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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that Ukraine is “ready to purchase” more American-made Patriot missile systems from the United States, noting that it was a “top priority” for Ukraine to secure “air defense systems for Ukraine.” In a video on X, Zelensky said he had “held a Staff meeting” and added that, among the top priorities were Ukraine’s “agreements” with its partners, and Ukraine’s “readiness to produce air defense systems in Ukraine.” Zelensky added that Ukraine would “seek to reach a corresponding agreement” with the U.S. regarding “an agreement on Patriots for Ukraine.”

The ports surrounding the Panama Canal are about to come under American ownership. American asset management giant BlackRock (BLK) and a group of investors have agreed to buy ports on both sides of the Panama Canal from owner CK Hutchinson Holdings for nearly $23 billion, the Hong Kong-based firm announced Tuesday.

Be careful what you wish for. You might get it. Can we please make this happen!! What about Oregon and Washington to Boot?? A package deal for all 3! pic.twitter.com/1CZljIdyaq— Larry Gator🐊 (@LarryLarrygator) February 24, 2025In what I hope for their sake is a bit of protest sarcasm, Danish citizens have been gathering signatures for a petition calling on their government to buy California. For one thing, they couldn't possibly afford the state. California is vastly larger than Denmark, has a GDP vastly larger than the Scandinavian country., and has a population about 5x larger. It's GDP is 10x larger...

The Greenland saga is still unfolding, and it's taking on the proportions of one of the epic Norse legends of old, with national leaders wrangling over a small (population-wise) land caught in the middle. The incoming President Trump seems to seriously want this to happen, and he has allies in Congress. In the latest, a U.S. Representative, Andy Ogles (R-TN) is sponsoring the "Make Greenland Great Again" Act to authorize the incoming president to begin negotiations with Denmark over the purchase.Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., is leading a bill to authorize Trump to enter negotiations with Denmark over purchasing Greenland, a...

She's b-a-a-a-ck! Remember Dr. Barbara Hatch Rosenberg? She's the tenured Marxist activist who from circa October 2001 until August, with the media's consent, manipulated coverage of last fall's anthrax attacks, in which five people were murdered and over a dozen sickened by anthrax-contaminated letters. She also engineered the smear campaign that sought to railroad scientist Dr. Steven J. Hatfill for the anthrax attacks. On September 22, 2002, Rosenberg published a long op-ed essay in the Los Angeles Times, in which she sought to resurrect her discredited theory, according to which the anthrax killer was an insider from the American biodefense...

A survey conducted by Santander Holdings USA, attempting to probe the status of middle-class households over the last twelve months, has reported that over half are actively delaying new-vehicle purchases. While the study is broad in scope, encompassing some similarly bleak news about home buying, the two issues seem closely related as rising costs don’t appear to be doing the economy any favors. With 77 percent of the middle-class respondents saying they need a vehicle in order to get to work, one would assume that the demographic is one the automotive sector can rely on for business. However, 52 percent...

A technological development from an American company of a way to legally sell ammunition has been going viral. The use of vending machines to legally validate age and sell ammunition causes some people to ignore all facts and logic and emote “guns are bad!”The vending machines in question, from American Rounds, use computer technology to validate age with picture ID. If the person attempting to purchase ammunition is over 21 years old, they may purchase the ammunition using a picture ID, which the machine validates using facial recognition software. Only credit or debit card purchases seem possible. There does not...

A consumer research group surveyed electric vehicle (EV) owners all around the world and found 46 percent of American EV owners regret their purchase and are “very likely” to switch back to the internal combustion engine (ICE). Around the world, 29 percent of EV owners said they will go back to the ICE. The top concerns are the lack of a reliable charging infrastructure, the costs involved in owning an EV, and anxiety about long-distance trips. Philipp Kampshoff, leader of the consulting firm Center for Future Mobility, told Automotive News he was surprised by the 49 percent number in the...

On November 21, 2023, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found the State of Maryland had violated the Constitution with their recent handgun purchase law. The law requires considerable delay and process before a person can legally purchase a handgun. The opinion specifically states the recent add-on law enacted in 2016 infringes on the Second Amendment by hindering the right to acquire a handgun. From the opinion:But—for handguns specifically—before you do any of that, there is an additional, preliminary step: You must also obtain a “handgun qualification license.” See § 5-117.1. Getting...

On Sunday, Connecticut’s new gun control limiting the number of handguns a law-abiding citizen can purchase each month went into effect. NPR reported that State Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D) praised the new restriction but is not satisfied with it. He “wants to pursue further limits on monthly gun purchases.” Looney also wants to secure a microstamping requirement in Connecticut.

"In an unprecedented move, twenty armed Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents carried out a raid on a gun store in Great Falls, Montana, seizing all Form 4473s – documents that record buyer’s information during firearms transactions."

The right to keep and bear arms necessarily includes the right to obtain arms. Arms can be obtained in several ways. Those include: making your own arms; buying your arms from someone else; having your arms given to you; finding arms that have been lost or discarded; and stealing arms that belong to someone else.The most common method of obtaining arms is to buy them. The right to buy arms is clearly included in the right to keep and bear arms as an ancillary right necessary to maintain the right to keep and bear them. Ancillary rights necessary to preserve...

Post-Covid, firearm sales at the retail level soared to record levels. According to National Shooting Sports Foundation, the 2022 National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) totaled 16.4 million. While NICS checks aren't related to actual firearms sales, it's a proxy for gun demand. A new monthly report from GunGenius, which uses data from Gunbroker, reveals the top-selling firearms sold online in 2022:SIG Sauer P320 semi-automatic pistolRemington 700 bolt-action rifleSig Sauer P365 pistolHere are the top-selling handguns from last year. Here are the top-selling rifles. And top top-selling shotguns. Also, the top gunmakers last year. We have covered soaring NICS...

Billions of dollars worth of U.S. weapons are on the negotiating table between Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and Afghanistan’s Taliban government, according to at least one insider. Presidentish Joe Biden’s bungled bugout from Afghanistan resulted in a windfall for the new radical Islamic government, including artillery, attack helicopters, and thousands of HUMVEES, machine guns, radios — all left behind as our orderly withdrawal degenerated into a rout. The Department of Defense estimates the total value of the gear Biden left behind at a whopping $7.12 billion, and now Putin is reportedly offering to buy whatever he and the battered Russian...

Like a toddler in a car seat on a long drive, last week the cryptocurrency market persistently asked the gnawing and annoying question, “Why?” Specifically, why did someone make a massive purchase of $1.6 billion worth of bitcoin on Wednesday in a couple of minutes? While many see this huge buy as a signal of bullishness, there may be more complex answers when one zooms out and looks at the overall picture, one that involves capital markets beyond the relatively small world of crypto. Some of the clues about why – and who – may be found in what, where,...

I made a grave error this year in purchasing a gift for a family member. Since the advent of Covid and the restrictions placed on social contact, I decided to be a good sport and shop online this year for a gift. I made the mistake of ordering some overpriced pears from Harry and David (although the box is nice). But as always, no good deed will go unpunished. Now on every internet page I go to (except FR) there is this ad from H&D that flips and churns catching my eye. Ho, Ho, Ho, long will this last? A...

Forgive the vanity post (my first ever) but I need advice from Freepers. I have never owned any firearm other than a shotgun for duck hunting. I feel a real need now to own a gun. I'm looking for insight into the type of handgun I should research and test. Remember, it's for a newbie. I intend on getting a Florida concealed carry permit and undergoing training.

It is getting harder and harder to go 'plinking' and range time. Wal-Mart has low or no stock in my area. Academy Sports is pretty tight on their inventory. What is the best way to get (22,9mm & 38) ammunition? I am truly asking for a friend.

The Japanese government has completed the 16 billion yen (US$146 million) purchase of an uninhabited island between Kyushu and Okinawa prefecture which it plans to develop into a training base for Japanese and US military aircraft. Mageshima is part of the Osumi Islands and hosted an important airfield for the Japanese military when defending Okinawa in the closing stages of World War II. Its planned development reflects Tokyo’s revised security doctrine and determination to protect the scattered islands off its most southern prefecture. “It’s important to secure the site for field carrier landing practice from the viewpoint of security so...

Greenland is not for sale and U.S. President Donald Trump’s idea of buying the semi-autonomous Danish territory in the Arctic from Denmark is “an absurd discussion,” Denmark’s prime minister said. Mette Frederiksen, who was visiting the world’s largest island to meet Premier Kim Kielsen, told reporters: “Greenland is not Danish. Greenland is Greenlandic. I persistently hope that this is not something that is seriously meant.” Frederiksen said Sunday that the Arctic, with resources that Russia and others could exploit for commercial gain, “is becoming increasingly important to the entire world community.”