Free Republic

Trump’s campaign of repression echoes the red scare. But now the government has bigger ambitions and more powerful tools There are many parallels between the first McCarthy era, roughly 1946 to 1956, and Trump’s campaign of political repression, his own updated McCarthyism. Both regimes crafted a monster of quasi-facts and innuendo and fed it with fear: an enemy within, well-organized and financed, secretive and violent, allied with evil foreigners and bent on overthrowing capitalism, democracy and Christian morality. Both used flagrantly unconstitutional means to cleanse the nation of the spectral menace. Each time, federal employees were targeted first. President Harry...

A Venezuelan woman who graduated from St. Thomas University and lives in South Florida was released by ICE on Monday after being detained nearly three weeks ago by agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as she tried to travel to North Carolina... “Claudia had no criminal record. Her detention is unacceptable," South Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman said. "I was able to speak with her, and she told us about the terrible conditions she experienced while detained at...

The Walt Disney Company has dramatically escalated its showdown with the Federal Communications Commission, accusing the agency of carrying out a politically motivated campaign on behalf of President Donald Trump that could strip broadcast licenses from some of Disney-owned network ABC’s biggest television stations. In a 109-page filing, Disney argued the federal agency’s actions amount to retaliation over the entertainment company’s programming, including criticism of the president by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and scrutiny surrounding Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. “The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the Administration’s view of...

Eye-popping diary entries written by Dr. Anthony Fauci reveal the former White House COVID advisor was fixated on his newfound celebrity at the height of the global pandemic, but anyone who relies on legacy media outlets for news and information may not be aware. ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, CNN and MS NOW's on-air broadcasts ignored Fauci’s diary entries from the time they were released on Saturday afternoon through Monday at 9 a.m. ET when flagship morning shows had concluded, according to a search of transcripts using Grabien Media. Released by Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky.,...

In October, Stanford University professor Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, hosted a conferenceopens in a new tab or window on the lessons of COVID-19 in order "to do better in the next pandemic." He invited scholars, journalists, and policy wonks who, like him, have criticized the U.S. management of the crisis as overly draconian. Bhattacharya also invited public health authorities who had considered his alternative approach reckless. None of them showed up. Now, the "contrarians" are seizing the reins: President Donald Trump has nominated Bhattacharya to lead the NIH and Johns Hopkins University surgeon Marty Makary, MD, MPH, to run the...

Audio recordings that former President Joe Biden fought for years to keep private have now been released. The roughly 70 hours of audio recordings, shared with CBS News, were cited in a 2024 special counsel's report, which said Biden kept volumes of notes at his home that included classified information. Biden, now 83, is at one point in the recordings heard telling his ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer: "Some of this may be classified … So, be careful. I'm not sure ... It's not marked classified but —" At another point in the recordings he says again: "The next thing I have...

President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at Waldorf Astoria at 8:55 p.m. ET on July 24.

Elon Musk recently asked a question that millions of Americans have been asking for years: “Who sends them their instructions!? Real question.” He was reacting to a familiar spectacle, within minutes or hours of an event, leading Democrats, left leaning pundits, and drive-by media outlets suddenly begin using the same phrase, the same framing, sometimes almost the same sentence, on TV, on 𝕏, and across the web. The pattern is so obvious that it has become a kind of dark joke on the right. We all see the copies, the question is whether there is in fact a script....

When Andrew Breitbart offered $100 000 for the person who gives him the Klein’s list of the liberal journalists in the USA I immediately checked the Russian web-sphere. I stumbled on a group of Russian journalists and media executives and guess what: Anna Chapman’s Dad have been working with them. Don’t be surprised if Komsomolskaya Pravda gives the most accurate info on Vasily Kushchenko. The 4vlast (the forth power) is group that was started by former journalists from the legendary paper. Their goal: to affect politics through the power of the media. Kind of like the American liberal 400...

Nancy Armour's column argues Clark's reactions to officiating fuel racist harassment of opponentsUSA Today columnist Nancy Armour wants Caitlin Clark to stop flopping and berating WNBA officials. Plenty of people agree with that take, including OutKick's Dan Dakich. Others would argue that Clark’s frustration is understandable, given the physical treatment she has received and the WNBA’s inconsistent officiating. Either way, Armour is well within her rights to criticize Clark’s behavior on the court. Armour argues that Clark’s reactions to missed calls put "Black" and "queer" WNBA players "in danger," essentially blaming Clark for alleged racist messages sent by people she...

When President Donald Trump talked about some of the things China has done to literally steal our democracy by seeing to it that, in 2020, its Manchurian candidate was elected in the form of a semi-comatose Joe Biden, many of the things he mentioned had already been in the news, but they may not have been covered by the legacy media.Case in point: Trump mentioned in his July 16 address to the nation that China stole TikTok data to create fake U.S. driver’s licenses.If you follow conservative media, you may have known this. If you get your news from the...

President Donald Trump in his primetime speech on Thursday is alleging vulnerabilities exist in American election systems, using a large trove of newly declassified documents as evidence to suggest future elections could be at risk of foreign interference, particularly by China. Though the documents are newly declassified, they largely discuss vulnerabilities that have been known for years and election officials around the country have tried to address. None of the declassified information supports the claim that any previous election results — including the 2020 presidential contest that Trump lost — were manipulated by foreign interference or fraud in a way...

The New York Times is facing a threatened shareholder lawsuit over its coverage of former Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, Israel and other politically charged stories. The National Center for Public Policy Research warned Tuesday that it will sue unless the newspaper turns over records within a week, alleging directors failed to oversee the Gray Lady's editorial standards and corrections practices.

The Los Angeles Times repeatedly fell months behind on payments to contractors and vendors — even stiffing one of its own marquee hires — as billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong pressed ahead with plans to take the 144-year-old newspaper public, according to a report. Among those caught in the payment delays was investigative journalist Catherine Herridge, who struggled for months to collect money owed under her lucrative deal with the paper before finally getting paid after what sources described as a prolonged battle, the Status newsletter reported. A spokesperson for the newspaper appeared to confirm at least some of the allegations,...

After this week, anyone who still believes the online conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of Charlie Kirk possesses either a dangerously low IQ or an irreparably broken moral compass. That’s because the pre-trial hearing now in progress for Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating Kirk in front of hundreds of students at Utah Valley University, is collapsing the madness in real time. During his short life, the founder of Turning Point USA engaged in good-faith debates with young people on a wide variety of topics, and he did so in a cheery and civil manner. Agree with him or...

YouTube's recommendation recipe might be getting a rather unexpected new ingredient.TL;DR -The UK is considering rules that would make trusted broadcasters, such as the BBC, easier to find on YouTube and TikTok during major news events and emergencies. -YouTube warns the proposal could force it to recommend certain news channels over creators’ videos, potentially reducing creators’ reach and making recommendations feel less personalized. -The proposal is still under consultation, with creators and the public able to submit feedback until August 31 before any final decision is made. YouTube’s recommendations are a big reason why many creators grow in the first...

A 21-year-old Augusta woman has been arrested after Columbia County investigators say she targeted two homes displaying Donald Trump signs by slashing tires, vandalizing property, dumping trash in a yard and leaving threatening letters warning one homeowner to “get ready for so much worse.” Armani Faith Obregon is charged with terroristic threats and acts, unlawful dumping and two counts of second-degree criminal damage to property following a series of incidents that unfolded over several days in late June in a Martinez neighborhood. According to investigators, the alleged campaign began on June 28, when two neighboring homes were targeted in the...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2009 – Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean last week, sailors aboard the Trident strategic missile submarine USS Maryland prepared to start a series of underwater practice maneuvers known as “angles and dangles.” The USS Maryland’s “Gold” crew executive officer, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Louis J. Springer, takes a look through the vessel’s periscope, Feb. 17, 2009. DoD photo by Gerry J. Gilmore  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Maryland’s captain, Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey M. Grimes, and his chief of the boat and senior enlisted leader, Master Chief Petty Officer Michael C. McLauchlan, intently observed the actions...

ESPN has done something it rarely ever does. On June 18, ESPN posted a new story regarding free-agent defensive lineman Mike Pennel and a murder investigation in the Dominican Republic. Among other things, the story cited unnamed sources to support the notion that Pennel knew the woman whose remains were found on property he previously owned. ESPN has now deleted the story and posted an item with this title: “ESPN update to Michael Pennel Jr. story.” Here’s the full text of the update: “On June 18, 2026, ESPN published a story about Michael Pennel Jr. and an investigation into the...

Audiobook industry sales revenue grew 9% in 2025, hitting $2.43 billion, according to the Audio Publishers Association's annual sales survey, conducted by Toluna. Publishers reported more than 750,000 active titles last year, a 43% increase from 2024. General fiction accounted for the largest share of audiobook revenue at 27%, with science fiction/fantasy, romance, and mysteries/thrillers/suspense rounding out the top genres. The fastest-growing genres in 2025 were humor, general fiction, and children's, including YA. ... AI-narrated audiobooks remain a marginal interest, representing just 0.03% of sales in 2025. Curiosity about AI-narrated books also appears to be in decline, as those expressing...