Free Republic

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Don’t Drop It! Pow! An EC-225 Super Puma helicopter connects to an ammunition crate on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during a munitions transfer. Nimitz is in U.S. 7th Fleet conducting routine operations. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy's largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kevin Tang) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour military and...

‘My whole life, all I do is deals,” President Trump said Wednesday, but Iran’s regime “is from a different school,” he had to admit. “They’re liars, they’re cheats, they’re sick people.” Mr. Trump cited the tens of thousands of Iranians slaughtered by the regime in January and explained how its word has proved worthless. “I don’t want to deal with them anymore,” he said.The President is so mercurial that it’s impossible to know if he’s serious that the cease-fire is “over,” as he said. He could declare it back on tomorrow. But he’s right that Iran’s regime has been wasting...

One of the better causes of the second Trump Administration is its effort to purge the progressive political takeover of America’s national cultural institutions. A case in point is the new White House report on the bad historical turn taken by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. The press is attacking the report as an attempt to censor independent museum curation, but that’s not how we read it. The 162-page “Saving America’s Story,” produced by the White House Domestic Policy Council, lays out in persuasive detail how the museum offers a largely critical view of American history that...

Graham Platner, the embattled Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, suspended his campaign on Wednesday amid mounting controversies and growing calls from top Democrats in his home state, in the nation's capital, and across the country for him to immediately quit the race.

Mark Carney swept to power on a backlash to President Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st state, which many Americans took for mere shtick. But for the new prime minister, reading intelligence reports detailing the gravity of the crisis, it was a breaking point. In private phone conversations with Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, Trump had threatened to scrap the 1908 agreement delineating their shared border. “I tear that up and your whole country unravels,” Trump told Trudeau in one call, according to two people familiar with the matter. Over dinner at Mar-a-Lago, Trudeau’s envoys tried to dissuade Trump from...

Long-tenured workers like cashier Tony Barzar are reliable, experienced and able to speed shoppers through a checkout line. Costco is willing to pay to keep them around. TUCSON, Ariz.—Costco COST 0.59%increase; up pointing triangle cashier Tony Barzar unloaded his lunch in the breakroom, clocked in and headed for the checkout, just as he has for much of the past four decades.That day, like most days, 60-year-old Barzar was assigned to the self-checkout area, a cluster of six registers. At 9:02 a.m., the first shoppers were ready to ring themselves up.“Right here, ma’am!” Barzar said, gesturing for a customer in line...

PIKESVILLE, Md. — A massive crash involving a bus and 12 vehicles in Pikesville injured as many as 33 people and trapped two people in the wreckage, Baltimore County fire officials said. Officials said emergency crews were called around 5:48 p.m. Wednesday for a crash involving a Maryland Transit Administration bus and cars in the 1500 block of Reisterstown Road. Authorities declared a mass casualty incident for which 15 ambulances, Medevac helicopters and the Shock Trauma GoTeam responded to the scene. Officials said medical ambulance buses responded from Howard and Anne Arundel counties. Fire officials said one person was trapped...

WASHINGTON — Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s silver-spoon socialist adviser, Morris Katz, rushed over to beleaguered Graham Platner’s house Wednesday as they plotted how to remain a powerbroker in the Senate race — enraging Democrats. The gathering included Platner’s top campaign brass in addition to Katz, who is trying to hatch a plan for Platner to “remain a voice” in the Senate contest “no matter what” the accused rapist decides, a source familiar with deliberations told The Post.Platner has so far refused to step down as Maine’s Democratic Senate nominee after he was accused of rape by an ex-girlfriend — with the...

He’s flush with cash.A NYCHA plumber who’s one of New York City’s highest-paid employees is in hot water after claiming he worked nearly 2,600 hours of overtime.Plumbing supervisor Jakub Markowski, 41, faces an investigation by the city more than a year after The Post exposed him as New York City government’s biggest overtime hog, clogging his bank account with a staggering $332,000 in extra pay during the 2025 fiscal year.A spokesperson said the city Department of Buildings opened a probe into Markowski — who drew a whopping $465,000 paycheck from the city — after receiving a complaint into his “business...

A streamer who broadcasts to more than 1 million followers on a popular online platform set off a viral firestorm after invoking Mayor Zohran Mamdani's name as he declared Islam would take over New York City. "Allahu Akbar!" the extremist internet personality Sneako yelled amidst a group of Egypt soccer fans while drums were banged and horns were blown. Egyptian flags waved among the crowd as they chanted along. Sneako, whose real name is Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy, has been described as a provocateur and palled around with the online antisemitic far-right during his rise to social media stardom. Before...

A bitter battle is brewing along California’s Central Coast as an Indigenous tribe pushes to create a protected ocean zone that could sharply limit fishing — sparking fears among local fishermen that their livelihoods are on the line. The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has filed a proposal to create a new Marine Protected Area (MPA) stretching from Morro Rock to the local dog beach near Morro Bay

NEW YORK (AP) — The writer E. Jean Carroll can collect $5.8 million held in escrow since a jury found that President Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed her, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. Trump’s lawyers immediately asked a court to block the payment while they appeal.The president has already deposited the money in an account. The U.S. Supreme Court recently let the 2023 civil verdict stand, clearing the way for Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to release the money. The initial $5 million award has grown with interest.The jury found Trump attacked Carroll in 1996 in the dressing room of...

Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards is described by colleagues and his family as a special person gone too soon.Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, commanding officer of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5, has been identified by the U.S. Navy as the sailor who went missing following a helicopter’s emergency landing in the Arabian Sea on July 1.The Navy made the announcement Tuesday evening, two days after announcing that the search for Edwards had been suspended. Edwards and three others were aboard an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter last week and assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush. The aircraft made an emergency water...

“Physician, Heal Thyself”: Why this Diocesan Priest Rejects the Vatican’s SSPX ExcommunicationsThe debate over the SSPX excommunications has largely centered on obedience and canon law. But one diocesan priest believes everyone is asking the wrong question. In this powerful essay, he argues that excommunication exists to heal souls—not to silence Catholics defending Tradition—and asks whether those imposing penalties should first examine themselves in light of Canon 1364. Whether readers agree or disagree, this essay offers one of the most provocative priestly responses yet to the Vatican's action against the Society of St. Pius X. What is Excommunication Actually For?Excommunication exists...

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani couldn't resist referencing Egypt's devastating defeat to Argentina while addressing his constituents on Wednesday. While Egypt would score legitimately shortly afterward, Argentina completed a dramatic comeback in the match's final 20 minutes to secure a 3-2 victory. The defeat was so shocking that an Egyptian player alleged the World Cup was "fixed," and now Mamdani has weighed in on the controversy. Addressing a crowd about the rollout of a new initiative to accelerate bus service, called the "Next Stop: Better Buses, Faster Service" plan, Mamdani outlined how the program will enhance New Yorkers' daily...

A group of seven Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), is again demanding unprecedented details and justifications for Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s personnel and chain of command decisions, including promotion lists. The senators are pressing for the specific legal authorities, criteria, and processes used, along with any reasons beyond standard military performance, qualifications, or conduct. They also requested demographic breakdowns of promotions and removals to flag and general officer ranks.

Yes, there have been multiple cases where Tesla accused former programmers/engineers of stealing source code or trade secrets and allegedly using or taking them to competitors (or rivals). Tesla has filed several lawsuits over the years alleging this. Notable Examples Guangzhi Cao (2019): A former Autopilot engineer. Tesla sued him for copying over 300,000 files of Autopilot source code before joining Chinese EV startup Xiaopeng Motors (Xpeng), a direct competitor. He allegedly uploaded it to personal iCloud and devices. The case settled in 2021 with an undisclosed payment from Cao to Tesla. Zhongjie “Jay” Li (2025): A former engineer on...

Californians will have to pay for two new taxes next year after Gov. Gavin Newsom approved the state budget in June in what the California Taxpayers Association described as “the largest tax increase in state history.” Newsom and Democratic lawmakers agreed on proposals that would raise health insurance premiums and slap a new charge on software downloads in an effort to make up federal revenue loss from an antagonistic Trump administration, Democrats said. Republicans blasted the new taxes. “Record spending does not equate to better quality of life, and anyone living in California for the last decade would likely agree....

The U.S. women’s national team won’t play a World Cup match until 2027, but it is still set to receive a major payday from this year’s big tournament. The U.S. men’s national team earned $16 million from FIFA for reaching the round of 16 before being eliminated by Belgium in a 4-1 loss in Seattle. Under U.S. Soccer’s landmark equal pay collective bargaining agreements, that money will be shared with the women’s national team. U.S. Soccer keeps 20 percent of the prize money. The remaining 80 percent is split evenly between the men’s and women’s player pools, meaning each team...

Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan was ordered Wednesday to pay a $5,000 fine for obstructing the arrest of an illegal immigrant at a courthouse but will not serve any prison time. "I think this is a situation where an otherwise good person, upset by immigration policies in this country, made a bad decision in the moment," said U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman. Dugan, 66, was convicted of felony obstruction last year after federal agents attempted to serve a warrant to Eduardo Flores-Ruiz on April 18, 2025. She was acquitted of concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor. She faced...