Free Republic

After 26 years in Israel, I look more Israeli than Iranian, but even though I left Iran, the country is still part of me," Saidian told AFP. Saidian, who was wearing two pins on her lapel -- an Israeli flag and an Iranian one from before the 1979 Islamic revolution -- cries openly when talking about her native country, which she said she misses every day. If there were to be a football match between Israel and Iran, Saidian said she was not sure which side she would support. "We're like children with divorced parents: you love your mother and...

The grandson of the infamous Cuban dictator Fidel Castro revealed in a recent CNN interview that not only does he support capitalism, but would welcome a deal with President Trump, as the United States has maintained a near-total oil blockade on the country since January.

There's a new twist in the case surrounding the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk ... new legal documents claim the bullet used to commit the crime does not match the rifle tied to suspect Tyler Robinson, TMZ has learned. According to the legal docs obtained by TMZ, Robinson's defense team argues there’s a discrepancy between the ballistic evidence and the weapon prosecutors say is connected to Robinson ... who's facing multiple charges -- including aggravated murder and felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury -- in Charlie's slaying.

Eric Swalwell has issued a cease-and-desist letter to FBI Director Kash Patel over threats to release investigative files about a suspected Chinese spy who infiltrated his office. In the letter, Swalwell, who is considered the Democratic frontrunner in the race for California governor, demanded the FBI agree within three days not to release the files, and that doing so could result in legal action, according to the Washington Post. Swalwell held a press conference Monday, insisting the “case is closed” and accused Patel as a “temporary employee” engaged in a “horrendous abuse of power” in digging up the investigative files...

States are paying contractors such as Deloitte, Accenture, and Optum millions of dollars to help them comply with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — a law that will strip safety-net health and food benefits from millions. State governments rely on such companies to design and operate computer systems that assess whether low-income people qualify for Medicaid or food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as food stamps. Those state systems have a history of errors that can cut off benefits to eligible people, a KFF Health News investigation showed. These benefits, provided to the poorest...

Reports from Iranian opposition sources indicate that Hassan Hassanzadeh, commander of the Rasul-Allah forces - the IRGC’s security unit in greater Tehran - was eliminated yesterday in an airstrike [on March 29, 2026 on Sabouni Street in Tehran and also resulted in the death of one of his deputies, though his identity has not been confirmed.] At this stage, there is no official confirmation of the reports.

U.S. conservatives have long pointed to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as proof that a Western leader can crack down on immigration, defy global institutions and wage war on “woke” liberalism – and still win elections. But as Hungary heads toward an April 12 parliamentary election, some of Orban’s most enthusiastic admirers in the U.S., including President Donald Trump, are confronting a once‑unthinkable prospect: after 16 years in power, Europe’s champion of “illiberal democracy” could be voted out of office. Defeat for Orban would reverberate well beyond Hungary, casting doubt on the durability of a political system – marked by...

Hello all I hesitate ever making posts like this because, well, I just don't like doing it. But I feel I have to now. As you all can see, the quarterly goal is not where many of us would like to see. It's still about $6,000 short. This is the last day of Q1 and I am fearful we won't make it. Many of us depend on Free Republic for our news, our devotionals, and as such you are our family. Please, I beg you, don't let the trolls and folks at DU cause FR to have to curtail its...

WASHINGTON — In a blow to LGBTQ rights, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that Colorado's ban on conversion therapy aimed at youths struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identity violates the free speech rights of a conservative Christian therapist. The 8-1 decision in favor of therapist Kaley Chiles on her claim brought under the Constitution's First Amendment is likely to have national implications — more than 20 states have similar laws. It could also have an impact on other forms of medical treatment that involve speech. Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch said that "the First Amendment...

Here is the previous thread regarding the addition of the letter hei to Abram's name (Genesis 17):The Name Abraham is Where a Seed was Planted(It contains the explanation for why the letter hei [ה] refers to seed, and as such is the basis for Abraham's name meaning, "the father of many nations".)Genesis 151 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying: 'Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield, thy reward shall be exceeding great.' 2 And Abram said: 'O Lord GOD, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go hence childless, and he...

“This pain is like childbirth, it comes with distress, but we pray for it to bring life and freedom soon...Please keep praying, people here need hope.” After a prolonged time of total communication blackout, some Iranians are now managing to speak with their relatives and friends. “It was such a relief to finally hear the voices of our sisters and brothers after nine days of silence,” shares an Open Doors partner who recently managed to have brief calls with some people in Iran. “Praise the Lord, they are safe.” Economic hardship is affecting Iranians across the country...But the protests and...

The United States is resuming operations at its embassy in Caracas after a seven-year hiatus, citing a “new chapter” in diplomatic ties with Venezuela, the State Department said Monday. The reopening “will strengthen our ability to engage directly with Venezuela’s interim government, civil society, and the private sector,” the department said in a statement, calling it a “key milestone” in implementing President Donald Trump’s plan for Venezuela since the U.S. military captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. Ambassador Laura F. Dogu, the top U.S. diplomat in Venezuela who arrived in Caracas in January, will lead the effort to reestablish...

The House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation that gives the U.S. president the power to restrict U.S. port access for countries with governments that have seized American property abroad. The Defending American Property Abroad Act of 2026, introduced by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, passed 247 to 164. In March 2023, the Mexican government seized a U.S. company's port at Punta Venado. “When countries violate trade agreements and illegally seize assets from U.S. companies, it puts American job security, economic security, and national security at risk. This legislation is critical because it ensures there are enforceable consequences for those actions,” Pfluger...

Donald Trump said he was willing to end the Iran war without a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The US president, with no concrete signs of a diplomatic breakthrough, suggested that if negotiations collapsed, he would “obliterate” Iran’s energy and water facilities, but leave the vital waterway under Iranian control. He wrote on his Truth Social platform: “Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business’, we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by...

Iran’s IRGC has confirmed the killing of Jamshid Eshaghi, a major general in Iran’s armed forces and an adviser to the chief of the General Staff, Al Jazeera reports. In a statement circulated by Iranian media, the IRGC said an attack killed Eshaghi with several members of his family, but it did not provide details. Earlier today, Iranian state media announced that the funeral for the IRGC navy commander, Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, who was also killed in an Israeli attack, will take place on Monday.

The mayor of Rhode Island’s capital city is calling for a mural reportedly backed by Elon Musk to honor Iryna Zarutska —the Ukrainian woman whose brutal murder while riding a North Carolina train prompted calls for harsher punishment for career criminals — to be taken down. The mural, located on the exterior of The Dark Lady, an LGBTQ+ club in downtown Providence, remains incomplete, WJAR-TV reported. The office of Mayor Brett Smiley told the news outlet that he wants the artwork taken down. “The murder of the individual depicted in this mural was a devastating tragedy, but the misguided, isolating...

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said Monday his committee has received information showing the United States' Census Bureau in 2020 miscalculated the number of Americans in a way that cost Republicans multiple House seats. Comer claimed the basic count was biased against Republicans because the bureau made estimations instead of doing a physical count during the COVID-19 pandemic, and estimated high in Democratic areas like major cities and underestimated in suburban areas known to be more friendly to Republicans. "The basic count was miscounted grossly in the last census, to the tune of costing the Republicans anywhere from four...

Democrats don't hate all Christians, of course. Christians are great if they are genderqueer or love illegal immigrants, but if they conform to rather normal Christian theology and believe that such a thing as sin exists, or that good and evil are real things, they are quite scary. Postmodern, anti-Western Christianity=good. Cisgender, heterosexual, and especially white Christians=bad. You would think that their objections would be ideological, but that isn't primarily the case. The hatred of Christianity you see in many liberals is actually a hatred of the West itself. The West was called "Christendom" for centuries, and for a reason....

Italy has denied the use of an airbase in Sicily to US military planes carrying weapons for the war in Iran after the US did not follow the required authorisation procedure. A source at the Italian defence ministry confirmed a report in Corriere della Sera that “some US bombers” had been due to land at Sigonella – one of seven US navy bases in Italy – before heading to the Middle East, but that use of the base had been denied because the US sought authorisation to land only while the aircraft were already en route to Sicily. The source...

Held: Colorado’s law banning conversion therapy, as applied to Ms. Chiles’s talk therapy, regulates speech based on viewpoint, and the lower courts erred by failing to apply sufficiently rigorous First Amendment scrutiny.