Free Republic

A Bradenton woman who admitted to a long-running identity-and-benefits fraud is headed to federal prison, after a judge said her scheme siphoned off nearly $185,000 in government money. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland sentenced 69-year-old Rosario Alaniz to 15 months in federal prison on March 17, 2026, and ordered her to pay $184,904.75 in restitution, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida. Prosecutors said Alaniz pleaded guilty in December 2025, admitting she used a fraudulently obtained U.S. passport to collect Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and Social Security disability payments. U.S. Attorney...

3,000 Jewish children vanished from the face of Nazi-occupied Europe. They weren't deported. They weren't found in concentration camps. They simply evaporated. And the most unlikely place on earth became the perfect hiding spot: a small Protestant village in the heart of occupied France, where pastors and farmers transformed their homes, barns, and schools into underground sanctuaries. But here's the detail that will make you question everything you know about World War II. These children weren't hidden in secret basements or distant forests. They walked the streets. They attended classes. They played in public squares. And the Nazis, with all...

A California sheriff and top Republican candidate for governor seized over 650,000 votes from the state’s November elections this weekend. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco launched an investigation into the state’s November 2025 special election on Proposition 50 after a third-party organization, the Riverside Election Integrity Team, claimed it found roughly 45,000 excess votes. California elections officials have dismissed the team’s findings, but Bianco says his office will conduct another count. “This investigation is simple: Physically count the ballots and compare that result with the total votes recorded,” Bianco told reporters at a Friday press conference. Proposition 50 was a...

A man who admitted to fatally shooting a pregnant woman was found not guilty by reason of insanity. As previously reported, a pregnant woman was shot and killed in her car at a Seattle intersection in June 2023. Eina Kwon, 34, a mother of a 2-year-old child, was senselessly murdered while sitting in her car with her husband. Her unborn child died following the shooting.

Donald Trump shared a video clip from the U.K.’s version of Saturday Night Live on Truth Social Sunday morning depicting Prime Minister Keir Starmer cowering in fear of the U.S. president. The skit opened on the prime minister’s residence at Number 10 Downing Street, where a worried-looking Starmer sat at his desk making a phone call. “Oh, woah. Oh, golly!” Starmer exclaimed. “What if Donald shouts at me? What do I say?” “Just be yourself, prime minister,” Starmer’s aide advised. “Yourself is whom everyone likes.” When a voice that sounded like Trump answered the call, the Starmer character yelped, “Ah!”...

Lindsey Graham on Kharg Island: "We did Iwo Jima. We can do this."

Michael Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., said Sunday that the Iranian people must mobilize to overthrow the Islamic Republic regime.“I think that we need boots on the ground, but they have got to be Iranian boots, and I think they’re coming,” Leiter told host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.” He noted that the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran will only end when there is “not an entity in Tehran that’s going to threaten the region.”

“There could have been kids at this kindergarten,” said Rishon Letzion Mayor Raz Kinstlich. Cluster bombs from an Iranian ballistic missile damaged this kindergarten in Rishon Letzion, south of Tel Aviv, on March 21, 2026. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron explained today that the French Army simply could not help open the Strait of Hormuz as all fifteen of its soldiers have already been deployed to defend Greenland. Though expressing their sincere desire to help, Macron stated that France simply did not have the military resources to help open the Strait while maintaining its protection of Greenland. "All of France's military might, specifically the one unit we have with fifteen soldiers, is already deployed," said Macron. "They cannot be relocated as they are bravely defending the shores of Greenland. Specifically, the one shore that's...

https://larrys.substack.com/p/a-short-musical-bio Sometime in the late 1970s I abruptly became a history professor. Prior to that, I was a rocker who was "almost famous." Here is a little of my drumming bio, experiences, and influences.

The offices of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance had people of all ages on Wednesday night waiting for the end of the nightly Ramadan fast, from children sitting at tables doing math homework to cab drivers just getting off their shifts. Just before it was time to pray and eat, someone announced a special guest was coming to their iftar, the evening meal to break fast during Ramadan. “I know who it is,” shouted a boy from the back of the room to laughter. Mayor Zohran Mamdani soon entered and joined them.

A 37-year-old Florida woman named Mandolyn Shaffer-Brockwell was arrested after allegedly unleashing a violent road rage tirade in Orlando, beating a pregnant driver, attacking an elderly bystander, and biting a police officer who tried to arrest her.(snip) According to police, the incident occurred on February 23 in the middle of a busy Orlando roadway near the Mall of Millenia. Shaffer-Brockwell is accused of repeatedly stopping her vehicle abruptly and refusing to let the pregnant victim change lanes, leading the victim to honk her horn. This allegedly triggered Shaffer-Brockwell, who then burst from her car, charged at the victim's SUV, and...

Israel launched a major attack on an Iranian gas field this week, prompting retaliation by Iran against Gulf States, a threat to global energy supplies and a surge in fuel prices. President Trump first insisted the United States “knew nothing about” the strike, then later backtracked and said he warned Israel against attacking the complex. His attempt to distance his administration from the strike underscored the diverging aims of the United States and Israel as their war against Iran grinds on. As a superpower with global responsibilities, the United States cares deeply about global energy supplies and the safety of...

A Muslim preacher calls on Muslims to show themselves during a banned demonstration in support of Palestinians at Richardplatz, Neukölln, Berlin on October 11, 2023, four days after the October 7 Hamas pogrom in Israel. JOHN MACDOUGALL / AFP. The last thing Berlin needs is a day against Islamophobia—what it does need is better politicians. Last Sunday, March 15th, was Berlin’s first “Day of Action and Commemoration against Islamophobia”—an event the city’s senate claimed was intended to strengthen “diversity and social cohesion.” It might better be described as a ‘day of intimidation’ directed at the many Berliners who disagree with...

Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at airports could “brutalize” or “kill” Americans.Host Dana Bash said, “We just heard from the white House about President Trump’s plan to deploy ICE agents to airports tomorrow.”She asked, “What’s your response to what Tom Homan revealed here?”Jeffries said, “Well, good morning. Great to be with you. There are three things that have been true since Donald Trump and Republicans came back into power last January. Life is more expensive. Life is more chaotic, and life is more extreme. The last...

OnlyFans, emotions and the first female home plate umpire in MLB history … this is why women can’t have nice things! The 2026 season for Major League Baseball will see the implementation of the automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge system into actual games. Meaning, umpires will have to be on their toes this year, or get called out like it’s everybody’s business. Just take this example that I have for you today. In the 2025 campaign, Jen Pawol made MLB history by becoming the first female umpire to work a regular-season contest, which took place Aug. 9 in a game between...

Iran’s armed forces headquarters has declared it is ready to close the Strait of Hormuz indefinitely if US President Donald Trump carries out a threat to bomb Iran’s power plants. Its statement Sunday is the latest warning from Tehran of retribution for any attacks on the country’s power industry. Trump said Saturday he would order the bombardment of such infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz was not fully open to shipping within 48 hours. Iran’s military responded Sunday that if the US threats regarding Iran’s power plants are carried out, the Strait of Hormuz will be completely closed and will...

IF YOU HAD HBO IN THE LATE 1980s and early 1990s, odds are good you were never more than a few hours away from a certain type of film. They were straightforward, pleasing pictures: a laconic, sandy-haired American dispensed justice with a minimum of wit and a maximum of roundhouse kicks. Rarely much longer than 105 minutes, you didn’t need to watch them from start to finish; they were almost designed to be watched in bits and pieces. You could pick up the plot as you went: Odds are there were some bad guys in black pajamas and a soldier...

A California-born American citizen is reportedly rising to lead Mexico’s most powerful drug cartel, and his U.S. citizenship could shield him from the intelligence tools that helped take down his predecessor. Juan Carlos Valencia González, 41, began consolidating control of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel shortly after Mexican special forces killed his stepfather, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, in early March, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Two senior commanders reportedly stood aside rather than contest his takeover, keeping the organization intact, WSJ reported. Valencia González was born in Santa Ana, California. His biological father, Armando Valencia Cornelio, founded the...

22 March 2026 5th Sunday of Lent Chapel of Saint Jerome with the Altar Piece in the Astorga Cathedral, Spain Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(II).First readingEzekiel 37:12-14I shall put my spirit in you, and you will liveThe Lord says this: I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. And I shall put my spirit in you,...