Free Republic

6 precision strikes in 24 hours target Bandar Abbas, sinking 11 Iranian warships and setting the 'Makran' base ship ablaze. U.S. forces cripple Iran’s economic lifeline and intercept critical missile fuel components from China. (snip) The timing of this massive assault appears linked to critical intelligence regarding supply routes. Reports reveal that two Iranian cargo ships, the Shabdis and the Barzin, were en route from a Chinese port to Bandar Abbas carrying sodium perchlorate, a key component for solid rocket fuel.For Tehran, the need for these components has shifted from "urgent" to "existential" following heavy damage sustained by its missile...

Republican support for the war may not be as solid as it appears – and that could have implications for a U.S. intervention in Taiwan.In the days following the Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran, both chambers of the U.S. Congress – the Senate and the House of Representatives – voted on a War Powers Resolution aimed at halting U.S. President Donald Trump’s military action, which was not given congressional authorization. Although the measure failed in both chambers – with nearly all Republicans voting against it and publicly supporting the administration – a closer look suggests that Republican support for the...

It’s easy to forget that ten years ago, candidate Donald Trump was the only national politician who took China’s growing geopolitical power seriously. He talked about China so frequently and pronounced those two syllables so deliberately — Chi-na — that comedians and voters alike enjoyed doing imitations of the MAGA-man taking America’s geopolitical adversary to task. On the stump, Trump called both Republicans and Democrats “stupid” for how they had permitted the Chinese Communist Party to devour American assets. He would list beautiful American buildings and historic American real estate that the Chinese had acquired since President Bill Clinton and...

Reeling from years of regional conflict and subjected to superior electronic warfare effects, Iran can no longer hide its poor defense posture.From the outset of the campaign, the US and Israel almost immediately achieved air superiorityThe IRGC is believed to have expended a lot of its missile stockpiles during the 12-Day War in June 2025Experts tell Army Technology how “efficient” and “capable” the EW effort of both countries has been at this point in the conflictUS-Israeli strikes, now in their fourth day, have exposed the deeply rooted failure of Iran’s integrated air defense network.From the outset of the campaign, the...

Of the 90 zero-days GTIG tracked in 2025, 43 hitZero-day exploitation targeting enterprise tech products reached an all-time high last year, with China-linked cyber-espionage groups remaining the most prolific state-backed users, according to Google. Google Threat Intelligence Group tracked 43 zero-days in enterprise software and appliances in 2025, representing 48 percent of all attacks against these previously undisclosed bugs. That's up from 36 (46 percent) in 2024. In total, the Chocolate Factory documented 90 zero-day vulnerabilities actively exploited last year, which is more than 2024's number (78), but still not as many as 2023's record high of 100. And...

Britain, France and Germany have announced coordinated cooperation with the United States and its allies regarding the escalating confrontation with Iran, signalling a widening international involvement in the crisis. In a joint statement issued on Sunday evening, the three European powers said they had agreed to work alongside Washington and partner states and were examining defensive measures aimed at neutralising Iran’s missile capabilities.

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV "Cannot Comment" on Jimmy Lai’s ImprisonmentAs he left Castel Gandolfo for the Vatican this evening, Pope Leo XIV spoke to journalists again. However, he took only one question from EWTN.It was about Jimmy Lai's 20-year sentence under Hong Kong's national security law. Leo XIV replied: "I can't comment on that."He then added that "we must pray for peace, work for peace and reduce hatred". He continued: 'Hatred is constantly increasing in the world. We must seek to promote dialogue and find solutions.”On 23 December, he “couldn’t comment” on a question about his appointment of the effeminate...

China is highly concerned over the military strikes against Iran launched by the U.S. and Israel, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Saturday, noting that China calls for an immediate stop of the military actions. The spokesperson made the remarks when asked to comment on the military strikes against Iran launched by the U.S. and Israel on Saturday, Beijing time. China calls for an immediate stop of the military actions, no further escalation of the tense situation, resumption of dialogue and negotiation, and efforts to uphold peace and stability in the Middle East, the spokesperson emphasized.

The Panamanian government said Tuesday that trade has not been affected after it took control of two ports operated by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings at the Panama Canal. Authorities moved in Monday to take over the Balboa port on the Pacific side and the Cristóbal port on the Atlantic side, after a court annulled the contract that had allowed Hutchison to run the terminals under concession for nearly three decades. Under new 18-month agreements signed with the Panamanian government, Balboa will be operated by APM Terminals, a subsidiary of Denmark’s Maersk, while Cristóbal will be run by Terminal Investment...

China has seeded the West with thousands of agents pushing propaganda, engaging in espionage, fomenting protests, and silencing domestic dissent. In 2023, the FBI arrested two Chinese-Americans, Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping, for operating a Chinese police station in Manhattan. Chen pleaded guilty and faces up to five years in prison for acting as a Chinese agent, while Lu, who has connections to Chinese authorities, pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. He faces 20 years for obstruction of justice. According to the Department of Justice (DoJ), the police station was established to monitor and intimidate Chinese dissidents in the...

There is a fundamental difference between how China and the United States view higher education. Grasping that difference is essential to national security. Top Chinese graduate students are cultivated with the expectation that their expertise will advance state priorities. So when Beijing sends its top students to matriculate at American universities, it is not pursuing benign cultural exchange; it is deploying strategic assets. Seen through that lens, China is using the American university system as a conduit for absorbing American know-how, extracting technical expertise, and moving valuable research and intellectual property back to China. The practical effect is that People’s...

Olympic freestyle skier Eileen Gu is complaining that she feels like a “punching bag” for those who criticize her for turning her back on the USA and choosing to compete for China at the Winter Games in Milan, Italy.Gu reacted on Thursday to Vice President JD Vance, who said he hoped that US-born athletes would “want to compete with the United States of America.”Despite that, Vance did not mention her by name, the turncoat Olympian told reporters, “I’m flattered. Thanks, JD! That’s sweet,” according to the New York Post.The five-time Olympic medalist then agreed that she feels like a “punching...

This is a little different than your average South American change-of-command story, though. Usually, those spur-of-the-moment administration oustings are more in the form of uprisings or military takeovers, oftentimes with bullets, bloodshed, and the streets packed with pissed-off peasants registering either their contempt or their support for one side or the other. Not so in this instance, thankfully, although the president in office who was summarily removed probably didn't have enough time to become an emotional favorite of anyone. In Perú, three-quarters of the Congress just voted to REMOVE the president due to - get this - undeclared meetings with...

(The Center Square) - The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 1 over whether to uphold birthright citizenship in the United States. Trump v. Barbara challenges President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20, 2025, executive order that denies birthright citizenship to children in the U.S. born after Feb. 19, 2025, whose parents are either illegally present or temporary residents of the United States. The case has far-reaching consequences and could fundamentally redefine the 14th amendment, an addendum to the U.S. Constitution that provided citizenship to formerly enslaved African Americans. Legal analysts said much interpretation of the 14th Amendment has shaped...

Progressives have long branded President Trump as a stooge for Russia. Yet the more important story may be who President Xi Jinping of China wants in office. Unlike Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Xi has the financial muscle, ties to business elites, and technical skill to promote his agenda. And California’s Gavin Newsom is likely to be his favorite in 2028. Indeed, just after Biden’s poorly-received performance in his June 2024 presidential debate with Trump, the Asia Times, South China Morning Post, Bloomberg, and Business Insider all reported that Beijing liked Newsom as the ideal replacement for the doddering president. The...

A jury is a modest institution. Twelve citizens sit in a box. They listen. They deliberate. They apply the law as instructed. Then they render a verdict. The jury is not a legislature. It is not an executive. It is not a protest movement. It is a fact finding body embedded in a constitutional structure that presupposes something simple and fragile, that law governs us all. That modest picture is now under strain. In recent months, a small but organized network of progressive NGOs has begun to train potential jurors to view their service not as a duty of fidelity...

WASHINGTON (TNND) — House Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford is raising concerns about two alleged unauthorized biological lab sites discovered on U.S. soil, one in Reedley, California, and another near Las Vegas, saying the cases raise questions about biosecurity and oversight, according to reporting from Just the News Not the Noise. The latest development came after federal agents executed a search warrant at a Las Vegas–area vacation rental in early February 2026. Investigators say the property may be connected to an earlier lab discovered in California, prompting renewed scrutiny from lawmakers and federal agencies. **SNIP** What investigators found in California The...

“But let’s not miss the fact that we have coordinated, well-funded, and I think insurgencies or terrorist organizations, however you want to call it, literally trying to prevent legal laws from being enforced in the United States.”U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott testifying before Congress on February 10, 2026. The man speaks truth.The mainstream media continues to push the narrative that all we are seeing are “peaceful protests”. Most conservative commentators remain content to ridicule participants in the ongoing anti – ICE actions around the country and dismiss them with derogatory comments and sarcasm. No one, it...

[Catholic Caucus] Letter to Pope Leo XIV: How Can You Embrace All Christians Except the Society of St. Pius X?As you know, one of the foundations of the Synodal Church is an inclusivity that embraces all Christians. But if the Synodal Church accepts all Christians, how can it also decide to cast off the SSPX if it consecrates bishops to continue its work?Your Holiness,God is in charge of His Church and will always provide for those who truly want to serve Him as faithful Catholics. As such, although we write with concern about the recent news from Cardinal Víctor Manuel...

[Catholic Caucus] Chinese bishops side with communist regime to restrict worship, ‘unregistered clergy’The government-sanctioned bishops in China have backed limits on public worship introduced by the communist regime, supporting a ban on clergy who refuse state registration.The government-approved Chinese Catholic bishops have backed the Communist Party’s limitation on public worship.EWTN reports that the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCC), sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), supported the government’s ban on “unregistered clergy” engaging in religious pastoral work or doing so in “unapproved sites for worship.”In a February 4 statement, the BCCC stated that “religious groups must...