Free Republic

Today's video investigates the absurdities of the policies, and how they lead to inefficiencies both domestic and international. We then try to understand why autocratic governments nonetheless offer subsidies despite knowing all of their drawbacks. Turkmenistan prior to 2019? Free natural gas for everyone. Great. But it gave rise to the saying, "A Turkman does not turn off his stove because then he will have to pay for matches." Hence why I had to add the prior to 2019 qualifier there because that policy sure as heck was not sustainable.

Another MAGA victory took place earlier this week, but this one has flown under the radar a little bit. Lee County, Alabama, home of Auburn University, has had the same sheriff since before the turn of the 21st Century. But on Tuesday night, Jay Jones was narrowly defeated, largely because he would not participate in basic illegal immigration enforcement. Here's AL.com on the race: A former Lee County deputy that was fired after deciding to run to become sheriff will now unseat the person that terminated him. Cameron Hunt was elected to become Lee County's next sheriff Tuesday narrowly beating...

This video provides an overview of the roughly 10-year history of the contentious relationship between Donald Trump and talk show host Stephen Colbert. Key highlights and segments include: Early Conflict (2016-2020): The video revisits the 2016 campaign, including Colbert's interview with Trump and his eventual prediction that Trump would not be president (0:20 - 2:55). It touches on Colbert's reactions to the 2016 and 2020 election results (3:06 - 3:27). Continued Tension (2021-2024): Even while Trump was out of office, the two remained frequent topics of discussion for one another, with Trump often criticizing Colbert on Truth Social (3:28 -...

He put illustrator Drew Struzan on the road to greatness and was behind the marketing for films including ‘Jaws,’ ‘Poltergeist,’ ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ and ‘Field of Dreams.’Tony Seiniger, the poster designer who also oversaw marketing campaigns for such classic movies as Jaws, Poltergeist, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Total Recall, died Monday in Atlanta, his family announced. He was 87. Known as the “Godfather of Movie Advertising,” Seiniger took unknown illustrator Drew Struzan under his wing and gave him his start as a poster designer in Hollywood. Struzan would become a show business legend. The New Yorker was...

A genetic study of the remains of four 2,000-year-old dogs recovered from two archaeological sites on the Korean Peninsula suggests that the canines belonged to a lineage separate from other dog populations in East Asia, according to the Korea JoongAng Daily. It had been previously thought that dog populations in East Asian shared a single lineage. Hyeongcheol Kim of the Gaya National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, Suyeon Kim and A-reum Yu of the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, and their colleagues determined that ancient Korean dogs resembled the Australian dingo and the New Guinea singing dog. Korean dogs...

Sir Sadiq Khan has accused Sir Keir Starmer of failing to deliver on Labour’s election promises. The Mayor of London also said that the Prime Minister’s speech after Labour’s local elections disaster, in which he vowed to face up to the big challenges the country faces, was “not enough”. He also heaped praise on Andy Burnham, and refused to say whether or not he would want him to lead Labour into the next election should he win the Makerfield by-election next month.

The Corleone saga shifts to Connie as author Adriana Trigiani and Paramount revive 'The Godfather' with a new novel and film adaptation.More than three decades after the final installment of The Godfather trilogy hit theaters, the Corleone family is officially returning with a new chapter — and this time, the story belongs to the daughter, Connie Corleone. According to The Associated Press, Random House announced that bestselling author Adriana Trigiani will write Connie, a new novel authorized by the estate of Mario Puzo, with a planned release set for fall 2027. Paramount Pictures is also developing a new film adaptation...

NOW: Commies in L.A. are MELTING DOWN because Spencer Pratt’s crew is power washing the filthy LA streets, spelling out “IMAGINE IF THE STREETS WERE THIS CLEAN” + “SPENCER PRATT FOR MAYOR” The mountains of trash and filth under Karen Bass have literally become the best campaign ad against her. This is savage and brilliant. Time to clean house in LA and vote for Spencer Pratt!

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) declared a state of emergency on Saturday evening as experts warned that the chemical tank that is overheating in Orange County could explode. 40,000 residents in Orange County, California, were evacuated on Friday amid a chemical leak at an aerospace facility. On Thursday, a valve overheated on a 34,000-gallon tank used to make plastics. Authorities said the tank, located in Garden Grove, could either explode or spill thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals. Several evacuation centers were opened; however, many residents are still refusing to leave their homes. On Friday evening, Orange County Fire Authority...

A tiny home project in Watsonville is giving people experiencing homelessness both housing and hope for a better future. For Rosie Lopez, Hope Village, as it’s called, saved her life. “Because I had just lost my brother, you know, and I was contemplating suicide and I've been homeless for almost five years, and I was really at my worst,” Lopez said. Hope Village is a navigation center for people experiencing homelessness on both sides of the Pajaro River. The 34-bed center celebrated its grand opening this week. “Most folks, they're not looking for a handout. They really want an opportunity...

Charlotte Heimann, a 27-year-old mother with ties to Clermont County, Ohio, disappeared on Oct. 30, 1981, after leaving the Rochester Psychiatric Center in New York. More than four decades later, her granddaughter, Shyla Jump, is working to uncover what happened. "I didn’t actually know the story behind it. I didn’t actually know my grandmother. I didn’t know who she was until now," Jump said. Charlotte left her 4-year-old daughter, Jump’s mother, with her own mother in Ohio while she moved to New York to be closer to her father and attend Monroe College. Records and family accounts describe Charlotte's struggles...

A 2023 Idaho bathroom bill is now permanently in effect statewide following the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the anti-trans legislation. Attorneys for the Sexuality and Gender Alliance, a student group at Boise High School, and the state agreed to dismiss the lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday following the death of one plaintiff and the high-school graduation of another, per Idaho Education News. The late plaintiff, as Idaho Education News noted, was a trans student who died by suicide in January, identified only in court filings as Jane Doe. Lawsuits against the bathroom ban were currently pending in the...

The twelve apostles included "James the son of Alphaeus" (Matt. 10:3). God often uses ordinary people to accomplish great things. Like most Christians, James the son of Alphaeus is an unknown and unsung soldier of the cross. His distinguishing characteristic is obscurity. Nothing he did or said is recorded in Scripture—only his name. In Mark 15:40 he is called "James the Less," which literally means "Little James." That could refer to his stature (he might have been short), his age (he might have been younger than James the son of Zebedee), or his influence (he might have had relatively little...

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one, not like the one made by Obama, which gave Iran massive amounts of CASH, and a clear and open path to a Nuclear Weapon. Our deal is the exact opposite, but nobody has seen it, or knows what it is. It isn’t even fully negotiated yet. So don’t listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about. Unlike those before me who should have solved this problem many years ago, I don’t make bad deals! President DJT...

Senator Ted Cruz provides a short history lesson for Sen. Hirono.

Robert Kenyon, a self-employed plumber, has been confirmed as Reform's official candidate for the upcoming contest in in Greater Manchester. Kenyon stood in the constituency (district) in the 2024 general election, and came second to Labour's Josh Simons. The by-election comes after Simons stepped down as MP to allow Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham an opportunity to contest the seat. @RobKenyonReform For me, Makerfield isn’t a stepping stone. It’s my home. The people here are my neighbours, friends & family. I took @Nigel_Farage out in my van to show him the places that matter to me. We chatted rugby league...

1,102,210 views May 12, 2026 Everyone online keeps saying Chinese EVs are cheap knockoffs that could never compete with Tesla, Mercedes, BMW, or the rest of the world. So I flew 9,000 miles to China to see for myself. From self-driving cars and massive EV factories to battery technology and infrastructure that honestly shocked me, this trip completely changed the way I look at the future of electric cars. I thought I knew what to expect… I was wrong. We got a behind the scenes look at CATL and the battery tech powering the future of electric cars. EV batteries...

The effort comes as a new outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola continues to spread in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Oxford Vaccine Group (OVG) announced it is urgently producing its candidate vaccine, ChAdOx1 BDBV, which could enter human clinical trials in as little as two to three months if animal testing succeeds. The Bundibugyo Ebolavirus is one of the less common but still highly lethal strains of Ebola. Unlike the more frequently seen Zaire strain, there are currently no licensed vaccines or specific treatments approved for Bundibugyo virus disease. The WHO and local authorities have described the...

Another new angle on the possible USA/Israel/Iran peace deal has come in, this time from Jerusalem, where Fox News Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst has his ear to the ground at rather closer range than most of us. He also has a few more details on what the lifting of sanctions will be worth to Iran. Here are a couple of key points: The source added that as part of the deal Iran will receive oil sanctions waivers and also have frozen funds and assets released worth billions of dollars. On Saturday President Trump held a call that included leaders from...

Meghan McCain and her family are mourning the sudden death of her stepbrother, Douglas Shepp McCain, the eldest adopted son of late Sen. John McCain. He was 66. Doug McCain died Wednesday, according to his funeral home obituary, which did not disclose the cause of sudden death.