Free Republic

Attorney General Pam Bondi's links to Qatar are under scrutiny again following reports that President Donald Trump will be gifted a luxury plane from the Qatari government. Bondi worked as a foreign lobbyist for the nation of Qatar, earning $115,000 a month in the role which she held in 2020 and in the run up to the World Cup in 2022. In this role, she lobbied Congress on behalf of Qatari interests. She also worked in a separate lobbying position for the Washington, D.C.-based firm Ballard Partners, where she also lobbied on behalf of Qatari interests and several conglomerates including...

The Boeing 747-8 being offered to U.S. President Donald Trump by Qatar once served the Qatari royal family and has been sitting unsold for years. The jet, a lavishly configured version of Boeing's largest passenger aircraft, has been lingering without a buyer since being put up for sale in 2020, according to aircraft listings and aviation analysts. Trump has publicly expressed frustration with Boeing's yearslong delay in delivering two modified 747s for presidential use. The president has argued that by accepting Qatar's offer, he can bypass delays and save U.S. taxpayers money. Critics, however, fear that the acceptance would be...

The Kremlin said oil prices do not affect its national security decisions after U.S. President Donald Trump linked lower prices to Russia wanting to settle the Ukraine war. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, responded to Trump's remarks during a press briefing on Tuesday morning. Peskov said Russia will continue to work within the OPEC+ format on managing oil prices, the state news agency TASS reported. -snip- Trump had told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday: "I think Russia with the price of oil right now, oil has gone down, we are in a good position to...

Two European allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin have fallen ill, according to reports, days before they were set to attend a Victory Day parade in Moscow. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico have had their trips to Russia questioned amid reported health scares.

In a follow-up opinion, Rodriguez Jr. declared: "For these reasons, the Court concludes that the President's invocation of the AEA through the Proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and, as a result, is unlawful. Respondents [the Administration] do not possess the lawful authority under the AEA, and based on the Proclamation, to detain Venezuelan aliens, transfer them within the United States, or remove them from the country." Rodriguez Jr. issued two opinions and orders on Thursday in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas, responding to a petition by individuals to allow them to certify as a class...

Oklahoma State Senator Dusty Deevers, a evangelical pastor, said that the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, is not "settled law," arguing that there is "no right to gay marriage." Why It Matters Deevers' comments come amid a broader conservative push in several red states to challenge the legal foundations of same-sex marriage. Conservative lawmakers in five states have introduced various measures encouraging the Supreme Court to strike down Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark 2015 decision that established the nationwide right to same-sex marriage. Conservative Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have previously...

Marches, protests, phone-banking events, film screenings, and more centered around environmental activism are being organized across the nation for Earth Day, on April 22. Americans are taking to the streets around Earth Day to voice discontent against the Trump administration's "assault on our climate." Earth Day protests have been occurring throughout the month concurrently with other large protest movements including the Hands Off marches, and Tesla Takedowns.

A wave of protests is set to sweep across all 50 states on Saturday, April 19, organized by the grassroots group 50501 in opposition to President Donald Trump's policies and executive actions since returning to office in January. Organizers cite concerns over civil liberties, judicial independence and what they describe as authoritarian overreach. The 50501 name is short for "50 protests, 50 states, one day." The group, known for organizing protests like "Not My Presidents Day" in February and the global "Hands Off" demonstrations on April 5, has quickly become a fixture in the national resistance to Trump's administration. April...

“I think it was terrible and I was told they made a mistake, but I think it’s a horrible thing,” Trump told reporters on-board Air Force One on Sunday evening. “I think the whole war’s a horrible thing.”Moscow’s recent missile strikes in Ukraine that killed dozens of civilians show Russian President Vladimir Putin is “mocking” President Donald Trump, Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has said. WHY IT MATTERS Ukrainian authorities said that Russia launched two ballistic missiles at the Ukrainian city of Sumy as residents attended church services marking Palm Sunday. Ukraine’s state emergency service said late Sunday that 34...

U.K. woman has spoken of time in detention after being branded an illegal alien by American border officials, as she warned other would-be travelers not to get caught up in President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Rebecca Burke, a 28-year-old graphic artist from Monmouthshire, South Wales, told British newspaper The Guardian how she had been refused entry to Canada from the state of Washington. She told the paper after she was sent back to the U.S, American officials classed her as an illegal alien, shackled and transported her to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center, where she was locked...

"Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the conscription of 160,000 men into the army, state media reported, marking the largest draft initiative in years, even as ceasefire talks with Ukraine continue under U.S. mediation. The timing and scale of the draft raise doubts about Russia's commitment to diplomacy. Ukraine has accused the Kremlin of using negotiations to delay while reinforcing its position on the battlefield, particularly in the Sumy, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions. On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would issue secondary tariffs on Russian oil if he believed Moscow was standing in the way of a peace...

Federal immigration authorities may soon gain access to Internal Revenue Service data under a pending agreement that would allow them to verify the names and addresses of individuals suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, according to multiple reports. Newsweek has contacted the IRS for further comment. Why It Matters Undocumented immigrants can file taxes and register with the IRS, which is legally required to keep their information confidential, except in limited, specific cases. Border security and immigration are central to President Donald Trump's policy agenda, as he has vowed to deport millions of migrants without legal status, particularly those...

An upcoming 60 Minutes investigation into the drone sightings that took place toward the end of 2024 promises to reveal more about the government's knowledge and response to the still largely-unexplained phenomena. In a preview for the special, CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker speaks with Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, inquiring about the intelligence community's thoughts on the mysterious sightings and whether these could have been an attempt at espionage by a foreign power. "I am privy to classified briefings at the highest level," Wicker said. "I think the Pentagon and the National Security...

Every morning, one federal employee wakes up and wishes she had not. She has lost 20 pounds and says she is traumatized. Another employee, an Iraq War veteran with PTSD at the Department of Veterans Affairs, says he has gone from loving his work to considering taking his life. A third is struggling to sleep and has stress headaches, fearing the loss of a job he once thought was guaranteed as long as he met his targets. The three are among a growing number of federal employees who say their mental health is suffering as President Donald Trump's administration seeks...

Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan said she was "grateful" to speak with President Donald Trump on Thursday for a "productive meeting" that included discussions about jobs and tariffs. Since taking office for his second administration, Trump has pursued an arguably chaotic economic policy, which is reflected by the steep drop in the stock market in recent weeks: The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was $44,873 at the start of February, had fallen to $40,813 by the close of business on Thursday. Thursday's drop marked a 10 percent drop over the previous month, which brought the market into a "correction,"...

On December 2, 1823, President James Monroe gave his 7th State of the Union address before Congress, using the occasion to advance what would later become known as the Monroe Doctrine. After a string of former Spanish colonies in the Americas declared their independence, Monroe said the United States would oppose further predation in the region from the European empires to preserve the newly emancipated states. As American power exploded during the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Monroe Doctrine evolved and increasingly came to mean Washington's opposition to any potentially hostile foreign power establishing itself in the Americas. With...

Amy Coney Barrett, one of President Donald Trump's nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court, has voted against him in key cases, including a March 5 decision to stop his cancellations of USAID contracts. Why It Matters Trump has a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, including three judges he nominated during his first term. What To Know Coney Barrett has voted against Trump, partially or fully, on key Supreme Court cases. These include: USAID On March 5, the Supreme Court compelled the Trump administration to pay nearly $2 billion to USAID contractors. Coney Barrett has voted against Trump on...

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz doesn't talk much to Vice President Kamala Harris these days. The governor and his former running mate have spoken only "a couple times" since November's election, Walz revealed to The New Yorker's David Remnick in an interview published Sunday. Asked why the pair didn't call or text more frequently, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee joked to Remnick, "Well, maybe she doesn't want to talk to me after we got this thing done." He added that they left in a "good place" and that his daughter Hope missed her greatly. (snip) "I'm doing my job, and...

On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration's executive order banning funding for hospitals that provide gender-affirming treatments to transgender youth. The order applies to the states of Washington, Oregon, Minnesota and Colorado. Newsweek contacted the White House press office for comment on Saturday via email outside of regular office hours. Why It Matters Since returning to the White House on January 20, President Donald Trump has signed a slew of executive orders impacting on transgender rights, which his supporters claim muddy the biological difference between males and females and are a...

A fire erupted at one of Russia's largest oil refineries in the city of Ufa in Bashkortostan, approximately 900 miles from the Ukrainian border, following a reported drone attack. -snip- Videos circulating on social media showed a huge fire engulf the Bashneft-owned refinery, which is situated about 932 miles east of the Ukrainian border, and processes up to 168,000 barrels per day, according to Reuters. The Bashkortostan Ministry of Emergency Situations said the fire erupted "in the area of the incinerator." "There is no threat to residents of nearby areas. A laboratory is operating on site to monitor the air...