Free Republic

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has granted a full pardon to Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk whose case has become a rallying point for election-integrity activists across the country. Trump has previously described Peters as a "political prisoner" on several occasions.

Jonathan Franklin, a current University adjunct professor & former NPR correspondent who built his career on issues of race, culture, & justice, was recorded making openly racist remarks during an undercover date with James O’Keefe. Franklin, scheduled to teach a Georgetown course on interviewing & sourcing, labeled Black conservatives such as Candace Owens, Lawrence Jones, & Clarence Thomas as “coons,” & mocked his colleagues, saying he “works with stupid white people.” During the confrontation, Franklin attempted to assault an OMG cameraman before fleeing. Georgetown University records confirm Franklin is currently teaching students how to “interview sources effectively,” even as he...

Kyle Rittenhouse re-emerged on social media Wednesday to announce he had gotten married and to share a photo of his bride holding an AR-style rifle. His bride’s name is Bell: Rittenhouse came into the national eye on August 25, 2020, after using an AR-15 rifle to defend himself while under assault in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He subsequently faced two charges of murder, one charge of attempted murder, and two charges of reckless endangerment relating to the melee during Black Lives Matter riots in Kenosha. On November 19, 2021, Breitbart News noted that Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges. On...

Florida and Texas have filed a lawsuit challenging more than two decades of federal government decisions that cleared the way for the use of abortion drugs — and said the availability of the drugs through the mail has interfered with state laws designed to prevent abortions. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Wichita Falls, Texas, by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleges that decisions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration dating back to 2000 were "arbitrary, capricious" and an "abuse of discretion" and should be rejected. "The United States Food and...

Ursula von der Leyen also said she has always had "a very good working relationship" with US presidentsBRUSSELS, December 12. /TASS/. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the US president should not interfere into democratic processes in the EU member countries. "It is not on us, when it comes to elections, to decide who the leader of the country will be, but on the people of this country <…> That’s the sovereignty of the voters, and this must be protected," the European Commission president told Politico in an interview. "Nobody else is supposed to interfere, without any question."...

Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are advocating for a bill that would stop President Trump from replacing immigration judges with what the senators call “inexperienced attorneys.”The bill is led by Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and co-sponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) alongside Senators Wyden and Merkley.

The European Union on Thursday handed Ukraine a long list of reforms needed to join the bloc, determined to push the process forward despite the ongoing war and objections from EU member Hungary. Top EU officials and diplomats meeting in Lviv, in western Ukraine, said a list of demands covering roughly half of the required reforms would allow progress while formal negotiations remain blocked by Budapest. EU membership has become the central goal for Ukraine’s effort to anchor itself to the West as NATO prospects stall. Here’s a look at the main challenges on Ukraine’s road to the European Union....

"Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour, / England hath need of thee, she is a fen / of stagnant waters” begins a famous sonnet by William Wordsworth about the spiritual troubles of two hundred years back. Of course, things seem just as catastrophic today as they did in 1802. After the English people voted for Brexit, the elites of England seem to have declared war on the country’s culture and liberties. They are swiftly bankrupting the country and breaking its party system; they make a mockery of the established Christian religion while the king celebrates Muslim holidays; they...

… Among other requirements, Minneapolis' separation ordinance forbids Minneapolis police from taking part in immigration enforcement or assisting ICE agents. It also prevents city employees from investigating an individual when the only law they've violated is being in the United States illegally. City employees are also restricted from inquiring about immigration status except when required to do so by law. This week, the council presented a revised version of the separation ordinance with tougher language intended to combat ICE, amid a targeted immigration operation ordered by President Trump focused on the Somali community. The new ordinance declares the city will...

A US defense website claims to have seen a leaked document unveiling a dramatic US proposal to prise four countries away from the European Union as part of a bold new 'Make Europe Great Again' strategy. The secret file, reported by Defense One, supposedly claims Trump intends to pull Austria, Italy, Hungary and Poland away from the EU and closer in to Washington's circle of influence - a move that would rip through the continent's political landscape. The document is also said to call for the US to back parties and movements that 'seek sovereignty and preservation/restoration of traditional European...

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) says work requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are now being enforced in every county in Oregon. The policy changes at the USDA follow the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill (H.R.1). ODHS said about 37,000 Oregonians are immediately affected. The statewide rules took effect on Dec. 1, 2025, expanding the work requirements from six counties. The shift affects adults classified as able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs). These are people aged 18 to 64 who do not live with children under 14. Those individuals must now...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently admitted he needs extensive assistance from his company’s AI chatbot to get through life. During an interview last night with late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon, Altman argued that raising a child without constantly pestering a chatbot for life advice is now impossible — even though humans have managed just fine since the dawn of time without it. “I cannot imagine having gone through, figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT,” Altman told Fallon during his late-night debut on Monday. “Clearly, people did it for a long time — no problem. But I...

Working Americans are going to get “very large refunds” of $1,000 to $2,000 per household early in the new year, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The checks will come in the first quarter of 2026 as a result of tax cuts in President Donald Trump’s sweeping, budget-focused One Big Beautiful Bill Act, he said. “I think we’re going to see $100-$150 billion of refunds, which could be between $1,000, $2,000 per household,” Bessent said Wednesday.

A progressive group is targeting two Senate Democrats and an independent senator who voted to confirm some of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees, promising to spend more than $1 million in hopes of pushing congressional Democrats to take a stronger stand against the Republican president. In a weeklong advertising campaign that began on Wednesday, Demand Justice is targeting only senators who aren’t up for reelection next year: Democrats John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, along with independent Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats. But the group’s president, Josh Orton, said the blitz is only...

~Favorite Fire or Wind Songs~ Elite Special Forces - "Somebody Like Me" href=" *Video*

Kimball highlighted the political dynamics among younger voters: "Ohio voters who did not participate in the 2024 election, most of whom are under 30, are more likely to identify as Republicans rather than Democrats. In addition, 31% of voters under 30 align with independents or Democrats, while 38% identify with Republicans, though this group still breaks for Democrats on the ballot by about 12 points." President Donald Trump's job approval rating in Ohio stands at 46%, with a disapproval rating of 48%. Since August, Trump's approval has decreased by three points, while his disapproval has risen by six points. Gov....

Diary of disturbing disinformation and dangerous delusionsThis claim:“We lowered the price of everything.” — Former President Joe Biden, Friday We say: Uh oh, Joe’s into the Rocky Road again. Maybe if you too slept through his presidency you could buy Biden’s line that his was a golden age of affordability. But if you had to buy groceries or pay for gas then, you surely saw how inflation ran red-hot on his watch: Home prices alone soared 38% and gasoline prices rose 31% — while real wages fell 4%. Affordability? Please.

Trump administration border czar Tom Homan said this week that the Department of Homeland Security is investigating whether Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar committed immigration fraud by allegedly marrying her brother. President Donald Trump and his allies have claimed Omar's first husband, Ahmed Elmi, is actually her brother, who she married for immigration purposes in 2009. The couple divorced in 2017 and no DNA evidence has supported the claim that they are brother and sister. Homan told Newsmax that he was investigating whether Omar committed immigration fraud and is thereby in the country illegally. Omar first came to the United...

PHILIPSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been released from an immigration detention center in Pennsylvania following an order from a federal judge issued Thursday, according to his attorney’s office.Abrego Garcia’s attorney confirmed he was released just before 5 p.m. Thursday and told The Associated Press he plans to return to Maryland, where he has an American wife and child and where he has lived for years after originally immigrating to the U.S. illegally as a teenager. Attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said he’s not sure what comes next, but he’s prepared to defend his client against further deportation efforts.U.S. District...

Settlement with Missouri ends SAVE program that Biden administration estimated would cost taxpayers $342B over decade The Trump administration took the final step toward killing the Biden administration's SAVE student loan plan, announcing a proposed settlement that would shutter the program and force millions into new, legally authorized repayment options. "For four years, the Biden administration sought to unlawfully shift student loan debt onto American taxpayers, many of whom either never took out a loan to finance their postsecondary education or never even went to college themselves, simply for a political win to prop up a failing administration," U.S. Department...