Free Republic

Aseismic shift has occurred in the Trump administration’s new defense spending plan that is just emerging when it comes to the USAF’s airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) predicament. The service’s E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft are dwindling in number and rapidly aging into unsupportability. The proven and in-production E-7 Wedgetail, based on the Boeing 737 and serving with multiple allies, was supposed to bridge the gap between the E-3’s retirement and pushing the sending part of the mission to space-based distributed satellite constellations. You can read all about this here. Now, if the administration gets...

"No Kings" rallies will be held in cities across the country to protest President Donald Trump and his policies on his birthday, June 14. Why It Matters The 50501 Movement (50 protests, 50 states, one movement) and other groups are protesting a military parade scheduled to take place in the nation's capital on June 14, coinciding with Trump's 79th birthday, the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary, and Flag Day. 'No Kings' Anti-Trump Protest Locations on June 14 Multiple protests are being held in various cities in each state, but no events are being planned for Washington, D.C. Organizers say that a...

Deadhorse, Alaska It’s unusual to find a cabinet-level official—much less three—standing on a makeshift platform amid barren permafrost, enduring “balmy” 20-degree weather, 4,650 miles by road from the White House. It’s a show of commitment to an overlooked yet central theme of this Trump administration—setting free the private economy. That plank of the Trump agenda has been eclipsed by drama over tariffs and the Republican tax bill, though it is economically as important and moving far faster. Leading it are Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. Joe Biden instituted a “whole...

Fr. Alphonsus Afina, who served as a priest for many years in the Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks, has been captured by the militant Islamist terrorist group – Boko Haram – in his home Diocese of Maiduguri, Nigeria. A social media alert sent on June 2 by Fairbanks Bishop Steven Maekawa called on parishioners to join him for a special Mass on June 3 to pray for Fr. Afina. “I ask for your urgent prayers for Fr. Alphonsus Afina,” Bishop Maekawa stated. “As many of you know, Fr. Alphonsus served in our diocese for six and half years and returned to...

If fire departments on land have problems unleashing the torrent of water needed to extinguish a single burning EV, the crew of a ship doesn't stand a chance against hundreds of flaming lithium-ion batteries. A cargo ship carrying around 3,000 vehicles across the Pacific Ocean caught fire on Tuesday. The Morning Midas, a 600-foot cargo ship, was in the middle of a voyage from Yantai, China to Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico when the fire broke out. Zodiac Maritime, the ship's London-based operator, noted that smoke was first spotted on a deck carrying 800 electric vehicles. Once the blaze got out of...

With the Trump administration back in the White House, America has an opportunity to restore commonsense energy and manufacturing policies after years of radical environmental overreach. One of the most glaring examples of this overreach is the electric vehicle (EV) push -- a movement championed by progressive elites that, under the guise of sustainability, threatens to undermine national security, weaken domestic industry, and entangle our economy further with the Chinese Communist Party.The EV revolution is not a grassroots innovation born out of market demand. It is a politically engineered shift, heavily subsidized by taxpayer dollars and driven by mandates from...

A cargo ship carrying 3,000 cars, including 800 electric vehicles, caught fire off the coast of Alaska and continues to burn. The Coast Guard says that all 22 crew members escaped the ship and were picked up by two nearby freighters. The ship, a Liberian-registered car-carrier named "Morning Midas," was on its way to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico, from Yantai, China.. ... the Coast Guard is going to let the ship burn, since trying to put out a lithium-ion fire is nearly futile. ... In 2022, the Felicity Ace, a car carrier slightly larger than Morning Midas, sank in the Atlantic...

The crew of a cargo ship carrying 3,000 vehicles to Mexico, including 800 electric vehicles, abandoned ship after they could not control a fire in waters off Alaska's Aleutian island chain. Smoke was initially seen coming from the deck loaded with electric vehicles Tuesday, according to a Wednesday statement from the ship’s management company, London-based Zodiac Maritime. There were no reported injuries among the 22 crew members of the Morning Midas.

The proposal is regarding 13 million acres of government-owned Arctic land that is part of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.. The Interior Department on Monday proposed the restoration of oil and gas drilling in the Arctic after it had previously been restricted by the Biden administration. The proposal is regarding 13 million acres of government-owned Arctic land that is part of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, which is a total area of 23 million acres that former President Warren G. Harding set aside in 1923 as an emergency supply of oil for the Navy. The Naval Petroleum Reserves...

Is it going to blow — or blow over? Seismic activity levels on Alaska’s Mount Spurr soared to March levels earlier this week, sparking fear that an eruption could be on the horizon. “Earthquake activity beneath Mount Spurr remains elevated,” the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) warned in a May 28 report. “Following a steady decline from late March through April, shallow earthquake activity has increased in the past two weeks to March levels of about 100 events per week.” And while the advisory assured that the “likelihood of an eruption continues to gradually decline,” the 11,000-foot volcano remains at an...

A criminal defense attorney with a 'methamphetamine addiction' has been arrested for allegedly working for a murderous drug trafficking gang. Justin Facey, 44, boasted about his role as the go-to attorney for the violent criminal organization that would smuggle hard drugs from Mexico to Alaska, federal prosecutors have claimed in shocking court documents. The Anchorage criminal defense attorney was indicted on charges of maintaining a drug-involved premises and possessing firearms in connection with drug trafficking. Facey, who allegedly coerced sex acts from minors and clients of his legal service, told colleagues that cartel members 'literally threw a duffle bag from...

Alaska’s indigenous women and their unborn babies are increasingly vulnerable to abortion, according to the latest comprehensive data from the state. For decades, the abortion industry and its allies have worked to make the killing of pre-born babies more palatable among Alaska Native communities. Well-funded leftist groups like Planned Parenthood, Native Movement and others now employ activist tactics and community organizing to increase abortion accessibility and change cultural perceptions, especially among the youth. Last year, a total of 1,224 unborn babies were killed in Alaska through abortion, up slightly from 1,222 the year before. While the annual total has remained...

Rep. Abe Hamadeh said ranked-choice voting is pushed by corporate interests and confuses voters.. Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., is joining forces with a fellow freshman lawmaker to renew efforts in Congress to outlaw ranked-choice voting nationwide. Hamadeh and Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, recently introduced the Preventing Ranked Choice Corruption Act that would amend the Help America Vote Act to ban ranked-choice voting. The bill pairs Begich, whose state uses ranked-choice voting, with Hamadeh, whose state has chronically dealt with issues of election integrity, and voter trust in ballot counting. "Ranked-choice voting destroys 'one person, one vote' in our country and...

The Democrat and RINO effort to blow up Trump’s global tariffs suffered an embarrassing failure in the Senate this evening after two senators failed to vote. As The Gateway Pundit reported, Senator Rand Paul (RINO-KY) had sponsored a resolution that would have terminated ALL of Trump’s tariffs, including those on America’s top adversary, China. The vote deadlocked 49-49, meaning it failed by one vote. But there were three Republicans who voted to stab Trump in the back and end the global tariffs: Rand Paul of Kentucky Susan Collins of Maine Lisa Murkowski of Alaska Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Senator...

A former opinion page editor of the New York Times broke down in tears and apologized to Sarah Palin while testifying in court over a 2017 editorial that she says was defamatory. James Bennet testified on Thursday that he “blew it” when he falsely claimed in the editorial that the former Alaska governor’s political action committee had contributed to an atmosphere of violence in the weeks and months leading up to the 2011 assassination attempt on then-Congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.). The Times has acknowledged the editorial was inaccurate but said it quickly corrected the “honest mistake.” Bennet got choked up...

Establishment anti-Trump Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said she is “anxious” about using her voice, claiming that “we are all afraid” because “retaliation is real.”When asked what she would say to people who are afraid or who represent people who are afraid, Murkowski took on an incredibly somber tone. “We are all afraid,” she said, pausing dramatically. “It’s quite a statement.”“But we are. … We’re in a time and a place where I don’t know, I certainly have not — I have not been here before,” she said.“And I’ll tell you I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice...

A single Republican senator — Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) — voted against the nomination of Harmeet Dhillon to serve as assistant attorney general, veering away from the rest of her GOP colleagues who voted in favor. After her nomination in December, lawmakers finally held a formal vote Thursday and Dhillon was approved in a 52-45 vote. However, Murkowski opposed the nomination and sided with Democrats. President Donald Trump announced in December the nomination of Dhillon to work as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. “Throughout her career, Harmeet has stood up consistently to protect our...

Some leaders of the many sprawling agencies and centers that make up the Department of Health and Human Services have been given a choice: Move out of DC or resign. HHS began executing 10,000 layoffs as part of a massive restructuring of the department’s convoluted organization chart on Tuesday, according to several news reports. Thomas Nagy, deputy assistant secretary for human resources at HHS, began sending layoff notices in the early morning, immediately placing thousands of employees on administrative leave. But some bureaucrats in leadership roles, including senior executive service members, were offered a deal: They could be retained in...

Taxpayer-funded abortion is increasing at the state level as pro-abortion lawmakers work to expand abortion since the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Federally, the Hyde Amendment prohibits most taxpayer funding of abortion, allowing funding only in cases of rape, incest, or when the physician determines the pregnant mother’s life is at risk. But while the Hyde Amendment prevents most abortions from being paid for by federal tax dollars, each state can determine its own taxpayer funding for abortion. According to the pro-abortion organization KFF.org (The Kaiser Family Foundation), “There is tremendous variability in how much states reimburse for abortion services...

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal judge in Alaska on Tuesday ruled the Biden administration lacked the authority to cancel seven oil and gas leases that had been issued for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason said terms of a 2017 tax law that set the stage for the first-ever lease sale in the refuge’s coastal plain in early 2021 suggested that leases could only be canceled by a court order. She sent the matter back to the Department of Interior for further action. President Donald Trump upon his return to office in January signed...