Free Republic

Ukraine’s Zelensky wouldn’t be included in proposed talks, as Russia’s leader seeks to negotiate end to war favorable to Moscow Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed that he, President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet next month to talk about Ukraine in an attempt to negotiate an end to the four-year conflict that would favor Moscow, said people familiar with the discussions. The plan represents an effort by Putin to capitalize on warming ties between Trump and the Russian leader that have alarmed Ukraine and its allies in Washington and Europe. Such a summit—one without the involvement of Ukrainian...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly floated a three-way summit between himself, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the table. The meeting was mentioned in a phone call to Trump on Oct. 9, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing a former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the matter. Such a summit may take place at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, according to the report. The call also produced a deal for Moscow...

Two major Christian-identified charities took at least $62 million from government sources to resettle Somalians in Minnesota, precipitating a wave of theft, fraud, gang activity, crime and tribalism. Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services exploited high-dollar government contracts and were instrumental in turning Minnesota into one of worst localities for fraud in America. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which oversees Catholic Charities, also raked in an astounding $140 million from the federal government to bring Somalians into Minnesota, the New York Post reported. Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services (the latter of which has recently rebranded as “Global Refuge”)...

More Republicans are speaking out against President Donald Trump’s decision to let Vladimir Putin’s Russia temporarily export diesel fuel on the global market, expanding the bipartisan blowback over the deal. Six GOP senators joined six of their Democratic colleagues in a letter Tuesday urging Trump to cancel the arrangement allowing Russia to supply 4.8 million metric tons, or nearly 36 million barrels, of diesel through mid-April. “This deal is a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our Allies; it should be rescinded,” the lawmakers wrote. Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, Oklahoma’s Alan...

Anaheim’s mayor is facing an extraordinary workplace complaint from her own chief of staff that paints a picture of booze, alleged harassment and political-business-as-usual gone badly off the rails. Chief of Staff Berenice Ballinas claims Mayor Ashleigh Aitken repeatedly appeared intoxicated at city functions — including one City Council meeting — and that on one occasion the mayor allegedly ended up pawing through a former city manager’s car on the ride home. Ballinas’ 25-page claim, released by the city Thursday, also accuses Aitken of making crude comments about her sexuality and using a racial slur against her. Among the allegations,...

The first woman set to be put to death in Tennessee in over 200 years was given two doses of a lethal injection Wednesday evening, but remained alive as her botched execution descended into chaos — and prompted the governor to demand an outside probe and issue an emergency pause on all executions for the remainder of the year. Christa Pike, 50, was strapped to a gurney in the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution death chamber just before 7:30 p.m. CDT after the US Supreme Court overruled her stay of execution an hour earlier. Pike — who, at 18, murdered her...

On Tuesday, he signed a document that paves the way to expanding the U.S. military presence on the island, opening new bases. But it explicitly stops short of conveying any territory to the United States. And no one — especially Denmark, which governs the vast but mostly empty space — wanted to emphasize that point, for fear that Mr. Trump might renounce the agreement he had just hailed as “tremendous for Europe and for the US.” Mikkel Olesen, a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, described the final document, which was released Tuesday, as only a moderate improvement...

Several female Pennsylvania college students were brutally assaulted by a mob of agitators who had invaded their off-campus house during an apparent illegal street takeover. The unidentified coeds, who attend York College of Pennsylvania, were dragged by the hair, punched, kicked, maced and beaten unconscious in the attack as they were sitting on the front porch of their rental home Saturday morning, according to Fox 43. “After the first punch was given, all these girls started to rush us, and that’s where it kind of gets blurry because I think people were coming at me… I turn and see my...

Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials appointed Sen. Mitch McConnell’s wife to multiple government positions, many of which partially overlapped with her two U.S. Cabinet posts, according to Chinese government and state media reports unearthed by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Elaine Chao, who married the Kentucky Republican in 1993, has held numerous U.S. government positions since the 1980s, including serving as Department of Labor (DOL) secretary throughout President George W. Bush’s tenure and as Department of Transportation (DOT) secretary during President Donald Trump’s first term. After resigning from the Trump administration in January 2021, Chao then served on the board...

Target has found itself at the center of controversy over a children's Halloween costume. It has since removed it from its website, issuing a public apology after critics called the product's imagery racially insensitive. The image on Target's website showed a Black child modeling the costume in a pose that critics said evoked racist imagery associated with the Jim Crow and minstrel eras, according to Forbes. Such depictions historically relied on demeaning stereotypes and exaggerated portrayals of Black people. "As a company, we know we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry," Target said in a statement to Forbes....

WISCONSIN (TNND) — The Wisconsin State Fair ended with multiple fights Sunday, leaving one officer injured and seven people under arrest.Video obtained by Fox6 Milwaukee showed dozens of people running through the fairgrounds. At one point, a person appeared to be curled in the fetal position on the ground while at least five others punched and kicked them.

Todd Blanche's uphill battle to be confirmed as attorney general ended on Saturday with a 50-49 vote in the Senate, after President Donald Trump's former lawyer managed to win key Republican support.

President Trump on Monday blasted Iran’s leadership as “unbelievably duplicitous,” accusing Tehran of privately pursuing peace talks with the US while publicly denying any negotiations were taking place days after he called off a massive military campaign planned for the weekend.In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed Iranian officials had sought a meeting with the US before turning around and insisting they were only in talks with Oman over plans for the Strait of Hormuz. “They ask for a meeting, some would say ‘beg,’ talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that...

US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) died Saturday following a brief illness at the age of 71, his office confirmed. “On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness. Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” Graham’s office said on X on Sunday morning. A cause of death was not immediately revealed. Emergency officials responded to Graham’s home on Capitol Hill for a cardiac arrest, NBC reported, citing police scanner audio.

WASHINGTON – The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement confirming that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested and deported an illegal alien from Laos who had been pardoned by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and his fellow sanctuary politicians despite a prior conviction for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl. Tou Lue Vang, an illegal alien from Laos, had been convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct after he repeatedly assaulted a girl between 2002 and 2004, starting when she was just 10 years old. He once offered his victim $10 to keep...

"Major study blames iPhones for collapsing birth rate. It's a cute hypothesis, but in fact conservatives are having as many kids as the 1980's. It’s liberal ideology that's eating the kids."

I believe in the scriptural land rights given to Israel, I believe in fulfilment of prophecy, and, again, I'm not a theologian but I'm a Christian, my life was changed in Israel, the spiritual energy is so amazing there. I want them to win, I've said that repeatedly. However, you're hitting on something very potent and important. Now let me first say – I don't want to judge an entire group, because there's been many people in the pro-Israel group that have been very sweet, very kind, very nuanced...however, and I will say this, the behavior by a lot –...

"TRUMP: “I think [Israel] could do better … I'm not saying they shouldn't protect themselves. I'm saying when two drones are shot into the desert and drop harmlessly, you don't have to knock down buildings in Beirut. They could behave better…”

President Trump warned Thursday that the US will soon take over Kharg Island, which processes about 90% of Iran’s crude oil for export, following a second day of airstrikes against the Islamic Republic. “The United States will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most of its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT,” Trump announced on Truth Social. “At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets,...

JD Vance suggested Israel may not be on board with a US-Iran peace deal as he was grilled over bombshell intelligence reports claiming Benjamin Netanyahu's spy agencies have been eavesdropping on American negotiators. US intelligence officials are alarmed by Israel's eavesdropping on American diplomats negotiating with Iran. The Pentagon now ranks Israel as a bigger counterintelligence threat than some of America's enemies, according to The New York Times.The report details concerns that Israel has been spying on senior Trump officials, including the President's top negotiator Steve Witkoff and Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, along with other American military and government...