Free Republic

Chicago’s radical and deeply unpopular Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson is urging his residents to “rise up” and take to the streets to oppose the legal enforcement of federal immigration laws even as the nation braces for a series of protests in big cities across the nation this weekend. With the threat of mass riots during the so-called “No Kings” protests, Johnson is dangerously egging the protests on in his cash-strapped city. On Wednesday, when asked about the coming protests, Johnson praised the “No Kings” plans and said he hoped his constituents would join the demonstrations.

Michael Mann, a prominent climate scientist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, sparked controversy on May 23, 2025, by posting on the Bluesky social media platform: “If Trump doesn’t comply, we’re in second amendment territory.” The statement was made in response to a report on a federal judge’s ruling that blocked President Trump’s executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, appearing to suggest people take up arms to overthrow or assassinate the America First leader. The May 22 injunction froze the administration’s plan to eliminate the department, which included terminating around 1,300 employees. Mann’s post—interpreted by many as...

Journalists covering President Donald Trump’s arrival to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday observed the presence of a mobile McDonald’s set up at a press center for covering the event in Riyadh, an apparent nod to the president’s love of the burger restaurant. Officials reportedly set up the mobile McDonald’s, which was “still shuttered” as of Tuesday, in a “Media Oasis” for journalists, according to the Associated Press. The “Oasis” featured various displays of Saudi government propaganda touting the government’s construction projects, including the controversial, still-unbuilt “city of the future” Neom and venues for the 2034 FIFA World Cup, which Saudi Arabia...

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that he did not want to see taxes go up on anybody when asked about President Donald Trump’s comments on taxes. On Truth Social Trump posted, “The problem with even a “TINY” tax increase for the RICH, which I and all others would graciously accept in order to help the lower and middle income workers, is that the Radical Left Democrat Lunatics would go around screaming,“Read my lips,” the fabled Quote by George Bush the Elder that is said to have cost him the Election. NO, Ross Perot...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — Illinois drivers: brace yourselves. The annual gas tax increase is about to kick in on July 1st, 2025. The automatic Motor Fuel Tax increases to account for inflation. Currently, Illinois residents pay the second-highest gas tax in the country, behind California. The gas tax is now 45 cents per gallon, but on July 1st it will go up to 48.3 cents per gallon. The average car holds between 12 and 16 gallons of gas, meaning drivers should expect to spend between .24 and .32 cents extra at the pump. The Motor Fuel Tax will account for...

Former first lady Michelle Obama is frightened by President Donald Trump’s deportation policy, she discussed during an episode of the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast. Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, discussed fears they had growing up dealing with race issues, when she was asked to identify the “hardest recent test of that fear.” “In this current climate, for me it’s, you know, what’s happening to immigrants,” the former first lady replied, explaining that she is no longer fearful for herself — due to her celebrity status — but is instead fearful for illegal immigrants.

Consumer sentiment improved slightly in late April from earlier in the month but remained deeply depressed, weighed down by widespread concerns over inflation, tariffs, and a historic drop in confidence among Democrats. The University of Michigan’s final reading of its Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 52.2 in April, up from a preliminary estimate of 50.8 but down from 57.0 in March. It marked the fourth consecutive monthly decline and the lowest final reading since July 2022. The Expectations Index, which measures sentiment about the economy in the months ahead, fell to 47.3 in April, down from 52.6 in March. The...

Nice start to the day, let's hope it keeps up: Last Updated: Apr 22, 2025 9:47 a.m. EDT 38,765.85 up 595.44 1.56%

Thrifty Big Apple shoppers were rushing to stock up on the basics Wednesday after President Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs briefly went into effect — before he then announced a 90-day pause. “Pray to God that we all survive,” said Angelia Gonzalez, a 48-year-old mother who was filling her cart at the East Harlem Costco. “I feel some kind of way. I mean, I have a family.” Gonzalez travelled across town from her longtime home in West Harlem to stock up at the wholesaler over fears that prices will soon skyrocket from Trump’s massive “reciprocal” tariffs, which went into effect at...

House Republicans on Wednesday advanced the Senate’s blueprint to enact key parts of President Trump’s legislative agenda, teeing up the measure for a final vote — even as its fate hangs in the balance amid conservative opposition. The chamber voted 216-215 along party lines to adopt the rule, which governs debate for legislation, the last step before the entire House weighs in on whether to adopt the measure. Three Republicans voted with all Democrats against adopting the rule. A final vote is slated for around 5:30 p.m. Three Republicans voted with all Democrats against adopting the rule: Reps. Thomas Massie...

Megyn Kelly is urging Americans to have patience with President Trump as backlash over his far-reaching “reciprocal” tariffs continues to grow. “He’s asking everybody to be a little patient. I think given the guy’s success in the first term, economically, we should give it to him,” Kelly told the Daily Mail. “He’s earned the right to our patience, and I’m prepared to provide it,” the host of SiriusXM’s “The Megyn Kelly Show” declared. Trump’s sweeping tariffs on nearly all imports went into effect over the weekend, and even steeper levies began Wednesday, hitting US allies and adversaries alike, with China...

Dow Futures 38,984.00 Fair Value 38,169.47 Change+ 819.00 2.15% Implied Open + 814.53

Representative Gregory Meeks (D-NY) said Thursday on CNN’s “News Central” that President Donald Trump needed to be “held accountable” for the Signal chat among senior national security officials. Host Wolf Blitzer said, “I know you heard the testimony from Trump administration officials, senior intelligence and national security officials this week. Did they tell the truth about the nature of these very sensitive discussions during the course of this unsecured commercial app conversation on what’s called Signal?” Meeks said, “They absolutely lied. They’ve been lying all along. They’ve tried to cover it up. Look, there’s been no there’s no question once...

42,469.05 up 483.70 1.15%

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wants protesters to rise up across the U.S. and Europe and challenge the renewed Israeli military campaign in Gaza. The Times of Israel reports Khamenei made his call for action in a speech designed to rally anti-Israel activists everywhere, “to strongly oppose this treacherous, horrendous act.” “Once again children are being killed, homes are being destroyed, and civilians are being displaced. The people must stop this tragedy,” Khamenei says in a Nowruz address, according to an English transcript posted on his website.

The federal government gave at least $2.7 million in taxpayer money to researchers who sought out minority babies who had been aborted in order to harvest their organs, according to internal documents released Tuesday. The University of Pittsburgh targeted minorities in its request for infant organs—including those taken from full-term babies—to create a "pipeline" for fetal research. Researchers said they needed 50 percent of the donated fetuses to be minorities and specified that 25 percent must come from black women. The Pittsburgh metropolitan area is 85 percent white and 8 percent black. Researchers stressed the importance of maintaining organ blood...

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Monday lauded her fellow Democrats for “showing up” while Republicans are “hiding” from the American people, referring to the GOP’s avoidance of in-person town halls. Warren, in an interview with MSNBC’s Alicia Menendez, weighed in on the large numbers of rally goers attending fellow Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) gatherings across the country, intended to combat the Trump administration’s sweeping efforts to overhaul the federal workforce. “Democrats are actually showing up to listen to people, to rally with people, while Republicans are hiding and being told by their leadership, don’t go out in public, don’t have...

Tech baron Elon Musk appeared to call for US sanctions against wealthy Ukrainians as a means of pushing for an end to the bloody war — “Place sanctions on the top 10 Ukrainian oligarchs, especially the ones with mansions in Monaco, and this will stop immediately. That is the key to the puzzle,” Musk, 53, wrote on X in the wee Sunday hours. “What I am sickened by is years of slaughter in a stalemate that Ukraine will inevitably lose. Anyone who really cares, really thinks and really understands wants the meat grinder to stop. PEACE NOW!!”

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who infamously tore up President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address in 2020, had to watch in frustrated silence from the House benches as he addressed Congress on Tuesday. Pelosi, gripping her cane, resigned her leadership post after the 2022 congressional elections, in which Republicans retook the House. She had held a firm grip on power in her party — even after leading it to historic defeat in 2010. In 2020, she was in the midst of an effort to impeach and remove President Trump from power. When he delivered a...

President Donald Trump said the United States “will not put up with” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s anti-peace rhetoric “much longer.” Trump took to Truth Social after the Associated Press reported Monday that Zelensky said peace between Russia and Ukraine “is still very, very far away.” “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump wrote, sharing an image of the AP headline. “It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing,” Trump added...