Free Republic

JetZero plans to accelerate development of its blended wing body (BWB) commercial aircraft after securing approximately $175 million in new financing, giving the US start-up the resources to push its unconventional airliner concept through full-scale testing and toward flight.The Series B funding round, led by global investment firm B Capital and backed by a mix of airline, aerospace and industrial investors, will be channelled into advancing the Z4 programme and its associated full-size demonstrator, which JetZero plans to fly in 2027.The California-based startup said the injection of capital will help it shift from validating the concept to execution for an...

Former Prime Minister Announces Turner Foundation and Liran Avissar Ben Horin Joining His Party • Turner Previously Headed the Ministries of Finance and Transportation and Promoted the Light Rail Project in the Dan Bloc • Avissar Ben Horin Served as Director General of the Ministry of Communications and Drafted 23 Work Plans for the "Bennett 2026" Party • Bennett: "We Will Make the Fastest Jump the Country Has Seen Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced this morning (Sunday) that Liran Avissar Ben Horin and Keren Turner will join his party's list in the upcoming elections. The two, who previously served...

BRUSSELS — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen waited less than a day after Hungary voted Viktor Orbán out of office to call for the EU to get more power over national governments to force through foreign policy decisions. Governments should be able to push through EU policies ― on issues that could include sanctions on Russia and funds for Ukraine ― by majority rather than allowing individual nations to wield a veto, she told reporters in Brussels. Under Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister for 16 years, Hungary has often blocked foreign policy decisions. “Moving to qualified majority voting in...

Ahead of direct talks with Israel in Washington, a Lebanese official emphasized that "Iran will not be allowed to intervene and regain control of the situation in the country" • Amid fears of a flare-up: Security forces in Beirut on high alert, security around diplomatic missions increased • Hezbollah Secretary-General: "Cancel the negotiation meeting – this is humiliation" In the shadow of preparations for the direct talks that will open tomorrow (Tuesday) between Israel and Lebanon in Washington, and in parallel with the escalation on the ground, Hezbollah fears that "we are on our way to hell." Amid concerns about...

U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales announced on Monday he would resign from Congress, avoiding an expected vote on his expulsion after he admitted to having an affair with a staffer. Gonzales, a Republican from San Antonio, has faced intensifying scrutiny in recent months after the San Antonio Express-News first revealed evidence that he engaged in a sexual relationship with a staffer who later died by suicide, prompting a House Ethics Committee review and calls from colleagues for him to step down. Pressure further mounted when another aide came forward, saying Gonzales pressed her for nude photos and sex during his first...

A quiet western Massachusetts town is being torn apart by a proposed 50% property tax hike — with neighbors stealing yard signs from one another and some residents warning they could be forced to sell their homes. Residents of South Hadley, Mass., head to the polls Tuesday to vote on proposals to close the local budget gap. One would raise $11 million for the town and hike average property tax bills by about $1,700 per year, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette. The more modest proposal would generate a cool $9 million, increasing average property tax bills by roughly $1,400....

“He walked in the room and he was like, kind of like nervous. He’s like, ‘Is this ROTC or is this seminar?’ I don’t know who it was, but somebody in the front was like, ‘Yeah, that was ROTC.’ And as soon as that person said, ‘Yeah,’ he drew his gun. Yelled allahu akbar and started shooting my professor.” Video Transcript & Summary

TRANSCRIPT: CARVILLE: “I want to be clear on this. I do not want that man to die. I want to — I want to watch him suffer and I can’t watch a dead person suffer. So I want him to be fully cognizant come November so when people tell him.”

Cardinals Cupich, McElroy, Tobin slammed for pushing leftist talking points on 60 MinutesThe heterodox, Francis-appointed cardinals criticized Trump, pushed mass immigration, and ignored abortion in the interview, which occurred a few days after Pope Leo’s meeting with David Axelrod.Before President Donald Trump publicly criticized American-born Pope Leo XIV, three U.S. cardinals – all appointed by Pope Francis – joined CBS’ 60 Minutes TV show to deliver leftist talking points and denounce Trump.During their conversation with correspondent Nora O’Donnell, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, and Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C., seemed to give...

A federal spending watchdog has found the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) faced "challenges" in understanding the correct number of licenses it should hold for the top five vendors in its $985 million annual software expenditure. In a report [PDF] published last month, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that "while the VA identified its five most widely used software vendors with the highest quantity of licenses installed, it faced challenges in determining whether it was purchasing too many or too few of these software licenses." The GAO said that for fiscal 2025, the VA planned to spend about $985...

President Donald Trump has announced that the Iranian regime contacted his administration to resume negotiations, even as the United States maintains its strict naval blockade. In a significant diplomatic development, President Donald Trump revealed from the White House that his administration has received a formal outreach from the "proper authorities" in Tehran. According to the President, the Iranian leadership has expressed a clear desire to return to the negotiating table following the collapse of high level talks in Islamabad earlier this month. While the President appeared open to the prospect of renewed dialogue, he maintained a rigid stance on the...

Hungarian Member of European Parliament Péter Magyar has been hailed by leading globalists on both sides of the Atlantic for his convincing victory over Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during Sunday’s parliamentary elections; however, it remains unclear how the supposed centre-right politician will govern in Budapest. Just two years after splitting from Orbán’s Fidesz party, Péter Magyar, 45, whose Tisza (Respect and Freedom) Party rocketed from relative obscurity to victory on Sunday, is set to be elevated from a lowly MEP role to the highest government office in Hungary after securing enough votes for a super majority in the Országgyűlés parliament....

The Lebanese government has reportedly initiated contact with Israel through American mediators, seeking a peace agreement as Hezbollah’s grip on the country significantly weakens. In a potential seismic shift for regional politics, the Israeli government has revealed that the Lebanese administration has reached out for mediated talks. Shosh Badrosian, the Prime Minister's spokesperson for foreign media, announced on Monday that the Lebanese government initiated contact following a significant weakening of Hezbollah's military and political standing. The goal of this dialogue, according to Israeli officials, is the total disarmament of Hezbollah and the demilitarization of southern Lebanon. However, this diplomatic opening...

As we told you last week, almost all of the 4,500 refugees who have come to America in the last several months are Afrikaners, or whites from South Africa. They're fleeing a nation that routinely discriminates, harasses, and kills Afrikaners, and have — unlike so many others — a legitimate claim to asylum and refugee status. The Left is supremely unhappy about this, of course, because they really only like certain kinds of refugees. The Afrikaners include women and children, show up waving American flags, and will assimilate into our culture instead of attacking, raping, and murdering us.

They don’t call it censorship anymore. They call it protection. Protection for communities. Protection for organizations. Protection from “threats.” The language is softer now, more strategic, designed to pass scrutiny without triggering it. But behind California’s AB 2624, the intent is harder to ignore: if you document the wrong thing, in the wrong place, involving the wrong people, the state may decide you shouldn’t be allowed to show it at all. And this time, they’re not going after institutions. They’re going after the individuals who don’t need one. In Sacramento, that effort now has a bill number. AB 2624. According...

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton opened up about his bout with shingles Monday, saying he has gained weight, lost part of an eyebrow and is still feeling the aftereffects of a two-month battle with the disease in his face. "I couldn't even go in front of a camera if I wanted to early, because my eye was basically closed shut," Haliburton told reporters in Indianapolis a day after the end of the regular season. "It was all over my face." Haliburton, who has missed all of the 2025-26 season while recovering from a torn right Achilles, was diagnosed with the...

Eric Swalwell resigns from Congress, complains that his colleagues in the House were denying him "due process" with an expulsion vote days after a former staffer accused him of sexual assault

The song was originally released in 1978 ahead of the group’s debut album.It may not have found success immediately upon release, but The Police’s early single “Roxanne” eventually became one of the band’s signature songs. Today, the track continues to reach new milestones, hitting one billion streams on Spotify. “Roxanne” is the group’s second song to hit one billion streams on the platform, following “Every Breath You Take,” which has now surpassed three billion streams. “Roxanne” was originally released in 1978 as the band’s first single with A&M records ahead of their debut album, Outlandos d’Amour. As the group tells...

Chuck’s review of new music for the punk fanzine ‘Jet Lag’ in 1980 read like a fascinating bridge between cultures.A fascinating interview given by Chuck Berry to the punk fanzine Jet Lag in 1980 read like a bridge between cultures. In those days of the new wave, it reveals his opinions on recordings by such important artists in their own right as The Clash and Wire – and that while he wasn’t sure about the Sex Pistols and Joy Division, he had plenty of time for Talking Heads and the Ramones. The rock’n’roll pioneer was played a number of...

The puppeteer and his late brother Marty partnered on 'The Banana Splits Adventure Hour,' 'H.R. Pufnstuf,' 'Land of the Lost' and much more.Sid Krofft, the wildly imaginative puppeteer who teamed with his younger brother Marty to build an entertainment empire behind such trippy TV shows as The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, H.R. Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost, has died. He was 96. Krofft, eight years older than Marty and the creative force of their business, died Friday in his sleep at the Los Angeles home of friend and business partner Kelly Killian. Marty died in November 2023 at age...