Free Republic

According to US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, an average of 9 million barrels of oil are passing through Hormuz daily, while between 5 million to 7 million barrels are reaching consumers through “newly upgraded pipelines and export facilities.” Many ships moving covertly through Hormuz with US Navy assistance, going uncounted by analysts who rely solely on open-source data. It also ignores the spectacular transformation of the oil export route that’s currently underway. The United Arab Emirates is fast-tracking a new west-east pipeline to Fujairah, which will allow exports to bypass Hormuz at minimal cost lies outside the strait. The Abu...

Friday on MS NOW’s “On the Line,” host Alicia Menendez said Democratic candidates have made Secretary of War Pete Hegseth “the new boogeyman on the campaign trail.” Menendez said, “Calls are growing for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to lose his job over horrific conditions facing our service members aboard the USS Lincoln. The aircraft carrier has set a modern day record for consecutive days at sea. It has been deployed for nearly nine months as part of President Trump’s war of choice with Iran. Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer says Hegseth must be fired immediately, and he is not alone....

In the five years since the chaotic US withdrawal from Kabul and the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan has become home to one of the world’s worst human rights and humanitarian emergencies. Once central to US foreign policy, with American taxpayers footing a $2.3 trillion bill for its 20-year war there, Afghanistan and its people have largely slipped out of much of the world’s view, despite a convergence of man-made and natural crises that have pushed millions of children to starvation and stripped women and girls of their most fundamental rights. Humanitarian aid to Afghanistan – which is needed by...

Japanese Crown Prince Akishino, the younger brother of Emperor Naruhito, on Thursday said he has “mixed feelings” about the government’s revision to the Imperial House Law that reinforces a rule dictating only men can become emperor. “I believe there is no difference between men and women” in serving the roles of the imperial family to respond to social needs, Akishino said at a news conference ahead of a trip to Paraguay later this month to mark the 90th anniversary of Japanese emigration to the South American country. The comments by Akishino, the next in line for the throne, come just...

Earlier today, I wrote about Marco Rubio vs. Delcy Rodríguez making public statements about Fidel Castro on X. I joked that it was the best way to end the week — Delcy stirred up a little drama, and our dear Secretary of State reminded her who she's currently working for: This is the best way to end the week. 🤭 pic.twitter.com/2AMrwcKUIa— SarahDownSouth (@SarahDownSouth) August 14, 2026Well, I stand corrected. There's a better way to end the week in Latin American news coverage, and it's the release of several more political prisoners in Venezuela. I was incorrect before. This is the...

Travellers entering and leaving China will face stricter controls under new regulations covering travel applications from Sept 15. These regulations, approved at a State Council executive meeting, were announced on July 31, Xinhua reported. Under the rules, applicants must state a truthful and lawful purpose when applying to enter or leave China, or to stay or reside in the country, reported The Nation. Immigration and visa authorities may question applicants, including requiring them to provide documents and data. Those who submit false documents or statements may be denied permission to enter or leave China. Strengthened warnings for citizens travelling to...

When Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump met in the Oval Office two weeks ago, the president asked the Israeli prime minister how he was doing in the polls ahead of an Oct. 27 election.Netanyahu paused. Then one of his advisers piped up: "Mr. President, he is winning," the aide said, according to a U.S. official familiar with the exchange.Why it matters: Netanyahu is not winning. And so far, Trump hasn't given him the endorsement he hopes for, despite being asked about it repeatedly by reporters.The president could still change his mind. But with just 75 days left until the election,...

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit just north of the Flores region in the eastern part of Indonesia, the United States Geological Survey reported on Friday. There was no immediate information available from authorities about possible damage from the quake.

Nigel Farage won Clacton by-election with 22,239 votes to Count Binface's 9,455. Farage triggered the by-election by resigning amid financial scrutiny; major parties boycotted the vote. Farage returns to WestminsterNigel Farage regained his parliamentary seat in Clacton-on-Sea after a by-election he triggered by resigning his post last month, besting Count Binface in a race boycotted by the United Kingdom’s main political parties. Farage received 22,239 votes compared with 9,455 for Binface, who wears a rubbish can on his head and calls himself an “intergalactic space warrior,” in results announced after polls closed at 10 p.m. local time. The contest was...

The reports are everywhere — miserable conditions supposedly aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, including food shortages, broken plumbing, widespread exhaustion, and plummeting morale. It’s so bad, these reports say, that some sailors have attempted to jump overboard and presumably drown. Breathless headlines like “Conditions on US aircraft carrier at sea for more than 250 days raise alarms” are rampant. Democrat lawmakers like Richard "Da Nang Dick" Blumenthal (D-CT) are demanding answers and writing strongly worded letters. The U.S. military was already preparing to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln with the USS George Washington as part of a scheduled Middle East...

Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism, said: “Calling Israel’s defensive war against Hamas a ‘genocide’ is not activism; it is a modern blood libel dressed up in academic language.” By Marhilda Heller. August 13, 2026. An alliance of 55 organizations has this week launched Gaza GenoLIE, an educational initiative about the “generated and orchestrated genocide lie promoted by anti-Zionists and antisemitic networks in the US, Europe and around the world.” It further says that the “Gaza Genocide” is one of the biggest lies of the 21st century. The website includes eight pieces of what it describes as “the Gaza GenoLIE...

Oil pollution on the southern shores of Qeshm Island, which has also reached the island’s mangrove forests, has heightened concerns about environmental consequences on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz, as an oil leak from a stranded tanker has also reached the coast of Oman. Officials from the Iranian regime have not yet officially announced the source of the Qeshm pollution, but Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says preliminary evidence indicates it originated from “a foreign bulk carrier.” Esmaeil Baghaei, the Iranian regime’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said on the evening of Wednesday, August 12, that pollution had been detected...

The U.S. military has enough assets to maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday, adding ships could be rotated in and out ​of the region as needed. Hegseth's comments suggest he is advising U.S. President Donald Trump that the ‌U.S. military can keep applying economic pressure on Iran for as long as needed to help so-far failed negotiations to end the conflict, begun in February. He spoke in Panama after addressing the crew aboard ​the USS Gridley, a guided-missile destroyer, which had previously deployed to the Middle East.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance personally asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 31 to halt attacks on oil tankers serving the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s Black Sea terminal near Novorossiysk, the Financial Times reported on August 12. Citing Ukrainian officials and others familiar with the call, the newspaper said Kyiv had agreed not to target CPC infrastructure or non-Russian vessels unless they were under Ukrainian sanctions or carrying Russian oil or other Russian cargo. Ukraine has not struck tankers near the CPC terminal since the July 31 call. Vance’s intervention came after repeated July attacks had disrupted Kazakhstan’s main oil-export...

Those who fail to complete the Australian Census will be fined if they do not complete it.

As fighter jets launch air strikes on Iran from the San Diego-based USS Abraham Lincoln, now operating in the Middle East, military families are reporting to MS NOW that the carrier's 5,000 crew members are suffering through supply shortages. “Food obviously has been scarce,” said Nicole Conrad, whose son is a sailor on the carrier. “He’s told me there was a time where he was only eating half a cup of rice and two tortillas.” Families say their loved ones are also dealing with long periods with no hot water for showering, laundry service that’s down for weeks and standing...

CIA had doubts about Israeli intelligence on a threat to Trump in Turkey that prompted an extraordinary secret flight.U.S. intelligence officials were skeptical of an Iranian assassination threat against President Donald Trump that was relayed by Israel and prompted an extraordinary clandestine maneuver that saw him secretly fly out of Turkey in an alternate military aircraft, current and former U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence said.The assassination threat was relayed by the Israeli government to the CIA, where analysts did not view the intelligence as compelling and conveyed that skepticism to Trump administration officials, one of the officials said.Another official...

When will the left admit this is Islamic conquest? England 1950: ~5 mosques England 2026: ~1750 mosques This is what an invasion looks like. That’s a staggering 34,900% increase in mosques by the way. And, even with all that, with plenty of places to worship their “religion,” they choose to express their faith in Muhammad’s rituals…at revered Christian sites: There are more than 500 mosques in London, but they chose to pray on the grounds of Westminster Abbey, the most sacred site in the Anglican Church. Why? Again, conquest.Since 2008, millions of illegal immigrants have entered the UK. And, that’s...

A temporary open-air pool erected outside Berlin’s iconic theater was supposed to represent the ultimate low-barrier urban oasis. Instead, a plan to allow only Black people to attend on Fridays has sparked outrage and accusations of racism. Conceived as a free, non-commercial refuge requiring no identity checks — though reliant on a competitive online reservation system — the €300,000 project was introduced to the public as a shared summer meeting point. However, the organizers have implemented a protocol that excludes anyone non-Black one day a week, a clearly discriminatory practice.

The two most senior members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, flew out of last month’s NATO summit in Turkey on what was effectively a decoy plane following an Iranian threat, while Trump was secretly moved to a smaller military jet, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday. The official, who was briefed on the situation and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details of presidential travel, said Rubio was aware of the switch and details of the threat behind it but could or would not say why he had...