Free Republic

Amid continued American entanglements in the Middle East, neoconservative commentators seek to shore up the tired status quo by delegitimizing foreign policy dissent. Nowhere is this more evident than on the ever-radioactive issue of the U.S. relationship with Israel. Fearing an above-board debate, these gatekeepers have marshaled obscurantist phrases such as “Code Pink Republicans,” a guilt-by-association tactic meant to negatively polarize the conservative base in favor of staying the course on U.S.-Israeli relations. Add to the mix old classics like the “isolationist” slur and the conspiracist obsession with the “Soros-Koch” complex, and neoconservative hawks are working overtime to stigmatize long-standing...

Donald Trump shook the nation with his new plan to pay every illegal migrant who self-deports over $1,000 - including their plane ticket out of the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security shared a plan incentivizing self-deportation through the repurposed CBP Home app. In addition, his new plan to 'rebuild and open Alcatraz' as he seeks to crack down on violent criminals and illegal migrants is also shaking up Republicans and Democrats. The plan is expected to cost roughly $300 million - which would be footed by American taxpayers. Trump administration announces $1,000 payment program for illegal aliens willing to...

Iran is on fire — literally, again — and nobody knows why. A massive power plant and a "cardboard factory" caught fire bigly in Iran over the weekend. But there is impressive new video of Iran's port explosion from last week. Iran International reported that a "series of incidents unfolded in Alborz Province, west of Tehran, on Saturday evening, including two fires, reports of an explosion, and a magnitude 4.0 earthquake, according to official statements and eyewitness accounts." Israeli action? Typical authoritarian regime attention to maintenance issues? God just doesn't like the mullahs' regime? Who knows. For reasons yet unknown,...

Mercedes-Benz will shift production of one of its vehicles to Tuscaloosa, Alabama by 2027. The German luxury carmaker's move is the latest response from an industry caught in the expensive crosshairs of President Donald Trump's 25 percent tariffs. The decision marks a potential win for Trump’s protectionist trade agenda, which aims to boost US manufacturing by slapping steep tariffs on foreign-made goods. But there are many complicating factors. The company didn't say which model would move to America. Instead, it said the production of a 'core segment vehicle' will move stateside. Many experts predict the move will impact the production...

Constitutional law expert Alan Dershowitz told Newsmax on Monday that Harvard University won't win as it fights the Trump administration in court to regain access to more than $2.2 billion in federal grants and, potentially, its tax-exempt status, which President Donald Trump said he intends to revoke. The funding was frozen hours after Harvard President Alan Garber said the university would not comply with the government's demands to limit student activism, following last year's anti-Israel protests that roiled college campuses across the country.

The Trump administration has started paying illegal migrants to $1,000 each to “self-deport” from the US, and the Department of Homeland Security said it will save taxpayers up to $1 million per family. Immigrants can avoid arrest by federal immigration agents if they choose to use the Trump administration’s CBP Home app. The DHS will pay for commercial flights out of the US, and then send cash once they confirm they’ve left. Despite shelling out the cash, DHS projects that taxpayers will save 70% over the cost of rounding up and deporting each illegal migrant. It costs taxpayers an average...

Evidently, we need more places to stash illegal alien criminals whose own countries won't take them back. In a somewhat unexpected development, the Trump administration is now in talks with the African nation of Rwanda to take some of these deportees. Advertisement Rwanda's government and the Trump administration are discussing details about a potential agreement for Kigali to accept deportees from the U.S., including Africans and other non-Rwandan nationals, CBS News has learned. Decisions on potential financial compensation for taking in the deportees and other details would be discussed within the next two weeks, according to a Rwandan official. A...

A federal jury convicted a Louisiana nurse practitioner yesterday for her role in an over $2 million health care fraud scheme. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Shanone Chatman-Ashley, 45, of Opelousas, was a nurse practitioner and enrolled provider with Medicare. Chatman-Ashley worked as an independent contractor for companies that purportedly provided telehealth services to Medicare beneficiaries. As part of the scheme, the defendant caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME). Chatman-Ashley routinely ordered knee braces, suspension sleeves, and other types of DME for patients who had...

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Shortly after Russia’s unprovoked invasion, Putin put his military’s nuclear forces on high alert. Putin formally reduced the requirements for the Kremlin to deploy its nuclear weapons last year following Ukrainian attacks on the western Russian city of Kursk. That cleared the way for Russia to use nukes against any nation that attacks its territory and has the backing of a nuclear power. Recently, Trump has begun to sound more glum about the prospects of getting a deal done between the two sides. “Maybe it’s not possible to do,” Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview that aired...

Nearly 2,000 residents packed a weekend town hall on Long Island with Dem Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin — a rare in-person political forum in a deep-red county where GOPers have been avoiding such events. The massive turnout was so high that an overflow center was needed for the main site, the Patchogue Theater — and highlighted the growing frustration of Suffolk County residents who say they’ve been left in the dark by their Republican reps. “My friends, we are being governed by morons,” Raskin, a constitutional lawyer, told the crowd. “But the more difficult the struggle, the more glorious the...

Former senior defense official Dr. Terry Adirim, who was behind the unconstitutional military vaccine mandate, was reportedly fired from her position in February 2025 shortly after President Trump took office. Dr. Terry Adirim, a senior CIA official and former Defense Department official under Joe Biden, was fired by the Trump Administration after she caused so much harm and damage to the US military and thousands of military men and women who refused to take the COVID jab. Dr. Terry Adirim left her position on February 25 to “pursue other opportunities” outside the department, according to an internal memo sent by...

by R.V. Scheide ....The final candidate interviewed by the board last Wednesday, Ellie Leigh Sharp, a Subject Matter Expert II and top-down integration specialist for the Nevada Secretary of State Elections Division, has worked in elections offices since 2007—about the same length of time as Assistant ROV Joanna Francescut. She was clearly more qualified than Curtis, who has no direct elections experience. Like all the candidates, Sharp declined to comment on the state of Shasta County’s election system and instead described what a healthy system might look like. “So the nature of elections, you have normally two systems,” Sharp said....

wo people are dead after a hit-and-run crash on Interstate 95 Friday morning, according to Florida Highway Patrol. FHP said a semi-truck hit a car on the shoulder of the highway and then drove away from the crash. The semi was eventually located on I-95 in Palm Beach County and the driver was taken into custody. Florida Highway Patrol traffic homicide investigators have arrested Hassan Abdirahman Sheikh Ali, 36, of Charlotte, North Carolina, on charges of hit and run involving death.

A senior security source addressed the expansion of the fighting in Gaza, which has been codenamed "Operation Gideon Chariots," and says that the goal will be "to defeat and subdue Hamas in Gaza and release all hostages." According to the source, "In accordance with the plan formulated by the Chief of Staff and the IDF Command and approved by the Minister of Defense and the Prime Minister, the IDF will increase its forces and act forcefully to defeat and subdue Hamas and destroy its military and governmental capabilities, while creating strong pressure for the release of all the hostages. A...

Friday, during Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” Trafalgar Group pollster Robert Cahaly called out so-called “fake polls” intended to pressure congressional Republicans to back away from the support of President Donald Trump’s agenda. “You know, it was interesting to watch the focus group, Robert, with Van Jones, that I had in the opening monologue,” host Sean Hannity said. “And you know, people are not regretting voting for Donald Trump and then to watch their polls to say, yeah, if the election were held again today, Trump would still wipe the floor with Kamala Harris or probably any other Democrat for that...

The U.S. Department of Education is set to restart collection efforts on defaulted student loans on Monday — putting millions of borrowers at risk of wage garnishment and other consequences. The federal government has extraordinary collection powers on its student loans and it can seize borrowers’ tax refunds, paychecks and Social Security retirement and disability benefits.More than 42 million Americans hold student loans, and collectively, outstanding federal education debt exceeds $1.6 trillion. More than 5 million borrowers are currently in default, and that total could swell to roughly 10 million borrowers within a few months, according to the Trump administration.The...

French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are hosting a Paris conference to attract US researchers ready to relocate because of President Donald Trump's policies. EU commissioners, scientists and ministers for research from member countries will discuss, among other things, financial incentives at the gathering to lure disgruntled American scientists across the Atlantic. Paris's Sorbonne university is hosting the conference, called "Choose Europe for Science". Under Trump, universities and research facilities in the United States have come under increasing political and financial pressure, including from threats of massive federal funding cuts. Research programmes face closure,...

The UK is on the brink of political chaos, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government arresting farmers, protesters, and even voters accused of "non-compliance" with Labour's increasingly unpopular policies. This crackdown began with Labour's new inheritance tax crackdown on farmland, forcing families to sell off their land just to pay the taxman. Over 300 farmers and protesters have been arrested, many without charge. Videos of tearful mothers, elderly landowners, and young agricultural workers being handcuffed and dragged away are now flooding social media, sparking outrage across the country. King Charles, known for his quiet diplomacy, has reportedly warned the Prime...

Iran asserts it has stationed missiles nationwide capable of dodging American defense systems. As reported by Iran International, the country this week unveiled a new ballistic missile named Qasem Basir, with a range of 1,200 kilometers, and warned that American military bases across the Middle East fall within its scope. According to the publication, that was reported in Globes, Iran’s Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh stated the upgraded missile, powered by solid fuel, was engineered to circumvent modern air defense systems—particularly the American THAAD system, which was recently installed in Israel. Nasirzadeh declared on Iranian state TV that the missile’s improved...