Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Construction is underway on the South Lawn of the White House as construction crews raise steel arches, lighting rigs and broadcast infrastructure to complete a temporary arena for "UFC Freedom 250." The professional fighting event tied to America's 250th anniversary celebration is scheduled for June 14, which marks Flag Day and President Donald Trump's 80th birthday. The most prominent feature currently taking shape is a star-spangled arch that will stretch over the octagon fight cage, featuring a red, white and blue color scheme and extensive lighting effects. The semicircular structure behind the octagon was manufactured in Pennsylvania and...

Chehel Sotun is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Isfahan, Iran. The palace was completed in 1647 during the Safavid era. It is known for its twenty columns, wall paintings, mirror work, and wooden decorations. In the course of the recent conflict, the Governor's Office building located several hundred meters from the palace was struck. No direct hit occurred on the palace itself. However, shockwaves from the nearby strike caused observable damage to the structure.

I am angry. I’ve been relentlessly scrolling through social media and sundry reports tracking Marco Rubio’s statements throughout the day at various forums during his visit of India. It is Sunday, Day 2 of his four-day sojourn, and he has already kicked up quite a storm, telling the audience at an event in US embassy in New Delhi to mark America’s 250th Independence Day celebrations that “one of those relationships”… he is “so excited about going in to the 21st century, given the challenges and the opportunities of this new era, is India… one of those countries that I know...

A Tennessee man who was jailed for more than a month after refusing to take down a Facebook meme poking fun at the assassination of Charlie Kirk will be paid $850,000 as part of a settlement with officials. Larry Bushart, a 61-year-old retired police officer, spent 37 days behind bars under a $2 million bond before authorities dropped the felony charge against him in October. While in jail, he lost his post-retirement job and missed both his wedding anniversary and the birth of his granddaughter, according to a federal lawsuit Bushart filed against Perry County, Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems...

But if Massie loses, it's not just the end of his career. (He told Mangu-Ward that if GOP primary voters send him packing, he's going back to his plow and "nobody will ever hear from me again"). It would also effectively be the end of what used to be called the Tea Party, a loose conglomeration of Republican representatives and senators who rode a wave of anti-Barack Obama and anti-George W. Bush sentiment to office in the early 2010s. Although some said that the tea in Tea Party stood for the "taxed-enough already," the rallying cry of the early Tea...

President Donald Trump has been compared to many historical figures, by opponents (who claim he’s another Adolf Hitler) and by boosters (who cite Andrew Jackson or Teddy Roosevelt). With his blockade of Iran, though, maybe we should start comparing him to Gen. Winfield Scott. In the mid-19th century, Scott was America’s preeminent military mind, the architect of victory in the Mexican War and the “Grand Old Man of the Army.” As the Civil War loomed, he developed a plan to defeat the Confederacy with the smallest number of casualties possible. He called it the Anaconda Plan — and like its...

“We would not eat.” That is how disabled U.S. Navy veteran Juan Saro described a life without the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP…About 1.2 million veterans are enrolled now, according to the National Council on Aging. More than 20,000 military families, 213,000 National Guard and Reserve members, and more than 1 million veterans, rely on such benefits, according to Veteran.com. Saro survived a brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from his time in the Navy. He later worked as a sixth-grade teacher. But COVID-related health problems made it impossible to stay in the classroom. The veteran now...

The chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Service committees on Saturday expressed they are “very concerned” about the withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany amid President Trump’s feud with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Trump on Wednesday had announced that he was reviewing a possible reduction of U.S. troops in Germany. “We are very concerned by the decision to withdraw a U.S. brigade from Germany,” the chairs, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), said in a joint statement. “Germany has stepped up in response to President Trump’s call for greater burden sharing, significantly increasing defense spending...

Oil prices jumped more than 5% Wednesday, on a report that President Donald Trump is prepared to keep the U.S. Navy blockade of Iran in place for an extended period. International benchmark Brent crude futures rose more than 5% to $117.58 per barrel at 11:21 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures with June delivery rose more than 5% to $105.33 per barrel. Trump has decided in recent meetings to continue the blockade of Iran rather than resume bombing or walk away from the conflict, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal. The president has told his aides recently to...

RealRobert@Real_RobNHere it is:The United States Senate under John Thune is officially the world’s number one sponsor of terror.CIA and counterterrorism expert, Sarah Adamsvconfirm the U.S. taxpayer is paying Taliban martyrs’ families.Every Taliban martyr who died during the war, U.S. taxpayers are paying them a stipend.Ten months ago, the House passed Rep. Tim Burchett’s No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act—to stop sending $40 million every week to the Taliban.The bill to stop it has been sitting on @LeaderJohnThune’s desk for nearly a year.In other words, some non-governmental, government funded organization is sending the kickback right back into the back pockets of...

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and her top aides and family members routinely sent personal messages and requests to young staff members that are now under review by the department’s inspector general. Ms. Chavez-DeRemer and her former deputy chief of staff sent texts asking employees to bring wine to them during trips for the department. Sometimes the requests came in the middle of the workday. Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s husband exchanged text messages with young female staff members, as did her father. Some of the young women were instructed by Ms. Chavez-DeRemer and the former deputy chief of staff to “pay attention” to...

Donald Trump has defended his now-deleted post depicting himself as Jesus Christ, claiming he believed the AI-generated image showed him as a doctor. Trump deleted the post on Monday morning after it drew accusations of blasphemy from his own right-wing supporters. The President’s stunning defense came as he stood outside the Oval Office holding two bags of fresh McDonald’s fast food. 'It wasn't a depiction. I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor. And had to do with red cross as a red cross worker, which we support and only the fake news could come...

Donald Trump has deleted a viral post comparing himself to Jesus Christ after it drew accusations of blasphemy from some of his most vocal right-wing supporters. The President's Truth Social account removed an AI generated image showing him draped in white with a red shawl, placing his hands, glowing with a divine light, on a sick patient in a hospital bed as a soldier, a nurse and others look on in adoration. The post was shared Sunday evening and, by the following morning, had sparked outrage among many of Trump's own supporters, who objected to his use of Christ's image...

Reporter: Did you post that picture of yourself depicted as Jesus Christ? Trump: It wasn't a depiction. I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor. And had to do with red cross as a red cross worker, which we support and only the fake news could come up with that one.

Quite a lot. Still listening. As always, Tousi is informative.

Hunkered down in a mountain-top ravine, armed only with a pistol, and with gun-toting tribesmen bearing down on him, the US Airforce colonel probably had slim hopes for his survival.However, after what is being called the 'most daring' Special Forces rescue operation in US history, he is now safely out of Iran.It took hundreds of Special Forces commandos, a CIA drone operation, and some lateral thinking to avert last-minute disaster.Step-by-step, this is how the rescue operation unfolded.

He wrote in a Truth Social early on Easter Sunday morning: 'Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. 'There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F***in’ Strait, you crazy b*****ds, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.'

U.S. dollar bills will bear President Donald Trump's signature to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, the Treasury Department said, a first for a sitting president. Trump's signature will be placed on all U.S. paper currency and will replace the Treasurer of the United States' signature on U.S. money for the first time in 165 years. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move will recognize the Trump administration's "historic achievements."

The Treasury Department announced that President Trump’s signature will appear on newly printed dollar bills — a first in American history — ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary. “There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump than U.S dollar bills bearing his name, and it is only appropriate that this historic currency be issued at the Semiquincentennial,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. Treasurer Brandon Beach, whose name will be omitted to make way for Trump’s own, added: “Printing his signature on the American currency is...

President Donald Trump is adding his name to U.S. dollar bills, the first time a sitting president’s signature will go on paper currency, the Treasury Department announced Thursday. Trump’s signature will go on the bills in honor of the country’s 250th anniversary, the Treasury said. Historically, paper currency carries the signatures of the treasury secretary and the treasurer. “The President’s mark on history as the architect of America’s Golden Age economic revival is undeniable," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. "Printing his signature on the American currency is not only appropriate, but also well deserved.” U.S. paper currency...