Free Republic

President Donald Trump spoke at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in Florida on Friday night, and he seemed in a jocular mood. He had a wry smile on his face as he talked about the 67-year-old problem of communist Cuba, which is only 90 miles off Key West. The long-suffering residents have faced dire economic conditions for decades, and photographs show an island country still mired in the 1960s. Meanwhile, they have a long history of cozying up to our enemies. Maybe we’ll just take it, the president joked (?). Watch: 🚨 JUST IN: President Trump says he...

Florida deputies arrested 266 people in a six-day undercover sting targeting alleged human traffickers, child predators and illegal immigrants. Sheriff Grady Judd announced the results of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office’s (PCSO) six-day operation “Polk Around and Find Out” during a Friday press conference. He announced 247 arrests connected to human trafficking. Officials previously said there were 19 more apprehensions connected to child sexual predators. Of the 247 trafficking-related apprehensions, 34 are in the U.S. illegally and 22 were receiving public benefits totaling more than $15,000 per month, according to the PCSO, FOX 13 reported, citing the PCSO. Those taken...

Florida Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon temporarily disrupted final passage of a Gov. Ron DeSantis-backed redistricting bill by shouting in a bullhorn during the vote.

State lawmakers on Wednesday passed redrawn congressional lines that create an additional four GOP-leaning seats in Florida, making it the eighth state to complete mid-decade redistricting in the 2026 election cycle — and likely setting up a historic legal challenge in the state. The proposal passed the Florida state House and Senate on largely partisan lines, even as some members of the Republican majorities have expressed skepticism about redrawing the congressional lines. Florida GOP lawmakers largely remained silent publicly as the state has become part of a Trump-backed mid-decade redistricting push designed to beef up Republicans' slim U.S. House majority...

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., on Monday unveiled a proposed slate of congressional district maps that would see the state net four-Republican leaning seats. The map, first reported by Fox News, would limit Democratic seats to Orlando, and three isolated urban bubbles along the southeastern coast. Florida currently has 20 Republican seats and 8 Democratic seats. The new map would shift the balance to 24 Republicans and 4 Democrats. The move comes in the wake of the Virginia redistricting referendum, which saw voters approve a plan that would shift Virginia from 6 Democrats and 5 Republicans to 10 Democrats and 1...

🚨 ABC, CBS & NBC: Total Blackout Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) just got hit with 25 ethics violations by the House Ethics Committee. She’s accused of stealing $5 million in FEMA disaster relief funds — money meant for hurricane & COVID victims — then laundering it through her campaign and spending on personal luxuries like a diamond ring. She faces up to 53 years in prison. George Santos got wall-to-wall coverage for weeks. This Democrat? Zero seconds on ABC, CBS, or NBC evening news. NewsBusters confirmed the total media blackout. The media isn’t biased. They’re complicit. #MediaBias #TwoTieredJustice #CherfilusMcCormick

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) resigned from Congress on Tuesday, 30 minutes before she was scheduled to appear before an ethics panel over her alleged theft of $5 million in taxpayer money to fund her political ambitions. A House Ethics investigative subcommittee found last month that she violated more than two dozen laws, rules or regulations governing lawmakers and was weighing whether to recommend a censure — or potential expulsion. “After careful reflection and prayer, I have concluded that it is in the best interest of my constituents and the institution that I step aside at this time,” the Florida Democrat...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida committed numerous violations of House rules and ethics standards, the House Ethics Committee found Friday in a ruling that could add weight to Republicans’ potential push to expel her from Congress.After meeting into early Friday morning following a seven-hour hearing, the ethics panel of four Democrats and four Republicans found that Cherfilus-McCormick had committed 25 ethics violations, including breaking campaign finance laws. The panel said it would recommend a punishment in the coming weeks. The allegations center around Cherfilus-McCormick’s receipt of millions of dollars from her family’s health care business after...

Russian President Vladimir Putin could travel to the G20 summit in Miami in December, the Kremlin said on Friday after U.S. President ​Donald Trump suggested it would be very helpful if he did attend and that it had been a mistake to expel Russia from the G8. The United States has invited Russia to the annual meeting of Group of 20 countries that Washington is holding this year in Miami, and Moscow has accepted the invitation, a U.S. official familiar with the matter said on Friday. Putin has not attended a G20 summit since 2019 due to the COVID pandemic...

“Smoke drifts into Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, as air quality declines and 50 homes destroyed. Wildfires burning across the south-eastern US intensified on Wednesday across parts of south-east Georgia, where 50 homes were destroyed, and across north-east Florida, forcing evacuations and school closures in some communities. The Georgia forestry commission issued its first mandatory burn ban in the state’s history, effective across 91 counties in the lower half of the state, due to worsening drought conditions and rising wildfire activity.”

Democrats cheered a redistricting measure that reportedly passed in Virginia on Tuesday. The passage gives the Democrat-controlled state legislature the ability to redraw the commonwealth's congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterms. Except there are already questions about whether this will stand, as we reported. On Wednesday afternoon, Tazewell Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled that Tuesday's referendum is unconstitutional and issued an injunction preventing the certification of the election maps. Judge Hurley has also denied any motion to stay his ruling pending appeal. That decision will likely be appealed. Democrats like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) were...

UFO expert and American author, David Wilcock, tragically died on Monday, April 20, 2026. Rumours regarding the alleged passing of Wilcock began to circulate after the Boulder County Sheriff’s office responded to a call on Monday. minute,' David Wilcock said David Wilcock’s final message: What he said just two days before his tragic death UFO expert and American author, David Wilcock, tragically died on Monday, April 20, 2026. Rumours regarding the alleged passing of Wilcock began to circulate after the Boulder County Sheriff’s office responded to a call on Monday. According to the emergency communications specialist who attended the call,...

Leaders of Broward County’s NAACP gathered along Sistruck Boulevard on Tuesday to voice their concerns over the alleged racist behavior A local chapter of the NAACP is claiming that a Fort Lauderdale Police officer made racist accusations ...

A simmering feud between Reps. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) has roared back up to a boil, escalating to tit-for-tat threats of expulsion as each lawmaker publicly lobs attacks on the other’s character. Mace on Monday filed a resolution to expel Mills, citing allegations of dating violence and campaign finance laws — a move that comes amid renewed scrutiny of sexual misconduct by House members after Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) resigned last week. “Cory, your days are numbered. Start packing,” Mace said in a statement announcing the expulsion resolution.But Mills is pointing the finger...

A federal appeals court on Tuesday lifted a judge’s order requiring officials to dismantle “Alligator Alcatraz” in response to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit agreed with the Trump administration in a 2-1 vote that there wasn’t enough federal control over the immigration facility’s construction in Florida to trigger a federal environmental review. “Federal officials made no construction decision capable of triggering the Act,” wrote U.S. Circuit Judge William Pryor. Florida constructed the detention facility last year to assist with immigration enforcement. Located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in...

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The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) filed a new lawsuit last month on behalf of the Miami Beach resident and Army National Guard veteran Raquel Pacheco, arguing that Miami Beach city officials conducted a coordinated campaign to suppress constitutionally protected speech—namely, the advocacy for the rights of Palestinians and criticism of the foreign government of Israel. On January 7, 2026, Pacheco posted a comment on Facebook criticizing City of Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner’s stance on Palestine. She wrote, “The guy who consistently calls for the death of all Palestinians, tried to shut down a theater for showing a movie that...

Florida condo owners are waking up to a brutal new reality: their homes are becoming virtually worthless. Desperate sellers all over the Sunshine State are slashing prices to as little as $10,000 - and still failing to find buyers. The property problem across the state has been triggered by a tough new safety law brought in after the 2021 deadly Surfside condominium collapse that killed 98 people, forcing aging buildings to undergo inspections and fund massive repairs. Florida-based real estate expert Katrin Pfitzenreiter told the Daily Mail that, for many owners, this has meant repair bills in excess of $100,000,...

I recently wrote that rumors suggested Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) might be the next domino to fall after sexual misconduct allegations took down Eric Swalwell.Well, it’s happened. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) has confirmed that the previously unnamed senator she accused of “very disturbing” misconduct earlier this week is, in fact, Gallego.Luna confirmed this during an interview with CBS News’ Major Garrett, who pressed her about the cryptic X post she made on Wednesday.It’s seems like the Senate has its own trash to take out. @LeaderJohnThune You need to look into the allegations against one of your Senators, it’s very...

Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida accused Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of misconduct on Thursday, which Gallego denied. Luna told CBS News' "The Takeout with Major Garrett" that the Arizona Democrat was the previously unnamed senator whom she said was facing "very disturbing" allegations in a cryptic social media post earlier this week.