Free Republic

Four Republican senators voted with Democrats on Thursday to approve a bipartisan resolution to repeal President Trump’s global tariffs, including steeper rates on long-time allies such as the European Union, Japan and South Korea. Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), the GOP sponsor of the resolution, and Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted for it. The same proposal failed in the Senate in late April on a 50-49 vote after Vice President Vance cast the tiebreaking vote to defeat it. Critically, McConnell and Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), who voted Thursday for the resolution, missed the...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that a British journalist, who is suspected of being a member of the Islamic extremist group the Muslim Brotherhood, is in ICE custody and faces deportation from the United States. In a post on X, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and “the men and women of law enforcement” for their work. McLaughlin added that the visa of Sami Hamdi has been revoked. “Thanks to the work of @Sec_Noem and @SecRubio and the men and women of law enforcement, this individual’s visa was revoked and...

British Storm Shadow missiles have been used by Volodymyr Zelensky to strike an important chemical plant that produces gunpowder in southern Russia. The use of missiles supplied by Britain in Russia's Bryansk region will likely spark condemnation from Vladimir Putin's government. 'A massive combined missile and air strike was carried out, including the use of air-launched Storm Shadow missiles, which successfully penetrated the Russian air defense system,' Ukraine's General Staff said in a statement on X on Tuesday. 'This enterprise produces gunpowder, explosives, and components for rocket fuel, in particular for ammunition and missiles that the enemy uses to shell...

The U.S. has been helping Ukraine mount long-range strikes on Russian energy facilities for months in a joint effort to weaken the economy and force President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. U.S. intelligence has helped Kyiv strike important Russian energy assets, including oil refineries, far beyond the front line, the newspaper said, citing unnamed Ukrainian and U.S. officials familiar with the campaign. The White House, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office and Ukraine's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. There was no immediate comment from the Russian foreign ministry....

The United Nations will begin slashing its peacekeeping force and operations, forcing thousands of soldiers in the next several months to evacuate far-flung global hotspots as a result of the latest U.S. funding cuts to the world body, a senior U.N. official said. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting, briefed reporters Wednesday on the 25% reduction in peacekeepers worldwide as the United States, the largest U.N. donor, makes changes to align with President Donald Trump's “America First” vision. Roughly 13,000 to 14,000 military and police personnel out of more than 50,000 peacekeepers...

Moldova's electoral commission barred a pro-Russian party from participating in this weekend's parliamentary elections on Friday, a vote beleaguered by widespread claims of Russian interference. The outcome of Sunday's high-stakes vote could determine whether Moldova, a former Soviet republic and a candidate for EU membership, will continue on a path towards the West or be brought back into Moscow's orbit. The Heart of Moldova party is one of four parties in the Russia-friendly Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP), which is viewed as one of the main opponents of the ruling pro-Western Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS). The Central Electoral Commission's...

DOGE staffer fights off a mob and sparks a national conversation on violence and virtue, the presidential medal of freedom, and celebrating what this country needs — balls. Thug life. It was 3AM or so a few weeks back when Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old working with the Social Security Administration in Washington D.C., walked Emily Bryant back to her car after a party, and a small mob attacked them — around ten people, according to police who witnessed the assault. Edward shoved Emily in the driver’s seat, slammed it shut, and squared off against the assailants. A couple got around...

A rebel Republican congressman has invited multiple victims of Jeffrey Epstein to a press conference at the U.S. Capitol as part of a bipartisan push to force the release of legal files linked to the late pedophile. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a thorn in Donald Trump’s side for his frequent objections to the president’s spending bills and foreign policies, said that he and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna will be co-hosting the Sept. 3 conference. The event will feature survivors of abuse by Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, several of whom “will be speaking out for the first time,”...

Shotgun pellets and bullets that contain lead are to be banned for almost all uses, ministers have said, in a long-awaited announcement welcomed by wildlife groups. < snip > The change to the law, announced by the environment minister Emma Hardy, will outlaw shotgun pellets containing more than 1% lead, and bullets that have more than 3%.

President Trump on Tuesday emphatically dropped an f-bomb, on camera, expressing frustration that Israel and Iran appeared to be violating the ceasefire that he just celebrated going into effect. "We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f*** they're doing," Trump said to reporters as he left the White House.

Warning to Khamenei On Sunday, Israel targeted the city of Mashhad, located 2,300 kilometers from the Jewish State, for the first time. A diplomatic source in the Middle East told Iran International that the Israeli airstrike on Mashhad was a warning to Iran’s Supreme Leader that he is not safe anywhere in the country. The diplomatic source added that Israel could have eliminated Khamenei on the first night of the operation, but the Israeli government chose to keep him alive to give him a final chance to decide on completely dismantling the Islamic Republic’s uranium enrichment program.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene vows to oppose the One Big Beautiful Bill when it returns to the House if there are no changes made to the artificial intelligence provision. Greene says she was unaware of the AI provision when she first voted for the bill and now argues it would endanger state rights, risk job losses in her manufacturing-heavy district, and open the door to forced property seizures. Facing criticism for missing the provision, Greene defended her transparency, claiming no other lawmakers publicly flagged the AI clause and pledging to fight any future legislation that limits state authority over AI...

On this week’s broadcast of “CBS Sunday Morning,” former President Bill Clinton rejected claims of President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline. Reporter Tracy Smith asked, “Speaking of aging there is there is this book that came out talking about Joe Biden and the people around him seeing that he had cognitive and physical decline. Did you ever have a moment with him where you thought maybe he was unfit to run for president?” Clinton said, “No.” Smith repeated, “No.” Clinton continued, “I thought he was a good president. The only concern I thought he had to deal with was, could anybody...

A federal court has determined that President Donald Trump does not have the authority to unilaterally impose tariffs, dealing a sweeping blow to the president's main weapon in his ongoing global trade war. A panel of judges on the U.S. Court of International Trade found the tariffs were unlawful and permanently vacated them.

Ukraine used drones in an attempt to down a helicopter carrying Russian President Vladimir Putin over Russia’s Kursk region on May 20. Russian Air Force Major-General Yuri Dashkin said Putin’s helicopter was “virtually at the epicenter of repelling a large-scale attack by the enemy’s drones,” and that 46 drones were shot down during the attack, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Even the most powerful figures in the NFL were unable to stop the tush push. A proposed ban of the tush push play that the Philadelphia Eagles have popularized did not receive enough votes at the spring meeting Wednesday in Eagan, Minnesota. Before the vote, retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce and team owner Jeffrey Lurie spoke to the owners to lobby for the merits of keeping the play. Sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter that the final vote was 22-10 on the proposal, which was submitted by the Green Bay Packers. The proposal needed 24 votes to pass. Among the...

Judges in several states say they have faced threats and intimidation tactics associated with pizza deliveries. Federal judges say unsolicited pizza deliveries to jurists’ homes that began in February may number in the hundreds across at least seven states, prompting increased security concerns and a demand from a Senate leader for a Justice Department investigation. Many of the deliveries have gone to judges presiding over lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s policies. The U.S. Marshals Service has been tracking the deliveries, and judges have been sharing details about their experiences in hopes of finding out more about what they call an...

Texas has halted any construction of EPIC City. There is no construction taking place. The state of Texas has launched about a half dozen investigations into this project. That includes criminal investigations. And, the US Department of justice is also investigating. This matter, and similar matters, are taken very seriously, and actions are being taken to address all concerns.

On March 11, about 50 judges gathered in Washington for the biannual meeting of the Judicial Conference, which oversees the administration of the federal courts. It was the first time the conference met since President Trump retook the White House.In the midst of discussions of staffing levels and long-range planning, the judges’ conversations were focused, to an unusual degree, on rising threats against judges and their security, said several people who attended the gathering.Behind closed doors at one session, Judge Richard J. Sullivan, the chairman of the conference’s Committee on Judicial Security, raised a scenario that weeks before would have...

On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Last Word,” Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) said that Democrats have a good message, “The problem we’ve got, honestly, is that we have to depend upon the media to deliver it.” And “when you’ve got people saying we’re not going to fact-check, we’re not going to worry about whether or not you’re telling the truth and just let the reports go out there. That’s what’s killing us as Democrats, because we don’t have a stomach for just lying.” Clyburn stated, “I think the message that’s coming from the Democratic Party is a good message. The...