Free Republic

Speculation is mounting over the fate of Brig. Gen. Ali Azmaei, the newly-appointed commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, following reported US strikes on the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. The Iran Watcher, a conflict monitoring group, said "unconfirmed reports" suggest Azmaei “may have been targeted and possibly eliminated” during the strikes, though Iranian authorities have not publicly commented on his status. Senior commander Azmaei is regarded as one of the IRGC Navy’s most senior commanders, previously leading the force’s 5th Naval Region, a strategically important command overseeing operations in the Arabian Gulf and the Strait...

For years, much of the American media has operated under a peculiar assumption: that the best way to confront adversaries such as China and Iran is to accommodate them. If the United States applies pressure, the narrative quickly becomes that America is overextended, losing leverage, or somehow empowering its enemies. That narrative has resurfaced during President Donald Trump's confrontation with Tehran and Beijing. According to outlets such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, both Iran and China are supposedly emerging stronger from the current conflict. It is a difficult claim to square with reality. Iran's senior military...

Africa's population has grown more than sixfold since 1950 and is projected to keep expanding through the end of the century — even as growth slows across most of the world — according to a Pew Research Center analysis published last week.Drawing on United Nations population data, the report finds that the continent currently holds 19% of the global population but is home to 28% of all people under 25. That share is expected to rise sharply in the decades ahead.Africa's population stood at roughly 230 million in 1950. It has since grown by approximately 1.3 billion people. Under the...

"Russia is considering limiting exports of diesel and jet fuel," Bloomberg and other sources reported Tuesday, "as refinery run rates fall to multi-year lows amid Ukraine’s escalating attacks." An Interfax source claimed that the decision to ban exports is at "an advanced stage," but no date has been set. If it comes to pass, that would be bad for diesel prices and inflation right here at home, but worse for Moscow's finances. Just the fact that the Kremlin is considering an export ban is more evidence that Kyiv's drone campaign is increasingly effective — against Russia's energy production at home,...

With the stakes dizzily high, President Donald J. Trump has delivered a series of bold, concrete economic actions that cut real costs for everyday families. He has paid attention to key domestic priorities. Republican leaders have generally failed to spotlight these achievements. This leaves Democrats free to dominate the conversation while public polls show persistent low approval for Trump on economic issues. Such an oversight is not minor. It borders on tragic at this pivotal juncture, when a Democratic win would likely accelerate the nation's slide from superpower status. Consider the direct relief on household essentials. Trump ended Biden-Harris-era restrictions...

As an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to grow, the Trump administration says it is focused on keeping the disease out of the United States. “We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. The US “is setting up a state-of-the-art facility” in Kenya for Americans who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus but who do not have symptoms, Trump administration officials said Wednesday.

The problems in the Strait of Hormuz, we should remember, are not confined to Iran, the Middle East, or the United States. The troubles, the open-again, closed-again problems in the Strait of Hormuz are affecting the economies of Europe, Asia, and elsewhere, to the point where even a landlocked European nation and, by the way, a NATO member, is offering some help to the United States to get that sorted out. The nation is the Czech Republic, and they are offering to help with specialized surveillance tech.The Czech Republic is prepared to help protect freedom of navigation in the Strait...

A Washington sheriff shocked the internet with a scathing comment on George Floyd just a day after the sixth anniversary of his murder. Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank jumped on social media and declared that Floyd, who was murdered by a cop in May 2020, would be doing drugs if he was still alive. A post shared on X on May 19 saw four images of Floyd in different professions created with artificial intelligence. The images saw Floyd as a doctor, a priest, in a suit and a construction workers uniform, with the caption: 'If George Floyd were still alive...

The general consensus among conservatives on public education is that government schools are nothing more than indoctrination centers. Even beginning in kindergarten with children as young as five, public schools are not hiding the fact that they are teaching the left-wing agenda. But as students progress through the system and go on to higher education, college professors are learning that students are sorely lacking in areas that are actually necessary. Wait getting rid of math tests led to students who can’t do math getting into college? No way. https://t.co/KnrPDYKpMq— Chris Heatherly (@chrisheatherly) May 26, 2026On Tuesday, hundreds of faculty members...

The following are transcribed highlights of a sermon given by Texas US Senate candidate James Talarico at the St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX on 10/22/2023:There is a cancer on our religion. Until we confess the sin that is Christian Nationalism and exercise it from our churches, our religion can do a lot more damage than a six-pack of Lone Star. There is nothing Christian about Christian Nationalism. It is the worship of power, social power, economic power, political power in the name of Christ, economic power, political power in the name of Christ.They've turned this humble rabbi [Jesus]...

A new report from the Government Accountability Office found that the Biden administration released nearly 90 percent of migrants encountered at the southern border through parole authority at the height of its catch-and-release policies.The report details how the Department of Homeland Security under former President Joe Biden and then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas dramatically expanded the use of “humanitarian parole” between early 2021 and Jan. 20, 2025.According to the GAO, parole authority had previously been used sparingly by presidential administrations before Biden took office.“Specifically, our analysis showed that OFO and Border Patrol granted relatively few paroles during fiscal years 2019 and...

Deputies with the Nye County Sheriff’s Office arrested three and seized nearly 500 birds in Pahrump in connection with an alleged cockfighting operation. Cockfighting is the illegal act of breeding and training birds, often roosters, to fight against each other for gambling and entertainment. On Tuesday, May 26, the sheriff’s office executed search warrants at two separate locations in Pahrump connected to the alleged cockfighting operation. As a result of the operation, three people were arrested, according to a release from Nye County. The three people arrested are Jorge Guzman Torres, who officials said is in the United States on...

Newly obtained GPS data in the case of Lynette Hooker's disappearance in the Bahamas has prompted U.S. investigators to relaunch a search for the body of the missing Michigan woman, a U.S. official familiar with the investigation told CBS News. After the forensic evidence appeared to contradict her husband's account of where he was the night she disappeared, U.S. investigators are asking the Bahamas for permission to send a dive team to search new areas in the Sea of Abaco for the body of Lynette Hooker. The U.S. official told CBS News that GPS data derived from one of Brian...

The Maverik gas station in Montrose, Colorado, can’t sell any diesel after someone dumped an RV’s waste tank into the station’s underground diesel supply. The incident happened sometime on Monday, and a woman who answered the phone at the Montrose Maverik station on Tuesday confirmed that someone had dumped an RV waste tank into its underground diesel storage tank. She said the pumps “are shut down right now,” that the store was busy, and hung up. Cowboy State Daily hasn’t been able to confirm the status of the situation at the Montrose Maverik since that call. Subsequent calls weren’t answered....

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has unveiled a legislative proposal to severely cut and eventually eliminate property taxes on primary residences in Florida, calling a special legislative session to address the issue. The move escalates a multi-year effort to reform the state’s tax structure, potentially positioning Florida as the first state in the nation to boast neither a personal income tax nor a property tax on primary, owner-occupied homes. “Today in Tampa, I outlined the Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes plan that will eliminate taxes on homesteads. Property tax revenue collected by local governments has nearly doubled in the...

A former senior CIA official with top secret-level clearance is accused of stealing hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40 million from the federal government and stashing them in his home. David Rush was arrested and charged with criminal theft of public money last week, according to federal court filings in Virginia, where he lives. From November to March, Rush requested and received a “significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses,” according to an affidavit from an FBI agent investigating the case. The affidavit says its unclear what Rush...

Over the course of their lives, Americans have an average carbon footprint of 1,300 tons of CO2. Paris Ortiz-Wines, a young woman from San Francisco, has already canceled hers out. She could hop on a flight every week for the rest of her life, eat ribeyes at every meal and sip almond milk all day long, and still be in the clear. Back in 2021, Ortiz-Wines played a key role in the campaign that stopped the closure of California’s only nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon. This has already saved more than 30 million tons of CO2 emissions. Ortiz-Wines is part...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope at Audience: Liturgical tradition and renewal drive evangelizationDuring his weekly General Audience, Pope Leo XIV reflects on Vatican II's 1963 Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, and emphasizes the importance of liturgical progress that also preserves sound tradition.Renewing the liturgy and allowing it to progress, while preserving tradition, allows the Church to grow, be united and continue her mission of spreading the Gospel to all, Pope Leo XIV said during the Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on May 27.Pope Leo XIV continued his catechesis series on the Documents of the Second Vatican Council, and...

In many US cities tips of 20% are now expected at restaurants The debate about tipping culture in the US has reignited in recent years, with social media posts about waiting staff angry that they haven't been left enough money going viral. Is this increased pressure to tip, and to do so generously, now spreading around the world? Lillian Price thinks that tipping in the US is "out of control". "It's too much," she says. "You might just be grabbing something to go, and you are expected to tip," says the animal care worker who lives in Philadelphia. Price, who...

Christian and Islamic faith leaders have said they are "disturbed and saddened" after it was announced that Tommy Robinson had been invited to speak at the Oxford Union. The far-right activist is set to take part in a debate in support of the motion "This house believes the West is right to be suspicious of Islam". In a joint letter this week, the Bishop of Oxford, the Right Reverend Steven Croft, and Imam Monawar Hussain called on the society to withdraw its invitation. The Oxford Union has been contacted for a comment. The debate was set to take place on...