Free Republic

The artificial intelligence boom may not be as real as it seems. That's according to Pat Gelsinger, former CEO at Intel (INTC), who said the biggest players in AI are now funding their own growth. "The quality of that revenue that they're committing in the future simply isn't as good, right? Because essentially I'm buying my own future revenue. Because rather than you putting your capital at risk, I'm putting my capital at risk. Deals, investments, and credits are ricocheting between Microsoft (MSFT), OpenAI (OPAI.PVT), Google (GOOGL, GOOG), Anthropic (ANTH.PVT), and Amazon (AMZN), forming what Gelsinger calls "circular financing." The...

The girl Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers say they rescued from two kidnappers told her sister before the incident that she was being followed and that someone AirDropped to her a photo of a gun pointed at the house where she was staying, court documents say. The Wyoming Highway Patrol on Nov. 29 arrested two men who were traveling with a 16-year-old girl, on claims the two men were kidnapping her from her home in Wisconsin. They struggled with cellphone pings in the sparse state and resorted ultimately to scouring the state’s roadways until they found the girl, the agency said...

DeSantis designates CAIR, Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist entities. Florida Governor designates CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations, directing agencies to block support and prevent unlawful activities.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons sent a letter to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul calling on him to put the safety of Americans first and honor ICE arrest detainers of the more than 4,000 criminal illegal aliens in the state’s custody including murderers, sexual predators, and those convicted of or charged with weapons offenses. Illinois' failure to honor ICE detainers has resulted in the release of 1,768 criminal illegal aliens since January 20. The crimes of these aliens include 5 homicides, 141 assaults, 23 burglaries, 4 robberies, 24 dangerous drugs offenses, 15 weapons offenses, and 10...

~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: U. S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center, MassachusettsNatick Soldier Systems Center is a military research complex and installation in Natick, Massachusetts charged by the U.S. Department of Defense with the research and development (including fielding and sustainment) of food, clothing, shelters, airdrop systems, and other servicemember support items for the U.S. military. The installation includes facilities from all the military services, not just the Army, and is so configured to allow cross-service cooperation and collaboration both within the facility and with the many academic, industrial and governmental institutions in the Greater Boston Area.The...

The Church of England is to launch a poster campaign aimed at challenging the anti-migrant message of Tommy Robinson, whose “Unite the Kingdom” movement has urged its supporters to join a carols event next weekend to “put the Christ back into Christmas”. The posters, which will go on display at bus stops, say “Christ has always been in Christmas” and “Outsiders welcome”. They will also be available for local churches to download and display over the festive period. ... The Rev Arun Arora, bishop of Kirkstall and co-lead bishop on racial justice for the C of E, said: “We must...

Donald Trump voiced concern about the current political track taken by EU countriesWASHINGTON, December 9. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump criticized the fine imposed by the European Commission on X and warned that Europe is "moving in some bad directions." Asked about the fine at a meeting with representatives of the agricultural industry at the White House, Trump called Brussels' decision "nasty" and added: "I don't think it's right. Europe has to be very careful." He voiced concern about the current political track taken by EU countries. "We want to keep Europe Europe. Europe is going in some bad directions....

A deal to release up to £100 billion of frozen Russian assets in Europe to aid Ukraine is just days away, Sir Keir Starmer believes, as he said negotiations to end the war had reached a “critical stage”. The prime minister held talks with President Zelensky on Monday, along with his French and German counterparts, to discuss the latest US peace proposals. The four men also discussed European efforts to free up the funds, which are frozen in European bank accounts — either to fund Ukraine’s continuing war effort or to pay for the reconstruction of the country in the...

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is releasing hundreds of inmates from state prison, including convicted murderers, in his last days in office.

On Sunday, December 7, US lawmakers unveiled the final text of the defense policy bill, which includes record funding for national security as well as aid for Ukraine, according to Reuters, Fox News, and AOL.Media reports state that the bill allocates $901 billion for military spending for fiscal year 2026-$8 billion more than what President Donald Trump requested in May of this year.The legislation also assists Ukraine.“The legislation reauthorizes the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative at $400 million per year for fiscal years 2026 and 2027,” Fox News reports.Additionally, the US Congress will require more frequent reporting on allied contributions to...

Superior Court Judge Mandy Tovar surprised herself, and a Santa Cruz courtroom, when she became emotional Thursday as she explained her decision to grant diversion to a UC Santa Cruz student protester who faces charges of remaining at a riot and resisting an officer.

Tina Peters will remain in state prison during appeal, federal judge rejects bid for release by: Colleen Slevin, Associated PressPosted: Dec 8, 2025 (AP) — A federal magistrate judge on Monday rejected a bid by a former Colorado county clerk to be released from prison while she appeals her state conviction for orchestrating a data breach scheme driven by false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race. Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters filed a federal lawsuit asking that she be released on bond while her appeal is considered. Attorneys for the state had argued the case...

France has refused to reveal the whereabouts of €18bn in frozen Russian assets in discussions over the European Union’s future funding for Ukraine.The majority of the cash is being held by commercial banks, which Paris has argued should be protected from the €140bn “reparations loan” for Kyiv.Despite publicly backing a scheme which envisages using frozen Russian assets in Europe to guarantee a loan to Kyiv, France has emerged as a potential blocker by refusing to allow private, commercial banks from being plundered to aid Ukraine, according to reporting by The Financial Times.EU member states are caught up in fractious talks...

Colin Allred is dropping out of the 2026 U.S. Senate race in Texas to instead run for the U.S. House, saying that staying in the Senate race would hurt the Democratic Party’s chances of winning against one of President Donald Trump’s “bootlickers.” “In the past few days, I’ve come to believe that a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers Paxton, Cornyn, or Hunt,” Allred said Monday in a statement....

For months, the Trump administration has been accusing its political enemies of mortgage fraud for claiming more than one primary residence. President Donald Trump branded one foe who did so “deceitful and potentially criminal.” He called another “CROOKED” on Truth Social and pushed the attorney general to take action. But years earlier, Trump did the very thing he’s accusing his enemies of, records show. In 1993, Trump signed a mortgage for a “Bermuda style” home in Palm Beach, Florida, pledging that it would be his principal residence. Just seven weeks later, he got another mortgage for a seven-bedroom, marble-floored neighboring...

Sheriff Grady Judd Press Conference Eight teens from PA here in Polk to compete in football tournament arrested for felony retail theft at Posner Park Media Contact: Juliana Rivera, PIO The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has arrested eight teenagers who were caught in the act of conspiring to steal more than $2,000 worth of merchandise from Dick’s Sporting Goods in Posner Plaza, Davenport. Click here to see the news conference: https://youtu.be/U9sCasgpfOU On Saturday, December 6, 2025, at approximately 10:55 a.m., PCSO deputies responded to a report of retail theft in progress at the Dick’s Sporting Goods. The store manager contacted...

Ukraine will not surrender territory, President Volodymyr Zelensky declared Monday, rejecting a central Russian demand that President Donald Trump had incorporated into his latest proposal to end the Kremlin’s war. “Under our laws, under international law — and under moral law — we have no right to give anything away,” Zelensky said, after meeting with top European leaders to discuss Trump’s plan Monday. “That is what we are fighting for.” The unequivocal declaration that Ukraine will not surrender land could mark the collapse of Trump’s plan, which critics condemned as fulfilling a wish list of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelensky,...

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the proposed $72 billion merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery "could be a problem" because of the amount of market share the resulting company would have. The value of the deal balloons to more than $82 billion when debt is accounted for. Netflix said Friday it would purchase Warner Bros. Discovery's film studio, HBO and the streaming service HBO Max. If the deal is approved, Netflix would also get access to decades of films and shows in the Warner Bros. Pictures archive. The deal would not include cable networks owned by Warner Bros....

Joe Biden and the Democrats drove beef inflation to about six percent a year—more than twice the rate during the Trump years. There were many reasons why. Biden’s Green New Deal policies drove up the cost of fuel, feed, and fertilizer. His “eat soy” range war against ranchers restricted access to grazing lands. His drunken-sailor spending fueled historic food-price inflation. But all of these drivers were amplified — and exploited — by extreme market concentration in the beef industry. The Big Beef Four — Cargill, JBS (Brazil), Tyson Foods, and National Beef — control 80 to 85 percent of U.S....

Country singer John Rich recounts a private dinner with the president, where Trump questioned why people at his rallies were booing vaccines, and how Sen. Lindsey Graham responded to his answer, during a Tomi Lahren interview.JOHN RICH: Being a conservative is not an interchangeable word with being a Republican. They are two different things, they really are. I mean, Lindsey Graham is not a conservative. Oh, I can't stand him. He's a warmonger. He's one of the most disgusting people I have ever had the displeasure of sitting across a table from. He called me a conspiracy theorist in front...