Free Republic

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor appears to have knowingly shared confidential information with Jeffrey Epstein from his official work as trade envoy in 2010 and 2011, according to material in the latest release of files in the US seen by the BBC. Emails from the recently-released batch of Epstein files show the former prince passing on reports of visits to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam and confidential details of investment opportunities. Under official guidance, trade envoys have a duty of confidentiality over sensitive, commercial, or political information about their official visits. The former Duke of York, who served as trade envoy between 2001...

NEW YORK (AP) — The FBI pored over Jeffrey Epstein’s bank records and emails. It searched his homes. It spent years interviewing his victims and examining his connections to some of the world’s most influential people.But while investigators collected ample proof that Epstein sexually abused underage girls, they found scant evidence the well-connected financier led a sex trafficking ring serving powerful men, an Associated Press review of internal Justice Department records shows.Videos and photos seized from Epstein’s homes in New York, Florida and the Virgin Islands didn’t depict victims being abused or implicate anyone else in his crimes, a prosecutor...

Used my Linux Mint 20 Pc to post some text the other day and it disappeared. That supports the theory that it was not just a Windows 11 problem. Rather than wasting any more time with disappearing text, I'm going to retire from Free Republic. RIP.

The kingdom of the Beast is coming… …and it’s coming FAST! Things may look like a vast sea of disorganized chaos right now, but each piece is carefully and rapidly being assembled and positioned, and soon it will all come together into one giant nightmare for humanity. All the disinformation, the deception, the uncertainty, the manipulation, and the distracting illusions are heading to one final climactic endgame. And that big finish has been planned for eons. What no wise man, no philosopher, no king, no tyrant, and no President has ever been able to pull together will finally all be...

Summary of Interview Between Nick Shirley and Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill of HHS The interview focuses on fraud in federal health and welfare programs, particularly Medicaid and child care, administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Key discussions include:Fraud in Minnesota and Other States: HHS froze $185 million in child care funding to Minnesota after requesting proof of legitimacy, which the state has not provided. Similar issues exist in Medicaid, where Minnesota submitted an inadequate corrective action plan. Five states (California, New York, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado) sued HHS over requirements for evidence before disbursing funds. HHS...

Firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s Senate campaign is having issues with her stance on the issues. Two months into her long-shot bid for statewide office, the Texas Dem’s website was found riddled with multiple faux pas, including instructions to “write out your bullet points here” in the mental health section of her campaign platform and a bizarre inclusion of gun control policy on her Social Security page. Crockett had just launched a series of policy pages last week. Both gaffes have since been fixed. The campaign website blunders were first flagged by a senior CNN reporter, Edward-Isaac Dovere, who spotted the...

The Drawdown and Its ScopeOn February 4, 2026, federal officials announced that approximately 700 immigration enforcement personnel would be withdrawn from Minnesota effective immediately. This is approximately 25% of all agents deployed to the area. The personnel being removed included agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection who had been deployed into the Minneapolis–St. Paul is part of a large federal immigration operation. After the drawdown, federal officials confirmed roughly 2,000 immigration enforcement personnel would remain in Minnesota. Why the Remaining Federal Presence Still MattersA continued presence of approximately 2,000 federal immigration agents constitutes a sustained...

After a sometimes heated six-hour debate and a few failed amendments, the New Mexico Senate passed a gun bill that aims to stop firearms from getting into the wrong hands and ban the sale of certain types of weapons. With a 21-17 vote, Senate Bill 17 now heads to the House for approval. Sens. Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces, Benny Shendo Jr. of Jemez Pueblo and Angel Charley of Acoma Pueblo were the lone "no" votes among Democratic lawmakers. All Republican senators voted in opposition. Senate Bill 17 would require licensed gun dealers to keep inventory records and implement security...

This YouTube link points to a Fox News video titled: "JUST IN: Police arrest 50+ anti-ICE protestors in Minneapolis". It's a breaking news-style clip uploaded today (February 8, 2026), running as part of Fox News coverage. The report comes from senior correspondent Steve Harrigan, with additional commentary from former Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf during a segment on Fox News Live. Key details from the report: Police arrested nearly 50 (reports vary slightly between 42–50+) protesters outside a federal building in Minneapolis. The protest, which was against ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), reportedly turned violent. Protesters allegedly threw bottles...

We have another video masterpiece of peace and urban harmony from Chicago, otherwise known as America’s largest open-air shooting gallery. While Mayor Brandon Johnson continues to rail against ICE agents rounding up criminal illegals in his dystopian city, four gang members opened up on a rival’s car shortly after noon just across town from hizzoner. While the shooters only perforated their intended target in the butt-tocks, they did successfully kill the man’s girlfriend with their fusillade of lead. Thankfully and miraculously, the bangers with the blasters somehow missed the toddler in the back seat. Gabryel Ayers, 26, was driving the...

2003: MSNBC host Joe Scarborough worries California may start issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. “By giving these criminals the most accepted form of identification in America, the California Democrats buy votes for themselves.” “This plan seems to me to legitimize illegal immigration once and for all. And it’s dangerous.” “They’re breaking the law. It’s that simple. If you break the law, you shouldn’t get a driver’s license. You shouldn’t be in our country.”

Shrinking birth rates would impact the workforce, prompting greater reliance on imported labour, even in countries that historically did not do so, such as Tunisia and Morocco. HomeHome   ع  Arab world faces sharp decline in birth rates amid demographic shifts Shrinking birth rates would impact the workforce, prompting greater reliance on imported labour, even in countries that historically did not do so, such as Tunisia and Morocco. Wednesday 14/01/2026 Multiple causes Multiple causes RIYADH – Birth rates across the Arab world have been declining at a striking pace in recent years, sparking intense debate among sociologists. Experts...

President Donald Trump is going on the offensive after a member of Team USA competing at the Winter Olympics criticized the direction of the United States' political climate. American athletes competing at the games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo have been asked questions about their feelings on the country's current political climate - which has drastically shifted under Trump since he took office a second time. While some athletes have expressed their thoughts and feelings - including those against the shifting political temperature - with diplomacy, others have taken a more direct approach. Hunter Hess, a freestyle skier from Oregon...

Twenty-five years ago, in 2001, the fertility rate stood at 2.38. It has been falling continuously for the past 11 years and has now reached a historic low of 1.48. Turkey, a friendly country to neighbouring Pakistan, is now heading towards a serious demographic crisis. It is perhaps the only Muslim-majority country in the world where the population is declining rapidly, a trend that is worrying its rulers. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, Turkey’s total fertility rate is expected to fall to 1.48 children per woman in 2024. This is well below the population replacement level of 2.1. Twenty-five...

VIDEONo, that's not a typo in the title. When someone desperately fears debating by shutting up and just smirking while someone else representing the opposing viewpoint is speaking aka shush smirking you get SHMIRKING. This is what happened to CNN panelist Deja Foxx a former model with nothing at all to say in response to Scott Jennings other than stick to a rehearsed script with NO deviation no matter what Jennings might say. As a result, we saw a lot of shmirking this past week on CNN'S NewsNight. Remember that liberals. Take your cue from former fashion model Deja Foxx....

🚨 BREAKING: Sen. John Fetterman just DEMANDED VOTER ID — infuriating Democrats “And now me, as a Democrat, I do not believe that it’s unreasonable to show I.D. just to vote!” 💯 Common sense. PASS THE SAVE AMERICA ACT! 🇺🇸

From a tender moment between a crane and her chick to a heartbreaking image of a polar bear cub’s final moments, the finalists for the Nuveen People’s Choice Award of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest stun. Photographers from 113 countries and territories submitted more than 60,000 images for consideration. A judging panel of photography, wildlife, conservation and science experts whittled the finalists list down to 24 photographs that are now competing for votes from the public. “No matter where you are in the world, it’s time to join the jury and vote in the Nuveen People’s Choice Award...

Muslim Brotherhood TV host explains under what circumstances Christian girls can be raped. “Allah allows Muslim men to rape non-Muslim women to humiliate them.” The Qur’an permits men to have sexual access to “what their right hands possess,” meaning female captives or slaves (Q. 23.5-6; 70.29-30).

California election officials are preparing for scenarios where Trump administration officials demand ballots or place agents at voting sites. State Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta vows to seek restraining orders within hours if the administration interferes. In recent weeks, Marin County Registrar Natalie Adona has been largely focused on the many mundane tasks of local elections administrators in the months before a midterm: finalizing voting locations, ordering supplies, facilitating candidate filings. But in the wake of unprecedented efforts by the Trump administration to intervene in state-run elections, Adona said she has also been preparing her staff for far less ordinary scenarios...

More than 900 Google workers have signed an open letter condemning recent actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), urging the tech giant to disclose its dealings with the agencies and divest from them. The letter, citing recent ICE killings of Keith Porter, Renee Good, and Alex Pretti, said that the employees are “appalled by the violence” and “horrified” by Google’s part in it. “Google is powering this campaign of surveillance, violence, and repression,” the letter reads. It goes on to cite that Google Cloud is aiding CBP surveillance and powering Palantir’s ImmigrationOS...