Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the midst of a federal government shutdown, the U.S. government’s gross national debt surpassed $38 trillion Wednesday, a record number that highlights the accelerating accumulation of debt on America’s balance sheet. It’s also the fastest accumulation of a trillion dollars in debt outside of the COVID-19 pandemic — the U.S. hit $37 trillion in gross national debt in August this year. The $38 trillion update is found in the latest Treasury Department report, which logs the nation’s daily finances. The U.S. hit $34 trillion in debt in January 2024, $35 trillion in July 2024 and $36...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Friday announcement that the U.S. will host a new Qatari air force facility in Idaho has drawn the ire of the Trump administration’s closest allies, including Laura Loomer, who said she felt “betrayed” over the matter. In a flurry of social media posts Friday afternoon, Loomer unleashed on the administration’s announcement that it had signed the letter greenlighting the building of a Qatar Emiri air force contingent at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in southwestern Idaho. The air arm of Qatar’s armed forces, Qatar Emiri air force pilots would train to fly F-15s in the...

Researchers from Purdue University are set to travel to the South Pacific to determine if a "visual anomaly" on a remote island is the wreck of Amelia Earhart's lost plane, saying there is "very strong" evidence the object is the iconic aviator's aircraft. Earhart was attempting to become the first female pilot to circle the world when she and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937. Earhart, Noonan and their plane, an Electra 10E, were never found. Recently, President Trump ordered records related to Earhart be declassified. In 2020, researchers looking at satellite imagery identified...

Tucker Carlson’s team have been investigating the events of 9/11. Today they release the first segment of a multi-phase docuseries. A former FBI agent who was embedded in the CIA’s Bin Laden unit, Mark Rossini, claims the CIA was fully aware that the 9/11 hijackers were in the United States planning an attack. Rather than inform the FBI, the CIA tried to recruit two of the hijackers for a “false-flag” operation, which quickly spiraled out of control. The failed mission raises urgent questions about government secrecy, intelligence failures, and what really happened before 9/11. YouTube:The 9/11 Files: The CIA’s Secret...

Astronomers have been fascinated after spotting an object earlier this year that came from interstellar space as is now hurtling through our inner solar system. Since then, they've been using powerful telescopes to study the mysterious object, trying to understand its unusual composition and exact origins. Most agree that it's probably a comet, albeit an unusual one, though at least one has posited that it could be a remnant of an advanced extraterrestrial civilization — a colorful claim, but one that NASA has disputed as a flight of fancy. Regardless, it's an interesting visitor. In a paper presented at the...

The four themes laid out by Buchanan were successfully deployed by Trump two decades later: a halt to illegal immigration, no more endless wars, a hard line on trade and the strong use of tariffs, and standing up to political correctness.

Beaver Crrek, Colo. – Canadian dealmaker Frank Giustra says the age of paper gold is ending as BRICS nations stand up a parallel financial system that routes around the U.S. dollar and prizes deliverable metal. “We’re now, believe it or not, in the era of hard money,” Giustra said Tuesday in a conversation with Alex Deluce of the Ontario-based bulletin Gold Telegraph at the Precious Metals Summit. “If you own paper gold, you do not own gold. When the crunch comes, it will not be there.” China and partners among the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations...

As the anniversary of September 11 approaches, a lawsuit filed by the families of the victims of the Islamic terrorist attacks against the Saudis has been granted permission to move forward. Saudi Arabia along with Qatar and Iran were the three Islamic terrorist states seen as most complicit in September 11. One of the big missing pieces of the puzzle is the complicity of the FBI in covering up the role of Saudi Arabia. During the trial, a video emerged that the FBI had spent a lot of time hiding of Omar Al-Bayoumi, a Saudi agent, filming key landmarks in...

China's massive, potentially undeclared, gold reserves could challenge the dollar's dominance, says expert Craig Hemke. In a recent interview on The Deep Dive, prominent precious metals analyst Craig Hemke of TF Metals Report delved into the escalating US-China trade tensions and the intriguing possibility of China amassing a significantly larger gold reserve than officially reported. Hemke, a respected voice in the precious metals market with over 15 years of experience, offered a compelling analysis suggesting that China's strategic accumulation of gold could be a key factor in a potential shift away from the US dollar's global dominance. The interview, hosted...

Do you remember about 6 months ago when President Trump and Elon Musk and DOGE were talking about auditing the gold in Fort Knox? Or even just going in there to look around? It sounded like it was going to happen imminently and then nothing ever happened. A new theory has emerged from Ed Dowd, who you might recognize. Ed did terrific work during COVID exposing many of the fake narratives back in 2020-era, and now he’s back with a theory he’s calling the “White Swan Collapse” and what’s really going on with Fort Knox. I’ll just tell you the...

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., spoke to Fox News Digital about the Federal Reserve, noting that he would support abolishing it if the nation stops deficit spending. "There is no more powerful and secretive organization than the Federal Reserve" ...

In the fourth century BCE, Plato wrote about the legend of Atlantis. The general belief is that he was the very first person to write about it. This has led many to claim that Plato invented the story. However, is it possible that the Bible makes reference to the story of Atlantis, too? The Minoan Theory of Atlantis One common theory about the origin of Atlantis is that it comes from distorted accounts of the Minoan civilization. This was a Bronze Age naval civilization centered on Crete. The Minoans had control over several other islands, and they also had colonies...

Social Security's retirement fund is set to run short in just seven years — which could end up slashing benefits for millions of Americans by thousands of dollars a year. According to latest projections, retirees could face automatic 24 percent benefit cuts as early as the end of 2032. Social Security relies on its trust fund to provide monthly benefit checks to around 70 million Americans. Once the reserves are exhausted, federal law requires that benefits be cut to match incoming revenues

Our country cannot get its fiscal house in order unless and until it starts slowing the explosion of Medicare spending.The budget reconciliation measure Congress recently passed includes some important reforms designed to help reduce entitlement spending. But any realistic assessment of the nation’s fiscal position reinforces why Washington must go much further in reducing spending than the half-measures enacted in recent weeks.In March, as lawmakers were beginning debate on the “big, beautiful bill,” the Congressional Budget Office released its annual version of the “Long-Term Budget Outlook,” which features economic and budgetary projections for the next three decades. The CBO report...

I honestly think to get the OBBB passed he's had to give up certain positions. How else do you explain it? The endorsement of Lindsey Graham, too? The resumption of aid to Ukraine? It's all very odd and timely. I think Trump has (had) a lot invested in getting OBBB done. Think about it. It was his signature bill. They held it hostage and now you see why... There is (was) a lot at stake.

The Justice Department claimed on Monday that Jeffrey Epstein did not maintain a “client list" and said no more files related to the wealthy financier’s sex trafficking investigation would be made public. This was despite promises from Attorney General Pam Bondi that had raised the expectations of conservative influencers and conspiracy theorists. The claims have been met with fury from the far-right who claim they have been strung along by the Trump administration. Bondi previously said in a Fox News interview earlier this year that such a document was “sitting on my desk” for review. It comes after a Trump...

Lawyer Alan Dershowitz on Thursday said he knows the list of names in the Jeffrey Epstein files regarding alleged clients in his international sex trafficking ring. “I know the names of the individuals. I know why they’re being suppressed. I know who’s suppressing them,” Dershowitz said during an appearance on “The Sean Spicer Show.” “But I’m bound by confidentiality from a judge and cases, and I can’t disclose what I know,” he added, noting at one point he was falsely named as a client. The Trump administration vowed earlier this year to release the documents and names of individuals tied...

The charade is over, but what does it mean?Another piece of the jigsaw puzzle has been made public in the decades-long drip, drip, drip of information regarding the JFK assassination. Newly released documents reveal — as was long suspected — that a CIA operative was tailing Lee Harvey Oswald. This comes despite multiple denials that anyone from the nation’s chief intelligence agency had been lurking around the 23-year-old who has held the title of lone assassin since John F. Kennedy’s murder in Dallas, TX, on Nov. 22, 1963.One document from the 40 released on July 4 detailed surveillance of Oswald...

People continue to ask if Bitcoin will replace the dollar. They believe that the recent surge in Bitcoin indicates that it will topple the USD as the world’s reserve currency, but that is merely propaganda. You must understand that Bitcoin is simply a trading vehicle, not a currency. I cannot stress that point enough. My opinion has been unpopular, and clients have walked away due to my stance on crypto. That’s fine, as I am not in this for the money. I can only adequately inform my clients of the unbiased truth and hope that those willing to listen will...

Conversations with the Master Forecaster This book is unlike anything you’ve read before. It’s not another theory — it’s a documented track record of how Martin saw what no one else did: ✅ Sovereign debt implosions ✅ War cycles and geopolitical shifts ✅ The coming collapse of trust in governments ✅ The timeline to 2032 — and what it means for you Written by longtime interviewer Kerry Lutz, this book is based on over a decade of never-before-published insights, straight from Martin’s most powerful moments on air. Whether you’re an investor, thinker, or someone simply seeking truth in an age...