Free Republic

A Donald Trump-Sen. Ted Cruz unity ticket seems less likely now that Cruz told the Good Morning America audience on Monday that he has “zero interest, whatsoever” in being Trump’s pick for vice-president. Bonnie Pointer, who was described as an undecided voter from Vacaville, California, asked Cruz via video, “Would you accept being Donald Trump’s Vice President?” Cruz thanked Bonnie for her question saying, “Let me just answer very simply, I have zero interest, whatsoever, in doing it.”

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie seldom makes a political miscalculation, as even his adversaries acknowledged after the incumbent Republican rolled to 60 percent of the vote to win re-election in a heavily Democratic state. But when the likely 2016 presidential candidate maneuvered to dump Tom Kean Jr. as state Senate Republican leader two days later, he suffered a rare defeat—and alienated the lawmaker’s father, Tom Kean Sr., a GOP elder statesman and popular former governor who gave Christie his political start. “I’m as surprised as I’ve ever been in my life in politics,” Kean, 78, told The Associated Press. Christie...

The U.S. Treasury on Friday warned Japan not to actively weaken its currency as it again refrained from naming China a manipulator. In its twice-a-year assessment of whether any nation is a currency manipulator, Treasury said it will “closely monitor” Japan’s policies and the extent to which they support the growth of domestic demand. The new Shinzo Abe administration has pushed for aggressive bond-buying at the Bank of Japan, and the yen has dropped 13% against the dollar this year. The Japanese currency rose in Friday afternoon trade after the report was released. … China, meanwhile, escaped being branded a...

Obama administration to release Bush-era detainee photos The pictures show Americans' alleged abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. An ACLU lawyer says they prove that Abu Ghraib 'was not aberrational.' By Peter Wallsten, Julian Barnes and Greg Miller April 23, 2009 Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration agreed late Thursday to release dozens of photographs depicting alleged abuse by U.S. personnel during the Bush administration of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. At least 44 pictures will be released on May 28 -- making public for the first time images of what the military investigated as abuse that took...

~Excerpt~ Even as Rudy Giuliani emerges from his campaign’s first real rough patch, a number of conservative Catholic organizations are in the process of rolling out potentially broad-reaching “viral” initiatives with the common aim of denying him the Republican nomination.

NEW YORK -- Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani made his 28th appearance on the "Late Show" with David Letterman on Monday, answering hypotheticals about the Iraq war in a friendly exchange with the puckish comedian. Letterman asked the former New York mayor about the war and its chaotic aftermath. "I think there would have been a better strategy," Giuliani said. "We kind of didn't plan for that the way we should have." In response to another question, Giuliani touched upon President Bush's legacy, something that has been hotly debated, with former President Jimmy Carter calling Bush's foreign policy "the worst...

~~snip~~ HANNITY: Let's go to the one issue that I guess probably everyone would say has been most troublesome for you in the campaign. It became an issue especially after the first debate that you were involved in. And it's the issue I've asked you now extensively about, about abortion. GIULIANI: Right, right. HANNITY: But, you know what? Maybe there are people that still want to... GIULIANI: Sure. HANNITY: ... get — so I want to run through the issues with you if I can, just real quick. GIULIANI: Please. HANNITY: You're against partial-birth abortion. GIULIANI: Yes, I agreed with...

Columnist, journalist, commentator and author George Will is supporting his fellow baseball fan, Rudy Giuliani, for the Republican presidential nomination and saying that Mr. Giuliani's eight years as mayor of New York were "the most successful episode of conservative governance" in America in the twentieth century. BUT, Mr. Giuliani was the candidate of New York's LIBERAL Party in each of his three mayoral races (the first a failure, the next two successful)! AND, when running for mayor, Mr. Giuliani pledged to "rekindle the Rockefeller/Javits/Lefkowitz tradition" of the Republican Party and "produce the kind of change New York City saw with...

<p>Wednesday, June 2, 2004 SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) -- FBI agents in Texas issued a nationwide alert Tuesday for two stolen propane tanker trucks, laden with thousands of gallons of the volatile liquefied gas.</p>