Free Republic

'To our enemies … You can run but you’ll only die tired,' immigrant from Vietnam warnsWhen Hung Cao was 4 years old, the U.S. military rescued him to freedom, evacuating him and his immediate family—seven people, two suitcases—from Saigon just hours before the capital of South Vietnam fell to the communists. What was a stroke of good fortune for Cao has worked out pretty well so far for America, too. Cao has spent a lifetime since then repaying the U.S. He graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis and served as a Navy diver and explosive ordnance disposal officer with...

They’re stealing from the rich to give to … themselves. A lefty New Yorker writer who lives in a $2.5 million Brooklyn brownstone has elicited fury from real hardworking New Yorkers after she claimed it was just fine to shoplift on a podcast praising “microlooting” — a trendy new term for stealing from big companies such as Whole Foods. On the podcast, opinion culture editor Nadja Spiegelman describes “microlooting” as a way of sticking it to billionaire Bezos. “What I’m seeing on TikTok and social media is people saying that they’re stealing from Whole Foods not just for the thrill...

An internal Pentagon email outlines options for the United States to punish NATO allies it believes failed to support U.S. operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain from the alliance and reviewing the U.S. position on Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands, a U.S. official told Reuters. The policy options are detailed in a note expressing frustration at some allies’ perceived reluctance or refusal to grant the United States access, basing and overflight rights - known as ABO - for the Iran war, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the email. The email...

The city of Los Angeles has a major street light problem. Thousands of the lights are out because thieves strip them of copper wire which they then turn around and sell for cash. To deal with this problem and fix the lights, the city government is proposing a new TAX on the law abiding citizens who did not steal the copper wire. Can you even believe this? The city wants to punish the people who didn’t ruin the street lights and make them pay to fix it. Unreal. Mayor Karen Bass is urging voters to approve the measure, which would...

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The state House of Representatives voted Thursday largely along party lines to advance a bill adding new oversight to the state’s homeschooling system, with the Republican minority mounting a lengthy, if futile, campaign of opposition.The final vote count was 96-53. All 49 Republicans voted against the bill and were joined by four Democrats who defected from their caucus. Democrats hold a 102-49 majority. Two Democrats were absent.

A would-be Palestinian suicide bomber was met with raucous applause as she appeared before University of California Berkeley law students. Israa Jaabis, who was released from an Israeli jail in 2023 as part of a prisoner exchange for 26 hostages taken on October 7 of that year, made the virtual appearance as part of a 'teach-in' organized by the student-run UC Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine. The event, which came just one day before Israeli Independence Day, was described as a chance 'to hear experiences of Palestinian torture survivors and prisoners of conscience.' But Jaabis was accused in 2015...

Reports making the rounds on X detail a very “Big Brother” law enforcement campaign underway in rural France: farmers who have opted not to inject their cattle herds with suspect pharmaceuticals, instead preferring to raise their food the way God intended, are being subjected to a grotesque invasion of privacy. Local cops, in great shows of force, are now apparently turning up at French farms with thermal drones to detect any cattle that may be hidden back in the countryside; if any animals are discovered, the farmers’ animals are force-vaccinated on site. See one reported example here: [X post at...

A millionaire US big-game hunter was ambushed and killed by five elephants whilst hunting small forest antelope in central Africa. Californian vineyard owner Ernie Dosio, 75 - who owns a vast collection of exotic animal heads in trophy rooms at home - was trampled to death. He was being guided by a professional hunter in the thick forest of Gabon on a £30,000 stalk for a shot at the elusive yellow-backed duiker. Over the decades he has hunted elephants, leopard, rhino, buffalo and lion across Africa and back home in the US he has hunted almost every species of wild...

In 2025, the number of officers feloniously killed fell to its lowest level since 2020. According to the Crime Prevention Research Center’s review of FBI LEOKA data, 53 officers were feloniously killed in 2025, down 17.2% from 2024. Early 2026 data also point lower, with 10 officers feloniously killed in the first three months of the year, compared with 15 in the same period of 2025 and 14 in the same period of 2024. The FBI’s LEOKA system relies on voluntary reporting from participating law enforcement agencies. The Officers Down Memorial Page (ODMP) appears to have more complete data than...

The US State Department said it is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji, leader of the Iran-aligned militia Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS). In a notice issued through its Rewards for Justice program, the department said al-Saraji, also known as Abu Ala al-Wala’i, heads the group, which it accused of attacks on US personnel and facilities in Iraq and Syria, as well as violence against Iraqi civilians. The notice said individuals providing information could be eligible for relocation and financial compensation. Help stop the violence and attacks against U.S. diplomatic facilities and...

Democrats and their ideological allies really do hate America. Earlier this week, Democrat Senator Chris Murphy highlighted a disputed news story claiming that a shadow fleet of several dozen Iranian vessels had successfully eluded the U.S. Navy’s blockade near the Strait of Hormuz. Above what appears to have been Iranian propaganda, Murphy wrote one word: “Awesome.” How much does a Democrat senator have to hate the country he putatively represents to root for a foreign enemy presently engaged in battle with the United States? Murphy’s choice to side with Iran’s Islamic terrorists over American servicemembers should surprise no-one. As commenters...

There are now three United States Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers operating in the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility. CENTCOM confirmed in a post on X on Thursday afternoon that the 10th and final Nimitz-class supercarrier, the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), has entered the Indian Ocean. CVN-77 joins the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), which is now in the Arabian Sea, and the U.S. Navy's newest and largest supercarrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), operating in the Red Sea after transiting the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean.

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem 🇮🇱(4/24/26)[Prayer]A New Study For A New Year: PersonalitiesNumbers 11:10-35 10 Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased. 11 And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? 12 Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in...

Salimeh stands in her yard, a rug suspended behind her, still heavy from washing. Her clothes, patterned in vivid reds, pinks and oranges, echo the mineral-rich sands of Iran’s Qeshm and Hormuz islands, where the earth itself seems to glow. The wind lifts her veil, just enough to show its gentle presence, and it billows out across her body. She’s caught, mid-motion, in the exact moment of its arrival. Photographer Hoda Afshar recalls the image as something almost accidental. Working with a medium-format analog camera, she had been adjusting, focusing, waiting. Salimeh stood patiently. Then the wind came and she...

A useful rule of thumb is that when a problem persists for decades despite serious effort, the failure is usually not one of effort or intelligence, but of framing. Climate change sits squarely in this category. We have poured talent, capital, policy, and good intentions into solving it, and yet the core dynamics continue to worsen. This suggests that something foundational is off in how we are thinking about the problem. One of the clearest illustrations of that deeper issue sits far from financial centers and climate summits, in the Arctic. About 50 years ago, Denmark made a decision that...

Democratic Virginia state Sen. Lamont Bagby claimed Thursday that watching “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “The Andy Griffith Show” and “The Waltons” as a child taught him about rural America. (snip)“And listen, I almost took issue with the other side saying that we don’t understand [rural America],” Bagby said during the floor debate. “But I grew up watching ‘The Waltons,’ I grew up with Opie [the son of a sheriff played by Andy Griffith], I even watched the ‘Dukes of Hazzard.’ I think I know a little bit about rural America.”

A curious GenZ BRIT talks about why GenX is missing from all of the talk...

Retail giant Nike has announced a fresh wave of job cuts, slashing around 1,400 roles on Thursday in a move set to send shockwaves through its workforce. The latest layoffs - which are understood to fall heavily on its technology division - come as the sportswear behemoth pushes ahead with a major overhaul aimed at sharpening its competitive edge. Bosses insist the cuts form part of its aggressive 'Win Now' strategy, designed to streamline operations and position the company for future growth in an increasingly challenging retail landscape.

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In 1995, ‘Adam’ Hisham Hamawy testified for the defense in the trial of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman: the Egyptian Islamic terror leader linked to the World Trade Center bombing. Now, Hamawy is running for Congress in New Jersey while promising to defund the military, abolish ICE, and dismantle the Department of Homeland Security. Hamawy, an Egyptian Muslim currently working as a plastic surgeon in New Jersey, has been in the news more recently for his Gaza advocacy, demanding that Israel stop its military campaign against Hamas, and in his recent interview with Hasan Piker, a Turkish social media influencer who...