Free Republic

Dubai: Defying international law governing global waterways, Iran is trying to force shippers to comply with a new protocol for transiting the Strait of Hormuz — or risk attack. According to a document seen by CNN, Tehran has introduced new rules for vessels seeking passage through the strategic waterway, pressing ahead with efforts to formalise control over Hormuz despite repeated US and regional warnings. The document, titled “Vessel Information Declaration,” was issued by Iran’s newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA). It requires vessels transiting Hormuz to submit detailed information, including ownership, crew nationalities, cargo details and voyage plans, before...

Box Elder County commissioners vote in favor of massive data center project Rural residents push back as data center vote nears in Box Elder County Mr. Wonderful’s Utah Data Center draws not-so-wonderful reaction from residents SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A massive proposed data center project in Box Elder County has drawn attention, largely because of its sheer size. Even though it would be built more than 70 miles away, people in Salt Lake County say the impact could reach far beyond that area. A proposed data center development in Box Elder County would span roughly 40,000 acres. “With the...

OK. I have been doing my best to read the Trump tea leaves, figure out the Art of the Deal, and parse all the information out there so that I can figure out Donald Trump's strategy in the Iran War. I thought I had a good handle on it, and until the past few days, Trump's behavior accorded pretty well with my overall theory. Trump's strategy appeared to have been to pressure Iran into full and complete capitulation on the issues of nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles (which exist to make attacking Iran nearly impossible), and to get the Strait of...

As the Trump administration continues its effort to root out federal funding for diversity initiatives, the National Institutes of Health has modified its grant review process to identify research that contains words associated with race or gender, which has held up some grant disbursements and forced scientists to rewrite proposals. “I feel that this kind of censorship is making the path forward to support narrower and narrower research only to include, for example, white, straight, cisgender men,” said a program director at one of NIH’s institutes. “Any other population is being scrutinized, which is highly, highly, highly problematic for a...

“Forever disqualified from judicial service in the State of Texas.” Bexar County Judge Rosie Speedlin-Gonzalez, the county’s first openly LGBT judge, has resigned and accepted a LIFETIME BAN from the bench. This comes after serious misconduct complaints, most notably the December 2024 incident where she had a defense attorney handcuffed mid-hearing. Criminal charges were dropped in exchange for the permanent disqualification.

(This is the third part of “Medicaid Millions,” a Daily Wire series exposing billions of dollars in dubious “personal services” payments where people are paid to spend time with their own family.) COLUMBUS, Ohio — After the federal government approved a waiver allowing Ohio to expand Medicaid by paying housekeepers to spend time at elderly people’s houses to help with tasks like “homemaking” and “chore services,” taxpayers across the country footed a shocking $2.5 billion worth of bills between 2018 and 2024, according to a trove of Medicaid data released for the first time by the Trump administration. The demand...

We’re four months into Abigail Spanberger’s tenure as governor of Virginia, and things couldn’t be worse for Democrats’ rising star. There’s a civil war in the party apparatus. The referendum to redraw the maps from a 6:5 Dem advantage to a 10:1 Dem advantage, thus giving the party an almost certain majority in the House, seems doomed to fail judicial review. Privately, the parties involved have been sniping each other.It’s beginning to leak into the press.

Cole Allen, the man being held for an armed incursion into the White House Correspondents' Dinner, is demanding that he be released without bail, saying "I didn't shoot or hurt anyone. I know I wrote a manifesto saying that I wanted to shoot President Trump, but I didn't actually do it. At the last moment, as I was lying on the floor in handcuffs, I decided not to. All I might be guilty of is illegal trespassing or disorderly conduct. I represent no danger to the public." Former President Obama was impressed by Allen's logic, saying "his reasoning sounds both...

In one universe — the one inhabited by Nicolle Wallace and her Deadline White House on MS NOW— Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s lengthy, high-energy White House press briefing was an embarrassing disaster. Within 90 minutes, President Trump supposedly turned him into a “liar or fool,” a “jackass,” and the “loser of the day.”In the universe the rest of America watched, Rubio delivered a commanding, substantive, and at times inspirational performance that drew praise across the board for its policy depth, wit, and poise. Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee lawmakers in the House of Representatives have passed the bill that will split Memphis along new congressional lines. Memphis will be split into three congressional districts per the new map, which passed in the Tennessee General Assembly’s special session on redistricting Thursday, May 7. Democrats in the state house have railed against the push to redraw congressional lines outside of the decennial census, calling the move a “grave, grave rollback of rights” for Black Tennesseans and especially for Memphians. The proposed new map, only released to the public about 24 hours before they passed the...

Border Czar Tom Homan told CBS News that President Donald Trump is talking to his advisors about offering some form of “legal status” to many illegal migrants. A pro-migration reporter at CBS asked Homan on Wednesday: “Would you support a compromise, sir, that involves giving legal status [amnesty] to the millions of people who are here illegally but are otherwise law-abiding?” “I’m not gonna get ahead of the President on that,” Homan cautiously responded. “I work for the President,” Homan added, as the Colombian-born migrant reporter interrupted him to insist that “Something has to be done to address that [illegal...

🚨CIVIL SUIT FILED: I have officially filed a civil suit against Chris, Deyanna and Paige Ostroushko. I promised to use every legal avenue to hold the Ostroushkos responsible and will be working with @MurdockJDF as we continue to pursue justice. Chris, Deyanna and Paige are all facing federal charges and will also now be facing a civil suit for their violent and egregious behavior. Not only did this family attack me, but they then doubled down and went on a media tour to further lie about me while attempting to raise money. I made a promised that I wouldn’t let...

A pro-Palestinian professor charged with killing a 69-year-old Jewish dad during an anti-Israel protest in southern California in 2023 will not stand trial after he plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter. The 54-year-old Moorpark resident Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji pleaded guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter and felony battery causing serious bodily injury related to the death of Paul Kessler, the Ventura County District Attorney’s office said in a press release on Tuesday. Alnaji-who teaches computer science at Moorpark College-and Kessler were both protesting the Israel-Hamas war during dueling pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrations in Thousand Oaks in 2023 when Alnaji struck the...

The B-52 may fly forever, but its 1960s-era engines certainly won't, and that's why it's such a big deal that the mighty BUFF is finally getting all-new and much more efficient turbofan engines. The B-52's engine upgrade is a VERY BIG DEAL | 5:37 Sandboxx | 531K subscribers | 125,659 views | May 5, 2026

Man, I would've never guessed that a guy who crashed a car, tried to steal a bunch of cars, and then was shot dead after trying to steal another car was an illegal alien from Mexico. An illegal immigrant from Mexico was identified as the suspect who was fatally shot when he tried to carjack a Texas father who was defending his family. Jose Ramirez, 30, is accused of trying to steal several cars off Highway 66, about 18 miles outside downtown Dallas, before he was shot and killed on Sunday, according to Fox 4 Dallas.

If Only- He should live long enough to witness his inevitable devastating loss in the midterms, be held accountable for his unprecedented corruption, impeached, convicted & humiliated for his countless crimes. Long enough to realize he'll be disgraced in the history books, forevermore. #don_TheCON

When Apple named its next chief executive last month it did so without ceremony. Tim Cook will become executive chairman on September 1; John Ternus, his senior vice-president of hardware engineering, will succeed him as CEO. The announcement came with a photograph, not a keynote: the two men walking through Apple Park, the circular glass campus in Cupertino that Steve Jobs designed with the British architect Norman Foster and did not live to see completed. It was the first Apple succession of the post-masterpiece age, and the prose matched. Apple said the transition had been approved unanimously by its board...

I guess you could say she's sounding the alarm?... This took place this week in Venice at the city's 61st Art Biennale, one of the world's most "prestigious" modern art events. Austrian artist Florentina Holzinger created an exhibit at the Austrian Pavilion called "Seaworld Venice" to warn humanity that climate change is going to destroy us all... I suppose by comparison, hanging upside-down naked in a bell is pretty tame to her usual stuff?

The Disney company has spoken out after immigration officials nabbed several of their staff off one of their cruise ships in San Diego last month as part of a massive child porn sting. Customs and Border Protection told the California Post they arrested 28 workers off five different vessels between April 23 and 25 as part of ongoing child sexual exploitation material enforcement operations. Disney said the majority of those apprehended were not from their company while reiterating their cooperation with law enforcement.

U.S. — A federal judge ordered the release of Jeffrey Epstein's purported suicide note, which oddly appears to have been written on Hillary Clinton's personal stationery. According to sources close to the investigation, the stationery was discovered neatly folded on Epstein's bed and prominently featured Clinton's official State Department letterhead, complete with embossed seal and matching monogram. "It's the darndest thing," said FBI Agent Tom Halleck. "There's just no telling how Epstein could have gotten a hold of Ms. Clinton's stationery. Why did he choose that particular piece of paper for recording his final thoughts? Quite the riddle we have...