Free Republic

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, founded in 1786, will shut down on May 3, its owners announced Wednesday. Block Communications Inc. has hemorrhaged over $350 million in cash while owning the newspaper over the past two decades, the outlet reported. The firm asserted that it could not sustain such significant cash losses. *** “Recent court decisions would require the Post-Gazette to operate under a 2014 labor contract that imposes on the Post-Gazette outdated and inflexible operational practices unsuited for today’s local journalism,” Block Communications said in a press release, according to CBS Pittsburgh. *** Prior to Block Communications’ closure announcement, Supreme Court...

The US military operation to track down, capture and fly Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro back to the United States for prosecution on drug trafficking charges went flawlessly. It was well-coordinated, meticulously planned and executed to a tee. Nearly two days after Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken into U.S. custody, details of the snatch-and-grab mission are beginning to percolate into the US media. It involved a cyberattack against Caracas’s electricity system, precision bombing against several Venezuelan airfields and ports, a low-flying helicopter assault on Maduro’s hideout and a CIA deployment that was operating in the country since August....

Given all that’s at stake, how would Japan respond in a scenario that could lead to the world’s first great power war since 1945?Imagine this scenario: it’s finally happening. China is moving to take Taiwan by force. Chinese warships are blockading the island of Taiwan and the surrounding area, while missiles and UAVs rain down destruction on the Taiwanese people from above. In this hypothetical scenario, what is Japan doing? This is a question of some urgency for Tokyo these days. For one thing, Japan’s westernmost island is only about 110 kilometers away from Taiwan – much closer than...

It's not the first time that Nicolas Maduro has signaled a readiness to talk with Donald Trump about ending the escalating conflict in the Caribbean. The Venezuelan dictator may be worried that it will be the last time.Six weeks ago, Maduro claimed readiness to discuss the US-Venezuela conflict "face to face," hoping to stave off the effort to collapse his Chavista junta. Trump, who had suggested talks at the same time, had instead impressed upon Maduro the necessity of an exit. Trump then began ordering the seizure of tankers carrying Venezuelan oil under sanction, and then escalated again this week...

There have been times in the past when IÂ’ve gotten crosswise with certain segments of the conservative base and/or with the readership of National Review. And, because, like the Elephant Man, I am a not an animal but a human being, I have always had at least some self-doubt. ThatÂ’s as it should be. People who share principles should not only hear each other out when they disagree; they should be able to see each otherÂ’s points and hold open the possibility that oneÂ’s opponents have the better argument. This is not one of those times, at least not for...

On this day, exactly two and a half centuries ago, an Irish immigrant who had become one of Gen. George Washington’s trusted aides in the Revolutionary Army was the first person to use the name “United States of America.” Stephen Moylan played a key role in the American Revolution, but like his fellow Irish Catholic immigrant and George Washington’s favorite aide, John Fitzgerald, Moylan had been almost lost to history in the modern era. That is, he was overlooked until, at the close of the 20th century, a letter of his from Jan. 2, 1776, came to light that proved...

This is an opportunity for the Republicans, and they had better not blow it. There must be merciless investigations. There must be prosecutions, including of Tim Waltz and others, if they appear criminally liable for tolerating, or even aiding and abetting, this looting of the public purse. We need to be careful here – we are foreclosed both by God’s prohibition on bearing false witness and the utilitarian consideration that the last thing we want to do is not be able to get a conviction should we criminally charge someone. But if we do criminally charge them, having found probable...

The Candace Owens drama is still ongoing, but every month it seems like more people finally get tired of her nonsense. A couple weeks ago I pointed out that Matt Walsh had finally asked Owens to stop and made the case for Tyler Robinson being the shooter.But yesterday, one of Owen's biggest online supporters finally called it a day. His name is Evan Kilgore and as recently as a couple weeks ago, his X account looked like this:BREAKING:Candace Owens reveals the "Egyptian planes" have been turning off their transponders and flying in and out of Israel.She says she still believes...

NOTE: This post is very long, and the videos included are even longer. If you choose to watch only one, I would suggest the third one that specifically covers the Trump class. A lot of people instantly hated the new Trump-class Battleship because it has the name "Trump" attached to it, and especially hated it because Trump wants to have a hand in the design for "aesthetic" reasons. After all, if Trump likes something, it must be a bad idea. But of course, that's a terrible reason to have an opinion about whether a weapons system, which would likely be...

“We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community. The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution. Don’t give up the ship.“ New billboards that are popping up around Florida, some right outside of military bases, pick up where the Seditious Six left off, and encourage servicemembers to "obey only lawful orders."

I know some were asking the same question: why would White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles sit down with Vanity Fair for this candid interview? She offered brutal assessments of some of the Trump administration’s top figures, from JD Vance to Pam Bondi; Wiles was no-holds-barred. For starters, you need to talk to the media, even if you hate them. President Trump does this daily. Second, it once again highlighted that even when you cooperate, and they all did, the mainstream press will still cook you. It’s why many have flocked to other sources of information. You can’t trust...

What can Donald Trump do to stop morphing into Joe Biden? The two presidents could hardly be more different in most ways—but in the one that counts most with voters, Trump is in danger of resembling his predecessor. Americans rejected Biden and the Democrats last year because they were incensed at the lousy state of the economy. Right now, they’re not much happier with Trump’s economy. Inflation was the No. 1 concern on voters’ minds last year, and it’s still a top concern today. Trump’s team say they plan to tout “affordability” as a theme Republicans can win on in...

Megyn Kelly criticized Ben Shapiro and Bari Weiss at AmericaFest on Friday, accusing them of trying to dictate what qualifies as conservative during a discussion with Jack Posobiec. JACK POSOBIEC, HUMAN EVENTS: Well, Megyn, you mentioned him, and your name came up on this stage last night in regards to pretty much all of this, would you like the opportunity to respond? MEGYN KELLY: Well, I found it kind of funny that Ben thinks he has the power to decide who gets excommunicated from the conservative movement, which shows a willful blindness about his position in it. It reminded me...

“The FBI will not tolerate any attempt to exploit our nation’s institutions for illegal activity—as we have seen in this case and the three Chinese nationals charged in Michigan in November for allegedly smuggling biological materials into the U.S. on several occasions,” Patel added

Now that Congress has passed a law – not a flimsy resolution, but a law – mandating that the Trump administration release all its files on Jeffrey Epstein, here’s what we know, and what we still need to know. The basic elements of Epstein’s crimes were established back in 2006 by the Palm Beach Police, who began investigating the previous year after a woman reported that he had paid her 14-year-old stepdaughter for a massage. Over the next 13 months, the police gathered sworn statements from dozens of witnesses, including five underage girls who said they’d been paid $200 to...

It’s been three days since the jihad against innocent Jews at Sydney’s Bondi beach. A nation’s grief is swiftly turning to anger and Australia’s prime minister is floundering. As more is learned about the father-and-son killers who took 15 lives and wounded many more, questions are piling up. How did the father enter the country? How did security agencies lose track of the son, who not only imbibed his father’s Jew hate, but may have been further radicalised by reportedly studying with one of Sydney’s most notorious Islamist hate preachers? How did they manage to go to a militant area...

Reading political tea leaves three years before an election is a bit like predicting the weather for your 2028 summer vacation—entertaining, perhaps, but utterly useless for packing your bags. Yet here we are, with breathless headlines announcing that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has “taken the lead” over Vice President JD Vance in a hypothetical matchup. The progressive left is practically popping champagne.For those who haven’t followed their trajectories, the contrast between these two couldn’t be sharper. AOC burst onto the scene in 2018, unseating a longtime Democratic incumbent and quickly becoming the face of democratic socialism in America. The Green New Deal,...

A Missouri woman on Thursday receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds complained about only being able to buy "real food" with the program, according to St. Louis TV station KMOV. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced Wednesday the approval of a waiver request from Missouri and five other states to restrict the purchase of candy, sugar-sweetened drinks and other items after Oct. 1, 2026. Hannah Moore complained to KMOV reporter John Kipper in a story that the restrictions were "not even cool."

President Donald Trump doubled down on a statement he issued on social media in response to actor-director Rob Reiner’s death, pointing out that he “wasn’t a fan of his at all.”While taking questions from the press on Monday, Trump was asked about a Truth Social post he made in which he stated Reiner had a “crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.” Trump’s post came after the news broke that Reiner — who directed The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally, and his wife, Michele, were found dead inside their Brentwood home.“Mr. President, a number of Republicans have denounced...

Baosberg has planned contempt hearings over the administration's response to his orders, despite the Supreme Court previously shutting down his initial stays. The Department of Justice on Friday asked a federal appeals court to remove U.S. District Judge James Boasberg from an ongoing case over the administrations invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport members of Venezuelan gangs. Baosberg has planned contempt hearings over the administration's response to his orders, despite the Supreme Court previously shutting down his initial stays. The DOJ made its request to remove him in a filing to the Court of Appeals for the D.C....