Free Republic

@RandPaul WATCH: During today’s hearing, I called out wasteful NIH spending & dangerous gain-of-function research. We discussed a disturbing breach at Fort Detrick involving Ebola. I commend @RobertKennedyJr for standing up for the American people and fighting to end this reckless research.

This BBC film examines the myth behind the sixties, which was itself created before the decade was even out but has since lingered in all of our minds. What we have lived with however is merely a mirage and this documentary sets about exposing the truth, suggesting that we are living on borrowed time as a result of those who indulged whilst an unchecked Britain experienced an industrial decline. Looking back on old archived footage and the political atmosphere of the time a case is built against the decade we all consider to be filled with dreams

Chaos and wild brawls broke out at a New York City university on Thursday evening after anti-Israel activists tried setting up an encampment on college grounds. New York Police Department (NYPD) officers were dispatched to Brooklyn College after anti-Israel agitators refused to take down their tents. Fourteen people were taken into custody, police told Fox News Friday. Videos show activists, many of whom were wearing keffiyehs, yelling and swearing as police officers attempted to get the unruly crowd under control. "Stop shoving people! Stop f--king shoving people!" one female protester yelled. "Get the f--k out! Get the f--k out!" another...

Ignoring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call to meet for direct high-level talks in Turkey, Russian leader Vladimir Putin dispatched to Istanbul a team of junior officials, making it uncertain that negotiations between the warring nations would occur at all. The Russian team is set to be led by Putin’s aide Vladimir Medinsky and deputy defense minister Alexander Fomin, the same men whom Putin dispatched to negotiate Ukraine’s surrender in the early days of the war. The last session of these talks occurred in Istanbul in March 2022, and the negotiations fell apart as Russia suffered a military defeat and withdrew...

United States President Donald Trump does not plan to attend the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks in Turkey later this week, CNN reported, citing two White House officials. This decision ends speculation that he might meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the negotiating table. Trump had considered adjusting his travel plans to include the talks, but ultimately decided to stick to his original schedule. Trump will visit Doha, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday.

@RepThomasMassie Last night, I received a 2024 Defender of Economic Freedom Award from @CFGfoundation This award is given to lawmakers who vote to protect economic liberty and advocate for limited government, lower taxes, and the reduction of wasteful government spending.

The British cardiologist Aseem Malhotra was appointed Chief Medical Adviser to the Make America Healthy Again initiative – effectively making him Robert F Kennedy Jr’s top medical adviser. He’s a controversial figure who attacks Big Pharma companies, and has made disputed claims around cholesterol and heart disease. Most controversially, he claims MRNA covid vaccines cause more harm than good and he wants them banned in America.

Donald Trump has said his administration is now exploring the possibility of normalising relations with Syria - his comments coming shortly after he met Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose forces ended the decades-long dictatorship of the Assad family. The extraordinary encounter, unthinkable just months ago, was short but significant. "I think he has got the potential," Trump remarked after his meeting in Riyadh, 37 minutes long, with the former Syrian fighter formerly linked to Al-Qaeda. The $10m US bounty on his head was only lifted in December. Video footage of their conversation in a lavish Saudi royal palace showed...

@RandPaul Boeing's just a wing of the federal bureaucracy—bloated, unaccountable, and failing. Either compete and do better, or stop wasting our tax dollars.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday spoke to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by phone and asked him to attend this week's talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, Lula's office said in a statement. Lula "emphasized Brazil's commitment to peace and once again made himself available to collaborate in whatever way necessary in the search for understanding between Russia and Ukraine," the statement said.

We’ve all heard the advice: Wait until you’re 70 to claim Social Security and you’ll get the biggest possible monthly check. Tim F., a retired healthcare worker from Arizona, followed this advice to the letter. But now, at 75, he’s having second thoughts. GOBankingRates spoke with Tim to understand why he wishes he’d claimed his benefits earlier. His insights might just change the way you think about your own retirement plans. Tim thought he was doing everything right. “Everything you read says you should wait until 70 if you can,” he shared. “I guess I thought, well, I can, so...

ISTANBUL—Diplomatic brinkmanship over U.S.-brokered efforts to efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine reached dizzying levels on Wednesday, with each side seeking to call the other’s bluff by demonstrating a desire for peace and casting the other as the obstacle to it. Ukraine’s president said he would be waiting in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Thursday for Vladimir Putin, but the Russian president is sending a team of negotiators to Istanbul, and the Kremlin won’t say if he will be there. President Trump hasn’t ruled out the possibility of joining any talks in Turkey, and senior U.S. officials are headed...

Dusty Springfield made her way into the heart of 1960s swinging London with the British trio The Springfields. Her solo hits include "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (1966) and "Son of a Preacher Man" (1969). After a bout with drugs and alcohol, she saw her career resurrected with the 1987 Pet Shop Boys song "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" and the soundtrack to the 1988 film Scandal.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will not participate in the negotiations set to take place in Istanbul on May 15, APA reports citing Kommersant.ru. This contradicts an earlier report by The Washington Post, which claimed Lavrov would attend the talks alongside President Vladimir Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov. Meanwhile, U.S. President’s Special Representative Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Istanbul on May 16, accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. President Donald Trump recently stated that Putin’s visit to Türkiye would depend on his own travel plans to the country. It should be noted that Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed...

Russia's supply of cheap oil is running out, another major blow for Vladimir Putin as he continues to grapple with a growing economic crisis. Businesses and consumers across the country are reeling under the effects of spiralling inflation and high interest rates. In April, the Central Bank confirmed it would keep the key interest rate at 21% for the foreseeable future, much to the bitter disappointment of the Kremlin and business leaders. Many firms are fighting to stay afloat, as they attempt to pay back bank loans originally secured during more favourable economic times. -snip- Gazprom Neft CEO Alexander Dyukov...

In a ceremony held in Paris on July 4, 1884, the completed Statue of Liberty is formally presented to the U.S. ambassador as a commemoration of the friendship between France and the United States. The idea for the statue was born in 1865, when the French historian and abolitionist Édouard de Laboulaye proposed a monument to commemorate the upcoming centennial of U.S. independence (1876), the perseverance of American democracy and the liberation of the nation’s slaves. By 1870, sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi had come up with sketches of a giant figure of a robed woman holding a torch—possibly based on...

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he will press Russian President Vladimir Putin to participate in peace negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Turkey later this week. "I'll try to talk to Putin," Lula told a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday before heading for Moscow, Agence France-Presse reported. "It costs me nothing to say, 'Hey, comrade Putin, go to Istanbul and negotiate, dammit.' " Russia and Brazil are both members of the BRICS group of emerging-market powers and Lula reportedly attended Moscow's recent Victory Day parade.

While the Qatari government's giving President Donald Trump a luxurious, state-of-the-art jet has grabbed headlines, it's actually quite common for foreign governments to send things as special gifts to build relations and curry favor. The Babylon Bee has obtained the following list of other gifts world leaders have given to America: Israel — Weather control machine: Finally, someone other than the Jews will be in control of the global climate. Mexico — A giant wooden horse: It sounds like there are people inside of it speaking Spanish, but that's probably nothing. Poland — A submarine with a screen door:...

Fox News host Mark Levin is NOT pleased with President Donald Trump’s current diplomatic tour of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which, given his history of reflexive pro-Trump rhetoric, is notable. Trump spoke to the Saudi Royal family and other very important global business leaders during a remarkably convivial economic investment confab on Tuesday that ended on the same note as most of his political rallies: with The Village People blaring the gay disco anthem YMCA. Trump later flew to Doha, Qatar, for more meetings aimed at securing Middle Eastern investment in the American economy, despite serious concerns about human rights...

President Donald Trump said he may travel to Turkey for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, as he doesn’t believe President Vladimir Putin would show if he isn’t there. "I don’t know if he’s showing up," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. "I know he would like me to be there. And that's a possibility." -snip- The president noted that he has a "full day" scheduled in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Thursday, and he’d planned on sending Secretary of State and interim national security advisor Marco Rubio. But, he added, "I don't know that [Putin] would be there...