Free Republic

The potential for a military clash between Turkey and Israel is growing. There are several colliding points, and each one of them has the potential to become a full-scale war, despite mechanisms designed to avoid conflict. The most obvious is the Syrian front. Reports indicate that Turkey plans to help Syria’s transitional government develop a military force of approximately 200,000 personnel (approximately 10–15 divisions). Turkey has assumed the role of protector of Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa (al-Jolani, his nom de guerre). Israel, for its part, has assumed the role of protector of the Druze minority in southwestern Syria, an area...

Climate deniers use scientific aesthetics to reinforce and legitimize their message. At the same time, their main opponents, the climate activists, are portrayed as emotional and irrational. This has been demonstrated by researchers from the Universities of Gothenburg and Amsterdam, who have studied how climate deniers communicate online. "Disinformation is not just about incorrect facts, but about how these facts look and feel. In today's digital media landscape, messages are spread through images, memes and visual narratives that influence us in an instant, before we even have time to think. By understanding the aesthetic logic behind climate denial, we can...

Climate change is reducing the chances of runners breaking marathon records, new research claims. The study, external by US-based non-profit organisation Climate Central said rising temperatures "have made record-breaking runs in some races nearly impossible". It also predicted that optimal running conditions - which it defines as 4C for men and 10C for women - will be less likely in 86% of 221 global marathons by 2045. Former women's world record holder Catherine Ndereba said: "Climate change has altered the marathon. "Dehydration is a real risk, and simple miscalculations can end a race before it begins. Every step now carries...

All along we've been told this was about aggressive expansionism and applied a strategy of deterrence. That was wrong.With the imposition of new U.S. sanctions on Russian oil producers and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s dismissal of visiting Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev as a “propagandist,” the Trump administration’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine seem to be hanging by a thread. Their success or failure will depend on a simple premise: one must understand a problem in order to resolve it. Unfortunately, the West has been misdiagnosing the problem it faces in Ukraine for more than a decade, with increasingly...

The film dispels the comforting illusion that technology can shield us from a nuclear attack.Director Kathryn Bigelow’s new thriller, “A House of Dynamite,” is not simply a gripping film — it is a wake-up call. The movie dramatizes, in real time, the terrifying 30-minute window between the launch of a nuclear missile bound for the U.S. and its impact. In doing so, the film exposes a brutal truth that too many decision-makers and policy experts in Washington refuse to admit: Long-range missile defense will not protect us. Our only real path to escape nuclear catastrophe lies in reducing global arsenals.From...

Measurements were taken at 13 different locations in the Arctic Ocean. Credit: Lisa W. von Friesen ====================================================================== As Arctic sea ice melts, new life may emerge from the thaw. Researchers have discovered that bacteria beneath and along the melting ice are converting nitrogen gas into a form that fuels algae. The rapid loss of Arctic sea ice is widely seen as a catastrophe. Yet, in an unexpected twist, the melting ice may actually boost the foundation of Arctic marine ecosystems: algae. Algae serve as the essential food source for most ocean life, but their growth depends on nitrogen, a nutrient...

If only the peasants would just surrender! When I saw this headline in the opinion pages of the WSJ, I had high hopes that some scientist pointed out that politicians and bureaucrats can’t control the climate: We Can’t Stop Climate Change, So We Need to Prepare for ItSadly, I was wrong. The article was a pure piece of garbage, essentially claiming that despite the work of green pushers to scare everyone into capitulation to the radical green agenda, people just won’t cooperate. The writers complain that, “Around the world, people are giving priority to higher living standards, economics, and access...

Doctors have long known that heat puts a strain on the heart, kidneys and other organs. Those risks are exacerbated for pregnant people, as the body’s processes for staying cool are altered. It’s a problem that climate change, caused by the burning of fuels like gasoline and coal, is worsening. Intensifying extreme heat events, high temperatures well into the night and shattering weather records means more exposure for pregnant people, particularly in developing countries. Here’s what to know about the science of pregnancy and extreme heat: Pregnancy changes the body in myriad ways, which can make it more difficult and...

Furloughed federal workers in Maryland stood in a food bank line Tuesday as the government shutdown continues and families try to figure out how to put food on the table. The Capital Area Food Bank began free food distributions for federal workers and contractors this week in Hyattsville. With an hour to go before food was handed out, a long line of people waited for help.

In 1914, Europe stumbled into a war no one wanted and few understood;a war that destroyed empires and redefined civilization.Today, Washington risks repeating that mistake, this time with nuclear weapons on the table. Through arrogance, ignorance, or incompetence, the United States is drifting toward direct confrontation with Russia, the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, with consequences that could be apocalyptic.President Trump last week said he has “sort of” made a decision about supplying Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine or NATO allies.He wants to learn more about “what they are doing with them” before making a final decision. His goal is to...

Agencies have been shuttered going on three weeks with no end in sight as the White House and congressional Democrats continue their standoff.The ongoing government shutdown will collide with the U.S. economy this week, as missed paychecks and the absence of billions of dollars of government services reverberate beyond federal workers and sting the broader public.President Donald Trump and lawmakers in Congress remain deadlocked heading into a third week of shuttered federal agencies. Republicans control both chambers of Congress, but lack the votes in the Senate to defeat a filibuster of legislation to fund ongoing operations. Democrats insist that Trump...

The alarms aren’t just blinking anymore. They’re blaring. America’s debt-fueled consumer economy is starting to crack. Families who used to keep the stores and car dealers busy are now falling behind on payments. This isn’t some slow leak. It looks and feels like the early days of 2008, only deeper and faster. Car loans are a disaster. Credit cards are choking people. Home loans are sliding into trouble. Even those Buy Now Pay Later apps, sold as a way to “manage money,” are pulling people into digital debt traps. The question isn’t if the hit is coming. It’s how long...

Hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers may not automatically receive back pay once the government reopens, the White House indicated in a draft memo, prompting broad fears that the Trump administration might try to circumvent federal law to maximize the pain of the shutdown. The memo, which was shared by a White House official, could presage a radical break from a policy adopted during President Trump’s first term. It appeared to contradict some of the administration’s own guidance, which by Tuesday still indicated that furloughed employees would receive retroactive pay shortly after Congress strikes a funding deal. Following the...

… Multiple War Department officials confirmed to Fox News that top military commanders had been asked to fly to Virginia for a meeting next week, though the topic of the discussion is unclear. The lack of details surrounding the gathering has some fearing a looming purge. War Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously said he wants to cut 20% of senior generals and admirals. The order, first reported by the Washington Post, applies to senior officers with the rank of brigadier general or above or their Navy equivalent and their top enlisted advisers. It comes as administration officials have been preparing...

Every living former chair of the Federal Reserve, as well as a slew of ex-Treasury secretaries and former White House economic advisors, urged the Supreme Court not to allow President Donald Trump to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook as her lawsuit challenging her removal is pending. Signers included ex-Fed chairs Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, Janet Yellen; ex-Treasury secretaries Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, Hank Paulson, Jack Lew, and Timothy Geithner; and ex-CEA chairs Glenn Hubbard, Greg Mankiw, Christina Romer, Cecilia Rouse, Jared Bernstein, and Jason Furman.

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has waged an aggressive campaign against the media unlike any in modern U.S. history, making moves similar to those of authoritarian leaders that he has often praised. On Wednesday, Trump cheered ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show after the comedian made remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk that criticized the president’s MAGA movement: “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. It was the latest in a string of attacks...

President Trump has begun a major escalation in his long-running efforts to stifle political opposition in the United States, using the assassination of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk to make the baseless argument that Democratic organizations and protesters are part of a violent conspiracy against conservative values and the American way of life.

The AI argument kicked off in late July, just a day after Trump announced his AI plan — a 28-page strategy to accelerate the technology and build new power infrastructure to supply it. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) fired off a tirade on X, complaining that AI could create mass poverty by replacing human jobs, and giant AI data centers could have potentially devastating effects on the environment and water supply. In the days that followed, GOP strategist Steven Bannon chimed in, comparing the pursuit of AI superintelligence to “summoning the demon.” And since then, think-tankers and populist conservative outlets...

Over thirty people across the country have been fired, put on leave, investigated or faced calls to resign because of social media posts criticizing Charlie Kirk or expressing schadenfreude about the conservative influencer's assassination earlier this week, according to an analysis by NPR. And more may be to come:

A new poll conducted by Leger360 between August 29 and 31, 2025, is causing controversy in the world of U.S. politics, as it projects that California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is the frontrunner for the 2028 presidential election. The results of the survey, which were shared on social media, pitted Newsom against potential GOP candidates, including Vice President JD Vance, former President Donald Trump, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The California governor narrowly leads the president by a score of 48 percent to 44 percent, 47 percent to Vance’s 46 percent, and 49 percent to Rubio’s 44 percent....