Free Republic

Russia seems to be preparing a significant offensive in Ukraine as it is moving troops toward key positions on the front, the Financial Times reported on May 13, citing undisclosed Ukrainian intelligence officials. These reported preparations indicate Moscow's efforts to escalate the war despite expected ceasefire talks this week and calls by Kyiv and its partners for an unconditional 30-day truce. Russia has rejected ceasefire proposals unless accompanied by a halt on military aid for Ukraine and continues ground assaults along the front and long-range strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure. Some 163 clashes were recorded at the front over the past...

The U.S. Department of Justice is carrying out a criminal investigation into UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N), opens new tab for possible Medicare fraud, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. UnitedHealth said it had not been notified by the DOJ about the "supposed criminal investigation reported," and the company stood by "the integrity of our Medicare Advantage program." The stock fell 8% in after-hours trade following the report. The health insurer has been under pressure for months. On Tuesday, UnitedHealth Group's CEO, Andrew Witty, stepped down unexpectedly, and the company simultaneously suspended its 2025 financial forecast due to rising medical costs....

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order for all California State Employees to return to the office (RTO) four days a week does not currently have a price tag for California taxpayers. Increased costs for expenses such as rent, furniture, moving services and supplies has not yet been calculated, but as a state employee at CalRecycle, I can tell you that the cost for state employees is very clear and very dramatic.

Pete Buttigieg is clearly laying the groundwork for a 2028 presidential run, even going so far as to grow a beard in what looks like a transparent rebranding effort. And frankly, it’s no wonder he thinks he needs a makeover; his time as Transportation Secretary was a train wreck — sometimes literally. His four years in the Biden administration were a nonstop showcase of incompetence and misplaced priorities. You’d be hard-pressed to find a single transportation crisis he didn’t bungle. Now, we've got one more. Do you remember how the Democrats and the media tried to blame Trump for January's...

Smartmatic, the electronic tabulator company suing Fox News for alleged defamation following the 2020 election, failed in a February court hearing to disclose a meeting with Democrat megadonor Reid Hoffman, newly unsealed court documents allege. Following the 2020 election, both Fox News and Newsmax “hosted commentators who aired concerns that tabulators were not secure, were vulnerable to voter fraud, and had possibly changed Trump votes to Biden votes,” as described in these pages by Logan Washburn. Smartmatic sued, arguing the comments amounted to defamation. Fox previously settled a suit with Dominion Voting over similar allegations while Newsmax recently settled with...

A bold legislative proposal, the “Restoring Constitutional Mandate for Congress to Set Rules for the Federal Courts Act,” seeks to rein in what its author warns is an existential crisis – a “judicial coup” targeting President Donald Trump and the American people. Drafted by Jonathon Moseley, a 24-year legal veteran and founder of the Patriot Legal Defense Fund, the bill aims to rescind the Rules Enabling Act. The Constitution empowers Congress to set the rules for the Federal courts. But Congress generously trusted the U.S. Supreme Court with this honor and prestige. The bill includes a rebuke of U.S. Supreme...

I never thought I’d end up in handcuffs and a jail cell for something I didn’t say. But last May, police in New Haven, Conn., arrested me — because a parking attendant falsely claimed I had used a racial slur against him nearly a year earlier. I denied it. I asked the cops to check the parking lot’s surveillance video. They didn’t — and the state charged me first with disorderly conduct, then with three counts of breach of peace in the second degree. It took almost a year, tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and endless stress...

Prices paid to U.S. producers of goods and services unexpectedly declined in April, defying predictions that tariffs would reignite inflation. The producer price index for final demand fell 0.5 percent last month, the Labor Department said on Thursday, the largest decline since April of 2020. Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent increase for the month. The prior month’s reading was revised up from a decline of 0.4 percent to flat. Compared with a year ago, the producer price index (PPI) is up 2.4 percent, in line with expectations. In March, the index was up 2.7 percent. The producer price index...

Florida State Senator Jason Pizzo, the former Democratic Minority Leader who announced last month that he was leaving the party to register as a voter with no party affiliation, is planning to run for state governor in 2026. In a speech on the floor of the state senate in late April, Pizzo announced his change in party affiliation from Democrat to that of “No Party Affiliation.” He criticized the modern Democratic Party, describing it as “dead,” and praised the state’s independent voters, crediting them for his past electoral success. Pizzo was first elected to the state senate in 2018 as...

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got into a heated debate with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., during a hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday after the senator accused Kennedy and the Trump administration of delaying critical cancer care for one of her constituents named Natalie. Following a recess, Kennedy said the patient, Natalie, was found to be ineligible for the clinical trial she was trying to get into. The patient was found to be "medically ineligible," Kennedy said. "It had nothing to do with the [reduction in force] and NIH had been trying to get her into...

@PeterSchiff Republicans are taking flak from Democrats over fake Medicaid cuts in the Big Beautiful Bill that will likely be repealed before cuts that don't begin until 2029 actually kick in. So if Republicans are going to take heat for cutting Medicaid, they might as well actually cut it.

The Department of Government Efficiency is still continually occupied investigating fraud, waste, and abuse in our federal government. Now, if only Congressional Republicans would agree on a budget that includes all these necessary cuts. On May 12, DOGE’s X account provided a contract update: “Since Friday, agencies terminated 242 wasteful contracts with a ceiling value of $646M and savings of $200M, including a $118k USDA contract for the ‘Democratic Republic of Congo youth climate corps coordinator’, and a $23.5k USAID contract for the ‘garden landscaping and pool services at official mission director’s residence’ of South Africa.” Obviously important uses of...

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had “sort of” agreed to the terms. “We’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace,” Trump said on a tour of the Gulf, according to a shared pool report by AFP. “We’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this… there (are) two steps to doing this, there is a very, very nice step and there is the violent step, but I don’t want to do it the second way,” he...

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has canceled votes scheduled for Friday, May 16. According to Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), “Members are advised that votes are no longer expected in the House on Friday, May 16. He continued, “Last votes for the week are now expected at approximately 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 15. This is a change from the previously announced schedule.” No reason has been given. No accountability offered. Just more silence from the so-called “leader” of the House. ... Just last month, Johnson abruptly canceled the remainder of the week’s voting schedule, halting progress on critical conservative...

At 10:00 a.m. today, the Court will issue opinions in one or more of the cases pending for the October 2024 term. Scotusblog will be liveblogging as the opinions are released. You can follow that blog at:Scotusblog opinion release A list of the pending cases can be found here:October 2024 casesAfter the release of Opinions, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the government's implementation of Trump's Executive Order on birthright citizenship. I'm not sure how much the Court will address the actual merits of the case since the main issue is the constitutionality of federal judges issuing national...

This week, the Islamic Republic of Iran reportedly successfully launched a military satellite using the same advanced technologies that guide intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Hyten did not initially categorize the launch as successful but did confirm the missile “travelled a long way.” Nevertheless, a prominent satellite tracking service now shows the “Nour 1” in orbit, which should be of great concern to the United States. The type of ballistic missile technology used to launch this satellite could deliver nuclear, chemical, or even biological weapons to "wipe Israel off the map,"...

A Mexican social media influencer was shot dead during a TikTok livestream, authorities said. Valeria Marquez, 23, who had nearly 200,000 followers on social media, was working at a beauty salon in Zapopan, Jalisco, central Mexico, before the incident on Tuesday. On her TikTok livestream, Marquez was seen seated at a table holding a stuffed toy in front of her. She was heard saying, "They're coming," before a voice off-screen asked, "Hey, Vale?" "Yes," Marquez responded before muting the sound on her livestream. She appeared to be speaking to someone off-camera when she was shot once in the head and...

TALLINN/ANTALYA, Turkey, May 15 (Reuters) - Estonia said on Thursday that Moscow had briefly sent a fighter jet into NATO airspace over the Baltic Sea during an attempt to stop a Russian-bound oil tanker thought to be part of a "shadow fleet" defying Western sanctions on Moscow. Russia, which regards sanctions as a malign attempt to crush its economy, says all its ships have free passage in the Baltic and any attempt to stop them is dangerous. Estonia's navy said the unflagged Jaguar ship, which went onto a UK sanctions list last week, refused to cooperate when asked to stop...

Rep. Abe Hamadeh said ranked-choice voting is pushed by corporate interests and confuses voters.. Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., is joining forces with a fellow freshman lawmaker to renew efforts in Congress to outlaw ranked-choice voting nationwide. Hamadeh and Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, recently introduced the Preventing Ranked Choice Corruption Act that would amend the Help America Vote Act to ban ranked-choice voting. The bill pairs Begich, whose state uses ranked-choice voting, with Hamadeh, whose state has chronically dealt with issues of election integrity, and voter trust in ballot counting. "Ranked-choice voting destroys 'one person, one vote' in our country and...

On May 15, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the federal government’s efforts to be able to generally implement President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship – the guarantee of citizenship to virtually everyone born in the United States. The dispute is one of the relatively rare proceedings that came to the justices as an emergency appeal – on the so-called “shadow docket” – only to be set for oral arguments. Though the dispute comes to the justices through challenges to Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship, the primary issue before the court on Thursday is whether lower-court...