Free Republic

🚨 WTF?! Maine’s New Democrat Senate candidate Troy Jackson is in a ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP with his COUSIN, and has TWO CHILDREN with her THIS is the guy the Democrat Party swapped Graham Platner out for 🤣 Per The Main Wire’s @SteveRob, Jackson and his “partner,” Lana Pelletier, share great grandparents, making them second cousins. They then decided to pop out two children. The Democrats are having a REALLY tough time finding candidates who aren’t total freaks 😂

Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq reported drone attacks in their territory Monday amid a lull in US air strikes against Iran, after nearly two weeks of fighting between both sides. The Israel Defense Forces said Monday morning that it shot down two drones over the Jordan border, near the Dead Sea, adding that the drones did not cross into Israeli territory. Their origin was under investigation, the army said. Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry, meanwhile, said it shot down drones aimed at petroleum targets, some in its eastern province and others in the capital Riyadh. It said the drones had...

Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalating the war in Iran as President Donald Trump weighed the possibility during a White House meeting on Friday, a source familiar with the matter and a US official told CNN. On Friday night, the US appeared to pause its bombing campaign on Iran after nearly two weeks of consecutive nights of strikes. Operations are “on a hold,” a Department of Defense source told CNN on Saturday. On Friday, Caine specifically raised concerns about the US munitions stockpile and other potential...

On Wednesday, the Pentagon reported on its casualties website that a total of 18 American service members had been killed during the war in Iran.By Thursday, the Defense Department had lowered that number, reporting that 14 American troops had been killed in the war.Three military officials said that one reason behind the change was that the Trump administration decided to remove four service members killed this past weekend from the list — three in Jordan and one in northern Iraq — because their deaths occurred after President Trump declared a cease-fire in the war in April.The officials described sensitive internal...

U.S. oil just topped $90 a barrel and Brent crude is passed $100 a barrel. A number of new factors could mean this crude comeback has legs. For example, what happens if all Iranian oil suddenly went offline? It’s an outlier thought. Maybe it’s crazy. While we can’t all agree on much, can we at least agree that maybe now is the exact right time for crazy, outlier thoughts? Before I get to that, here’s a quick synopsis of where we stand right now with the nearly hour-by-hour headlines around Hormuz and energy. Angry militants in Iran continue to risk...

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Nancy Armour's column argues Clark's reactions to officiating fuel racist harassment of opponentsUSA Today columnist Nancy Armour wants Caitlin Clark to stop flopping and berating WNBA officials. Plenty of people agree with that take, including OutKick's Dan Dakich. Others would argue that Clark’s frustration is understandable, given the physical treatment she has received and the WNBA’s inconsistent officiating. Either way, Armour is well within her rights to criticize Clark’s behavior on the court. Armour argues that Clark’s reactions to missed calls put "Black" and "queer" WNBA players "in danger," essentially blaming Clark for alleged racist messages sent by people she...

Sophie Cunningham doubles down on her transgender stance.A recent press conference appearance by Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham quickly drew widespread attention. The prominent professional basketball player faced intense questioning following her transgender comments. Several aggressive media members heavily questioned her regarding controversial opinions on biological divisions. Sports Reporters Confront Sophie Cunningham Over Divisive StanceBefore Wednesday night’s game against the Connecticut Sun, Cunningham addressed the comments she made in ESPN’s profile. Cunningham was asked about her political views and the “MAGA Barbie” nickname she has been given by some fans. “I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating...

Mortgage rates continued their ascent this week, climbing to a new 11-month high, as the escalating conflict in the Middle East put upward pressure on oil prices, sparking renewed inflation fears and leading investors to reassess the odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike. The average rate on 30-year fixed home loans reached 6.58% for the week ending July 23, up 3 basis points from 6.55% the previous week and the highest since early August 2025, according to Freddie Mac. For perspective, rates averaged 6.74% during the same period in 2025. "The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.58% this week," says...

The US House voted to halt President Donald Trump’s war in Iran absent congressional approval, the latest repudiation by lawmakers of the president’s handling of the conflict. Four Republicans voted with Democrats in support of the measure, which was brought Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal. The vote was 214 to 208. Republican Reps. Thomas Massie, Brian Fitzpatrick, Tom Barrett and Warren Davidson crossed party lines to support the resolution. The Senate will vote later on Thursday on its own effort to rein in Trump’s war powers in Iran.

Half of President Donald Trump’s MAGA base thought the Iran war was worth its economic costs in May. Now, just a little more than a third do.That precipitous, 13-point drop in just two months, according to a new POLITICO Poll, reveals how the president’s most die-hard supporters are starting to agree with the majority of Americans who have long opposed the U.S.’ involvement in the war. ............... The White House is “at a maximum level of frustration right now, and I was told by very senior people that the president is now fully aware that the only way to the...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has voted repeatedly for resolutions to withdraw U.S. troops from the military conflict with Iran, told reporters Wednesday that the United States is “worse off” than it was before President Trump launched the war in late February. “I think the Iran war has not been a success. I’ve been opposed to the Iran war from the beginning. I think by any objective measure we’re worse off than we were before the war,” Paul said on Capitol Hill. “If you look at the militarization of the Strait of Hormuz, that’s never happened before,” he said. “There’s...

It’s hot NILF summer for American workers. The number of adults who are “not in the labor force” (NILF) surged to an all-time high in June to 105.8 million, according to figures from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The record comes after a massive surge of 832,000 workers dropping out of the labor force in June alone. The overall number of NILFs is higher than at the height of the Great Recession or the COVID pandemic. The definition is broad — it covers all Americans age 16 and over who aren’t currently working, including retirees and students. Leading...

WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said late on Tuesday it ended its latest ‌round of strikes on Iran that marked the 11th consecutive night ‌of American attacks.Here are quotes and details:• "CENTCOM assets targeted Iranian military operations centers, maritime ​capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities, and military logistics infrastructure to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz," the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) pressed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in a testy exchange on Iran and the state of the Strait of Hormuz. At a Tuesday Senate hearing, Kennedy questioned both Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. John D. Caine on the Strait as tensions have escalated between the United States and Iran with the U.S. launching days of strikes and Iran continuing to target ships in the Strait. “Will they put tolls on the Strait?” Kennedy asked Caine. “I don’t know, sir. That’s a decision that’s a hypothetical and will depend on what happens in the...

Last June when the United States targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities in a series of coordinated airstrikes with Israel, President Trump boasted that “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.” He said that on the day of the operation, which hit the enrichment facility at Fordow, buried under a mountain, as well as sites at Natanz and Isfahan.In the ensuing days and months, Trump repeated this claim, saying that Iran’s nuclear facilities and capabilities had been “obliterated.” In August he said, “We obliterated … the future nuclear capability of Iran.” In October he said, “Well, they don’t...

Bill Clinton: "We are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons." (1995) George W. Bush: "Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. Period." (2006) Barack Obama: "I have stated that Iran will never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon." (2015) Joe Biden: "We will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon." (2022) Donald J. Trump: "Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated....Thank you for your attention to this matter." (2025) @realDonaldTrump PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT!

The agency’s subtler tactics in recent months aimed to lull citizens into complacency. Arrests, detentions, and deportations have all increased under new DHS Director Markwayne Mullin. As a U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin enjoyed a reputation for confrontation and theatricality. He often donned a cowboy hat on the Senate floor (a no-no for a body that prizes decorum) and strode the hallways of the Capitol bouncing a rubber stress ball. During a 2023 Senate hearing, the former mixed martial arts fighter challenged Teamsters President Sean O’Brien to a fistfight, taunting him to “stand your butt up.” In a...

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Saturday slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s post commemorating two U.S. service members killed in Jordan as a result of Iranian strikes. “Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve,” Hegseth wrote on social platform X. Greene said it was inappropriate to deem their deaths a “sacrifice.” “Sacrifice?? What the f— are you talking about?? They did not willingly sacrifice themselves. They were killed because of the war you, Trump, and the admin, are waging on behalf of a FOREIGN COUNTRY, Israel,” Greene wrote in a response on X. “You mean their deaths fuel...

Just before dawn, the bridges began to fall.One by one, American missiles reduced them to crumpled concrete, strewn across river beds and gorges.For a week, the US had bombed southern cities, cranking up the pressure on Iran to relinquish control of the Strait of Hormuz.But now the US military was going for the transport arteries connecting key southern ports to the rest of the country.The bombings leave Bandar Abbas, a city of 500,000 people where roughly half the country's trade comes ashore, almost completely isolated.