Free Republic

The European auto industry is a case study on how short-sighted trade policy goals, results in consequences. Previously, German auto companies like Volkswagen entered into trade agreements with China and began manufacturing their vehicles with immediate financial success in the market. However, it did not take long for Chinese auto companies to reverse the engineering and begin to deliver the same quality vehicles at much lower prices. The Chinese then stop purchasing the Volkswagen vehicles and purchase the cheaper version, while simultaneously begin exporting those same vehicles into the home market from where the technology originated. Today, with a double-digit...

In 2006, Tue Lue Vang was convicted for repeatedly raping a 10-year-old girl over a two-year period. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was set to deport him to Laos when Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn) decided to pardon him, hoping this would allow Vang to stay in the US. Walz explained "where Mr Vang grew up it was customary for older men to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12. Admittedly, the girl he had sex with was under this age, but a mere two-year discrepancy isn't enough to justify expelling him from the country. He hasn't...

We are two Muslim women who have each had a death warrant, a fatwa, placed on our heads—not for committing a crime, but for opposing the extremists who claim to speak for our faith. One of us, Anila, came to America from Pakistan and built a life here as a public school teacher. After September 11, Anila founded an organization to empower Muslim women and confront extremism. The other, Dalia, fled Egypt after Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Dalia was targeted for opposing the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, and has spent the years since tracing the money...

In this week's Avid Space industry update, Blue Origin continues the cleanup effort at LC-36, NASA's Office of the Inspector General releases a scathing report on NASA's handling of the Starliner contract with Boeing, and Northrop Grumman's last Pegasus XL rocket is launched to on a mission to rescue the Swift Space Observatory. Starliner Delays Costly - NASA Watchdog Demands Accountability Weekly Spaceflight News | 9:04 Avid Space | 29,051 views | July 8, 2026

Seems like I might be looking at left hip replacement surgery in coming weeks. Has anyone had this done? If so, at what age? What were symptoms that led to the decision for the surgery? Experience with pain, hospitalization, PT, general recovery? Anything you wish you had done differently either before or after? Thank you. This is not something I ever really thought would be part of my future and am trying to prepare myself for whatever is to be expected.

He was a fabrication from the start. The son of a wealthy lawyer presented as a working class hero. No one cared that it was a lie. No one cared that he was credibly accused of rape. Until they did.I’m going to veer from sports today to venture into politics. Maine politics. Democrat Party politics. And Graham Platner, the Democrat nominee for Senate in Maine who recently suspended his campaign after so much dirt came out on him that his numbers finally started dropping. Only when the polling dropped did the Democratic Party descend to say yeah you gotta go....

A West Virginia girl who fought back after a male on her track team harassed her and threatened to rape her says her school became a sea of hostility after she stood up against putting males in female sports. Adaleia Cross attends Bridgeport High School in West Virginia. Her school district was at the center of a recent Supreme Court ruling that said males cannot play in women’s sports. Although the ruling was a victory for her position, it came at a cost. In January, her parents wrote an opinion piece in USA Today explaining the sexual harassment by the...

Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) jumped to attack ICE after a federal immigration officer shot and killed a Mexican national in Houston who authorities say rammed an ICE vehicle and tried to run over an officer. The Texas Democrat demanded that ICE be “held accountable” and called for a full investigation after the shooting. Her response immediately drew pushback from critics who pointed to the Department of Homeland Security’s claim that the man had used his vehicle as a weapon. The shooting happened Tuesday morning during a targeted immigration enforcement operation in Houston, Texas. The man who died was identified as...

Seven former and one current Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MTBA) employees have been charged with a federal superseding indictment alleging that they falsified records and reports and then fraudulently collected overtime pay. The MTBA, although it collects fares, is heavily subsidized by tax dollars. According to the Department of Justice, defendants Brian Pfaffinger, Ronald Gamble, Magda Trinh, Jensen Vatel, Nathalie Mendes, Danny Barbosa, and Matthew Leonard have been charged with various crimes, including conspiring to commit wire fraud, falsifying records, and wire fraud. The defendants were all former Red Line Maintenance of Way employees, per the DOJ. Pfaffinger, Gamble, Vatel,...

One of the biggest prosecutions to come out of January 6 is now permanently closed. U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly granted the Justice Department’s unopposed motion to dismiss the case against Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola with prejudice. That last phrase matters. No pause, no delay, and no future administration gets another shot at this prosecution. The case is over. The ruling came after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated the four men’s judgments on May 21. The appeals court sent the matter back so the trial court could consider the...

This is something I haven’t seen noted anywhere–the New York Times is expanding geographically, by adding “local newsletters” for metro areas outside of New York. The first one will be in the Twin Cities: The New York Times is piloting a local newsletter for the Twin Cities. It said: "Our hope is that The Local: Twin Cities can serve as a model for similar future efforts elsewhere around the country" https://t.co/6LvGQxgpZU — Press Gazette (@pressgazette) July 9, 2026Apparently the Times thinks the Star Tribune and other local left-wing news outlets are too weak to get the job done. They could...

Graham Platner announced he is "suspending my campaign to be the next US Senator from Maine. Despite winning the Democratic primary last month with 150,000 votes--more than any other candidate in Maine's history--wealthy donors are demanding I step aside. The campaign of smears--that I am a Nazi, that I sent unsolicited photos of my penis to women, that I sexually abused other women--failed to deter voters from choosing me to be the Party's nominee. Now these potential donors are saying they won't provide any money for my campaign to continue to November. They will only donate if another person is...

Credit / SOURCE: SpaceX SpaceX "Critical Path" Documentary 4K | 34:15Launch Heaven | 16,148 views | July 10, 2026

🚨 BREAKING: DOJ has just announced a criminal indictment against 8 people for plotting a massive violent terror attack against the White House while President Trump was there. Up to LIFE IN PRISON. NO MERCY. Maximum punishment! "This alleged plot was DISRUPTED before it could be carried out." The plot was meant for the Freedom 250 UFC White House event — which went on AS PLANNED because the plot was foiled. "The first count is a conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists by way of money, firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, medical and communications equipment, as well as...

President Trump just put Iran on a very short clock. By Saturday, the regime is expected to publicly acknowledge that the Strait of Hormuz is open and pledge that commercial ships will not be attacked. Washington is demanding more than another foggy diplomatic promise. Tehran must say the words in public, where the entire world can hold the regime to them. Axios reported that the demand was delivered both directly to Tehran and through regional mediators, according to three U.S. officials who briefed reporters Friday. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to meet Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi in...

Project Jade, Wyoming’s largest data center, is now Project Tembo, and the company behind the 2.7-gigawatt facility is a mystery no longer. The data center will be owned and operated by none other than Google, giving Cheyenne yet another of the world’s largest tech companies in what is fast becoming an emerging tech frontier. Cheyenne has hosted Microsoft data centers for the past decade or so and that company has announced plans for a major expansion on a 3,500-acre tract of land whose annexation is pending before the Cheyenne City Council. Meta announced last year it was joining the Wyoming...

SACRAMENTO, CA — Following reports that activists were pushing the introduction of Black English in California preschools, Governor Gavin Newsom proudly proclaimed: "We finna teach da' homies Black English, yo!" The California governor confirmed that he has many black friends and, as such, wanted to make Black English a centerpiece to every child's educational experience. "Because we want every child to learn to communicate with our black brothers and sisters, ya dig?" he said. California Department of Education officials were initially hesitant to add Black English to the preschool curriculum, but completely caved once Newsom showed how fluent he was...

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used America's 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence to lay into the ideals for which this country fought for its independence, saying "what is the value of life and liberty to a person who is unable or unwilling to support himself through his own efforts? For 250 years this country has lived under a system that allows the energetic and the enterprising to take more than their fair share of the wealth that is produced. In the past month we have seen Elon Musk become the world's first trillionaire. It's...

At the outset of our investigation, we knew there was a shocking deficit of absentee ballots compared to the required absentee envelopes, but after checking, double- and then triple-checking the data on each envelope and comparing them to the registered voters on file, we were able to prove (using evidence provided by the City of Detroit) that an incredible 26,901 absentee ballots lacked the legally required accompanying absentee ballot envelope.