Free Republic

The United States on Wednesday released the official text of the memorandum of understanding reached over the weekend with Iran. A senior US administration official read out the 14-point document, which spells out provisions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, easing certain financial restrictions on Iran and sets out expectations for addressing Iran’s nuclear program during future technical talks. Titled the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the document was released after outcry that its text hadn’t been released publicly. “This is fundamentally an agreement that allows us to open...

Bonnie Tyler, a Welsh singer and songwriter, woke up from her medically induced coma on June 15, but she “remains very unwell” according to her official website, and she is in intensive care in Faro, Portugal. “Although her condition is improving it is a slow process,” her website said. “Her doctors remain confident that she will make a good recovery but it is going to take time.” The 75-year-old singer was rushed to the hospital on April 30, The U.S. Sun reported. Tyler was then put into a medically induced coma last month after complications from emergency intestinal surgery for...

Protests against far-right figure Tommy Robinson are picking up pace in Oxford, where shops and pubs have been boarded up as a precaution. Part of Oxford is in a lockdown ahead of the controversial debate involving Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who is due to discuss Islam at the union. His invitation to discuss whether the West is ‘right to be suspicious of Islam’ along with Laurence Fox has caused outrage and calls for the talk to be cancelled. Jacob Rees-Mogg, activist Abdullah al Andalusi and podcaster Michael Doward willAnti-racist groups shouted ‘Oxford is anti-fascist’ and ‘racist scum off our...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 41-year-old mother of four pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to punching a Florida Highway Patrol trooper and kicking an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer and will now face sentencing. News4JAX tried to speak to Jennifer Cruz as she exited the courtroom, but she had no comment. Back in January, Cruz pleaded not guilty to the charge and despite arguments from federal prosecutors that Cruz posed a flight risk because of connections to Mexico, a federal judge ruled Monday that she can be released on an unsecured $50,000 bond -- meaning she won’t have to pay...

Warning shots fired by a Russian warship sailing across the Channel on Tuesday morning were “deeply concerning and reckless”, Keir Starmer said from the G7 summit on Wednesday as he warned that the UK was dealing with proxy attacks from Russia “every single day”. The prime minister said the Ministry of Defence had assessed that the Russian vessel was drifting and fired the shots within a few hundred metres of a British pleasure yacht. He said: “We’re living in a more volatile and dangerous world than we have at any time in our lifetimes … That is true, it’s not...

A 17-year-old girl is being treated in hospital after being stabbed in the neck. Armed officers from Lancashire Police were deployed to the scene in Brierfield, near Nelson, and arrested a 30-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder. The force said it had been called to Wood Street at 15:06 BST following reports that a girl had been stabbed in the back of the neck. It is understood her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. A force spokesperson said: "We know that this will cause alarm in the local community and extra patrols will be in the area this...

Jefferson County Probate Judge Yashiba G. Blanchard was suspended on May 21, the same day the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission filed formal charges against her with the Court of the Judiciary. The complaint details a pattern of abuse of power, docket mismanagement, bias, intimidation, and retaliation that harmed patients, families, and court staff. One of the allegations involves Blanchard’s handling of involuntary commitment and guardianship cases. The complaint claims she routinely delayed or canceled probable cause hearings, creating a massive backlog. In one case, hospital staff repeatedly contacted her office begging for a hearing so a patient could be discharged...

Americans are used to handouts for favored groups. Affirmative action in university admissions, corporate “diversity” initiatives, and minority-owned contracting requirements direct opportunities, resources, and contracts to supposedly “oppressed” groups, such as women, Native Americans, blacks, and Hispanics. In California, state Democrats have embraced another kind of favoritism: contracts for state-certified gay-owned businesses. The scheme operates through the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which regulates privately owned utility companies. California utilities spent more than $43 billion in 2024 on contractors—fuel suppliers, surveyors, engineers, and others—whose work helps deliver water, gas, electricity, and internet service to California’s 39 million residents. In 1986,...

Explanation: How did a hamster wheel get into space? The Hamster Wheel Nebula (Longmore 8) was discovered by Andrew Longmore in 1976 as a part of a larger survey of the southern sky. This survey employed several improvements in photographic technology, including the use of highly sensitive film, to capture deeper and fainter objects on plates that were examined by eye and catalogued. The featured image, taken at Observatorio El Sauce in Chile, depicts an intricate wheel structure of glowing hydrogen that was thrown out into space by a dying star and ionized by the leftover white dwarf. This structure...

A Trump-backed pastor is preparing to drop out of Oklahoma's Republican primary after the Daily Mail exposed his intimate relationship with a campaign aide. Jackson Lahmeyer's campaign manager last night told his team that the married father-of-five was dropping out of the race and taking a sabbatical from preaching, sources told the Daily Mail. A formal announcement is expected Friday. Lahemeyer and his wife Kendra invited their congregation to a 'closed meeting' at Sheridan Church in Tulsa at 6.30pm Wednesday. Donald Trump hours after the news broke shared on Truth Social that he was switching his endorsement to Lahmeyer's rival...

According to the California Democratic Party, "You’re not allowed to watch the World Cup if you’ve ever spoken out against DEI." Or at least that’s what they posted on X Thursday, right as the World Cup kicks off across North America. The post’s implication is clear: conservatives don’t believe in diversity, so when soccer teams feature non-white players, they’d supposedly claim those players “stole” spots from “better” white players. Not only is the post blatantly false as conservatives routinely cite sports as proof that diversity works without DEI, but some also pointed out that Democrats are managing to make sports,...

There can only be one rock band that is unquestionably and certifiably the cool kids’ choice in 2026, and whatever indie cred the rest of you kids may carry, this town ain’t big enough for both you and Rush. The reconstituted version of the recently dormant group just wrapped up a sold-out, tour-opening four-night stand at the Kia Forum that was a triumphantly climactic week in Rush’s unexpected reentry as a cultural and musical force in the 2020s. Two heroes walked into the Forum — Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson — and three walked out, as new drummer Anika Nilles...

STOCKHOLM, June 15 (Reuters) - Sweden's parliament passed a law on Monday allowing authorities to revoke immigrants' residency permits based ‌on bad behaviour, such as having unpaid debts, doing ‌undeclared work or links to extremist organisations. The law, which covers pending permits but also ​retroactively already granted permits, is part of a wider tightening of immigration rules by the right-wing government and its support party, the nationalist Sweden Democrats, ahead of a parliamentary election in September. The law ‌has been criticised by ⁠the opposition and human rights advocacy groups as arbitrary because decisions would be taken on behaviour that ⁠has...

A 21-year-old leftist college student is in custody after admitting to burning a cross in Chicago’s Grant Park, saying it was a protest against the Trump administration — an act that sparked outrage from Democrats who initially called it the “seeds of racism and fascism.” The incident first flared up on June 9. A disturbing video showed a wooden cross burning at Grant Park in Chicago. Firefighters extinguished the flames and police released photos of a “person of interest” fleeing the scene, per ABC 7. With no suspect in custody, Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a potential presidential contender, rushed...

Toronto police say multiple investigations into shootings around the Toronto area, including incidents at synagogues and the U.S. Consulate, reveal a pattern of young people being hired to perpetrate gun crimes in the city. Chief Myron Demkiw and Chief Supt. Joe Matthews spoke at a news conference Tuesday morning, less than a week after police carried out search warrants related to multiple shootings across the city. Three recent arrests have been linked to the shooting investigations, Matthews said, including the alleged killer of a Toronto police officer who was shot during a raid Thursday. Demkiw said the investigators recovered two...

Lawsuit accuses fertility clinic of embryo mix-upA Central Florida couple suing a fertility clinic over an embryo mix-up has reached a custody agreement with their baby girl’s biological parents, according to court documents. Steven Mills and Tiffany Score gave birth to the girl in December, after receiving IVF treatment through Fertility Center of Orlando, only to discover the child was not biologically related to them. Genetic testing later confirmed the mix-up. The couple filed a lawsuit against the Longwood-based clinic earlier this year. The lawsuit demands emergency relief for the following: Inform Patients: Compelling the clinic to disclose what happened...

A Mexican national who illegally entered the United States multiple times was deported after authorities uncovered a scheme in which she allegedly attempted to hand over her newborn baby to another woman in order to pay off a debt owed to human smugglers. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 28-year-old Maria Lidia Valle-Hernandez was removed from the United States on May 11 following an immigration court order. Federal authorities say Valle-Hernandez registered under a false name when she arrived at St. Joseph's Hospital in Lake Saint Louis, Missouri, to give birth in January 2024. Investigators later determined she intended...

It’s been nearly eight months since the Las Vegas Aces were crowned WNBA champions for the third time in four seasons. They still have not received an invitation to the White House, a team spokesperson confirmed to The Athletic. President Donald J. Trump has yet to host a WNBA or NBA championship team during his terms, and this will be the first time the Aces have not made a White House visit after winning a title. USA Today was first to report the news. The Athletic reached out to the White House for comment on whether the Trump administration will...

Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., added an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027 that would require military academies to accept the Classic Learning Test for admissions. The CLT exam is a standardized assessment that tests students in reading, writing, and mathematics, with a focus on classical and historical texts. The amendment, passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee, would allow applicants to submit Classic Learning Test (CLT) test scores instead of those from the traditional SAT or ACT. “I was proud to secure this amendment to help our military academies attract the best and brightest young...

He is facing a second degree murder charge in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, in New York City in December 2024.Luigi Mangione will assert a psychiatric defense in his state murder trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the judge overseeing the case said at a hearing on Wednesday. If his attorneys are able to prove he was experiencing an extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the alleged killing, Mangione’s second-degree murder charge be reduced to first-degree manslaughter if he’s convicted. Mangione faces nine felony charges, including second-degree murder and several...