Free Republic

The Iran war has rattled the global flow of oil, with steeper fuel costs already straining households worldwide. And in the U.S., drivers are now facing the highest prices they’ve seen at the pump in two and a half years. According to motor club AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline jumped to over $3.84 on Wednesday, up from $2.98 consumers were paying before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. The last time gas prices were as expensive as they are now was in September 2023. “It’s pretty hard. I mean, times are tough...

The killings of top officials mark milestones in a fierce campaign to bring down the Tehran governmentIsrael has systematically gone after Iran’s leadership and rank-and-file to disrupt the regime’s command and control.Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official, strolled confidently in dark sunglasses and a black coat Friday through a rally of regime loyalists in central Tehran. It was his first public appearance in a war in which he was a known target. “Brave people. Brave officials. Brave leaders. This combination cannot be defeated,” he wrote later on X.Four days later, he was dead. Early Tuesday morning, Israel’s intelligence services found...

Iran is threatening to execute retaliatory strikes on oil and gas facilities near the Persian Gulf after Israel launched an attack on its South Pars gas field on Wednesday. No one was harmed in the strike by Israel on one of the world's largest natural gas fields. Qatar also operates facilities in the South Pars gas field. Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed Al Ansai, was critical of Israel over the attack, calling it "reckless and irresponsible." Several potential targets are bracing for retaliation by Iran. Saudi Arabia, which is across the Persian Gulf from Iran, has at least four major...

The man convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old mother of two from North Port, was executed on Tuesday. At the scheduled execution time of 6 p.m., the curtain went up, and King gave a nearly inaudible statement ... He did not apologize for the murder or seek forgiveness. The incident happened in 2008 when Lee saved her kids after Michael King, 54, broke into her home and took her. King then took Lee to his home and raped her before driving her out to a remote area, shooting her and burying her. At one point,...

The Chinese did, in fact, meddle in the 2020 presidential vote in the United States, and the intelligence community did hide that information from President Donald Trump. That's according to a new investigative report at Just the News on the clouded vote results that already are known to have been under the undue influence of two factors. Those are the FBI's decision to interfere by falsely claiming that accurate information about Biden family scandals revealed in a laptop abandoned by Hunter Biden was Russian disinformation and Mark Zuckerberg's decision to put his thumb on the scale by handing out $400...

A New York City Council bill under consideration wants to limit the number of items at self-checkout in an effort to combat retail theft.Pharmacies and grocery stores across the five boroughs would be required to limit the number of items customers can bring to the self-checkout line to 15. Stores must also staff at least one employee nearby for every three kiosks, according to the proposal.

Justice Department Files Case to Revoke U.S. Citizenship of Mastermind Behind Multimillion-Dollar Tax Fraud Scheme “The Trump Administration will not permit wrongdoers to retain the U.S. citizenship that they were never entitled to in the first place,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of @DOJCivil. “U.S. Citizenship is a privilege, and we will continue to ask courts to revoke a status that was obtained through fraud and deceit.” 🔗: justice.gov/opa/pr/justice…

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — A shooting at a U.S. Air Force base in New Mexico on Tuesday left one person dead and another wounded, according to military officials. The Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, in southern New Mexico, was put on lockdown at about 5:30 p.m. because of reports of an active shooter near the base convenience store, according to a statement released by the 49th Wing. The person wounded has been taken for medical treatment, according to the statement. Security officials confirmed the base is safe and the lockdown was lifted. “Emergency personnel are responding to the situation...

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A day after the farmworkers union Cesar Chavez co-founded announced it was distancing itself from him after allegations surfaced, civil rights leader Dolores Huerta broke her silence on her past sexual encounters with him that resulted in secret children.

For decades, Western military doctrine has rested on a comforting assumption: technological superiority would guarantee dominance on the battlefield. Advanced missile defenses, integrated sensor networks, and sophisticated command systems were supposed to create something close to an impenetrable shield over the world’s most developed nations. The ongoing confrontation between Israel and Iran is beginning to challenge that assumption. Israel fields one of the most advanced missile defense architectures ever constructed. Its layered system — including Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the Arrow interceptors — was designed to counter a wide spectrum of threats, from short-range rockets to long-range ballistic missiles....

President Trump has faced an unavoidable showdown.Iran gleefully spent almost half a century waging economic and military warfare against the United States.This horror show cost Americans trillions and killed hundreds of U.S. troops through proxy attacks and direct acts of terror.AdvertisementFrom the 1979 oil production collapse that plunged output from 6 million barrels per day to 1.5 million, sending global oil prices from $15 a barrel to $39 per barrel, to the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing that killed 19 Air Force personnel, Iran’s actions were lethal and costly.Every failed negotiation, every embargo, and every sanction merely highlighted Tehran’s refusal to...

Portland Press Herald It’s official. Mainers will vote on proposal to ban trans athletes in girls sports. The secretary of state’s office announced Tuesday that it had verified the signatures collected by proponents to get the measure on the November ballot . March 17, 2026 Rachel Ohm, Staff Writer Maine will vote in November on a proposal that would ban transgender students from sports teams, bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity. The Maine Department of the Secretary of State announced Tuesday that it has verified the signatures collected by proponents of the measure in support of...

Unlike the Kurds in 1991, the Iranians of 2026 will have a genuine chance to wrest their freedom because of five key reasons: 1. Iran’s army, navy, and — most importantly — air force have mostly been destroyed. (And whatever’s left will be blown to bits over the next few days.) 2. We have complete air supremacy over Iran and aren’t impeded by UN regulations that would prevent us from using it to blow Iranian planes, helicopters, and drones out of the sky, should they target protesters. 3. Instead of pushing Saddam’s army out of Kuwait, President Trump focused on...

A former employee at a Tacoma shelter for juveniles and young adults has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a 6-month-old girl in 2023. William Flournoy, IV, is a transgender woman who goes by the name of Izzy. She’s charged with first-degree rape of a child and sexual exploitation of a minor after allegedly assaulting the infant in her care. SNIP

An Israeli official, who did not want to be named, told Iran International that Israeli drones targeted Basij and police patrols that were planning to approach the venues of the Syrian [celebration] on [Wednesday night.] [The Basij were turned back.] He called this action "unprecedented" and added: "For the first time, the people of Iran received active support that paralyzed the repression apparatus and practically provided an air umbrella for the population." [The Syrian or the Chaharbansuri] is one of the ancient rituals of Iran [and has] turned from a celebration to a scene of anger and explosion and confrontation...

MS NOW announced Wednesday it is cutting an hour from Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski’s show “Morning Joe” as part of a drastic overhaul of the beleaguered network’s programming under chief Rebecca Kutler. Starting in June, viewers will notice a slew of changes across MS NOW’s morning, daytime, primetime and weekend coverage, Kutler told staffers during a daily editorial call Wednesday morning. Despite notching its most-watched month in February since the 2024 presidential election, the network – previously MSNBC – announced it is returning “Morning Joe” to a three-hour format, from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET, down from its...

The YouTube video (from Dr. Steve Turley, uploaded around March 18, 2026) is titled "Woke Progressives WIPED OUT as GOP SURGES in Special Elections!!!". Brief summary: It celebrates recent special election wins for Republicans and losses for progressive/left-leaning Democrats in states like Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Key highlights include: A strong GOP victory in Virginia's 98th House district (63% for the Republican candidate, significantly outperforming past margins). Republican pickups in Pennsylvania state house races. Defeats of progressive/ "woke" Democratic candidates in Illinois primaries (e.g., losses for figures tied to anti-ICE activism or endorsed by Rep. Ro Khanna, while Trump-endorsed candidates...

A U.S. Justice Department attorney and senior supervisors for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have told a federal judge that names and biometric information about Mainers who observed and filmed federal agents carrying out an illegal immigration crackdown in January have not been entered into DHS databases.

en. Markwayne Mullin's, R-Okla., confirmation hearing to serve as Homeland Security secretary began with a tense exchange between him and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. Paul pressed Mullin to account for his prior comments referring to Paul as a "snake in the grass" and saying that he "understood" why one of Paul's neighbors assaulted him. "I think that everybody in this room knows that I'm very blunt," Mullin told Paul. "I simply addressed that-- I said I could understand, given the behavior you were having that I could understand why the neighbor did what he did." "As far as my term...