Free Republic

CNN is taking credit for prompting the firing of The Western Journal founder and former owner Floyd Brown, who only a month ago had taken a senior position at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The piece by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski describes Brown as a “far-right activist” who is a professing Christian and who has made statements in the past critical of the homosexual lifestyle and same-sex marriage. ... In February, President Donald Trump announced that he was naming Ric Grenell as interim director of the Kennedy Center. The president wrote on social media, “Ric shares my Vision for...

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has approved a final authorization for LNG exports to non-free trade agreement countries from Port Arthur LNG Phase II in Jefferson County, Texas. The authorization represents the first LNG export approval under President Trump’s administration, signaling a shift from the previous administration’s pause on such permits. The project, owned by Sempra Energy, will have the capacity to export 1.91 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas. This expansion complements Port Arthur Phase I, which is currently under construction with exports expected to begin in 2027. Sempra’s LNG portfolio includes the operational Cameron...

Swedish climate doomer turned anti-Israel campaigner Greta Thunberg will lead a shipload of protesters to Gaza on Sunday to stand with pro-Palestinian activists. The trip is organised by the Freedom Flotilla, a coalition of groups opposed to Israel’s presence in the disputed territory, AFP reports. Greta Thunberg Heading for Gaza with Shipload of Anti-Israel Activists 18 06 December 2024, Baden-Württemberg, Mannheim: Activist Greta Thunberg sits on the podiumUwe Anspach/picture alliance via Getty Simon Kent30 May 202557 2:08 Swedish climate doomer turned anti-Israel campaigner Greta Thunberg will lead a shipload of protesters to Gaza on Sunday to stand with pro-Palestinian activists....

China has pledged to give $500 million to the World Health Organization as the country is set to replace the United States as the group’s top state donor, expanding Beijing’s global influence in the wake of Washington’s retreat from international cooperation. Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong told the World Health Assembly that his country is making the contribution to oppose “unilateralism,” a trait Beijing often ascribes to Washington as relations between the two powers deteriorate. “The world is now facing the impacts of unilateralism and power politics, bringing major challenges to global health security,” Liu said Tuesday in Geneva. “China...

Germany, the economic heart of Europe — the supposed gold standard of order, stability, and industrial might — is unravelling in full view. This isn’t hyperbole. It’s not nationalist hysteria. It’s a fact, carved into the skin of innocent commuters, children, and schoolteachers. What once stood as the engine of Europe is now a cautionary tale in slow-motion collapse. A nation once known for precision, discipline, and security now radiates something closer to fatigue and fear. The cracks aren’t subtle anymore, they’re gaping, and they run through every level of German society. Hamburg, one of the most vital arteries in...

In a ruling heard ’round the world, the U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday blocked President Trump’s sweeping tariffs. This is an important moment for the rule of law as much as for the economy, proving again that America doesn’t have a king who can rule by decree. The Trump tariffs have created enormous costs and uncertainty, but now we know they’re illegal. As the three-judge panel explains in its detailed 52-page ruling, the President exceeded his emergency powers and bypassed discrete tariff authorities delegated to him by Congress. The ruling erases his April 2 tariffs as well as...

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Thursday on “The Ingraham Angle” that President Donald Trump has the authority to hit other countries with reciprocal tariffs. A three-judge panel on the New York-based Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday that the president could not use his executive powers to impose reciprocal tariffs on imports. While discussing the ruling, Fox host Laura Ingraham told Turley that the tariffs could “withstand judicial scrutiny,” as previous tariffs from Trump’s first administration were upheld after being dragged through court. “Correct. The fact is the administration wanted to try this approach. This was a...

In 1982, a peculiar commercial aired on televisions across Japan. An actress in a pink floral dress and an updo drops paint on her hand and futilely attempts to wipe it off with toilet paper. She looks into the camera and asks: “Everyone, if your hands get dirty, you wash them, right?” “It’s the same for your bottom, deserve to be washed, too.” ...43yrs later, Japan has overwhelmingly accepted Toto’s innovation. Washlet-style bidets, sold by Toto and a few smaller rivals, are a common feature in Japan’s offices and public restrooms and account for >80% of all household toilets, according...

The mayor of Panama City, Mayer Mizrachi, said the city could potentially establish a bitcoin reserve. The Mayor of Panama City, Mayer Mizrachi, is taking notes on bitcoin from the leader of El Salvador. Speaking at Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas on Thursday, Mizrachi said he’s been thinking of ways Panama’s capital city, which is home to the Panama Canal, could implement bitcoin payments. This includes potentially setting up a strategic bitcoin reserve for Panama City, as well as possibly taking payments — including for passage through the Panama Canal — in bitcoin, Mizrachi said. “What if you have a...

An anti-Trump IT specialist the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) was arrested on Thursday for attempting to provide classified national defense information to a foreign government. According to the DOJ, Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia, was arrested on Thursday in northern Virginia, and will make his initial court appearance in the Eastern District of Virginia on Friday. The Justice Department said Laatsch offered to transmit classified information to the foreign government because he did not “agree or align with the values of this administration” and was therefore “willing to share classified information” that he had access to, including “completed...

Earlier this year, as President Donald Trump was beginning to reshape the American government, Michael, an emergency room doctor who was born, raised, and trained in the United States, packed up his family and left the country. Michael now works in a small-town hospital in Canada….He said he feels some guilt that he did not stay to resist the Trump agenda but is assured in his decision to leave. Too much of America has simply grown too comfortable with violence and cruelty, he said. "Part of being a physician is being kind to people who are in their weakest place,"...

SEATTLE — A legally armed civilian shot and killed a 16-year-old boy Wednesday night after the teen allegedly opened fire on two people in downtown Seattle, according to police. The shooting happened just after 10 p.m. near First Avenue and Union Street. Police said the teen shot two people before he encountered a 57-year-old man licensed to carry a firearm, who then shot the teen. “One individual produced a weapon, fired on the two individuals and then began to flee the scene,” said Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes. “When he did, he encountered a private citizen that was licensed to...

President Trump went off on the Federalist Society for recommending him judges when he was ‘new to Washington’ after a three-judge panel on the US Court of International Trade blocked him from unilaterally imposing tariffs. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel at the US Court of International Trade ruled President Trump exceeded his authority to unilaterally impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA). The three judge panel included: Gary Katzmann (Obama), Timothy Reif (Trump) and Jane Restani (Reagan). The Trump DOJ immediately appealed the federal court’s permanent injunction and the federal circuit court’s en banc order...

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah pharmacist is upset the man who admitted to breaking into his pharmacy has been let off the hook. On May 28, President Donald Trump pardoned 25-year-old rapper NBA YoungBoy, who had been sentenced to nearly two years in jail in Utah back in December 2024. The President didn’t explain why he pardoned the rap star. NBA YoungBoy’s record includes drug fraud and weapons charges, both federally and at the state level. “My very first gut reaction to hearing that pardon was what a terrible lesson to teach your boys,” Phil Cowley, a Utah pharmacist,...

How are businesses supposed to plan for the future if they have no idea what the rules of the game are going to be? Businesses thrive in a predictable environment, but we have entered a period of time of extreme uncertainty. One day we are facing high tariffs, the next day one court strikes them all down, and then the next day another court temporarily reverses that decision. How is anyone supposed to make solid business decisions in such an environment? Our economy has been heading in the wrong direction for a long time, and we need to take bold...

An IT specialist employed by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) was arrested today for attempting to transmit national defense information to an officer or agent of a foreign government. Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 28, of Alexandria, was arrested in northern Virginia and will make his initial court appearance tomorrow. According to court documents, Laatsch became a civilian employee of the DIA in 2019, where he works with the Insider Threat Division and holds a Top Secret security clearance. In March, the FBI commenced an operation after receiving a tip that an individual - now known to be Laatsch - offered to...

More than a quarter-million Chinese students attending college in the United States saw their futures plunged into uncertainty Wednesday when the Trump administration announced an aggressive crackdown on student visa holders from that country. With an estimated 277,398 students pursuing primarily undergraduate and graduate degrees, China ranks only behind India among foreign countries with the highest number of students attending college in the U.S., according to data from the Institute of International Education. Since China’s middle-class boom in the early aughts, its students have flocked to U.S. institutions, which in turn welcomed the enrollment boost and mostly unsubsidized tuition fees....

SummaryCompanies face uncertainty, paralyzing decision-making and affecting profit forecasts Economists predict final costs will be much higher than disclosed Tariffs impact automakers, airlines, and consumer goods importers significantly SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK/BENGALURU, May 29 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's trade war has cost companies more than $34 billion in lost sales and higher costs, according to a Reuters analysis of corporate disclosures, a toll that is expected to rise as ongoing uncertainty over tariffs paralyzes decision making at some of the world's largest companies. Across the United States, Asia and Europe, companies including Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, Ford (F.N), opens...

Several Minneapolis police officers have expressed dismay over Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) running for vice president during the 2024 election. Speaking with Blaze Media for the fifth anniversary of the Black Lives Matter riots that were sparked by the murder of George Floyd, police officers said that Walz’s poor leadership made the situation worse. “I think he made some comments leading up to the last election to make it sound like he supports law enforcements, but I think his actions and indecision … back in 2020 proved otherwise,” one officer told the outlet.

In one of the nation’s first wrongful-death claims seeking to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for its role in the changing climate, a Washington state woman is suing seven oil and gas companies, saying they contributed to an extraordinarily hot day that led to her mother’s fatal hyperthermia.