Free Republic

n Germany, the trains have stopped running on time, bridges have been shut over safety fears, and the country’s largest carmaker, Volkswagen, is cutting a sixth of its workforce. The government’s response amounts to a shrug, dressed up as reform. It seems like Germany is on a bad streak – and the AfD looks set to reap the rewards. Take the railways, the infamous Deutsche Bahn. A few weeks ago, they ground to a total halt. Every train in the country stood still, because the radio system that lets drivers talk to signal boxes – a system that appears to...

The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s three-hour version of Homer’s epic poem, world premiered in London on Monday night, and critics who saw the film there and at early screenings in the US have been sharing their takes on one of the year’s most hotly anticipated films. “Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey is a colossal origin-myth story of postwar disillusion and a loss of innocence witnessed by the dead,” wrote the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw, ahead of the reviews embargo lifting next Wednesday and next Friday’s worldwide release. IndieWire editor-at-large Anne Thompson called the film the best picture contender to beat, and added that Matt...

U.S. launches "series of powerful strikes" against Iran in response to attacks on commercial ships

BREAKING: The Pentagon has awarded SpaceX two of its biggest satellite contracts worth ~$6.5B • $4.16B for AMTI satellite constellation • $2.29B for Space Data Network • Builds military surveillance + space-based communications • For next-gen missile defense, per SpaceNews

Precious metals investors saw their holdings skyrocket in value in 2024 and 2025, which was great news for them, but bad news for some dealers, such as Rosland Capital LLC. Rosland Capital filed for a Chapter 11 liquidation facing distress from declining profitability compounded by an unsustainable order fulfillment model amid record precious metals prices.

A justifiably angry Florida man is winning nationwide attention after delivering some vigilante justice to an evil thug who sexually assaulted his innocent daughter. According to an arrest report uncovered by WCJB, a father discovered Snapchat messages between his underage daughter and 25-year-old Anthony Groves of Ocklawaha. After confirming the messages were also on Groves’ phone, the father beat the h*ll out of him. WCJB reports Groves was punched several times before he finally vacated the property. Per reports, the incident occurred at home in Marion County on the Fourth of July. WCJB reports that police arrested Groves was arrested...

Michigan progressive Abdul El-Sayed told MS NOW on Tuesday that Graham Platner should end his bid for Maine’s U.S. Senate seat after a woman accused Platner of sexual assault. His remarks came after El-Sayed, who is running for Michigan’s Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, failed to explicitly say Platner should leave the race in a social media post after the story broke. That perceived vagueness drew criticism from his major Democratic rival in the race, Rep. Haley Stevens. El-Sayed, like Platner, has had the support of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in a pair of races that are critical to whether...

CONSTITUTION X @ConstitustionX·8h🚨🔥 BREAKING: THE WORLD JUST WITNESSED HISTORY!President Trump lands in Turkey and Turkish President Erdogan delivers an EPIC, jaw-dropping show of RESPECT that left everyone speechless!Full military honors, powerful handshake, eyes locked — leaders bowing to STRENGTH!Trump doesn’t waste a second — straight into high-stakes meetings, fighting for AMERICA like a warrior!Real leaders recognize REAL POWER when they see it.This is what WINNING looks like.Who else is fired up watching this?! 🔥🇺🇸🇹🇷#Trump2026 #MAGA #AmericaFirst7/07/2026

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo appoints German bishop who endorsed homosexual ‘blessings,’ claimed sodomy ‘not sinful’Pope Leo named Bishop Christian Würtz the new ordinary of Eichstätt, though Würtz approved documents of the heretical Synodal Way that denied Catholic teaching on homosexuality and other issues. Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday named Monsignor Christian Würtz, an auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Freiburg, who has a history of supporting homosexual “blessings” and contradicting the Church’s teaching on homosexuality, as the next bishop of Eichstätt.Würtz, 55, was among the 38 German bishops in 2023 who voted in favor of a document endorsing “blessings” for...

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday revoked its authorization of Iranian oil sales after a series of attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz this week. “Iran will only reap benefits if they exhibit good behavior,” a U.S. official told CNBC. “Iran’s actions in the Strait were wholly unacceptable to the United States and will be met with consequences.” The threat to ships in Hormuz increased to “severe” on Tuesday after attacks on a liquefied natural gas tanker, an oil supertanker and an specified third tanker, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center. Hostile action by Iran is likely...

Buried side by side since 1836, one Mexican and one Texan cannonball lay untouched beneath the Alamo’s soil for nearly two centuries.Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: -Archaeologists excavating near the church at the Alamo have discovered two cannonballs fired during the famous 1836 battle there. -The cannonballs sat close to each other for roughly 190 years before being discovered. -One cannonball was from Mexico and the other was made with iron from Texas. Two fully intact Battle of the Alamo-era cannonballs have sat undisturbed in the dirt outside the northeast corner of the Alamo Church,...

It became mandatory Tuesday for citizens of the European Union’s 27 member states to allow their cars to track their movements using artificial intelligence. The European Union’s General Safety Regulation mandated Advanced Driver Distraction Warning (ADDW) systems that track drivers’ body movements, such as eye and head movements, in every new vehicle sold after July 7, according to Access Newswire. “This is a driver support system,” Martin Krantz, CEO and Founder of Swedish AI company Smart Eye, told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview. “It’s a life-saving technology. It really helps to prevent accidents. It’s probably gonna be...

Findings from a mysterious remote chain of islands off the coast of California are rattling bones in the science community as bone-pickers find traces of a “vanished world.” The Golden State’s Channel Islands, located several miles off the SoCal coast, are home to the remnants of revelational lost civilizations intriguing enough to make Indiana Jones blush. A banner finding in the area has been the 13,000-year-old remains of the “Arlington Springs Man,” the earliest dated adult found on the continent. A new documentary highlighted the extraordinary discovery, which has changed science’s thinking around where and when humans first migrated to...

Twenty-four children have been reunited with their families, 305 fugitives arrested, and 179 charges filed against defendants in 140 cases in a multi-agency federal operation, says the Justice Department in annoucing a weeks-long, multi-agency operation. The DOJ posted on Thursday that 11 agencies had participated "as part of this first-of-its-kind ‘badgeless’ enforcement initiative in Chicagoland in recognition of our nation’s 250th Birthday that focused on a single mission for roughly 60 days: to set aside barriers and focus exclusively on disrupting violence in the Chicago and Rockford areas by arresting the worst of the worst offenders." [snip] Chicagoland is the...

On the heels of Atlantic magazine's prominent writer Jonathan Chait panicking about communists taking over the Democrat party, he went full blast five days later on Monday torching the party enablers of Graham Platt in "With Graham Platner, Democrats Got Drunk on the Beer Test." Specifically Chait blasted those who performed the laughably lame vetting of Platner as well as those who continued to promote him despite the many scandals that erupted around him.Chait's first blast was directed at Morris Katz, whose unbelievably weak vetting of Platner in the first place ultimately led to the Democrats being in the unenviable...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As rumors continued to swirl throughout the nation's capital regarding his status, Senator Mitch McConnell's staff assured the public that his death would not prevent him from finishing his term. News broke last week that the longtime Kentucky senator had been hospitalized after being found unresponsive in his Washington, D.C., home. Despite the uncertainty about his well-being, however, McConnell's staff said he would be more than fit to serve the remainder of his term even if he were dead. "No one would know the difference," one McConnell staffer said. "Whether he's alive or not, the next several...

"Fairytale" is a song introduced on the Pointer Sisters' May 1974 album release That's a Plenty; written by group members Anita Pointer and Bonnie Pointer. Bonnie Pointer played down the idea of a C&W hit by the Pointer Sisters being a novelty: "People think because we're always trying something different we're not sincere. Like country music. For us, it's no joke...Our folks came from Arkansas and we grew up singing country songs. It's part of us." The Pointer Sisters began a series of promotional appearances in Nashville in August, 1974 and on October 25, 1974, the group performed "Fairytale" at...

The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said late on Tuesday night that a search and rescue operation was underway after an aircraft of K2 Airways with five crew members aboard was reported missing off the coast of Karachi. In a series of posts on X, the PAA said a K2 Airways Boeing 737 cargo flight was en route from Sharjah to Karachi at 2118 PST when it reported a navigational system issue and was promptly guided by the Karachi Area Control Centre.

Federal agents crushed the California arm of a vicious transnational organized crime syndicate in series of stunning raids Tuesday that saw the arrest of at least 11 accused criminals in the Golden State — and over a dozen more in the US, Canada and Europe. Los Angeles federal agents led the global takedown of the India-based Bishnoi Gang, a fearsome global mob blamed for extortion, drug dealing and the assassination of political figures, industrialists, actors and musicians in North America and India.

This video features the intense 2026 FIFA World Cup™ Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt. The game was a dramatic thriller that saw the defending champions, Argentina, narrowly avoid a shock elimination. Match Highlights: Early Lead for Egypt: Egypt took a surprise lead with a powerful header from defender Yasser Ibrahim (1:44). VAR Drama: A potential second goal for Egypt by Zizo, assisted by Mohamed Salah, was controversially ruled out by VAR due to a foul committed at the other end of the pitch (9:34). Egypt's Second Goal: Egypt successfully extended their lead shortly after, with Zizo scoring...