Free Republic

Donald Trump's former counterintelligence official blamed Israel for providing the US with faulty intelligence in the lead-up to the war with Iran and said the president should have continued negotiating with Tehran. Joe Kent, the former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said in his resignation letter Tuesday that Iran posed no imminent threat and the war was driven by pressure from Israel. 'Key decision makers were not allowed to express their opinions. There wasn't a robust debate,' Kent told Tucker Carlson on Wednesday. Kent argued that Trump should have created a communication backchannel with Iran and allow Israel to...

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. (WFTV) — Two high school girls in central Florida are charged with attempted murder of another student. Video from the back seat of a police cruiser caught them laughing about their plan. Isabelle Valdez, 15, and Lois Lippert, 14, were seen laughing and smiling as if they were heading to a party. In reality, they were on their way to jail. “This is such a bonding experience. I love this,” Lippert laughed. “I was going to do my makeup this morning for the mug shot, but I couldn’t find anything,” Valdez said. Prosecutors played the video...

With so much going on in the world, it's easy to forget that it's only been a little over a year since Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was killed. He was allegedly gunned down by Luigi Mangione, who is awaiting trial on both state and federal charges in conjunction with Thompson's murder. In his alleged manifesto, Mangione wrote "these parasites had it coming" and "I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done." Several prominent Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, defended Mangione's actions, essentially saying violence is wrong, but UnitedHealthcare...

The Texas gunman who shot two dead and wounded 14 others had photos of Iranian leaders and the Iranian flag inside his home, sources have revealed. Ndiaga Diagne, 53, a former New York City resident and US citizen originally from Senegal, was identified as the shooter by a law enforcement source to the Daily Mail. Two people were shot dead and 14 more were wounded at a packed-out bar in Austin during the early hours of Sunday, before officers killed the attacker in return fire. There is speculation that the attack may have been triggered by the recent US strikes...

On Saturday, after weeks of failed negotiations, the US and Israel unleashed ‘Operation Epic Fury’ on the wicked Iranian regime. The successful military strike took out the top officials of the Iranian regime, including: Ali Khamenei (Supreme Leader). Ali Shamkhani (Defense Council Secretary / senior advisor). Mohammad Pakpour (IRGC commander). Aziz Nasirzadeh (Defense Minister). Abdolrahim Mousavi (Chief of General Staff / Armed Forces Chief of Staff). There are reports that the coordinated hit took out 40 top level officials from the radical Islamic regime. Three Americans were killed in retalitory strikes by Iran, five more are in serious condition. Iran...

Representative Ilhan Omar has criticized the Trump administration over concerns that it may attack Iran during Ramadan, the ninth and holiest month of the Islamic lunar calendar.

American-born Olympian Eileen Gu scored millions from China in 2025 – a staggering payout exposed in a public budget before officials quickly scrubbed her name from the record, according to a report. The champion freestyle skier, who competes for China, cashed in on a jaw-dropping $6.6 million from the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau last year – a hefty sum that was shared with fellow US-born Olympian figure skater Zhu Yi, according to the country’s budget, the Wall Street Journal reported. Yi – who renounced her US citizenship – also performs under China’s flag.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A federal judge has ordered a temporary restraining order restricting the ability of federal agents at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Portland from using tear gas and other chemical munitions at people unless there is an imminent threat of physical harm, according to court documents filed on Tuesday afternoon.“In a well-functioning constitutional democratic republic, free speech, courageous newsgathering, and nonviolent protest are all permitted, respected, and even celebrated. In an authoritarian regime, that is not the case. Our nation is now at a crossroads,” U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon wrote.Meanwhile, U.S. Sen....

Senate Homeland Security Committee Chair Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says he “saw no evidence” to back the claims of senior Trump administration officials that Alex Pretti was attempting to assault law enforcement officers and instead “saw a man that was retreating” when he was shot and killed by federal officers in Minneapolis. “I saw no evidence — I saw a man that was retreating. He went to the middle of the street, he didn’t even obstruct traffic, he let a car go through. As the agents advanced on him, he retreated to the side of the street. A woman is violently...

President Donald Trump accused Obama of attempting to conduct a “coup” during the 2016 election and called for his arrest in a post on his Truth Social account Thursday. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has just released HUNDREDS OF BOMBSHELL RUSSIAGATE DOCUMENTS proving that Barack Obama personally ordered CIA agents to manufacture false intelligence on President Trump and was actively “working with the enemy” to undermine and erode Americans’ confidence in our democracy and President Trump’s LANDSLIDE 2016 VICTORY. This was a coup attempt by Barack Hussain Obama and his cronies… As Jesse Watters said “Whatever happens to these...

A well-known community and social justice activist who founded a Boston nonprofit to reduce violence and who was once was lauded as "Bostonian of the Year" avoided jail time in a federal fraud case, the Justice Department said Thursday. Monica Cannon-Grant, 44, pleaded guilty September 2025 to 18 of the 27 counts, including wire fraud, mail fraud and failing to file tax returns, related to a scheme in which Cannon-Grant and her late husband, Clark Grant, pocketed thousands of dollars in donations to their nonprofit.

BREAKING: Biden Judge Orders Release of Minnesota Church Protestors Nekima Armstrong and Chauntyll Allen https://t.co/a9q2E2Zu6C— The Gateway Pundit (@gatewaypundit) January 23, 2026

A Nebraska state senator caught on video removing portraits of America’s Founders from a hallway in the state Capitol is defending her actions. Democratic State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh was shown on Capitol security footage taking down portraits from an exhibit celebrating the 250th anniversary of America’s founding. The exhibit was provided by conservative nonprofit PragerU and included images of signers of the Declaration of Independence and prominent women in American history, according to Gov. Jim Pillen, who criticized the lawmaker’s actions. "Celebrating America during our 250th year should be a moment of unity and patriotism, not divisiveness and destructive partisanship,"...

Ken Jennings, host of Jeopardy!, took to his Bluesky account on Wednesday and said any Democrat candidate who prosecutes “former” members of President Donald Trump’s White House “regime” has his vote in 2028. “The ‘prosecute the former regime at every level’ candidate has my vote in 2028,” Ken Jennings wrote in a viral post on the liberal-friendly social media site.

A person is in custody after an incident at the home of Vice President JD Vance in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The video also showed the black student running back up to the stabbing victim after the attack screaming “white b*tch!” before he was stopped by another individual. Charges in the stabbing were pending after the incident.

Twelve former FBI agents fired after kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest in Washington sued Monday to get their jobs back, saying their action had been intended to de-escalate a volatile situation and was not meant as a political gesture. The agents say in their lawsuit that they were fired in September by Director Kash Patel because they were perceived as not being politically affiliated with President Donald Trump. But they say their decision to take a knee on June 4, 2020, days after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, has been misinterpreted as...

A bill proposing the death penalty for “terrorists” passed a first reading in Israel’s parliament on Monday – a measure that could apply to Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis. The amendment to the penal code, demanded by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and approved by the National Security Committee, was approved by 39 votes to 16. It must pass a second and third reading before becoming law. The vote went ahead amid a tense truce with Hamas in the Gaza war that had raged since October 7, 2023. While the death penalty exists for a small...

Judge Mark L. Wolf, writing in The Atlantic, said he was stepping down to defend against the “assault on the rule of law” by President Trump, who he accused of “targeting his adversaries.”A federal judge warned of an “existential threat to democracy” in a searing first-person essay published on Sunday, saying he had stepped down from the bench to speak out against President Trump. He accused Mr. Trump of “using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing his friends and donors from investigation, prosecution, and possible punishment.”The judge, Mark L. Wolf, wrote in The Atlantic magazine that...

Seemingly undeterred by his disastrous presidential bid in 2024, former Vice President Mike Pence left the door open to a comeback bid in 2028 during a recent panel discussion. While speaking at an event hosted by the Jefferson Educational Institute in Erie, Pennsylvania, which largely centered on the intersection of Pence’s Christian faith and its intersection with his political career, the former vice president took what could be interpreted as a subtle jab at his former boss by discussing “principles” over personality. “We must resist the temptation to trade principle for power,” he said, linking the philosophy with Jeffersonian ideals....