Free Republic

Below is my column on the rise of Antifa deniers in Washington. Once embraced and even marketed on the left, Antifa has become the group that must not be named as political violence rises across the country. It does not matter that radicals identify as Antifa, coordinate protests, carry Antifa flags, wear signature clothing, and espouse the same ideas from the “Antifa handbook.” There have even been people elected as Antifa representatives. Yet, the current spin is to pretend that they do not exist as a single organization to deflect the debate over violence on the left. Even with the...

This will leave you sleepless in Seattle. Seattleites are abuzz over sightings of a deformed raccoon whose truncated backbone gives it the appearance of a creature not of this earth. The stubby critter, dubbed “Jimothy” by locals, is being tracked online as excited residents share videos of him traversing backyards and balconies in the Emerald City. “For our 13th anniversary, [we] were graced with the presence of Jimothy the raccoon with short spine syndrome. Praise Jimothy!!” one fan captioned an Instagram video showing him darting along a suburban yard and up a set of stone stairs. Though he hasn’t been...

In a move that will place hundreds of thousands of green card applicants under broader scrutiny each year, the Trump administration is allowing immigration officers to consider whether some applicants have used taxpayer-funded benefits — including Medicaid, food stamps and housing assistance — when determining whether they qualify for permanent legal status. The Department of Homeland Security is poised to rescind a 2022 Biden-era regulation narrowing how officers apply a long-standing "public charge" test — an immigration screening tool used to determine whether applicants are likely to rely on government support — according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials....

Who were the Barbary Pirates? For over 300 years, the Barbary Pirates terrorized coastal Europe -- striking as far north as Iceland and as close to home as Ireland, England, Spain, and Italy. Men, women, and children vanished from beaches in the dead of night. Some estimates suggest more than a million Europeans were captured and sold into slavery. Yet today, few people are aware of this forgotten slave trade. In this documentary, join Kevin Hicks as he uncovers who the Barbary Pirates really were, how they built a slave-trading empire that the most powerful nations of the time struggled...

Explanation: This sparkling, colorful gemstone is a spiral galaxy, NGC 300. It is one of the closest spiral galaxies to Earth, only about 6 million light-years away. But does it really look like this? Here is a more standard portrait of it. This unusual image combines the light from the stars and dust within the galaxy with the light from ionized clouds of interstellar gas shown in red (Sulphur), green (Hydrogen) and blue (Oxygen). Combining red and green light in different proportions makes yellow or orange light, most visible in the image. Light from other ionized gases is also at...

RUSKIN, Fla. - A man who held his ex-girlfriend hostage overnight shot and wounded two Hillsborough County deputies during a Thursday afternoon ambush in Ruskin before a third deputy killed him, according to Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister. Ruskin shooting ambushes deputies What we know: The sheriff said a woman went to a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office substation on Thursday morning to request an order of protection against her ex-boyfriend, Chris Dmuchowski. She told investigators that Dmuchowski came to her home on Wednesday, bound her hands with zip ties, shoved a sock in her mouth, taped it shut and held...

SHERMAN OAKS, CA — A local cockroach somehow maintained his composure on camera despite unexpectedly making contact with a journalist. The cockroach, known to friends as "Larry," was filmed enjoying a nice evening stroll when a journalist appeared out of nowhere and brushed against Larry's exoskeleton. "I don't know how the cockroach didn't run screaming," said local cockroach Daisy Masterson. "How do you have the self-control to not start flailing everywhere, trying to get the journalist off you? I couldn't have done it, to be honest. They're just so gross. That cockroach is an absolute pro." Larry admitted that the...

A 95-year-old pop culture icon is performing a heavy metal set at one of America's biggest rock festivals this September. He'll have 35 musicians behind him. He's covering Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest. He calls the entire project "chaos with purpose." And he'd very much like you to take all of this seriously. His name is William Shatner, and if you think this is a joke, you haven't been paying attention.

World Snake Day slithers into focus every July 16, aiming to shed light on the incredible diversity and ecological importance of over 3,500 snake species. This global observance challenges negative perceptions and encourages a deeper understanding of these often-misunderstood reptiles. Learn to appreciate their role in ecosystems, support conservation initiatives, and share facts to help protect them.>>>History of World Snake Day The English word ‘snake’ comes from the Old English word ‘snaca.’ The reptile is thought to have come from terrestrial lizards that existed around 174.1 million to 163.5 million years ago. In fact, Eophis underwoodi, the oldest fossil snake,...

An unhinged Washington woman was busted for vandalizing a memorial statue for fishermen after mistaking its mooring rope for a noose. Cara Munoz, 34, recorded herself haranguing city workers cleaning spray paint from the “Safe Return” memorial at Zuanich Point Park in Bellingham Monday afternoon, which features a bronze fisherman holding a mooring line. A hysterical Munoz, who uses she/they pronouns on her Instagram, berated the workers cleaning off the graffiti from the statue honoring local fishermen who died or disappeared. “Hmmm, can we actually see what’s hiding behind this guy? You sure f–king can’t, nope! You can’t because it’s...

Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is supercharging an already massive US investment spree – pledging an additional $100 billion to meet surging AI demand. The move brings TSMC’s investment in the US to $265 billion and comes as the company posted second-quarter earnings that blew past market expectations Thursday. TSMC, which supplies powerful chips that are critical for tech giants like Apple and Nvidia, boosted its global capital spending plan for 2025 to between $60 billion and $64 billion. That record level marks an increase of about 7% to 14% from its previous forecast. Still, TSMC’s US-listed shares slipped...

Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan, asserting that this week’s good inflation news wasn’t good enough, called Thursday for “modestly” higher interest rates to win a battle the central bank has been losing for the past five years. A voting member this year on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, Logan insisted that inflation is still a major problem for U.S. households that demands action from policymakers. While other Fed officials have expressed a preference for higher rates if inflation metrics don’t improve, Logan’s is the most specific call for a hike. “I currently believe modestly higher interest rates would...

Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, engaged in sexual relationships with at least two House staffers and his “very flirtatious” habits with others may come back to haunt him, The Post has learned. The 46-year-old lawmaker admitted to the two relationships — both with aides to Texas Democrats — to one source while a second person said they had recently learned of the romantic entanglements. A third source confirmed one of the dalliances, both of which are said to have been consensual and occurred during Gallego’s decade representing Phoenix in the House. The relationships are part...

Democrat Texas candidate Bobby Pulido said molesting kids is “not necessarily rape,” after he brought a sex offender to a middle school, according to social media posts uncovered by the Daily Caller. Pulido brought his longtime friend, convicted child sex offender Frankie Caballero, to perform at a benefit concert at a Texas middle school in 2016, according to an Axios report. Nothing like the vibes in South Texas! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/K7GMMlFZjd — Bobby Pulido for Texas (@PulidoForTexas) June 13, 2026 Unearthed posts on Twitter, now known as X, show Pulido explaining why he believed it was appropriate to bring Caballero to...

Wisconsin Democrat gubernatorial candidates Francesca Hong, Mandela Barnes, and Kelda Roys each indicated that they would veto any anti-Sharia legislation that reached their desks as governor during a forum co-hosted by two Muslim civic organizations. The Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance and Wisconsin Muslim Civic Foundation co-hosted a “Governor Forum,” which the event’s website described as “bringing together Wisconsin’s Muslim community and allies for an evening of civic dialogue, accountability, and engagement.” Community members could attend the event for free and submit questions for the gubernatorial candidates. In a video provided exclusively to Breitbart News, the event host said, “Sharia means...

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said he'd leave the Democratic Party if it becomes the "anti-Israel party," though he signaled he had no plans to imminently depart the caucus. Why it matters: Republicans currently hold a narrow Senate majority, but with midterm elections looming, Fetterman's comments could be a blow to Democrats should they flip four seats in November and regain control. Fetterman acknowledged the Democrats' difficult Senate math when speaking Wednesday at The Hill Nation Summit: "And if we flip those four seats, then I would be 51, and ... watch what I do." He continued, "I'm the guy that...

Unaccountable ‘mission’ directors could bring a Ben & Jerry’s-style meltdown without helping humanity. As OpenAI and Anthropic head toward initial public offerings, investors may be surprised to learn who controls each of these companies. It isn’t their CEOs or investors. Rather, both companies are controlled by “mission” directors, who may own little or no equity, who aren’t accountable to investors and whose missions allow—or require—them to sacrifice stockholder profits for the benefit of humanity. They pose a risk to investors, especially at OpenAI, and it isn’t clear they’ll help benefit humanity. The only other company to use such directors is...

The British government on Thursday urged FIFA to investigate Argentina’s team after players posed with a banner claiming sovereignty over the contested Falkland Islands. Argentina beat England 2-1 in a World Cup semifinal on Wednesday in Atlanta. During post-match celebrations, Argentine players held a banner handed over by fans in the stands, reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” — “The Malvinas are Argentine.” Argentina refers to the Falkland Islands as Islas Malvinas. They were invaded in 1982 under orders from Argentina’s then-military dictatorship, triggering a 10-week war won by Britain. U.K. Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the players’ behavior was “entirely...

DOHA — With the U.S. blockade of the important waterway back on amid renewed hostilities in Iran, President Donald Trump announced that he would secure the Strait of Hormuz by posting an old man who asks you three questions before you may pass. The old man, who was reportedly discovered by U.S. military officials as he guarded a rickety bridge over a chasm in rural Britain known as the Gorge of Eternal Peril, will now be stationed on a dinghy in the Strait of Hormuz, where he will bar the passage of any vessel unless its crew can answer...

A Florida beach erupted into chaos Wednesday when an ultra-low-altitude Blue Angels flyover sent tents, chairs and umbrellas flying into the air — leaving spectators on the shoreline stunned as the jet engines roared just feet above their heads, wild video shows. The “Breakfast with the Blues” annual flyover — part of the Pensacola Beach Air Show — sent sunbathers into a frenzy as the specialized US Navy jets flew terrifyingly close to the shore — stirring up clouds of sand and sending beach gear airborne, WEAR News reported. Tents, beach chairs and umbrellas were tossed around by the thrust...