Free Republic

We've been covering the story of Europeans in the U.S. for the World Cup, traversing America, finding the wonderful things that we have here, and maybe take for granted. It's been a joy, especially as we celebrate our 250th birthday, to see just how much love visiting Europeans like Freddy from Germany have for us. Freddy even made it to those quintessential American spots — Waffle House and Buc-ee's, even getting a picture with the Beaver. German Tourist Charms the Internet As He Discovers the Wonders of the U.S. Freddy has continued to make his way through the south, driving...

Texas Tech swaps its soul for a QB. It learned by watching Maine Dems | Opinion By Ryan J. Rusak June 11, 2026 College sports is degrading so fast, it’s hard for any particular indignity to stand out. When a prominent coach sanctions anything short of murder, though, that breaks through. Texas Tech University is marshaling its clout and wealth to protect the playing eligibility of transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who, a couple of stops ago, gambled on his own sport and team. That was once the unforgivable sin for an athlete, but Sorsby found a Tarrant County judge willing...

Elon Musk is now a trillionaire thanks to the record-breaking IPO price, which also minted a new billionaire and boosted the fortunes of many others. SpaceX priced its IPO at $135 per share Thursday, implying a $1.8 trillion market cap for the company. That boosted Musk’s net worth by $188 billion to an estimated $982 billion, according to Forbes’ calculations. If Tesla’s share price remains unchanged and SpaceX’s stock climbs to $138.50 per share when trading starts Friday, Musk will become the first trillionaire in world history. He’d also become a trillionaire if Tesla’s stock rises from $399 to $424...

Donald Trump has agreed to a major concession to end the war in Iran: allowing the Islamic Republic to retain some of its civilian nuclear program. 'Now, on the civilian nuclear program, I think that we have to be very careful and very precise here,' a senior White House official discussing the pending memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran told reporters on a call Friday afternoon. 'We're not bothered at all by the idea of civilian power plants in Iran; what we're bothered by is the type of infrastructure that would allow them to jump from civilian power...

Jennifer Byrne, the mother of the two kids, said the incident left her children traumatized. "My daughter called me, I'm at work. She was in hysterics, crying, saying, 'Somebody put a gun to us and took all of our money,'" she said.

You need to hear this... #Belfast

A plane hit a radar pole at a Turkish airport on Thursday, frightening its 267 passengers as the aircraft taxied to its gate. The Turkish Airlines Boeing 777 had departed Istanbul and landed at Antalya Airport when its right wing smashed into the pole, the New York Post reported Friday. Video footage showed the plane surrounded by emergency vehicles as the passengers exited, and the jet appeared to have a huge hole in its side:

On Friday, in Midland, Texas, an as-yet unidentified gunman opened fire, resulting in one victim killed and at least nine wounded. The shooter, as of this writing, has barricaded himself in a building, which is surrounded by police. At least one person is dead and others were injured in an active shooting situation while the suspect has barricaded himself inside a building in downtown Midland, Texas, Midland Mayor Lori Blong said in a Friday press conference. Midland Mayor Lori Blong said there were 11 victims in total, and that police have established a perimeter and are asking residents to avoid...

A volunteer’s ‘SOCIALISM’ bracelet was a hint that New York City’s public turnout campaign for rent-control hearings might not live up to its own rules of neutrality. Against my better judgment and the advice of Oscar Wilde, I let socialism in New York City take up another one of my evenings. This time, I was curious to see a new, taxpayer-funded canvassing machine in action before this month’s crucial decision on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign promise to freeze the rent on the apartments where about 2.4 million New Yorkers live. Six weeks ago, Mamdani announced the launch of Organize NYC,...

The Justice Department is escalating its clash with California over voter-roll access, accusing state officials of blocking a federal audit — though Golden State officials warn the demand threatens voter privacy and oversteps federal authority.The dispute centers on voter roll maintenance and access to registration records, not any publicly identified allegation of impropriety in a specific California race. "If California genuinely wants voters to trust its elections, it should open its records, not fight to keep them closed," Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said in a lengthy post on X that included a copy...

Elon Musk has become the first person to cross the trillionaire threshold, at least on paper, after SpaceX priced its blockbuster initial public offering at $135 a share and its stock soared in its stock market debut. Before the IPO, Musk was worth an estimated $813 billion, a fortune more than twice as large as the planet's second-richest person, Google co-founder Larry Page, who is worth an estimated $288 billion, according to Forbes. SpaceX formally setting its stock price at $135 boosted Musk's fortune to just over $1 trillion. The shares, which will trade under the ticker symbol SPCX, jumped...

District Attorney Nathan Hochman said a vast majority of claims in the child sexual abuse settlements​ against Los Angeles County were potentially fraudulent, according to court documents filed on Wednesday.

The housing market was expected to rebound this year, but the Iran war has changed that trajectory... In early June, the average 30-year fixed-rate was 6.52%, according to Freddie Mac. Just before the war began, rates fell below 6% for the first time in years... The rate environment is typically driven by numerous economic and political events, but the war is driving the movement now, Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, said. “Over the last couple of months, the rate market has been held hostage by this conflict in Iran,” he said. “When it looks like a ceasefire is in...

SpaceX (SPCX) made its historic debut on Friday, opening at $150 per share. Investors' expectations for the stock were sky-high going into the start of trading. The company, which aims to put AI data centers in space, priced its shares at $135 each, raising about $75 billion and giving it an anticipated market capitalization of $1.77 trillion. On paper, CEO Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire. Meanwhile, US stocks rose modestly as investors assessed reports that the US and Iran are closing in on an interim peace deal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) and the S&P 500 (^GSPC)...

Pro-Palestine activists believe there could be a “sea change” in the Labour party’s approach to the crisis in the Middle East which could result in the government taking a tougher stance on Israel. Campaigners have pointed to the threat posed to Labour by the Green surge in the local elections, the likely departure of Keir Starmer from No 10, and new polling which shows an appetite among Labour members for a ban on all arms shipments to Israel. The relative optimism marks a mood swing for a campaign that has been hit hard by losing successive high court cases, the...

@DNIGabbard Today, I’m releasing never before seen intelligence revealing new evidence of past US government funding for more than 120 biolabs in over 30 countries, including Ukraine. In support of President Trump‘s Executive Order to end federal funding of dangerous gain of function research around the world, and increase transparency and accountability, ODNI will continue working with partners across the Administration to identify where these labs are, what pathogens they contain, and what “research” is being conducted.

Statement Attributable to Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs and Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell: Today, the Department of War is publishing the third release of declassified and historical Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) files as part of the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE). The collection continues to be housed on WAR.GOV/UFO, and the Department will release additional files on a rolling basis. As the unprecedented levels of interest in both this topic and the Trump administration's historic transparency effort continue, WAR.GOV/UFO has received over 1.7 billion hits worldwide since the site's launch on...

Two former Tories who defected to Reform this year are facing questions after it emerged the suspect in the Belfast attack entered the UK while they were in charge of immigration. Hadi Alodid claims to have come into the country via the Common Travel Area between Ireland and Northern Ireland in 2023. According to the Home Office, the 30-year-old Sudanese national was granted refugee status the same year and has leave to remain in the UK until 2028. Braverman and Jenrick both defected to Reform UK in January, and both now sit as MPs for Nigel Farage’s party. Both also...

Talk show host Larry Reid has called for Black Americans to consider a “mass exodus” to Africa after Karmelo Anthony was sentenced to prison for the murder of Austin Metcalf, a case that has become another national flashpoint over violence, crime, justice, and public accountability. Anthony was convicted of murder after fatally stabbing Metcalf during a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas, in 2025. A jury sentenced him to 35 years in prison, rejecting the idea that the killing should be excused or minimized as a tragic misunderstanding. The case drew national attention because of the circumstances surrounding Metcalf’s...

podcaster Larry Reid said: "And I want you to begin to think about this America and the white people problem that we have." he also said: "I'm saying this as a collective. Let's drain this place of its benefit and make our mass exodus and go home and build."