Free Republic

Move comes amid concerns that Trump delegation could help Bolsonaro family cast doubt on electronic voting ahead of October’s presidential election SÃO PAULO—Brazil has denied visas to two senior Trump administration officials who were planning to travel to the country, amid concerns that they sought to undermine confidence in the electronic-voting system before October’s presidential election. The move comes as fears deepen in Brazil that the Bolsonaro family is working with President Trump and his allies to unseat leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and help return the Brazilian right to power. Former president Jair Bolsonaro is serving a...

President Trump was sitting in the Oval Office earlier this year with Secretary of State Marco Rubio when an idea came to him. Maybe he should dispatch Mr. Rubio permanently to Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, where U.S. commandos had carried out the proudest foreign policy achievement of Mr. Trump’s second term: the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the country’s president. Mr. Rubio could be the next leader of Venezuela, Mr. Trump suggested. And while the president’s aides say he was joking — and that he frequently teases Mr. Rubio about an overseas assignment — the fact is that Mr. Rubio does...

The front page of today’s New York Times features a big article clearly intended to get the readers riled up about the latest environmental horror that must be stopped. The headline is “The Illegal Airstrips Bringing Toxic Mining to Brazil’s Indigenous Land.” Subheadline: “The Times identified hundreds of airstrips that bring criminal mining operations to the most remote corners of the Amazon.” Wow, this is bad. The airstrips are “illegal.” The mining is “toxic,” and not only toxic but also “criminal.” And it’s all happening in the most pristine place left in the whole world, the “remote corners of the...

"Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees. The U.S. regime is very weak, and we are witnessing this weakness from close up." Fidel Castro, during his tour of Iran, Syria and Libya. Agence France Press, May 10, 2001 CASTRO AND TERRORISM, A CHRONOLOY by Eugene Pons with a foreword by Jaime Suchlicki Institute for Cuban &Cuban-American Studies Occasional Paper Series September 2001 FOREWORD Since 1948 when, as a young student, Fidel Castro participated in the violence that rocked Colombian society and distributed anti-U.S. propaganda, he has been guided by two objectives: a commitment ...

A contracted employee of a federal immigration detention center...accused of shooting a protester... Seven killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia's Tambov Region... Israeli election polling...parties opposed...Netanyahu at 62 seats... death toll...double earthquakes...Venezuela now 5,069... CBS News reporting US casualties in the weeklong flareup of the Iran War... Only one conviction remains...sex offenses case involving Canadian billionaire businessman... In Norway an out-of-control fire burning more than 100 homes... Iran's state broadcaster reporting Iranian attacks on US military forces in three countries... 14 killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza... Taylor Farms recalling lettuce produced in central Mexico... Major US companies...

The world that we’re looking at today is radically different than that of just five years ago, radically different in the sense that it is much more in the interest of the United States. And I know that seems controversial because [President Donald] Trump is written off as someone who is too fluid and volatile... It’s more important to see what he’s done. Let’s go through the world abroad as it is today systematically. Look at Latin America. Five years ago, the Chinese were controlling, through their surrogate companies, the entry and exit to Panama. Russia and China were the...

Apple filing a lawsuit against "Open AI"... Trump speaking with Saudi ruler Crown Prince... Iran's Foreign Ministry contradicting US President...repeated US violations...will be met with reciprocal action... US is demanding Iran make public statements... US sanctions on Iran piling up... Kiev under Russian attack late tonight... In the UK an arrest...murder of former MP and cabinet minister Ann Widdecombe... This evening a nationwide power blackout in Cuba... Venezuela death toll from the double earthquakes...4,118... official casualty count of the Iran War updated with one additional... group of US senators reaching agreement with the White House on tightening sanctions against Russia......

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Macron made the decision earlier this year after American forces carried out a precision strike in Venezuela that led to the arrest of former dictator Nicolas Maduro. The French president reportedly made comments about fighting Americans over Greenland, the desolate Danish island that could prove crucial to keeping non-NATO powers out of the North Atlantic.

French President Emmanuel Macron said his country was willing to engage in a “shooting war” with the U.S. earlier this year, according to a report. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Macron made the decision earlier this year after American forces carried out a precision strike in Venezuela that led to the arrest of former dictator Nicolas Maduro. The French president reportedly made comments about fighting Americans over Greenland, the desolate Danish island that could prove crucial to keeping non-NATO powers out of the North Atlantic. With President Donald Trump expressing his desire to acquire the island as...

The United States enters its 250th year in fantastic shape. Elsewhere, not so much. We are the oldest continuous democracy in the modern world. In large part, this is because our founders were the products of the Enlightenment who fashioned a written Constitution, which provides both freedom to citizens and checks and balances to restrain those in power. Massive celebrations are called for, with big ships, flyovers, and the largest ever fireworks display in the cleaned-up National Mall. It’s extremely hot, but that doesn’t seem to have dampened enthusiasm, and crowds have been large at scheduled events. Just as they...

Exiled Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was on a flight to return home when the plane was abruptly forced to return after Washington allegedly withdrew its support, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who has been in exile since December, was apparently warned through “intermediaries” that if she pushed forth with her bid to go home to the earthquake-devastated country, she could derail President Donald Trump‘s strategy for Venezuela, according to the outlet. That would add more delays to the country’s elections, sources told the paper. Machado made the $35,000 trip last week...

The band Van Der Dijs were in their rehearsal space at the time of the natural disaster. All four members of Venezuelan nu-metal band Van Der Dijs have died following the devastating earthquakes that struck the country on 24 June. According to Venezuelan outlet Últimas Noticias, vocalist Manuel van Der Dijs, guitarist Gabriel Gómez, bassist Xander Hernández and drummer Abraham Foucault were killed after the Costamar II building where they were rehearsing in the coastal state of La Guaira collapsed. La Guaira has been among the areas worst affected by the disaster. Their bodies were later recovered from the rubble...

Jessica Gorman delivered emotional testimony during a heated House hearing on sanctuary city policies, recounting the death of her daughter and criticizing Democratic lawmakers over immigration and public safety. Her remarks sparked a tense exchange as lawmakers debated border security, crime, and accountability in cities with sanctuary policies. Watch the full Capitol Hill hearing and the most emotional moments from the high-profile immigration debate.

As ordinary Venezuelans dig their neighbors out of their monster two-earthquake rubble with their hands, the Venezuelan government is doing all it can to sit on its hands, loot the victims, obstruct the rescue teams, harass the aid givers, block the reporters, and hide the body count. It's a foul picture, but one incident stands out: #AHORA | Parte de la delegación de rescatistas de EEUU enfrenta a Diosdado Cabello y le reclama porque le están saboteando sus esfuerzos de rescatar a las víctimas. “¿No quieres que vaya y ayude a la persona que está allí?”. pic.twitter.com/TzuSG3WKzM — Orlando Avendaño...

A rare double earthquake ravaged Venezuela on Wednesday, killing at least 920 and injuring another 3,360, authorities said. Many more are feared dead. Thousands of people have been reported missing. Some of the heaviest damage and casualties were in La Guaira, a coastal region north of the capital, Caracas. Here’s what to know about the earthquakes and the search for survivors: The powerful 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck 39 seconds apart along the San Sebastian fault on Venezuela’s northern coast, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. They were among the strongest in the South American nation in more than a...

The United States is sending hundreds of personnel, two warships, fixed and rotary-winged aircraft, and search and rescue teams to Venezuela in the wake of Wednesday’s earthquake that killed more than 500 people. The first arrivals, with a Marine Corps general leading them, reached Caracas Thursday night. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Jarrard, who previously commanded the 4th Marine Division, arrived in Caracas on Thursday. The exact number of military personnel deploying hasn’t been disclosed, but is in the hundreds and is pulled from multiple branches. Rotary-wing aircraft stationed in the region are flying in assistance teams. Marine Corps...

Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist congressional candidate endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, deleted a previous Twitter account that included thousands of posts and reposts expressing support for abolishing police, prisons and borders, as well as seizing private property and nationalizing major industries and calling into question Israel’s right to exist. Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old investigator at a public defender’s office in New York City and doctoral student, has emerged as one of the most prominent left-wing challengers in the country after Mamdani endorsed her bid to unseat longtime Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th...

[I]t appears these two quakes may have occurred on two separate faults. Several faults intersect in this tectonically complex region. Historically, when experts evaluate earthquake risk, they haven't necessarily accounted for this multifault scenario, says Chris Goldfinger, a paleoseismologist at Oregon State University. "We always tend to kind of assume that earthquakes will just be on one fault and only on one fault," he says. In 2016, a multifault event — the Kaikōura earthquake in New Zealand — took people by surprise, says Goldfinger, and changed scientists' understanding of how interconnected faults can trigger multiple ruptures. Assuming the Venezuelan quakes...

Harrowing footage has revealed the extent of the damage and chaos inflicted on Venezuela by a pair of massive earthquakes last night. The back-to-back 7.1 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck near the coast, sending terrified residents racing out from swaying apartment blocks as walls collapsed and clouds of dust rose over the capital. 'High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,' the US Geological Survey said, 'with an initial death toll estimate likely between 10,000 and 100,000.' On Thursday, Venezuelan authorities said at least 164 people had been killed, while hundreds more have been injured....

Tragic news has broken out of Venezuela. On Wednesday, Venezuela was hit by back-to-back earthquakes causing buildings to collapse across its capital. The USGS revealed the earthquakes were measured in at a magnitude of 7.1 and 7.5 making the earthquakes two of the most powerful earthquakes to hit the country. Currently no death toll has been reported but due to the large amount of residential buildings collapsing thousands are feared dead. Here was the aftermath: Video circulating from La Guaira, Venezuela, showing the aftermath of the devastation caused by powerful earthquakes.Thousands of people are feared dead in the earthquakes, according...