Free Republic

Britain’s populist, anti-immigration party Reform UK has beaten Labour by a tiny margin in a by-election, dealing the government a mid-term setback and ruffling the country’s historically resilient two-party hegemony. Reform, led by the United Kingdom’s disruptor-in-chief Nigel Farage, claimed its fifth Member of Parliament (MP) by winning the industrial northwestern town of Runcorn by just six votes, following a recount. It marked a stunning reversal in fortunes for center-left Labour, which comfortably claimed the seat on its way to a landslide victory in a general election just 10 months ago. “It’s been a huge night for Reform,” Farage told...

Some 17,000 homes, businesses and other structures burned to the ground in the Jan. 7 fires. It’s uncertain how much will be rebuilt. Many homeowners will not be able to afford it, even those with insurance. Some are still trying to figure out whether it’s safe to return to their properties, given limited data on the degree to which toxins from the fires, including lead and asbestos, may have permeated their land. Roughly 400 land parcels are already for sale in the fire-ravaged areas. Facing overwhelming loss and the chaos that comes with sudden displacement, those looking to rebuild must...

Gun violence in New York City has spiked along with the mercury, with shootings up more than 50% last week compared to the same time last year — indicating that the Big Apple could be in for a bloody summer. A total of 23 shootings were reported across the five boroughs in the week starting April 21, according to new NYPD statistics — an increase of 53% from the 15 shootings tallied over the same period in 2024. Temperatures in Gotham hit a high of 82 degrees last Tuesday, making it the second-warmest day in April, according to Accuweather. Last...

Neil Young is facing criticism for a new song he wrote about “fascists” buying Teslas. The 79-year-old singer-songwriter debuted the song, reportedly titled “Let’s Roll Again,” at the Light Up the Blue charity concert in Los Angeles over the weekend. “If you’re a fascist, get a Tesla / It’s electric, it doesn’t matter / If you’re a Democrat, taste your freedom / Get whatever you want, taste your freedom,” Young could be heard singing in clips circulating on social media. “Come on Ford, come on GM / Come on Chrysler, let’s roll again,” the song continued. “Build something special that...

A massive crowd gathered at City Hall in Philadelphia Thursday for a May Day rally and to see Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders speak. The "For Workers, Not Billionaires" rally on the north side of City Hall drew a large crowd and shut down streets in the area. Sanders laid into the Trump administration's policies on taxes, immigration, federal cuts and more. He also pointed out the billionaires President Trump has put into cabinet positions and surrounded himself with — including the world's wealthiest man, Elon Musk. Sanders says he came to the event with a call to workers and Pennsylvania...

The Department of Defense announced that May is Military Appreciation Month, and thanks to President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, our troops have something to celebrate. From the skyrocketing recruitment to ditching DEI to reinstating those fired over COVID-19 vaccination status, the Trump Department of Defense (DOD) has much to promote in terms of achievements going into Military Appreciation Month. And hopefully, we will continue to see more victories in the future, such as successfully separating “transgender” troops, as Hegseth’s DOD announced it would do before activist courts intervened. Make sure to thank any active duty military and...

The Shanghai auto show, which opened on Wednesday, highlights China's dominance in the global automotive industry, particularly in electric and smart vehicles.

Vice Chair of the Democrat National Committee (DNC) David Hogg has vowed to keep fighting for his struggling party even if he is shoved out of his position. The gun control activist told Newsweek on Thursday, “Obviously I would prefer that I not be removed; however, in the case that I am, I’m still going to fight to build the strongest Democratic Party possible.” “The party has been around for over 170 years, and it has evolved a lot, obviously, since its beginning. And I think what the moment calls for is making sure that we have the strongest people...

A six-day immigration sweep in Florida in April resulted in the arrests of more than 1,100 people, the Trump administration said on Thursday as it increasingly relies on local law enforcement to help speed deportations.

New York Magazine’s Ben Terris saved the most important part of his extensive profile of Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman for last: “I didn’t find any indication that the stroke had left him cognitively impaired,” he wrote in its concluding paragraphs. That is not the impression that a reader would have gathered from the worried former Fetterman staffers, jilted progressive activists, and anecdotes detailing the senator’s declining mental health that preceded this observation. The piece paints a portrait of a broken man, a shadow of his former self, plagued by depression and demented episodes. None of that was especially apparent to...

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — President Donald Trump offered some encouraging words and advice for graduating students at the University of Alabama on Thursday in a speech interspersed with impressions of transgender weightlifters, accusations that judges were interfering with his agenda and attacks on his predecessor, Joe Biden. The Republican’s jolting speech was standard fare for Trump and well received by the crowd in deep-red Alabama, which backed him in all three of his presidential runs. “You’re the first graduating class of the golden age of America,” the president told the graduates.

At a White House event marking the National Day of Prayer, President Donald Trump stood flanked by religious leaders of every stripe—Christian pastors, Jewish rabbis, Hindu swamis, Buddhist monks, and Muslim imams. But in typical Trump fashion, what began as a carefully choreographed moment of spiritual unity soon veered into campaign trail chaos, as he launched into an unscripted anecdote involving imams, death, and what he mistakenly called “38 virgins.” “I love them. They were great,” Trump said, recalling a meeting with Muslim leaders in Michigan during the 2024 campaign. “They said, ‘We don’t want to die.’ I said, ‘You...

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday proposed a $163 billion cut to the federal budget that would sharply reduce spending in areas including education and housing next year, while increasing outlays for defense and border security. The administration said the proposed budget would raise homeland security spending by nearly 65% from 2025 enacted levels. Non-defense discretionary spending — a slice of the budget that excludes the massive Social Security and Medicare programs as well as the rising cost of interest payments on the nation’s debt — would be cut by 23% to the lowest level since 2017, the White...

A tour van collision left at least seven dead near Yellowstone National Park after both vehicles caught on fire on Thursday evening. A deadly collision near Yellowstone National Park left seven dead after a tour bus crashed into a Dodge Ram pickup truck, according to Idaho police. Thursday night at 7.15pm on a highway near Henry's Lake State Park, 16 miles west of Yellowstone, the two vehicles collided before both caught on fire. The driver of the pickup truck was reported to have died along with six others in the tour van, which was carrying a group of 14 people...

The US and Ukraine have signed a deal that will give Washington access to some of the war-torn country's natural resources.Months in the making, it sets up an investment fund that Ukraine hopes will cement US assistance as the country struggles to repel Russia three years after the invasion. The Ukrainians have now published the deal and there have been public statements from both sides. Here are seven key takeaways.snipThere were some concerns in Kyiv that the resources deal could hinder Ukraine's ability to join the EU, if it gave preferential treatment to US investors, as Kyiv and Brussels already...

Apple reported its highest March-quarter revenue in over two years, reaching $95 billion, as customers rushed to purchase devices ahead of potential new U.S. tariffs. As a result of the ongoing trade war with China, the tech giant announced that the majority of U.S. iPhones would come from India, while iPads and other devices would be imported from Vietnam. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple announced a significant surge in revenue for the March quarter, driven by strong demand for iPhones and other devices as customers moved to make purchases before the introduction of new U.S. tariffs in April....

Performance reviews ... Senior Executive Service, top bureaucrats serving throughout the government and across administrations, swelled to around 8,000 under Biden. Most live in Washington, D.C. They typically earn an annual salary between $183,000 and $250,000. An overwhelming majority, 96% .. receive above-average performance ratings even as public trust in government continues to crater. But standards will soon tighten. It is called “forced distribution.” The new OPM rule .. eliminates Biden-era requirements that evaluated executives based on their promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The stated goal is instead an evaluation of job performance, not political ideology. Now only top...

French President Emmanuel Macron is reportedly pressuring cardinals to block Cardinal Robert Sarah, a conservative African prelate challenging the Church’s progressive path. French President Emmanuel Macron is facing renewed criticism after it was revealed that he is trying to influence one of the most sacred processes in the Catholic church—the papal conclave. The allegation, made by Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, centers on purported communications between Macron and several French cardinal electors aimed at blocking the candidacy of Cardinal Robert Sarah. The Cardinal has said that “the West no longer knows who it is, because it no longer knows...

Hagai Lerner, who lost his sight while fighting in Gaza four months ago, lights torch at Independence Day ceremony in Kiryat Arba, together with Ram Cohen, who was also injured.

Eight years ago, a renowned psychiatrist publicly shared his concerns about the practice of medically and surgically “transitioning” children to appear as the opposite sex. He had no idea uttering such a commonsense viewpoint would end up costing him his job.In 2017, Dr. Allan Josephson of the University of Louisville had joined a Heritage Foundation panel entitled “Gender Dysphoria in Children: Understanding the Science and the Medicine.”His remarks were well-informed and thoughtful: “[G]ender dysphoria is a socio-cultural, psychological phenomenon that cannot be fully addressed with drugs and surgery,” he explained. “Thus, doctors and others should explore what causes this confusion...