Free Republic

A new deal that would see the United States invest in Saudi Arabia‘s civilian nuclear capabilities has sparked concerns within Israel that the Kingdom could ultimately weaponize its program amid deepening unrest in the Middle East. Israel has never publicly confirmed nor denied the existence of its own nuclear arsenal, though it has long been attested to by former top figures in both Israel and the U.S. Last year, as U.S.-Saudi discussions of potential nuclear collaboration picked up steam shortly before the 12-Day War between Israel and Iran, current and former Israeli officials told Newsweek such a move could spark...

What brings Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler and the majority of New York’s downstate congressional delegation together? A niche labor protest over the Trump administration’s attempt to move federal workers out of New York City. The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 98, representing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ New York District and North Atlantic Division employees, rallied outside 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan on Thursday, protesting the proposed relocation of their offices to New Jersey. New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Lander were among those who joined in person,...

ISTANBUL—The conflict between the U.S. and Iran is escalating just as the two warring parties are running up against the limits of what they can achieve through military force.The conflict widened this week after Iranian-allied militants in Yemen began striking ships transiting a key Red Sea chokepoint, helping drive oil prices above $100 a barrel for the first time in two months on Thursday.The U.S., meanwhile, has escalated its bombing campaign in Iran in recent days, striking throughout the country during the most intense period of fighting since President Trump and Israel began bombing Iran in late February.Trump and other...

Yemen's Houthi rebels claim to have attacked the port city of Jazan, Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles. Saudi authorities have not confirmed the strike, but a Saudi civil defense alert was issued for Jazan on early Saturday and bystander videos purporting to show fire damage are circulating on social media. NASA FIRMS fire monitoring data shows five substantial thermal anomalies - infrared signatures not present in previous time periods - located in the eastern half of the Jazan refinery, all within the last 3-6 hours. FIRMS infrared detections may stem from natural or routine events, like flaring, but the new...

"It's really you," a Ukrainian woman says in surprise as Boris Johnson takes off his woolly hat to reveal that unmistakable shock of hair. The former prime minister is on an unannounced trip to Ukraine to report on the war and make the case for increased British support. There is a surprise for viewers, too, because Johnson has made a sober, no-frills documentary – Boris Johnson: Into Ukraine's Kill Zone (Channel 5) – with a serious purpose. He has done this at no small risk to his safety. During his first night on the front line, he is awoken by...

The Army has warned that a House-approved defense measure aimed at restricting certain foreign-made components in commercial data centers built on War Department land could jeopardize more than $1.3 billion in planned private investment as the Pentagon expands its data center footprint. The provision, sponsored by Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., was added to the House Armed Services Committee's version of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act before the bill passed the House this week. If enacted, the measure would bar companies leasing War Department land from installing or operating data center equipment containing certain printed circuit boards, advanced semiconductors,...

Democratic Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke was indicted by a grand jury on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery and falsifying candidate committee reports stemming from a bribe she allegedly took as a state lawmaker in 2022. The indictment alleges that local businessman and lobbyist Tobi Solidum offered Luke a $35,000 bribe connected to a COVID-19 testing contract a company he recommended had with the state. Solidum was also indicted as part of the state attorney general’s probe, along with former state representative Ryan Yamane, Hawaii’s Transportation Department official Ford Fuchigami, and Leo Asunción, a former official for...

Explanation: The Seas of Tranquility and Serenity are calm today. They're calm most every day though, since they are actually lunar maria, ancient lava flows filling in large impact basins on the Moon. Also known by Latin names Mare Tranquillitatis (right) and Mare Serenitatis, the smooth dark lunar "seas" are in stark contrast to the bright cratered lunar highlands surrounding them in this telescopic view. Of course their names are based on the historical, pre-telescopic designations of lunar maria. Easily visible to the unaided eye, the broad features on the Moon's near side were imagined to be like the expansive...

US intelligence briefings cited by The New York Times on Friday indicate that Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, displays a far greater willingness to build nuclear weaponry than his father who preceded him. His father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died in joint US-Israeli airstrikes during the opening phase of the war, had maintained a long-standing fatwa (religious decree) against weaponization. While American analysts previously maintained that Tehran sought the threshold capacity to assemble a device, many considered the former leader's religious reluctance genuine. The younger Khamenei has avoided explicit public calls for a nuclear arsenal, noted The New...

A newly-uncovered Biden White House memo from the administration's final days revealed plans that could have expanded Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to more than 3 million noncitizens while acknowledging that previous court challenges had blocked many of President Donald Trump's efforts to end the protections. TPS is meant for foreign populations experiencing crises like political unrest or natural disasters, and while Trump has tried to end the "temporary" provisions for Haitians, Nepalese, Salvadorans and Sudanese people, lawsuits from pro-migrant advocates have halted most attempts. "My investigation uncovered that the Lame Duck Biden White House tried to keep millions of illegal...

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday rebuffed mounting pressure from Jewish community leaders urging him to apologize for past anti-Israel statements. The refusal followed Thursday’s attack on the Upper West Side where a man wearing a kippah was stabbed on the fast day of Tisha B’Av by an attacker who yelled “Allahu Akbar" during the stabbing. On Friday, the suspected stabber, 51-year-old Raul Morales, was charged with attempted murder as a hate crime, attempted murder, assault as a hate crime, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the NYPD. Mamdani has long come under fire for...

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked a South Dakota law that prohibits abortion advertising. Key Takeaways: * A federal judge has blocked a South Dakota law prohibiting abortion advertising. * The law was passed earlier this year in response to advertisements placed within the state by Mayday Health, despite the state's law protecting preborn children from abortion. * Mayday Health sued South Dakota over its law, leading to the preliminary injunction. The Backstory: In December 2025, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley issued a cease and desist letter to Mayday Health, which had placed ads for the abortion pill...

Dan Abrams verbally pummeled Texas Senate candidate James Talarico (D) for branding two police officers murderers, even though they were acquitted in the case the liberal lawmaker cited. The Mediaite founder criticized Talarico and even suggested the cops should sue him on the Thursday episode of his SiriusXM radio show. Abrams was responding to comments Talarico made at a town hall event where he was asked about reparations for Black Americans and a crime bill; Talarico answered by pointing to his involvement with a high-profile local case where a Black man died after being tased by police. “I had a...

Is VP Vance the front man in a coup d’état? Once upon a time––in 2017, according to VP JD Vance––a state senator from Ohio met an already-arrived conservative commentator and they had what is commonly known as chemistry. They connected. They liked each other. They agreed about major issues, except for one. The state senator––that would be Mr. Vance––loathed President Trump and spared no invective to describe him as “America’s Hitler” and “Unfit for our nation’s highest office,” and “Trump is cultural heroin,” and "I'm a Never Trump guy…" But the conservative commentator––that would be Tucker Carlson––touted POTUS 45 relentlessly...

By Dr. John BergsmaWhen I was a kid, the phrase “Get wise!” was a provocative taunt—essentially, a way to start a fight. It meant something like: “I invite you to act like a smart aleck, so I will have an excuse to assault you physically.” My elementary school career was a bit rough. But what does it really mean to “Get wise” or “Gain wisdom”? The Readings for this Sunday’s Mass teach us about this issue. During this part of Ordinary Time in Year A, the Church is pursuing a lectio continua (continuous reading, i.e. reading in order) of both...

President Donald Trump on Friday ordered his administration to install signs outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History directing visitors to what the White House describes as "accurate" information about the nation's past. The executive order instructs the National Park Service, which maintains the sidewalks outside the museum, to place signs informing visitors about a White House report released July 4 that criticized the Smithsonian's portrayal of American history. Trump also directed the creation of a temporary exhibit intended to correct what his administration considers inaccurate historical information. The move follows a report from Trump's Domestic Policy Council that...

It’s the nuclear option.American Special Operations forces are waiting in the wings to launch the “most sophisticated operation in military history” to seize Iran’s enriched uranium from heavily fortified nuclear sites.“I hate to say it, but I think the most likely way to get rid of Iran’s nuclear material, at least what they currently have, is a military operation because the negotiations aren’t going anywhere fast,” said Joseph Rodgers, deputy director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.The deeply complex operation would involve thousands of ground troops storming Iran’s nuclear facilities — navigating boobytraps, utilizing construction crews, and maintaining...

In New York City the total number of individuals pushed onto subway tracks this year has reached 15. The victim in the most recent incident is a 70-year-old woman. Career criminal Zaki Smith was arrested for felony assault. Smith has 14 previous arrests and was on parole after serving four years in Sing Sing prison for a prior felony assault. Saritha Komatireddy, a Republican candidate for New York State Attorney General, said that "this is the fifteenth time someone was pushed onto the subway tracks this year. A 70-year-old woman was just shoved by a stranger who walked up behind...

Announcing the passing of Freeper Eddie Willers, who left us in June 2021. He was 69. This news comes to us by his friend and fellow FReeper, Nathaniel Greene. Nathaniel wrote: ”My good friend IRL Jim (Jimmy Philpot) passed away June 29, 2021. Many of us on here knew him as Eddie Willers. He is greatly missed by us. Jimmy was a fine and intelligent man who would have left a mark in this world had his circumstances been different. He had firsthand working knowledge of consumer electronics and high-end installations that merged seamlessly with his love and knowledge...

The madman who screamed “Allahu Akbar” while stabbing an Asian and Jewish man in separate harrowing hate attacks on the Upper West Side was a fan of Karl Marx, with police finding one of the communist author’s books inside his apartment. Raul Morales – who’s been hit with attempted murder and hate crime charges, and faces up to 40 years in prison – was arrested Thursday for the violent rampage. Investigators later probed the 51-year-old’s shared apartment on Amsterdam Avenue, discovering writings of Marx – widely considered the father of communism – in his bedroom, according to information at Morales’...