Free Republic

Thomas L. Friedman, famous New York Times editorialist, does not much like Trump’s plan for Gaza. A skilled wordsmith, he dismisses it, writing, “How short a distance it is between out-of-the-box thinking and out-of-your-mind thinking.” However, the former is correct. This plan is creative, unique, and incisive, and kills several “boids” (as we say in Brooklyn) with one rock. For one thing, it will safeguard Israel. Under an American Riviera on the Mediterranean, there will be no more rockets launched in an eastward direction; no more leaping out of tunnels (a new tourist attraction!) to unleash suicide bombers. For another,...

Police in New York said a report of llama drama in Westchester County turned out to be alpaca-chaos when the loose animal was correctly identified. The Westchester County Police Department said on social media that officers responded about 10:09 a.m. Thursday to a report of a "llama on the loose" on Kisco Avenue. "Turns out it was an actually an alpaca that was on the lam, but still a pretty good initial description compared to some we get," the post said. The officers were able to corral the alpaca, and soon learned the animal had escaped from a trailer near...

The Brooklyn woman accused of leaving a brick scrawled with a swastika and the word “Nazi” on a parked Tesla is a super-woke family therapist who was involved in criminal justice diversion programs — and blamed Elon Musk for her heinous actions as she was taken into custody. Natasha Cohen was released on her own recognizance following her arraignment on hate-crime charges Saturday night, according to prosecutors. Cohen,46, has a private practice, working with children, adolescents and their families for more than two decades. *** Several of Cohen’s social media posts are critical of President Trump. Recently, she posted a...

A former opinion page editor of the New York Times broke down in tears and apologized to Sarah Palin while testifying in court over a 2017 editorial that she says was defamatory. James Bennet testified on Thursday that he “blew it” when he falsely claimed in the editorial that the former Alaska governor’s political action committee had contributed to an atmosphere of violence in the weeks and months leading up to the 2011 assassination attempt on then-Congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.). The Times has acknowledged the editorial was inaccurate but said it quickly corrected the “honest mistake.” Bennet got choked up...

Sydney Johnston grew up in a nondenominational Christian household — but now the Upper West Side millennial is a devout Catholic. “There’s just something so beautiful and transcendent about the rituals and the ancient history in the Catholic Mass that’s been preserved,” Johnston, 30, told The Post. “The church really communicates a degree of reverence that I didn’t find in the more liberal, laissez-faire approach of nondenominational churches.” Confirmed in December 2024 at the Church of Notre Dame in Morningside Heights, Johnston is one of a growing number of young people turning to the Catholic Church from other denominations, religions...

Thirty years ago Sunday, the largest terrorist attack then in American history occurred when a 1,200-pound bomb exploded beneath the World Trade Center in New York City. It was sheer luck that the explosion did not topple the entire skyscraper and kill thousands of people. Politicians solemnly marked the anniversary, but dignitaries made no mention of the FBI’s role in that disaster. ... Osama bin Laden reportedly financed Nosair’s legal defense. ... On Feb. 26, 1993, a massive bomb in a van exploded in the parking garage beneath the World Trade Center, killing six people, injuring more than a thousand...

Cenk Uygur @cenkuygur If @nytimes is right and Trump refused Israel's request to attack Iran, he deserves a ton of credit for that. Times reporting @TulsiGabbard made the argument against the strike - huge credit for that. @JDVance also spoke against. Not a lot of good news lately, but this is great. 4:24 PM · Apr 17, 2025

So much crazy happens with the Trump administration every day that some downright weird but incredibly telling stuff gets lost in the noise. A recent example was the scene on April 8 at the White House where, in the middle of his raging trade war, our president decided it was the perfect time to sign an executive order to bolster coal mining. “We’re bringing back an industry that was abandoned,” said President Trump, surrounded by coal miners in hard hats, members of a work force that has declined to about 40,000 from 70,000 over the last decade, according to Reuters....

The country’s most privileged private schools canceled their annual diversity, equity and inclusion events after The Post revealed last year’s conference was filled with such rampant “Jew hate” that some students left in tears. The National Association of Independent Schools cited the current “political and legal landscape” when it announced last week its “difficult” decision to pause its People of Color Conference (PoCC) and Student Diversity Leadership (SDLC) Conference. The organization represents 1,300 schools, including the prestigious Dalton, Brearley and Collegiate in New York City. “Amid the rapidly evolving landscape, we are taking time to assess the needs of our...

Metro First pics of teen shot dead in NYC love triangle murder-suicide revealed By Jorge Fitz-Gibbon Published April 13, 2025, 5:27 p.m. ET 205 Comments The teen allegedly shot dead by his girlfriend’s jealous ex was 17 — as the first images of the youngster were revealed Sunday. Neo Secaira left work early on Saturday to pick up his 19-year-old girlfriend in Bayside on Saturday night, only to walk into a bloody murder-suicide that left him and US Marine Frank Liu, 28, dead while their mutual love interest looked on in horror, police and sources told The Post. Photos posted...

The New York City helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River had a mechanical issue months before it broke apart midair and killed all six onboard, including a family of tourists visiting from Spain, according to records. The ill-fated Bell206L-4 LongRanger IV aircraft, owned and operated by New York Helicopter, experienced a mechanical issue with its transmission assembly last September, according to Federal Aviation Administration data. Records show the doomed chopper was built in 2004 and had already logged 12,728 hours of flight time when it was forced into repair. An investigation is underway to determine what caused the aircraft...

This weekend, the US and Iran will hold their first semi-direct talks in years, despite the previous insistence of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in barring such talks. What changed? First, the Iranian security situation has degraded rapidly over the last few months, thanks to their stupidity in attacking Israel directly as well as indirectly through their proxies. That has left the mullahs more exposed than ever before in their 46-year run as theocratic tyrants in Iran. That's not the only reason, the New York Times reports today. The Iranians may have finally realized that Donald Trump returned to office with the...

The Spanish family of five - including three children - killed on a tour helicopter that crashed into New York City's Hudson River have been identified. Agustín Escobar, the president of the Spanish branch of the technology company Siemens, and his wife and three children were killed in the crash, the New York Times reported. Heartbreaking photos showed the family posing on the helipad and inside the aircraft before the crash. The family had arrived in the Big Apple from Barcelona earlier in the day, law enforcement sources told the New York Post. Escobar was appointed to serve as the...

(The Center Square) — Federal immigration officials will have a permanent office on New York City's notorious Rikers Island prison under a directive from the Adams administration, which says the move will help with investigations of transnational gangs and terrorist groups. An executive order, signed Tuesday by New York City's First Deputy Mayor Randy Maestro, permits the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration to set up office space on the island, which houses city jails. They will work with the city's Correction Intelligence Bureau to investigate alleged "violent criminals and gangs, crimes committed at...

Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock Inc., warned policymakers in New York City on Monday that crime, cleanliness and a shortage of quality schools have significantly undermined the city’s attractiveness to businesses. “The city is on the verge of losing a lot of companies,” the 72-year-old Fink said during a candid conversation hosted by the Economic Club of New York on Monday. “I don’t believe the city has the vitality that it did before.” ... Fink, who first arrived in New York during the rough-and-tumble 1970s when it was plagued by an economic crisis and widespread urban decay, expressed deep...

America is at risk of losing a generation of scientists. Amid sweeping cuts to federal research funding by the Trump administration, job opportunities for young scientists are being rescinded, postdoctoral positions eliminated and fellowships folded as labs struggle to afford new researchers. As countless scientific projects come to a halt, the researchers who will suffer the most are those just beginning their careers. Times Opinion has heard from more than 100 readers who have shared stories of how they’ve been affected. Kristen Gram is a 22-year-old graduate student researching the type of materials and hardware that might one day help...

They’re deep thinkers. Mayor Eric Adams copped to believing the “deep state” is real this week — echoing President Trump and the MAGA movement. “I don’t want to sound conspiracy theory, but there’s a permanent government,” Adams told comedian Andrew Schulz on the “Flagrant Podcast” Wednesday. “There are people that see presidents and mayors come and go. Their attitudes will wait you out.” The admittedly tin foil hat stance from Adams came on the same day a judge dismissed the federal corruption case that has dogged him since September.

They’re deep thinkers. Mayor Eric Adams copped to believing the “deep state” is real this week — echoing President Trump and the MAGA movement. “I don’t want to sound conspiracy theory, but there’s a permanent government,” Adams told comedian Andrew Schulz on the “Flagrant Podcast” Wednesday. “There are people that see presidents and mayors come and go. Their attitudes will wait you out.” The admittedly tin foil hat stance from Adams came on the same day a judge dismissed the federal corruption case that has dogged him since September. Adams — after Manhattan federal Judge Dale Ho tossed the charges...

Infamous gangbanger who murdered NYPD rookie could be released from prison — and join 43 other cop killers sprung in just 8 years One of New York City’s most notorious cop killers – the gangbanger who murdered Police Officer Edward Byrne as he sat in his patrol car in Queens in 1988 — could become the 44th convicted cop killer sprung from prison in the last eight years when he faces the parole board later this month, The Post has learned. The ruthless assassination of the rookie cop by David McClary on the orders of a drug kingpin stunned a...

President Donald Trump has fired several members of his National Security Council team. DailyMail.com confirmed an Axios report released Thursday morning. The dismissals come after National Security Advisor Michael Waltz accidentally added The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal chat where top administration officials were discussing an attack on the Houthis in Yemen. Trump has publicly supported Waltz, a former Florida congressman, in the aftermath of Signalgate, despite some White House insiders labeling him a 'f***ing idiot.' However The New York Times reported Thursday morning that far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer visited the Oval Office on Wednesday and pressed...