Free Republic

The Trump administration will celebrate the groundbreaking of a controversial new natural gas pipeline in New York City on Tuesday — with the project set to run off the coast of the city to boost the region’s energy supply. President Trump strongly backs the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline and used his influence to persuade Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul to approve the permits allowing the project to proceed, despite fierce opposition from anti-fossil fuel environmentalists. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Environmental Protection Secretary Lee Zeldin will attend the event at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field, hosted by Williams...

How conspiracies spread has changed immensely over the history of the United States, as technology and media have evolved. But the nature of conspiracies has not. I teach communications courses at Villanova University, 12 miles from Philadelphia, on how conspiracy theories are created and disseminated. As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026, I have been thinking about the early history of Philadelphia and the controversial people, stories and ideas, including conspiracies, that permeated the city during the second half of the 1700s. Conspiracy theories describe alternative versions of events – such as the collapse of the...

A man accused of hiring a hitman to take out US politicians, including President Donald Trump, says he was pressured by Iran's elite ​Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to devise the plot. A man accused of plotting to kill US President Donald Trump and other top politicians told the court on Wednesday he was pressured by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to organise their assassinations. Pakistan national Asif Raza Merchant, 47, was charged in September 2024 with seeking to hire a hitman to assassinate unidentified US politicians. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. The IRGC — Iran's elite...

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito became ill during an event in Philadelphia on the evening of March 20, a spokesperson for the high court said Friday. “Out of an abundance of caution, he agreed with his security detail’s recommendation to see a physician before the three-hour drive home,” the spokesperson said. Alito, 76, underwent an examination and received fluids for dehydration, the spokesperson said, adding he returned home that night, which was previously planned. “Justice Alito was thoroughly checked by his own physician, and he returned to work the following Monday for oral argument,” the spokesperson added. Alito has attended...

Officials in Philadelphia have dismantled a massive drug ring operating out of a sham coffee shop, run largely by longtime, senior figures in the criminal world, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced Sunday. The sweeping takedown, dubbed "Operation Cocaine and Coffee," was launched and primarily targeted a storefront known as Cumberland Coffee and Snacks, where authorities say the second floor was used to cook and package crack cocaine for street-level distribution. At least 17 suspected members of the operation were arrested, many described by officials as well past middle age and deeply entrenched in the drug trade. Authorities said the...

Philadelphia, April 1781. A boy of about eight is shifting in his seat. His voice, clear and steady, rises inside the quiet room. Mah nishtanah halailah hazeh mikol haleilot? “Why is this night different from all other nights?” For those participating in the Passover seder, all crowding a small rented room just blocks from where Congregation Mikveh Israel holds its services, this is a loaded question. In a land with barely 2,500 Jews from one end of the 13 colonies to the other,1 fewer than one in every 10,000 souls,2 and almost everyone around the table is a refugee displaced...

Gov. Josh Shapiro reacted swiftly to news that President Donald Trump had signed an executive order attempting to restrict voting rights, blasting it with a post on the governor’s social media pages: “President Trump can sign whatever the hell he wants to, but it won’t change the Constitution. The authority to set our election rules belongs to the states — and as Governor, I will protect your right to vote. That includes your right to vote by mail." Trump’s order would create a nationwide list of eligible voters and restrict mail-in voting, among other restrictions. Under the order, the Department...

🚨 Fetterman Drops a Bomb on Oprah: Senator John Fetterman just exposed how Oprah Winfrey allegedly tried to buy his vote on the “Big Beautiful Bill.” “She had her assistant approach me and offer me $20 million to vote against the bill,” Fetterman told the Senate Oversight Committee. “I told her that’s not how our country works.” He immediately informed Democrat leadership. Their response? “They swept it under the rug.” A Democrat senator turning down $20M from one of the most powerful liberals in America — and his own party buried it. Integrity over cash. Rare sight in DC. What...

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) accused US media of engaging in “selective coverage” that has downplayed the successes of Operation Epic Fury — and instead benefited Iran during the first 30 days of the war. “I read the entire political spectrum on Epic Fury. Iran now loves and learns from the media,” Fetterman told The Post Tuesday. “The media’s selective coverage rewards and reinforces Iran’s strategy,” he said. “Media amplifies the 1% chaos Iran creates, while ignoring the 99% of Iran’s beatdown.” Much of that coverage has been focused on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint through which around one-fifth...

Democratic strategists are reportedly pushing for the 2028 presidential candidate to be a "straight, White, Christian man" after recent losses, an Axios report alleged. "Some top Democrats are quietly debating a fraught question: whether the party's best bet for winning back the presidency in 2028 is to nominate a man — perhaps a straight, White, Christian man," Axios reported on Sunday. "Their fear, divulged with dismay in group chats, at cocktail parties and increasingly in public, is that parts of the electorate are too biased to support a woman or other diverse candidate for president," the report continued. The report...

Lehigh County Commissioner Zachary Cole Borghi was arrested on charges that he allegedly bought and sold cocaine from his home and his job inside Bethlehem City Hall, the district attorney's office announced Wednesday. Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan said more than 100 new charges filed against Borghi were born out of a 2025 drug investigation involving the county's 12th Investigating Grand Jury. Court documents show Borghi became the subject of a drug trafficking investigation in May of 2024. According to Holihan, Borghi played a minor role in that initial grand jury investigation, which involved more than 40 other defendants....

The Secret Service continues to make headlines, though not always for the right reasons. In 2024, the agency’s actions, particularly its failure to protect Donald Trump during the July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, fueled calls for its dissolution. Moreover, there were serious security breaches involving Biden officials. In 2023, a drunk individual entered the home of then-National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, managing to bypass his Secret Service detail. And now, an agent on Jill Biden’s detail shot himself in the butt while escorting the former first lady through Philadelphia International Airport on Friday. Susan Crabtree of RealClearPolitics had the backstory:...

A US Secret Service agent, working on security detail for the former first lady Jill Biden, shot themself (sic) in the leg at the Philadelphia international airport on Friday morning, an agency spokesperson said. The Secret Service special agent suffered a “non-life-threatening injury” after they (sic) discharged their (sic) weapon at around 8:30 am. Biden was not near the agent at the time and no one else was injured. …

A member of former first lady Jill Biden's Secret Service detail reportedly shot himself in the leg on Friday. The agent shot himself while accompanying Biden through the Philadelphia airport, according to the Daily Mail. A medical unit responded to the scene, but has since left, followed by a police car, per the outlet. The agent's medical condition remains unknown, and it is unclear what led to the shooting.

A Secret Service agent accidentally shot himself while accompanying former First Lady Jill Biden through Philadelphia International Airport Friday morning, according to reports. KYW Newsradio reported that the agent shot himself in the leg. There was no word on the agent’s condition or the circumstances surrounding the shooting. “We are gathering the facts and will have a statement shortly,” a Secret Service spokesperson told the New York Post. The radio station reported that there was a “heavy police presence” at the American Airlines ticket counter at the airport. Also, the trunk and front passenger door of a black Chevy Suburban...

A Secret Service agent guarding former first lady Jill Biden shot and injured himself in the leg at Philadelphia International Airport on Friday, according to a report. Sources told KYW that the incident took place as the Secret Service agent was escorting former President Joe Biden’s wife at the busy travel hub. Philadelphia police and other agencies were on scene Friday morning, according to a radio report from the local CBS affiliate. A medic was also on the scene before leaving, the report said. The agent’s condition was not immediately clear. A Secret Service spokesperson told The Post: “We are...

😳Applause line at protest in Philly: "For every US soldier who comes back in casket, we cheer!" Video at link.

Philadelphia County District Attorney Lawrence Krasner was slammed by the White House Wednesday after he brazenly threatened to arrest and jail ICE agents at airports — warning that even a pardon from President Trump wouldn’t protect them. The George Soros-backed Democrat unleashed the wild threat at Philadelphia International Airport days after Trump deployed ICE officers to at least 14 airports nationwide to assist TSA agents and help reduce the grueling lines that have plagued travelers amid the partial government shutdown. “The president cannot pardon you and yes I will put you in handcuffs, and I will put you in a...

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner went to Philadelphia International Airport and threatened to jail federal immigration agents who are currently deployed there and across the country as part of an ongoing federal response. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were deployed to Philadelphia and at least a dozen other airports as part of a federal response to a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staffing shortage during the Department of Homeland Security shutdown. Nearly 20 percent of TSA officers in Philadelphia called out of shifts, forcing checkpoint closures. The deployment remains active, with ICE agents continuing to support airport operations nationwide. Federal...

Former Minnesota governor and WWE superstar Jesse Ventura believes that President Donald Trump faked the assassination attempt he faced in the summer of 2024.Conspiracy theories about the failed attempt on then-candidate Trump's life in Butler, Pennsylvania abounded from the moment the shot was fired, which left only a nick in the now-President's ear.Speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Ventura - who previously hosted the TruTV series 'Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura' - uttered his belief that Trump faked the shooting in order to portray himself as a hero.