Free Republic

Satellite images have revealed how Moscow is bulking up its military presence on the Finnish border - in a chilling echo of pictures taken of Russian bases before Putin launched his war in Ukraine. Moscow is building troop accommodation, aircraft deployment infrastructure and refurbishing old facilities at key military bases, analysts have said, in a sign it is seeking to reinforce its capabilities in the border region. The pictures, which were obtained by Swedish broadcaster SVT from Planet Labs, suggest there has been activity at four locations inside Russia - Kamenka, Petrozavodsk, Severomorsk-2, and Olenya. In Kamenka, which is around...

The developments come after a whirlwind weekend of diplomacy from Trump where he told reporters on Saturday that he was 'absolutely' considering imposing new sanctions on Russia. The next day, Trump launched into a blistering attack on Putin where he said the Russian leader has gone 'absolutely crazy.' Trump condemned the Russians for escalating their strikes on Ukraine while negotiations were ongoing, which he said was resulting in the 'needless killing of a lot of people.' In a chilling warning about the future of the former Soviet nation if the bloodshed continues, Trump said Putin's war 'will lead to the...

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski are cozier than ever, despite White House concerns about their relationship. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday night that Lewandowski is now working as a 'special government employee' under Noem at the Department of Homeland Security. Lewandowski had initially wanted to serve as Noem's chief of staff, but President Donald Trump and his top advisers reportedly felt 'uncomfortable' with the optics of such a placement. The president and Lewandowski settled on him becoming a special government employee to DHS so the pair would be more removed...

Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the astronomers, led by the University of Cambridge, have identified the chemical fingerprints dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) – molecules that indicate life. Here on Earth, these molecules are only produced by living organisms – primarily microbial life such as marine phytoplankton. The molecules have been detected in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b, which is located around 124 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Leo.

President Donald Trump on Sunday insisted there will be no exemptions in the tariffs after there was some confusion when it came to electronics. 'NOBODY is getting “off the hook” for the unfair Trade Balances, and Non Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other Countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!' the president posted on Truth Social. A notice released late on Friday suggested gadgets would avoid Trump's 125 percent import tax on Chinese goods and even his sweeping 10 percent global tariffs. But his administration clarified on Sunday that electronics would be subject...

Russia staged a barbaric new double Iskander-M missile strike on Ukraine today hitting a trolley bus, killing at least 21 people and leaving dozens more injured. The Palm Sunday massacre in a region close to the border between the countries left people screaming in terror. The dead and wounded - covered in blood - lay in the streets of the city centre after two massive explosions. The mayor of Sumy said 'more than 20 deaths' were already clear, as the emergency services continued to work. Photos too graphic for MailOnline to publish showed the trolley bus burning with victims inside.

President Donald Trump was forced to backtrack on his sweeping tariff plans because of a 'fire sale' in the bond market which could have triggered economic meltdown. Alongside causing turmoil in the stock market, Trump's sweeping tariff plans sparked a major US government bonds sell-off, the likes of which had not been seen since the depths of the Covid-19 crisis. Experts are saying that it was this, rather than simply the 'art of the deal,' which caused the White House to backtrack on its tariff proposals. On Wednesday, the President announced a 90-day pause on all new 'reciprocal' tariffs, in...

Elon Musk has split with Donald Trump on tariffs in the latest sign the billionaire is distancing himself from the White House. The president's special adviser told a political rally he hopes to see a 'zero tariff situation' between the US and Europe to create a free trade zone. On Wednesday, Trump introduced a controversial 20 percent tariff for Europe along with even higher tariffs for other global trading partners as what he dubbed 'Liberation Day'. But while the president has been pushing US isolationism, Musk espoused a more collaborative approach. 'I hope that the United States and Europe can...

Gavin Newsom and Steve Bannon found common ground over the idea that California is responsible for Elon Musk's rise to power. The pair traded blows in a 56-minute chat for Newsom's new podcast, one that has drawn outrage from the governor's party for platforming the controversial Donald Trump ally. However, at times, the polar opposites were largely collegial and even laughed at one another's jokes. Newsom at one point tried to hit home Bannon's apparent distaste for 'First Buddy' Musk, who has donated hundreds of millions to Trump and since become head of the budget-slashing Department of Government Efficiency. When...

America's rich and famous are leading the charge out of the US and flocking to exclusive pockets of Britain in record numbers in a desperate bid to escape life under Donald Trump. The increasingly 'volatile' political landscape across the pond is leading to rich Americans fleeing, experts told MailOnline today. This coupled with America's strong dollar against the pound is making UK property investments in London's prime areas such as Notting Hill, Kensington and Hampstead attractive. Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes America's rich and famous are flocking to areas such as Notting Hill and Holland Park Erin Lytwyn, 36, from...

Justin Trudeau's replacement as Canada's next Prime Minister sent a warning to President Trump just minutes after he was elected amid increasingly hostile relations between the United States and its northern neighbor. Former central banker Mark Carney issued a withering takedown of Trump on Sunday immediately after he was chosen to take over Trudeau as the Liberal party leader and Prime Minister of Canada. The 59-year-old leader made it clear that he intends to continue down Trudeau's path of public spats with the US leader. He accused Trump of 'trying to weaken our economy' in his speech to a raucous...

An American family from Ohio have taken the drastic step of leaving the country and are now renouncing their US citizenship. Jennifer Doxey along with her husband Joe and their family have moved to Canada. But they claim they are not renouncing their citizenship just as an act of defiance. In their view, it's a necessary step toward true belonging in the country they now call home. 'I'm just so embarrassed by what my country has become,' Doxey in an interview with CTV. Born and raised in the Buckeye State, Doxey said she never imagined a future where she would...

President Donald Trump demanded MSNBC pay restitution for 'damaging' the nation and branded host Joy Reid a 'mentally obnoxious racist' after learning her show had been canceled. The move to fire Reid was announced on Sunday, prompting Trump to lash out at the liberal network amid a months-long ratings dip that led to a frantic staff realignment in a desperate attempt to stay relevant. The embattled network faced its lowest-rated January in history in the highly sought-after 25-54 demographic, which is of great importance to advertisers due to the group's spending power. Trump began his broadside of MSNBC by referring...

Patel instructed agents at the bureau to disregard an email Musk sent to workers earlier on Saturday, titled: 'What did you do last week?' Musk's email ordered workers to reply to the message with five bullets detailing all of their accomplishments at work in the past week and to cc in their manager. Not long after, Patel overruled Musk's memo with his own message, making it clear that the FBI 'is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures.' 'When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses....

Donald Trump has signed an executive order that could make him the most powerful president in history by using an obscure Constitutional theory to enact his vision of presidential authority. The new order seeks to 'reign in independent agencies' by seizing various departments that normally act in accordance with Congress and bring them under control of the executive branch in the White House. The order also states that the president and attorney general will interpret the law, leaving Trump free from Congressional and judicial oversight. Observers suggest that Trump is using unitary executive theory which grants the president a wide...

President Donald Trump has declared himself a 'King' in an explosive social media post. Trump's reference to himself as a monarch came after his officials halted New York City's widely hated traffic congestion pricing system. The president, a New York City native, wrote on Truth Social: 'Congestion pricing is dead. Manhattan, and all of New York, is saved. Long Live The King!' White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich went a step further, sharing the message along with what appeared to be an AI-generated image of Trump dressed in the regalia of a king. An official White House social...

A USAID worker who managed to survive widespread cuts by DOGE has described the horror watching their coworkers being fired. President Trump has gone scorched-earth against the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) this week, claiming it is 'corrupt'. Amidst huge amounts of layoffs at the agency, one staff member described to NPR how during a virtual staff meeting on Monday people started leaving one by one as their access was cut off. The staffer said: 'It was like from a horror film', after the administration ordered at least 8,000 staffers and contractors onto permanent leave or furlough. "There...

Europe is 'totally unprepared' for Russia's tactics of hybrid warfare, defence officials have warned amid mounting fear that Moscow is already sabotaging critical infrastructure on the continent in anticipation of a wider conflict. Western leaders have accused Russia of sabotaging vital cables in the Baltic twice within 48 hours, after Biden relaxed rules on Ukraine firing long-range missiles into Russia and amid speculation Europe may follow suit. But with both sides so far stopping short of engaging in direct conflict, defence sources have warned that the West is improperly prepared to thwart Moscow's efforts to destabilise by meddling in European...

Volodymyr Zelensky has hinted he would agree a ceasefire deal to end the Ukraine war if Nato agrees to accept his country as a member. In an interview with Sky News, the Ukrainian president suggested he was prepared to end the 'hot phase' of the war in exchange for membership of the bloc. He said if the Ukrainian territory he controls was taken 'under the NATO umbrella', he could return the rest, which is currently under Russian occupation, in a 'diplomatic way'.

The former US Army General tapped to be Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia warned last week 'we're on the precipice of World War III' as he outlined a plan to end the war by forcing both sides to the negotiating table. Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, 80, told Fox News of the precarious geopolitical circumstances after Vladimir Putin launched a never-before-seen hypersonic missile on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. - snip- 'When you look at what's happening... with an alliance that President Trump kept apart. You know, he had North Korea over here, he had China over here,...