Free Republic

The new interim staff report on Minnesota’s fraud describes criminal activity that was enabled by a horrifying pattern of spineless government incompetence and systemic failure. Some say Minnesota is just the tip of the iceberg. Best guess? Government, both state and federal, is rife with it. According to the March 4, 2026 House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform report, “The Cost of Doing Nothing: How Tim Walz and Keith Ellison Fueled Minnesota’s Fraud Explosion,” there was a massive failure in “governance and oversight” that allowed “known fraud and criminal schemes to flourish,” even as resources were diverted away from...

Costco will pass any tariff refunds it might receive back to members through lower prices, CEO Ron Vachris said, although the timeline and even the likelihood of repayments remain uncertain. Vachris made the pledge during Costco’s quarterly earnings call on March 5, as importers across industries pursue tens of billions of dollars in refunds after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he used an emergency power to impose global tariffs aimed at reducing trade deficits.

The Royal Navy’s mission to intercept Iranian drone threats has stalled in port because the Portsmouth repair yard now operates on a “nine-to-five” schedule. The high-stakes mission to protect a British airbase from Iranian drone strikes remains on hold while maintenance crews finish welding and system overhauls during standard business hours, according to union officials, The Telegraph reported. The deployment of HMS Dragon, a Type 45 air-defense destroyer designed to intercept high-speed missile and drone threats, to Cyprus has been delayed because the Ministry of Defence and private contractor Serco reportedly introduced these restricted shifts as a “cost-cutting” measure that...

A new study by “progressive” think tank Groundwork Collaborative shows that junk fees and annoyance costs add up to $166 billion per year; here’s a rough breakdown, from USA Today: Here’s how much the ‘annoyance economy’ costs consumers[snip] Junk fees: $90 billion a year Phone scams: $25.4 billion Calls with health insurance administrators: $21.6 billion Waiting for medical services: $19.4 billion Robocalls: $8 billion Waiting for government services: $1.6 billion I get ticked off at this stuff too, but this is a junk report. Some of these things are just made up numbers, such as calls with health insurance administrators,...

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem 🇮🇱(3/7/26)[Prayer]A New Study For A New Year: PersonalitiesGenesis 33:1-2033 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. 2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. 3 And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. 4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced...

Protesters honoring Iran’s slain supreme leader in Manhattan chanted anti-US and anti-Israel slogans before violence broke out when a counter-protester tore down a poster of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prompting a beating and police intervention. Protesters chanting “Death to America, death to Israel” gathered in New York City on Friday to honor slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, before the event descended into violence in Washington Square Park. The chants, delivered in Farsi, rang out during a small vigil organized in Manhattan following Khamenei’s death last week in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran. Participants set up a makeshift memorial...

The incident further inflamed tensions between Hungary and Ukraine, which are embroiled in a bitter feud over Hungary’s access to Russian oil through a pipeline that crosses Ukrainian territory. Hungarian authorities have detained seven Ukrainian citizens, including a former intelligence officer, and seized two armored cars carrying large amounts of cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said Friday. Ukraine accused Hungary of taking the Ukrainians hostage and illegally seizing millions of dollars in cash. “This is state terrorism and racketeering,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X late Thursday. The seven were employees of the Ukrainian...

Israel has said that after the destruction of three Iranian nuclear sites by the United States and Israel during the Twelve Day War last June, Iran continued clandestine efforts to restore its nuclear weapons program. On March 3, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it “struck and destroyed the secret nuclear headquarters in Minzadehei, located partly underground in the city of Tehran. A team of nuclear scientists was operating covertly at this headquarters.” The military added that during the June 2025 strikes, “the Iranian regime transferred some of its capabilities to secret bunkers and attempted to restore its efforts...

merica is alone among the nations in having a Second Amendment. The Founders were among the wisest men—informed by wise women—of any age. They well understood human nature, particularly its dark side, and understood that a disarmed people are not free--can never be free—but are subjects. The Second Amendment was not written to allow sport shooting, target practice, hunting, even primarily protection from criminals. It was written to ensure that should government become tyrannical, Americans could rise against it and restore liberty. Democrats scream bloody murder when anyone speaks that fundamental truth, yet it was one of history’s most famous...

The unidentified teacher was suspended with pay after making the comment on February 24 as outraged parents fumed to the Merrillville School Board. 'This is what he thinks about our kids,' one parent said at the Tuesday board meeting. 'I'm not getting over this... now we see this coming from the president also.' Parents in the school district angrily voiced their complaints at the board meeting, as the Gary branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has launched an investigation, the Chicago Tribune reported.

JPD issued the following statement. On Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at approximately 11:14 am, 21-year-old Kaitlyn Mangum-Gast and a 36-year-old male were riding on one bicycle in the 4800 block of Chastain Drive when a white pickup truck driven by 57-year-old Shannon Thomas crashed into them. Shannon Thomas During the follow-up investigation of this case, detectives discovered that the incident was intentional. It is now being investigated as city’s 13th homicide. On today, Friday, March 6, 2026, Shannon was arrested by JPD. He was booked into JPD holding and charged with Murder, Attempted Murder and Leaving the Scene. His vehicle...

Four illegal migrants, who are members of the notorious MS-13 gang, have been indicted after they allegedly brutally murdered a 14-year-old boy in a Maryland park. Jose Vladimir Merlos, 18, Alam Josai Garcia-Padilla, 21, William Cuellar Gutierrez, 19, and a 17-year-old were indicted on charges, including first-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and participation in a criminal organization, according to Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson. All four indicted are MS-13 gang members and illegal immigrants, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed. Jefferson Amaya-Ayala, 14, of Washington, DC, was reported missing on...

A viral clip of then, Senator Marco Rubio from 2015 has resurfaced, showing him laying out exactly what he believed would happen if President Obama’s Iran nuclear deal went into effect. A decade later, much of what Rubio warned about appears to have come to pass. Now, with Rubio serving in the Trump administration, the United States is approaching Iran in a way he argued it should have all along. https://x.com/GuntherEagleman/status/2029390255661432838? "I do want to be recorded for history's purposes before I know what is going to happen in regards to this if it goes through. Iran will immediately use...

Far-left “Squad” Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) were among dozens of House Democrats this week that voted against reaffirming Iran as the “largest state sponsor of terrorism.” The resolution, introduced by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), passed in a 372-53 vote Thursday, with only Democrats opposing the nonbinding measure – which also declared that Iran “provides substantial financial and military support to groups including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.” Lefty Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Al Green (D-Texas), along with New York’s Yvette Clarke and Nydia Velázquez, were among...

DCNF(DCNF)—The Trump administration can’t immediately comply with a court order to issue tariff refunds, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official.Processing the “unprecedented volume of refunds” would require work that steers personnel away from “responsibilities that serve to mitigate imminent threats to national security and economic security,” Trade Programs Directorate Executive Director Brandon Lord told the court in an affidavit filed Friday morning.The Court of International Trade directed the administration on Wednesday to start issuing refunds for tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The Supreme Court held Feb. 20 that President Donald Trump...

The Justice Department is preparing to indict Cuban leaders as President Trump says the island country is ‘going to fall.’According to The Washington Post and NBC News, Florida prosecutors are exploring federal charges against Cuba Regime officials.On Friday, in an interview with CNN, Trump again said that Cuba is going to fall soon. President Trump told CNN that he is deploying Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Cuba.

excerpt- The Pentagon on Friday posted photos showing Ford and USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) sailing through the Suez Canal on Thursday. The transit takes the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier into a part of U.S. Central Command where the Iran-backed Houthis have attacked both U.S. warships and commercial vessels over the last two-and-a-half years. excerpt Meanwhile, the next aircraft carrier expected to deploy from the United States finished its training exercise on Thursday, the Navy announced. USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), its escorts and air wing wrapped up the composite unit training exercise

Ian Huntley, the former school caretaker who murdered two 10-year-old schoolgirls in Soham, has died following an attack in prison. The 52-year-old suffered significant head trauma after being attacked with a makeshift weapon by another inmate at HMP Frankland on 26 February and had been on life support in hospital. He had been serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years for murdering best friends Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002. The brutality of his crimes made him a target in prison and he had been attacked several times previously. The BBC understands that triple killer...

Mayor Zohran Mamdani claimed his wife Rama Duwaji isn’t a public figure Friday – despite receiving fawning media coverage – after facing uproar for her liking social media posts celebrating Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack. The democratic socialist, 34, was confronted during an unrelated event about his 28-year-old artist spouse liking Instagram posts that shared graphic imagery of the terror group’s murderous rampage — in the hours after the attack — and trumpeted anti-Israel rhetoric, Jewish Insider reported. “My wife is the love of my life, and she’s also a private person who has held no formal position on my...

Former President Joe Biden told mourners at Rev. Jesse Jackson’s memorial service Friday that he is “a hell of a lot smarter than most of you,” a pointed remark that stood out during his tribute to the late civil rights leader. Biden made the comment while recounting how he was mocked as a child for his stutter and how speech impediments are often mistaken for a lack of intelligence. “If I told you I had a cleft palate or clubfoot, none of you would have laughed,” Biden said. “But it’s OK to laugh at stuttering. … It’s the one place...