Free Republic

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Sunday that President Trump will be "testing" Russian President Vladimir Putin in their landmark face-to-face meeting set for Friday, as world leaders push for a ceasefire deal in Russia's war with Ukraine. "On Friday, it is important to see how serious Putin is, and the only one who can do that is President Trump," Rutte said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." -snip- The secretary general said NATO-coordinated weapons deliveries will continue regardless of what happens at the Friday summit, emphasizing its commitment to "making sure that Ukraine has what it needs to...

@RepThomasMassie It happened again. The House and Senate convened briefly today in empty chambers to block @realDonaldTrump from making recess appointments.

Evil Vladimir Putin suffered a huge blow after Ukraine launched dramatic strikes on the dictator's oil refineries, defence plants, a military airfield, and radar facilities. These huge hits came after Donald Trump ordered two nuclear submarines to move closer to Russia after "provocative" threats of war with the US came from Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev. In a dramatic dawn strike, a huge fireball explosion hit military-linked Novokuybyshevsk oil refinery in Samara region with mushroom-shaped flames rising into the sky. -snip- Another key oil refinery in Ryazan - crucial for supplies to capital city Moscow - was also in flames....

Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that. Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

United States President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that his new deadline for Russia to reach an agreement with Ukraine is ten days from today. "Ten days from today ... and then, you know, we're going to put on tariffs and stuff, and I don't know if it's going to affect Russia, because he [Russian President Vladimir Putin] wants to obviously, probably, keep the war going, but we're going to put on tariffs and the various things that you put on. It may or may not affect them, but it could," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his...

An RAF signals intelligence aircraft has been deployed over the Black Sea to monitor the movements of the Russian military across the region. The operation, conducted under the watchful eye of NATO and Russian air defence units, comes as the war in Ukraine shows no signs of abating in the near future. The plane being used is an RC-135W Rivet Joint, a modified Boeing aircraft, considered to be one of the most technologically sophisticated in the world. Equipped with an array of sensors, its sensors ‘soak up’ electronic emissions from communications, radar and other systems to build a picture of...

It’s bad enough that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting had been funneling millions in tax dollars to leftist propaganda mills NPR and PBS over the decades. But what if we were to tell you that the CPB funded one of America's "fact-checking" giants backed by George Soros responsible for censoring conservatives on social media platforms for years? Because that’s exactly what we’re about to tell you. MRC Business discovered that the CPB, which is fully funded by tax dollars through federal appropriations, gave $599,330 to the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in 2023. Poynter, which runs the left-tilting International Fact-Checking...

Democratic Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York admitted in comments that resurfaced Tuesday that she was eager for immigrants to enter the United States to help Democrats with redistricting. Clarke initially made the comments during an Oct. 7, 2021, House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, which were previously resurfaced in a January 2024 post on X from the EndWokeness account before resurfacing again. During the 2021 hearing, Clarke took aim at Republicans who were objecting to Haitian migrants. “I’m from Brooklyn, New York,” Clarke said during the hearing. “We have a diaspora that, that can absorb a significant number of these...

NATO allies will buy arms, then give them to Ukraine, President Trump said.SNIPMr. Rutte said that at least eight NATO countries were ready to pay for the arms and praised Mr. Trump for helping Ukraine obtain “what it needs.”“But you do want Europeans to pay for it, which is totally logical,” Mr. Rutte said.President Trump said on Tuesday that the United States was not considering sending long-range missiles to Ukraine and that he did not think Ukraine should target Moscow, the Russian capital.SNIPMore Ukrainians were killed in June than in any other single month so far in the three-year war,...

State leaders partner with nonprofits to purchase and forgive medical debt.Michigan has eliminated $144 million in medical debt for more than 210,000 residents as part of a state initiative announced by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The debt relief comes through a partnership with the nonprofit organization Undue Medical Debt, which purchases medical debt for pennies on the dollar. "We believe that getting sick or getting hurt shouldn't have to mean going broke," Whitmer said. Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist noted the widespread impact of medical debt in the state, saying, "We estimate that there are more than 700,000 adults who carry medical...

After weeks of speculation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a government reshuffle with economist Yulia Svyrydenko as prime minister and Justice Minister Olga Stefanishyna as the next US ambassador. Svyrydenko played a key role in concluding a natural resources agreement giving Washington preferential access to Ukraine's mineral wealth. -snip- Svyrydenko, who was confirmed by Ukraine's parliament on Thursday, is known for finalising a natural resources deal with the United States that nearly derailed ties between the countries. "She was the key and the only person leading these negotiations. She managed to prevent them from unravelling," said Tymofiy Mylovanov, a former...

A report released Sunday in The New York Times reveals multiple pardons handed out in the final weeks of President Joe Biden’s presidency were signed by an autopen—some lacking Biden’s final authorization. (snip) The Times claims internal emails “show that the Biden White House had a process to establish that Mr. Biden had orally made decisions in meetings before the staff secretary, Stefanie Feldman, who managed use of the autopen, would have clemency records put through the signing device.” But then comes the line that seemingly undercuts the entire narrative being peddled by The Times: “Mr. Biden did not individually...

By her own admission, Stacey Abrams has made a number of "personal financial missteps” in her career. Despite a history marked by bill collectors, tax liens, and ethics investigations, the Georgia politician and Democratic Party activist has managed to amass a small fortune – while working most of her career in the not-for-profit sector. Financial records show that when she first entered statewide politics in 2018, she reported a net worth of less than $109,000. By 2022, the last year she had to publicly file a financial report, it had grown to more than $3.2 million. Abrams is probably even...

A Muslim cleric walks into a food store in Houston owned by another Muslim and threatens the proprietor with harassment and protest demonstrations in front of his store if he does not stop selling pork, alcohol and lottery tickets within 30 days.

Leaked files reviewed by The Grayzone expose the covert war waged by British intelligence against Russia in the Black Sea, outlining Ukrainian “honey trap” plots along with blueprints for blowing up the Kerch Bridge. Sensitive documents reviewed by The Grayzone indicate that the United Kingdom is the central architect behind Ukrainian military operations targeting Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Among other explosive findings, the files reveal high-ranking British military and intelligence figures drew up detailed plans to “maximize attrition of [Moscow’s] Black Sea Fleet,” plotted to blow up the Kerch Bridge connecting Crimea to mainland Russia with fertilizer bombs, and even...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has found himself in the center of the internet’s spotlight after squaring off with President Donald Trump on social media over the deployment of military troops to counter protesters in Los Angeles. While police deployed tear gas and shot at protesters in Los Angeles with rubber bullets on Monday, Newsom shared a screenshot on TikTok of a Washington Post headline reporting that California would sue Trump over the National Guard’s presence, paired with a trending sound sampled from the movie “Mean Girls.” The video was captioned “We will not stand while Donald Trump illegally federalizes...

When the guns fall silent in Ukraine – and they will, sooner or later – Western officials will rush to declare a new era of European security. There will be speeches about victory, resilience, the defense of democracy. But beneath the rhetoric, something far more consequential will already be taking shape: the emergence of Ukraine as a de facto member of NATO, regardless of whether Article 5 ever formally applies.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov held a high-level meeting with senior executives from U.S. defense contractor Raytheon on May 19, focusing on expanding collaboration in air and missile defense systems, particularly the Patriot platform. In a statement released after the talks, Umerov said he had a “productive meeting” with Joseph DeAntona, Raytheon’s Vice President for Land and Air Defense Systems. The conversation, he noted, centered on Ukraine’s urgent need for additional missile systems and interceptors to strengthen the country’s defenses against continued Russian air attacks. “The main topic was strengthening the protection of Ukraine’s skies,” Umerov said. “We discussed the...

Ukraine's parliament will hold a vote on May 8 to ratify a minerals deal signed with the United States earlier this week, a lawmaker said on Friday, while the prime minister suggested the agreement will help Kyiv with supplies of air defence systems. Ukraine and the U.S. signed a deal on Wednesday that will give the United States preferential access to new investments in extraction of Ukraine's natural resources, and fund investment in Ukraine's reconstruction. According to the deal, new military aid, if provided by Washington to Kyiv, could be scored as the U.S. contribution to the joint fund being...

Who needs elections when the leftist always wins? In Oakland, Loren Taylor, a moderate Democrat, was on track to win the mayor's election by about five points on election night, after the last one, far-left Sheng Thao, was thrown out by recall following corruption charges. Seems the crime, the taxes, the losses of the major league ball team, the airport hotels, and the In-N-Out Burger, the homeless takeover, as well as the economic ruin in all-blue city was enough for even Oakland's residents. But well, with extended counting, all of a sudden, we learn that actually, Oakland residents would like...