Free Republic

Former presidential spokesman Iuliia Mendel accused the Ukrainian president of prolonging the war with Russia to preserve his political position, while alleging corruption, propaganda tactics, and growing authoritarianism inside Ukraine. Former Ukrainian presidential press secretary Iuliia Mendel has launched a scathing attack on President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of prolonging the war with Russia for political survival and personal enrichment, while claiming that many ordinary Ukrainians and officials increasingly desire peace. Speaking in an interview with American commentator Tucker Carlson, published on Monday, May 11th, Mendel—who served as Zelensky’s spokesman between 2019 and 2021—described her former employer as “one of...

It was the song that began Hank’s chart-topping country sequence.The Hank Williams biopic I Saw The Light, starring Tom Hiddlestone, addressed the period between 1944 (when Williams was 21 and newly married) to his death from alcohol and drug abuse on New Year’s Day, 1953. That period encompassed all of the ups and downs of Hank’s public life, but the date we focus on here is definitely one of his career landmarks. On May 7, 1949, he scored the first of what would be 11 No. 1s on the Billboard country chart, with “Lovesick Blues.” Williams had four previous chart...

Washington — As inflation rose to its highest rate in years and CBS News polling shows high prices at the pump are causing financial strain for many Americans, President Trump told reporters Tuesday, "I don't think about Americans' financial situation" as a motivation for negotiations with Iran, and said he is only concerned with preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. When asked by a reporter how much Americans' finances are "motivating you to make a deal," Mr. Trump responded: "Not even a little bit."

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) – It’s Election Day in West Virginia, and the polls close at 7:30 p.m. As the results come in, WOWK 13 News will keep you up-to-date with the latest results on air, online and on WOWK+, including on a special 2.5-hour On the Record with Amanda Barren at 8 p.m. on WOWK+. After the polls close, you can check this page below for the latest updates on results. All County Boards of Education race results can be found at the end of this article, listed alphabetically by county.

It’s hard to even imagine now, but immediately after it launched in 2004, there was nothing on the internet cooler than Facebook. It was initially available only to Harvard students, then gradually expanded to students at other elite colleges, giving it an aura of exclusivity that founder Mark Zuckerberg clearly coveted. By the time it opened up to public accounts in 2006, the hype was palpable, paving the way to an explosive initial public offering in 2012. Since those salad days, its trajectory has never been quite the same. Sure, it’s maintained market share with a series of cynical acquisitions...

Like many leftists living in social media bubbles, New York Times op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof is obsessed with Israel. And because he has a risible understanding of the Middle East, he’s also highly susceptible to believing unhinged conspiracies aimed at the country. This week, however, in a pseudo-journalistic piece headlined “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians,” the columnist excavates conspiracies so unhinged that no marginally reputable media outlet has ever touched them. Even the New York Times relegates it to its op-ed section, since the piece breaks every rule of objective journalism. But even columnists have an obligation...

West Virginia has for years led the nation in several unfavorable categories, having recorded both the highest rate of per-capita drug overdose deaths and the highest number of babies born with drugs in their system of any state. But in July, the Mountain State finally made it to the top of a positive list, recording the largest reduction in fatal overdoses over a 12-month period of any state in the country... It was welcome news for the state that has long been considered ground zero for the American opioid abuse and overdose epidemic... Experts who spoke with National Review attributed...

Videos taken by witnesses on Memorial Drive in Cambridge captured a gunman opening fire on the street, then being taken into custody after a shootout with police Monday afternoon.Joseph Minino Rodriguez heard the first pops from the 18th floor of his apartment and thought they were fireworks. Then he heard five more pops.

The XA103 is being built under the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion program to improve fuel efficiency, thermal management, and power output. Pratt & Whitney clears major XA103 milestone. Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of RTX, has completed a fully digital assembly-readiness review for its XA103 adaptive engine. This breakthrough is a key step in the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion program. With this milestone, the company can now begin ordering hardware and prepare to assemble the first physical test engine later this decade. This review signifies the end of an important design...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV, Parolin, and China: A Silence That Grows After One Year of PontificateOne year after the election of Leo XIV, the Vatican continues to fail to clarify what the future holds for the controversial agreement signed with China on the appointment of bishops. While Cardinal Pietro Parolin continues to control the Secretariat of State and maintain the diplomatic line inherited from Francis’s pontificate, doubts are growing within the Church about a policy toward Beijing that has not halted the persecution of Chinese Catholics.A silence in crescendoA recent analysis published by La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana once again focuses...

Massachusetts prosecutors scolded a judge over the sweetheart deal she handed to serial criminal Tyler Brown — who is accused of opening fire on random drivers on Monday — after he was convicted of trying to kill a cop years earlier. Brown, 46, pleaded guilty to armed assault with intent to murder in 2021, one year after he fired 13 rounds at Boston officers, including firing a .40 Glock semi-automatic at close range at one officer’s chest. Prosecutors recommended a 12-year prison sentence followed by five years of probation; however, Judge Janet Sanders handed out a five- to six-year sentence...

One day after Lane Kiffin opened up on why the location of Ole Miss hurt him in recruiting at his old school and how “diversity” has helped him at LSU, the college football coach apologized. Kiffin, in a lengthy interview with Vanity Fair, revealed that unspecified recruits told him while he was leading Ole Miss that certain players would have issues coming to the school. “[They would say], ‘Hey, Coach, we really like you. But my grandparents aren’t letting me move to Oxford, Mississippi,'” Kiffin told Vanity Fair. “That doesn’t come up when you say Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Parents were...

Wait until you read about the things Muslim jihadis have done throughout history! Full depravity of Hamas during October 7 revealed for the first time: New report details how terrorists performed almost unimaginable horrors upon Israeli families https://t.co/14KfEBq7jV— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) May 12, 2026The report from the Israel's Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children, led by Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, compiles new details about the terror attack carried out by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023. The report outlines how systematic rape, gang rape, genital mutilation, and family-targeted sexual violence were deliberate strategies employed by...

The full nationalisation of British Steel is expected to be announced in the king’s speech this week, a year after the government took over the daily running of the loss-making business from its Chinese owner. The steelmaker, which employs 3,500 people at its plant in Scunthorpe, came under government control last April amid fears that its owner, Jingye, was planning to shut down the site. British Steel operates the last two remaining blast furnaces in the UK, but its economic control remains with the Chinese company, which bought it out of insolvency in early 2020. An announcement confirming the plans...

A first-grade teacher in Washington state allegedly admitted to her husband that she cheated on him with a 16-year-old student — with whom she had sex in his truck, according to court documents. Mackenzie Naught, 25, allegedly fessed up to her hubby Saturday night, just hours before being arrested on child sex crimes on Sunday, the Spokesman-Review reported. The educator from Whitman County said she became physical with the teen the week before in his truck during a meet-up in the dead of night, according to court docs.

🚨 OH NO! L.A. Mayor Karen Bass just unveiled “FREE TEETH FOR METH HEADS” 🚨 “They don't have teeth, why? Because meth rots your teeth. You can't succeed without teeth” … WHAT?!? 🤣 7:51 PM · May 12, 2026 · 24.5K Views VIDEO AT LINK...............

Has Ithaca gone to the dogs? A new memoir calls the Upstate New York city the “most depressing college town in America.” Isabel Klee, a New Jersey native, has risen to social media fame through documenting her work rehabilitating medically complex and severely neglected rescue dogs — and showing their transformation from timid, shut-down animals into happy, thriving pets. Klee’s new memoir, “Dogs, Boys and Other Things I’ve Cried About,” chronicles her coming-of-age years after high school and her early experiences living in New York City, but it also includes a blunt look back at her short-lived college experience in...

Abdul El-Sayed, an Egyptian-American Muslim and a Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Michigan, reportedly lacks a medical license in Michigan and New York, though he has claimed he is a physician, according to a recent report. While El-Sayed, who is running to fill Sen. Gary Peters’ (D-MI) seat, has claimed in interviews that he’s “been a doctor” for his “whole career” and also lists being a “physician” on his LinkedIn account, Politico reviewed medical records from the two states and found El-Sayed has “never been granted a medical license in those states.” Though the outlet’s review found that he...

The European Union is moving to tighten migration controls after years of struggling to deport most migrants ordered to leave, with a top official saying the bloc is now working to "get control back" ahead of sweeping new asylum rules set to take effect in June. European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner said deportations have increased and new border screening systems are identifying potential security threats, part of a broader effort to address gaps in enforcement that have drawn criticism from the United States and fueled political pressure across Europe. "Ten years ago, we didn't have a...

🚨 HOLY SMOKES. ICE has just announced a jaw-dropping fraud bust, saying 10,000 FOREIGN students are involved in the federal government's Optional Practical Training There are EMPTY BUILDINGS where HUNDREDS of students should be "working" as part of their ability to be in America — run by foreign-linked groups that send money out of the country! Locked doors, hundreds of students sharing the SAME ADDRESS, and "employers" sharing the same unleased addresses There is a widespread "phantom employee" fraud going on. This is insane. Many of the so-called "employers" have major red flags, such as facing lawsuits, no employment records,...