Free Republic

NATO appointed Mark Rutte as its next secretary-general on Wednesday, putting the outgoing Dutch prime minister in charge of the world’s biggest security organization at a critical time for European security as war rages in Ukraine. Rutte’s appointment was sealed by NATO ambassadors during a meeting at the 32-nation alliance’s headquarters in Brussels. U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts will formally welcome him to their table at a summit in Washington on July 9-11. The outgoing Dutch premier will take over from the current secretary general, Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg, on Oct. 1.

Taylor Lorenz pushed false claim LA synagogue was auctioning Palestinian land.. Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz on Monday pushed a false claim that a Los Angeles synagogue was auctioning off Palestinian land this week—a conspiracy theory that led to violent, anti-Semitic protests outside the Jewish house of worship on Sunday. Lorenz—who covers social media for the Post and often complains about being targeted by online harassment—reposted multiple comments on X, formerly Twitter, defending the synagogue protesters, promoting the false allegations, and slamming the media, including her former employer, the New York Times, for failing to give the allegations oxygen. The...

@LeadingReport BREAKING: Former President Trump says he will threaten Zelensky and Putin into peace talks to end the war. "We tell the Ukrainians, 'You've got to come to the table, and if you don't come to the table, support from the United States will dry up. And you tell Putin, He's got to come to the table, and if you don't come to the table, then we'll give Ukrainians everything they need to k*ll you in the field."

While the mass migration crisis has overwhelmingly taken place at the southern border between the United States and Mexico, there is a similar record-breaking surge across the northern border between the United States and Canada as well... data from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows that fiscal year 2024 has currently seen 12,859 illegal aliens cross the northern border. This marks a far larger amount than the previous three fiscal years under Joe Biden. By comparison, there were just 916 northern border crossings in fiscal year 2021, followed by 2,238 in fiscal year 2022, and 10,021 in fiscal year 2023....

The Pentagon's second-highest-ranking official outlined a commitment to policies focused on "nonbinary service members" and mandating critical race theory training, claiming those points were keys to national security. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleene Hicks discussed the need to create a cultural change in the military at multiple Pride events, including most recently on June 5. During a DoD Pride event for the Association of LGBTQI+ Service Members in June, Hicks discussed the Pentagon's LGBTQ priorities vis-à-vis military "readiness," a term which refers to the ability to deter potential adversaries, defend national interests and ensure that armed forces can meet their...

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine removed one of his top generals from his post on Monday amid public criticism that the commander’s decisions had led to excessive casualties. The dismissal of the general, Yurii Sodol, as commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces, was a clear indication that the discord that had rankled the army since Mr. Zelensky replaced his commanding general, Valery Zaluzhny, with Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky in February, continued to threaten military cohesion. Mr. Zelensky announced that he was replacing General Sodol with Brig. Gen. Andrii Hnatov. General Sodol was appointed by General Syrsky as part...

Hamas-friendly gulf state paid American operative $250,000 'for [a] PBS documentary,' DOJ filings reveal.. Qatar, the oil-rich gulf monarchy that harbors Hamas and other terrorist groups, has used a number of conduits to influence unwitting American audiences: tens of millions of dollars in funding for universities, think tanks, military museums, and alleged bribes to prominent members of Congress. Add PBS documentaries to the list. A Qatari-backed front group, Yemen Crisis Watch, paid $250,000 to travel journalist Burt Wolf from September 2017 to January 2018 for a documentary about the war in Yemen that aired on PBS affiliates, according to previously...

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the American ambassador on Monday to protest what it says was the use of U.S.-made advanced missiles in a Ukrainian attack on Russian-annexed Crimea that reportedly killed four people and wounded more than 150. Washington “has effectively become a party” to the war on Ukraine’s side, the ministry said in a statement, adding, “Retaliatory measures will certainly follow.” It did not elaborate. Kyiv’s forces have relied heavily on Western-supplied weaponry since Russia’s invasion more than three years ago.

A 750ft cargo ship has sunk in the Red Sea days after Yemen's Houthi rebels said they launched a blistering drone attack on the vessel, reportedly killing one mariner on board. Dramatic footage released by the group shows the moment a barrage of rockets slammed into the MV Tutor, with a direct hit triggering a huge explosion after striking the centre of the defenceless coal carrier. It would be the second ship sunk as part of the rebels' campaign targeting Red Sea shipping after the Rubymar, which was carrying more than 41,000 tonnes of fertiliser, went down in March around...

Hamas has started recruiting new terrorists and training them to replace those who were eliminated or injured in the war. Hamas appealed to 18-year-old youths to join the ranks of the military wing, and in recent days security forces have identified attempts to conduct training and preparation for newlyrecruited terrorists. The terrorists that Hamas is trying to recruit are meant to replace around 14,000 terrorists that Israel has eliminated so far in the war, and many thousands more who were injured. A senior security official says: "All the military departments of Hamas are recovering, Hamas is trying to rehabilitate throughout...

Video The Hezbollah terrorist organization released a psychological warfare video overnight in which terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to bring destruction upon the State of Israel in the event of a war in Lebanon. The video included Hebrew and English subtitles for Nasrallah, who spoke in Arabic, as well as images of Israeli landmarks. "In case an inclusive war is imposed on Lebanon, the resistance will fight without restraints, without rules, without limits," ...

It seemed like a seismic shift in America’s handling of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion: National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan announced the Biden administration was relaxing its restrictions on Kyiv’s use of weapons on Kremlin territory. But critics say the change didn’t go nearly far enough — and rather than the US boldly confronting Vladimir Putin, this week’s declaration is another example of the Biden White House restraining Ukraine for fear of “escalating tensions.” Sullivan said that Kyiv may now strike “anywhere that Russian forces are coming across the border from the Russian side to the Ukrainian side to try...

Russia sees a pressing need for security talks with the United States but they must be "comprehensive" and include the subject of Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Friday. "It is impossible to rip out any individual segments from the general complex of accumulated problems, and we will not do this," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked if Moscow was ready to talk to Washington about nuclear risks. "So we are open to dialogue, but to a broad comprehensive dialogue that covers all dimensions, including the current dimension related to the conflict around Ukraine, related to the direct involvement of...

Nigel Farage has said the West "provoked" Russia's invasion of Ukraine by expanding the European Union and Nato military alliance eastwards. But he added that the expansion of the EU and Nato gave him a "reason" to tell the Russian people "they're coming for us again". In an interview with the BBC's Nick Robinson, Mr Farage was challenged over his judgement and past statements, including when he named Russian President Vladimir Putin as the world leader he most admired in 2014."I said I disliked him as a person, but admired him as a political operator because he's managed to take...

"America is the land of opportunity." "I believe the most qualified person should get the job." "America is a melting pot." Those are examples of harmful "microaggressions," according to Columbia professor Derald Wing Sue, lauded by Oregon's state government as a "microaggressions expert." Now, under a soon-to-be-finalized ethics rule from the Oregon Medical Board, doctors who commit "microaggressions" risk losing their medical licenses. Under Oregon law, doctors who fail to report "unprofessional conduct" from themselves or a colleague within 10 business days can face severe penalties, including loss of license. The state's medical board is in the process of shoehorning...

HOUSTON – A top leader of the infamous international gang MS-13 was arrested at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on Sunday; delivering a significant blow to the criminal organization. Authorities tell KPRC 2 that Cesar Humberto Lopez-Larios, known as one of the original “Twelve Apostles of the Devil,” was apprehended. This group expanded to 14 members, becoming known as the “Ranfla Nacional.” Over the past 20 years, MS-13 has been responsible for numerous crimes, including drug trafficking and murder. ... How it happened.. After being on the run for over three years, Lopez-Larios was finally captured when he landed...

Senior Vice President at The Walt Disney Company details discriminatory hiring practices: "Nobody else is going to tell you this, but they're not considering any white males for the job," says Michael Giordano, a Vice President of Business affairs, "there’s no way we’re hiring a white male.” Giordano reveals Disney uses "code words and buzzwords" to avoid legal action and even mentions a candidate being rejected for not looking black enough. Giordano also admits Disney gives bonuses to executives for practicing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), agreeing that "diversity helps with financial incentives." Giordano further claims he’s been denied promotions...

Major weapons exporter South Korea will "reconsider" a longstanding policy that bars it from supplying arms directly to Ukraine, a presidential official said Thursday, after North Korea and Russia signed a defense deal. Russia's President Vladimir Putin was in Pyongyang Wednesday for a high-profile state visit that underscored his growing ties with leader Kim Jong Un, as the two signed a "breakthrough" agreement that included a pledge to come to each other's aid if attacked. Hours later, Seoul said it was "planning to reconsider the issue of providing weapons support to Ukraine," a presidential official told reporters. Seoul has a...

Israel warned about the prospects of an “all-out war” in Lebanon after Hezbollah militants published disturbing drone footage threatening the Jewish state – as Hamas’ representative in Lebanon claimed the terror group would carry out the Oct. 7 massacre all over again if given the chance. As tensions boil along the Israel-Lebanon border, the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group published a roughly 10-minute video on Tuesday, allegedly taken by drone, depicting several Israeli military sites and residential cities that were tagged “highly populated.” Israeli officials slammed the propaganda video as an unabashed threat against the Jewish state, warning the Hamas allies...

A cyberattack on a major American hospital system has caused dangerous medication mix ups including patients administered narcotics by mistake, leading to an admission to intensive care for life-threatening breathing difficulties. In another case, a female patient suffered a cardiac arrest and died after data mishaps delayed test results that would determine her life-saving treatment. Elsewhere, a nurse working for the Kansas branch of the major medical group recalled a 'near miss,' which involved him almost administering a potentially life-threatening dose of narcotic to a baby — because of false paperwork. Employees at Ascension, a Catholic healthcare system with more...