Free Republic

Today, there are important updates from the Russian Federation. Here, Russia is facing a new separatist challenge from within, as armed Karelian activists have declared their intention to fight Moscow and pursue independence for Karelia, the northern region bordering Finland. Calling themselves the Northern Brotherhood, masked men carrying weapons have appeared in videos announcing preparations for partisan resistance against Russian authorities. The organization claims to defend people of Finnic origin and is recruiting supporters for information campaigns, underground activities, and armed operations. Although its membership and capabilities inside Russia remain unverified, its emergence highlights a vulnerability for the Russian government,...

Medicare for All, debt-free college and lower everyday costs are among the priorities Oregon's two U.S. senators hope to advance as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley see the election results as a major opportunity, but also as a test of whether Democrats can deliver on their promises. Both have ambitious agendas, though passing legislation in a divided Washington could prove challenging. "My agenda is gonna be affordability for us and accountability for Republicans and special interests," Wyden said. Merkley echoed that focus, saying Democrats need to show voters they can make a...

US President Donald Trump said Ukraine would likely emerge from the war with Russia in a "little bit different shape," without specifying what changes he expected to the country's territory or borders. In an interview with CBS News' 60 Minutes, Trump was asked whether he expected the war to end with Ukraine remaining free and independent. "I think we're going to have it done, and I think it's going to happen, and they're going to end up with a little bit different shape [for] Ukraine," he replied.…..

Manufacturing Consensus: The DSA and the "Genocide" Buzzword StrategyThe Echo Chamber of Atrosploitation: How the DSA’s Robotic "Genocide" Script Replaces Facts with FatigueLike a ritual...The Democratic Socialists of America's (DSA) uniform messaging, the strict, daily repetition of the word "genocide" [on the Gaza GenoLIE] is not a conclusion drawn from impartial legal investigation, but a calculated rhetorical tool designed to turn a twisted radical geopolitical stance into an unexamined public default.The Mechanics of Coordinated FramingThe DSA’s national management operates like a synchronized media apparatus, distributing specific scripts to chapters, local branches, and endorsed politicians. This strategic repetition relies on specific...

Republicans in the US ​House of Representatives ‌banded together on Tuesday to ​derail an effort ​to impeach Defense ⁠Secretary Pete Hegseth. The ​chamber voted 211 ​to 204 in favor of a motion ​to refer ​the impeachment charges to the ‌Republican-led ⁠House Judiciary Committee, effectively stopping the effort to ​impeach ​Hegseth ⁠sponsored by Kentucky Republican ​Representative Thomas ​Massie.

As soon as this year’s winners are sworn in, roughly 75% of all Americans will have Democratic governors — a shakeup that reflects the party’s dominance in the nation’s most populous states and could have a seismic impact on everything from redistricting and the Electoral College to health care and tax policies, education funding and more. In total, at least 28 states will now have Democratic governors. It will be 29 if Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher wins the still-uncalled race in Kansas — extending for a third term the party’s governorship of a state that votes reliably red in...

Among the myths that exploded in the midterm elections is that Republicans could gerrymander their way to House control, and that the Supreme Court tried to help them. The GOP was dumb, and Democrats owe the Justices another apology.The magnitude of the GOP gerrymander bungle is coming into clearer view as more close races are called. President Trump started the self-defeating fiasco, as he so often does, by demanding that Texas Republicans use their then towering majorities to redraw House districts to gain five more seats. Democrats responded by redrawing California districts to create five more for Democrats. The result?...

Senate Republicans reelected Sen. John Thune as their leader on Tuesday, staying the course as they prepare to enter the minority after the party's brutal midterm losses, which saw at least seven Senate seats fall to the Democrats. Senate Republicans backed Thune for another two years as leader by acclamation, or without opposition, after meeting behind closed doors in the Old Senate Chamber for much of the day. Thune, 65, is a South Dakota Republican who was first elected leader after the 2024 elections. He's been in the Senate since 2005 and took the helm two decades later, after working...

sportified@sportified25A strike team of undercover operatives broke into a nondescript commercial warehouse in an industrial district of southern Tehran with high-heat blowtorches, slicing through thirty-two massive steel safes in complete darkness, loading half a ton of top-secret blueprints, test videos, and nuclear warhead schematics onto ordinary delivery trucks and smuggling them out of the country before the morning guards arrived.The reason might surprise you.Following the signing of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA), Iranian authorities faced a critical dilemma:To satisfy international inspectors from the IAEA while preserving the core engineering knowledge of their covert nuclear weapons initiative, Project Amad, officials...

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) has not conceded her reelection bid in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District as Democratic challenger Eileen Laubacher maintains a narrow lead, with thousands of ballots potentially remaining uncounted and the Associated Press (AP) yet to call the race. According to AP’s election results, updated Monday at 8:14 p.m., Laubacher received 186,199 votes, or 48.8 percent, compared to Boebert’s 182,847 votes, or 47.9 percent. Libertarian candidate Douglas Mangeris received 12,615 votes, or 3.3 percent.

On Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski welcomed Maine’s new Democratic Senator-elect Troy Jackson with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for family. He finally ended the career of Sen. Susan Collins, oh joy! She teased his appearance by telling viewers that she was "excited about this. I really like Troy. I can't wait to meet him."She told Jackson: "You know, I've had the honor of seeing the beauty of the great state of Maine and the people of Maine for 59 years, visiting every year, and I lo- [love], I wish that could be home, consider it home."Q. Given that Mika...

[Catholic Caucus] BREAKING: Archbishop Héctor Aguer, staunch defender of Latin Mass, dies at 83 Aguer spoke boldly about the truths of the faith and the state of the Church, and recently called for an end to Traditionis Custodes.Argentine Archbishop Héctor Aguer, an orthodox prelate and ardent supporter of the Traditional Latin Mass, died on Tuesday at the age of 83.The Archdiocese of La Plata confirmed early afternoon Tuesday that its former head, Héctor Aguer, passed away. “With deep regret, but with the hope placed in the Risen Christ, we communicate to all the People of God who are the pilgrimage...

Divided House Republicans elected Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio to be their leader on Tuesday, elevating a pugilistic firebrand who has been a close ally of President Trump as they reel from a crushing defeat in the midterm elections. Mr. Jordan, the current chairman of the Judiciary Committee, will replace Speaker Mike Johnson next year, when Republicans are relegated to the minority and effectively shut out of power. He will inherit a fractious and diminished conference that was already plagued by bitter infighting before it lost control of the House. Mr. Jordan, 62, who was elected in a closed-door party...

Australian gun owners are handing over their firearms in a “buyback” that commenced Monday, according to media reports. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans for a mass confiscation of firearms from law-abiding gun owners days after the December 2025 attack at Bondi Beach carried out by people associated with the radical Islamic terrorist group calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns claimed the effort would make the Australian state safer, according to 7 News. “These laws will save lives,” Minns claimed as the state began the “buyback” after passing a law...

US Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed refutes claims that he’s already planning a 2028 run for higher office.

‘Young people want the Latin Mass’ banner displayed as Pope Leo’s motorcade passes Young Catholics held a banner and a sign promoting the traditional Mass during Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic visit to Argentina.A group of young Catholics held a large white banner reading “Young People Want the Latin Mass” as Pope Leo XIV’s popemobile passed through the streets of Buenos Aires during his apostolic visit to Argentina on Monday.The banner, which has gone viral across social media, was on full display on November 9, the second day of the pope’s apostolic visit. A separate video posted on X apparently shows...

House Democrats now have won at least 254 seats, and while some race results are still being counted, they estimate they’ll end up with a majority close to 260. “This is the largest majority that any party has had this century,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) said on X. “News of our demise was greatly exaggerated.”

Alina Habba Mildon, one of President Trump’s former lawyers, was fired last week by the family company that gave her a $50 million contract weeks before Mr. Trump granted a pardon to the family’s patriarch. In a letter dated Nov. 4, the company, Concord Partners, terminated Mrs. Mildon citing a “failure to perform duties,” according to a person close to the family and documents obtained by The New York Times. The person said Mrs. Mildon’s priorities appeared to shift away from Concord after she started dating Turhan Mildon, a 25-year-old Turkish investor, earlier this year. The firing came days after...

The costs of goods and services rose more than expected in October, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report published Tuesday by the Labor Department. The headline CPI rose 0.4 percent month-over-month, more than the 0.3 percent expected by economists. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, rose 0.3 percent for the third consecutive month. The report comes as the Federal Reserve considers its next interest-rate move. Speaking Tuesday morning ahead of the CPI release, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said a hot inflation reading could push him toward advocating for a half-point increase in December. Analysts now expect at least...

A former Stoughton, Massachusetts, police detective was convicted Tuesday of murdering a pregnant woman, Sandra Birchmore, to keep her from revealing that he had sexually abused her when she was 15. Matthew Farwell, 40, of Easton, was found guilty of strangling Birchmore on Feb. 1, 2021 - 12 days after a tipster called the suburban Boston police department where he worked and reported that they'd had an improper relationship. Birchmore, who was 23 when she died, had been in a tumultuous relationship with the detective, whom she first met while participating in a Stoughton Police Department youth program as a...