Free Republic

A foolish tourist in Italy sat on a chair adorned with thousands of Swarovski crystals for a photo op, crushing the precious work of art beneath his weight. Instead of lowering himself and pretending to sit for the photo — like the woman accompanying him had done — security video shows a man deciding to go for it and sit down. The chair crumbled under his weight, as he lost his balance, trying to hold on to the wall with both hands so he didn’t fall. The woman came to his rescue, and the pair scurried out of the room....

Republicans could be poised to deal a symbolic blow to President Donald Trump’s trade policy, with several GOP senators indicating they planned to join Democrats in a Tuesday vote to block blanket tariffs on Canada. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Monday that she plans to back the resolution led by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) that would terminate the national emergency Trump declared last month, citing fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration. Trump has used that declaration to justify 25 percent across-the-board tariffs on America’s northern neighbor and leading trade partner — duties that Trump has threatened to start levying later this...

A federal judge on Thursday barred DOGE from accessing social security systems. US District Judge Ellen Hollander, an Obama appointee, said DOGE’s workers are on a “fishing expedition.” “The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion. It has launched a search for the proverbial needle in the haystack, without any concrete knowledge that the needle is actually in the haystack,” Judge Hollander wrote. Far-left organizations like AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers and other plaintiffs sued the Social Security Administration, Elon Musk, DOGE and...

Attorneys general in over a dozen states are threatening to sue the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk, citing privacy concerns. The 14 attorneys general include California Attorney General Rob Bonta, as well as those representing Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Vermont. They begin their joint statement pointing to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, writing that it has “given Elon Musk access to Americans’ personal private information, state bank account data, and other information that is some of our country’s most...

Donald Trump's MAGA faithful were outraged after it was leaked that Mitch McConnell hatched a plot to stall his Cabinet nominations in the Senate. The backlash began after a now-deleted tweet from New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer claimed McConnell told colleagues 'there will be no recess appointments' for the president-elect's cabinet members. 'Message to Trump Team: "There will be no recess appointments" Sen. Mitch McConnell said tonight at a Washington gathering,' Mayer wrote on X at around 8 pm Sunday. Trump has promised to use the strategy to defy Congressional oversight and bypass the Senate confirmation process when appointing...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pledged to tackle high rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services. They’re goals that many in the public health world find themselves agreeing with — despite fearing what else the infamous anti-vaccine activist may do in the post. Just don’t suggest that he tackle those goals with medications like Ozempic.

The leftist media are excited about a long-ago sexual assault claim an unnamed woman filed against Pete Hegseth. The police refused to press charges, but Hegseth, by then a well-known and wealthy TV personality, paid the woman some money. Hegseth contends that the sex was consensual, that the woman was the aggressor, and that he paid her to make her go away. I may be a lousy feminist here, but knowing how the world works, I think it’s just as likely that Hegseth’s version of events is true. That being the case, the entire thing should be disregarded moving forward....

Some Central Florida Puerto Ricans are sharing their distaste regarding a comment made about the U.S. territory during a rally for former President Donald Trump in New York City over the weekend

Kamala Harris held an interview with Chris Cuomo on Sunday afternoon on News Nation. The far-left Democrat Party nominee outlined a Puerto Rico policy during the interview, a topic that rarely comes up in US presidential politics. Kamala promised the Caribbean island “economic development” and “improved disaster response.” …Because we all know how well the Biden-Harris regime does with their disaster response!

So much outrage (including from Vice President and Democratic presidential contender Kamala Harris) about the claim in Bob Woodward’s upcoming book that Donald Trump during his presidency sent some test kits to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin at the height of the Covid pandemic when they were scarce in the United States. And about the famed journalist’s report that the former president called Putin seven times since the former left the Oval Office in January, 2021. (See, e.g., here.)And so little about by far the biggest outrage described in War (if true, of course – as with the above revelations): that...

Trump needs a true fighter and a real friend in his corner as his running mate — and there’s only one man who fits the bill. Jan. 20, 2025, will mark the first day of the most important four years of our lifetimes. That’s the day President Trump will place his hand on a Bible, take the oath of office, and end the disasters Joe Biden created at home and abroad. It’s the day the effort to save America will truly begin. President Trump is undoubtedly the man for this moment, but as our 47th president, he will face even...

After several women came forward on TikTok saying they had been randomly punched in the face by strangers, the NYPD has made an arrest — though it's not clear if the suspect is believed to be connected to any of the claims on social media. Police arrested Skiboky Stora, 40, of Brooklyn, on Wednesday after a 23-year-old woman reported to police that on Monday morning, a stranger had struck her, the NYPD confirms to PEOPLE in a statement. “The victim fell to the ground and suffered injuries to the left side of her face,” they said in the statement. Stora...

Rumble appears to be under DDOS attack AGAIN. From what info I have been to gather, it has been down for about 2 hours so far. Anybody else have an update as to this attack upon Rumble?

A Maine driver out on bail crashed his vehicle into an Amish horse and buggy in Exeter, Maine, on Thursday. The Penobscot Regional Communications Center received a call reporting the crash around 3:05 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, according to the Penobscot County’s Sheriff’s Office ... The driver, 31-year-old Shane Milliard from Thomaston, Maine, rear-ended the horse-drawn carriage in his Jeep ... According to the sheriff’s office, Milliard was out on bail at the time of the crash. ... Milliard was currently out on 10 different sets of bail. His actions during this crash violated active conditions of his bail. He...

Shocking new footage shows the moment a mass brawl broke out at a North Carolina high school, leaving one student dead and another in hospital. One child, in a gray hoodie with a black jacket, backs another student in a red hoodie into a corner and then punches him repeatedly. The pair run into the school gymnasium, followed by dozens of whooping and cheering students filming on their phones. A brawl ensues, with one student on the ground pulling out a knife and stabbing another in the leg and groin. As the children fled, no one was on the ground....

Concerns are growing in Washington, D.C. about some major grocery stores being able to keep their doors open due to shoplifting. During a news conference Friday, D.C. Councilman Trayon White said he spoke to the regional management of a popular Giant Food store on Alabama Avenue Southeast. “We had the opportunity to meet with some of the leadership of this Giant,” White said. “Some of the regional leadership at this Giant, what we heard was disheartening. We learned that this Giant has lost over $500,000 in product loss, which is about 20% of the sales. We know it's tough times...

At least 21 people were shot, one of them fatally, at a Juneteenth celebration in gun-controlled Illinois on Sunday morning around 12:30 a.m. CNN reported the shooting occurred “in a parking lot in Willowbrook, about 21 miles west of Chicago.” FOX 32 pointed out two of the wounded remain in critical condition. FOX News noted DuPage County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Eric Swanson indicated that deputies patrolling the area near the parking lot heard the gunshots and responded. Swanson said, “The motive behind this incident is unclear and this is still an active investigation.”

At least 20 people were injured and one person has died in a shooting overnight at a Juneteenth celebration in Willowbrook, Illinois, police say. -excerpt- Witnesses say the shooting took place around 12:30 a.m. in a parking lot in Willowbrook, about 21 miles west of Chicago. The motive behind the shooting is unclear and it is still an active investigation, Swanson said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded to Donald Trump's recent attack on former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, saying that it was "really, really bad." "Donald Trump, even his greatest supporters have acknowledged, had a tough time picking good people. He had a lot of terrible personnel decisions, people like Jerome Adams, his Surgeon General...so we know there was a tough record, but Kayleigh was one of the greatest selections. She did a fantastic job," DeSantis, who is also a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, said while appearing on the NH Journal podcast on Friday. DeSantis added: "She's a Harvard-trained lawyer,...