Free Republic

Democratic Maine Senate hopeful Troy Jackson complained that Jewish residents of his state have been reluctant to label Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip a genocide, saying that hesitation was “only because they’re Jewish.”Jackson, who has faced pressure from his left flank to more forcefully condemn the Jewish state, made the comment Tuesday to Portland’s NBC affiliate. “It’s unfortunate that there are people here in Maine that don’t like to use that term only because they’re Jewish and what that means to them, with the Holocaust,” said Jackson, according to Jewish Insider. “[Israel’s war in Gaza] fits that...

Mayor Zohran Mamdani renewed his call for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be arrested for war crimes and accused him of visiting a “genocide” on Palestinians just days before the leader is to speak at the UN General Assembly. “When it comes to Benjamin Netanyahu, I have described him as I believe him to be — a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people,” the mayor told CNN after a cordial meeting with President Trump at Gracie Mansion Monday.“I do believe that that is something that should be honored, because what we want...

Nicotine-pouch salesman and onetime conservative pundit Tucker Carlson has all but endorsed lefty Michigan Senate hopeful Dr. Abdul El-Sayed while defending his controversial comments about 9/11.Carlson, 57, who recently fawned over disgraced Democratic former first son Hunter Biden, last week ripped into El-Sayed’s Republican foe, Mike Rogers, for his track record on national security issues and urged the “good people of Michigan keep this man far away from Washington.” “El-Sayed did not celebrate airplane hijackings or cheerlead Al-Qaeda; he simply said that the U.S. conducting terrorism of its own in response to 9/11 was not exactly an appropriate reaction. He...

Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged continued support for Iran on Tuesday as the United States launched a new round of strikes against Iranian targets, highlighting the increasingly close relationship between Moscow and Tehran as President Donald Trump intensifies military and economic pressure on the Islamic Republic. *** The Post reported that Pezeshkian thanked Putin for Russia's support and urged the two countries to work together to counter U.S. sanctions. Putin said Russia was providing Iran with assistance and essential goods, according to the Post's account of the meeting. The Kremlin's support for Tehran came as U.S. forces launched a new...

The federal government is now acting as regulator, customer, financier, and shareholder. Decisions involving contracts, trade restrictions, permits, and additional subsidies can affect the value of its holdings. Competitors have reason to question whether the playing field is level. And if a portfolio company falters, Washington will have an added incentive to protect its investment with more taxpayer support.

Not all types of alcohol are created equal — and a new study suggests that wine may carry lower health risks than beer or hard liquor. *** Using UK Biobank data, researchers analyzed participant questionnaires. The adults were placed into one of four groups based on their alcohol consumption levels. The study was observational — meaning the findings show an association but cannot prove cause and effect. *** Analyzing cardiovascular disease deaths, researchers discovered that moderate wine drinkers had a 21% lower risk of dying from the disease than people who never drank or occasionally drank — though, once again,...

Here's the thing, though. When the Telegraph asked Glover about being the first black astronaut to make this journey, his response didn’t exactly follow the usual script. He said: "It is a big question, and I wanna highlight, I guess maybe one facet of this is the tension, I call it. I live in this, and you know, this dichotomy between happiness that a young woman can look at Christina and just physicalize her, her passion or her interests, or even if it's not something she wants to do, she can just be like, 'Girl power,' and that's awesome.”

The House on Wednesday batted down an effort from Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) to publicly release all reports on file with the House Ethics Committee on investigations into members of Congress regarding allegations of sexual harassment of staff or of a sexual relationship with a member of their staff.In a 357-65-1 vote, the chamber moved to refer the matter to the House Ethics Committee — a move that essentially kills the effort. Thirty-eight Republicans and 27 Democrats voted against referring the resolution to the panel. *** The resolution directs the Ethics Committee to make public, within 60 days after adoption,...

President Donald Trump on Wednesday rated the US performance in the war with Iran as a 15 on a scale of 10, saying the Islamic republic’s leaders were rapidly being killed, and vowing to push on.Trump’s comments came as the conflict expanded on its fifth day, with a US submarine sinking an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka and fresh blasts across the Middle East. “We’re doing well on the war front, to put it mildly. Somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15,” Trump told a gathering of...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that an increase in President Donald Trump's new temporary global import tariff to 15% from 10% was likely to be implemented sometime this week. The new tariff rate was announced by Trump in late February after the Supreme Court struck down his previous global tariffs under a national emergencies law. He initially imposed the 150-day tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 at a lower 10% rate. "That's likely sometime this week," Bessent said on CNBC of the 15% rate order from Trump. During the 150 days, we will see...

***Marco Rubio insisted Tuesday that he was misunderstood one day prior when he said the US attacked Iran on Saturday because “we knew that there was going to be an Israeli action” that would “precipitate an attack against American forces.” Rubio walked back his prior statements after President Trump flatly denied that Israel chose the timing of the attack — maintaining in an Oval Office pool spray hours earlier, as he had in interviews, that he chose to attack after unsuccessful US-Iran talks Thursday in Geneva. “This was a question of timing, of why this had to happen as a...

President Trump announced the US is going to “cut off all trade with Spain” over Madrid’s lack of support for the attack on Iran. “We were going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain,” he said during an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Trump spent several minutes complaining about the NATO allies’ refusal to allow the US to use their military bases to attack Iran and argued that they don’t spend enough on defense. “Spain has been terrible,” he said. “Spain actually said that we can’t use their bases.”...

A former New York City resident who killed two people and wounded 14 others at a packed Austin, Texas, bar was possibly motivated by the US attacks on Iran, sources told The Post. The FBI is investigating the shooting as a possible ideologically motivated act of terrorism, the sources said. The killer, who is a US citizen from Senegal, had a Quran in his car and clothing described as Islamic garb when he opened fire on Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden near the University of Texas-Austin campus, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The gunman has a history of arrests...

No sooner had President Donald Trump completed his State of the Union address Tuesday night than four much-respected historians offered Newsmax some provocative analysis of the 100-minute speech*** ***” President Trump's State of the Union had elements of the usual annual address to Congress but also some surprises," said*** Luke Nichter*** Portions of it, Nichter said, "took the usual grab bag approach to listing past achievements and suggesting a few new proposals — ending sanctuary cities, the SAVE America Act, and a new 'war on fraud' to be led by Vice President [JD] Vance. Otherwise, the biggest portion was celebrating...

Disruptive Rep. Al Green was ejected from the House chamber for the second year in a row during President Trump’s State of the Union on Tuesday. Green (D-Texas), 78, had waved around a sign that said “Black people aren’t apes” as he was escorted out of the chamber. He also declined to sit as Trump began speaking. The sign was in response to Trump posting a since-deleted video on his Truth Social that raised doubts about the legitimacy of the 2020 election and ended with a clip depicting former President Barack Obama as an ape. It appears that the post...

The United States Marine Corps has decided to retain the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle for its close combat formations rather than adopt the Army’s M7 Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle, a Marine Corps spokesperson confirmed to Task & Purpose. “The Marine Corps will retain the M27 for our close combat formations as it best aligns with our unique service requirements, amphibious doctrinal employment of weapons, and distinct modernization priorities, while ensuring seamless interoperability across the Joint force and with coalition partners,” the spokesperson said in an email to the publication. *** The M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, based on a Heckler...

New satellite imagery and flight-tracking data show a significant buildup of U.S. military aircraft at a key air base in central Jordan, as tensions rise over Iran's nuclear program, The New York Times reported Friday. Images captured Friday reveal more than 60 U.S. attack aircraft parked at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base — roughly three times the number typically stationed there.Flight data also indicate that at least 68 cargo planes have landed at the base since Sunday, suggesting a surge of personnel, equipment, and logistical support. More fighter jets may be positioned under protective shelters. The images show advanced aircraft, including...

Is a miserable pissant of epic proportions. Sir Keir Starmer is blocking a request by President Trump to allow American planes to use British bases to attack Iran, telling him that it would be in breach of international law. In a rift with Washington, the prime minister is understood to have told Trump that the UK would not allow the use of British facilities at Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, which is home to America’s fleet of heavy bombers in Europe. Under the terms of long-standing agreements with Washington, these bases can only be used for military operations...

The U.S. military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters, in what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries. The disclosure by the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning, raises the stakes for the diplomacy underway between the United States and Iran. U.S. and Iranian diplomats held talks in Oman last week in an effort to revive diplomacy over Tehran's nuclear program, after Trump amassed military forces in the...

Corey Lewandowski fired a Coast Guard pilot for leaving Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s blanket on a plane — but was forced to rehire them upon realizing there was nobody else to fly the plane, according to a stunning new report.Lewandowski, an unpaid special government employee who unofficially acts as chief of staff for Noem — with whom he’s had a years-long affair — has overseen a reign of terror over department staff since President Trump took office last year.According to the Wall Street Journal, Noem had to switch planes during an official trip due to a maintenance issue, but...