Free Republic

French far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon is celebrating Gen Z protesters driving a school movement shaking FrancePARIS — French far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon on Sunday celebrated high school students whose protest movement has shaken France as he called at a campaign rally for lowering the voting age to 16 and an end to selective admission to universities.The fiery anti-capitalist Mélenchon also took aim at U.S. President Donald Trump, NATO and the global financial system, in a sweeping speech to thousands of supporters meant to kick his campaign into high gear for next year’s two-round election in April and May....

One month until Election Day, voter dissatisfaction with the economy, concerns about political extremism and frustration with President Trump have Democrats within reach of flipping four Republican-held governorships, opening a wide lead in Iowa and an expanding advantage in Ohio among likely voters, according to new polls by The New York Times and Siena University. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican fixture in the state for decades, is now narrowly behind his Democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa. The Democratic candidate also has an advantage in the race for governor of Alaska. The only place surveyed where the Republican is ahead...

As their midterm picture darkens, and gas and diesel prices soar, some Republicans who backed the war for months are now changing their tune. As President Trump warned in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in recent days that he might “annihilate” Iran, a growing number of Republicans were scrambling to find distance from a costly war that has swelled into a midterm crisis for the party.The split screen showed how Mr. Trump and his party’s battleground candidates are increasingly at odds as the November elections approach. With no clear resolution in sight, the war has sent the...

In brief: Czech opposition party SPD has called for Ukraine’s Zelensky to be stripped of the Order of the White Lion, the country's highest state decoration, following a similar decision from Poland after Kyiv named a military unit after a controversial WWII military formation that Warsaw viewed as responsible for massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia. A Czech opposition party has proposed stripping Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of the Czech Republic’s highest state honor, arguing it “cannot stay silent” after Kyiv named a military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). According to Ceske Noviny on Tuesday, the...

Several leading European nations now accept that ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz will need to pay fees to Iran and Oman, according to a Bloomberg report Thursday.The possibility of service fees following the US and Israeli war with Iran is now reportedly viewed by some EU countries as unavoidable. Some Gulf Arab officials are said to also privately share this view, though it may not reflect their governments' official positions. The type and amount of fees that nations would accept remains unclear. The US and Gulf Arab countries maintain that Iran and Oman cannot impose any charges for...

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung denied that a text circulating in multiple mainstream media outlets late on Tuesday was an accurate text of the ultimate draft of a memorandum of understanding between Iran and America to end the current war and pave the way for nuclear negotiations.CNN, Bloomberg, and the Saudi news agency al-Arabiya published a 14-point text they claimed to have obtained from involved officials of the “memorandum of understanding” on Tuesday. While many of the provisions therein were agreed-upon terms that the White House has stated publicly would be part of the deal, such as the reopening...

It seems impossible — or just too revolting — to keep up with the financial hanky-panky of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner (gag) Jennifer Siebel Newsom. But thanks to a couple of investigative reporters with stronger stomachs than I have, let's see if I can't put everything you need to know into one easily digestible column. I love it when other people do my dirty work for me, so let's get started. "Today, my wife & I joined Donald Trump’s hit list," Newsom practically boasted on Monday. "He has directed his Department of Justice to investigate us. They...

Wholesale prices in April posted their highest annual increase in more than three years, signaling more nettlesome inflation as pipeline costs intensify.The producer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 1.4% for the month, much higher than the 0.5% Dow Jones consensus forecast and the upwardly revised 0.7% March increase, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. This was the largest monthly gain since March 2022.On an annual basis, the index was up 6%, the biggest increase since December 2022.

Thugs waving Palestinian flags blocked traffic, took over the street, lit a fire, and performed car stunts in the family-oriented neighborhood of Middle Village, Queens, NY, last night. This is Mamdani’s NYC. Queens, NY has one of the highest concentrations of Muslims in New York City.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday, April 12 harshly criticized Pope Leo XIV over the US-born pontiff’s remarks on Washington’s war in Iran before posting an AI-generated image portraying himself as Jesus performing a miracle reminiscent of biblical imagery.

Everywhere you look in American politics, you’ll see two things. First are polls, predictions, and posturing around the concept that MAGA is finished, the Democrats are ascendant, and the midterm elections will be an absolute wipeout. And second are concrete examples showing that the Democrat Party is a collection of unmitigated angry, malignant clowns. I’m going to trust that I don’t have to take the reader through the endless litany of examples of the first contention. You’ve surely seen enough of that. Rather, I’ll focus on the second. And then take some time to relate it to the first. And...

But what it is, is entirely unclear. President Trump has announced a breakthrough in negotiations with Iran: President Trump said Iran has agreed to his biggest demand in order to stop the war: no nuclear weapons. “They’ve agreed,” he said. “They will never have a nuclear weapon. They’ve agreed to that.” Tehran has not stated that publicly — and denied even talking to the US. But Trump has made clear that the no-nukes demand is necessary for the US to stop its military campaign. *** “We’re actually talking to the right people and they want to make a deal so...

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are involved in ongoing peace talks with Iran. The president had originally tapped special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to lead talks with Tehran. However, Iranian officials refused to negotiate with Witkoff and Kushner, according to the Guardian. “We’re in negotiations right now. They’re doing it, along with Marco and JD; we have a number of people doing it,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office. “The other side, I can tell you, they’d like to make a deal....

*** The promise from President Donald Trump was clear: expose it, clean it up, and drain the swamp. Now more than a year into Trump’s second term, many voters are beginning to ask a simple question: Where are the results? ***Approval ratings for FBI Director Kash Patel are slipping. Only 40 percent of likely voters view Patel favorably. Even more striking, just 32 percent believe he is performing better than previous FBI directors, while 37 percent think he is doing worse.[Rasmussen Reports] *** During the campaign, Trump promised unprecedented transparency on a series of long-running controversies that many Americans believe...

President Donald Trump floated joint control of the Strait of Hormuz and suggested he didn't know who was currently leading Iran when responding to a reporter on Monday morning. Trump spoke to journalists on the tarmac of Palm Beach International Airport as he departed Florida after spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago and was asked by CNN's Kaitlan Collins who was in control of the Strait of Hormuz. The President answered that the Strait would be open 'real soon' if a deal he's teased with Iran works. 'It'll be jointly controlled,' he said of the waterway. When asked who would be...

Three weeks after the joint US-Israeli war against Iran began, the conflict has reached a fuzzy state of mixed messages and uncertainty, with Donald Trump's public comments often seemingly contradicted by realities on the ground. The war is "very complete, pretty much", Trump has said, but new American ground forces – including a Marine expeditionary unit - are moving into the region. It is "winding down", but US and Israeli bombing and missile strikes on Iranian targets continue unabated.Opening the Strait of Hormuz, the geographic choke point through which 20% of the world's oil export travels, is a "simple military...

An Iranian missile bearing a heavy warhead on Saturday night directly hit a building where Gur hasidim live in the southern city of Arad, after the IAF failed to intercept it. Magen David Adom (MDA) reported that 75 people injured at the scene, suffering varying degrees of injury. It is believed that there are people missing and trapped, and rescue forces are operating at the scene. Among the injured are some whose condition is serious and others whose condition is critical; there are also people trapped under the rubble. MDA reported that thus far, 68 people have been evacuated to...

Operation Epic Fury could be coming to an end, President Donald Trump hinted on Friday.President Trump posted a March 20 statement on TruthSocial affirming that the United States is getting close to meeting its goals with the joint U.S.-Israel operation against the terrorist Iranian regime. The president also discussed some future plans regarding the strategic Strait of Hormuz.“We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran,” Trump began. He then provided a list of those objectives, starting with, “Completely...

Republican candidate for governor in Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy, trails Democrat Amy Acton by 10 points, a new poll from EMC Research, Inc., shows on Thursday. Newsweek reached out to political analysts via email for comment. Why It Matters Ohio has not elected a Democratic governor since 2006. Ramaswamy, a wealthy entrepreneur and former presidential candidate, comes with name recognition while Acton, a physician and former state health director, shows solid numbers with key groups in recent surveys. Ramaswamy, a supporter of President Donald Trump, was tapped to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency alongside Elon Musk in Trump's second term....