Free Republic

When someone says a retiree is "living off Social Security," it's not usually $100,000 a year. But some U.S. retired couples will be receiving that much in a few years - and a proposal to cap their benefit at that amount has started a painful and much-needed conversation about who should get government benefits and how much.

CHICAGO, IL — After releasing Jayden Ivey over his statements about the unrighteousness of Pride month, the Chicago Bulls have offered to reinstate Ivey on the team if he will agree to do some cocaine and beat a few women. The Bulls stated that the amount of cocaine was flexible, but Ivey needed to be arrested for at least two counts of domestic violence in order to be let back onto the team. "We have high expectations in Chicago, and we will not tolerate players who fail to live up to our culture," said Bulls General Manager Mark Eversley. "I...

President Trump says he's considering withdrawing the U.S. from NATO, after years of complaining the alliance's member countries aren't paying enough for their own defense. And since he began the war with Iran, the president has been lashing out about the lack of support from NATO allies. A law passed by Congress in 2023 — and spearheaded in part by Marco Rubio, now the secretary of state — bars the president from doing so without approval from the legislative branch. The existence of that law may not stop Mr. Trump from trying to pull the U.S. out of the 77-year-old...

There are several instances in the Old Testament (and one or two in the N/T) where we read that David was not allowed to build a temple for God: 1 Chronicles 22:8: "But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me." And this: 1 Chronicles 28:3: "But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war and...

MERRITT ISLAND, FL — In one of the biggest April Fools' jokes in decades, NASA is pretending once again to actually be going to the moon. NASA has reportedly spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the elaborate prank, going so far as to construct a massive fake rocket on the Kennedy Space Center launch pad. As part of the joke, a green-screen video will be aired this evening of the "rocket launch", featuring a tiny model rocket controlled by strings and employees making explosion sounds in the background. "I can't stop laughing about it. How are people still falling...

TEHRAN — March 29, 2026 : Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has cautioned senior leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that Iran’s economy could face total collapse within three to four weeks if a regional ceasefire is not achieved, according to informed sources cited by Iran International. The warning reflects growing internal divisions between Iran’s civilian administration and military leadership as the ongoing conflict enters its fifth week, intensifying both economic strain and governance disputes. Internal Tensions Over War Strategy The reported disagreement centers on the direction and management of military operations. President Pezeshkian is said to have directly...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended NATO on Wednesday after President Trump suggested that the U.S. would reconsider its membership to the longstanding alliance once the conflict with Iran concludes. “NATO is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen,” Starmer told reporters during a press conference at Downing Street. “It has kept us safe for many decades, and we are fully committed to NATO.” Starmer refused to bow to “pressure” from Trump, reaffirming the U.K.’s stance against wider involvement in the joint U.S.-Israeli military operation. “Whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, I’m...

The 2024 Presidential Election was such a weird one that we'll be performing a postmortem on it for years to come. A lot of people will regret the decisions they made when they stepped into the voting booth that day, and Stephen A. Smith is one of them. To his credit, Smith is willing to call balls and strikes to a degree when it comes to politics, and he has no problem admitting that he made an error when he voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris. Smith was a guest on The Sage Steele Show, and Steele asked him...

Bruce Springsteen used a concert stage in Minneapolis to deliver a blunt warning about the state of America, leading critics to label the musician a "traitor." Springsteen unleashed four pointed political speeches during the opening night of his "Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour" on Tuesday. "We are living through some very dark times," he told the crowd mid-show, according to Variety. "Our American values that have sustained us for 250 years are being challenged as never before. We’ve got our young men and women’s lives at risk in an unconstitutional and illegal war. This is happening now. Bruce...

This is directed to Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin but there are others, not counting the quislings in the Democrat Party, whose carping and breast beating are less than helpful. Recently, Congressman Van Orden said, ” I have been clear from the start, NO boots on the ground. ...” Taking him at his word, the only way to understand this comment is that before any facts about the war on our enemies in Iran had unfolded, he was against “boots on the ground.” This is an especially curious statement because Congressman Van Orden’s bio says he participated in...

A 7-month-old girl was shot dead in her stroller by a stray bullet while walking with her parents in Brooklyn, with cops now looking for a pair of moped-riding thugs, according to law enforcement sources. The family was strolling near Humboldt and Moore streets early in the afternoon when the shots rang out, and the two suspected gunmen sped off — with a person of interest now in custody, the sources said. The tot’s mom heard the shots and rushed her daughter into a nearby bodega — then looked down at the stroller and saw the blood, according to the...

A local television news anchor in Alabama sparked outrage online for signing off a recent newscast by quoting the founder of an Islamic fundamentalist group blamed for inspiring some of the world’s most lethal terrorist organizations. Ashonti Ford, 38, was wrapping up her 6 p.m. broadcast this past Thursday on Birmingham’s ABC 33/40 WBMA-LD when she cited a quote attributed to the late Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. “Before we go, a quote from the founder of the Islamic Brotherhood: ‘The quieter you become, the more you’re able to hear,’” she said as she closed the March...

Rep Susie Lee posted the crude remarks just before 1 am then deleted them after online backlash Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., sparked an online frenzy after launching an expletive-filled, late-night rant against President Donald Trump in protest of his plans to attend oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Wednesday. "So f---ing f---ed up. I’ll pray they f--- him to his face," Lee wrote shortly before 1 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday. "Sorry, I say f--- a lot these days," Lee, 59, added.

Explanation: What unexpected things do you see when you look up at the night sky? Today’s image resembles an abstract painting, with large swaths of color strewn across a cosmic canvas seemingly without design. Despite the image's abstract nature, the human mind finds patterns, identifying a large claw reaching up towards a floating bubble. Embedded within these seemingly random structures are the physical laws that govern how light and matter interact. The Claw (Sh2-157) and Bubble (NGC 7635) Nebulae glow colors that are mapped to the yellow and blue shown, indicating the presence of hydrogen and oxygen ionized by the...

The UK will pursue closer economic ties with the European Union in light of the war in Iran, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The prime minister told a news conference he would use a summit with the EU later this year to seek more cooperation with the bloc on the economy and security. It comes as relations between the US and the UK have been increasingly strained by the PM's refusal to be drawn further into the war with Iran. In his speech, Sir Keir warned the conflict would impact the UK but sought to reassure the public the government...

The Friends of the Israel Defense Forces said that it is giving more than $430,000 to families of 118 fallen Israeli soldiers through its After the Shiva program ahead of the Passover holiday. The funds will support “ongoing financial needs, along with holiday shopping gift cards, personalized gifts and herb plants to help families prepare for and observe Passover,” the group said. Maj. Gen. (Res.) Nadav Padan, CEO of the group, stated that “supporting bereaved families is a sacred responsibility that reflects the deep bond between Israel’s supporters around the world and those who have made the greatest sacrifice on...

President Donald Trump made an extraordinary appearance Wednesday for Supreme Court arguments — an American presidential first — as his administration seeks to unwind birthright citizenship during two hours of dramatic oral arguments. The Supreme Court voiced strong pushback against efforts to restrict who can be called an American, a politically divisive case over automatic citizenship for some children born in the United States to foreign nationals. Trump, wearing a red tie and dark suit, entered the courtroom around nine minutes before the court gaveled into session and did not speak during the session, per court rules.... Trump heard a...

President Donald Trump oversaw record levels of domestic energy production in 2025, including close to a billion barrels of offshore oil, according to the Department of the Interior.Last year saw a record of 714 million barrels of offshore oil produced, according to a press release from the Interior Department. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum underscored that the United States is tapping into its true energy potential.“President Trump has made it clear that America should fully develop its abundant energy resources in a way that strengthens our economy and benefits American families,” Burgum said in a statement.“By providing regulatory certainty, streamlining processes...

TEHRAN, — March 30, 2026 : According Source the Israeli Air Force has carried out a targeted operation employing non-destructive “soft-kill” munitions to disrupt electricity supply across parts of Tehran and the nearby city of Karaj, according to reports citing sources within the Israel Defense Forces. The strikes were directed at multiple electrical transmission nodes, including power plants and transformer stations in areas such as the Pirouzi district in eastern Tehran. Non-Explosive Disruption of Electrical Infrastructure The operation reportedly utilized CBU-94/B “Blackout” cluster munitions equipped with BLU-114/B submunitions. These systems are specifically designed to disable electrical infrastructure without causing physical...

Mon Dieu! A free-ranging robotic Olaf, the lovable snowman character from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Frozen” movie franchise, evidently suffered a… brain freeze this week. In a video that has gone viral, the Olaf robot at Disneyland Paris is seen speaking to parkgoers before it freezes up — in midsentence — and then collapses backward, with its detachable carrot nose bouncing onto the ground. Two park employees quickly arrive to scoop up the malfunctioning animatronic device and carry it away. The video, shared by Belgian Disney fan site Magic Tour Club, has been viewed more than 4.6 million times on...