Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel revealed that his island nation is bracing for an attack from the US and declared that he is willing to die resisting President Trump. Since last December, the US has imposed a blockade around Venezuela as part of its Operation Southern Spear effort, and used that to cut off oil supplies to Cuba, which has since plunged further into an energy crisis. “I don’t think there would be any justification for the United States to launch a military aggression against Cuba, or for the US to undertake a surgical operation or the kidnapping of...

Five men were arrested Friday for allegedly stealing and slaughtering roughly 70 head of cattle across Williamson County over several months. Detectives found evidence of a sophisticated operation, including cut fences, animal processing tools, and photos of slaughtered cattle on suspects' phones. While the five suspects face third-degree felony charges, authorities are seeking more information from the public regarding the organized agricultural theft ring. WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas - A months-long investigation into a sophisticated livestock theft operation has resulted in the arrest of five men accused of stealing and slaughtering approximately 70 head of cattle across Williamson County, authorities announced...

As peace talks between America and Iran fell apart over the weekend, President Trump has called for the US military to take control of the Strait of Hormuz and clear the water of Tehran’s mines. The strait, which oversees 20% of the world’s oil transports, has remained closed since the war began on Feb. 28, with Iran filling the passage with deadly, underwater mines. To clear the waters, the US will tap its own navy and that of allied nations to deploy minesweepers and clear the Strait of Hormuz to resume global trade, Trump said Sunday. “We have minesweepers there...

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first city-owned grocery store will be in East Harlem and cost about $30 million, a report said Sunday. The store will be in La Marqueta, a marketplace under the train tracks running over Park Avenue, and be up and running for business by the end of his first term in 2029, according to the New York Times. La Marqueta is already owned by the city. Mamdani was expected to announce the Manhattan market plan at the party he was throwing at a Queens concert hall Sunday to celebrate his first 100 days in office, a milestone that...

Aimee Coombes says she will never get over losing her sister Sophie Brimble in a car crash in 2017. Now the trauma has come back with the driver jointly responsible back behind the wheelAimee Coombes (right) and her sister Sophie Brimble who died in a high speed car crash in Brynmawr in 2017(Image: Aimee Coombes) She lost her sister when she was killed in a high speed car race and now Aimee Coombes says she is re-living the trauma with the driver jointly responsible allowed back on the roads. Courts and police are powerless to stop Jay Bayliss holding a...

CEO Chris Breed reports that people quickly form attachments. “You do feel a little accountable to the AI,” he said. “They’re your friend.” The avatar blinks, pauses, and responds in multiple languages. Technical limitations remain obvious—lip movements often lag or fail to sync. A monthly package offers 45 minutes for $49.99. Similar tools simulate Buddhist monks, Hindu gurus, and other figures, turning spiritual guidance into a scalable product.

Top Secret Location this time, as I get a unique opportunity to inspect an ultra rare Medieval Wayside Cross, next to a lost Roman road, deep on a private estate with no public access. Believed to have been erected in the 13th or 14th centuries to provide reassurance for Christians travelling the ancient Roman road, this remarkable survivor has never been seen on video before and it speaks of the afterlife of the Roman road, before it disappeared from view. Along the way we get to see a well-defined surviving section of the road in the form of a causeway...

The first group of migrants deported from the US to third countries has arrived in Costa Rica. About 25 migrants — including citizens of Albania, Cameroon, China, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Kenya and Morocco — touched down in the island nation’s capital of San Jose on Saturday. “Upon entering the country, the migrants will receive primary care from the Professional Migration Police, with ⁠the cooperation of the International Organization for Migration (IOM),” Costa Rica’s General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners said in a statement. The group of 25 was the first to arrive in the Central American country since the US...

Rep. Eric Swalwell’s political career is collapsing at a shocking speed. Within 24 hours, the Bay Area congressman went from Democratic frontrunner for California governor to facing pressure to not only end his campaign but resign from Congress — while now being the subject of a criminal sexual assault investigation into allegations by a former staffer she was raped while drunk at an April 2024 charity gala. Three other women have made claims about sexual misconduct ranging from inappropriate messages or unwanted contact. The women have claimed they have documented visits to the hospital and contemporaneous messages with friends and...

The state of New York would now like to require these sisters to assign patient rooms by gender identity rather than biological sex, grant access to opposite-sex bathrooms, use preferred pronouns, undergo state-mandated training in gender ideology, and post notices of compliance with the progressive vision of human nature — or risk fines, loss of their license, and up to one year in prison.

Tourists and commuters along Norway’s stunning coastline will soon travel aboard “flying” electric ferries—quietly whizzing above the water to their destinations. A Norwegian leader in sustainable transport, Boreal AS, has ordered 20 electric hydrofoil vessels from Candela Technology, with deliveries next year from the Swedish company that will launch the world’s largest electric fleet. ... The P-12’s unique performance comes from computer-controlled hydrofoils—wings mounted beneath the hull—that lift the vessel above the water at speeds above 18 knots. By flying above the waves, drag is drastically reduced, and energy consumption drops by around 80 percent compared with conventional vessels of...

A more than 50-year-old Utah cold case murder has been identified as another victim of the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy using advanced DNA techniques.

I built http://CourtWatch.us — a free public database for American citizens who deserve safer communities. You can track which judges released defendants who then got rearrested, skipped court, or violated their release conditions. All public records. All free. I started with Orange County FL and will be expanding to all 67 Florida counties and eventually every state in the country. This first batch of info is from 2024 and since public reports are released in March/April for the previous year, data is behind. But I wanted to see if this is plausible. After adding 2024,I'll add 2025 and then figure...

Explanation: Comet R3 is brightening rapidly -- will it survive? C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) has been slowly brightening and extending an ion tail since its discovery last year. This shedding mountain of dirty ice puts on its best sky show this month, though, because it passes its closest to both the Sun (April 19) and the Earth (April 25). The featured image, showing R3 already sporting a tail extending over 10 degrees, was taken two nights ago from Sion, Switzerland with the big mountain Bietschhorn on the left. Comet R3 will be visible during mid-April before sunrise. Although the future brightness...

(Apr. 12, 2026) — The news is full of foreign policy crises, scandals, conflicts, and trends in all directions. However, a current case before the U.S. Supreme Court tops it all. It’s the birthright citizenship case, which determines the future of our nation and what sort of country it will be. Does the U.S. have sovereignty to confer its own citizenship, or does anyone from any point on the globe have the right to take it from us? Are we an autonomous nation or a colony of the world? Under current policy, any child born on U.S. soil to a...

No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont has revealed his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, just weeks before the beloved alt rock group is set to take the stage at the Sphere in Las Vegas. In a video message posted to Instagram, Dumont shared how he’s been preparing for the Sphere residency, noting that he’s enjoyed “looking through old photographs and relearning old songs.” He went on to explain how the experience has made him think about “how grateful I am for the life I’ve gotten to lead as a musician all these years.” Dumont, who joined No Doubt in 1988 and has remained...

Bollywood icon and singer Asha Bhosle, known for having performed over 12,000 songs throughout her career, has died from a heart attack aged 92, her family confirms. A star of playback singing, whereby her songs were used in Bollywood films and then lip synced by actors, Bhosle’s career spanned across eight decades, with her voice being present in several iconic Indian films such as Umrao Jaan, Ijaazat and Caravan. Her marriage to composer RD Burman also saw the couple collaborate on many works, with the pair making significant contributions to the sound of Bollywood for a quarter of a century...

A 75-year-old grandmother was brutally beaten outside her New York City home after she asked her neighbor to pick up after their dog. Linda Scott was viciously stomped and punched in her front yard following the confrontation at around 9am on April 6, according to the New York Post. A doorbell camera captured Scott arguing with the dog owner before another woman in a red sweatshirt came in swinging violently at the grandmother. While Scott was on the ground, the attacker continued to land multiple punches on the elderly woman's head and proceeded to stomp at least twice on her...

A North Carolina woman played a prank on her convicted felon boyfriend that made him believe she cheated on him - but it backfired horribly after he took her seriously. Shyhied Ivey, 20, shot at a packed car with five people inside on April 5 in Charlotte after his girlfriend, Nevaeh Covington, decided to pretend that she was romantically involved with another man, according to an affidavit reviewed by the Daily Mail. Officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department responded to Columbus Circle after being dispatched over a report of assault with a deadly weapon just after midnight. Covington told police...

Sir Keir Starmer has some special guests to make you feel OK.