Free Republic

President Trump threatened to scrap a just-finalized trade deal with the European Union on Friday, saying that any country that levies a digital services tax would be hit immediately with a 100 percent tariff on all exports to the United States. Mr. Trump seized on the fact that several European countries are discussing imposing such taxes. Those taxes would apply to the revenue that major U.S. tech firms earn in Europe. If they choose to proceed, the United States would “immediately" impose a 100 percent tariff on them, he said. “This TARIFF will supersede Trade Deals made with the Country,...

…While nearly 90% of US homes have air conditioning, in Europe it’s around 20%. As climate change drives more severe and prolonged heat waves, which arrive earlier and earlier, some are questioning why wealthy European countries have been seemingly reluctant to adopt air conditioning — especially as the heat takes an increasingly deadly toll. … “In Europe… we simply don’t have the tradition of air conditioning… because up to relatively recently, it hasn’t been a major need,” said Brian Motherway, head of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Transitions … Buildings on the continent tend to be older, built...

Wealthy nations with the highest rate of immigration over the past 35 years reaped a large economic benefit and many could still absorb more ​workers, according to research to be presented at a top European Central Bank conference next week. Political tensions ‌over immigration have been on the rise in recent years as far-right, anti-immigrant parties have helped drive the issue to near the top of the political agenda while making headway in countries including the U.S., Germany and Britain. The study, which looked at data in dozens of rich ​countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, said...

A small single engine aircraft crashed into the tallest building in Beijing, China Friday. Flight data indicates that the plane likely did not suffer an engine failure when it flew into Beijing airspace, which is heavily restricted to aviation. These facts have led some to posit that the incident appears to be an act of terrorism.“So there is a lot pointing to the fact that this was not some kind of a failure,” host of The China Show Winston Sterzel said. “It looks like it was deliberately flown into the building.”The 108-story CITIC Tower, also called the China Zun...

The bar staff at the Sam Adams brewery in Boston have seen busy weekends. They had not seen anything like the Tartan Army. Over four days in June, kilted Scotland supporters drank the place through seventy kegs of America’s most patriotic lager, sang until their voices frayed, and turned a craft brewery taproom into a slice of Glasgow with better weather. … The numbers from Boston read like a tall tale. Seventy kegs of Sam Adams emptied in four days at the brewery alone, never mind the bars across the city that filled with tartan from morning until well past...

The U.S. military says it hit Iranian targets on Friday over Iran's drone attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first American strikes on Iran since the two countries agreed to extend an already-rickety ceasefire last week. The strikes targeted Iranian missile and drone storage facilities and radar sites, U.S. Central Command said in a statement posted to social media, calling it a "powerful response" to Iran's "dangerous behavior." "The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire," CENTCOM said.

For those who cling to the insistence that President Trump is always playing 5D chess with his opponents, now would be a great time to explain to the rest of us what the strategy is behind his repeated recent moves to empower our existential Islamic enemies. First Trump prevented Israel from finishing the job with the savage terror group Hamas in Gaza, going so far as to promise to invest in developing the Palestinian territories into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Then, after vowing to rescue the Iranian people from the oppressive fundamentalist regime, Trump stopped short of finishing...

Numerous European Countries have been discussing the imminent implementation of a Digital Services Tax on American Companies. Some of these Countries are close to actually doing this. Please let this statement serve to represent that any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America. This TARIFF will supersede Trade Deals made with the Country, whether implemented, signed, or not. Additionally, the 100% TARIFF will be immediately imposed, if they proceed. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP

Aforce of 10,000 inspectors is being recruited to weed out foreigners: door-to-door across the nation, they will check mines, factories and shops, rounding up those without papers for deportation. Oh, and the target will be black people! Trump madness? Marine le Pen? No, this is South Africa and a project launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa to expel millions of black migrants from across the rest of Africa who have jumped the border or overstayed their visa. It’s Africa’s answer to ICE, though you won’t find many people protesting: quite the opposite. Government and the police are desperate to demonstrate they’re...

A hospital said some of its MRI scanners were "not operational" due to the current high level of heat and humidity. Scans at Bedford South Wing Hospital are being postponed as the MRI machines cannot be safely operated, Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said. A spokesperson added: "This is as a result of the older cooling systems at our aging site not being able to achieve the required temperature and humidity levels." The trust is contacting patients affected by the delays and said it would reschedule appointments as soon as "the situation stabilises". "Our scanners at the Bedford North Wing...

As President Donald Trump moves this week to extricate himself from a conflict that a CBS News poll finds most Americans want ended now, the powerful donor-class networks that want endless war have rapidly moved to sabotage his efforts. It is no surprise which portions of the right have mounted an emergency campaign against Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance’s recent peace efforts. Israel Hayom—owned by the Trump mega-donor Miriam Adelson—published a blistering open letter accusing Trump of signing a “surrender agreement with a murderous and cruel terror regime.” The Wall Street Journal editorial board has been carping about the...

If the 2026 FIFA World Cup has taught international visitors anything, it's that Americans take air conditioning very, very seriously. Between the matches, sightseeing and cross-country road trips, European fans have discovered what may be the tournament's most unexpected MVP: aggressively chilled indoor spaces. According to TikTok, where #WorldCup has surpassed 8 million posts and #WorldCup2026 has reached nearly 2 million, videos marveling at America's devotion to air conditioning have become one of the tournament's defining off-field trends. Alongside clips about cowboy culture, Costco runs and late-night IHOP breakfasts, visitors are documenting a newfound appreciation for a country that apparently...

Homeowners are being forced to tear out air conditioning from their private properties under climate laws, despite rising temperatures. Council planning officers ordered residents to remove air-con units over fears they produce too much carbon dioxide, stating they should only be used as a “last resort”. The net zero clampdown is part of building regulations that state “active cooling” should only ever be allowed when all other means of “passive cooling”, such as opening windows or using fans, have been exhausted. The Tories said Britain was being “kept in the dark ages” under a net zero mindset that denies people...

Tucker Carlson had an expletive-filled kiss off to Donald Trump as he continues to burn bridges within the White House over the Iran War. The former Fox News anchor has been one of most public critics from the right of Trump's foreign policy, coming to a head with the strikes on Tehran. Carlson, appearing on the Jack Neel Podcast, accused Trump of feigning strength by using empty threats against Iran as the war continued on. 'He tried to posture his way out of it,' Carlson said of the President after the initial killing of Ayatollah Khomeini didn't force Iran's surrender....

$89 million fraudulent payroll scheme that saw illegal alien construction workers and their employers evade taxes. “Today, we held an illegal alien from Honduras accountable for a brazen scheme that stole more than $38 million from American taxpayers to facilitate the employment of illegal aliens,” Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said. “This case exposes how unchecked illegal immigration fuels widespread payroll tax fraud and underground economies that harm American workers and taxpayers,” McDonald said. “This sentence sends a strong message: Those who exploit our open borders, cheat the U.S. Treasury, and violate federal laws will face justice.” Department of Justice...

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte sought to calm tensions with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday, using a mix ​of flattery and gentle pushback to argue that instances of allies' reluctance to support the U.S. war with Iran were limited to "isolated cases." Trump, a longtime NATO critic who has called the alliance a "paper tiger," has been angered by allies' refusal to support the U.S. in the Middle East conflict or help reopen the Strait of Hormuz after a U.S.-Israeli attack on ​Iran on February 28 disrupted the major oil shipping route. During the Oval Office meeting,...

A Russian military commander has appealed directly to Vladimir Putin to threaten an armed uprising with help from top military brass if the country isn’t told the “truth” about the war. In an Instagram video that quickly racked up millions of views Thursday, Alexander Lunin addressed the Russian president to warn of “very serious consequences” if his demands were ignored. The 39-year-old father of two went on to say he’d been asked to “deliver a message” to Putin by unnamed military officials and members of the security services. They told him to demand a meeting with Putin at the Kremlin...

On Thursday, elements of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a commercial cargo vessel flying the Singapore flag within the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Citing two senior American officials, The Wall Street Journal reported that the assault inflicted significant damage on the ship’s bridge, though no injuries or fatalities were reported. Concurrently, a regulatory Iranian state body known as the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) issued a strict warning regarding maritime lanes on Thursday. The agency, which holds an official mandate to supervise and govern transit through the chokepoint, announced that any vessels traveling via routes outside its designated framework...

Iran's Revolutionary Guards attacked a Singapore-flagged commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News, posing a challenge to President Trump's efforts to reopen the critical shipping corridor. The ship's bridge was damaged after it was struck on its starboard side by an "unknown projectile" off the coast of Dahit, Oman, according to an advisory from the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Centre. The advisory said no casualties or environmental impact were reported. After the strike, the United Nations' International Maritime Organization temporarily paused a days-old plan to evacuate many of the vessels stranded...

The German far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), could be closing in on power at the state level for the first time since the Nazi regime's defeat in World War II 81 years ago. Polling suggests the party is far ahead of its rivals in Saxony‑Anhalt and, crucially, within striking distance of an outright majority that would defeat mainstream parties' traditional Brandmauer—or "firewall"—against a far-right government. Germany's electoral system of proportional representation means that most governments at the national and regional level are coalitions. The "firewall" is an agreement of non‑cooperation in which mainstream parties do not govern with, or...