Free Republic

The man accused of planting two pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican national committee offices on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot gave a “detailed confession” after he was arrested, prosecutors said Sunday. After initially denying involvement, Brian Cole Jr. told investigators after his arrest that he became “bewildered” by claims the 2020 election had been stolen from President Trump and believed someone needed to “speak up” on behalf of people who thought the allegations of election fraud were true, according to a Justice Department memo. Cole explained that “something just snapped” after “watching everything, just...

The electric vehicle industry has taken a pummeling this year. The Trump administration, as expected, reversed a whole suite of federal policies that promoted or encouraged EVs. California's ability to require the sale of EVs: gone. Federal rules about emissions and fuel economy — being rewritten. Federal penalties for car companies that sell too many gas guzzlers: zeroed out. The $7,500 federal tax credit? Kaput. Meanwhile, automakers delayed or canceled a host of unprofitable EV plans. The all-electric Ram 1500 REV was canceled before a single one was built. The all-electric Ford Lightning was discontinued despite some glowing reviews. (Both...

A strong majority of Americans say they're worried about the climate. So why do they hear so little about it in the news? …The problem has become even more acute at a time when the US president is openly hostile to the scientific consensus on climate change. Donald Trump and his allies have pushed misleading narratives about the trade-offs of green energy, drawing reporters into covering false controversies instead of facts and making the job of reporting harder. "The Trump administration is playing reporters like a fiddle on the issue of trade-offs" by bringing up red herrings and sending reporters...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pushed back against the ever-growing fraud allegations levied against him in the disastrous aftermath of a viral video where an independent journalist cracked open a crucial part of the alleged Somali aid scheme. A spokesperson for Walz, a Democrat who frequently provokes President Trump’s ire, addressed a bombshell video posted by conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley. “The governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and ask the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action. He has strengthened oversight — including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed,”...

In 1995, 60 Minutes made a decision that nearly destroyed the program. Producers killed an interview with Jeffrey Wigand, a tobacco industry whistleblower who had evidence that cigarette companies knew their products were addictive and carcinogenic. CBS’s lawyers were worried about a potential lawsuit, so the interview got shelved. The story eventually came out anyway, the lawyers’ fears proved overblown, and 60 Minutes spent years trying to rebuild its credibility. The whole debacle became the basis for The Insider, a 1999 film starring Russell Crowe and Al Pacino that portrayed CBS executives as cowards who caved to corporate pressure at...

Republicans’ best shot at keeping the House in 2026 could rest with a crucial Voting Rights Act case before the Supreme Court — and it’s putting some senior Democratic leaders in the hot seat. By some estimates, the GOP could pick up nine or more congressional seats if the high court strikes down race-based districts. That looks likely — a majority of the conservative justices indicated they oppose the Civil Rights era restriction during oral arguments two months ago. “It’s potentially really important for 2026,” Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for...

Jennings: MTG Became a ‘Lib,’ She Went ‘Off the Deep End’ Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” CNN political commentator Scott Jennings said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) went “off the deep end” and became liberal. Host Jonathan Karl said, “The, kind of, divide in MAGA, which is a relatively new phenomenon — I mean, there was always a little bit there, but if I were to say what the most surprising story was, I would say Marjorie Taylor Greene becomes not just a Trump critic, but a—” Jennings said, “MTG becomes a lib. I mean, that is what happened...

As Hillary Clinton closed in on the presidential nomination in the spring of 2016, FBI field officers advised colleagues at headquarters to press her on the foreign donations flowing to the Clinton Foundation while she steered American foreign policy and whether she had used the charity as a campaign piggy bank. But FBI HQ in Washington — a city in which the former secretary of state and first lady wields enormous influence — let the trail go cold. FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge Diego Rodriguez advised agents in Washington to ask Clinton several questions about the foundation, which...

Peak oil once struck fear into policymakers, businesses and consumers as a looming moment when the world might suck the last drops of black gold from the ground, like a straw reaching the bottom of a milkshake. The idea was popularized in the 1950s by geologist M. King Hubbert, who warned that US oil production would follow a bell‑shaped curve and eventually hit an unavoidable peak as fields matured and declined. Climate change has flipped the narrative. Instead of the fear of scarcity, the debate now centers on when demand will finally peak as the shift to electric vehicles (EV)...

For over a year, Elías Padilla had been saving up to make the journey from Honduras to the United States as an undocumented immigrant. As an Uber driver in the snarled streets of the capital, Tegucigalpa, it hasn't been easy for him to put money aside. On bad days he makes as little as $12 (£9) in 12 hours. Now, though, his plans are on hold. The images of undocumented immigrants in major US cities being dragged away by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, their wrists in zip-ties, have deterred at least one would-be immigrant in Central America from...

When the people vote against democracy.The social media hashtag #NeverTrump first appeared in June 2015, days after Donald Trump announced his presidential candidacy. For the balance of that year, social media derision attracted less attention than Trump himself, mostly due to the widespread belief that Trump’s campaign was self-extinguishing, which argued against pointless efforts to bring about an already inevitable defeat. In election cycles since Ronald Reagan’s 1984 landslide victory, unlikely protest candidates for the GOP presidential nomination—Pat Robertson, Ron Paul, Herman Cain—had briefly surged in the polls, only to give way to a conventional politician who ended up as...

Ideology has seized our universities, Cary Kogan says: ‘We can't have this kind of identity-based hate movement being taught in classrooms’ “Bondi was a warning shot,” cautions Cary Kogan, professor of psychology at the University of Ottawa. “If Western governments aren’t going to deal with the issue (of antisemitism), this is what we’re going to end up with. And I worry; the intelligence community has told us very clearly that there are bad actors here in Canada, and you know, the government needs to listen.” Offended, both as a Jew and an academic, by faculty union manoeuvres to constrain the...

A new billboard in Times Square is misguided in dangerous ways“Merry Christmas,” proclaims a billboard in Times Square: “Jesus is Palestinian.” Countless people will walk by the display or see it on social media, and many will believe it. So, let’s go through why that statement is such a mistake, once again. Jesus was a Jew. He was born to Jewish parents, was circumcised under Jewish law — traditionally, on Jan. 1, which is how that day became known as the Feast of the Circumcision — and lived as a Jew. He taught from the Hebrew Scriptures. He worshiped in...

A Pennsylvania principal whose antisemitic tirade about “Jew money” was inadvertently recorded has been fired. Lower Gwynedd Elementary School Principal Phillip Leddy was axed Tuesday by the Wissahickon School Board. Leddy, 45, was returning a call from a parent when he got the dad’s voicemail and left a message, but then apparently failed to end the call, Philadelphia’s ABC 7 reported.

Embattled Rep. Ilhan Omar’s husband’s venture capital firm quietly scrubbed key officer details — including former Obama officials — as scrutiny grows over the family’s skyrocketing wealth, The Post has learned. Omar (D-MN) went from nearly broke to being worth up to $30 million in just a year — as a massive, up to $9 billion fraud scheme involving the Somali community in her district unfolded right under her nose in Minnesota. Close to 90 people have been charged so far, including at least three with direct ties to the lefty Squad member, though she has not been charged. It...

“We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community. The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution. Don’t give up the ship.“ New billboards that are popping up around Florida, some right outside of military bases, pick up where the Seditious Six left off, and encourage servicemembers to "obey only lawful orders."

Europe stands at a crossroads: compete meaningfully in the AI race or stick to its world-leading climate goals. “It’s like a fork in the road moment for Europe,” Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives told CNBC. The bloc can either “play in the future” or risk “missing a big part of this technology wave.” The dilemma is compounded by the region’s mandates for green energy. Globally, energy is the biggest bottleneck for building out AI-related data center projects. While the U.S. fires up fossil-fuel plants to power its build-out, Europe requires developers to disclose energy and water efficiency measures, adding red tape...

Not all “civil” behavior is harmless. Some actions, cloaked in sophistication or authority, can be far more destructive than overtly crude ones. From Donald Trump’s press interactions to the actions of journalists, university leaders, and political officials, Victor Davis Hanson distinguishes between crass and refined crudity—showing how the latter misleads the public under the guise of authority or expertise—on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

Trump demands DOJ release all the names related to the Epstein investigation as he complains of a ‘witch hunt’ and Democrat ‘hoax’ (Can only be linked to, per FR rules.)

More than four years ago, the military ousted Myanmar’s freely elected government at gunpoint. The upcoming polls will be a total sham.On December 28, Myanmar’s military will hold the first phase of a long-promised election. But don’t be fooled: The voting is set to be a total sham. Military chief Min Aung Hlaing, who led the 2021 coup, has urged his enemies to put down their weapons and take part in the election. He has also promised that the military administration will transfer power to whatever government is formed after the vote. But few observers are putting much stock...