Free Republic

Surging gas prices have hit American drivers hard — but some much harder than others. For households in the bottom quarter of the income distribution — those earning roughly $40,000 a year or less — commuting fuel costs now consume an average of about 4 percent of their income, according to a Washington Post analysis. For households in the top quarter, earning $100,000 or more, the same costs amount to less than 1 percent. The gap has widened since March, as the U.S. war on Iran escalated and oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz stalled, with implications for global...

According to Iranian and Arab sources Trump agreed to -compensate Tehran by releasing blocked funds (at least $6 billion) -lift sanctions -remove American forces from around Iran (Iranian sources more specifically mention the naval assets in the region) -lift the blockade -ceasefire in all fronts including in Lebanon (basically allowing Tehran to rearm its proxy network and help Hizballah reasserts its control in Lebanon) In exchange for -gradual reopening of Strait of Hormuz with the transit remaining under Tehran’s management and control -negotiations over other issues with no hard deadline (the 30-day negotiation window can be extended) Washington has not...

Multiple reports have indicated that U.S. negotiators believe that Iran has committed to giving up its nuclear ambitions and its highly enriched uranium as a part of a broader peace deal with President Donald Trump. On Saturday afternoon, President Trump announced that an “agreement has been largely negotiated” between Washington and Tehran. However, Mr Trump said that the final details of the deal were still being discussed and would not be made public at the time. According to a report from the New York Times, citing “two U.S. officials”, the Islamist regime in Iran verbally agreed to U.S. negotiators that...

Iran has agreed to surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium as part of a “largely negotiated” deal to end the war, according to US sources.The deal includes an “apparent commitment” to giving up the uranium, but a concrete plan of how this would be done is expected to be established in further rounds of talks, two US officials told The New York Times.Iran’s nuclear programme has been a sticking point in negotiations since the US and Tehran agreed to a ceasefire in April, and agreeing to give up its uranium would represent a major concession from the Islamic Republic.However,...

President Trump vowed Sunday Iran will never have a nuclear weapon — after top GOP Senators openly voiced skepticism over the reported details of the delicate peace deal. Trump, who previously said on Saturday that his negotiators were “finalizing” the agreement, suggested in a post on Truth Social Sunday morning that he would wait until the right agreement could be struck. “I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side. The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed,” he said. “Both sides...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is pushing back on fellow Republicans who have criticized an emerging deal being negotiated by the Trump administration to end the war with Iran. Paul, who has criticized the war while joining with Democrats to support War Powers Resolution votes to curb President Trump’s actions, said those criticizing Trump should give him room to operate. “War virtually always ends with negotiations,” Paul wrote in a post on X. “Critics of President Trump’s peace negotiations should give President Trump the space to find an American First solution.” Trump on Saturday said the U.S. was getting close to...

Usyk retreated to the corner and used Verhoeven's forward momentum against him as he landed a brutal right uppercut that floored the kickboxer and sent him halfway through the ropes from the chest up. Although Verhoeven was able to beat the count, Lyson allowed him extra time to recover as Verhoeven's corner took its time rinsing out the fallen mouthpiece, which forced the mild-mannered Usyk to complain.

The United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran are on the cusp of reaching an interim peace deal to end the conflict that began with Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28. President Donald Trump had initially indicated that he was “50/50” as to whether or not strikes against the Persian state would continue. On Saturday afternoon, Trump issued a statement on social media stating that a deal had largely been finalized. 🚨🚨🚨Scoop: President Trump tells me he's "solid 50/50" on Iran deal or bombing. Trump said he will meet senior advisers today to discuss latest draft agreement and may...

This is a war, which means that it isn't over until it's over. The stakes are high, the incentives to deceive are astronomical, and most information leaks are strategic. But there is plenty of reason to suspect that this might be the real deal. After all, Trump has been making all sorts of threats that turned out to be empty since the beginning of the "cease-fire," and has shown no real inclination to restart the war. 🚨 BREAKING: President Trump CONFIRMS a peace deal between the US and Iran has been “largely negotiated,” and could be finalized imminentlyAn announcement could...

WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that the global risk from the disease remained low. The World Health Organization has raised its public health risk from the Ebola outbreak from "high" to "very high" in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In an update on Friday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the agency, said 82 cases had so far been confirmed in the country, with seven confirmed deaths. "But we know the epidemic in the DRC is much larger," Ghebreyesus said, adding that there were around 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths. The Director-General said the global...

Two 14-year-old boys targeted one of their victims, 15, on Snapchat before luring her to an underpass where they laughed and filmed themselves as they raped her. Two months later the pair, this time joined by a third boy aged just 13, gang-raped a second schoolgirl at knifepoint while again recording the attack on their phones as they goaded each other to degrade her further. The trio - all from the traveller community - were convicted of rape in March following a five-week trial, with the two older boys also found guilty of taking indecent images of a child, relating...

Big things are happening at the White House right now. The rumors started earlier today, Trump had either reached a deal with Iran or he has rejected a deal and would increase the bombings. Secretary Rubio dropped a hint on Saturday that the next step in the Iran war/conflict/whatever would be decided imminently. And it appears that Trump has gathered his top officials to Washington immediately, reportedly to discuss a draft of a deal proposed by Iran. JD Vance was rushed to the White House, interrupting his Ohio Memorial Day weekend plans. Secretary Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs...

President Donald Trump said Saturday that a deal with Iran, including opening the Strait of Hormuz, has been “largely negotiated” after calls with Israel and other allies in the region. “Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Trump said on social media, with no details on timing. He said he had spoken with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, and separately with Israel. He described it as a “Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE” that still must be finalized by the United...

Iran's top negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, told Pakistani army chief Asim Munir during talks in ​Tehran on Saturday that the U.S. was not an honest ‌party in negotiations to end their war and Iran would not compromise on its national rights, state television reported. A regional mediation push led by Pakistan aims to narrow ​differences between Iran and the U.S. after weeks of war that ​have left the vital waterway of the Strait of Hormuz ⁠closed to most shipping despite a nervous ceasefire, upending global energy ​markets. Iranian state media reported that Munir had also met President Masoud...

The Trump administration was preparing Friday for a fresh round of military strikes against Iran, according to sources with direct knowledge of the planning, even as diplomacy continued. No final decision on strikes had been reached as of Friday afternoon. "Circumstances pertaining to Government" are keeping President Trump from attending his son Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding this weekend, he said in a social media post. The president had planned to spend Memorial Day weekend at his golf property in New Jersey but will now return to the White House. Some members of the U.S. military and intelligence community canceled their...

Iran has asserted expanded control over the Strait of Hormuz, publishing a map showing its claims extending into the coastal waters of the United Arab Emirates and Oman, and holding talks with Oman about sharing fees from ships traversing the waterway. The move was denounced on Friday as unacceptable by US Secretary of State Mario Rubio, who urged all countries to oppose it, and prompted a letter of protest from five Gulf states. US President Donald Trump on Thursday stressed, “We want [the Strait of Hormuz] open, we want it free. We don’t want tolls. It’s an international waterway.” Iran’s...

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called Friday for the US to resume strikes on Iran to “finish what we started” — as Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said it was unclear whether a deal was possible even “over weeks or months.” “We are at a moment that will define President Trump’s legacy,” Wicker said in a statement. “His instincts have been to finish the job he started in Iran, but he is being ill-advised to pursue a deal that would not be worth the paper it is written on.”The 74-year-old further criticized current diplomatic...

USA has paused a $14bn arms sale to Taiwan, amid significant pressure from China. The shipment was expected to include equipment vital to the island’s defence, but just a week after Trump visited Beijing for meetings with Xi, the deal has been put on hold. US said it was pausing the deal because it needed to preserve its stockpile for the war in Iran – but in the same message, it insisted it still had enough weapons. Hung Cao, the acting US navy secretary, said: “Right now we’re doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions...

An Ebola treatment center in the epicenter of the deadly outbreak in eastern Congo was set on fire Thursday after angry residents clashed with authorities over the body of a suspected victim. Rwampara Hospital was attacked by local youths attempting to retrieve the body of a friend who had reportedly died of Ebola, a witness told The Associated Press. "The police intervened to try to calm the situation, but unfortunately they were unsuccessful," Alexis Burata, a local student who said he was in the area, told the outlet. "The young people ended up setting fire to the center. That’s the...

Since 14 April, Morocco has been conducting large-scale deportation operations targeting sub-Saharan Africans migrating to Europe, reportedly arresting over 100 per day, local sources told Middle East Eye. According to Moroccan human rights groups, around 800 people were detained during coordinated raids in the forests between Fnideq and Belyounech, in the northern tip of the North African state, where many were sheltering before attempting to reach Europe. The operation is still ongoing, with authorities then moving their focus to operations in and around Tangier. Witnesses have described mass arrests, beatings, racist abuse and forced transfers toward the Algerian border. Sudanese...