Free Republic

Donald Trump said on Saturday night that the US would hold off on any new strikes on Iran provided a deal to end the months-long conflict is quickly reached – marking the president’s latest climbdown from extravagant threats to hit the Tehran regime hard. The Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump on Saturday to express concerns about his strike plans, it was reported. Trump’s reversal also came after Iran threatened to retaliate decisively against its neighbours in the event of US strikes, while Kuwait reported being hit by Iranian drones on Saturday and two ships were attacked off...

Two-thirds of Americans believe the war in Iran has not been worth fighting. A new AP-NORC poll found that roughly two-thirds of U.S. adults say the war that began Feb. 28 is not worthwhile. The sentiment is shared by the vast majority of Democrats (87%) and independents (68%), as well as 37% of Republicans. The AP-NORC poll, conducted July 23-27, surveyed 1,165 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s plan to create a $20 billion company running the World Cup with private investors including the Kushner family was announced Tuesday — and immediately attacked by European soccer body UEFA. “It is not FIFA’s to sell,” UEFA said in a statement. “None of us are the owners of football.” Infantino’s plans to form a commercial subsidiary, which would be called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), running competitions like the World Cup and Club World Cup was first reported by The Times of London. FIFA said in a statement FFE would raise up to $4.2 billion later this...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has paused its airstrikes on Iran after nearly two weeks of intensifying bombing, while diplomatic efforts have pushed forward to try to avert a return to all-out war. But it remains to be seen whether the U.S. and Iran are at an inflection point in a mercurial conflict that will reach the five-month point Tuesday. President Donald Trump both has threatened more strikes and said talks are pressing on, all while brushing off concerns that rising gas prices tied to the fighting could hurt Republicans in November’s midterm elections.Adding to the uncertainty is the...

Republican Steve Hilton launched his general election campaign for California governor Wednesday with a gambit to win over left-leaning voters who dominate the state: Even if they loathe President Donald Trump, he said, they should consider voting for him. During an event in Los Angeles ... he vowed to bring the price of gasoline down to $3 a gallon, about half the current cost, cut residents’ utility bills in half, now among the nation’s highest, and eliminate state income taxes on the first $150,000 in earnings... In his campaign remarks and ads he took out in leading newspapers throughout the...

A planned joint U.S.-Canada ceremony Friday celebrating the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is no longer expected to take place after President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on most Canadian goods. In announcing the tariffs, Trump accused Canada of unfairly discriminating against U.S. automobiles, alcohol and dairy products, escalating tensions with one of the United States’ closest allies. “In light of trade action threatened by the United States earlier this week, it would be inappropriate to proceed with a celebratory event between the two countries,” said Jenna Ghassabeh, a spokesperson for Canadian...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday fired Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi as commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces and named his replacement, following days of mass protests in Kyiv, the country’s capital, and other cities across the nation demanding his removal.... Zelenskyy appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new army chief, according to a statement on social media.... The Ukrainian leader said he made the decision after a series of meetings with military commanders. They began shortly after protests broke out demanding the reinstatement of former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, seen by demonstrators as a driver of military modernization, and...

BRIDGEWATER, New Jersey (AP) — The U.S. military said on Saturday that two additional service members were killed as part of the war with Iran, bringing the total number of deaths to 16.The deaths reflect the complicated reality that American boots don’t need to be on the ground for there to be lethal risks in a conflict that involves drones, missiles and airplanes. American forces are arrayed across the Middle East, making other nations targets of Iran as the fighting has escalated after a breakdown in peace talks.President Donald Trump has said the war is necessary to stop Iran from...

Over the last month, Democratic socialists have notched victories in the liberal strongholds of New York City, Washington, D.C., and Denver. Now Francesca Hong, a single mother who has worked as a dishwasher and line cook, is trying to do the same with her campaign for governor in Wisconsin, a swing state known for razor-thin election margins where winning over moderate, independent voters is crucial. Hong’s candidacy has turned the Democratic primary on Aug. 11 into the latest test of just how far left voters are willing to go in the November midterms. “We do this in Wisconsin, we’re going...

Layout of convergent assault on our national election infrastructure. A newly released 799-page report titled “An Attack Upon U.S Critical Infrastructure” details the 2020 election corruption and beyond. It provides a list of 18 prioritized and recommended election investigations, along with 8 search warrants. Entities named include Runbeck Election Services, Elections Group LLC, The Office of Georgia SOS, Tyler Technologies, Associated Press, and many others. All assertions in the report are drawn from forensic analyses, sworn legislative testimony, court filings, IG investigations, vendor invoices, open-source intelligence, government communications obtained through litigation and FOIA, and more. Recommended Search Warrants by title,...

A distinguished American marine biologist has been shot dead by three men who entered his house in the central Philippines, police said on Tuesday. Kent Carpenter, 73, was with his Filipina companion in a house in the coastal town of Sibulan, in Negros Oriental province, on Sunday night when the masked men forced their way in. One drew a gun and shot Carpenter in the head, killing him instantly, police said his companion told them. The men took a laptop, an unspecified amount of cash and a backpack before fleeing, national police spokesperson Col. Allen Rae Co told reporters. Regional...

Comments 573 WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that he is rolling out a new screening program for “testosterone deficiency” among troops, calling it necessary to allow them to operate at their “absolute best.” The screenings will be conducted annually as part of service members’ required medical screenings for those 30 and older, he said. Troops under 30 can volunteer to be tested. In a video on social media, Hegseth said receiving testosterone replacement therapy would be voluntary. In the video, Hegseth simply refers to troops, though it appears he is talking about only testing men in...

The European Union has coordinated efforts to raise 900 million euros ($1 billion) in pledges of aid for Gaza’s rebuilding following two years of Israeli bombardment that left much of the Palestinian enclave in ruins, a senior EU official said Monday. How much of the money will be delivered, and when reconstruction of Gaza can begin, is unclear. The ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group that took effect in October is effectively stalled. European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica announced the fund after a meeting in Brussels of the Palestine Donors Group, which includes EU and Middle...

Yahm Levin is a diehard Democrat who lives in one of the nation's most liberal cities. And yet the 39-year-old Jewish woman from Los Angeles is sometimes afraid to use her first or last name when meeting people — even those who share her progressive politics. Levin has learned from recent experience that being identified as a Jew, especially one who lived in Israel, can trigger uncomfortable questions from fellow Democrats. Or worse. So, she introduces herself by her middle name, Shelly, which she said feels safer.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A tanker traveling off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz caught on fire early Tuesday morning after being struck by a projectile, the British military said.The attack was the latest targeting a vessel moving through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime. Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings but did not directly claim the assault. Tehran has repeatedly declared that only its approved route through the strait...

U.S. Central Command has released video purporting to show one of its strikes on Iran launched in response to a drone attack a day earlier on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Footage released on Friday showed a strike as well as a burst of smoke. U.S. Central Command said the military struck missile and drone locations and coastal radar sites in Iran. VIDEO AT LINK.............. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military said Saturday it had struck 10 targets in Iran at President Donald Trump’s direction, continuing a string of attacks that have shaken the...

DALLAS (AP) — Texas’ education board on Friday approved a required reading list for more than 5 million public school students that includes Bible stories, widening conservative efforts to bring Christian teachings into U.S. classrooms.The state-mandated list of assigned reading — which includes Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” and excerpts from the New Testament — appeared to be among the first of its kind of the nation and will take effect starting in 2030. The State Board of Education, which is controlled by Republicans, approved the list on a 9-5 vote following weeks of contentious debate that again put Texas at...

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s latest strikes on Lebanon and Iran have made clear that U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who started the war in lockstep, want different things.Trump had publicly warned Israel not to strike Beirut in its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. When it did, on Sunday, Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles at Israel for the first time since the April ceasefire. Israel then struck Iran, with which Trump has been engaged in weeks of high-stakes negotiations.The fighting has since died down, but the differences between the two leaders are likely to persist.That’s...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military launched airstrikes and Iran retaliated Wednesday following the crash of an Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz that U.S. President Donald Trump blamed on the Islamic Republic.Iran launched attacks in Bahrain and Kuwait, which both sounded alerts and fired air defenses in response. Iran also said it targeted an air base in Jordan hosting U.S. forces, which was not immediately acknowledged either by American or Jordanian officials.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military said Tuesday that it carried out strikes on Iran following the crash of an Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz that President Donald Trump blamed on the Islamic Republic.U.S. Central Command said on social media that the strikes would be "a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression." Iranian state media reported that explosions were heard on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane that Iran has effectively closed during the war, before saying that the wave of American attacks in the south has "subsided."Trump said earlier...