Free Republic

The UK government has dropped its demands to create a backdoor into Apple's encryption, according to the US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard. In a post on X in the early hours of Tuesday, Ms Gabbard said the UK had withdrawn its demand to access global Apple users' data if required. She wrote: "The UK has agreed to drop its mandate for Apple to provide a 'back door' that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil liberties." The US spy chief said it was the result of months of working closely...

Drag racing is a sport built on connection. From pit area handshakes to social media shoutouts, NHRA drivers have long embraced fan engagement as part of their identity. But in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, that connection has turned dangerous. Top drivers in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series say they are increasingly being impersonated online, targeted by spammers, stalkers, and con artists who deceive fans into fake relationships, VIP club memberships, and worse. The problem, they say, is out of control—and in some cases, even life-threatening. Brittany Force. Erica Enders. Alexis DeJoria. Ida Zetterström. Jeg Coughlin Jr. Larry...

One of President Donald Trump’s biggest political strengths is his unpredictability. He refuses to follow the rules of the Washington establishment, and in doing so, he keeps both his domestic opponents and foreign adversaries constantly off balance.While most presidents telegraph their intentions months in advance, Trump often operates behind the scenes, distracting the media with comments that trigger hours of frenzied speculation on cable news panels. He has joked about buying Greenland, pondered serving a third term, and thrown barbs at world leaders, not as random outbursts, but as part of a deliberate strategy to shape and steer the political...

Special envoy Steve Witkoff says the White House extracted critical wins from its Friday summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, even as President Donald Trump failed to walk away with the ceasefire he was loudly advocated for. Security guarantees offering Ukraine “Article 5-like protections” are the real prize, Witkoff told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday. They’re “game-changing,” he said. “We didn’t think that we were anywhere close to agreeing to Article Five protection from the United States in legislative enshrinement within the Russian Federation, not to go after any other territory when the peace deal is codified,” Witkoff said on...

Based on 2025 assessments from NIST, IBM, and expert surveys, the probability of quantum computing cracking SHA-256 (via Grover's algorithm, reducing preimage search to ~2^128 operations) is near 0% in the next 5 years and It requires millions of error-corrected qubits; current systems top ~1,000 noisy ones. Bitcoin's hashing remains secure for now.

The Secret Service blocked the renewal of former Director Kimberly Cheatle’s top-level security clearance, RealClearPolitics reported Friday. Agency officials reportedly paused the process after being asked about Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson’s opposition, according to the outlet. “Following the security debacle in Butler, the former director of USSS made the right decision to resign,” Johnson told the outlet. “I see no reason for her security clearance to be reinstated.”

Palestinian statehood comes at the end of negotiations for a two-state solution and that process can no longer be held in abeyance, Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Thursday. “A negotiated two-state solution remains the only path that can offer people on both sides a life in peace, security, and dignity,” he said in a statement issued shortly before his trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, as reported by Ynet News. “For Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state comes more at the end of that process. But such a process must begin now.” Wadephul’s remarks follow a string...

The Transportation Security Administration has introduced a significant change for travelers, allowing certain passengers to avoid rescreening. This week, the TSA rolled out the 'One Stop Security' program, with American Airlines being the first to adopt the change. This pilot program, authorized by Congress, permits passengers arriving in the U.S. from international airports with connecting flights to skip TSA rescreening. Delta Air Lines is set to launch its one-stop flight arriving at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport by the end of July, as per the TSA...... The airline explained travelers can then move straight to their connecting flight without retrieving and...

Perhaps it’s too soon to mark nuclear power’s revival in the U.S. but there is a burst of activity that should ultimately yield a new generation of advanced nuclear plants and small modular reactors.This is especially true for major industrial energy consumers—which now also includes data centers—where there is a strong economic incentive to use more nuclear power instead of natural gas and intermittent renewables.In Illinois, Meta recently signed a long-term agreement to buy nuclear power from Constellation’s Clinton nuclear plant, the latest in a slew of deals between big tech and the nuclear industry. Constellation also said it would...

A great travel miracle has occurred – and the author, who flies frequently and disgruntledly, couldn’t be more thrilled. The TSA will no longer require airline passengers to remove their shoes when going through security. Shoes on/shoes off has been the bane of every commercial airline passenger’s existence since British terrorist Richard Reid attempted to detonate his shoe bomb on a flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001. Since then, it’s been federal policy to X-ray your Nikes and, repulsively, your flip-flops. Either that threat has passed – or maybe it wasn’t ever that much of a threat. Regardless,...

A nice post from my sister of the Idaho State Capital. https://imgur.com/KEqlcCV I hope a savvy Freeper will post the Picture. "I took this photo a couple of weeks ago in the Idaho state capital building- a building this is open to the public without metal detectors and security. It is magnificent and a reflection of the beauty and grandeur of the United States. Happy Independence Day America"

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is celebrating the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill, a landmark piece of legislation that delivers long-awaited tax relief to millions of older Americans. The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits, providing meaningful and immediate relief to seniors who have spent a lifetime contributing to our nation's economy. “This is a historic step forward for America’s seniors,” said Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano. “For nearly 90 years, Social Security has been a cornerstone of economic security for older Americans. By significantly...

At the moment, a virtual private network (VPN) is a great way to protect your data from hackers. It offers sophisticated encryption that will keep your data hidden from third parties, including cyber criminals, government bodies, and advertisers.However, not even all the best VPNs offer protection that’s future-proofed. You may not be aware of them yet, but there are already highly sophisticated quantum computers that use quantum physics to render their computations significantly more efficient than those performed by classical computers. Because of their superior processing power, these quantum computers have the ability to break encryption methods used to protect...

The Minnesota man being sought in connection with the Saturday morning assassination of a state lawmaker and the shooting of another runs a security company and has ties to the Middle East and Africa, online biographies showed. Vance Luther Boelter lists himself on LinkedIn as the CEO of the Red Lion Group, which is based in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He also worked with Minnesota Africans United, a statewide organization working with African immigrants in the state, according to a now deleted biography on the group’s web site. In 2022, Boelter participated as a keynote speaker in his capacity...

LAWTON, Okla. (KFOR) — The City of Lawton and U.S. Army Fort Sill announced Thursday evening the cancellation of this year’s Army Birthday Parade due to what they say are credible security threats. In a social media post, the City of Lawton said they coordinated with the Lawton Police Department and Fort Sill leadership to decide on the cancellation of the parade, which was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 14. The threats come in the midst of planned protests

A major pro-Israel conference slated to begin in four days in Dallas that had 1,000 committed attendees postponed the event “indefinitely,” citing “escalating terror threats.” The decision came after organizers had already changed venues for the Israel Summit, which draws major Christian and Jewish pro-Israel speakers, because of security concerns. It was set to take place from June 9-11. “This is America in 2025. A pro-Israel conference scheduled for Dallas this week, where I was scheduled to speak, which sold over 1,000 tickets, was forced to cancel because of threats from violent Jihadists,” stated David Friedman, a former U.S. ambassador...

A Trump Administration official was put into harm’s way today, just one day after an anti-semitic illegal alien terrorist burned several Jews alive in Colorado. Navy Secretary John Phelan spoke today at the Special Competitive Studies Project Conference (SCSPAIExpo25) at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in DC to discuss various topics, including maritime dominance and artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, a few unwelcome guests made life miserable for the rest of the attendees. While Phelan is speaking, he notices a major commotion behind him. A few seconds later, the camera cuts to a handful of pro-Hamas losers holding a large sign...

The first four months of President Donald Trump’s second term has been a whirlwind of historic progress. From his executive actions to his reciprocal tariffs to his determination to bring peace to the world, President Trump has acted quickly to implement the Make America Great Again (MAGA) agenda. In the mission to undo the damage done by the last presidential administration, no cabinet member has been more instrumental than Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Since President Donald Trump took office, U.S. Border Patrol has seen an unprecedented surge in applications from men and women who want to serve at the U.S. borders. From January to April 2025, USBP received 34,650 applications, representing a 44% increase over the same four-month period in 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection says. “This historic spike in applicants is a direct reflection of the renewed national commitment to border security under the leadership of President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” it said. Under Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks, Texas’ first Border Czar,...

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