Free Republic

What’s in a name? These days...not much. The European Union does not include Ukraine; nevertheless and notwithstanding the objections of E.U. members Hungary and Slovakia, the European supra-state insists on paying the salaries of Ukraine’s government bureaucracy while that nation’s martial-law-holdover-president, Volodymyr Zelensky, fights to maintain control over a breakaway region that has rejected Ukrainian rule since the 2014 coup d'état of Ukraine’s then-president, Viktor Yanukovych. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization does not include Ukraine; nevertheless and notwithstanding the objections of NATO members Hungary and Slovakia, the American-led military alliance insists on sending money and weapons to the Kyiv regime...

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is attempting to blame former President Donald Trump for the murder of college student Sheridan Gorman by an illegal immigrant living in Chicago's "amnesty zone". Pritzker claims the Trump administration should stop "politicizing heinous tragedies" and instead focus on "real solutions" to prevent such violence. However, critics argue Pritzker's policies of shielding illegal immigrants from deportation have contributed to rising crime in the state.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke on Tuesday of a “deep rift” with traditional ally the United States and said the US-Israeli war on Iran was a “breach of international law”. In unusually strong comments, the German head of state said that just as there was no going back from Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, “there will be no going back to before January 20, 2025”, when US President Donald Trump entered the White House for a second time. “The rift is too deep and the trust in American power politics has been lost, not only among our allies but…...

According to the Times, Lopez-Jimenez and her daughter had been ordered removed from the country in 2019 after she missed an immigration court hearing. The newspaper reported that TSA officials identified the pair on Friday and alerted ICE ahead of their planned Sunday trip.

Has there been a coup in Iran? If there has been, it has been perpetrated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is striking a defiant tone against the United States and Israel. That's a real problem."Nobody knows who to talk to," President Donald Trump said Tuesday at the White House, describing what he portrayed as both chaos and opportunity inside Iran’s leadership. "But we're actually talking to the right people, and they want to make a deal so badly." His remarks come as the U.S. claims it is engaged in talks with a "top" Iranian figure, even as...

Friends of the Israel Defense Forces distributed more than $132 million in 2025, the largest annual allocation in the organization’s 44-year history, with what it said was “significant” funding for mental health care and post-traumatic stress treatment for IDF soldiers, reservists and veterans... “We started seeing these reservists getting out of Gaza or from Lebanon, and nobody took care of them,” said Nadav Padan, CEO and national director of FIDF. Padan told JNS that he witnessed the psychological toll of combat in the days following the Oct. 7 attacks. “I flew to Israel the night of Oct. 7, reached Israel...

Sometimes, doing what you believe is right comes with a cost. For former National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) midfielder Elizabeth Eddy Biggs, she knew that long before she ever hit "post." Mrs. Biggs officially announced her retirement Tuesday after an 11-year professional career. "I'm deeply thankful to God, my family, friends, teammates, staff, coaches and fans for this wild, wonderful journey, both full of blessing and growth," Mrs. Biggs said in a video posted to her social media. (Video: https://x.com/elizabetheddy2/status/2036553794373210317) And, in a conversation with OutKick on Monday, she said she's at peace with how everything unfolded — even if...

Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s Iran talks, the Strait of Hormuz deadline and GOP support for a $200 billion Pentagon funding push.

Iran has rejected Donald Trump’s “excessive” peace plan and demanded reparations for the war. The Islamic Republic said the 15-point plan, delivered via a “friendly intermediary”, failed to reflect the balance of power in the conflict. “Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met,” an official told Press TV, a state-owned channel. Mr Trump’s demands of Iran included no nuclear enrichment, limits on missiles, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Press TV published Iran’s list of counter demands that included an end to aggression, promises that the war...

The Trump administration on Wednesday waived regulations on the types of gasoline that are sold during the summer in an effort to ease surging fuel prices during the Iran war. The Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergency waiver to lift restrictions on the sale of E15 gas, a fuel blended with 15% ethanol. The sale of E15 is restricted from June through September due to regulations designed to reduce air pollution. The EPA also issued a waiver to remove all federal impediments to selling E10 gas, which is blended with 10% ethanol. The waivers will take effect on May 1.

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Sends Message to French Bishops Regarding Traditional MassAn update to our latest text on the French Bishops' Conference analysis of the Latin Mass matter.The Pope sent a message, by way of his Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin which included a paragraph on the matter -- emphasis added below:Dear Brethren,His Holiness Pope Leo XIV has asked me to convey to you his best wishes for the smooth and fruitful progress of the work of your Plenary Assembly. He assures you of his fraternal prayer. He hopes that this occasion will be a renewed opportunity to strengthen the bonds...

The 53-second clip, titled 'One Vengeance for All,' was released by Iranian news outlet Fars News Agency, which is closely tied to the country's state broadcasting network. The video unfolds as a dark montage of historical and modern conflict imagery framed to portray American and Western actions as sources of global suffering. It opens with scenes referencing violence against Native American populations before shifting to the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II. Scenes resembling the Vietnam War follow, alongside footage referencing recent conflicts in Gaza, Yemen and an Iranian school reportedly struck by an American...

On March 25, 2026, Chinese state media presented the first full-process demonstration of the Atlas drone swarm operations system, offering one of the clearest public looks so far at how China intends to employ coordinated unmanned strike formations on the battlefield. The sequence linked target identification, launcher activation, drone deployment and precision strike into a single operational chain, signaling a shift toward algorithm-enabled warfare. Beyond the platform, it highlights growing emphasis on autonomous coordination, layered drone use and software-driven battlefield control. Global Times reported that Atlas is built around the Swarm-2 vehicle with command and support elements, forming a complete...

FRANCE COMPLETES REPATRIATION OF 129 METRIC TONS OF GOLD RESERVES BY SELLING GOLD HELD AT THE NY FED, BUYING NEW BARS IN PARIS⚠️ France just “repatriated” their gold reserves held at the NY Fed by selling them & using the proceeds to buy new “modern” gold bars in Paris according to an article from Reuters: “A 2024 internal audit recommended completing the ​process for the small share of French gold still held ⁠in New York. The residual stock of 129 metric tons, or about ​5% of France’s total gold reserves, was upgraded by selling the gold ​and buying compliant bars...

Los Angeles homeless people are being put up in brand new apartments in ritzy neighborhoods that cost taxpayers up to $1.5 million per room, the California Post can reveal. At least $2.6 billion of taxpayers cash has been spent buying and renovating hotels, motels and dorms for the huge unhoused population in the city and county since 2020. The properties were all purchased with $1.3 billion from Governor Gavin Newsom’s Homekey initiative, which then renovated with another $1.3 billion in funding from the city and county of Los Angeles. Some of the suites, which are staggered across neighborhoods such as...

Republican House Oversight Committee members announced that the committee had launched an investigation into claims of hospice fraud in California. “Despite clear red flags, it appears California leaders have enabled hospice providers to DEFRAUD hardworking American taxpayers,” Chairman James Comer wrote on X. “The House Oversight Committee is moving to protect taxpayer funds from waste, fraud, and abuse.” The outrage started in January when Dr. Mehmet Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said California owed over $1 billion in Medicaid funds improperly used for health care for illegal aliens.

Just In:Poll funded by California Democratic Party shows two Republicans lead pack of candidates for Governor. Steve Hilton 16%Chad Bianco 14% Then 3 Democrats basically in a dead heat:Eric Swalwell 10% Katie Porter 10%Tom Steyer 10% https://t.co/sUlITeX9Rv— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) March 24, 2026

A Democratic victory in a state special election in President Donald Trump’s backyard is the latest sign that Democrats are on track to take back the House of Representatives in November, according to CNN’s resident data guru. Donald Trump, Emily Gregory Democrat Emily Gregory beat Republican Jon Maples 51 percent to 49 percent to represent parts of West Palm Beach—including Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago estate—in the Florida state House.

The case originated out of the Minnesota federal district. It was one of many such cases seeking the release of one or more illegal aliens detained by ICE. The 2-1 decision by the 8th circuit federal court of appeals can be read here. https://ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/26/03/253248P.pdf

Peter Jackson gave a promising video update on Andy Serkis' progress on The Hunt for Gollum, the next chapter in The Lord of the Rings cinematic saga. "The script is coming together really well, and I think it's going to be a really good film," Jackson teased, before bringing on Stephen Colbert to announce another new LOTR film. The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, developed by Colbert and his son, Peter, will depict chapters 3-8 of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, which did not appear in Jackson's original film trilogy. Let the hunt officially commence...