Free Republic

The Dutch government, a coalition of far-right, farmers, liberal and anti-corruption parties, announced a coalition agreement to opt out from EU rules, support Ukraine, and examine moving its embassy to Jerusalem, yet it has not named a prime minister. The newly agreed Dutch coalition government proposed the "strictest-ever" asylum policy on Thursday, May 16, including an opt-out from European Union rules, and vowed to examine moving its Israel embassy to Jerusalem. The 26-page coalition agreement emerged early Thursday after six months of gruelling talks between four parties following the stunning election victory of far-right leader Geert Wilders. The parties said...

The “floating pier” built by the U.S. Navy off the coast of Gaza was completed on Thursday, and connected to the shore by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops. President Joe Biden announced the port project in his State of the Union address in March to augment land routes to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. He promised that there would be no American “boots on the ground”; the U.S. is relying on the IDF to provide onshore security for the port. Today at approximately 7:40 a.m. (Gaza time) United States Central Command personnel supporting the humanitarian mission to deliver additional humanitarian...

The two-state solution has been proposed for decades – with the application of the titular adjective, “moderate.” Attempts to bring it about have been unsuccessful. In multiple ways, the Arab side rejects or undermines it. It is not politically correct to ask whether rejectionism is the political and diplomatic tactic of those who imagine themselves as the Palestinian people. In today’s climate, it is unacceptable even to inquire whether it is an ideological position, a culturally inculcated pattern, or a natural outgrowth of Islamist religious construct. Nevertheless, a short historical overview can suggest that those possibilities need be investigated. Time...

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of the structure used to fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the federal agency tasked with enforcing consumer finance laws. By a vote of 7-2, the justices reversed a decision by a federal appeals court in Louisiana, which had ruled that the agency’s funding violates the Constitution because it comes from the Federal Reserve rather than through the congressional appropriations process. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority, in a decision that relied heavily on both the text of the Constitution and early English and U.S. history. Justice Samuel...

Jewish children were beaten by an unidentified man in New York on Sunday night, according to local media. Disturbing video footage showing the perpetrator assaulting and beating kids on Franklin Avenue on Sunday night. @NYPD79Pct @NYPDBklynNorth pic.twitter.com/Fiwh8F7NQp — Williamsburg 365 News (@Williamsburg365) May 15, 2024 Williamsburg 365 News posted on Wednesday footage of a man dismounting from his bicycle and approaching a group of orthodox Jewish children who were playing on the sidewalk. The assailant appeared to smack one of the children on the face, kicking him to the ground. The man threw another child to the ground before repeatedly...

House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) on Thursday told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo that his Committee found new Biden family bank accounts. Comer said the Biden family has dozens of bank accounts and dozens of LLCs without any legitimate business. James Comer told Maria Bartiromo that he issued a subpoena for targeted financial information from a “certain financial institution” related to Jim Biden, Sara Biden and Hunter Biden. WATCH: VIDEO AT LINK................... House Republicans previously announced they reviewed 170 suspicious activity reports linked to the Biden Crime Family. Last year Comer identified the NINE Bidens who are implicated in...

The Netherlands will finally get the right wing government its people voted for, and some of the toughest border control in the Western World after veteran populist and Islam sceptic Geert Wilders got the agreement of coalition partners to form a cabinet. Geert Wilders, who has lived under strict round-the-clock police protection since 2004 over threats to his life by Islamists hailed the success of months-long negotiations between four right wing parties in the Netherlands to form a new government. “The sun will shine again in the Netherlands… The Netherlands will be ours again” he said in celebration of the...

Former President Jimmy Carter hasn’t seen any “significant change” in his health, despite his grandson warning again this week that the 99-year-old’s life was “coming to the end,” according to the director of the former commander in chief’s namesake nonprofit organization. Carter remains “at home, enjoying peanut butter ice cream and getting the food he wants any time he wants it,” Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Politically Georgia podcast Wednesday. “It’s 15 months of hospice at this point, and he is fully retired,” Alexander explained. “There really hasn’t been a significant change. I mean, he will...

Rep. James Comer says House Oversight Committee looking for 'targeted financial information' House Committee on Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., announced a new legislative motion that aims to unveil financial information related to the Biden family. "This morning, I issued a subpoena for targeted financial information from a certain financial institution related to Jim Biden, Sarah Biden and Hunter Biden. This is a result of many of the documents that Devin Archer turned over," Comer said on "Mornings with Maria" Thursday. The new subpoena, which Comer claims will hopefully "answer every question [Congress has] had," comes just after another...

The Justice Department's Legal Counsel Office said the recording should be considered protected by executive privilege. Chairman Comer says the claim "changes nothing" and vows to continue contempt proceedings. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ President Joe Biden on Thursday claimed the recording of his interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur about his retention of classified documents should not be released due to executive privilege just hours before House Republicans were set to move toward holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for not releasing the recordings. The Justice Department's Legal Counsel Office said the recording should be considered protected by executive privilege,...

Sir Keir Starmer has set out what Labour would do first if it wins this year's general election. The Labour leader unveiled a pledge card with six key policies, including delivering "economic stability" and providing 40,000 more hospital appointments each week. Some of the pledges are more modest in scale than the five "national missions" Sir Keir announced last year. But he said they were the "first steps" towards Labour's bigger plans. Sir Keir's five missions include making the UK the fastest-growing major economy by the end of a first Labour term in government and achieving net zero carbon emissions...

Boeing violated a 2021 settlement that protected it from criminal charges tied to the fatal 737 Max crashes, opening the company up to potential U.S. prosecution, the Department of Justice said Tuesday. Federal prosecutors said in a court filing in Texas they are still determining “how it will proceed in this matter” and that Boeing will have 30 days to respond. In January 2021, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a conspiracy charge with the Justice Department. After a roughly two-year probe, the DOJ accused the company of concealing information about its Max plane that had been involved...

The Dow Jones Industrial Average eclipsed 40,000 points for the first time in its history Thursday as Wall Street cheered slowing inflation and potential for lower interest rates. The iconic stock index was up roughly 111 points shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday, reaching about 40,020 points. The Dow was created in 1895 and includes the 30 most prominent U.S. companies as determined by S&P Dow Jones Indicies. The Dow is up 6 percent since the start of 2024 as investors eagerly await Federal Reserve rate cuts, which could add more fuel to the stock market. While the Fed has held...

The Mirage Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, and its instantly recognizable volcano, is soon shutting down after more than three decades in business. The 3,000-room resort will cease operations on July 17 as it undergoes a three-year renovation that wipes away any markings of the Mirage and its tropical theme. Opened in 1989 by casino mogul Steve Wynn, the Mirage ushered in a era of luxe resorts for the Strip and was the first resort to have a sidewalk attraction with its volcano, prompting the Bellagio and Venetian to imitate the Mirage with its dancing fountains and...

After more than three billion doses, the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine is being withdrawn. However, its reputation was dented as unusual blood clots emerged as a rare side effect of the vaccine, and the UK turned to alternatives.

The city of Kansas City has apologized after posting a message on social media revealing the residence of Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker after the Super Bowl champion came under attack following his faith-based commencement speech at Benedictine College over the weekend. The official social media account of Kansas City issued a brief apology on X Wednesday after sparking major backlash on social media for sharing a post referencing the city where Butker resides.

3:07 If Democrat-run California wants to force residents into electric vehicles (EVs), Democrat-run California had better start cracking down on crime. Talk about the law of unintended consequences… “Thieves are targeting high-powered Tesla and other EV charging stations and stealing the heavy cable for the copper metal inside,” reports San Francisco’s NBC affiliate. “In Vallejo, someone cut cables from nine charging stations — leaving Tesla drivers in a bind and causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage and repair costs.” “I think this is the second time or third that these have been cut,” a local EV driver added....

Borrowing to pay for college is about to get more expensive: The interest rate on new federal student loans for undergraduates during the upcoming 2024-25 academic year will be the highest in 12 years. The federal student loan interest rate will be 6.53% for undergraduate students, up from 5.5% for the current year. The interest rate has not been that high on any undergraduate loans since the 2012-13 school year. Graduate students will see an 8.08% interest rate this coming academic year, up from 7.05%. And PLUS loans, which are available to both parents and graduate students, will come with...

It’s getting harder and harder to pretend the war in Ukraine, now in its third year, is about “defending democracy,” as our political elites in Washington insist.This is especially true when Secretary of State Antony Blinken shows up in Ukraine to deliver billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund the war, proclaims that Ukraine’s scheduled presidential elections this spring are canceled until “conditions allow” (Ukraine has not held elections since 2019), and then jaunts off to a popular Kyiv nightclub to play a boomerish cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.” That actually happened this week. And it...

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) told MSNBC on Wednesday there was “no question” that the economy under President Joe Biden was “strong” and “doing well.” After MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle asked Romney during an interview why he was so optimistic about the future of the country, Romney replied, “First of all, America is an extraordinarily resilient country.” He explained, “We just had this extraordinary pandemic, and yet our economy is strong, low levels of unemployment, it’s extraordinary, and it’s not because the president is pulling all the levers in the right way. No, it’s not. It’s because the American people are...