Free Republic

A U.S. citizen was found not guilty Tuesday of illegally voting in the 2018 election when she was a lawful permanent resident of the United States. A guilty verdict would have led to up to 18 months in prison for Maria Dearaujo, 63. But Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Chris Brown sided with the defense’s argument of entrapment. This generally entails a government actor leading a person into committing a crime they wouldn’t have otherwise committed. Brown, a Democrat, said Dearaujo’s trial testimony lines up with the documentary evidence. She admitted to “inconvenient” facts like having voted when she knew...

Israel was widely condemned for the “monstrous” and “unacceptable” humiliation of activists who were detained after trying to deliver humanitarian aid by boat to Gaza. Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, said she was “truly appalled” by a video posted by Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli national security minister, in which he taunted protesters as they knelt on the floor with their wrists tied.“We have demanded an explanation from the Israeli authorities and made ‌clear their obligations to protect the rights of our citizens and ‌all those involved,” ⁠Ms Cooper said. Around 430 protesters from more than 40 different countries were filmed...

Oakland director and hometown hero Boots Riley’s new film, “I Love Boosters,” pays homage to a complicated folk hero: the booster, a neighborhood figure who sells shoplifted goods at a steep discount. The topic feels particularly poignant in the Bay Area, where high-profile smash-and-grabs make headlines and drugstores put toothpaste behind lock and key.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is standing by establishment favorite John Cornyn even after President Donald Trump threw his full support behind Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the explosive Texas Senate runoff showdown. Thune publicly broke with Trump on Tuesday, telling reporters he would continue backing Cornyn despite the president’s endorsement of Paxton, exposing a growing divide between Senate GOP leadership and the America First movement. “Cornyn is a principled conservative. He is a very effective senator for the state of Texas,” Thune said following Trump’s endorsement announcement. “None of us can control what the president does. That doesn’t...

When I first encountered the data on falling fertility rates, I was confident that I could explain them. The problem, surely, was that other people had failed to embrace my preferred political program. As both a conservative and a mother, I assumed that if we all embraced a culture that was more pro-family—and particularly pro-motherhood—then birth rates would shoot up. It all aligned perfectly with my ideological commitments. How neat. I’ve since realized that this is how most people respond to this issue because the data on fertility rates tend to function as a Rorschach test. Conservatives blame the collapse...

f I were writing a post about Jews in the news because of further contributions to the world (to add to such things as the Bible, the polio vaccine, pacemakers, Google, stainless steel, the ballpoint pen, the theory of relativity, etc.), I would be happy as a clam, and this post could be a series that lasts for weeks. However, the reason Jews are in the news lately is that Islamo-communists across the West have stopped hiding their core antisemitism. This week has been filled with reports of fanatic attacks against Jews, including from within the heart of the Democrat...

A man known around Escondido for covering his home with Trump flags and MAGA memorabilia was reportedly left fighting for his life Wednesday after a brutal attack erupted outside the infamous “Trump House.” Locals have complained about the Buchanan Street property in the past with commentary online going back years — describing bizarre displays, confrontational behavior and over-the-top MAGA decor — all long before an alleged attack left a man in serious condition. Video obtained by The California Post shows the aftermath of a confrontation outside the property with police tape blocking off the street. Officers reportedly arrived to find...

The state House voted Wednesday to override one of the Democratic Gov. Josh Stein's vetoes from 2025, as Republican lawmakers gained enough support to push forward with one of about half a dozen veto overrides that have been unresolved for the past year. The House voted to approve House Bill 87. It would conform state law to a new federal law, passed under Republican President Donald Trump, giving tax breaks to people who donate to educational scholarship programs. Stein had vetoed the bill a year ago, but also said he wanted to opt into the program in a way that...

https://archive.ph/CHQ6i President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed a new effort to reach a deal with Iran in a difficult call on Tuesday, three sources said, with one source saying Netanyahu's "hair was on fire" after the call. Why it matters: A revised peace memo was drafted by Qatar and Pakistan with input from the other regional mediators to try to bridge the gaps between the U.S. and Iran, the sources said. It comes with Trump vacillating over ordering a massive strike on Iran and holding out for a deal. Netanyahu is highly skeptical about the negotiations and...

A Las Vegas school district is being sued for allegedly violating a student’s First Amendment rights after he was expelled for placing pro-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) signs on campus.Fox News reports that the lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for Nevada last week alleging that a minor, identified as N.C., was disciplined after placing six pro-law enforcement emblems around East Career and Technical Academy (CTA) in January.The 2-by-2-inch emblems were posted a day after students were allowed to walk out of class to protest ICE and included messages such as “ICE Immigration Enforcement,” “Border Security Academy Deportation...

A former Justice Department attorney in Florida has been indicted for allegedly transmitting sealed government records, including a confidential report tied to the investigation into President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents, to her personal email. The case underscores concerns about the security of sensitive DOJ materials and potential violations of court orders governing sealed records.

Two police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6 filed a lawsuit Wednesday to block rioters from receiving money from a new federal settlement fund. Officers Daniel Hodges and Harry Dunn filed the suit against the Trump administration's $1.77 billion anti-weaponization fund, calling it an illegal slush fund and a violation of the Administrative Procedures Act. Hodges is known for being caught on video nearly crushed in a doorway during the Capitol attack — widely regarded as one of the most violent moments of that day. Dunn has been vocal since the January 6 insurrection, testifying before Congress...

Alan Chambers, 54, was arrested Tuesday, May 19, 2026, for solicitation of a minor in an undercover sting in which he believed he was speaking to a 14-year-old boy, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Chambers was president of the anti-LGBTQ group Exodus International before it shuttered in 2013. (Orange County Corrections Department) The former president of a widely-known anti-LGBTQ organization has been arrested for seeking sex from an undercover deputy posing as a 14-year-old boy, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Alan Chambers, 54, of Winter Park was booked in the Orange County Jail Tuesday on charges...

LOS ANGELES—Spencer Pratt knows he doesn’t need to be universally liked. At an annual tennis invitational and white party at a billionaire’s Beverly Hills mansion last weekend, the reality TV villain and mayoral hopeful marveled at his potential path to victory. “It’s pretty incredible you can become the mayor with only 51% of people liking you. I’m like, ‘I can do that,’” Pratt told the crowd. The 42-year-old rose to millennial fame as the dark prince of “The Hills,” playing the love interest of his now-wife, Heidi Montag. He provoked conflict with fellow cast members and was seen by fans...

The Supreme Court will be releasing Opinions from the October 2025 this morning at 10:00.Scotusblog will be liveblogging the release and we will be following along.There are 33 decisions pending for this term and we expect all opinions will be released by June 30th. You can find a list of the cases here. Note: The word "held" after the case name indicates the Opinion has already been released. The word "Issues" indicates the questions to be be resolved by the Court.There are several big cases on which we are awaiting decisions. Trump v Slaughter.(1) Whether the statutory removal protections for...

Federal prosecutors have filed the first criminal fraud case connected to Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program against a woman already charged in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. Fahima Egeh Mahamud now faces one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States after she allegedly received millions in CCAP funds without collecting required co-payments from parents. In February, Mahamud was charged with wire fraud for her alleged involvement in the $250 million Feeding Our Future meal fraud scheme. According to charging documents, all of Mahamud’s purported fraud activity came through her business, Future Leaders Early Learning Center in Minneapolis. During...

These figures are based on annualized data from January to November 2025, compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and reported by Visual Capitalist and other sources. The United States is the world’s largest oil producer, followed by Russia and Saudi Arabia, with the top 10 countries supplying over 70% of global crude oil.United States 16.1%Russia 11.7%Saudi Arabia 11.3%Canada 5.9%Iraq 5.2%China 5.1%Iran 5.0%United Arab Emirates 4.5%Brazil 4.4%Kuwait 3.1%

An illegal immigrant truck driver was arrested Tuesday after allegedly causing a deadly multi-vehicle crash in California and attempting to flee the scene, federal officials said. The undocumented immigrant from India, Manvir Singh, instantly killed two people near Lodi, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) alleged.

Iran's Supreme Leader has issued a directive that the country's near-weapons-grade uranium should not be sent abroad, two senior Iranian sources said, hardening Tehran's stance on one of the main U.S. demands at peace talks.Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei's order could further frustrate U.S. President Donald Trump and complicate talks on ending the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Israeli officials have told Reuters that Trump has assured Israel that Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, needed to make an atomic weapon, will be sent out of Iran and that any peace deal must include a clause on this. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...

The High Court of Justice ruled unanimously on Wednesday against a petition by an association of 19 international aid organizations against new security regulations imposed by the government, asserting that state agencies are entitled to require strict security checks to ensure foreign organizations are not connected to terror groups. Thirty-seven organizations refused to comply with the new rules, saying doing so would endanger their employees and violate international law. The licenses of the organizations were subsequently revoked earlier this year. Among the 37 organizations are multiple branches of Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, the Danish and Norwegian Refugee Councils, Caritas...