Free Republic

The new Air Force One, which President Trump flew on earlier this week to Turkey, lacks the same defensive countermeasures that were security features of the old model, including its advanced antimissile capabilities, according to multiple officials who have been briefed on how the jet was retrofitted.Experts say the absence of those capabilities on the Boeing 747-8 aircraft, which was donated by Qatar, creates potential risk in using the jet abroad, a dynamic underscored by the abrupt decision on Wednesday for Mr. Trump to leave Turkey on the old Air Force One at the urging of the Secret Service.The episode...

Israel recently shared intelligence with the US about a new Iranian plot to assassinate President Trump, according to a report. The latest assassination plan, reported by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, comes after years of Iranian regime threats to kill Trump as revenge for the 2020 killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qasem Soleimani by US forces. When asked for comment, the White House referred The Post to Trump’s Wednesday remarks at the NATO summit in Ankara. ”They want to take out the US leader — me,” Trump said. “I’m on whatever list. I saw this morning I’m...

In the aftermath of two powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24, the human cost continues to mount. According to figures released by National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez, at least 3,811 people have now died, with 16,740 injured, and 17,907 left homeless. VIDEOS AT LINK.................. The twin quakes, measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, caused widespread destruction, particularly in coastal areas like La Guaira and the capital region of Caracas. Buildings collapsed, infrastructure failed, and entire communities were left in ruins — exposing the fragile state of much of the country's housing and public works after years of economic mismanagement...

Technical talks between the United States and Iran are ongoing despite recent strikes and apparent rising tensions. A United States official confirmed to Townhall that “the United States is still committed to finding a resolution, and technical talks continue,” adding that “Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.”The official added that the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two countries last month “is performance-based, and Iran’s actions constitute failed performance at an unacceptable level.”NEW: @townhallcom can independently confirm other reporting that Iran talks are ongoing despite recent strikes.From a U.S. official:“President Trump made his feelings very clear yesterday in no...

The Trump administration, led by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, is ridding America's roadways of noncitizen truck drivers. But the death toll continues to rise amid legal and blue state pushback. Flags are flying at half staff in the state of Pennsylvania in honor of Michael Pahira Jr., a state trooper killed after a tractor-trailer struck him on the morning of July 1. Pahira, a 20-year veteran of the force, was conducting a safety check of another commercial truck on the shoulder of 1-80 when Michael Bon, an illegal immigrant from Haiti, crashed into Pahira’s vehicle then hit the truck he...

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday rejected President Donald Trump's suggestion that Israel could withdraw from southern Lebanon. He said Israel does not need anyone's approval to maintain its military presence there. "We didn't ask for anyone's approval to enter Lebanon, and we don't need approval to stay in Lebanon," Katz said in a statement, according to The Washington Examiner. "It is our right and duty to defend the residents of the Galilee and Israeli citizens from the threats of the jihadist terror group Hezbollah, which aims to destroy the State of Israel." Katz said Israel would continue to...

The White House on Thursday claimed President Trump’s switch from the new Qatari-donated Air Force One to the original presidential plane on his flight home from Turkey Wednesday was a strategic “distraction” to keep the commander-in-chief safe. Denying that any physical security factors led to the swap out, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said the new jet “is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff.” “As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we...

Iran launched missiles and drones toward American military bases in four Middle Eastern countries Thursday following a second night of US strikes on the Islamic Republic. Tehran said it targeted Patriot missile interceptors in Kuwait, early warning systems in Qatar, and fuel depots in Bahrain, which is also the home of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet. Iran also fired at least 10 ballistic missiles toward Jordan’s Azraq military base, which hosts the US Air Force’s 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, according the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Mourners at a funeral procession in Mashhad, Iran, hold a red banner with "WE...

US President says he loves Spain and its people while escalating criticism of Pedro Sánchez’s government Donald Trump has delivered one of his strongest attacks yet on Spain, but this time there was a notable shift in his language. While again threatening trade consequences and describing Spain as a poor NATO ally, the US President also made a point of separating the country from its political leadership, insisting that he has affection for Spain and the Spanish people even as he condemned the government’s stance. That distinction is becoming increasingly noticeable. Rather than portraying Spain itself as the problem, Trump’s...

Mediterranean voyage changes course twice after Turkey, then Egypt refuse accessThe Scarlet Lady cruise ship has changed its itinerary for the second time this week, after first Turkey and now Egypt denied it entry to their ports. The ship, owned by Virgin Voyages and chartered by 2SLGBTQ+ travel company Atlantis Events, is carrying 1,900 passengers, including legendary Broadway performer Patti LuPone. The passengers found out on Thursday the cruise would not be heading to Alexandria, Egypt, as a replacement for previously planned stops to Kuşadası and Istanbul in Turkey. Earlier this week, Turkish authorities canacelled the planned port calls, saying...

The European Parliament has approved an urgent procedure to fast-track legislation that would revive the EU's expired “Chat Control 1.0” rules. This development sets up a decisive vote on July 9 over whether online platforms may once again be allowed to voluntarily scan private user communications for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). MEPs voted 331 in favor and 304 against using the urgency procedure, allowing Parliament to bypass the usual committee stage. The procedural vote does not itself reinstate the law but accelerates consideration of a proposal that would effectively restore the temporary legal framework that expired in April.

Two American allies, Germany and Japan, already have permission to build the American interceptors, a license that President Trump says he will also grant to Kyiv. In 2022, as fears mounted over Europe’s missile defense capabilities against Russian strikes, the Biden administration granted permission for Germany to build a factory to manufacture state-of-the-art Patriot air defense interceptors. That factory has yet to produce a single Patriot — a sign of the time it can take and how difficult it can be to ramp up production of American weapons abroad, even after winning approval from the United States government to do...

Prosecutor General's Office hasn't established Ukraine's involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, prosecutors said on July 9, adding that the investigation and evidence collection are still underway. The statement comes a week after Germany's federal prosecutor filed charges against a Ukrainian national suspected of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022. The suspect is Serhii Kuznietsov, Ukrainian veteran who was extradited to Germany in November 2025. Ukrainian law enforcement is investigating the case as part of criminal proceedings into Russia's war against Ukraine and other alleged offenses. Investigators are reviewing information...

A New York mother, who moved to Ireland with her teen daughter, was beaten to death inside her home as police launched a search for a “person of significant interest” whom she knew. Jamey Carney, a 43-year-old Westchester County native, was found covered under her bedsheets, suffering from multiple head wounds inside her rented home in the Irish town of Killarney on Tuesday... Blood stains were splattered around Carney’s room and the killer allegedly used a duvet to cover Carney’s wounded torso and face before fleeing... Results of the postmortem examination were not publicly released, but officials upgraded the case...

President Donald Trump said Iran “called a little while ago” and “wants a deal so badly” after the United States launched a second consecutive night of strikes against Iranian targets, but questioned whether Tehran is “worthy” of an agreement while warning that any future attacks would be met with overwhelming force. Speaking aboard Air Force One while returning to Washington from the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday night, Trump said Tehran had reached out after the latest round of U.S. strikes, which reportedly marked the first American attacks on Iranian infrastructure since the April 8 ceasefire and followed Iran’s...

Hen Mazzig @HenMazzig Rama Duwaji, wife of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is co-hosting an expensive spiritual retreat in Corsica, honoring Jesus' mother Mary as a "Palestinian woman giving birth under occupation". Tickets range from around $3,000 to $5,000 for a trip of prayer, lectures, and food, all to distort the well-documented truth that Jesus was Jewish. For such an expensive propaganda trip, one can only hope they receive a decent gift bag.

The funeral of Ayatollah Khamenei is the Islamic Republic’s biggest political ritual since the funeral of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989 and one of the most consequential political events in the Islamic Republic’s history. Coming after the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, it marks both the end of one era and the beginning of another. Every aspect of the funeral has been carefully choreographed. Its scale, symbolism, religious rituals, foreign attendance, and even the route of the procession communicate different messages to different audiences. Like other major state ceremonies in the Islamic Republic, the funeral serves not only to honor the dead...

For decades, the economy of the Falkland Islands has relied mainly on squid and sheep. Now, however, the prospect of an oil boom stands to transform the tiny overseas territory — and reignite sovereignty tensions between Argentina and the UK. Construction has begun on the infrastructure needed to drill Sea Lion, an oilfield 220km to the north of the Falklands. The first oil is expected in March 2028, reaching a maximum of 50,000 barrels per day in 2032. While relatively small among offshore oil projects, Sea Lion has the potential to triple the Falklands’ current GDP. The peak taxes and...

‘My whole life, all I do is deals,” President Trump said Wednesday, but Iran’s regime “is from a different school,” he had to admit. “They’re liars, they’re cheats, they’re sick people.” Mr. Trump cited the tens of thousands of Iranians slaughtered by the regime in January and explained how its word has proved worthless. “I don’t want to deal with them anymore,” he said.The President is so mercurial that it’s impossible to know if he’s serious that the cease-fire is “over,” as he said. He could declare it back on tomorrow. But he’s right that Iran’s regime has been wasting...

President Donald Trump flew home from a NATO summit in Turkey on an old baby blue Air Force One plane instead of the new Qatari-gifted and retrofitted red, white and navy blue jet he arrived in, a surprise swap that came as the U.S. and Iran once again began trading strikes. Trump offered little clarity on the swap, instead saying he would fly on the legacy aircraft “for old time’s sake,” and indicating that both aircraft would make a previously unscheduled stop on the way back to the U.S. at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, a base used by U.S. troops....