Free Republic

The central US is bracing for what could be a potentially dangerous end to the weekend as forecasters track the threat of severe weather on Sunday, including the potential for a derecho that could sweep across portions of Kansas and Oklahoma with destructive wind gusts higher than 100 mph and baseball-sized hail. This comes on the heels of another deadly derecho that barreled across Texas and Louisiana on Thursday, blasting the Houston metro area with winds up to 100 mph that left at least seven people dead and more than 1 million customers without power.

The top commander of the Ukrainian armed forces has admitted that the situation along the eastern front with Russia has “significantly worsened” amid a renewed push from Moscow’s forces. Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi — who took over the top post in February following the ousting of Valerii Zaluzhnyi after calling the war a “stalemate” — wrote on Telegram on Saturday that his forces are struggling to cope with escalating assaults being waged by Russia, which he claimed have intensified amid improving weather conditions and the recent “election” in Russia which cemented Vladimir Putin’s hold on power for at least another...

SEOUL — North Korea fired more than 200 artillery rounds into the sea on Friday near a tensely defended maritime border with South Korea, a military official said, while residents of two South Korean islands were ordered to evacuate due to an unknown “situation.” The defense ministry would not confirm if the order was prompted by the North’s artillery firing or South Korean drills in response. However, a text message sent to residents and confirmed by an island official cited “naval fire” to be conducted by South Korean troops from 3 p.m.(0600 GMT) Friday. An official on Yeonpyeong island, which...

A horrifying video shows Austin tech entrepreneur Rajan 'Raj' Moonesinghe being shot dead by local police as he inspected the perimeter of his home for an intruder with a rifle in his hands. Moonesinghe, 33, a successful tech entrepreneur who had moved to the area about five years ago, was killed on the front porch of his home in a wealthy South Austin neighborhood on November 15. As he lay dying, he said the words: 'It wasn't me.' At around 12.30am, Moonesinghe told a neighbor that someone was in his house and he was going to call 911, the WSJ...

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan hinted Friday that the cocaine could have come from construction workers, as the area of the White House where it was found is being renovated. Sullivan was asked at Friday's press briefing if he had any national security concerns after a bag of the drug was found Sunday near the Situation Room. He revealed that the coke's proximity to the Situation Room wasn't a problem, because the space hasn't been in use. 'I would make a point about the Situation Room because I think there's been a lot questionable reporting on this. The Situation Room...

MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell acknowledged Thursday that contrary to the idea that a random tourist left cocaine in the White House in what officials have described as a “heavily trafficked” area, the cocaine was actually found in a “limited access place” near the Situation Room. “It was found, by my observation, in a much more secure place — limited access place than that West Wing reception area there,” Mitchell said. “It is still a publicly-trafficked, frequently-trafficked place, but it’s down near the Situation Room right off West Executive [Drive] down below. And normal people — just average people just can’t get...

Multiple tornadoes have touched down amid a “particularly dangerous” weather situation that is underway in the South, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Dozens of tornado watches have been issued in portions of southeastern Arkansas, northern and central Louisiana and central Mississippi until 2 a.m. as dangerous supercells bring potentially devastating tornadoes, hail the size of baseballs, damaging winds and flash floods, according to Fox Weather. By 11 p.m. Tuesday night, the NOAA reported at least 17 tornadoes, mainly in Mississippi and Louisiana. The A storm chaser reported observing a tornado near Highway 42 east of Bassfield, Mississippi,...

Summary/Overview Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a “partial mobilization” calling up 300,000 reservists effective September 21. He made clear that he no longer sees the Ukraine intervention as a limited “special military operation” but as a fight against “the entire military machine of the collective West.” “In the event of a threat to the territorial integrity of our country and to defend Russia and our people, we will certainly make use of all weapon systems available to us. This is not a bluff,” Putin said in a televised address. The four partially Russian-occupied oblasts (regions) of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia...

SHARE TRENDING SJPD Officer on Leave Bay Area Reopening Plans Gilroy Strong San Jose Salon Owner Defies COVID-19 Rules School Reopening Plans Bay Area COVID-19 Cases Expand SAN JOSE SJPD Officer on Leave After Controversial Arrest By Ian Cull • Published July 24, 2020 • Updated on July 24, 2020 at 11:41 pm Pause 2:18 SJPD Officer on Leave After Woman's Arrest NBC Universal, Inc. A San Jose police officer is on leave after cell phone video surfaced of him making an arrest. The video posted to social media Wednesday appears to show the...Read more A San Jose police officer...

[Truncated Title: Project Veritas Publishes Explosive Report Exposing Google’s Plan to Prevent ‘Trump Situation’ in 2020 Project Veritas has released alarming new undercover video, leaked documents, and testimony from a Google insider revealing the tech giant’s plans to meddle in US politics and “prevent a Trump situation in 2020. One aspect of the report features undercover footage of longtime Google employee and Head of Responsible Innovation, Jen Gennai, arguing against Senator Elizabeth Warren’s suggestion that the company should be broken up because a smaller company would not be able to prevent “the next Trump situation.” “Elizabeth Warren is saying we...

Even though I started writing this column days ago, apparently Wednesday was National Situational Awareness Day. So much for my digital self-awareness. But the timing couldn’t be better: The US Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) dropped a hypothetical restaurant layout on their Facebook page a few days ago, asking their readers to pick their preferred seat and why. The idea may be overly simplistic, but anything that helps people literally open their eyes is probably worthy of a discussion. So, looking at the above floor plan, what seat would you pick and why? ( graphic of restaurant seating arraingement at blog...

The United States is concerned by reports of violent clashes around the town of Altun Kupri in northern Iraq. We are monitoring the situation closely, and call on all parties to cease all violence and provocative movements, and to coordinate their activities to restore calm. In order to avoid any misunderstandings or further clashes, we urge the central government to calm the situation by limiting federal forces’ movements in disputed areas to only those coordinated with the Kurdistan Regional Government. We are encouraged by Prime Minister Abadi’s instructions to federal forces to protect Iraqi Kurdish citizens and to not provoke...

Ninety-two million Americans are not in the work force—they don’t have jobs and they aren’t looking for jobs. These 92 million Americans aren’t just out of work—they are resigned to being out of work as a way of life. The ballooning numbers of Americans who are resigned to long-term joblessness inspired Roger L. Simon to suggest in a bleakly humorous piece over at PJ Media that Americans are going Galt: Tell all your “Objectivist” friends and the libertarian gang at Reason magazine to break out the champagne. Americans may have skipped the movie of Atlas Shrugged, nor have many read...

Here's what my lying eyes are telling me here in occupied Massachusetts. Four years ago every tenth car had an Obama sticker. Today, I see one or two Obama stickers a day. (And one or two Romney stickers.) I spend 2 hours commuting each day. So the Obama bumper sticker count in Massachusetts is down by AT LEAST 90%. That's telling. Enthusiasm is WAY down. What is the bumper sticker count like elsewhere?

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — International envoy Kofi Annan told the U.N. Security Council Thursday that the situation in Syria is "bleak" and expressed alarm at reports that government troops are still carrying out military operations in towns where U.N. observers are not present. He expressed particular concern at media reports that government troops entered the central city of Hama on Monday after U.N. observers departed, firing automatic weapons and killing a significant number of people. "If confirmed, this is totally unacceptable and reprehensible," he said. The joint U.N.-Arab League envoy said the speedy deployment of the 300-strong U.N. observer force...

It's not just IDF officers and Israeli government officials who are targets of anti-Israel mobs when they speak in London. Israeli businesspeople are now apparently also on the firing line. Earlier this week, an anti-Israel mob stormed a show in London, where Israeli real estate officials were promoting investments in Israel. But they met their match when a quick-thinking businessman defused the situation. The event, which had been advertised in local media, took place at a Marriott hotel in London, where several Israeli representatives made presentations. Anti-Israel activists apparently read about it and arrived at the event carrying PLO flags...

Al-Jazeera Television reported on Monday that among the thousands of prisoners who have managed to escape from Egyptian prisons since the protests there began, are also terrorists from the Gaza Strip who have been jailed in Egypt. Among those who have escaped is Hassan Wshah, who was jailed three years ago after he was caught by Egyptian security officials in the Sinai Peninsula and admitted to planning a terrorist attack against Israel. Wshah is a member of the Army of Islam, an Al-Qaeda inspired Gaza-based terrorist group that wishes to see Gaza run by Sharia (Muslim law). He managed to...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama called the increasingly tense environment in the Mideast "unsustainable" Wednesday and said Israel needs a "better approach" in blockaded Gaza that would satisfy security and humanitarian needs. Turning his attention to the troubled region as he welcomed Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to the White House for talks, Obama also predicted "real progress" in coming months in U.S. efforts to nudge the Israelis and Palestinians toward direct peace talks. The meeting came a little more than a week after Israel's deadly May 31 raid on a flotilla hoping to break the blockade. Nine men in the...

Clinton: Koreas security situation 'precarious' By MATTHEW LEE (AP) BEIJING — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that North Korea's sinking of a South Korean warship has created a "highly precarious" security situation in the region and that the Obama administration is working to prevent an escalation of tension that could lead to conflict. Speaking to reporters in Beijing shortly after the White House issued a statement offering Washington's full and unequivocal support for Seoul, Clinton said all of North Korea's neighbors, including its chief ally China, understand the seriousness of the matter and want to "contain"...

JEFFERSON CITY - Portions of downtown Jefferson City are shut down due to a possible hostage situation in a government building. State employees in the building say police officers are outside patroling the area with assault rifles. The area is locked down. Follow KOMU online and on Twitter for updates. A viewer called KOMU to say a hostage situation took place in the Governor's Building on Madison Street. Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder is sending accounts from his Twitter account saying snipers are on the roof of the Jefferson Building and negotiators are on the scene to speak with a suspect...