Free Republic

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared a 32-hour ceasefire in Ukraine over the Orthodox Easter weekend, following an earlier call from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a pause in some of the hostilities to observe the holiday. Putin's decree, released by the Kremlin, orders Russian forces to observe a ceasefire starting at 4 p.m. Saturday and lasting until the end of Sunday. Zelenskyy proposed earlier in the week that each side stop targeting each other's energy infrastructure over the holiday, saying he made the offer through the United States, which has been mediating talks between delegations from Moscow and...

The Mother Road, as author John Steinbeck dubbed it, has evolved over the years from an escape for poor farmers fleeing the devastating dust storms of the 1930s to perhaps the quintessential American road trip that’s still delivering kicks. Although there have been faster and more direct routes between Chicago and Santa Monica for some time, Route 66’s neon still burns brightly and its vintage signs beckon travelers to restored motor lodges, classic diners and roadside attractions.Each stop turns the wheels of the imagination, leaving travelers to contemplate what life was like for the people and communities that have made...

House Bill 1471 allows the Chief of Domestic Security at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to make a foreign or domestic terrorist designation if certain conditions are met. The designation is contingent upon approval of the governor and Cabinet. “To uphold the rule of law, our state must operate under one legal system, the Constitution must remain the law of the land, and we must defend our institutions from those who would harm us – especially terrorist organizations that seek to infiltrate and subvert our education system,” said second-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. “HB1471 reinforces these principles in Florida.”...

A growing national debate over politics in the classroom is now taking center stage in Florida, as parents, educators, and lawmakers wrestle with a question that has become increasingly difficult to ignore: Are personal political beliefs affecting students in the classroom? National data has consistently shown that public school teachers tend to lean left politically, with a majority identifying with or supporting the Democratic Party. While that alone does not indicate bias in the classroom, it has raised concerns among many parents-particularly those aligned with the political movement surrounding Donald Trump-that the current political climate may be influencing how, and...

'Just shut up!': MAGA allies fed up with Trump's belligerence and war with Iran. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/just-shut-up-maga-allies-fed-up-with-trump-s-belligerence-and-war-with-iran/vi-AA20wRD8?ocid=socialshare#details

LAKE JACKSON, TX — After nearly nine days without a fully functioning toilet, the crew of NASA's Artemis II mission changed course from splashing down off the coast of California and instead headed straight for a Buc-ee's. Artemis pilot Victor Glover hit the throttle as a billboard "327 miles to Buc-ee's" flashed by, with the crew still crossing their legs uncomfortably. "I see the sign! 'Your throne awaits.' Hang in there, crew," Glover could be heard shouting over the communication channel as he prepared for touchdown. "Our cheeks are about to be sitting on the nicest toilets on this marble...

Canadian-Iranian former MP Goldie Ghamari says Ottawa police officers recommended she remove social media posts critical of the regime in Iran, warning of possible criminal consequences. Golsa "Goldie" Ghamari, a Canadian of Iranian descent who opposes the Islamic regime in Tehran, is exposing what she describes as strict policing by Canadian authorities regarding discourse on social media. In a post on X, Ghamari, a former member of the Ontario provincial parliament for the Conservative Party, said officers from the Ottawa Police contacted her and recommended she delete posts she had published. In those posts, she wrote that mosques in Iran,...

Wouldn't it be handy if we had a list of which software projects (and organizations) promote Woke or DEI politics? Now we do. With detailed receipts.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — This week marks the 25th anniversary of one of Arizona's most notorious unsolved crimes. On the morning of April 10, 2001, Scottsdale police responded to reports of an explosion at a home near 74th and Oak streets. Upon arrival, the bodies of Mary Fisher and her two children, Bobby and Brittney, were discovered in the burning residence. The three victims appeared to have sustained fatal injuries before the house fire. And the family's patriarch, Robert Fisher, was nowhere to be seen. Police later named Fisher as a suspect as investigators believed he rigged the family's home to...

For many, the rainbow crosswalk was a symbol of love, acceptance and solidarity for the [pro-homosexual] community. Now, just behind a green fence, there’s a rebirth -- five months after FDOT crews ripped up the pavers that made up the iconic crosswalk. The new version was unanimously approved by Miami Beach commissioners. Brick by brick, crews are rebuilding it near Ocean Drive and 12th Street

New high-resolution commercial satellite imagery shows Iran has further fortified the underground tunnel complex at its Isfahan nuclear facility. According to an analysis released yesterday (April 9, 2026) by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), images taken on April 8 reveal makeshift roadblocks and added physical barriers now installed directly in front of all three tunnel entrances. These include earth berms, debris, fencing, and other obstacles specifically designed to slow or prevent ground access. The entrances themselves were already completely buried with soil back in February. ISIS assesses this is not preparation to reopen the site for operations,...

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., criticized Democrats for what he described as their obsession with removing President Donald Trump from office, saying none of them "breathed a word about the 25th Amendment when they were lying every day to cover up for the dangerous infirmity of President Joe Biden." In a Friday press release, Johnson accused congressional Democrats of once again pursuing impeachment and other extraordinary measures against Trump, despite what he described as foreign policy successes, including a ceasefire agreement with Iran following decisive U.S. military action. "Congressional Democrats have no message, no vision, and no leadership," Johnson said,...

Rep. Brandon Gill is picking a public fight with fellow House Republicans over immigration, torching the DIGNIDAD Act as “mass amnesty” and daring its backers to say out loud what he says the bill does. “The Dignity Act is mass amnesty and would constitute a terrible betrayal of our voters,” Gill wrote on X, after GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, talked up renewed interest in the proposal. Gill then turned his fire directly at the bill’s supporters: “If your bill were so popular, you’d be straightforward about what it does. The DIGNIDAD Act provides mass amnesty...

A brave 89-year-old grandmother climbed from the 27th to the 21st floor on her building’s outer wall after accidentally locking herself in, shocking many people online. The woman in Beijing was spotted stuck outside a residential building’s 26th floor on an afternoon on April 1. A cleaner and a security guard heard her faint sounds from downstairs, looked up and saw her grabbing tightly to the rails that protect air conditioners on the outer wall. They immediately called the police and shouted to her to stay put and wait to be rescued. She continued climbing down when the firefighters were...

Despite President Donald Trump winning on the promise of “mass deportations,” a handful of spineless Republicans, alongside Democrats, are trying to push a mass amnesty act known as the DIGNIDAD Act — or, for English speakers, the DIGNITY Act. The legislation is billed as not being amnesty, but would give millions of illegal aliens — both so-called DREAMers/DACA and non-DREAMers/DACA — a legal status. But co-sponsor Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., insists it’s not amnesty, so much so that she’s screaming at people on X to “READ. THE. BILL. BEFORE. YOU. OPEN. YOUR. MOUTH.” So I read the bill. And...

British men Ali Mohammed Ali Abdullah, Hameed Mohammed Nagi, Ibrahim Ayyub Khan, and Mohammed Sultan Saleh were caught illegally sneaking into the U.S. in a remote part of Maine, per court records.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has just dealt a crushing blow to open-borders activists. The full Fifth Circuit REFUSED to grant en banc rehearing in the critical case Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi, locking in its earlier February 2026 panel ruling that upholds the Trump administration’s full authority to detain illegal aliens without bond hearings while their deportation proceedings move forward. [snip] Even long-term illegal residents who snuck in years ago get no automatic bond hearings to waltz back into American communities. This victory comes on the heels of similar wins, including the Eighth Circuit’s recent ruling siding...

The United States is said to be considering conducting limited ground operations in the Iran war. Among the potential operations reportedly under consideration are efforts to seize the islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, Larak, and Kharg in the Persian Gulf.There are serious questions surrounding the feasibility of these potential actions. But like with the air war, even if ground operations succeed tactically, it is highly unlikely they will bring about the strategic effects the administration seeks. Limited ground operations are unlikely to compel the Iranian regime to agree to an immediate ceasefire or an initial...

If your country was in ruins and I asked you to take a stranger fleeing war into your home, knowing it might make your building a target for missiles, would you agree? I guess if you are comfortably sitting in a safe place far away and it is a hypothetical question, you will say yes, maybe talk about being a humanitarian and how life is about taking a stand. Yet, if it is not hypothetical and you are in Lebanon facing real risk, your instinct will be to refuse. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. It is called survival....

"A man fatally shot a central California sheriff’s deputy Thursday morning as he was being served an eviction notice, prompting a standoff that ended with authorities fatally running him over with a vehicle after he fled the home."