Free Republic

Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith argued Sunday that while President Donald Trump’s methods may be flawed, he has taken understandable action to solve a crisis former President Joe Biden created. During an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning,” Stephen A. Smith announced that he will soon determine whether he himself will run for president. “I will make a decision in early 2027, but I am not ruling it out because I expect a lot of success to come my way. And Lord help everybody if the amount of success comes my way ensures that I never have to worry about my...

Police arrested a Christian pastor after he commented on Islam and transgender ideology while street preaching in Bristol city centre. Pastor Dia Moodley, 58, was arrested by Avon and Somerset Police officers last November in Broadmead on suspicion of “inciting religious hatred” under the Public Order Act 1986. The arrest was justified for his speech of “anti-islam and transgender rhetoric,” on suspicion of inciting religious hatred, despite the fact that he had "merely publicly shared his Christian views”. Pastor Moodley said: “This latest arrest has had a profoundly negative effect on me and has been extremely challenging personally. “I am...

Far-left New York City Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is being widely mocked for erroneously claiming that Venezuela is “below the equator” while trying to show off her foreign-policy chops in Germany. Venezuela sits just above the equator, but that didn’t stop the Democratic socialist — who majored in international relations at Boston University — from making the embarrassing gaffe while speaking at a Technical University of Berlin panel Sunday. “[Nicolas] Maduro canceled elections. He was an anti-democratic leader,” Ocasio-Cortez said, describing the Venezuela elections that took place under the Maduro regime and which many international organizations have said were rigged.

China’s carrier program is accelerating fast, with the Fujian already in sea trials and reporting suggesting a fourth “supercarrier” could follow. -The Fujian’s flat-deck design and electromagnetic catapult approach resemble the U.S. Ford-class, raising concern about how quickly Beijing is closing the capability gap in launch efficiency and sustained sortie generation. -Yet carriers matter only as much as their air wings. China’s current deck-aviation weakness—limited fifth-generation carrier fighters—still constrains near-term combat credibility against U.S. Navy F-35Cs and allied regional AirPower. -The danger is trajectory: mass production, improving catapults, and the J-35 could shift the balance sooner than expected. China is...

Tucker Carlson Sparks Outrage by Allowing Pastor to Blame Christian Zionists for Oct. 7. Tucker Carlson allowed Bethlehem Pastor Munther Isaac to use his platform to sanitize the October 7 massacre. Without a single interruption, Carlson sat silent as Isaac blamed American Christian Zionists for the deaths of "thousands of Palestinians" on October 7th. JFeed Staff. Feb 16, 2026. .. commentator Tucker Carlson did not interrupt or challenge his guest during a recent interview when [antisemitic] Rev. Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Lutheran pastor from Bethlehem, appeared to hold Christian Zionists responsible for the deaths of "thousands of Palestinians" on October...

"The South Carolina GOP senator is using golf, good humor and frequent White House visits to try to influence foreign policy and keep Trump close as he faces a primary challenge.I’m his north star,” Graham told NBC News in an interview this week, a bold remark few in his party would dare make. “We disagree, but he knows where I am coming from. He sees me helping him as much as anybody in the Senate.” ADVERTISING Late last month, Graham temporarily blocked a $1.2 trillion deal to avert a government shutdown. Asked by reporters why he would block something that...

Among those attending the 40th anniversary bash for the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, one guest stood out – King Charles III. The presence of the UK’s sovereign at an Islamic studies institute was hardly a surprise, however. And not just because he is the centre’s patron. Charles, it is fair to say, is an unabashed Islamophile. He may have claimed some three decades ago that, as king, he intended to be the defender of faith – rather than the defender of the faith as his official role has it – but there is definitely one faith that he prefers...

The United States has directed its military forces in the Middle East to prepare for potentially extended operations against Iran, positioning them for action should President Donald Trump order strikes on the Islamic Republic. It remains unclear whether Trump will pursue a diplomatic solution or move toward military action against the Iranian regime. Speaking to U.S. forces at a base in North Carolina on Friday, Trump said it has "been difficult to make a deal." "Sometimes you have to have fear. That's the only thing that really will get the situation taken care of," Trump told the U.S. troops. White...

We gather here today as members of a historic alliance, an alliance that saved and changed the world. When this conference began in 1963, it was in a nation – actually, it was on a continent – that was divided against itself. The line between communism and freedom ran through the heart of Germany. The first barbed fences of the Berlin Wall had gone up just two years prior. And just months before that first conference, before our predecessors first met here, here in Munich, the Cuban Missile Crisis had brought the world to the brink of nuclear destruction. Even...

Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://help.ft.com/faq/gifting-and-sharing-an-article/what-is-a-gift-article/. https://www.ft.com/content/dbd1d803-ab37-43f1-920f-fce74952313a Recruiters and propagandists who previously worked for Russia’s Wagner Group have emerged as a main conduit for Kremlin-organised sabotage attacks in Europe, according to western intelligence officials. The fighter group’s status has been uncertain since a failed rebellion...

An elite British Army battalion is going all in on drones after working closely with Ukrainian soldiers and seeing how central these systems have become in modern warfare. The 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards now has 78 of its 300 members qualified as drone operators, its commanding officer, Lt. Col. Ben Irwin-Clark, told Business Insider. The unit has big plans to increase its training and work with drones further."That just gives you an idea of how important this is," he said.The battalion has built a training facility with drone warfare in mind, and its soldiers are heavily invested, he...

-Excerpt- Banging drums and chanting for regime change, the giant and boisterous rally in Munich was part of what Pahlavi described as a “global day of action” to support Iranians in the wake of deadly nationwide protests. He also called for demonstrations in Los Angeles and Toronto. Police said in a post on X that the number of protesters reached some 250,000, more than the organizers had expected. -excerpt- An estimated 350,000 people marched on the streets of Toronto as part of the Global Day of Action Rally, Toronto Police spokesperson Laura Brabant said.

Probably the most galling thing about Joe Biden's and Kamala Harris's open borders was in the surge of fake asylum claims, fraudulently filed, with a whopping fifty percent of them accepted by roundheeled activist Biden administration judges as real. AdvertisementIllegal migrants paid nothing to file them. NGOs and the United Nations coached them in how to use loopholes to win their claims, and Biden's judges were ready with their rubber-stamps, putting the illegal migrants on the express lane for public benefits, with immediate eligibility. With an acceptance rate like that and the payoff that followed, it's no wonder so many...

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told European leaders on Feb. 14 that Washington is not walking away from the transatlantic alliance—but called for a renewed partnership that aligns with President Donald Trump’s push for national revival, tougher border control, and a return to industrial and military strength.Addressing the annual Munich Security Conference, Rubio sought to reassure governments unsettled by a year of tensions over trade, defense spending, and at times critical U.S. rhetoric toward NATO.At the same time, he made clear that Washington’s commitment would be tied to what he called a broader civilizational renewal—one that calls on Europe...

During a Friday appearance before the press on the White House lawn, President Donald Trump warned that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “is gonna have to get moving, otherwise he’s gonna miss a great opportunity” because “Russia wants to make a deal.”Responding to a reporter who questioned whether the president will still “demand” that Zelensky “hold elections before summer,” Trump said, “Well, Zelensky is gonna have to get moving. Russia wants to make a deal, and Zelensky’s gonna have to get moving, otherwise he’s gonna miss a great opportunity. He has to move.”Late on Wednesday, Zelensky told reporters that he has...

23-year-old French nationalist who suffered head injuries after Antifa thugs beat him has now died. The man, identified as Quentin, was reportedly part of an informal security group defending a protest outside a political conference near Sciences Po in Lyon. The group was defending members of Collectif Némésis, a right-wing pro-women organization. Quentin was attacked while attempting to protect the group amid confrontations with members from an “anti-fascist” group known as Jeune Garde. According to the French outlet BFMTV, police said tensions began around 6:40 pm when opposing groups gathered. Roughly 50 people were involved in the altercation, and two...

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday questioned Russia's seriousness about ending the Ukraine war, as Washington pushes for a swift peace deal. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Rubio said the conflict was approaching its fifth year and that there was still no clarity over Moscow's willingness to negotiate.

Puerto Rico's Republican governor on Thursday signed a bill that amends a law to recognize an unborn baby as a human being, which opponents argued could eventually lead to outlawing abortion in the U.S. territory. Gov. Jenniffer González said in a statement that the measure "aims to maintain consistency between civil and criminal provisions by recognizing the unborn child as a human being." The amendment, in Senate Bill 923, altered an article within Puerto Rico's Penal Code that defines murder. The government said that the amendment complements a law affirming that it would be first-degree murder if a suspect intentionally...

Meanwhile, Moscow is citing fictitious Ukrainian counter-offensives to explain why it doesn’t control territories its forces were claiming they’d seized in Zaporizhia oblast; it looks like Putin’s frontline commanders are afraid to tell the high command they’re failing. Poor Vlad: Having caught on to how Putin’s thugs were using hijacked Starlink terminals to guide their drones in massive long-distance attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid and civilian population, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is now blocking of Russian access to Starlink, disabling Moscow’s frontline command-and-control communications for another game-changer. Russia’s damning whine: Blocking it from Starlink is (somehow) a violation of international law....

After a self-imposed political exile to Ireland after President Donald Trump’s re-election, Rosie O’Donnell quietly returned to the United States. During an interview with Chris Cuomo on his new show, “SiriusXM’s Cuomo Mornings,” the 63-year-old actress revealed she recently returned to the country to visit her family. The actress moved to Ireland with her teenage daughter in January 2025, just prior to President Trump’s second inauguration. “I was recently home for two weeks, and I did not really tell anyone,” she told Cuomo. “I just went to see my family. I wanted to see how hard it would be for...