Free Republic

President Trump declared Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz is open after the US hit 140 targets in Iran over the latest attack on cargo ships in the critical passage. Trump doubled down on US Central Command’s insistence that the key oil choke point was now open following an intense bombing campaign against Iran overnight, which targeted missile and drone sites, naval assets, ammunition storage facilities, communication networks, and surveillance locations. “Yeah, it’s open. We bombed the hell out of them last night,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press,” contradicting Tehran’s warnings that the strait remains closed.The president went on...

After the sudden death of US Senator Lindsey Graham was announced Sunday morning, the race for the US Senate in South Carolina has burst wide open, and it appears Nancy Mace wants in. South Carolina Congresswoman Mace finished last in June's GOP primary for South Carolina Governor, after garnering just 12 percent of the vote. Yet, multiple reports circulated on Sunday morning that Mace was considering re-entering the political arena. South Carolina's current Governor, Henry McMaster, who is term-limited, will select a temporary replacement for Graham, and that candidate will need to win both a primary and a general election...

Rev Dr Bernard Randall, a former school chaplain who lost his job after telling students in a sermon they did not have to accept LGBT ideology, has won a legal settlement after a seven-year battle. The path has also been cleared for his return to ministry in the Church of England after safeguarding concerns that led to him losing permission to officiate for the last seven years were overturned. The long-running saga began in 2019 when Dr Randall preached a sermon in the chapel of Trent College - a Church of England-affiliated independent school in Nottingham - in response to...

Lindsey Graham's death will kick off a breakneck campaign for his Senate seat Republicans face a sudden August primary to fill a full six-year term. By Alec Hernandez 07/12/2026 Lindsey Graham’s sudden, unexpected death will kick off a rapid campaign to pick the next likely senator from South Carolina — with a full six-year term on the line to replace the longtime senator. Graham was up for reelection in November, having just dispatched primary challenger Mark Lynch just over a month ago. He was set to face Democrat Annie Andrews, a doctor who fairly comfortably won the Democratic primary. Republicans...

“FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X on Sunday morning that the agency was 'assisting local authorities and has made every necessary resource available.' Graham was a vocal supporter of US involvement in conflicts abroad, including both the Russia-Ukraine war and the Iran clashes. Graham has also been targeted by Iranian leaders. An Iranian State TV host noted in a Sunday broadcast that she congratulated 'the Iranian people on the death U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who has been sent to hell.'“

What began as a roadside fire in northern Jackson County has rapidly grown into Oregon’s largest active wildfire, drawing hundreds of firefighters, aircraft, heavy equipment, and structural protection resources from across the state as crews work to protect homes and slow the fire’s advance through rugged forestland north of Rogue River. Maps The East Evans Creek Fire has quickly become the region’s most significant wildfire emergency of the summer, expanding from a small ignition Friday afternoon into a fast-moving incident that has forced evacuations, closed major roadways, and prompted one of Oregon’s largest coordinated firefighting responses this fire season. As...

Californians are set to notice a major change the next time they stroll through a grocery store. State officials have ordered a sweeping overhaul of food packaging that will alter how millions shop. From July 1, food manufacturers and retailers across the Golden State will no longer be allowed to slap 'sell by' dates on most packaged foods sold to consumers, under a controversial new law aimed at tackling food waste and clearing up widespread confusion over expiration labels. The shake-up, which will be felt across supermarket shelves statewide, effectively strips out a long list of familiar date markings that...

President Donald Trump is leaning hard on major U.S. companies to cut consumer prices, recently warning gasoline retailers of "big problems" if they didn’t reduce the price of gasoline commensurate with the price of crude, while crediting Walmart for its summer rollback of thousands of prices, as inflation sits at a three-year high and Republicans brace for a difficult midterm. ***annual inflation climbed to 4.2% in May, the sharpest 12-month reading since April 2023, driven mostly by an energy shock tied to the U.S. war against Iran.Gasoline prices alone were up 40.5% year over year, according to the Bureau of...

Lindsey Graham, a longtime Republican senator from South Carolina, died suddenly on Saturday night, his office said. Graham, a leading GOP foreign policy voice, was running for reelection this year. He had been a staunch ally of President Donald Trump on most matters but had broken with the president on some issues. Graham’s death narrows Republicans’ majority in the Senate, where they had held a 53-47 edge. Under South Carolina law, the state’s Republican governor can make an immediate appointment to fill Graham’s seat for the remainder of his term, which expires in January. The governor, Henry McMaster, said in...

The BBC ran a story about Afghan men selling daughters as young as five years old into the sex slavery known as Islamic marriage. Rather than blaming the Koran and the example set by Islam’s pedophile founder Mohammed who married his most prominent ‘wife’ Aisha at the tender age of seven, the radical state media outlet instead blamed the Trump administration. The BBC complained that “the US – once the top donor to Afghanistan – cut nearly all aid to the country last year” without explaining that the aid was cut because the money was going through the UN to...

The Talk Shows July 12th, 2026 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows:FACE THE NATION (CBS): Margaret Brennan anchors: Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Leiter; Tom Homan, Border Czar/Special assistant to the President on Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio); democrat politician and former ambassador Rahm Emanuel; former CENTCOM Commander Gen. Frank McKenzie, USMC, Ret.FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Anchor Shannon Bream Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.); U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker; Cuban Ambassador to the United Nations Ernesto Soberón Guzmán; Chris-Ann Burton, Wash DC City Wildlife’s Outreach and Intake Manager. Panel: Michael Allen,...

With Lindsey Graham's death, and John Cornyn's defeat, Mike Lee is second in seniority, next to 92 year old Chuck Grassley (elected in 1980). Grassley has been maintaining the old blue slip tradition, preventing the confirmation of US Attorneys that Democrats don't like. If Grassley dies, or chooses to be chair of another committee come January, Mike Lee will be chair (assuming the Republicans hold the Senate). Thom Tillis (who also blocked nominees) will also be gone, and Ken Paxton will likely be added. On the Democrat side, Dick Durbin is retiring (moving Whitehouse to ranking member) and Amy Klobuchar...

US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) died Saturday following a brief illness at the age of 71, his office confirmed. “On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness. Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” Graham’s office said on X on Sunday morning. A cause of death was not immediately revealed. Emergency officials responded to Graham’s home on Capitol Hill for a cardiac arrest, NBC reported, citing police scanner audio.

https://x.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/2076185414721847673

The U.S. Senate campaign for state Rep. James Talarico says the Democratic nominee raised $30 million in the last three months, tripling the fundraising haul announced by his opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton.The Talarico campaign announced it has taken in over $30 million since April, thanks to donations from “over 780,000 individuals” who donated to the campaign. “We’re uniting Texans onto one team to take on this broken, corrupt political system,” the campaign shared in a social media post on Wednesday.According to a campaign statement, the second-quarter total is the “largest amount ever raised by a U.S. Senate candidate in...

Economics 101: Increase supply and prices go down. Raise demand, and prices go up.AdvertisementThat's what we are seeing in spades in the housing market in the wake of Joe Biden releasing as many as 14 million illegals into the interior of the country.Housing prices in the U.S. went up. More people competing for the same supply of housing will do that. And illegals, who qualify for public subsidy programs allowing them to buy over other Americans, were ravenously buying. They also fill public housing, leaving Americans to go without, and populate growing 'informal' shantytowns, though President Trump is trying to...

Due to a key vote by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the one-year ban on federal funding for Planned Parenthood expired on July 4, meaning the abortion giant can resume consuming hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars through Medicaid reimbursements for non-abortion-related services. Without this funding, the entity has struggled to keep its nationwide network of abortion clinics operational. While Murkowski continues to identify as a Republican, she has long supported federal funding for Planned Parenthood and regularly joins Democrats in efforts to ensure the abortion business benefits from taxpayer dollars. Last year, pro-life advocates celebrated when the Republican-controlled Congress narrowly...

JD Vance has served admirably as Donald Trump's vice president and has been a true asset to the administration. Right now, he's favored to be the next Republican nominee for president when 2028 rolls around. But there are many other viable contenders. That's why his latest deep-dive interview on his views on the economy is highly disturbing. In Vance's interview last week with The Daily Wire, he sounded much more like a Mitt Romney, big-government RINO than a Trump or Ronald Reagan. Decide for yourself. Here are some of Vance's misguided views on economics and the future of the GOP:...

The unexplained attacks have added a dangerous new layer of uncertainty to an already volatile conflict, raising concerns that additional countries may now be conducting military operations against Iran without publicly acknowledging their involvement.New Airstrikes Came After U.S. Said Its Campaign Had EndedThe U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Thursday morning that it had completed a coordinated operation striking approximately 90 targets inside Iran.Yet only hours later, Iranian state media reported another wave of explosions and airstrikes across the southern provinces of Bushehr and Sistan and Baluchestan.Those attacks occurred after the United States had publicly stated its operation was complete.CENTCOM...

After the US launched a third round of strikes against Iran on Sunday morning, Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of war, posted on X: "Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay." The fresh escalation occurred after Iran's IRGC Navy said it attacked a container that was exiting the Strait of Hormuz through an unauthorised route and ignored its warnings. In a statement on X, Centcom said a civilian crew member of M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship, was missing and the vessel is unable to continue the journey due to an onboard fire and significant engine-room damage.