Free Republic

The US is engaging in “extreme rightwing tropes” with echoes of the 1930s and threatening “chilling” interference in European democracies, British MPs warned ministers on Thursday. The House of Commons rounded on Donald Trump’s national security strategy, which stated that Europe was facing “civilisational erasure” and vowed to help the continent “correct its current trajectory and promote patriotic European parties”. Matt Western, a Labour MP and chair of parliament’s joint committee on the UK government’s national security strategy, said: “The United States consensus that has led the western world since the second world war appears shattered. “The prospect of United...

Cannabis stocks jumped on Friday as the White House prepared to significantly ease federal restrictions on marijuana. President Donald Trump is expected to issue an executive order as soon as Monday that would allow for reclassification of weed, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC. Such a move would allow cannabis companies to fall under different tax regulations and encourage investment.Cannabis stocks took a leg up in Friday’s midday trading following CNBC’s report. The Washington Post first reported on Thursday that Trump was expected to use an executive order to instruct federal agencies to reclassify marijuana as a less...

The United States would suffer a devasting defeat and lose its biggest aircraft carrier if it tried to stop China invading Taiwan, according to a top secret Pentagon report. War games showed the U.S. would be overwhelmed by China's arsenal of around 600 hypersonic weapons, along with missiles and nuclear submarines. The grim assessment, revealed by the New York Times, confirmed the conclusions of previous war games, but it also highlighted wider concerns about the future direction of the U.S. military and its continued reliance on outdated methods. *** Ships like the $13 billion USS Gerald R. Ford - the...

A new US National Security Strategy (NSS) has accused Europe of economic, political and cultural deterioration, sending shockwaves through Brussels but delighting the continent's populist parties. The controversial strategy, signed by US President Donald Trump, warns that Europe is on the brink of 'civilisational erasure' due to decades of decline, and condemns its practice of 'censorship' and 'mass migration' that will render the continent 'unrecognisable in 20 years or less'. The report crystallises in stark terms the growing fracture between the EU and its most important ally, the United States, threatening to torpedo a relationship that has defined global politics...

CNN anchor Jake Tapper was ripped by critics Thursday after he wrongly referred to accused DC pipe-bomber Brian Cole Jr. as “a white man.”Tapper made the cringeworthy gaffe while discussing the arrest of Cole, who is black, during his opening segment on “The Lead.” His “white man” comment came at 5:01 p.m., around the time CNN was the first outlet to publish a photo of Cole’s face that originated from the suspect’s mother’s Instagram account. Cole’s father is also black and once enlisted the services of Ben Crump, an attorney best known for his racial discrimination cases. Viewers were stunned...

Donald Trump on Tuesday called Somali immigrants “garbage” and said they should be sent back home in a rant that came as the administration is reportedly increasing immigration enforcement against undocumented Somalis in Minnesota. In a xenophobic rant during a cabinet meeting, Trump went off on Somalis and Ilhan Omar, the congressional representative who is from Somalia and is a US citizen. He said Somalia “stinks” and is “no good for a reason”. “They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you,” he said. He called Omar “garbage” and said “we’re going to go...

Donald Trump’s drive to secure peace in Ukraine must not let Vladimir Putin off the hook for war crimes committed by Russian forces, a top EU official has warned, effectively setting a new red line for a deal. In an interview with POLITICO, Michael McGrath, the European commissioner for justice and democracy, said negotiators must ensure the push for a ceasefire does not result in Russia escaping prosecution. His comments reflect concerns widely held in European capitals that the original American blueprint for a deal included the promise of a “full amnesty for actions committed during the war,” alongside plans...

President Trump on Tuesday said he would prefer not to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, but he acknowledged it may be necessary to reach an agreement on health care legislation. Trump, in response to a question from The Hill, told reporters his preference was to pass legislation that gave money directly to Americans to allow them to purchase their own health care plan. “I like my plan the best. Don’t give any money to the insurance companies, give it to the people directly. Let them buy their own health...

Republicans are growing increasingly anxious over a once sleepy special election in Tennessee District 7 next month in a district that President Trump comfortably won by 22 points last year. While the congressional race has historically been a GOP shoo-in, Republicans are alarmed by a recent poll and fearful that an upset could see their majority in the House slip to a zero-vote margin. “I’m very concerned about it. Of course, it’s an off-year election. It’s right after Thanksgiving. A lot of the Republicans are out of town. And I worry about them showing up on Election Day,” Rep. Tim...

The New York Times produced a detailed, data-driven report on President Trump showing signs of aging. The president, 79, responded by calling the female reporter who co-wrote the story “ugly.” Trump’s post to Truth Social on Wednesday came less than two weeks after he said “quiet, piggy” to another female reporter, which drew attention to his gendered insults and general brusqueness. The Times’ story analyzed Trump’s public schedules this year and those during his first term in office. Americans see Trump “less than they used to,” The Times found. He “has fewer public events on his schedule and is traveling...

The suspect in the shooting of two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday reportedly had his asylum application approved by the Trump administration earlier this year, according to CNN. “What we know is that he comes here from Afghanistan. Now, this is a guy who’s been living in Washington state, not Washington, D.C. On the other end of the country,” reported CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst, John Miller:

Explosions in Kiev air raid alerts across Ukraine... Damage and injuries following Ukrainian drone attacks in southern Russia... A key leadership officer at the US Naval Academy relieved of duty... A US Navy aircraft carrier with an unexpected deployment... Poland detaining a Ukrainian suspect...sabotage...authorities say Russia... US President Donald Trump announcing a state visit to China... Late this afternoon US President Donald Trump...Muslim Brotherhood as a terror group...will impact Israel's upcoming election...Later word... A federal judge dismissing criminal charges against former FBI Director... The Pentagon initiating a probe of former naval officer and NASA astronaut...Democrat US Senator... China pulling out...

Trump signed an order designating parts of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations. The order focuses mainly on Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan and omits Turkey and Qatar altogether... Conspicuous is the absence of reference to the Muslim Brotherhood's branches in Turkey and Qatar, which in fact are part of the government in those countries...

President Donald Trump is delaying a planned announcement of a proposal to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, according to two White House officials, after congressional Republicans pushed back against the president’s sudden embrace of the expiring subsidies. Trump was expected to unveil a plan aimed at halting ACA premium spikes on Monday, as first reported by MS NOW. But the reveal has been postponed — though not canceled — said the White House officials, who were granted anonymity to discuss the internal strategy. Both White House officials noted that Trump’s announcement — which was never officially on the schedule —...

The Trump administration’s much-hyped Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has dissolved with months left on its mandate, federal officials say. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Scott Kupor confirmed to Reuters earlier this month that DOGE “doesn’t exist” as a “centralized entity.” *** “Their work will conclude no later than July 4, 2026 – A smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. “I am confident they will succeed!” *** “This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy,”...

George Conway, a CONSERVATIVE lawyer but vocal critic of President Donald Trump, is considering jumping into the race to replace New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler next year, according to the New York Times. The former conservative said he would run as a Democrat if he jumped into the race, but admitted that the party swap could confuse some voters and "put some people off." "This is the time for a lawyer who has never been in politics to go into politics," Conway said.

The Justice Department on Wednesday admitted that the operative indictment against former FBI Director James Comey was never presented to the full grand jury — a procedural error defense attorneys say should bar the prosecution. The admission came under sharp questioning from U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, after several judges overseeing parts of the case had raised concerns about the government’s presentation and an apparent discrepancy in the grand jury record. Instead of presenting a new indictment to the full panel after it rejected one of the counts, interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan gave the grand jury’s foreperson an updated...

An old report has brought back a question Donald Trump’s team hoped would disappear: did the FBI work through the night to remove his name from the Jeffrey Epstein files before saying there was nothing left to release? The timing is important as Trump has suddenly reversed his stance on making the documents public. Sources familiar with the process told Bloomberg, “We know from news reports that Trump’s name was in the Epstein files. But what hasn’t been reported is that an FBI FOIA team redacted Trump’s name and the names of other prominent public figures from the documents.” The...

Fifty-year mortgages is one of the worst ideas to emerge from his cabinet. But, in the Ingraham interview, Trump seemed to discount his supporters' frustration over these issues.When Ingraham asked him why we need those 600,000 Chinese students, and that the placements they take should be given to American students, he replied that without them, many schools would go out of business. She said, “So what?” Indeed! Trump asserted that all those foreign students pay full fare but that is not true. They get financial aid in about the same percentage as citizen students. He must backtrack on this issue....

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers seeking to force the release of files related to the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein are predicting a big win in the House this week with a “deluge of Republicans” voting for their bill and bucking the GOP leadership and President Donald Trump, who for months have disparaged their effort. The bill would force the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in federal prison. Information about Epstein’s victims or ongoing federal investigations would be allowed to be redacted. “There...