Free Republic

In a speech to US business leaders, Najib says opposition politicians have blown 1MDB scandal out of proportion in a failed attempt to topple his government. WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump welcomed Prime Minister Najib Razak to the White House today, praising his country for investing in the United States while steering clear of an American investigation into a Malaysian corruption scandal. The visit is important for Najib, who faces elections next year and wants to signal he is still welcome at the White House despite a criminal probe by the US Justice Department into a state fund called 1Malaysia...

The media say they have always been concerned about big money in elections. They also say they are very concerned about foreign money in elections, and honest elections, so here is a trial should draw great interest. It also involves a billionaire and stolen money. It has a major movie star, Leonardo DiCaprio, who is testifying about corruption.Yet so far it hasn't. It is too bad that DiCaprio wasn't testifying about green energy. Then it would get major coverage. Or if Gwyneth Paltrow had a ski accident, or if Johnny Depp was getting sued, then it would have had massive...

The first officer of a United Airlines jet warned the pilot "you are still slow and a little low" before the aircraft hit a light pole and tractor-trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike while landing at Newark Liberty Airport on May 3. A preliminary report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board about the May 3 incident said the airliner was hit by a 34 mph wind gust just before crossing the highway, and confirmed the jet struck both the light pole and the tractor-trailer. The crew of United Flight 169 heard a thump and felt a jolt as...

There’s a new beast on the streets — and it’s nothing to bark at. A powerful animal tranquilizer is increasingly saturating the US drug supply, fueling mass overdose outbreaks in hot spots like Chicago and Philadelphia. It was detected in New York last year, setting off alarm bells among public health officials. They warn that while its effects can mimic opioids such as fentanyl, there’s a dangerous catch: It doesn’t respond to conventional overdose-reversal treatments. The drug, medetomidine, is a sedative used by veterinarians to relax muscles and relieve pain, often during surgery. It works by slowing the release of...

Putting partisan politics far above patriotism (if he has any), top Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin is outright threatening vengeance on foreign leaders who work with the Trump administration. Yes, he washes it through rhetoric about fighting “authoritarianism in our country,” but that’s simply cover for goonish threats. Raskin (D-Md.) issued it on the “Pod Save America” podcast, after progressive host Tommy Vietor cited (surely left-wing) Latin America experts as urging Democrats to warn off “any foreign government that participates in the extraordinary rendition of American citizens.” Reality check: No one is proposing any “extraordinary rendition of American citizens.”

New York City has broken a 30-year record for the fewest number of shootings in the first two months of the year, police revealed Monday. The city saw 93 incidents of gun violence between January and February, the fewest for those months since 1993, officials said. Newly released NYPD statistics for February not only showed that dramatic drop in shootings, but also a 14.5% decline in overall serious crimes compared to the same month last year. “In the first two months of 2025, New York City experienced the fewest number of shooting incidents in the past 30 years, and the...

“He told me that he, or he and a group, were going to make a significant contribution to the Democratic Party. … I said 'wow, that’s a lot of money.’” Movie star Leonardo DiCaprio took the stand in a federal trial on Monday that seeks to hammer down the details of what appears to be a money-funneling scheme that features a Malaysian financier funneling tens of millions of dollars through a prominent 90s rap artist for the purpose of donating to former President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. DiCaprio plays into the saga because he was said to have partied...

What the 2024 election results made clear is that the Obama coalition is dead. If Democrats are to have any shot at reclaiming power, so too must be the niceties and mores of the Obama era. Yes, Democrats must get mean – ruthlessly, bitterly mean. This is not to say, however, that they need merely to cast aside the former first lady’s once-famous, now-infamous messaging mantra. No, what I prescribe is not just a new approach to political discourse but a new theory of opposition party politics. Trumpism has corrupted America in many ways, but one of the most obvious...

Indonesia seize luxury yacht Equanimity sought in 1MDB probe: Police JAKARTA (REUTERS) - Indonesia on Wednesday (Feb 28) seized a luxury yacht on the island of Bali sought by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of a multi-billion dollar corruption investigation linked to Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). “We have been inspecting the crew since yesterday and now we are taking action since we have received approval from the court to seize the boat,” Agung Setya, director of economic and special crimes at the Indonesia’s criminal investigation bureau, told Metro TV. Television footage in Indonesia...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Fugees rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel appeared in court on Thursday and told reporters he is innocent of criminal charges that he conspired to funnel foreign funds into Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential re-election, while also plugging his upcoming album.... ...Last week, the Justice Department unsealed charges against Michel and Low Taek Jho, a wealthy Malaysian businessman with a tabloid partying reputation known as “Jho Low,” alleging they conspired to steer foreign campaign contributions into Obama’s 2012 campaign. It is a crime for foreign nationals to make political contributions in U.S. federal, state or local elections. Federal prosecutors...

Presidents Day, normally observed on the third Monday in February, may have a little extra meaning for Bob Low, particularly by way of his work in the 1980s as a haberdasher — also known as a clothier — in Washington, D.C. The Cedar Creek resident, a native of Westerly, Rhode Island, became acquainted with a World War II veteran from New England who went on to become a Texas-based businessman, diplomat and politician. President George Herbert Walker Bush was a regular customer of Low’s at the Arthur A. Adler shop on Connecticut Avenue, a few blocks from the White House....

Ukraine is running out of the ammunition needed for its US-supplied Howitzer guns as additional American aid for its military is held up by Congress — all while Russia is quickly bolstering its firepower, Kyiv soldiers warned. A Ukrainian artillery crew operating an M109 Paladin Howitzer said they have been forced to start rationing their shells to try to beat back Russia’s forces near Bakhmut because of the dwindling supply.

Enthusiasm is low for President Joe Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign in his hometown of Scranton, Delaware, residents told the far-left Guardian publication on Thursday. Low enthusiasm for Biden in his hometown depicts a microcosm of a growing problem nationwide. Polling numbers show Biden’s popularity is on a downward trajectory: Fox News: 54 percent of Democrat primary voters prefer an alternative to Biden. Pew Research: Biden’s approval rating sinks to just 33 percent, the lowest since he took office. WSJ: Only 23 percent said the same for Biden’s policies. NYT: Biden trails Donald Trump in approval rating among voters 18-29.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ approval rating has sunk to a record new low, a Monmouth University poll reveals, raising Democrat fears she might not be the best member of the White House to advocate for public policy. Harris, known for word salads, announced a nationwide tour on Tuesday to proclaim the virtues of the abortion agenda with her first stop on January 22, the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Monmouth polling found Harris’s approval rating at a historic low: December 2023: 35 percent September 2023: 36 percent July 2023: 40 percent March 2023: 26 percent The poll sampled 803...

The sale of previously owned homes fell to an annualized rate of 3.79 million in October, marking a 13-year low, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Tuesday. Existing home sales, which fell 4.1 percent from September and 14.6 percent from last year, reached its lowest point since August 2010, the data showed. “Prospective home buyers experienced another difficult month due to the persistent lack of housing inventory and the highest mortgage rates in a generation,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said in a press release.

President Joe Biden’s favorability among Americans sits at a four-year low as the embattled octogenarian seeks a second term in office, Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) polling found Wednesday. Only 37 percent of Americans hold a favorable view of Biden, while 60 percent hold an unfavorable view, marking his worse unfavorable rating dating back to 2019. During the 2020 election cycle, the pollster found Biden’s favorability rating slightly fell from 42 percent in October 2019. His highest favorability was 55 percent after he assumed office.

The number of homes for sale on the market fell for the fifth straight month in September amid the already severe housing shortage. A new report from Realtor.com shows that the total number of homes for sale, including homes that were under contract but not yet sold, fell by 4% in September compared with the same time a year ago. On top of that, available home supply remains down a stunning 45.1% from the typical amount before the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, according to the report

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The California Department of Housing and Community Development released new income limits this month, and they increased in most counties. These limits are calculated annually based on federal guidelines and are used to determine eligibility for things like affordable housing programs. In Orange County, one-person households making less than $80,000 a year are considered low-income, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development. That's up from just under $76,000 last year, and puts Orange County as the most expensive of the Southern California counties. In Ventura County, it's a little over $74,000 and in...

Evidence of potential construction of a Chinese military site has been observed by American spy services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Washington Post obtained top-secret intelligence that the construction activity had been identified around Abu Dhabi in December 2022. Those documents were leaked by National Guardsman Jack Teixeira on a Discord server, who faces 15 years in prison. The activity in question occurred around a year after the UAE, a US ally, had announced that they would stop the construction after US officials suggested that the area would end up being used by Beijing for military purposes, per...

As Democrats are politically targeting former President Donald Trump for allegedly paying hush money during the 2016 presidential election, President Obama's "illegal foreign influence operation" is flying under the radar. Earlier this week, actor Leonardo DiCaprio testified in federal court that Malaysian financier Jho Low revealed his plans to donate up to $30 million to help Obama's 2012 reelection campaign. "It was a causal conversation about what party he was in support of; I told him what party I was in support of. And he told me that he, or he and a group, were going to make a significant...