Free Republic

Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said Friday on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” that he will never apologize, but President Donald Trump should apologize for the way the legal process has happened in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Host Anderson Cooper said, “I want to read what a part of a statement released by the White House. ‘The Democrat lawmakers, namely Democrat senator Chris Van Hollen, and every single so-called journalist who defended this illegal criminal abuser must immediately apologize to Garcia’s victims.’ Your response to that?” Van Hollen said, “I will never apologize for defending the Constitution. In fact,...

"Senior executives are being pushed out and the director, Kash Patel, is more freely using polygraph tests to tamp down on news leaks about leadership decisions and behavior"Behind the scenes, his vision of an F.B.I. under President Trump is quietly taking shape. Agents have been forced out. Others have been demoted or put on leave with no explanation. And in an effort to hunt down the sources of news leaks, Mr. Patel is forcing employees to take polygraph tests.Taken together, the moves are causing worrisome upheaval at the F.B.I., eliciting fear and uncertainty as Mr. Patel and his deputy, Dan...

Former CIA Director John Brennan said Friday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that former FBI Director James Comey was not advocating violence with his social media post about President Donald Trump that featured a photo of seashells arranged to read, “86 47.” Brennan said, “It’s unsurprising that someone like Tulsi Gabbard would say something like that, but there’s absolutely no basis or reason for a director of National Intelligence to comment at all on this matter, much less say that a former director of the FBI should be in prison. I know Jim Comey worked very closely with him, didn’t always agree...

On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher criticized and mocked Republicans and stated that they lied about raising taxes on the wealthy and said that raising taxes on the rich “never really happens” and responded to the argument that he could just voluntarily pay more in taxes himself if he wants to and no one will stop him from doing that by saying, “that’s not going to happen.” While discussing the budget proposal from the Trump administration from earlier in the day, Maher said that the administration is increasing the budget for the Defense Department in their...

If cleanliness is next to godliness, then NYC’s basically heaven on Earth (kinda). Despite its vermin, trash-lined streets and only-in-New York smells, the Big Apple did not rank as one of the top 10 “Dirtiest Cities in America.” It’s a miracle on 34th Street — and it’s not even Christmas. “From clean drinking water to sewage disposal, littered streets to missed garbage pick-ups, we analyzed 12.3 million sanitation-related 311 complaints in a series of U.S. cities to reveal which metropolises need to clean up their act,” wrote study authors from HouseFresh, an indoor air quality imprint.

President Donald Trump’s imposition of reciprocal tariffs marks the end of “American Empire,” according to melodramatic claims from one of Bill Kristol’s group of globalist, pro-migration, Never Trump advocates. “The age of American empire, the great Pax Americana, [has] ended,” wrote Kristol’s colleague, Jonathan Last. “We cannot overstate what has just happened. It took just 71 days for Donald Trump to wreck the American economy, mortally wound NATO, and destroy the American-led world order.” Kristol topped that wild-eyed alarmism

Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday evening that Ukraine will “never cede” the occupied territories to Russia while expressing doubts about the Trump-led efforts to bring peace and suggesting the President is being deceived by Vladimir Putin. Speaking to the French paper Le Figaro ahead of yet another summit in Paris, Zelensky once again appears to have been emboldened by European allies as they expressed a hardline position towards Moscow in the ongoing U.S.-led negotiations. “One thing is certain: we will never cede our occupied territories to Russia. These lands belong to the Ukrainians,” Zelensky said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday doubled down on his assertion that he did not share classified plans to strike Houthi targets in a Signal group chat of Trump administration officials that was inadvertently shared with a journalist, who he claimed “has never seen a war plan.” In a combative post to the social platform X, Hegseth lambasted The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, for publishing the Signal group chat messages, in which the Pentagon chief relayed details about airstrikes in Yemen earlier this month that an initial article on the matter did not contain, including the specific timeline...

During a Sunday appearance on MSNBC, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) denied playing any role in promoting the violence waged against Elon Musk’s brand, Tesla. The Texas Democrat acknowledged participating in the so-called “Tesla takedown,” which she maintained was a “large protest.” “So, I’m actually going to say that I participated in a Tesla takedown,” she said. “That is the name of the website. And it was all about this large protest that they’re calling for. And this is a nonviolent protest that they’re calling for. And in fact, when I was on there, which is why the attorney general had...

Neocon Bill Kristol is urging his Never Trump allies to “Stand with trans,” describing President Donald Trump’s criticism of transgender ideology as “unjust and dangerous.” In a post on X, Kristol — who left the Republican Party over the embrace of President Donald Trump — shared a link to an article written by Marc Solomon, a partner at Civitas Public Affairs Group. Solomon writes about supporting transgender Americans and calls for people to “stand with trans Americans.” “Stand with trans Americans,” Kristol wrote in his post on X. “You don’t have to understand everything about the transgender experience to know...

Most of us are aware that certain habits are flat-out terrible for our hearts. Smoking? Forget about it. A sedentary lifestyle — yep, that will eventually get you. But with diet culture still running rampant, the foods that are “good” and “bad” can feel a bit murkier. The keto diet, for example, encourages piling on the bacon. And while it may help you lose weight, something about chomping on bacon every day feels — not great. If you’re eating with your heart health in mind (and we all should be, at least a little bit!), you can read through the...

Air fryers are certified miracle workers when it comes to getting dinner out on the table quickly. How do they work, though? They cook your meals using bursts of hot convection heat. The result is a series of savory, crispy foods that you'd never guess were cooked in an air fryer. And they're great for anything from chicken thighs to a filet of salmon. But while there are plenty of things that you can cook in an air fryer, there are only a few that you should.

The new docuseries from HBO, Wise Guy, is out now. In it, David Chase, creator of The Sopranos, speaks about the creation of the show that changed television history. Wise Guy takes an interesting look at how Chase came up with the idea, as well as a look into the writer's room where so many classic episodes were created. The Sopranos was one of the best series of all-time, with brilliant writing, thrilling twists, and some memorable characters, but none of it would have mattered without James Gandolfini, the actor tasked with playing The Sopranos' lead, a tortured man filled...

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve the new Covid vaccine as early as Thursday, according to two sources familiar with the agency’s planning. It’s the third time the vaccines have been updated to match circulating strains since the original series. The shots should be available within days. The FDA and HHS declined to comment on the expected update. The timing of the new vaccines — last year's rollout was in mid-September — is significant, since most of the U.S. is still caught in the summer wave of Covid illness. As of Monday, the Centers for Disease Control...

Biden campaign co-chair Mitch Landrieu said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that questions about President Joe Biden’s mental fitness would not cause him to “quit” the presidential race. Anchor Kristen Welker said, “Our NBC news poll found that 76% of voters are concerned about whether the president has the necessary mental and physical health to be president for a second term. What is the plan to convince voters otherwise?”

Bill Kristol, a former Republican who left the party over its embrace of Donald Trump, has endorsed Nikki Haley one day before the Iowa caucus kicks off. “I’m an ex-Republican. But if I were an Iowan, I’d be crossing back over to vote for Haley Monday. Voting against Trump in Republican caucuses and primaries is the most effective way—and a legal and legitimate way—to oppose Trump this winter and spring.

Hearing The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s iconic Christmas ditty Fairytale of New York will be poignant for fans this year following the death of Shane MacGowan. The Pogues frontman’s death at the age of 65 was announced on November 30, 2023, following years of battling health issues. His funeral is taking place today (December 8) with Johnny Depp arriving in Nenagh, Tipperary to give a reading. Often voted the nation’s favourite Yuletide song, it is the UK’s most-played Christmas single, and you can often find it getting everyone on their feet during annual parties. It has been sold more than...

(OSV News) -- After traveling the United States for 10 months during 1831-32, French diplomat and political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville declared in his classic work "Democracy in America" that "there is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America." But almost 200 years later, a new report from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) titled "Religion and Congregations in a Time of Social and Political Upheaval" casts a shadow of doubt on the fervor of Americans, only 16% of whom reported to PRRI that religion is...

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Sunday said he doesn’t think Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) would follow Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) in leaving the Democratic Party. “I’ve known Joe Manchin for a long time, he was my mentor governor when I got elected in 2009. He’s never going to be a Republican in my view,” Christie said on ABC’s “This Week.” Christie and Manchin both won election to their state’s governorships despite their respective states’ typical support for the opposite party. Manchin had served as West Virginia’s governor until he joined the upper chamber in 2010. Christie’s comments on...

Former President Trump expressed regret over endorsing Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) in the 2020 Nebraska Senate race, saying he “should have never given him the endorsement.” “He’s bad news, Ben Sasse. He begged for my endorsement, the day after he started hitting me and we hit much harder than he knows how to hit. He’s bad news,” Trump said during a telerally held for Nebraska gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster (R).