Free Republic

The largest oil shock in history caused prices to surge. Now they're so high that they may be causing "demand destruction." That would mean slower economic growth. Oil prices have started to slip — but not necessarily for reasons that suggest a return to market normalcy. The International Energy Agency said Tuesday that “demand destruction” has begun to unfold. As a result of the acute energy commodity shortages stemming from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, oil appears to have reached a point where it is now so expensive that overseas businesses and households have begun curbing investment and...

Iran’s barbaric regime is set to execute its first female protester over recent protests, one of an estimated 1,600 sentenced to death by the Islamic Republic in the past year. Bita Hemmati is the first woman due to be hanged in relation to the demonstrations that broke out in January across the country and were viciously stamped out by government forces. The regime accused her of numerous charges, including using explosives and weapons, throwing objects such as concrete blocks, participating in protest gatherings, and disrupting national security, according to a Tuesday press release from the opposition National Council of Resistance...

The compact would effectively null and void votes cast in Virginia itself and only give its electoral college votes to the nationwide popular vote winner. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has signed a bill to circumvent the electoral college and have Virginia become a member of a compact between states that are looking to give their Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate that wins the popular vote instead of the candidate that voters from the state choose. Spanberger signed HB965 into law, which would effectively null and void votes cast in Virginia itself and only give its Electoral College votes...

🚨 WOW. Border Czar Tom Homan just gave the PERFECT response to Pope Leo "I'm a lifelong Catholic. I wish they'd STAY OUT of immigration, they don't know what they're talking about." "Because if they wore my shoes for 40 years, and talked to a 9-year-old girl that got r*ped multiple times, or stood in the back of a tractor trailer with 19 dead aliens at my feet, including a 5-year-old boy that baked to death, if they understood the atrocities that happened on the open border, I think their opinion would change!" "And I welcome discussion with any of...

For a few glorious weeks in the spring of 2026, the foreign policy establishment believed it had witnessed the impossible. Iran, a nation whose air defenses had been systematically dismantled, whose navy had been reduced to wreckage on the floor of the Persian Gulf, whose supreme leader had been killed by an American strike, had somehow emerged from 38 days of devastating combat as the victor. That, at least, was the story the drive-by media told. European leaders repeated it with undisguised satisfaction. Democrats echoed it with barely concealed glee. Iran had closed the Strait of Hormuz, the world's...

A controversial American YouTuber was sentenced to half a year in a South Korean labor prison for his nuisance behavior, including posting a video of himself crudely dancing on a statue honoring World War II sex slaves. Ramsey Khalid Ismael, a self-proclaimed internet “troll” known as Johnny Somali online, was tossed into the specialized prison on Wednesday, the Korea Herald reported. Ismael, 25, had provoked citizens in South Korea by singing the North Korean national anthem, spilled noodles inside a convenience store, got into several heated arguments with strangers, and degraded the solemn “Statue of Peace,” all stunts he shared...

President Trump said that China has agreed not to send weapons to Iran amid reports it plans to give Tehran new air defense systems — and predicted Chinese leader Xi Jinping “will give me a big, fat, hug” when they meet next month. Trump further claimed Wednesday that Xi is “very happy” about his efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz, a day after officials in China slammed his blockade as “dangerous and irresponsible.” “China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing it for them, also — And the World,” Trump crowed...

A generally good summary into some of the financial issues happening in the background of the dire Straits of Hormuz. Susan Kokinda highlights UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer declining to join an American blockade and claims Britain has lost control of the choke point. She details financial actions targeting Iranian money flows, including UAE arrests of IRGC-linked money changers, Treasury Secretary Bessent using Patriot Act Section 311 against a Zurich bank, and scrutiny of London-based crypto exchanges and Santander UK. She cites a UK military chief admitting Britain’s war planning has lapsed since the Cold War and links fuel disruptions...

A national effort to circumvent the Electoral College has gained another state. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a bill Monday that adds the state to the National Popular Vote Compact, an agreement among states to award their presidential electoral votes to the nationwide popular vote winner. With Virginia, the total number of states signed on to the interstate compact is now 18, plus the District of Columbia, for a total of 222 electoral votes. The compact doesn’t go into effect, though, until there are enough states signed up to reach the required 270 electoral votes to elect a president. “This...

White House deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller on Tuesday accused the Democrat party of controlling its members through blackmail. Miller told Fox News host Jesse Watters Tuesday evening that “the real” takeaway from former California Rep. Eric Swalwell’s fall from grace is the Democrats’ blackmail regime. “Swalwell is a scumbag, he’s a terrible person, the worst of the worst the lowest of the low—the most dishonest,” Miller acknowledged. “The real story here is how the Democrat Party controls its members through blackmail!” The California Democrat suspended his campaign for governor Sunday and officially resigned from Congress Tuesday...

...the Aurum Tolosanum never reached Rome. At least not in its entirety, since the silver was received, but not the gold. During its transfer to Massilia (Marseille), where it was to be shipped, it was stolen by a band of bandits who also made sure not to leave witnesses by murdering the cohort in charge of its custody. The operation was flawless; so much so that speculations about the authorship soon circulated. Who knew the caravan's itinerary and had the ability to organize a group of thieves large enough to eliminate the guards and take four hundred and fifty wagons?All...

A new ranking of top destinations for retirees to relocate trades green golf courses and sunny beaches for urban density and concrete jungles. Really. New York City ranks No. 1 in the new Geography of Prosperity Index, a ranking of 250 urban areas in America by global analytics firms HumanChange and Motivf. At the other end, the cities millions of Americans choose for retirement — pulled by warm weather, low taxes, low density, and a low cost of living — rank at or near the very bottom of this measure of urban health... The Villages in Lady Lake, Fla, for...

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem 🇮🇱(4/15/26)[Prayer]A New Study For A New Year: PersonalitiesExodus 18:1-12 18 When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt; 2 Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back, 3 And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land: 4 And the name of the other...

15 April 2026Wednesday of the 2nd week of EastertideHunawihr church altar, AlsaceReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: A(II).First readingActs 5:17-26The men you imprisoned are in the Temple, preaching to the peopleThe high priest intervened with all his supporters from the party of the Sadducees. Prompted by jealousy, they arrested the apostles and had them put in the common gaol. But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison gates and said as he led them out, ‘Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new Life.’ They did as they were told; they...

I spent the past couple of days attending the International Conference on Climate Change, put on by the Heartland Institute in Washington. There was a good deal of material that will be of interest to readers. A major issue addressed by multiple presenters goes under the heading “What is the proof?”, and in particular what is the proof that there is some kind of climate “crisis” coming our way. You will not be surprised to learn that for most every claim of the climate cabal, the proof is lacking. The most interesting presentation on this subject came from John Clauser....

According to Omaha police, officers were called to the Walmart near 72nd and Pine streets around 9:20 a.m. on Tuesday. When officers arrived, they saw a woman, identified as 31-year-old Noemi Guzman, outside the store holding a knife to a 3-year-old boy, who was in a shopping cart, officials said. Officials said Guzman approached the caretaker with a knife, giving the caretaker commands to go in front of the shopping cart. Investigators believe Guzman stole the knife from the store. Police said Guzman followed the caretaker out of the store and into the parking lot. The caretaker was able to...

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On April 10, 2026, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit issued its opinion in Morris v. DOJ, reinforcing a longstanding constitutional limit on Congress’s taxing power: it may impose taxes that raise revenue, but it cannot simply prohibit conduct under the guise of taxation.The reasoning and precedents cited in Morris could bolster challenges to the constitutionality of the NFA’s registration scheme for suppressors, SBRs, SBSs, and AOWs now that the making and transfer tax on those items has been reduced to zero.The case in the Fifth Circuit is Morris v. DOJ. It concerns the federal ban on home distilleries,...

Plastered around Westminster this Easter were adverts for the Tower of London. ‘The perfect place for troublemakers – pre-book now,’ the poster read. ‘Members go free.’ So too – near enough – do those on Universal Credit (UC). Holiday treats can be expensive for hard-working families. For those on benefits they’re a breeze. A trip to the Tower of London for a family of four costs £111. But if one of the parents is on UC (or a long list of other benefits), a £107 saving is applied and the whole family can get in for just £4. Visit the...

At least 75 vehicles were ensnared in a massive, chain-reaction pileup on a Colorado highway Tuesday, authorities said. The crashes unfolded in the Rocky Mountains west of Denver, specifically near Loveland Ski Area, and followed a chaotic morning that saw six separate wrecks, mostly along the same highway, according to the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office. Officials said the latest crash forced a two-way lane shutdown on Interstate 70, as photos released by the authorities showed emergency crews assisting drivers at the scene. "The closure is due to a severe multi-vehicle crash on the east side of Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel...