Free Republic

President Trump has said that there will be no deal with Iran “except unconditional surrender” in his latest post on social media. “After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,” wrote the US president. “IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!).”

Republicans are surging after President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address and might be in position to defy history in the midterm elections, polling shows. The Harvard Harris poll found Republicans are in a much better position heading into midterm elections than previously assessed. The poll asked respondents if the congressional election were held today would they be more likely to vote for a Democrat or a Republican for Congress, finding likely midterm voters split down the middle. The results mark an eight-point swing towards Republicans in the Harvard Harris poll since January when 54 percent of respondents replied...

[Catholic Caucus] Lepanto Institute calls for Pope Leo to laicize New Mexico priest over homosexual ‘domestic partnership’Lepanto pointed out that parents of grade school age children are concerned for the welfare and safety of their children, with an openly pro-homosexual priest serving as pastor of a Catholic schoolThe Lepanto Institute has formally requested that Pope Leo laicize and suspend from ministry a New Mexico priest who entered into a homosexual “domestic partnership” for 10 years during a 28-year leave of absence from the priesthood.Lepanto sent a copy of its August 2025 report on Fr. Steve Rosera, of the Archdiocese of...

Canada's Arctic is a massive, treacherous, and largely inhospitable place, stretched out over nearly 4 million square kilometres of territory - but with a small population roughly equal to Blackburn in England or Syracuse, New York."You can take a map of continental Europe, put it on the Canadian Arctic, and there's room to spare," Pierre Leblanc, the former commander of the Canadian Forces Northern Area told the BBC. "And that environment is extremely dangerous."Standing at the defence of that massive landmass is an aging string of early warning radars, eight staffed military bases and about 100 full-time Coast Guard personnel...

China is actively preparing for war against the United States. The signs are obvious and ominous. During the Biden regime, we saw the first signs of it. The Chinese began a campaign of "elite capture" in the Western Pacific, quietly buying legislators until they controlled the parliaments of at least eight nations and then negotiating defense agreements, that, in the case of the Solomon Islands, gives China the right to deploy troops there to put down civil unrest; see China Seeks to Buy Eight Pacific Island Nations While Joe Biden and His State Department Are Comatose – RedState. Part of...

... Or face 100% secondary tariffs BREAKING News. Trump speaking now.

U.N. chief Antonio Guterres wants to “turn the world around” but is lacking in one thing: other people’s money. On Monday the veteran Portuguese socialist acknowledged the financial shortfall and demanded the world step up and give to the globalist organization to fill the gap in aid donations. Guterres made his call at a meeting in Valencia, Spain, citing a “$4 trillion financing gap” as cause for immediate action. He noted “massive headwinds” exist since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew USAID contributions to U.N. projects soon after he returned to the White House via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)...

Two large California oil refineries are shutting down, triggering mounting concerns from state legislators, industry groups and many others. **snip** The Phillips 66 and Valero’s Benicia sites are set to close in 2026. Together, the shutdowns will eliminate nearly 300,000 barrels-per‑day of refining capacity — roughly 20% of the total used in the state. Valero attributed its decision to “years of regulatory pressure (and) significant fines for air quality violations,” including an $82 million penalty levied in 2024. Phillips 66 similarly cited business challenges stemming from California’s strict environmental regulations. "They have said that they cannot do business in the...

“No president should be allowed to unilaterally march this nation into something as consequential as war with erratic threats and no strategy,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a longtime Iran hawk, said in a statement.

Steve Bannon, architect of US president Donald Trump’s America First movement, spoke to Edward Luce, US national editor, at the FTWeekend festival in Washington DC. The populist nationalist shared his views on everything from AI and alleging the election of American pope Leo XIV was ‘rigged’ to declaring the US would be unable to continue financing its deficits without tax rises for wealthy Americans and big cuts to the ‘deep state’.

All eyes were on Moscow on Wednesday after American and Ukrainian officials said they would be willing to enforce a 30-day ceasefire in the country's three-year war — and made it clear the ball was in Russia’s court. Russian President Vladimir Putin is yet to respond to the proposal hashed out by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Ukrainian counterparts in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. But some Russian officials and hardline commentators have poured cold water on a plan that, in theory at least, would halt its advances on the battlefield. Russia’s position would not be determined “abroad due...

"We continue our meaningful dialogue with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Dick Schoof, following our meeting in Munich,” the Ukrainian leader said. “An important conversation about a just end to the war and strengthening European unity."

The United States wants Ukraine to hold elections, potentially by the end of the year, especially if Kyiv can agree a truce with Russia in the coming months, President Donald Trump's top Ukraine official told Reuters. Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, said in an interview that Ukrainian presidential and parliamentary elections, suspended during the war with Russia, "need to be done". "Most democratic nations have elections in their time of war. I think it is important they do so," Kellogg said. "I think it is good for democracy. That's the beauty of a solid democracy, you...

In an interview on “Meet the Press,” President-elect Donald Trump outlined his plan for immigration policy, emphasizing deportation for those in the United States illegally. Trump expressed a commitment to removing illegal immigrants, starting with those who have committed crimes and expanding to others without specifying which crimes would be prioritized. This approach may also involve U.S. citizens choosing to leave with family members who are undocumented. Trump’s stance reiterates a key aspect of his campaign platform. He also suggested terminating birthright citizenship via executive action, forecasting potential legal opposition. Amid controversies surrounding family deportation, Trump spoke of treating families...

Collins-Black has been a lifelong fantasy enthusiast, immersing himself in games and mythical adventures such as Dungeons & Dragons since childhood.By 2015, the successful musician and entrepreneur was looking for a change of pace and envisioned a project that would help him reconnect with his younger imagination.Motivated by Forrest Fenn's infamous treasure hunt launched back in 2010, Collins-Black dreamed of creating something more personal and accessible. Instead of Fenn's single chest hidden in the Rocky Mountains, Collins-Black envisioned multiple troves allowing every person across the country the opportunity to be in closer proximity to one of the chests."I wanted to...

KYIV, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Tuesday its biggest cross-border assault of the war to date had taken control of 74 settlements in Russia's region of Kursk and was still advancing, making gains of one to three kilometres in the last 24 hours. Ukraine blindsided Moscow by pouring thousands of troops into the western Russian region of Kursk last week in a surprise operation that has given Ukraine its biggest battlefield gains since 2022 after months on the backfoot.

Ukraine said on Monday its biggest cross-border assault of the war had captured 1,000 square kilometres (386 square miles) of Russia's Kursk region and that Russian President Vladimir Putin would have to be forced into making peace. With Russia still struggling to repel the surprise assault a week after it began, Ukraine's top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi briefed President Volodymyr Zelenskiy by video link and said the advance into Russian territory was ongoing. "We continue to conduct an offensive operation in the Kursk region. Currently, we control about 1,000 square kilometres of the territory of the Russian Federation," he said in...

Eleven thousand people have been evacuated from Krasnaya Yaruga district in Russia's Belgorod region, state news agency TASS reported on Monday. The regional governor said earlier that evacuations had begun due to "enemy activity on the border". Belgorod is next to the Kursk region where Ukrainian forces broke across into Russia in a major incursion that started last Tuesday.

MOSCOW, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Russia on Monday evacuated civilians from parts of a second region next to Ukraine after Kyiv increased military activity near the border just days after its biggest incursion into sovereign Russian territory since the start of the 2022 war. Ukrainian forces rammed through the Russian border last Tuesday and swept across some Western parts of Russia's Kursk region, a surprise attack that may be aimed at gaining leverage in possible ceasefire talks after the U.S. election. Apparently caught by surprise, Russia by Sunday had stabilised the front in the Kursk region, though Ukraine had carved...

RUSSIAN citizens in Belgorod have been urged to take shelter in their basements after Ukraine's triumphant invasion. Some 121,000 people have fled Kursk as Vladimir Putin's crony governor admitted Kyiv forces now control over 28 towns in the borderland region. As Ukraine pushes its impressive invasion further into a second region, Belgorod, citizens there are also being told to evacuate. Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote in a Telegram message on Monday: "The entire territory of the Belgorod region is a MISSILE DANGER. "Go down to the basement. Stay there until you receive the signal 'all clear missile danger.'" Around 11,000...