Free Republic

All remaining US military forces will be out of Iraq by the end of September, the nation’s new prime minister Ali al-Zaidi said during a Tuesday visit to the White House. “On the 30th of September, the US forces will be out of Iraq, while these companies will be inside Iraq,” al-Zaidi said through a translator when speaking to reporters alongside President Trump in the Oval Office. About 2,000 US troops currently are stationed in Iraq, mostly at the Harir Air Base in Erbil in the northern Kurdistan region. Washington and Baghdad agreed in September 2024 to a phased withdrawal...

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett opened up Tuesday about the chilling moment she had to explain to her son why she had to wear a bulletproof vest following the leak of the opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade. Barrett, a mother of seven, told lawmakers on a House Appropriations subcommittee that her security detail told her to wear extra protection on her commute home after a draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was published by Politico in May 2022. “I carried it into my house, put it into my bedroom, dropped it...

State workers have completed their first full work week since California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered them to return to the office four days a week starting July 1 — and in addition to parking complaints, workers now claim they’re being forced to work in disease-plagued state offices. Workers’ union Service Employees International Union Local 1000 claimed recently that “unsafe, or potentially unsafe working conditions” have been reported at government buildings, specifically at the Department of Industrial Relations Building in Lodi. The union said Legionella bacteria was detected in the building last month, contaminating a line that connects to an icemaker....

A St. Bonaventure University professor is facing backlash on social media after appearing to celebrate the death of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham in a social media post before deleting it less than 12 hours later, prompting renewed scrutiny of political rhetoric on college campuses. A social media account identified as belonging to Ibrahim Zabad, a political science professor at the private university in western New York, posted a message late Saturday evening celebrating Graham's death, using inflammatory language and ending with the phrase "Rest in Hell," according to Campus Reform.

The Mossad's Farsi-language account on X took a shot at some of Iran's most senior officials on Wednesday, speculating that they may all be Israeli agents, following a report about contacts between former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Israeli spy agency. The image posted by the Mossad depicts several senior Iranian political figures, including Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, as well as former President Ahmadinejad. ..... Each of the figures in the image is depicted with a Star of David on their hands and an earpiece in their ears, hinting...

[Catholic Caucus] Catholic parents demand German archbishop rescind pro-LGBT ‘sexual education’The Archdiocese of Hamburg last year implemented ‘sexual education’ curriculum for all Catholic schools that promotes homosexuality and transgenderism, and now parents are fighting back.Catholic parents in the Archdiocese of Hamburg are calling on the archbishop to reverse pro-LGBT “sexual education” curriculum for Catholic schools.The “Parents’ Network for Child Protection and Prevention” reached out to the then-apostolic nuncio to Germany, Archbishop Nikola Eterović, and the chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK), Bishop Heiner Wilmer, regarding the dispute over the heterodox framework for “sex education” in Catholic schools in the...

Former Navy Secretary John Phelan is calling on the help of Congress and the Pentagon to help the Navy work better, faster and smarter to keep up with U.S. adversaries.Phelan, in a new op-ed published Tuesday in The Washington Post, "The depleted Navy needs immediate rebuilding as dangers rise," argues that the United States is at most responsible for the current state of the naval fighting force. His heeded warning comes amid an ongoing war in Iran played on the backdrop of the major international shipping channel, the Strait of Hormuz, which has been strategically used by Iran to flummox...

Latino voters overwhelmingly support requiring government-issued photo ID to vote. Polls conducted by Pew Research Center (2025) and CNN (2006) have independently confirmed that 82% of Latino voters in the United States approve such a requirement. According to CNN, about 85% of white voters agree, as well as 76% of black voters. The SAVE Act would codify in law the popular supermajority opinion on voter identification, but while the House has passed it multiple times, it has stalled in the Senate.It should be no surprise that Latino voters support the key feature of the SAVE Act. First, immigrant voters highly...

This video features a press briefing in Chicago where Department of Justice (DOJ) officials and partners from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announce a major milestone in trade and customs fraud enforcement (3:39). Key takeaways from the briefing: $1 Billion Milestone: The Trade Fraud Task Force has officially surpassed $1 billion in criminal and civil recoveries, penalties, forfeitures, and charge losses in less than one year (3:56-4:12). New Enforcement Efforts: To continue this momentum, the DOJ is establishing the Global Trade and Commerce Enforcement Section as a dedicated unit within the fraud division (10:14-10:27). Additionally, a new comprehensive trade...

The United States Men's National Team had all the momentum when Folarin Balogun's red card from the Round of 32 was suspended, giving him a chance to play in the Round of 16 — at least, that's what American soccer fans thought. The day before the USMNT's Round of 16 game against Belgium, which Balogun was originally supposed to miss because of a red card in the previous game, FIFA ruled that he would be eligible. The ruling added to what was already a huge controversy, as it was argued Balogun should not have been red-carded in the first place....

A quiet Louisiana parish is set to become home to the world's largest data center, stirring unease among residents. Tech giant Meta announced Monday it is expanding its massive Hyperion data center in Richland Parish to five gigawatts of computing power, increasing its investment in the project to $50 billion. Local leaders hailed the project, saying it has already boosted the economy and created hundreds of jobs despite still being under construction. Governor Jeff Landry said the data center construction has ignited 'economic progress' the state has never seen before. 'It's going to create 7,500 construction jobs, more than 1,000...

Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the “Hero of the Hudson” who safely landed a US Airways flight in the Hudson River to save 155 passengers in 2009, has been diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s. “I recently found out I have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. It is early stage,” Sullenberger, 75, said in a statement.

Things got testy in a game between the Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres over the weekend. Home plate umpire Jen Pawol ruled that Padres hitter Sung-Mun Song didn't make his ABS challenge in time, resulting in Padres hitting coach Steven Souza Jr. being ejected after he took exception with the ruling. Later in the game, the Blue Jays were heated with Pawol over a controversial balk ruling brought home a run for the Blue Jays. After the game, MLB writer Dan Clark noted how much Pawol has struggled throughout the year with Grok, X's AI assistant for premium...

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been ordered to temporarily stop conducting vehicle stops in the wake of two deadly shootings in Texas and Maine, sources told ABC News. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin gave the directive, a law enforcement source told ABC News, after he spoke with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who said she urged Mullin to "cease all non-urgent vehicle stops." In most cases, ICE officers will stop a target on the street once they leave their house or office, but ICE will still use vehicle stops in cases involving the most dangerous targets, according to a source....

A teenager in Mississippi knew the elderly couple he's accused of killing before sparking a standoff with law enforcement, according to new testimony in court. Cordarius Hobbs, 17, is charged with killing 74-year-old Billy Blair and his 71-year-old wife Virginia Carol Blair during a home break-in on June 3 in Mendenhall, Mississippi. Family members of Hobbs testified during the Thursday preliminary hearing that he knew the couple.

A teenager in Mississippi knew the elderly couple he's accused of killing before sparking a standoff with law enforcement, according to new testimony in court. Cordarius Hobbs, 17, is charged with killing 74-year-old Billy Blair and his 71-year-old wife Virginia Carol Blair during a home break-in on June 3 in Mendenhall, Mississippi. Family members of Hobbs testified during the Thursday preliminary hearing that he knew the couple.

U.S. authorities have approved an emergency plan to move 28 beluga whales from the shuttered Marineland theme park in Ontario to four accredited American aquariums, including SeaWorld San Antonio. The plan calls for 13 whales to go to SeaWorld San Antonio, three to SeaWorld San Diego, 10 to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and two to Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. Two additional belugas are expected to move to Oceanogràfic València in Spain, but the Spanish facility is still awaiting necessary permits. Canadian authorities endorsed the broader relocation plan in June, and U.S. approval allows the American facilities to begin the rescue...

On July 16, “The Catcher in the Rye,” by J.D. Salinger, will turn 75. Commemorating such a nice big number would surely strike its adolescent hero, Holden Caulfield, as the absolute nadir of “corny,” but maybe we could use a little corn, as the data centers invade our farmland. Pour out a Scotch and soda — make that a malted milk — for this spry codger of a novel that’s stayed on the dance floor long past when might be expected, leaping over book bans from the right and dodging cancellation from the left. “Catcher” has somehow inspired artists as...

I asked Grok: “What do you think would happen if Bernie Sanders’ proposal for the government to own 50% of AI companies were to happen? What kinds of incentives or disincentives would this create? What would be the results of these incentives or disincentives?” This is Grok’s answer: If implemented, Sanders’ proposal — a one-time 50% stock “tax” on major AI companies (those hitting ~$200M in annual AI revenue), creating a ~$7 trillion sovereign wealth fund managed by a 7-person presidentially appointed commission with voting shares and board influence — would represent a major shift toward state-directed capitalism in a...

Ukraine has carried out what it described as the first known fully robotic amphibious assault, using a naval drone to transport an armed ground robot into Russian-occupied territory. The operation was announced on Monday by Ukraine’s 123rd Separate Territorial Defense Brigade. According to the brigade, a naval drone was remotely guided across the Black Sea toward the Kinburn Spit, located at the end of Ukraine’s Kinburn Peninsula and directly west of Kherson. Once the maritime drone reached the coast, it deployed an uncrewed ground vehicle fitted with a mounted machine gun.