Free Republic

Ukraine thinks Russia is planning ​to draft an additional 300,000 troops for its war effort after Russian parliamentary elections in mid-September, Ukrainian President ‌Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. Moscow's forces are pressing ahead with an effort to capture the rest of eastern Ukraine's industrialised Donbas region, where its troops have ground forward at what Kyiv says is a great cost. In comments to reporters released on Sunday, Zelenskiy said Russia could draft more ​troops in 2027 to reach an overall goal of 500,000, part of what he described as a "peripheral mobilisation" ​targeting Russia's far-flung regions. "We believe it will not take...

Ariana Grande has warned US president Donald Trump not to use her music on TikTok. The world leader — who keeps getting called out for using songs by artists who do not want to be associated with his politics — posted a viral We Can't Be Friends (Wait For Your Love) clip highlighting the lyric: "Me and my truth we sit in silence." In the video, Trump is shown at a rally as the text "Men can't have babies and should never compete in women's sports" flashes across the screen. The Team Trump TikTok account captioned the post: "This shouldn't...

The San Diego Padres' minor league catching coordinator has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Oswaldo Pirela, 34, who is from Venezuela, was taken into custody early Sunday at El Paso (Texas) International Airport, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Tuesday. He was not carrying his work permit card at the time, his brother, Jorge Pirela, told The Athletic. According to a statement from DHS, Pirela entered the country legally in 2014, but that expired in 2018 and he "was not in possession of legal documentation granting him status in the country." It said Pirela would remain...

Democrat Rep. Eugene Vindman walked into a meeting with local party activists expecting to talk about the midterms. He walked out after members of his own side confronted him, tempers exploded and the exchange turned profane. The August 11 meeting in King George County, Virginia, was supposed to help rally Democrats behind Vindman’s reelection campaign. Instead, transgender constituents pressed him over a vote he cast with House Republicans earlier this year. The first report on the confrontation is below: The Advocate reported that at least two transgender women and one transgender man challenged Vindman during the meeting. Several said they...

Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that the top US priority in the Iran war was keeping oil and gasoline prices low for Americans, with preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon ranking second.The remarks contrasted with President Donald Trump's repeated framing of the fight: that entering the war had the sole objective of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, even if that meant short-term economic sacrifices for Americans.Vance's comments also underscored the growing reality that the war now centers on control of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has forced to the top of the negotiating agenda. "I...

For nearly two decades, Pew Research Center surveys delivered the same reliable finding: The world viewed the United States more favorably than China. That era is over. In its July 2026 report, Pew found China now ranks higher in favorability than the United States across most of the 36 countries surveyed. Gallup data from 2025 already showed China’s median approval edging past America’s. Confidence in Xi Jinping now exceeds confidence in Donald Trump by a clear margin in the countries Pew tracks annually. The Council on Foreign Relations rightly asked what happened. The answer is simpler – and more damning...

The Colorado River is approaching thresholds its dams were never meant to cross. What happens next could transform how water and electricity move across the American Southwest. There isn’t a flashing gauge or a chart on the canyon wall that warns visitors when one of the most important machines in America begins to fail. There’s only an invisible number: 3,490 feet above sea level. Engineers call it “minimum power pool.” Above that elevation, Lake Powell can still push water through Glen Canyon Dam’s massive penstocks, spin its turbines, and send electricity across the Southwest with no trouble. Below it, the...

Oil prices jumped about 5% Monday as doubt grew that the U.S. and Iran will reach a deal to increase ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures climbed about 5% to close at $82.13 per barrel. Brent crude , the international benchmark, also settled around 5% higher at $87.72 a barrel. President Donald Trump told Axios on Sunday that the U.S. is “only semi-negotiating” with Iran, after he insisted last week that Washington and Tehran were in fact holding talks. Trump indicated that he would rely on the U.S. naval blockade to pressure Tehran rather...

Russian and Malian troops fighting against a rebel offensive in northern Mali have been resupplied with a vast number of military vehicles that appear to have been delivered by a sanctioned cargo ship, BBC Verify has found. A large column of armoured vehicles were seen arriving in the capital Bamako in verified footage broadcast by Malian state TV on 25 July. Reporters said the convoy had travelled from Lomé port in Togo. A sanctioned Russian cargo ship, Mikhail Britnev, docked in Lomé on 9 July, according to ship tracking data reviewed by BBC Verify. Satellite images appear to show that...

The United States and Israel are planning what would be one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date against energy infrastructure targets in Iran, multiple sources told CBS News, with strikes possible throughout the weekend. There was some discussion about trying to conclude by the time financial markets open Monday because of concern about how the bombings will affect the U.S. and global economy, but an end point wasn't locked in. The Israelis have been notified and are coordinating with the United States, according to multiple U.S. sources. The president has yet to give the final go orders for the...

Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been put under house arrest by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after intelligence authorities uncovered his secret dealings with Israel, The New York Times has claimed. For years, Israel conducted a covert operation aimed at grooming Ahmadinejad as an intelligence asset who could be installed as Iran's new leader, American and Iranian sources told the newspaper. Israel even secretly transferred money to Ahmadinejad for housing and travel, while operatives met him abroad on several occasions. The discovery of the secret relationship is shocking given that Ahmadinejad was known for accelerating Tehran's nuclear programme, calling regularly...

Lacks the rich. New York’s share of US millionaires dramatically declined in recent years, causing a nearly $11 billion loss in much-needed tax revenue in just one year, according to a bombshell new analysis. The study released Monday by the Citizen Budget Commisison showed the Empire State’s share of the nation’s millionaires dipped from 12.7% to 8.7% between 2010 and 2022 – the largest decline of any state. “New York’s declining share of high-income taxpayers has meaningful consequences,” the analysis states. “Had New York maintained its share of the nation’s millionaires over the past decade, personal income tax collections would...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has found an unusual way to keep this week’s NATO summit in Ankara in the headlines—by presenting fellow alliance leaders with personalized revolvers, leaving several governments to figure out how to legally transport, store, or dispose of the unusual diplomatic gifts. The presentation, intended to showcase Turkey’s growing defense manufacturing sector, quickly evolved into a logistical puzzle as visiting delegations confronted strict firearms regulations in their home countries. Each guest reportedly received a Turkish-made .357 Magnum revolver, engraved with the recipient’s name and displayed in a wooden presentation case alongside a cleaning kit, certificate, and...

<p>Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has begun the process of divorcing her husband Bryon following bombshell revelations earlier this year that he engaged in a lurid secret life of cross-dressing and chatting online with fetish models, the former South Dakota governor’s mother has claimed.</p>

Nearly 1 million people who bought President Trump’s memecoin have lost money through the end of June, according to a report by the cryptocurrency analytics firm Nansen. Their losses total $3.81 billion. The analytics firm’s assessment was calculated this week after Mr. Trump signed an annual financial disclosure showing that he walked away with a $636 million payout on the same crypto bet, part of a haul of at least $2.2 billion from all of his business ventures in 2025. Once a crypto skeptic, Mr. Trump embraced the profit-making opportunity of digital currencies in 2024, while he was running for...

On a lark, I just decided to find out what the Drudge Report was doing nowadays. "What the heck?", I said. I loaded it into my up to date browser, and discovered that its main web page really didn't work anymore. It froze up. I had to reload it several times just to get to a different place on it, and as I just said, my browser is up to date. I know practically nobody reads it anymore - and check it only as a barometer to keep track of what th elite left who bought it think now. But...

A simple website flaw exposed members, political profiles, login tokens, and dating data from Peter Thiel ‘s secretive Dialog network. Dialog, a private invitation-only organization cofounded in 2006 by billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, has spent two decades refusing to disclose its membership. That position became harder to maintain last week when Swiss hacktivist maia arson crimew, known for exposing the US government’s No Fly List, found an open directory embedded in the source code of dialog.org that was visible to anyone who viewed the page. WIRED independently verified the contents and obtained the registration list for Dialog’s 2026 retreat,...

President Trump’s scuttling of a hearing to review his pick for director of national intelligence has once again plunged Congress into chaos over who will lead the intelligence community and how lawmakers can renew the nation’s lapsed spy powers. The Senate spent the morning ping-ponging over whether members would even hear from nominee Jay Clayton, who serves as a U.S. attorney. Trump said the hearing was canceled, but Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), an ally of the president, initially rebuffed him, saying the hearing would still go on. Cotton later backtracked and announced the “regrettable” decision that the...

Karmelo Anthony's family told CBS News that they believe the trial was unfair from the start. Now Anthony's attorneys have filed an intent to appeal. A day after the trial, Karmelo Anthony's parents, Andrew Anthony and Kala Hayes, sat down to break their silence and let the world know how they're feeling as their son begins his 35-year sentence for murder in a state prison. "My son is no murderer," Karmelo Anthony's mother says after 35-year sentence Despite what a jury found, his parents dispute that their son ever wanted to kill Austin Metcalf. "My son is no murderer," said...

Costa Rica was pulled into a U.S. political dustup after Kristi Noem named our country, along with El Salvador, as one of Washington’s closest allies in South America, apparently overlooking that both nations are in Central America. The exchange came during a Newsmax interview with Greta Van Susteren in a segment posted June 11. Van Susteren asked Noem, “Who’s our best friend in South America at this point?” Noem answered by pointing first to El Salvador, citing migration cooperation and third-country agreements, before also naming Ecuador, Argentina and Costa Rica. The answer quickly spread and the mistake turned what was...