Free Republic

President Trump unleashed a new addition to the Presidential Walk of Fame in the White House Rose Garden, where portraits of all 47 US Presidents are displayed.Trump famously replaced the picture of Joe Biden with an autopen, taking a jab at the 46th President for not actually running the White House but ceding his power to those around him, who took illegal executive actions with the Biden signature affixed by a robotic signature machine.Reporters in the White House noticed this morning newly placed plaques under the photographs, which gave a Trump White House-crafted biography of the President.Biden and Obama, both...

Dan Bongino has said he will leave his role as the FBI's deputy director in January. "I want to thank President Trump, AG (Pam) Bondi, and Director (Kash) Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose," Bongino wrote on X. It comes after US President Donald Trump said earlier on Wednesday the former podcast host "did a great job" in office, and "wants to go back to his show". Bongino, who was appointed to the role by Donald Trump in February, was previously a New York City police officer and a US Secret Service agent. In recent years, he built...

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino will resign his position with less than a year on the job — after reportedly packing up his belongings and bidding adieu to his team. “I will be leaving my position with the FBI in January,” Bongino announced on social media Wednesday night. “I want to thank President Trump, AG Bondi, and Director Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose. Most importantly, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you. God bless America, and all those who defend Her.” SNIP A different source said that it’s understood that...

A Jewish New Yorker described Tuesday how he was stabbed just centimeters from his heart by a hateful sicko — who made a chilling promise before lunging at him on a Brooklyn street. “I’m going to kill a Jew today,” the knife-wielding goon seethed before launching the antisemitic attack, said victim Elias Rosner, 35, in an interview with The Post on Wednesday. Rosner, a member of the Lubavitch Hasidic community in Crown Heights, had just left the temple on Tuesday afternoon when he came across the still-at-large attacker spewing antisemitic slurs.

Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson made a startling claim that President Donald Trump may use his upcoming televised address to announce war with Venezuela. Carlson was speaking on the online show Judging Freedom. The right-winger said he was told by a member of Congress that lawmakers had been briefed ahead of Trump’s planned 9 pm address. “Members of Congress were briefed yesterday that a war [with Venezuela] is coming, and it will be announced in [Trump’s] address to the administration tonight,” Carlson said, according to a transcript shared on social media. However, he was also not sure whether the MAGA chief...

Mr Jack Hibbert has lost vision in one eye and faces a long recovery ahead, with additional surgeries required, his family said.Australian police officer Mr Jack Hibbert survived a gunshot wound to the head after responding to the shooting incident at Sydney's Bondi Beach. The 22-year-old probationary constable, who was only four months into the job, also sustained a gunshot wound to his shoulder, according to local media reports. He responded with “courage, instinct and selflessness” at the Bondi Beach shooting, his family said in a statement posted by New South Wales Police on Wednesday (Dec 17).

Trump administration to dissolve key climate research agencyThe Trump administration said on Tuesday evening (Dec 16) it will dissolve a key federal climate science research centre in Colorado, its latest effort to defund such research. Ross Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said the administration will break up the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, which conducts earth systems scientific research, saying the facility "is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country." "A comprehensive review is underway & any vital activities such as weather research will be moved to...

Individuals and communities must take responsibility for their own safety.At Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, a father-son team of ISIS-inspired terrorists murdered attendees at a celebration of the first day of Hanukkah. One of the attackers was disarmed by a heroic civilian who was shot in the process, while others lost their lives trying to help. You are reading The Rattler from J.D. Tuccille and Reason. Get more of J.D.'s commentary on government overreach and threats to everyday liberty. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded to the shooting with promises to further tighten gun laws in the already restrictive country—a...

One of President Donald Trump's top aides has some thoughts on Elon Musk. In a series of interviews with Vanity Fair published on Tuesday, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles weighed in on Musk's time as the de facto leader of DOGE, her thoughts on the Musk-led shuttering of USAID, and Musk's personality quirks. "The challenge with Elon is keeping up with him," Wiles told the outlet, calling Musk an "avowed ketamine" user who "sleeps in a sleeping bag" in an office building adjacent to the White House during the daytime. "He's an odd, odd duck, as I think...

The man who hosted a Stockton birthday party where four, including three children, were killed over the Thanksgiving weekend, was denied bail for a parole violation that prosecutors say led to the deadly tragedy. Appearing before state court Thursday, Stockton-based rapper Luciano Guerrero was arrested Dec. 1 by parole officers for being in “contact” with gang members at the family gathering. According to parole documents, a joint investigation by the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, Stockton Police Department and FBI

‘When the law demands three signatures on tabulator tapes and the county fails to follow the rules, those 315,000 votes are, by definition, uncertified.’ arlier this month, Fulton County admitted that approximately 315,000 early votes from the 2020 election were illegally certified but were nonetheless still included in the final results of that election. The admission came during a Dec. 9 hearing before the Georgia State Election Board (SEB) stemming from a challenge filed by David Cross, a local election integrity activist. Cross filed a challenge with the SEB in March 2022. Cross alleged that Fulton County violated Georgia statute...

Willis had attempted to prosecute Trump and 18 of his allies in the state on racketeering charges for allegedly attempting to overthrow the 2020 election. The district attorney said Wednesday that she stands by her attempt to prosecute the group. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis defended her prosecution of President Donald Trump and his allies Wednesday during a three-hour-long hearing in front of the Georgia state Senate. The Senate Special Committee on Investigation has been warring with Willis over a subpoena first issued in 2024, and the hearing comes after the state Supreme Court heard oral arguments over Willis'...

Nick Reiner made his first court appearance in Los Angeles today on homicide charges for his parents' double murder. The 32-year-old was seen in jeans and an anti-suicide vest without a shirt underneath. He did not enter a plea and his arraignment has been continued until January 7. When judge asked Reiner if he agreed to to waive his right to a speedy arraignment, he said: 'Yes, your honor.' Nick's lawyer, Alan Jackson, made a statement to the public saying that there were 'very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case,' and asked that 'throughout this...

She’s Kathy Kevorkian. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday she’ll sign a controversial doctor-assisted suicide bill – capping a years-long battle over making New York a state that allows terminally ill people to take their own lives. Many religious leaders and disability advocates quickly condemned Hochul’s decision to approve the Medical Aid in Dying Act, while the governor cast it as civil rights issue on par with gay marriage. “The right to spend their final days not hearing the droning hum of hospital machines but instead the laughter of their grandkids echoing in the next room. The right to tell their...

Former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has slammed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, delivering a passionate 50-minute speech at a Bondi Beach vigil in front of mourners and news crews. The former politician, who is Jewish, urged the PM to “take personal responsibility” for Sunday’s mass shooting, saying the government has “failed” the Jewish community. He also offered an 8-point plan of what the Government should do - taking aim at everything from neo-Nazis, the immigration system, Islamic extremism, and pro-Palestine protests.

WARSAW, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Polish security services have detained a 19-year-old student suspected of seeking to establish contacts with Islamic State and charged with preparing an attack at a Christmas market that could have caused mass casualties, authorities said on Tuesday. Mateusz W., a student at the Catholic University of Lublin, wanted to commit an attack using explosives and planned to join a terrorist organization, said Jacek Dobrzynski, a spokesperson for Poland's special services. "The man was very fascinated by Islam, sought to establish contacts with the Islamic State, and was preparing an attack in Poland, in one of...

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is preparing to quit the Trump administration in the next few weeks, according to a report. Bongino has started boxing up 'knick-knacks' from his office in Washington, DC, and sending them back to Florida, where he plans to return to work as a pro-Trump broadcaster ahead of the midterm elections, sources told The New York Times. The former podcaster and Fox News host gave up a lucrative media career earlier this year to join the Trump administration. However, his brief tenure has been marked by a public ambivalence about the role, as well as internal...

Paris insists that the decision to cancel its New Year’s Eve open-air concert on the Champs-Élysées is merely a matter of crowd control. Officials speak of logistics, unpredictability and prudence. Yet few observers truly believe this is the whole story. The reality, uncomfortable though it may be, is that Europe’s great capitals are quietly recalibrating public life in response to a persistent and ideologically driven threat — one that has now asserted itself far beyond Europe’s borders. Seen in this light, Paris’s muted New Year feels less like administrative caution and more like an admission of reality – Europe’s Muslim...

After Trump’s mass pardons of the U.S. Capitol rioters, some have gained influence inside the Justice Department, meeting with officials to push for prosecutions of the federal lawyers who once helped convict them, Reuters found. The January 6 prosecutors describe mounting threats, harassment and fear of lasting damage to the U.S. justice system. The Capitol riot of January 2021 set off the largest criminal investigation in the Justice Department’s history. For federal prosecutor Ashley Akers, it was a defining moment in a seven-year career spent untangling complex cases, from wire fraud to domestic terrorism. She helped put away dozens of...

There’s a new beast on the streets — and it’s nothing to bark at. A powerful animal tranquilizer is increasingly saturating the US drug supply, fueling mass overdose outbreaks in hot spots like Chicago and Philadelphia. It was detected in New York last year, setting off alarm bells among public health officials. They warn that while its effects can mimic opioids such as fentanyl, there’s a dangerous catch: It doesn’t respond to conventional overdose-reversal treatments. The drug, medetomidine, is a sedative used by veterinarians to relax muscles and relieve pain, often during surgery. It works by slowing the release of...