Free Republic

President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have made clear that the collapse of Cuba’s communist government is not only a likely side benefit of Maduro’s ouster but a goal.No place was hit harder than Cuba by the shock waves that Saturday morning’s U.S. military seizure of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro sent throughout Latin America and the world. Within hours of the operation — long before the government in Havana acknowledged it — phone calls and texts across the island spread the news that dozens of elite Cuban security forces had been killed guarding Maduro. But by the time...

In his real life, retired NYPD Detective Randy Jurgensen busted cop killers, drug dealers and street corner goons — but in his reel life he was the guy who whacked the godfather’s first born. During his storied two-decade career with New York’s Finest and beyond, Jurgensen, 92, worked on more than 40 Hollywood films and television shows — from playing a cop in “The French Connection,” a wiseguy in “Donnie Brasco” and a killer in “The Godfather.” “I really became known as the man who shot Sonny Corleone at the toll booth and I’m on the poster,” he told The...

[Catholic Caucus] EXPLOSIVE: Bishop Hicks’ Vicar General Reportedly Attends Chancellor’s Gay ‘Wedding’IntroductionIn December, we reported that Bishop Hicks’ diocesan chancellor, Robert Salvato, was ‘married’ to another man. Salvato was appointed Chancellor by Hicks in 2021. As Chancellor, Salvato was responsible for advising Hicks on issues related to canon law and recording ecclesiastical acts, decrees and dispensations issued by the bishop.As if the diocesan Chancellor getting ‘married’ to his boyfriend was not enough of a scandal, we now have reports that Fr. Richard Smith, the Vicar General for the diocese of Joliet, attended the ‘ceremony.’ An eyewitness has told us that...

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller doubled down on President Trump’s renewed threats to make Greenland a U.S. territory, but he dismissed the prospect that a military confrontation would be necessary to achieve that goal. In an interview on CNN’s “The Lead,” the top White House adviser reaffirmed the “formal position of the U.S. government” that “Greenland should be part of the United States” and brushed off questions about the potential for military actions against the semiautonomous Danish territory. “The United States should have Greenland as part of the United States. There’s no need to even think or...

[Catholic Caucus] Charlotte priests submit dubia to Vatican over liturgical changesMore than 30 priests in the Diocese of Charlotte have submitted a set of questions to the Vatican related to recent liturgical changes announced by the local bishop, including a decision to ban the use of altar rails and kneelers for communion.Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv. Credit: Diocese of Charlotte.The dubia were sent in a letter to the Dicastery for Legislative Texts on Jan. 5.The letter, obtained by The Pillar, requested formal guidance and clarification about whether a diocesan bishop has the authority to make liturgical changes announced and proposed...

A viral post highlighting biometric surveillance at a Wegmans grocery store in New York City is sparking renewed privacy concerns. "Biometric identifier information collected at this location," a sign attached to the door of a Wegmans reads. "Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. collects, retains, converts, stores or shares customers' biometric identifier information, which may include" facial recognition, eye scans and voiceprints, the sign states. Wegmans confirmed it is collecting the biometric readings, telling Fox News Digital in a statement the "safety of our customers and employees is a top priority." The company went on, "Like many retailers, we use cameras to...

The Venezuelan poster-boy conductor is due to become artistic and music director of the New York Philharmonic in eight months’ time. The position has the highest profile of any US orchestral position. Dudamel, who turns 45 this month, has held close links with successive governments in Caracas. Today, United States forces swooped to capture the corrupt Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, with whom Dudamel has had an on-off and latterly on again relationship. Dudamel led European tours of the regime’s showcase El Sistema orchestra in 2025. He has maintained that his loyalty is to the Sistema organisation and not to its...

So far, Amy Klobuchar has not been associated directly with the Feeding Our Future, daycare, autism, and other Somali-led frauds that have taken down Tim Walz. But then again, the scandal has not obviously damaged Attorney General Keith Ellison, or any of the many other Minnesota Democrats who have had ties as close or closer to the fraud as Tim Walz. Our Pravda Media has, until recently, been so incurious about the fraud that has eaten half of Minnesota's Medicaid budget that only Walz has been tarred by the scandal. But 2026 is an election year, and the smart money...

A Morris man has been arrested and charged with murder for shooting and killing another man from Morris. 58-year-old David Hand shot and killed 71-year-old Lynn Barton on November 7, 2025. Barton’s family contacted the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office, reporting they hadn’t seen him for more than two days. Through the investigation deputies were led to an area behind County Route 49 where they found Barton dead at the scene. An autopsy revealed that Barton died from a gunshot wound to the head. The investigation determined that Hand covered the body before fleeing the scene and attempted to plan the...

Court documents revealed that the woman murdered at the Morgantown Motel was the suspect’s sister. Karol Crosco, 49, of Garrett County, Md., stabbed the woman in the chest and told police he had bought the murder weapon — a kitchen knife, which was found at the scene covered in blood — on the day prior with the intention of killing his sister. Crosco also told police he stole the car specifically to drive to his sister’s motel room.

Hilton Corporate has finally taken action against the despicable ‘independent’ Hilton hotel in Minneapolis that banned ICE and DHS agents, thanks to the dogged efforts of independent conservative journalist Nick Sortor. As The Gateway Pundit reported, the Department of Homeland Security’s X account shared a disturbing email on Monday showing that Hilton Hotels had abruptly cancelled reservations for DHS officers in Minneapolis for daring to round up dangerous illegal aliens. The specific Hilton hotel in question is the Hampton Inn Lakeville property. “After further investigation online, we have found information about immigration work connected to your name, and we will...

For over two decades, Venezuela has served as a critical outpost for Hezbollah in the Western Hemisphere, with reports detailing the group's entrenchment on Margarita Island and ties to the former regimes of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro. U.S. intelligence assessments and media investigations describe this presence as evolving from fundraising networks among the Lebanese diaspora in the 1980s to sophisticated operations involving training, smuggling, and financial schemes by the 2000s. Margarita Island, once a bustling tourist spot, has been highlighted as a primary hub, surpassing even the Tri-Border Area in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay for Hezbollah's regional activities. Training...

European leaders on Tuesday issued a joint statement to push back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed interest in Greenland, saying security in the Arctic must be achieved collectively. “The Kingdom of Denmark – including Greenland – is part of NATO,” the statement said, according to a letter published by Denmark’s Prime Minister’s Office on X. “Security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States, by upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders. These are universal principles, and we will not stop...

Daily Readings from the USCCBBy now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already very late. Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” Mark 6:35–36It is wise to be practical, realistic, and pragmatic. But when it comes to Christ and our call to participate in His divine mission, pragmatism can sometimes be a hindrance. Today’s Gospel illustrates this truth powerfully. The passage begins by showing the compassionate heart of Christ, who looked out upon the vast...

She wrote in August 2019: 'Private property, including and kind of especially homeownership, is a weapon of white supremacy masquerading as "wealth building" public policy.' Two years prior, she claimed that America 'built wealth for white people through genocide, slavery, stolen land and labor.' She also encouraged voters to 'elect more communists,' just months after she called for the endorsement of a 'no more white men in office platform.'

hrystia Freeland, former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, once warned that "the new plutocracy" is "forming a global community, and their ties to one another are increasingly closer than their ties to hoi polloi back home". Well, she should know. The sitting member for University-Rosedale in the House of Commons in Ottawa is simultaneously the Warden of Rhodes House at Oxford, but that's no reason not to take a third gig in a third country:Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa · Follow Today, I appointed Chrystia Freeland @cafreeland as an Advisor on Economic Development. Chrystia is highly skilled in these...

One day after Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz announced he will not seek reelection amid fraud allegations, President Donald Trump on Tuesday set his sights on California and Gov. Gavin Newsom. In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote that California, led by Newsom, is "more corrupt than Minnesota," adding that a "Fraud Investigation of California has begun." Trump's message followed days of intensifying scrutiny on alleged abuse of public programs in Minnesota, and his broader argument that Democrat-led states have grown comfortable with waste, fraud, and political favoritism. "California, under Governor Gavin Newscum, is more corrupt than Minnesota, if that's...

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson admitted theft and misuse of public funds, Mayor Justin Elicker announced during a press conference Monday. Jacobson allegedly admitted to taking money from a city fund used for confidential informants, according to Elicker. The fund is used to provide money to people who share information with police during criminal investigations.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that Venezuelans in the U.S. who were previously under temporary protective status (TPS) can apply for asylum. “Every individual that was under TPS has the opportunity to apply for refugee status and that evaluation will go forward,” Noem told host Gillian Turner on “Fox News Sunday.” Noem ended TPS earlier this year for roughly 600,000 Venezuelan migrants who received protected status from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Biden administration. After the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, early Saturday morning, Venezuelan migrants in South Florida...

Yesterday we noted that the Honourable Member for University-Rosedale in the Canadian House of Commons has a simultaneous gig as Economic Advisor to the President of Ukraine. Today's hardest-working man in "public service" is Abukar Dahir Osman: it seems the President of the United Nations Security Council has his own Freelandesque side-gig with a "home health" business in Ohio.Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill@HHS_Jim · Follow I can confirm public speculation that Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman, Permanent Representative of Somalia to the UN and President of the Security Council, is in fact associated with Progressive Health Care Services, a home health agency...