Free Republic

Cracks are starting to form in the Senate Democratic caucus over whether to hold the line against a seven-week clean government funding stopgap passed by the House, according to Democratic sources who say a threat by President Trump to lay off thousands of federal workers is changing the Democratic political calculus on a shutdown. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), who faces a potential primary challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in 2028, has made it clear he won’t vote for the House-passed GOP stopgap, but centrists in his caucus are looking for a way to avoid a catastrophic shutdown....

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested the Superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, Ian Andre Roberts, a criminal illegal alien from Guyana, on Thursday. Roberts, head of the largest public school district in the state, was in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash, and a fixed blade hunting knife at the time of his arrest, according to a statement from ICE. He entered the U.S. in 1999 on a student visa and in May of 2024, was given a final order of removal by an immigration judge. He also had existing weapon possession charges from 2020. Authorities approached Roberts...

BOGOTA, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Saturday dismissed the U.S. decision to revoke his visa and accused Washington of violating international law over his criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza.The U.S. said on Friday it would revoke Petro's visa after he took to New York's streets on Friday to join a pro-Palestinian demonstration and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey President Donald Trump's orders.Read about innovative ideas and the people working on solutions to global crises with the Reuters Beacon newsletter. Sign up here."I no longer have a visa to travel to the United States. I don't...

U.S. health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. stated during a United Nations high-level meeting on Sep. 25 that the United States will not endorse the U.N.’s new political declaration on non-communicable diseases (NCDs). He called the pact “misdirected,” “overly controlling in parts,” and outside the U.N.’s proper remit — adding that Washington remains committed to fighting chronic disease, but on its own terms.The 15-page declaration sets targets for non-communicable diseases that “account for more than 43 million deaths each year,” many of which “occur prematurely (before the age of 70 years),” according to the document. The referenced diseases include cancers,...

President Donald J Trump has sent troops to Portland to handle domestic terrorists who are attacking immigration facilities, he posted on Truth Social. “At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists. I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” The White House confirmed the post. "At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, @Sec_Noem, I am...

Federal employees from agencies across the US government say they’re “terrified,” “disoriented” and filled with anxiety as they brace for a possible shutdown that the Trump White House has threatened will pave the way for new rounds of fast-tracked mass layoffs. There is widespread confusion and fear among federal workers as the Tuesday night deadline approaches for Congress to approve a spending package, according to more than a dozen employees from 11 federal agencies who spoke to CNN. Many are still waiting to find out who will be required to work through a shutdown — and who will be furloughed....

Hidden for four years, an after-action report on FBI's involvement in Jan. 6 riot found by Director Patel shows dozens of agents feared that the FBI had become "woke" and "liberally biased." ============================================================= The FBI secretly deployed more than 250 plainclothes agents to the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, an operation so disorganized it unleashed searing frustrations among many of the FBI's rank-and-file that the bureau had lost its core competencies to "wokeness" and allowed its employees to become “pawns in a political war,” according to an after-action report kept from the public for more than four...

Former FBI Director James Comey has declared himself "not afraid" of President Donald Trump's Justice Department after being indicted Thursday for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. "My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn't imagine ourselves living any other way," Comey, who denies the allegations, said in an Instagram video. "We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn't either. Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant, and she's right." "But I'm not afraid,"...

Donald Trump just pulled off a political maneuver that has Democrats reeling — and, frankly, they should be. With a potential government shutdown looming on September 30, the Trump administration has made it clear that if Congress can’t pass a clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government running, federal workers could be facing mass firings. Not furloughs. Firings. Real jobs on the line. For years, Democrats thought they could weaponize shutdowns as a way to extract concessions from Republicans. Now, Trump has flipped the script by putting the pressure right back where it belongs: on them. The House passed a...

The decision, which hinges on an exception to the Gun-Free School Zones Act, does not say whether that law is consistent with the Second Amendment. A couple of years ago, Gabriel Metcalf was charged with a federal felony because he stepped onto the sidewalk in front of his house in Billings, Montana, while holding a shotgun. Metcalf, who had armed himself because of a dispute with a neighbor who was subject to a restraining order, was not violating state law. But because Metcalf lives across the street from an elementary school, prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District...

Ahead of a possible government shutdown on October 1st, the White House Office of Management and Budget has instructed federal agencies to prepare for mass layoffs. Thousands of federal employees — specifically in agencies that lack funding and don’t align with President Trump’s goals — could permanently lose their jobs if the shutdown happens. ...details: BREAKING: TRUMP ADMIN THREATENS MASS FEDERAL LAYOFFS IN SHUTDOWN OMB Director Russ Vought ordered agencies to prepare Reduction in Force (RIF) notices for “thousands” of federal employees if government shuts down October 1. The memo directs layoffs for any programs that: lack funding, aren’t covered...

he DOJ order was sent to U.S. attorney's offices in at least seven states. Multiple top federal prosecutors at U.S. attorney's offices around the country received a directive Monday to prepare to launch investigations into the Open Society Foundations, a group funded by the billionaire Democratic donor George Soros, multiple sources confirmed to ABC News. The order from Aakash Singh, a senior official in Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's office, was sent to U.S. attorney's offices in at least seven states, the sources confirmed, including California, New York, Illinois, Michigan and Maryland. The letter lists potential charges prosecutors could take...

Lawmakers in both parties fighting to force the Trump administration to release all the federal files on Jeffrey Epstein took a big step closer to their goal this week. Adelita Grijalva’s victory on Tuesday in a special House election in southern Arizona sends another Democrat to Capitol Hill — and secures the deciding endorsement of the procedural tool forcing a House vote on legislation to compel the Justice Department to disclose the still-concealed documents related to the late child sex offender. That procedural tool, known as a discharge petition, currently has 217 signatures. Grijalva is set to make it 218,...

Justice Department officials are racing to obtain criminal charges this week against former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey, according to people familiar with the matterThe US Justice Department is also pushing ahead with its investigation of New York Attorney General Letitia James over mortgage fraud.Clips of Joy Reid and Letitia James whining about James facing the music soon is such a delight to watch.Also clips of Comey lying under oath before congress under questioning by Ted Cruz.. Should be an interesting week and coming months.

A 29-year-old man, Joshua Jahn, with ties to North Texas and Oklahoma has been identified as the suspect in a shooting at a Dallas ICE detention center. Two people were killed in the shooting. The suspect is also deceased. The investigation is ongoing, and police have not yet released a motive for the shooting. According to FOX News and FOX 4 sources, the sniper who killed at least two people at the Dallas ICE facility early Wednesday morning was 29-year-old Joshua Jahn. A sniper died from a self-inflicted gunshot early Wednesday morning after he shot three ICE detainees at a...

The transgender live-in boyfriend of Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin appears to have fled their cozy Utah townhouse, leaving mail piling up outside — as he faces mounting criticism for not turning the accused killer in after he confessed to the hateful slaying in a string of text messages. Lance Twiggs, 22, who has reportedly been cooperating with authorities since his partner, Tyler Robinson, 22, allegedly shot the Turning Point USA founder dead during a speaking event on Sept. 10, has disappeared, neighbors in St. George, Utah, told The Post Tuesday. Mail was spotted piling up outside the $1,800-per-month townhouse the...

Donald Trump's speech to the United Nations was one of the clearest expositions of the way he sees the world, his ideology in its rawest form. To his supporters, it will be seen as Trumpism unplugged; to his critics, Trumpism unhinged. Over almost an hour, he took aim at his opponents and their ideas, picking them off one by one as he toured the world. He began at home, praising the United States and himself. He said the US was living through a golden age and repeated his much-disputed claim that he had personally ended seven wars, something he argued...

An escalator malfunction and frozen teleprompter disrupted President Trump’s marquee address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, prompting him to improvise. The escalator carrying Trump en route to deliver his remarks had abruptly stalled shortly after the president set foot on it, forcing him to walk up it. Then, after making his way to the podium, Trump revealed his teleprompter wasn’t working. “I don’t mind making this speech without a teleprompter, because the teleprompter is not working,” Trump began, looking a little irked, drawing laughter. “I feel very happy to be up here with you, nevertheless — and...

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exploded in outrage over a cryptic and “menacing” tweet issued by California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office this past weekend. “Kristi Noem is going to have a bad day today. You’re welcome, America.” Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary at DHS, blasted Newsom’s team for crossing the line into dangerous rhetoric. McLaughlin wrote on X: “This reads like a threat. This is ugly, @GavinNewsom. Your keyboard warrior team may hide behind their laptops and spew this kind of vitriol, but you would never have the guts to say this to her face.” Acting U.S. Attorney for the...

@FBIDirectorKash As the Director of the FBI, I am committed to ensuring the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s assassination is thorough and exhaustive, pursuing every lead to its conclusion. The full weight of America’s law enforcement agencies are actively following the evidence that has emerged, but our efforts extend beyond initial findings. We are examining every facet of this assassination. We are meticulously investigating theories and questions, including the location from where the shot was taken, the possibility of accomplices, the text message confession and related conversations, Discord chats, the angle of the shot and bullet impact, how the weapon was...