Free Republic

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that his ​country does not support the creation of so-called "return ‌hubs" for migrants in third countries, questioning their efficacy, though adding that he respected countries that want to set up ​such hubs. "We are in favour of a ​more effective return policy, but ... I have never ⁠seen a return centre in a third country that ​actually works," Macron said, speaking in Brussels as a ​two-day EU summit concluded. The European Parliament earlier this week approved a migration overhaul to speed up deportations and allow offshore detention ​centres, a move critics say...

You know I love milk just as much as the next American. I'm not sure I love it this much, though. From Sentient: Although much of the technology remains speculative, the Russian company Neiry claims to have directly implanted neural devices in the brains of dairy cows to stimulate lactation on demand. ‘When a cow's appetite decreases, the system automatically adjusts the neuromodulation mode to restore it,' the company said in a September 2025 announcement that it had surgically placed electrodes into five cows. ‘The stimulator's electronic unit is attached to the back of the animal's head, with electrodes reaching...

In a few weeks, President Trump plans to issue 250 pardons to mark America’s 250th birthday. Four names belong near the top of that list: John Miller, David Cari, Dennis Spaulding, and Jason Zullo, all former East Haven, Connecticut, police officers whom the Obama Justice Department turned into federal felons for simply doing their jobs.

The wreck of a Japanese prison ship that was sunk by U.S. warplanes and went down with more than 1,000 Allied prisoners of war in 1944 has been discovered in the Philippines. The vessel was one of the notorious "hellships" used by the Japanese to ferry POWs between work camps. Many of the prisoners who died when the ship sank had worked on the infamous Burma-Thailand "Death Railway." "Sadly, a lot of these prisoner transport ships were sunk by the Allies," expedition leader and American TV show host Josh Gates told Live Science. "The ships were painted to just look...

Juneteenth President Biden made June 19th a Federal Holiday on June 17, 2021. The slave owners in Galveston, Texas, deliberately hid the news of the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1865, from enslaved people to maintain forced labor. There was no one to enforce the law until Major General Granger arrived on June 19 with 2,000 Union Troops to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation for enslaved people. I wondered why the Democrats celebrate an event that paints them in a negative light. A National Holiday commemorating the Republican defeat of the Democratic institution of slavery? I found out why the Democrats...

🚀 The Q1 Rocket Report is out. SpaceX's market share of launch (both by kg to orbit and by number of spacecraft launched) is now 99% in the U.S. and 86% globally. China, Russia, and "other U.S." dropped from the prior quarter. Number of spacecraft launched grew 35% YOY.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a three-year-old boy was left with critical injuries after ending up in a zoo's crocodile enclosure. Cambridgeshire Police said it was called to Johnsons of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon, at 13:24 BST. Andy Johnson, who runs the zoo, told the BBC his wife, Tracey, jumped into the enclosure to try to help the boy. A 30-year-old man from Norfolk has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and officers added they do not believe the man and child were known to each other. The force said it was investigating...

One of 15 Minnesotans charged with conspiring against ICE officers turned herself into officials Wednesday morning. Federal officials arrested most of the defendants Tuesday and they had their first appearance in court for efforts to “violently oppose immigration law enforcement." U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen had called the defendants yet to be detained "fugitives at-large." But one of them, Natasha Rakotz, denies the charges — and the label. “I think all of this is absolutely ridiculous. I am not a violent person. I've never been violent. I've never had trouble with the law,” she said. “The only thing I did was...

This is a chapter of a book I wrote a few years ago. During our 250th anniversary celebration I will post more of these uplifting stories. The Battle of Brooklyn One of the first large scale battles of our revolution was fought on grounds that would eventually become part of Prospect Park in Brooklyn, now a part of New York City. It happened on August 27 - 28th 1776. Here is how it unfolded and why we should have lost; but won anyway. When General George Washington’s troops were fighting the best army in the world, there was no way...

Last August, Decarlos Brown Jr.—a mentally ill repeat offender out on bail—allegedly stabbed 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska to death on a Charlotte light rail train. Video of the shocking murder prompted widespread outrage, pushing the North Carolina legislature to pass a law named for Zarutska and meant to overhaul the state’s criminal justice and mental-health system. But will Zarutska’s killer be brought to justice? Brown is currently mentally incompetent to stand trial, according to a federal judge. As a result, he may never face a jury. In fact, under current law, he could walk free if the court concludes he will...

The prime minister is being subjected to a private pressure campaign from ministers who think he should quit. In a conversation earlier today, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander - a long-term ally of Andy Burnham - advised the prime minister to set out a timetable for his departure. This effort fits alongside the strategies of Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting - both are expected to keep a low profile this weekend. Both prospective prime ministers want to give Starmer the time and space to consult his closest colleagues and family members about his future. The prime minister could be true to...

IT’S TRUE! Steak’n Shake Offering 20 Cent Shakes on Saturday If US Soccer Beats Australia! Steak’n Shake is doubling down on Team America. VIDEOS AT LINK................... What a great company – support your local Steak’N Shake! They did the same last weekend after the US’s win over Paraguay. This company is all in for RFK Jr. and MAHA! On our MAHA journey, we have introduced the following: 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef ✅ 100% beef tallow fries ✅ 100% beef tallow tots ✅ Grade A Wisconsin butter ✅ A2 whole milk ✅ Cane-sugar Coca-Cola ✅ Elimination of all microwaves ✅ And...

The ongoing controversy surrounding the San Francisco Giants' Pride Night and the four players who protested it has officially reached the Trump administration. On Thursday, Department of Justice assistant attorney general Harmeet K. Dhillon announced that the department's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will be investigating MLB after the league issued warnings to the three players who wrote Bible verses on their Pride Night caps, citing possible religious discrimination. “The three players expressed their opposition to MLB’s pro-Pride orthodoxy by inscribing Bible verses on their rainbow-colored hats,” Dhillon wrote in a letter to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. “The Civil Rights...

Rightwing MEPs have come under fire after they celebrated a vote aimed at increasing deportations across the EU with chants of “send them back”, leading other lawmakers to respond with cries of “shame on you”. The heated confrontation in the European parliament came on Wednesday after lawmakers voted 418 to 218 to approve controversial measures aimed at increasing deportations of undocumented people. The overhaul has been widely criticised by rights groups including Amnesty International France, which this week described the plans as “absurd, cruel and discriminatory”, and 16 UN experts, who recently outlined more than a dozen ways in which...

Rosie O'Donnell will join a roster of guest hosts set to replace Jimmy Kimmel for the summer, the late night host has revealed. Kimmel segued to the 'special treat for our commander in chief' with a nod to his September suspension during his Thursday monologue. 'I will be taking the next two months off, this time voluntarily,' Kimmel said, before showing off 'a potent group of' guests. 'Tiffany Haddish, Colman Domingo, Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Anderson, Jelly Roll,' he listed. 'And... I asked one of [Donald Trump's] all-time favorites - Rosie O’Donnell - to be here to keep the hits coming.'...

It would seem that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accomplished what his predecessors could only have dreamed of: U.S. and Israeli fighter jets flying tandem over Tehran, Israeli officers ensconced in U.S. Central Command’s Florida headquarters. Since the days of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s leaders have sought backing from the world’s preeminent superpower, which they hoped would guarantee their state’s survival into perpetuity. None could have imagined the level of cooperation currently on display. If one were to wake up the Old Man, as Ben-Gurion was known, from his otherworldly slumber in the sands of Sde Boker, he would surely...

Recognizing Iran’s ability to influence Hezbollah in ways that Lebanon can’t, US and Qatar broker truce through Tehran, rather than Beirut, after 47 Lebanese killed in response to killing of 4 troops Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire on Friday afternoon, a US official said, after another flare-up in southern Lebanon that saw four Israeli soldiers and dozens of Lebanese casualties. The renewed truce appeared as fragile as ever, as it didn’t see Israel pull out of the large buffer zone it established in southern Lebanon — one that Hezbollah has used to justify continued attacks on troops stationed...

A federal appeals court’s Thursday ruling could force the Supreme Court to decide if suppressors and magazines fall under the definition of “arms.” The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Thursday in Comeaux v. United States that suppressors fall under the category of “arms” and are protected under the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment Foundation noted the “circuit split,” when two appellate circuits disagree on similar cases, in a series of posts on X, while SAF Director of Legal Research and Education Konstadinos Moros specifically mentioned the Ninth Circuit case Duncan v. Bonta. “There is now...

This video discusses a violent incident that occurred at a Target store in Simi Valley, where a man randomly attacked and choked a woman. Key points include: The Incident: On Wednesday evening, a man—later identified as Raian Taber—entered the store and began choking a woman at the checkout counter (0:20-0:35). He subsequently attacked a 16-year-old boy in the produce section (3:44-3:55). Good Samaritans: Several shoppers, including a father named Andy Garvey, intervened to stop the attacker and protect others until law enforcement arrived to arrest him (0:47-1:02, 3:10-4:05). Suspect Background: Reports indicate Taber had been released from custody just two...

Explanation: Does this scene look familiar? It is a modern recreation of the famous painting Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. Both the image and the painting depict a tall tree on the left, a crescent moon on the upper right, the planet Venus just to the right of the tree, a foreground horizon rising from left to right, and clouds above the horizon. Differences include that the photograph was taken in mid-April earlier this year in Cascavel, Brazil, while the painting was composed in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, in 1889. The original Starry Night is considered by many to be one...