Free Republic

The United States has directed its military forces in the Middle East to prepare for potentially extended operations against Iran, positioning them for action should President Donald Trump order strikes on the Islamic Republic. It remains unclear whether Trump will pursue a diplomatic solution or move toward military action against the Iranian regime. Speaking to U.S. forces at a base in North Carolina on Friday, Trump said it has "been difficult to make a deal." "Sometimes you have to have fear. That's the only thing that really will get the situation taken care of," Trump told the U.S. troops. White...

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elix Valdés García was nine years old when the revolutionaries came to blow up his trees. It was the verge of the 1970s and his father, Felin, was losing the family farm to Cuba’s 10-year-old communist regime. A push called the Revolutionary Offensive was under way, mobilising the people to sow, clean and harvest 10m tonnes of sugar cane in an effort to make Cuba financially independent. The land needed to be cleared. For decades the family had nurtured their 800 hectares of rich loam alongside the meandering Sagua River. Eight couples, all related, worked the fields, while Felix and...

Federal prosecutors want to take several homes, vehicles, luxury goods and large amounts of cash from Feeding Our Future co-conspirator Salim Ahmed Said to pay toward a proposed $7.8 million judgment. Said was found guilty of 21 crimes, including wire fraud and federal programs bribery, in March 2025. He was an alleged accomplice of Feeding Our Future ringleader Aimee Bock and was the co-owner of Safari Restaurant on Lake Street, where thousands of meals were supposed to be distributed. Prosecutors argue Said’s property is connected to his crimes, which allows federal officials to seize it, according to a proposed order...

When it comes to wealth, extravagance and notoriety, few compare to Thailand's playboy king, Maha Vajiralongkorn. Known formally as Rama X, the 73-year-old monarch is the wealthiest ruler in the world, with an estimated net worth of £52billion. He has lived an extraordinarily wild, and at times outright bizarre, life that would put even history's most debauched monarchs to shame. But in recent months, the flamboyant royal has all but retreated from public life. Rarely seen since the October death of his mother Sirikit, the once-spirited monarch appears to still be in mourning. In November, just a few weeks after...

Stephen Colbert still has a late night show, but not for much longer. The cancelled, not-so-funnyman who hates guns, gun owners and the right to armed self-defense has suffered a precipitous ratings collapse in recent months years. What caused viewers to flee? Could it be his relentless alienation of over half of America with his insufferable woke scolding posing as comedy? The Park Place has the grim news many of us view with a certain Schadenfreude delight:The Stephen Colbert ratings freefall has reached an undeniable breaking point. As The Late Show with Stephen Colbert approaches its already-announced cancellation, the program...

(NEXSTAR) – In a wide-ranging interview published Saturday, former President Barack Obama confirmed what many have been waiting for: aliens are, in fact, real. They’re aren’t being kept in Nevada’s Area 51, however. Progressive podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen asked Obama the question outright during “a little bit of a lightning round” in an interview on Cohen’s “No Lie” podcast published on Saturday.

OBAMA: “The other side does the mean, angry, exclusive, us/them, divisive politics. That's their home court. Our court is coming together.”

The Jerusalem Post @Jerusalem_Post: Editorial: For the first time during the war, a major international organization has publicly recognized the presence of armed groups operating within a Gaza hospital.

Former President Barack Obama told Brian Tyler Cohen in an interview this weekend that aliens are "real." "They’re real, but I haven’t seen them,” Obama said. "And they're not being kept in Area 51. There’s no underground facility, unless there’s this enormous conspiracy, and they hid it from the president of the United States." Obama said the first question he had when he became president was: "Where are the aliens?" He previously said during an interview a few years ago with James Corden: "There's footage and records of objects in the skies that we don't know exactly what they are....

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Sunday said former Attorney General Merrick Garland “performed better” than Attorney General Pam Bondi did during her testimony before a House panel examining the Justice Department and its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. “I don’t think she did very well. She came with a book full of insults, one for each congressperson. She obviously had one for me,” Massie said on ABC News’s “This Week.” “And, you know, I’ve been there when Merrick Garland was there. Obviously, politically, I don’t agree with him, but he performed much better in terms of at least not...

These are draining times for your bank account at the gas pump. California gas prices have jumped up to 40 cents in two weeks, as refinery closures tighten fuel supplies across the state. The statewide average now stands at $4.582 per gallon, up from $4.463 a week ago and $4.182 just 14 days ago, according to the American Automobile Association. Energy experts say the spike is tied directly to shrinking refinery capacity. Specifically, Valero’s Benicia refinery — a key Northern California supplier — is in the process of idling operations. The move follows other major pullbacks, including Phillips 66’s Los...

A black glove found near the Arizona home of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie appears to match those worn by the suspect seen in a doorbell camera video, according to the FBI.The glove, which contains DNA evidence, was one of approximately 16 gloves collected by investigators in various areas near the house. Most of those gloves belonged to searchers who discarded them while working the area, the FBI said."The one with the DNA profile recovered is different and appears to match the gloves of the subject in the surveillance video," the FBI said in a statement.

True love never gets old — especially for 102-year-old WWII vet Harold Terens and his 98-year-old bride, Jeanne Swerlin. The lovebirds, who tied the knot in 2024 and still gush that they feel like teenagers together, had some Valentine’s Day advice for the lovelorn. “Never give up.” “It’s never too late to find love, especially a great love — look at us,” Swerlin, a New York native who lives in Florida, told The Post. “You have to be open — love will find you.” Terens is among the last of the Greatest Generation, surviving a series of harrowing series of...

This week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) joined the many Californians now seeking their fortune elsewhere. The difference is that Newsom is planning to come back to California, even as billionaires, investors, and companies flee his state for greener pastures. Newsom and Democrats such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) were selling a brave new world that looked a lot like the broken old world. It was an ironic moment. They were addressing countries at the Munich Security Conference that had previously destroyed their economies through socialist and far-left policies. The rush of liberal Democratic officeholders to Europe was telling. A...

We gather here today as members of a historic alliance, an alliance that saved and changed the world. When this conference began in 1963, it was in a nation – actually, it was on a continent – that was divided against itself. The line between communism and freedom ran through the heart of Germany. The first barbed fences of the Berlin Wall had gone up just two years prior. And just months before that first conference, before our predecessors first met here, here in Munich, the Cuban Missile Crisis had brought the world to the brink of nuclear destruction. Even...

NBC News issued an apology after calling a female Olympic skiing competitor by her actual pronouns. Elis Lundholm, who competed in women’s moguls during the Winter Olympics, is indeed a female, but she claims male identity and uses male pronouns. The Swedish athlete also wears baggy clothing and has a masculine haircut.

Crypto markets have remained under pressure since October last year, after Bitcoin scaled its peak and has since been on a declining trajectory. Crypto Market Crash: The sell-off in the crypto markets intensified on Friday, with the flagship token Bitcoin plunging to $60,074, its lowest level since October 2024. The downturn was equally pronounced across the altcoin space, with Ethereum (ETH) slipping below the $1,800 mark, while XRP, Solana (SOL) and BNB fell more than 13 per cent. Notably, crypto markets have remained under pressure since October last year, after Bitcoin scaled its peak and has since been on a...

While all eyes and ears at the Munich security conference will be on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday, it was America’s Democrats who were able to enjoy their moment in the spotlight on Friday. The party was out in force: Californian governor Gavin Newsom, member of Congress Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer were among the high-profile party delegates on panels at the Bayerischer Hof hotel, where the conference is held. Campaigning for the next Democratic party presidential primary isn’t expected to kick off in earnest for another year. Nevertheless, it was an opportunity for Newsom,...

When I was growing up in the 1980s, I often saw old war movies on TV, and in many appeared a certain German actor usually playing a Nazi villain, from 'Where Eagles Dare' to 'Escape to Victory'. I recently discovered that this star, Anton Diffring, is buried only 9 miles from my childhood home, so I decided to make a pilgrimage and find his largely forgotten last resting place and thank him for so many great performances.