Free Republic

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) assured attendees at one of his “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies Saturday they are “making Donald Trump and Elon Musk very nervous” as he laid out a string of grievances with the current Washington administration. The 83-year-old senator spoke to his supporters as they gathered in the Gloria Molina Grand Park in Los Angeles alongside guests including politicians, union representatives and musical acts.

Mel Gibson for California governor? A poll has emerged citing him as a popular Republican candidate to run for the office although he has expressed zero interest in pursing it. In a new Lost Coast Outpost poll formulated on Wednesday, Gibson emerges as a surprising third place and the top Republican candidate with 12 percent of the vote. California Globe looked at the figures and surmised former Congresswoman Katie Porter now has a slight lead amongst all candidates, but the rest of the field is mixed: According to the poll, which was a straight straw poll with no demographic data...

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Friday the U.S. should prepare for a “hard slap” if it dares challenge Tehran, after President Donald Trump warned of possible military action against the Islamic republic. “The Americans should know threats will get them nowhere when confronting Iran,” Khamenei said in his live annual televised speech marking Nowruz, the Persian New Year. AFP reports he said Americans “and others should know that if they do anything malign to the Iranian nation, they will get a hard slap.” The warning echoes a long standing Iranian opposition to everything the U.S. is involved in...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will be standing on the tarmac with hand outstretched to greet President Donald Trump when his plane lands to begin a visit of the fire-ravaged Los Angeles area on Friday afternoon. “I look forward to being there on the tarmac to thank the president, welcome him, and we’re making sure that all the resources she needs for a successful briefing are provided to him,” Newsom said on Thursday, according to Politico. Newsom previously admitted while he had invited Trump to California, he had not had any contact with the president before his visit, but planned...

Comedian/actress Whitney Cummings used the platform provided by CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live 2025 special on Tuesday night to take a swipe – or three – at both her host and a litany of other topics from the year now passed. The 42-year-old referenced herself in one joke promoting her 2025 tour dates while also roasting far-left CNN with its fast diminishing viewership numbers. Standing alongside hosts Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper in Times Square, the comedian boasted she was playing “bigger and bigger venues now” following the birth of her son in December 2023. “I thought being a mom...

Critics call gambling “the devil’s playground.” Losses to online gambling in the U.S. now look set to live down to that estimation by surpassing the $1 trillion mark in coming years at the expense of American bettors. U.S. lawmakers and government regulators “cannot continue to rely on the theory of responsible gambling, which shifts the burden of harm prevention onto individuals,” Derek Webb, founder and chief funder of the California-based Campaign for Fairer Gambling, said Wednesday in a release forecasting the impending losses.

Jon Stewart’s ‘Daily Show’ audience erupted into boos on Tuesday night when the suspect UnitedHealthcare shooter’s capture was mentioned during the host’s monologue. The Wrap notes most of Stewart’s opening monologue revolved around the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the tyrant’s subsequent flight to Russia. “Eleven days? How did they manage to end a decade-long civil war and defeat the entire Syrian military in just 11 days?” Stewart pondered aloud. He then asked his cameraperson to zoom in on a photo of Syrian rebels celebrating their victory. Photoshopped in the background was the UnitedHealthcare shooter with Stewart...

Worshippers were forced to flee a Melbourne synagogue early Friday morning after it was set ablaze in an arson attack Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony called “act of hate.” Sixty-plus firefighters were called to Adass Israel synagogue in the Victorian state capital just after 04:00 local time on Friday (17:00 GMT Thursday), finding the building fully ablaze when they arrived. Local media outlets confirmed people were inside at the time for morning prayers and they had reported seeing firebombs thrown by masked assailants. One person was injured and the fire caused extensive damage.

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel is lamenting President-elect Donald Trump’s runaway win in the 2024 election race left her feeling “sad.” In an interview with the German news magazine Der Spiegel published on Friday – and first reported by Reuters ahead of the release of her memoir – Merkel said his victory had tugged at her heart strings. “If someone in politics does not allow for win-win situations, but only ever recognises winners and losers, then that is a very difficult task for multilateralism,” she said while explaining to Spiegel how his victory had filled her with sadness, continuing a...

Actions have consequences. President-elect Donald Trump’s team is acting on that ethos and preparing to challenge the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague with sanctions after it initiated arrest warrants against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The ICC moved against the Israeli leaders on Thursday for supposed war crimes committed in Gaza by Israel as it retaliated Hamas terrorists over their deadly raid last year. The move came after President Joe Biden back in May revoked Trump’s original executive order against the ICC. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, who faces sexual misconduct allegations, initiated...

Ethel Kennedy, human rights advocate and widow of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, died on Thursday after suffering a stroke last week and being hospitalized. She was 96. Her death was announced by her grandson Joe Kennedy III in a post on X. “It is with our hearts full of love that we announce the passing of our amazing grandmother, Ethel Kennedy. She died this morning from complications related to a stroke suffered last week. Along with a lifetime’s work in social justice and human rights, our mother leaves behind nine children, 34 grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren, along with...

NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” saw much humor to be had in the two recent assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump as it launched its 50th season. The Trump War Room was quick to point out the macabre lack of taste the segment displayed. Taking to X, it posted its displeasure, summing it up in the one word, “disgusting.” “There were two assassination attempts against President Trump within a span of seven weeks.@nbcsnl apparently finds that funny. Disgusting.”

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man in a wheelchair was stabbed to death with a machete Wednesday in east London. The BBC reports the Metropolitan Police confirm officers were called to reports of an altercation in Clapton at 15:38 and found a man with a stab injury. Jade Anthony Barnett, 38, was treated by paramedics but later died at the scene, police say. Air ambulance resources were also called in. His sister Simone Barnett described the deceased to the outlet as a “cheerful and caring” man, explaining her brother had lived in Clapton with...

Chevron plans to relocate its headquarters from California to Texas, joining a growing list of companies bound for the Lone Star State citing excessive regulation for their departure. The Financial Times reports the second-biggest U.S. oil company said Friday it would leave the state where it has been a fixture for almost 150 years following clashes with authorities over climate policies and penalties it has said render California “closed for business.” The promise of lower taxes and lighter regulation is also often given as a reason by other companies that have also made the same move from the West Coast.

A man was left critically injured after being shot multiple times Thursday afternoon while waiting on the platform of a Brooklyn subway station. The attack came a week after Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed hundreds of National Guard members and state troopers to check riders’ bags in an effort to deter crime so commuters could “feel safe.” “Teams of mental health workers” were also promised by Hochul to calm riders. CBS News New York reports the incident happened just before 5 p.m. on the northbound platform of the A/C line at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station.

Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) were strolling the halls of Congress on Thursday when they spied a familiar face. So familiar in fact that comedian Dave Chappelle happily stopped and obliged his lawmaker admirers with a selfie. “Just three people who understand that there’s only two genders,” Boebert wrote on X, including a photo of her and Luna with the Chappelle’s Show star framed in the Capitol Rotunda.

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was amongst the first to rush to blame Israel for a deadly explosion at the Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday. In the hours afterwards Trudeau reportedly called the situation “absolutely unacceptable.” Speaking in French, he told reporters that “it’s not legal” to bomb a hospital.

Hamas international relations chief said the terrorist group’s plan was never to target civilians when its forces invaded Israel on October 7. Instead he expressed surprise at the human toll exacted by the invading forces as they embarked on mass rape, torture, kidnapping, and slaughter of Israeli innocents. “The chief commander of the Al Qassem Brigade, who initiated the operation, he gave clear instructions not to target civilians or not to harm civilians,” Dr Basem Naim told Australia’s ABC 7.30 report during an interview.

Hamilton star Denée Benton turned on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) during Sunday night’s 2023 Tony Awards, basking in a shower of enthusiastic applause as she smeared him as a Ku Klux Klan grand wizard. Benton was center stage during the live broadcast on CBS and Paramount+ to present the Excellence in Theatre Education Award from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). She used her remarks to note she is not only a CMU alum but also hails from from Florida, saying: "Earlier tonight, CMU and the Tony Awards presented the 2023 Excellence in Theatre Education Award. And while I am certain...

It’s unclear if he’ll have a speaking role, but the newly elected Democrat senator from Pennsylvania John Fetterman is set to make a cameo appearance in a new movie starring Christian Bale. The senator-elect made the announcement by posting a photo of himself and his wife, Gisele, dressed in full costume alongside Bale on the set of the 19th-century crime drama, The Pale Blue Eye, which was filmed in western Pennsylvania. Fetterman said he’s happy to work with director Scott Cooper again in his social media post: It me + G + Christian Bale circa 1830 pic.twitter.com/4NXMuUQ5j5 — John Fetterman...