Free Republic

Police in Poland are investigating the murder of a Russian artist and vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin. Polish prosecutors said Robert K, known as the artist Semyon Skrepetsky, was shot dead on Monday morning in the Polish town of Biała Podlaska, about 40km (25 miles) from the Belarusian border. The 44-year-old was shot five times in the head, chest and back in a car park in the town, located about 600m (2,000ft) from the Belarusian consulate. Semyon Skrepetsky was the pseudonym used by Robert Kuzovkov. He was known for his caricatures of politicians, including Putin, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko...

The statistics about what happened over the past FIVE decades to the once stalwart and steadfast American black family, the backbone of the black community, are shocking and distressing. In an unflinching account that tries to understand why this disintegration started and why it continues, CBS News gives life to the statistics through intimate portraits of young black adults facing the emotional and financial difficulties of single parenthood. With its candor and openness, "The Vanishing Family" may very well be the most important documentary in recent memory.

Explanation: While cruising around Saturn, be on the lookout for picturesque arrangements of moons, rings, and shadows. One such striking sight occurred in 2005 and was captured by the then Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft. In the featured image, moons Mimas (left) and Tethys (right) are visible on either side of Saturn's thin rings, which are seen nearly edge-on. Across the top of Saturn are dark shadows of the wide rings, exhibiting their impressive complexity. The violet-light image brings up the texture of the backdrop: Saturn's clouds. Cassini orbited Saturn from 2004 until mid-2017, when the robotic spacecraft was directed to dive...

Al Arabiya English has obtained a copy of the 14-point agreement expected to be signed on Friday between Washington and Tehran. 1. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States, together with their allies in the current war, declare upon the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and undertake that from now on they will not launch any hostile action against each other, and will refrain from the threat or use of force against each other. The final agreement will confirm the provisions of this Article...

Former president Mary McAleese has criticized the use of the Irish flag to intimidate and compared it with the experiences of some Irish people who emigrated to the US and the UK. Mrs. McAleese was interviewed by human rights lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC at an event at Trinity College Dublin marking fifty years of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL). She was asked about incidents of racism in Ireland, and said that while Ireland was “fortunate” with its political leadership, racism was being “promoted by people in serious leadership positions” in the world. […] Mrs. McAleese compared people who...

Senate Homeland Security Chairman Rand Paul supports President Donald Trump's peace negotiations with Iran, noting the deal could benefit American consumers and farmers. Paul believes opening the Strait of Hormuz and verifiable removal of enriched uranium are crucial. He emphasizes that diplomacy is key and the removal of uranium is easily verifiable, potentially through direct assistance from the U.S.

Sean Penn will direct a new film about the January 6 riot set to star Bradley Cooper. According to Deadline, the star, who recently won his third Oscar, will bring what’s been described as a “passion project” to the screen and act as both writer and director. The as-yet-untitled drama will follow the life of a police officer who gets mixed up in the violent insurrection of 2021. Cooper is reportedly in talks to play him. The film has also been referred to as an “unexpected story about friendship” that will be made in collaboration with the real-life subject whose...

On Monday, Atlantic Magazine published a story that could have served as a script outline for an SCTV skit. In fact, it even sounded like a parody to the author of the piece, Gal Beckerman, since he admitted the absurdity his own premise, "The Theory That Explains Trump’s UFC Fight.""I am aware that bringing a French structuralist to a cage fight borders on self-parody."And Beckerman certainly does sound like he is writing parody by trying to explain the perceived meaning behind the UFC 250 fights at the White House on Sunday night by citing a philosopher.

The plot to attack the White House’s UFC Freedom 250 event Sunday involved at least 12 suspects across the US who adhered to an “accelerationist” ideology and hoped to bring down American capitalism, according to federal law enforcement sources. The FBI foiled their plans by infiltrating a Signal chat group planning the explosive attack — with a parent of one kid in the messaging platform reporting it to the police, sources told The Post. The suspects are in at least four states — California, Ohio, Missouri and Nebraska. They were plotting to gather in Fredericksburg, Virginia, to launch an explosive...

A new controversy has surfaced on our feeds. The Natasha doll trend revolves around a baby-shaped squeeze or stress-relief toy that some users, particularly on Chinese social media platforms, film themselves squeezing, slapping, stretching and roughly handling. What makes this so disturbing is that the doll is often dark-skinned, resembling an innocent Black baby. Okayafrica was one of the first platforms to unearth Natasha, showcasing content creators violently manipulating the doll, often to the point of destroying the toy. Even more troubling, video footage highlighted by the outlet suggested that similar abusive behavior may be occurring with real children in...

Is the EU really seeking full harmonization of benefits for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers? If so, the consequences for most member states will be fiscally catastrophic. The European Union has reached the final stage of its much-touted immigration policy overhaul. As we reported on June 13th, After nearly eleven years in the making, the EU’s flagship asylum and migration management legislation, commonly called the Migration Pact, entered into force on June 12th. The purpose of the pact was to introduce a single, harmonized asylum procedure that would ensure that refugees get the exact same treatment, regardless of which member...

Vice President JD Vance is set to make his first appearance on ABC's "The View" on Wednesday, becoming just the third sitting vice president to join the daytime talk show's panel. "It may be the optimist in me, but I just fundamentally think that most people — not everybody, but most people — even if I disagree with them, you ought to try to have a conversation with them," Vance told Fox News Digital in a sit-down interview Tuesday. Vance will join all six co-hosts, including Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ana Navarro,...

U.S. residents are aging and having fewer babies, with fertility rates at a record low and trailing what’s needed for the population to replace itself, part of a widespread global trend with deep economic consequences. With President Donald Trump’s tough limits on immigration, and his effort to deport some immigrants already in the country, the U.S. may be heading for an era when the median age continues to drift up and the population eventually starts to fall each year. That would be a first for a country built by waves of religious, economic and political refugees from around the world....

The COVID-19 vaccine lowered the risk of cardiovascular issues associated with the virus by around 40 percent, according to new research. The study, which was published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday, studied the incidence of medical events like strokes and heart attacks in veterans immunized for COVID-19. The study found that the vaccine decreased the risk of cardiovascular death associated with the virus by nearly 60 percent, the risk of heart attack by around 40 percent and the risk of stroke by just over 30 percent. Additionally, it decreased the risk of hospitalization for heart failure by around 40...

Pizza Hut, the 68-year-old chain that has long struggled with growing competition and outdated restaurants, will be sold for $2.7 billion by parent company Yum Brands. Yum said Tuesday that the private equity firm LongRange Capital will buy Pizza Hut, excluding the mainland China business, for about $1.5 billion. The mainland China Pizza Hut will be purchased by Yum China Holdings Inc. for approximately $1.2 billion, the company said. China is Pizza Hut’s second-largest market outside the U.S., accounting for 19% of sales. Yum Brands, which also owns KFC and Taco Bell, began to explore its options for Pizza Hut...

After building an ugly, overprice, monstrosity marring the design of a famous Chicago park, anybody surprised to learn that the Obama Presidential Center has failed to pay the help? Multiple little-guy contractors have told Fox News that they've been stiffed on the payments for their goods and services. (snip) Salaries and benefits soared from $18.5 million in 2018 to $43.7 million in 2024, as staffing expanded to 337 employees and annual revenue reached nearly $210 million. But the little guy who smooths the cement or does the gardening or catering or windows and floors gets nothing, and as the video...

Britain’s leaders celebrate multiculturalism even as the ideology reshaping the nation grows increasingly hostile to the civilization that welcomed it. It turns out that I have found something to agree with Keir Starmer about. During Ramadan this year, the prime minister described Muslims as “the face of modern Britain.” I think that is correct. Whether it is also something to be happy about is another question. The PM, for his part, couldn’t be more pleased. Muslims in Britain, he went on to say, are “a success story when it comes to diversity.” Was that qualification—“when it comes to diversity”—a nod...

Squatters are taking over homes across the country and Flash Shelton is the man who gets them out. With bold tactics and street smarts, Flash and his team face tense and sometimes dangerous situations to help families reclaim their property. Each episode reveals the emotional and high-stakes battles where the fight for justice can quickly escalate, putting everyone involved at risk. This is the struggle to take back what rightfully belongs to them.

Rand Paul and President Donald Trump are looking far more aligned lately — almost like friends. The Kentucky Republican senator spent much of Trump’s second term at odds with the president on major issues, from last year’s tax cuts to Trump’s sweeping tariffs to the war in Iran, even opposing Markwayne Mullin’s confirmation as Homeland Security secretary. That distance got Paul labeled a “sick wacko” by the loyalty-conscious Trump, who initially excluded him from last year’s White House picnic. But in recent weeks, Paul spearheaded a $70 billion immigration enforcement funding bill, drawing praise from Trump and an invitation to...

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool still needs some algae emancipation. Just days after the iconic Reflecting Pool reopened following President Trump’s $14 million renovation to seal the concrete bottom with an “American flag blue,” its familiar gnarly-looking green algae once again took over. “Versus previous administrations, the National Park Service is actually maintaining the beautifully completed Reflecting Pool,” a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior told The Post. “The nanobubbler technology has successfully destroyed the algae bloom that has plagued every pool reopening since 1922, most infamously, the Obama pool reopening that resulted in massive algae clumps taking over...