Free Republic

The Trump administration has so far announced 43 equity stakes in firms producing everything from minerals to semiconductors, 36 of which were negotiated without explicit legal authority — and more are yet to come. The administration may be negotiating even more stakes under the radar, since SEC filings for unrelated deals mention the possibility of warrants. Unwinding the administration’s investments would prove legally and politically difficult — but Democrats likely won’t want to, at least not right away. They’re already weighing how to use equity stakes for their own ends, signaling that Trump’s government intervention in the private sector may...

According to Sheriff Grady Judd, a family that moved from Connecticut four months ago was attempting to buy dinner at a drive-thru when their credit card declined. Deputies said the father grew distracted while searching for another way to pay. PCSO said as he bent over to check his card, he removed a Glock handgun from his waistband and placed it on the vehicle seat. The 3-year-old child, who was playing in the backseat, grabbed the firearm and pulled the trigger, according to deputies. Officials said the father heard a loud pop before frantically running around the vehicle, while a...

A 17-year-old McKinney resident has been arrested and charged by the FBI for planning to assassinate U.S. Rep. Keith Self and carry out an allegedly ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in North Texas. According to reports, the bureau arrested the would-be assassin on October 5 after the individual obtained a firearm. Investigators said they believed the suspect planned the assassination for October 17. The suspect had been monitored by federal agents for some time at that point, and was believed to have been radicalized by online ISIS material. In a post to X on Wednesday, Self (R–McKinney) expressed his gratitude to the...

A former Mexican state attorney general could face trial for treason over accusations that he illegally launched a joint operation with the CIA without telling the federal government. The operation to dismantle a drug lab in the state of Chihuahua in northern Mexico in April drew attention after two CIA agents and two state officials died in a car accident on their way back. That raised questions about the Trump administration's actions on Mexican soil, and outraged President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has made a strong defense of national sovereignty a centerpiece of her administration. The state district attorney, César Jáuregui,...

The ICE agents who conduct home raids are charged with detaining and deporting criminal aliens and fugitive aliens. A fugitive alien is a noncitizen who failed to appear in immigration court. A criminal alien is any noncitizen convicted of a crime. In many cases, these raids result in the detention and sometimes deportation of immigrants who are neither criminal nor fugitive aliens – these are what ICE calls “collateral arrests.” When President Barack Obama took office in 2009, immigration home raids were commonplace.

Luka Doncic and newly acquired center Walker Kessler led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 127-105 rout of the Golden State Warriors ​in their season-opener on Wednesday in their first game since LeBron James' departure. The ‌Lakers began the new campaign after an offseason of major change, including James' exit and a sale of the franchise. James, who led the Lakers to the 2020 NBA title and became the league's ​all-time leading scorer while with the team, has signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. Golden ​State's Stephen Curry scored 16 points in a back-and-forth start, but ⁠the Warriors lost momentum when...

To make its impending victory last, my party should look to the center, not move further left. There is little question that President Trump and the GOP will lose this election. With Mr. Trump’s approval rating hitting a historic low for an incumbent president before the midterms, Republicans will cede control of the House and likely the Senate. What is still far from clear is whether Democrats will win. That question won’t be answered on Nov. 3 but over the next two years. The top story from the 2026 cycle will be the electoral opening Democrats seized—and will have to...

A group designated as a foreign terrorist organization is backing dozens of Democrat candidates in November’s election, including several seeking statewide office. CAIR Action, the political arm of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has released a 17-page voter guide identifying its preferred and endorsed candidates across Texas, from the top of the Democrat ticket down to local races. Among those receiving the group’s “preferred” designation are U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico, gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa, attorney general candidate Nathan Johnson, agriculture commissioner candidate Clayton Tucker, comptroller candidate Sarah Eckhardt, and railroad commissioner candidate Jon Rosenthal. Lieutenant governor candidate Vikki Goodwin...

Medical laboratory operator Quest Diagnostics said it learned of a cyber breach of one of its systems this week, likely compromising some records for patients. In a Thursday regulatory filing, Quest Diagnostics reported “unauthorized access” to its Quanum Lab Services Manager, a platform where certain clients can place test orders and receive or look up their results. The company said it discovered the hack on Wednesday and notified federal law enforcement. How many patients and which particular records have been affected is still unknown. Quest Diagnostics said it believes “certain patient records” were accessed in the breach, but that the...

Elon Musk has reportedly poured $1 billion into the media empire behind CNN and Paramount, potentially giving the billionaire a powerful new foothold in Hollywood and sending shockwaves through an industry packed with his fiercest critics. The world's richest man has acquired a stake in Skydance, the entertainment giant controlled by David Ellison, according to people familiar with the investment who spoke to Semafor. The blockbuster deal could mark the beginning of a much larger alliance between Musk and the Ellison family, whose sprawling media interests include CNN, HBO, CBS and Paramount. And for liberal commentators who have spent years...

Soldiers and government officials say connections continued to fail if drones fly at high speeds KYIV—The Starlink system used by Ukraine’s military was suffering from low speeds limits early on Friday, despite President Trump saying that SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk had restored the service. Ukrainian drone units and government officials said connections with Starshield, a military-grade service using Starlink’s infrastructure, continued to fail in most of the country when drones flew faster than 161 kilometers an hour, equivalent to around 100 miles an hour.Some units had successfully tested drones at 200 kilometers an hour on Thursday, raising hopes that...

TRADITIONALISTS, THE LAST PARIAHS - Never Before: Traditional Pilgrims Blocked from Entering Saint Peter's The move was announced to Christian Marquant (of Paix Liturgique), during the liturgical conference that precedes the pilgrimage every year. From our friends at Messa in Latino:Christian Marquant: "The Pope Denied Us Saint Peter's, Believing the Mass Was Instrumentalized Last Year"Reported by Enrico Messa in Latino, October 23, 2026*The President of the Association Paix Liturgique, who has devoted his life to the defense of the Mass of all ages, concluded our meeting with direct, clear, and incisive words.*---...Turning to an examination of the ecclesial situation,...

Kaylub Giamanco woke up and got his kids ready for school that Thursday like it was any other day. The family made breakfast and packed lunches. He and his wife spent a little extra time dressing up their two girls because Oct. 15 was picture day at Silver Rail Elementary. Giamanco dropped the girls off as usual, then the 36-year-old carpenter headed to a job site northeast of Bend. He had brought a packed lunch in his truck, but when afternoon came around, he decided to go home instead to eat leftover tacos with his wife. He thought about running...

In the span of a few years, China and the United States have each assembled something future historians might recognize as a new kind of empire. Their dominions extend not merely over territory, trade routes, and airspace but over knowledge itself. By controlling the large language models, chips, physical infrastructure, and capital that provide the foundations for advanced machine cognition, Beijing and Washington are not only attaining new heights of economic performance and power projection; they are also setting the terms of all future scientific and intellectual progress. The term “AI superpowers” fails to capture the influence and reach that...

Thiis is an interesting , as well as, thought provoking discussion of 2 major topics, AI & Paris Burning, and 2 throw away topics, Nobel Prize for economics & Elon & his flying car. It begins with a discussion on the topic of AI, and does a dive into the aspects of AI going rouge along with creating new devlopments. Is AI a threat to true education and especially when it comes to training the brain how dig for the truth & knowledgeand the retetion of knowledge. This discussion topic is led by Georgetown Georgetown University computer scientist Cal Newpor....

Before the Iran war, Qatar was one of the biggest natural gas exporters in the world. After only eight months, the Gulf state is now buying supplies from its principal competitor — the United States. QatarEnergy struck a deal Thursday with U.S. exporter Cheniere Energy to buy 4 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually through 2054. The purchase price is indexed to the U.S. Henry Hub price plus a fixed fee. Deliveries are expected to begin in the 2030s. “We look forward to reliably supplying QatarEnergy from both Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi into the second half...

In Torrance, California, a large and influential suburb of Los Angeles, the No Kings protests have shown up with frequent vengeance. From June 14, 2025, to the current election season, registered Democrats, wokesters, progressive leftists, democratic socialists, the full-blown socialists, and the racialist ethno-nationalists have shown up in large numbers to tell the world how much they hate Trump. They love setting up along the main thoroughfare of the city, standing in front of Torrance City Hall, holding up their banners, calling the president all kinds of evil. Speakers from the main liberal, left-wing, progressive, Berniecrat (you get the idea)...

At least 6,000 homeless addicts — many from out of state — were lured to California detox centers by “body brokers” working for a pair of accused fraudsters in a $1.6 billion rehab scheme considered the largest in history, federal prosecutors revealed. Los Angeles rehab king David Young, 71, and his son Nathan Young, 39, allegedly offered free flights, groceries and other perks as part of their substance abuse scam to traffic addicts into dozens of California rehab centers, according to Department of Justice prosecutors.

Democrats don't just want to "tax the rich" - they want to tear down the very systems that make it possible to get rich in the first place. This November, voters in California will decide whether to enact a first-in-the-nation wealth tax of five percent on every resident whose net worth exceeds $1 billion. Polls show a tight battle – but even if the measure fails, it is unlikely to deter Democrats’ escalating war on wealth that should alarm every American. It’s hardly breaking news that Democrats want to raise taxes to pay for expensive social programs. But in recent...

NASCAR champions, the late Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch, along with NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears have been selected for induction into the 2027 National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame by vote of the membership. The NMPA is proud to announce and celebrate these four accomplished honorees, whose legendary careers have impacted motorsports for decades. The late Kyle Busch, 41, who passed away in May after a brief illness, is a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and his combined 234 victories in NASCAR’s three premier series – the NASCAR Cup Series (63),...