleged members of an extremist group who are suspected of planning coordinated bombing attacks on New Year’s Eve across Southern California. The suspects were arrested last week in Lucerne Valley, a desert city east of Los Angeles, where they were suspected of preparing to test improvised explosive devices ahead of the planned bombings, according to the federal criminal complaint filed Saturday. They are members of an offshoot of a pro-Palestinian group dubbed the...

The EU’s pro-war, globalist, anti-American leaders are doing everything in their power—including weighing what’s being called a “nuclear option” of deliberately shaking the foundations of the U.S. economy—to block a peace settlement in Ukraine, even as President Trump advances direct negotiations aimed at finally ending the nearly four-year-long inter-Slavic war.According to reports, the globalist bloc in Europe is threatening to sell-off $2.34 trillion in US Treasury holdings if Trump withdraws support for Ukraine—an action that some analysts claim could trigger a downturn more severe than the 2008 crash.Recently, behind closed doors, American and Ukrainian delegations met again in Miami, signaling...

Rob Reiner, his wife Michele, and their son Nick attended Conan O'Brien's Christmas party Saturday night. At the party, Rob and Nick got into a "very loud argument," loud enough for many others to hear ... Reiner family sources tell TMZ. We're told Rob and Michele then left the party. We do not know if Nick left as well. TMZ is the first to report the argument between Rob and Nick on the heels of the murders. Our family sources add … Michele had been anguishing to friends over the last few months that she and Rob were at their...