Free Republic

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s policy of leniency toward immigrants has caused his prosecutors to regularly decline to pursue cases involving drunken driving, felony drug possession, shoplifting and grand larceny against migrants, according to a new congressional audit. Investigators for the House Judiciary Committee said they found more than 100 previously unreported cases in which Mr. Descano’s office failed to prosecute or under-prosecuted cases against migrants. That included a Chinese migrant “serial fraudster” who had more than 50 charges dropped. The audit, released Tuesday, tied those cases to Mr. Descano’s stated desire to protect immigrants from having to face...

COMMENTARY ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY WSJ "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has labeled his military's strikes on Russia's oil infrastructure “the most effective sanctions.” Meanwhile, reports indicate that alongside urging Europe and India to halt purchases of Russian oil, Washington plans to share additional intelligence with Ukraine on Russian refineries, pipelines, and other energy infrastructure. Most discussions about these “sanctions” have focused on their financial implications for Russia. Vladimir Putin relies heavily on corruption and patronage, with oil and gas serving as key revenue streams. Disrupting the flow could force Putin to choose between sustaining the war and maintaining the payouts to...

Big news on the El-Sayed front. James O’Keefe, the spymaster of conservatism, has revealed that Abdul Muhammed is actually – and illegally – being financed from overseas. One of O’Keefe’s Project Veritas operatives penetrated El-Sayed’s campaign, hitting it off with Abdoul Beckwith, the campaign’s “regional field organizer.” Beckwith proceeded to give O’Keefe’s guy a complete rundown on the internals of the sheik’s campaign, including the illegal contributions coming in from foreign sources. “You know, he has people from overseas that donate to him… no, it is not allowed.” Quite so. Federal election law is very clear on this. Statute 52...

"Russian president says [this] area will not be part of any potential peace talks while Kremlin says the zone spans 660km. What we know on day 1,697" • Russia is establishing a “security zone” inside Ukraine along the border and it will be non-negotiable in any ⁠future talks with Kyiv, Vladimir Putin • The planned security zone spanned 660km (410 miles), of which 70% was currently under Russia’s control, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. Peskov did not say how deep it would reach inside Ukraine. • As Russian missiles and drones have systematically slammed into power plants in Kyiv and...

The second-hand online marketplace Vinted has removed listings of looted French goods and stepped up checks on "suspicious" adverts, as the country's authorities seek to prevent goods stolen during riots from being sold online.

American Stephen Hubbard was released by Russia on Wednesday, state news agencies reported, the latest sign of warmer ties with the Kremlin as Washington pressures Kyiv to agree to a deal that ends Moscow’s war. The news of Hubbard’s release followed talks between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and President Vladimir Putin early Wednesday. Putin said that Hubbard, 74, was at the Pulkovo Airport near St. Petersburg, the TASS state news agency reported. There was no immediate confirmation from the United States. Trump said Tuesday that he had raised with Putin the idea of releasing Hubbard, who was being held in...

As the French right-wing National Rally is seizing on fiery protests in the country for its pre-election pitch, so are President Trump and his Republican allies in the U.S. The big picture: The Trump administration has used the unrest, which began over education grievances, to bolster its messaging on immigration and the threat of "communists," a group Trump has repeatedly claimed is threatening American civilization. Driving the news: "When you see burning steeples and raging fires in France, just remember that is what the radical 'Dumocrats' want to do to America," Trump said before a Kansas rally crowd Monday.

Three prominent Latin American political leaders have endorsed Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) in recent weeks, prompting criticism from some Democrats who describe the international support as foreign interference in a U.S. election. Salazar, who is running for reelection in a district President Donald Trump won by nearly 15 points in 2024, has faced backlash for saying that the administration’s signature immigration enforcement polices have gone too far. Now, as she courts Latino voters in South Florida, she has shared public messages of support from friendly right-wing leaders in Latin America, including Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate...

As hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across France this past weekend in support of student protesters, many displayed a somewhat mystifying rallying cry on their cardboard signs: “Bismillah, c’est les ténèbres.” The phrase, a mash-up of the Islamic blessing “In the name of God” and the French phrase “It’s the darkness,” may make little sense on the surface. The poster addressed Snapchat users with the greeting “Bismillah, c’est les ténèbres,” a seemingly nonsensical phrase that appeared to mimic the colloquial blend of Arabic and French that young people in France sometimes use. The writer then added,...

Message at a Doha security conference comes as allies worry the U.S. will leave them to clean up after the Iran war DOHA—Regional security officials received a sobering American message as they gathered in the Qatari capital and braced for a potential new round of escalation between the U.S. and Iran: They need to look out for themselves. Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and President Trump’s special envoy for Syria and Iraq, said the grand bargains that have underpinned global security for decades are undergoing major transformation, and countries in the Middle East and elsewhere should focus on...

The mayor of the previously sleepy French city of Limoges has accused Emmanuel Macron’s government of having failed to properly equip police, claiming that officers ran out of ammunition as rioters stormed City Hall and set the historic building ablaze. Limoges Mayor Guillaume Guérin of the centre-right Républicains party told broadcaster BFMTV that around 700 “ultra-left” Black Bloc rioters joined the protest on Saturday of around 5,000 intent to “destroy, smash, and kill people.” The LR mayor detailed a level of premeditation and planning among the alleged leftist arsonists, saying that they came equipped with a battering ram weighing over...

With civil unrest, rioting and violence increasing across France in recent days, including countless migrants protesting conditions there, another European nation is touting its simple and effective means to enforce the border: Shoot unlawful migrants dead. "Do not come to the Polish border, or you will be dead, shot dead," said Polish Member of European Parliament Dominik Tarczyński in a recent interview. "Do not come to the Polish border. I'm very clear for years." Continued the official: "If you are coming, it's your own risk. Do not cry over that. Do not tell me that you were shot, you were...

As the footage of violent French riots circled the globe this weekend, American conservatives are warning that the same destruction could come to American shores. The threat, as they see it, comes from the burgeoning Red-Green Alliance, a partnership between the far-left and Islamists. A powerful visual of the purported alliance was on display in France this past weekend as crowds waving Palestinian flags protested and rioted alongside French communists and other far-left groups. At the center of the international promotion of France's unrest sits the network funded by left-wing donor Neville Roy Singham, whose groups were central boosters of...

Russia is a pillar of an anti-American axis led by China and joined by Iran and North Korea — the trio providing Putin with the economic backstop, materiel, and manpower he desperately needs. In 2022, Putin and China’s Xi Jinping issued a joint statement of cooperation that bluntly challenged the United States and NATO. The Russian regime is actively abetting Iran’s military operations against the United States, providing intelligence for targeted attacks on U.S. personnel, as well as drone weaponry (which Iran initially designed but Russia can produce at scale). That is to say: While Trump embraces Putin, Putin aids...

France's streets burned, shops were looted and stripped bare and a historic town hall collapsed under arson. Yet the most striking images from Saturday night were not the fires. They were the people who carried on as if nothing was happening.One woman jogged straight through thick black smoke past a burning barricade, treating the chaos like an outdoor treadmill session.Groups of French boomers kept dancing while buildings were torched around them, and a tour guide was filmed continuing her routine for visitors, smiling and pointing out landmarks while flames literally engulfed the city right in front of tourists.?French locals prefer...

The owner of two dogs that mauled a man in a Brisbane park on Friday evening has spoken out in their defence, claiming her dogs are not dangerous. A 37-year-old man was mauled by two pit bulls in Seventh Brigade Park on Kittyhawk Drive in Chermside at around 6pm on Friday. He was found by paramedics with life-threatening injuries to his arms, leg and face while the dogs fled the scene after police fired at them, which resulted in a police search involving aerial support. One dog was located shortly after the search begun but one remained at large overnight...

President Donald Trump warned Monday that Paris is on course to become a “Muslim city very soon,” blaming France’s escalating unrest on mass immigration and saying he had repeatedly urged French President Emmanuel Macron to close the country’s borders. “Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon, and that wasn’t the deal,” Trump told reporters at the White House as France grappled with days of violent riots, looting, and arson. Trump said he had warned Macron about the consequences of his immigration policies years before the latest unrest. “Emmanuel, he’s a friend of mine. I told him a...

U.S. president said he would be willing to discuss denuclearization with leaders of Russia and China WASHINGTON—President Trump said Monday that he would be open to meeting with the leaders of Russia and China to discuss denuclearization.Trump’s comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed that he, Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet next month to talk about Ukraine in an attempt to negotiate an end to the four-year conflict that would favor Moscow.Trump told reporters that he would be willing to join such a trilateral meeting, “not so much for Ukraine,...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Monday and raised concerns about President Donald Trump's decision to waive key sanctions on Russia, as members of Congress push back against the president's moves to ease economic pressure on Moscow.During the video call, Zelenskyy reported concerns over disruptions to U.S. intelligence sharing and the administration's decision to waive Russia sanctions. He also told lawmakers that critical Starlink services remained degraded, hindering Ukraine's ability to intercept drones from Moscow, according to a readout from Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).Blumenthal and Tillis led the meeting, which...

Ukraine’s Zelensky wouldn’t be included in proposed talks, as Russia’s leader seeks to negotiate end to war favorable to Moscow Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed that he, President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet next month to talk about Ukraine in an attempt to negotiate an end to the four-year conflict that would favor Moscow, said people familiar with the discussions. The plan represents an effort by Putin to capitalize on warming ties between Trump and the Russian leader that have alarmed Ukraine and its allies in Washington and Europe. Such a summit—one without the involvement of Ukrainian...