Free Republic

Sen. Rand Paul expressed concerns Sunday over President Donald Trump’s threats to bomb Iran as the Middle Eastern country sees widespread protests continue. Speaking with ABC’s “This Week,” the Kentucky Republican said he is not sure striking Iran “will have the effects intended.” “We wish freedom and liberation the best around the world, but I don’t think it’s the job of the American government to be involved with every freedom movement around the world,” Paul said.Paul also expressed concerns over how the administration would distinguish between Iranian protesters and law enforcement if Trump were to approve military action in the...

For the third time in a week, Minnesota is making national headlines, and for all the wrong reasons. In a massive show of federal force against a resistant sanctuary metropolis, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deployed 2,000 federal agents to Minneapolis-St. Paul in the largest immigration enforcement operation in the nation’s history. Against the backdrop of what federal prosecutors described as a nine billion dollar federal fraud scheme centered in Minnesota’s Somali immigrant community, agents have gone door-to-door investigating human trafficking, narcotics and gang activity, and surreptitious employment by illegal aliens. Tensions, already high, erupted on Wednesday when an...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The killing of a Minnesota woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer is reverberating across Capitol Hill where Democrats, and certain Republicans, are vowing an assertive response as President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation operations spark protests nationwide.Lawmakers are demanding a range of actions, from a full investigation into Renee Good’s shooting death and policy changes over law enforcement raids to the defunding of ICE operations and the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, in what is fast becoming an inflection point.“The situation that took place in Minnesota is a complete and total disgrace,” House Democratic...

“We’re going to allow, it’s very important, 600,000 students,” Trump told reporters. “We’re going to get along with China. But it’s a different relationship that we have now with China.” There are currently 270,000 Chinese students studying in the United States, according to the Los Angeles Times. Back in May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Trump administration would begin to "aggressively revoke" the visas of Chinese students.

“When he posts a five-minute video in Hebrew, in the first 60 seconds, most of the shares are from abroad, and [those] posts happen within about five seconds,” Jonathan Hasidim, of the Scooper research group, told Channel 12. “The strongest [bot-farmers] in the world are the Russians, and the Qataris after that. We’re kids compared to the Russian world, and the Qataris, in terms of changing and shaping consciousness,” an expert in the field, Tal Klinger, told the network.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was reportedly in the dark about the Trump administration’s plan to invade Venezuela and depose President Nicolas Maduro. Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the White House excluded the nation’s top intelligence from discussions about the planned ouster, which was carried out on Saturday. People familiar with the situation said that Gabbard had previously opposed U.S. intervention in the South American country. “The United States needs to stay out of Venezuela,” Gabbard, then a Democratic member of Congress, tweeted in 2019. “Let the Venezuelan people determine their future. We don’t want other countries to choose...

The Justice Department has backed off a dubious claim about President Nicolás Maduro that the Trump administration promoted last year in laying the groundwork to remove him from power in Venezuela: accusing him of leading a drug cartel called Cartel de los Soles. That claim traces back to a 2020 grand jury indictment of Mr. Maduro drafted by the Justice Department. In July 2025, copying language from it, the Treasury Department designated Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization. In November, Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and President Trump’s national security adviser, ordered the State Department to do...

Several beauty trends for conservative women have emerged this year, some with a certain underlying level of humor—from the so-called Mar-a-Lago face to the "conservative girl" makeup. What all these trends have in common under the umbrella of MAGA beauty is an emphasis on hyperfeminine attire—sky-high stilettos, fitting skirts, bouncy hair, full-coverage makeup, and conspicuous plastic surgery. Greene said that while she had not previously spoken up against these trends, she disliked them. “I believe how women in leadership present themselves sends a message to younger women,” she told The New York Times. In an interview with The New York...

As the U.S. military escalates its posture around Venezuela—with naval deployments in the Caribbean, B-52 overflights, lethal strikes on alleged drug boats, and confirmed CIA covert operations—advocates of regime change are reviving a dangerous analogy. Many have pointed to the United States’ 1989 invasion of Panama and toppling of dictator Manuel Noriega as proof that swift, surgical operations can get the job done. In private conversations with several current and former U.S. officials, they have nodded toward this parallel. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who just last month was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, has appealed to the United...

A grandmother and her 5-year-old grandson burned to death in a Gaza City displacement camp when their tent caught fire on Thursday night, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza. Amal Abu al-Khair was one of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians enduring cold winter weather in makeshift housing. Her son Muhammad was cooking dinner when a fire broke out in their nylon tent at the Yarmouk displacement camp. Strong winter winds fuelled the flames and made it impossible to control the blaze. "The tent served as both living and cooking space, with limited room and flammable materials like...

Representative Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, defended Somali immigrants to his constituents during a 2015 town hall, according to an episode of the podcast This American Life. Emmer said on X on Sunday that he is calling for “the denaturalization and deportation of every Somali engaged in fraud in Minnesota.” At the 2015 event, Emmer said, according to the podcast: “I'm going to tell you, the Somalis, according to the measurements that have been used over time, are some of the fastest-assimilating populations that we've had." Emmer also said, “If you're asking me how I feel about immigrant populations who...

A victim of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein said Tuesday the partial release of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) files on the disgraced financier and the lack of naming those accused of wrongdoing were “incredibly frustrating.” The DOJ still has 5.2 million files to undergo review, according to a Reuters report Wednesday. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche posted on the social platform X that lawyers from the DOJ, FBI, Southern District of Florida and Southern District of New York “are working around the clock through the holidays” to review the files. The DOJ had 30 days to release its files...

Pete Hegseth appeared to have a quickly lost patience for the Ukrainian plight in its fight against Russia as he took over leadership at the Pentagon last year. The Secretary of Defense – later renamed War Secretary – seemed to have a disdain for any pro-Ukraine generals left over from President Joe Biden's term, according to a New York Times report. Specifically, sources detail tension between General Christopher Cavoli, who is now retired but was commander of United States European Command from 2022 until his retirement from the Army in July 2025. One official said it remains unclear whether Hegseth...

When Congress returns next week, lawmakers will have less than a month to pass the remaining nine appropriations bills funding federal agencies in fiscal year 2026. Already, however, there are signs of further delay, with two Republican senators pledging to vote against the bill for Labor and Health and Human Services due to its inclusion of $5.69 billion for refugee assistance services. The amount is less than the $6.3 billion that HHS’s Administration of Children and Families, which runs various refugee and asylee support programs, received in fiscal years 2024 and 2025. But it is still three times higher than...

Gen Z right-wing influencers like Nick Fuentes have suggested they may not support Vice President JD Vance if he becomes the Republican presidential nominee in 2028 and have praised California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat. Why It Matters The 2028 election is years away, but talk about who could run for higher office has already begun. Vance is viewed as the frontrunner on the Republican side. The Democratic primary is likely to be more competitive if current polling stands, and Newsom is viewed as a leading candidate. He has cast himself as a staunch rival of the Trump administration. The...

On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria,” Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) said that she hopes extremists will be deterred by the strikes in Nigeria, “But if they don’t, I do think that Congress needs to take the step of declaring, or at least taking the vote to declare, because we don’t want to see more unilateral action out of the administration, whether it’s Republican or Democrat.”Host Cheryl Casone asked, “Congresswoman, your reaction to these new strikes in Nigeria. The president had warned the Nigerian government ahead of time, and, apparently, that government agreed that these strikes...

There continues to be a debate among global geopolitical analysts regarding whether the United States and China are engaged in a Cold War or a competition for global dominance.The answer is irrelevant.By anyone's observation, China seeks to dominate the 21st century, and they will do so by "any means necessary." In the process, they will use their military might to create a sphere of influence that is designed to cow nations that range from Japan to Australia to India.Their invasion of Taiwan is almost a foregone conclusion among many military observers, who believe it is not a question of if...

Down Under, the pace of life in the control tower looks entirely different. Shorter weeks, more predictable schedules, and a culture that prioritizes balance – it’s no surprise that it’s drawing attention from those feeling crushed by the system back home. Many of these professionals aren’t chasing bigger paychecks. Over 40% of controllers in the US regularly pull six-day weeks with 10-hour shifts. Many opt for patterns that promise a few days off but come at a steep cost to the body’s natural rhythms. You might finish an afternoon shift and then start a midnight one just hours later. It’s...

When describing U.S. President Donald Trump’s governing style, and particularly his relationships with other countries, two words tend to come up frequently: “mercurial” and “transactional.” The latter suits several U.S. allies, partners, and even adversaries just fine, while the former has buffeted even some of Washington’s closest and most enduring partnerships over the past year. In examining which countries have benefited the most and least from the second Trump administration, we intentionally excluded the parties to the two biggest conflicts that it is trying to mediate—one between Israel and Hamas, the other between Russia and Ukraine. Both of those conflicts...

ANYONE WHO has stood in a long queue at border control, or bypassed one, knows that not all passports are created equal. Citizens of some countries can speed through the gates; citizens of others must submit to interrogation and delay. Henley & Partners, a consultancy that helps rich people acquire citizenship in attractive countries, ranks passports by the number of countries their holders can enter without a visa. Its latest assessment of passport power shows that America is sliding down the table. Our map below shows how countries compare this year. Asian countries dominate the top of the table. Singapore...