Free Republic

The U.S. military operation in Venezuela, which neutralized air bases, military barracks, and strategic nodes across the country—and ultimately achieved its objective of removing Nicolás Maduro from power—laid bare one of the main structural weaknesses of the Venezuelan Armed Forces: the fragility of its Chinese-origin air defense system when confronted by an adversary with supremacy in electronic warfare, intelligence, and precision strike capabilities. During the short duration of the operation, U.S. assets succeeded in degrading and blinding key sensors within the defensive network, paving the way for the employment of expeditionary air-mobile capabilities from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment,...

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.”

Some New York City teachers say it’s high time for a refresher on old-fashioned clocks. Tiana Millen, an assistant principal at Cardozo High School in Queens, said this year’s ban on smartphones revealed that many teens struggle to read traditional clocks. “That's a major skill that they're not used to at all,” she said. Overall, Millen said, the phone ban has been a major success at the school, and has helped kids focus in class and socialize at lunch. Foot traffic is moving more swiftly in hallways. Without eyes glued to their phones, more students are getting to class on...

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY THE DEEPLY DISTURBED LOSERS SUFFERING FROM EXTREME NEWSOM DERANGEMENT SYNDROME (“NDS”). DOCTORS SAY IT’S CURABLE, VERY EASY TREATMENT, BUT THEY REFUSE IT BECAUSE THEY LIKE BEING “MISERABLE.” OH WELL! SPEAKING OF LOSERS, I HOPE DONALD TRUMP HAS THE 2026 “HE DESERVES” AFTER UNLEASHING CHAOS ON THE PEOPLE OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY THIS YEAR. WE WILL NEVER FORGIVE HIM FOR MARCHING SOLDIERS INTO OUR BEAUTIFUL CITIES, RAISING TAXES SO HE CAN GIVE YOUR MONEY TO HIS RICH FRIENDS, HIS STUPID TARIFFS, RIPPING BABIES AWAY FROM THEIR MOTHERS, THROWING GRANDMAS OFF THEIR HEALTHCARE, PROMISING AID FOR...

Washington, D.C. Chief of Police Pam Smith resigned in disgrace on Friday after a scathing report released earlier this week. The House Oversight Committee report revealed that Smith coerced department officials into manipulating crime data across the District. The report claimed that she urged district commanders to “reduce crime statistics by any means necessary." The investigation into Smith uncovered systemic abuse of criminal reporting practices within the department. The Oversight Committee stated that: “Testimony revealed that Chief Smith prioritized lowering publicly reported crime numbers over reducing actual crime, placing intense pressure on district commanders to produce low crime statistics by...

Students attending American public schools are struggling. Test scores from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), released this year, indicate that 33% of 8th graders—a greater percentage than ever before—are reading at the “below basic” level.Additionally, only 22% of high school seniors are proficient or above in math, down from 24% in 2019, and only 35% are proficient in reading—the lowest score since NAEP began in 1969—down from 37% in 2019. Also, a record-high percentage scored at “below basic” levels in both math and reading compared to all previous assessments.Parents across the country, especially in big cities, have...

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that white men of a “certain religion” are responsible for “so much damage” just two weeks after the assassination of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk. Clinton, 77, made the remarks during a segment Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” in which the two-time Democratic presidential candidate said America has yet to achieve the “more perfect union” spoken of by former President Abraham Lincoln. “We haven't gotten to the more perfect union, and we fought a Civil War over part of it. And people have been protesting for hundreds of years that things were...

New York State Attorney General Letitia James joined California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced at a joint press conference on Monday that they are suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture over demands to turn over Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applicant data. The attorneys general are leading a coalition of 20 states and Washington, DC in their lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration. The coalition argues that the extensive demand for SNAP applicant data will violate residents’ privacy, put immigrants at risk, and hinder the ability of states to provide food assistance to those...

WASHINGTON — One of the most powerful men in the Trump administration, tasked with vetting thousands of staffers, hasn’t been fully vetted himself, The Post has learned. Sergio Gor — the director of presidential personnel who recently convinced President Trump to yank an Elon Musk-endorsed nominee for NASA — has yet to submit official paperwork about his own background needed for a permanent security clearance, according to multiple sources. ... Among the questions applicants must answer under threat of criminal penalties is where they were born and whether they have any foreign connections. Gor claims to be from the island...

More voters approve of the job President Trump is doing than approved of the job former President Barry Obama was doing on this same day during Barry’s second term. How do you like those apples-to-apples? On this same day during his own second term (June 4, 2013), Obama’s average job approval rating was 47.1 percent. Today, exactly 12 years later, during Trump’s second term, The Donald enjoys an average approval rating of 47.5 percent. Trump is also scoring better than former President George W. Bush did on this same day during Bush’s second term (June 4, 2005), 45.9 percent for...

During this week’s broadcast of “Fox News Sunday,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) insisted the so-called “big, beautiful” budget bill was still on track despite a setback in the House Budget Committee on Friday. Johnson reiterated his push to get the bill through while explaining its positive aspects. Partial transcript as follows: BREAM: OK. So, House Budget Committee, the vote failed on Friday. They’re back at it at 10:00 p.m. tonight. You heard what Maddie said. Part of the president’s posting on Friday: We don’t need grandstanders in the Republican Party. Stop talking and get it done. But you got...

President Donald Trump told Time magazine in an interview published Friday that he will “very willingly” lead the U.S. into attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities if the regime does not make a deal to stop its program. Trump was, as usual, bullish about the prospects of making a deal and avoiding war, especially given the economic pressure he has restored on the regime. He added that he had not stopped Israel from attacking Iran on its own, but had not made it “comfortable” for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make that choice. Asked if Netanyahu would “drag” the U.S. into...

President Donald Trump’s job approval rating rose four points during Tariff Week, from 49 percent to 53 percent. The poll was taken by DailyMail.com/J.L. Partners of over 1,000 registered voters between March 31 and April 3. Donald Trump’s four-point jump in job approval was not the only surprise. Since March 7, Trump’s job approval from young voters between 18 and 29 jumped 13 points.

The Trump administration is falsely claiming that tens of millions of dead people over 100 years old are receiving Social Security payments. Over the past few days, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have said on social media and in press briefings that people who are 100, 200 and even 300 years old are improperly getting benefits — a “HUGE problem,” Musk wrote. It is true that improper payments have been made, including some to dead people. But the numbers thrown out by Musk and the White House are overstated and misrepresent Social Security data. “If you take all of...

More than half of fourth graders nationwide have not mastered reading at a proficient level for their grade, and the share of students considered proficient is now 2 percentage points lower than two years earlier, new data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress shows. “The data shows that the majority of the nation’s school systems have failed to master effective reading instruction, ignoring not only how it should be taught (e.g., proven science) but also the importance of engaging students with rich content and literature that stimulates the mind and ensures that vocabulary and comprehension increase,” Center for Education...

The Nashville high school where a teen gunman killed a fellow student last week had no metal detectors — apparently because administrators think they could be racist.A former board member told The Post that the misguided administrators are responsible for keeping them out even over many parents’ objections. “I knew this day was gonna happen,” said Fran Bush, formerly a Metro Nashville Public Schools board member. Bush, who served on the MNPS board from 2018 to 2022, said she pushed for metal detectors throughout her tenure but that district Director Adrienne Battle “didn’t want to hear it” — even as...

After the longest of goodbyes, the worst president in modern American history is finally, thankfully, gone. ... who was never really there, who held office in name only, who was but a puppet for a shadowy Democrat cabal (Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, cough-cough) that installed him and ran the country into the ground. ... a family that put ill-gotten gains and an unslakable thirst for power ahead of what is good and right. Ahead of the country's best interests. ... Jill Biden to her enfeebled dotard of a husband.. A truly loving wife would have shuffled him home.. Not...

When North Korea’s 12,000-strong 11th Army Corps deployed to Kursk Oblast in western Russia to help Russian troops battle an invasion by a powerful Ukrainian force, they brought along anti-tank vehicles, howitzers and rocket launchers. They also brought along a rarely seen air-defense vehicle combining a large wheeled chassis with the radar and missile launchers from a Russian-designed Tor surface-to-air missile vehicle, which normally rides on tracks. The customized North Korean Tor is so unusual that the Russians themselves apparently didn’t recognize it as belonging to their side. On or just before Friday, Russian drones spotted and struck the North...

On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “The Story,” White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby stated that Iran will not be allowed to get a nuclear weapons capability, and “We had tried to do this through diplomacy. Obviously, that didn’t work, because the Iranians were not willing to negotiate in good faith.” Kirby said, “President Biden has made it very clear, we will not, will not allow Iran to achieve a nuclear weapons capability, and we will not take any option off the table to prevent that outcome. I’m not going to speculate here today and tell...

Vice President Kamala Harris tried to separate herself from the Biden-Harris administration’s record during a Wednesday interview on Fox News Channel’s Special Report with Bret Baier. Under the Biden-Harris administration, costs increased by about 20 percent across the board, Russia invaded Ukraine, Hamas and Iran attacked Israel, illegal migrants invaded the southern border, and the nation suffered the deadly Afghan withdrawal.