Free Republic

The base shares a perimeter fence with the Knob Noster Trailer Park, a foreign-owned RV park located less than a mile from Whiteman’s runway, the November 2025 DCNF investigation found. Wu also admitted that he had photographed another U.S. Air Force base and its aircraft, according to the complaint.

In the wake of the United States’ capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, some observers and U.S. officials have warned that this may have given Moscow and Beijing a green light to pursue similar operations in Ukraine and Taiwan. Just as the United States does not recognize the legitimacy of Maduro’s rule in Venezuela, Russia and China do not recognize the legitimacy of Ukraine’s and Taiwan’s respective independence. If China, for instance, were to seize Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, or if Russia were to capture Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on what grounds could the United States reasonably object? [SNIP] Russia...

Clairvoyant Baba Vanga, long believed by devotees to have foreseen events such as 9/11 and the COVID-19 pandemic, predicted alien visitors and the outbreak of World War III for this year. The blind Bulgarian mystic, who died in 1996 at age 85, was said to have predicted humanity’s first-ever encounter with extraterrestrial life would take place in November 2026, according to The Mirror. She warned that a colossal alien spacecraft would enter Earth’s atmosphere, though she did not elaborate on the visitors’ intentions. The blind Bulgarian mystic Baba Vanga predicted alien visitors and the outbreak of World War III for...

The success of a lightning-fast raid on Caracas raises new doubts about Chinese military capabilities, a military analyst said. ================================================================= U.S. forces stormed into Venezuela before dawn on Jan. 3 and captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a lightning operation that punched in and out of Caracas before its air defenses could mount an effective response. The operation resulted in no U.S. fatalities and no loss of U.S. military equipment, U.S. officials said. The U.S. mission—code-named Operation Absolute Resolve—has quickly become more than a political shockwave. Analysts have said it was also a real-world test...

The risk of space debris falling through airspace is going up in 2026, according to researchers. Experts said spacecraft, or parts of one, fall back into the Earth’s atmosphere once a week on average. Most of this space debris is empty rocket stages, while others are dead satellites whose low orbits decayed enough for them to slip into the atmosphere. Most of these “human-made meteors” don’t survive long due to the heat and shredding force that come as the objects speed through the air. However, some bits of debris from these objects can survive long enough to fall through the...

The Xiaomi phone gifted by China’s President Xi Jinping previously made headlines when he jokingly asked his South Korean counterpart to “check if there is a backdoor”.South Korean President Lee Jae Myung snapped a selfie with Xi Jinping using a smartphone gifted to him by the Chinese leader, who had joked at their last meeting that the device might be capable of spying. Lee posted three selfies of himself, Xi and their wives on social media platform X on Monday (Jan 5) during his visit to Beijing. "A selfie with President Xi Jinping and his wife, taken with the Xiaomi...

Iran? Russia? China? Senate Dems? The Maduros themselves? (Naah. Too obvious.)Iran certainly qualifies for the medal round here. The loss of their footprint in Venezuela would disrupt one of the regime's last sources of hard currency via its proxy in Hezbollah, not to mention their ability to influence and terrorize the Western Hemisphere. However, the loss of that link would not in itself become an existential issue for the regime, even though it certainly contributes to its current existential crises. The biggest loser actually exists much closer to home, according to the Wall Street Journal:The capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás...

Let me say this as plainly as I know how: this is not about oil. It’s not about drugs. It’s not about terrorism. It’s not even about communism, Marxism, or socialism alone. It’s about all of it—at the same time. And for the first time in my lifetime, we have a president who is not reacting, not managing decline, not trying to “stabilize” a collapsing system—but playing to win. I’ve never seen this before. Donald Trump has been saying America First his entire life—not as a slogan, but as a worldview. And whether you like his style or not, you...

HOUSTON — Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is warning Texans to stay alert as mysterious seed packages keep showing up in mailboxes across the state. Since February 2025, the Texas Department of Agriculture has collected 1,101 packs of unsolicited seeds from 109 locations across the state. Officials say the packages, often shipped from overseas, may look harmless but pose serious risks to crops and ecosystems. "At a glance, this might seem like a small problem, but this is serious business," Miller said. "The possible introduction of an invasive species to the state via these seeds poses real risks to Texas...

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller doubled down on President Trump’s renewed threats to make Greenland a U.S. territory, but he dismissed the prospect that a military confrontation would be necessary to achieve that goal. In an interview on CNN’s “The Lead,” the top White House adviser reaffirmed the “formal position of the U.S. government” that “Greenland should be part of the United States” and brushed off questions about the potential for military actions against the semiautonomous Danish territory. “The United States should have Greenland as part of the United States. There’s no need to even think or...

China is keen on expanding economic and trade cooperation with Ireland while aiming for mutually beneficial results, Chinese President Xi Jinping told the Irish prime minister on Monday, positioning stronger bilateral ties as a way to also boost relations with the European Union. Xi emphasized mutual respect and achieving win-win outcomes as “valuable experiences” for long-term and stable development of China-Ireland ties in his opening remarks at a meeting with Prime Minister Micheál Martin at the Great Hall of the People, a media pool report showed. […] China is interested in cooperating with Ireland in fields such as artificial intelligence,...

The US has faced widespread condemnation for a “crime of aggression” in Venezuela at an emergency meeting of the United Nations security council. Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Eritrea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Spain were among countries that on Monday denounced Donald Trump’s decision to launch deadly strikes on Venezuela and snatch its leader, Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, to stand trial in the US. “The bombings on Venezuelan territory and the capture of its president cross an unacceptable line,” Sérgio França Danese, the Brazilian ambassador to the UN, told the meeting. “These acts constitute a very serious...

Archaeologists in northwest China have uncovered an 8-mile (13km) section of a Qin Dynasty road, believed to date back more than 2,200 years. The ancient military route, part of the Qinzhidao system, was constructed under the orders of Emperor Qinshihuang during China’s first unification period. The newly identified stretch runs through the Hengshan District of Yulin, in Shaanxi Province. The discovery was made during a 2024 survey conducted by the Cultural Relics Protection Research Institute in Yulin. The project focused on documenting the layout and current condition of the road remains. According to the institute, the finding helps further outline...

She is a star of American science. A Stanford chair. A NASA collaborator. A role model for a generation of young researchers. But a chilling congressional investigation has found that celebrated geologist Wendy Mao quietly helped advance China's nuclear and hypersonic weapons programs – while working inside the heart of America's taxpayer funded research system. Mao, 49, is one of the most influential figures in materials science. She serves as Chair of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Stanford University, one of the most prestigious science posts in the country. Her pioneering work on how diamonds behave under...

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...

China today urged Donald Trump to stay away from Venezuela's oil after the US said it would run the country following an operation to capture president Nicolas Maduro. Its call came as the captured Venezuelan leader was driven to a court in New York this morning after being indicted alongside his wife on charges of 'narco-terrorism'. The US president revealed American oil firms will 'go in and rebuild this system' as he signalled a plan to take control of huge and largely untapped reserves in Venezuela. But China, which has invested billions in Venezuela's oil industry, claimed agreements it has...

However, these radars did little to defend Venezuela against an impending attack. A military observer who writes on defense matters said on X: “In the 3 hr operation to capture/arrest Maduro, US forces not only proved Russian air defense useless but also proved Chinese technology useless. This is a Chinese promo for its JY-27 ‘anti-stealth’ radar, of which Venezuela bought 9, all of which failed to detect the incoming aircraft.”

China's top diplomat also accused the US of acting like a 'world judge' by seizing Mr Maduro to put him on trial, with Beijing set to confront Washington at the UN over the move's legality.

The Chinese government had hired Patton Boggs LLP, the biggest Washington lobby firm, to give it advice about Congress, according to a federal disclosure. The Chinese embassy in Washington will pay Patton Boggs $22,000 a month, according to contract papers filed with the U.S. Justice Department. China hired Patton Boggs in July, before congressional pressure helped scuttle an $18.5 billion bid by Beijing-based CNOOC Ltd., an oil producer, to buy Unocal Corp. of El Segundo, Calif. Mark Cowan, Robert Horn and Timothy Chorba, a former U.S. ambassador to Singapore, will lead Patton Boggs' work with the embassy. Cowan is a...

EXPULSION Before examining the strategic calculus behind the January 3, 2026, military operation in Venezuela, it is essential to understand who actually makes decisions of this magnitude. In the American national security apparatus, the Pentagon does not await presidential direction on major military operations. The Pentagon assesses threats, evaluates strategic priorities, and determines when military action crosses from option to necessity. The president then executes what the military establishment has already decided is required.