Free Republic

SNIP Summary: Trump has instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran following a Monday Situation Room meeting, rejecting both a resumption of bombing and acceptance of Iran's current proposal The blockade is aimed at forcing Tehran to dismantle its entire nuclear programme, with Trump demanding at minimum a 20-year suspension of enrichment Iran's three-step proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while deferring nuclear talks was rejected as evidence of bad faith The Strait of Hormuz is seeing its lowest transit levels since the conflict began, driving up energy costs and weighing on Trump's poll numbers ahead...

The House on Thursday passed a bill to fund the bulk of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), minus Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a major step toward ending the record-breaking, 10-week shutdown. The bill passed by voice vote less than an hour after Republican leaders sent out a notice that the chamber would consider the legislation amid increasing pressure from the White House, Senate, and Republican rank-and-file. The bill passed the Senate last month and now goes to President Trump’s desk for his signature. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had sat on the bill for weeks, but...

President Donald Trump says he’s nominating Fox News Channel contributor Nicole Saphier for surgeon general after Casey Means’ path forward stalled in the Senate over questions about her experience and her stance on vaccines. In a social media post Thursday, the Republican president said Saphier is “a STAR physician who has spent her career guiding women facing breast cancer through their diagnosis and treatment.” Senators of both major political parties grilled Means on her vaccine stance and other health topics during a tense confirmation hearing, deepening doubts about her ability to secure the votes she needs for the role. Earlier...

SNIP Lip reader Nicola Hickling told the Daily Mail that the President brought up both Saturday's shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and disturbing news about Russian President Vladimir Putin during the brief exchange. The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment. 'This shooting...' Trump appeared to say. 'I'd rather not stand about here too long,' the King appeared to respond. 'I feel I shouldn't be here.' Trump asked King Charles if he was OK, adding, 'It's not a good thing.' 'I wasn't prepared, but now I am prepared,' the President also offered....

Sanford's years as governor were overshadowed by his disappearance to go to Argentina to see his lover. Sanford's wife didn't know where he was. Jenny Sanford, moved and relocated with their four sons into the family's home near Charleston and later sued for divorce. Sanford reemerged launching a 2020 primary CHALLENGE to Trump offering his determination to bring fiscal restraint into the national conversation as a counterpoint to what he described as Trump's incendiary rhetoric. Just ahead of the New Hampshire primary, Sanford dropped out of the contest.

The Trump administration is running up against a 60-day limit for the Iran war that is instituted by the War Powers Act of 1973, but War Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the ceasefire does not qualify. The law requires that Congress must declare war or authorize the use of force, although it does provide for presidents to have a 30-day extension to draw down hostilities if it notifies Congress. “We are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire,” Hegseth said at during Thursday's hearing....

State lawmakers passed redrawn congressional lines Wednesday that create four more GOP-leaning seats in Florida, making it the eighth state to complete mid-decade redistricting in the 2026 election cycle — and most likely setting up a historic legal challenge in the state. (Snip) Under the new plans, seats held by Democrats Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, both of South Florida, would also be transformed into Republican-leaning districts.

U.S. — The growing rift between the political right and left in the country became even more evident this week, as a new poll showed that a majority of Democrats believe the Lincoln assassination was staged. Though long held to be a historical fact, a plurality of Democratic voters went on record in a research study to confirm that they now suspect that President Abraham Lincoln was never actually assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, and that the entire incident was simply an elaborate hoax. "That whole situation was suspicious," lifelong Democrat Dean Stinson posted on social media. "Sure, the...

A seventeen-second video shows a dark-haired man rapping his pale knuckles gently below the tinted windows of a silver minivan. He stands back, shoving his hands into the pockets of his puffer coat, his boyish face twisted into a severe expression. The car drives off, and the camera pans to follow it down the suburban Minneapolis road. No words are spoken. Splashed across the screen, a bright red and white caption reads, “ICE was circling a local elementary school. I knocked on their door to have a conversation, but they ran away instead.” The man is Matt Little, 41, a...

European Great Tits and 36 other bird species on the continent are more afraid of women than they are of men, according to a recent study—and researchers have no idea why. In the study, men could get about a meter closer to birds than women could before the animals flew away, according to the results. This pattern remained regardless of what the men and women were wearing, what their height was or how they tried to approach the creatures. That suggests birds may be able to suss out the sex of a human, though the researchers aren’t sure how. “I...

An Indian real estate agent in Ontario, Canada has claimed to a judge that it was a “cultural misunderstanding” when he lured a boy into his vehicle and abducted him. He is now facing deportation from the country. Manoj Govindbalunikam, 37, was given an 18-month sentence earlier in April after being convicted of abducting a 9-year-old boy in August 2023. He pleaded not guilty to abducting the boy and then buying the young lad ice cream as well as toys. Police later found photos of him with the boy in his yellow Chevrolet Camaro. While in court, Govindbalunikam’s lawyer asked...

U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) jumped in the first quarter of 2026, compared to the previous quarter’s growth, the Commerce Department reported Thursday – a sign that the nation’s economy remains solid. Real (inflation-adjusted) GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.0% in the first quarter after rising just 0.5% in the last three months of 2025, according to the report providing an advanced estimate of GDP. A second, updated estimate will be published May 28, to eventually be followed by the third (and final) estimate. "The core of the economy remained solid in Q1, driven by the AI buildout...

The family of four noted in their report that the suspected UFO was within a few miles of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) at Twentynine Palms, about 125 miles east of Los Angeles. However, the sighting also took place roughly 115 miles from Edwards Air Force Base, the world's largest airfield - and a famous testing ground for experimental aircraft and prototypes since the 1940s.

A New Orleans sheriff has been indicted with 30 felony offenses in connection with a jail break last May, in which 10 inmates escaped. On Wednesday, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced that Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson had been indicted by a special grand jury convened to investigate the May 16 escape at the Orleans Justice Center. “While Sheriff Hutson did not personally open the doors of the jail for the escapees, her refusal to comply with basic legal requirements and to take even minimal precautions in the discharge of her duties directly contributed to and enabled the escape,”...

Fast-rising gas prices lifted the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge to 3.5% in March, its highest rate in almost three years, new data showed Thursday. The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index rose 0.7% from February, a faster-than-expected acceleration from the previous monthly pace of 0.4%, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The annual rate of inflation, which jumped from 2.8% in February, is now running at its fastest pace since May 2023. The PCE Price Index is the inflation gauge the Federal Reserve uses for its 2% target rate. The sharp hike in energy prices, an aftershock of the Middle East...

Ford Motor Company says it will earn more money this year than previously expected after receiving a larger tariff refund than cross-town rival General Motors (GM), with both brands now forecasting improved financial results. Ford reported it will receive a one-off tariff refund of $US1.3 billion, nearly three times the $US500 million that GM expects to be refunded. The automaker also said it has effectively halved its expected tariff costs for 2026 to $US1 billion, due to both the refunds and its lower reliance on imports into the US, where it builds 83 per cent of its North American model...

David Allan Coe, the outlaw country music legend and pioneer songwriter behind hits such as “You Never Even Called Me by My Name” and “Take This Job and Shove It,” has died. He was at 86. David died Wednesday in a hospital, his rep told the New York Times without elaborating further. “David is a musical treasure,” the representative said. “Even in his years of declining health, David appreciated all of the fans.” A cause of death has not yet been confirmed. “One of the best singers, songwriters, and performers of our time [and] never to be forgotten,” his wife,...

Florida Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon temporarily disrupted final passage of a Gov. Ron DeSantis-backed redistricting bill by shouting in a bullhorn during the vote.

The U.S. national debt now exceeds 100% of gross domestic product, crossing a once-unthinkable threshold, on the way toward breaking the record set in the wake of World War II. As of March 31, the country’s publicly held debt was $31.265 trillion, while GDP over the preceding year was $31.216 trillion, according to data released Thursday. That puts the ratio at 100.2%, compared with 99.5% when the last fiscal year ended Sept. 30. That figure will likely climb for the foreseeable future because the federal government is running historically large annual deficits of nearly 6% of GDP, which add to...

[Catholic Caucus] The Pope of What?There is no doubt in my mind that Leo is the true and valid pope. The question in my mind is, “the pope of what?”“He is the pope of the Catholic Church,” you might say. Your answer assumes that the Church of Rome is the Holy Catholic Church that was founded by Jesus Christ. You believe that. But you do not — cannot— know that.There is a difference between knowing and believing. I define “knowing” as when you learn something that is consistently verifiable and universally accepted. “Belief” is a conclusion that you reach about...