Free Republic

Judith and Natalie Raanan. According to Israeli officials, Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hamas released two American hostages Friday afternoon for "humanitarian" purposes after kidnapping and holding them in the Gaza Strip for nearly two weeks. The release of Natalie and Judith Raanan, a mother and daughter from Illinois, was reportedly negotiated by Qatar – a major non-NATO U.S. ally under heavy scrutiny for harboring Hamas leaders who live in luxury in the capitol of Doha. "Today, we have secured the release of two Americans taken hostage by Hamas during the horrific terrorist assault against Israel on October 7. Our fellow...

"Are African leaders now ignoring Washington DC and its endless wars? Are they now sensing a new world of opportunities based on development and cooperation? Or are they sheep being led to the slaughterhouse? Putin is also scoring big on global diplomacy. Meetings with Africa, followed by Xi Jinping’s 3-day visit!"

Biden admin announces the release of another 45 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The Cardinal Marx CharadeIt speaks to the hollowness of “reform” in the Church. Pope Francis recently rejected a preening offer of resignation by German Cardinal Reinhard Marx.It is hard to say which gesture was phonier: the offer or the refusal.Intended as proof of the Church’s commitment to “reform,” this exchange between Pope Francis and Cardinal Marx only exposes its hollowness. The faithful have grown weary of these exercises in manipulative public relations. They hear windy talk about “accountability,” even as those responsible for the abuse scandal remain in power.Marx is a beneficiary of a papal double standard: strictness for conservatives,...

Cardinal Marx: Pope Francis’ resignation decision a ‘great challenge’Cardinal Reinhard Marx said Thursday that Pope Francis’ decision not to accept his resignation as Catholic archbishop of Munich and Freising is a “great challenge.”Marx made the comment June 10, hours after the Vatican published a letter from the pope asking the 67-year-old cardinal to remain in charge of the archdiocese in southern Germany.“I find the pope’s decision to be a great challenge. After that, simply going back to the agenda cannot be the way for me and also not for the archdiocese,” he said in a statement on the archdiocese’s website.CNA...

Read: Letter from Pope Francis rejecting Cardinal Marx's resignationDear brother,First of all thank you for your courage. It is a Christian courage that does not fear the cross, it does not fear annihilating itself before the tremendous reality of sin. This is what the Lord did (Phil 2. 5-8). It is a grace that the Lord has given you and I see that you want to assume and guard it so that it bears fruit. Thanks.You tell me that you are going through a moment of crisis, and not only you but also the Church in Germany is experiencing it....

Late last month, a 2001 Odyssey-like monolith appeared in the Utah desert. Not long after, another identical-looking structure appeared in Romania. They've both since vanished (men were photographed dismantling the Utah monolith). Now, yet another monolith has been discovered, this time in California.

[Catholic Caucus] Papal Baptism of the Conjoined Twins Was a Blessing — and a Puzzle COMMENTARY: The fact that the 2-year-old girls were not baptized earlier, by someone else, suggests an inexplicable pastoral failure to heed Pope Francis’ stress on the supreme importance of the sacrament. A pastoral puzzle remains. How is it that the pastors, chaplains, doctors and nurses caring for the Bangalo twins in Bangui and in Rome did not see to it that the girls were baptized long before they turned 2 years old? No child in good health should have a baptism delayed for that length...

Sports Illustrated has introduced its next slate of finalist models for its upcoming swimsuit issue, and a plus-sized model, a 56-year-old model, and a bald fitness trainer will be among them. The magazine introduced the six finalists that the magazine touted as its most diverse ever. The finalists were winnowed down from seventeen hopefuls unveiled last October, the Daily Mail reported. Before this year’s winner is announced, the magazine is set to send the finalists to a photo-shoot conducted in the Turks & Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory southeast of the Bahamas. The finalists include Philadelphia native Christie Valdiserri,...

Be warned there is a new Democrat Social Media bot PR lie the Fascist are trying out today. They are recycling the seminar caller PR tactics from the Clinton years. It goes something like this "I am a life long Republican who voted for every GOP candidate since 19??. I am heart broken today that the GOP is covering up for a President who clearly broke the law...." Once again the Democrat Fascist party will simply continue lying. It is like a zombie movie. They will never stop until you destroy them politically. Until you fire these people in Nov...

Moscow, April 16, Interfax - The Russian Culture Minister will encourage Russian museums and citizens to arrange a fundraiser to help rebuild the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris that has been devastated by a fire, the director of the ministry's museums department, Vladislav Kononov told Interfax on Tuesday. "We will invite museums and all citizens who are not indifferent to what happened to organize a fundraiser to support the restoration, the rebuilding of Notre-Dame de Paris. I think it will be right. We will hold consultations with our museum institutions, and I think that they will support such an initiative....

Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old pulled out of a Texas school in handcuffs after a digital clock he built was mistaken for a bomb, withdrew from MacArthur High in Irving, Texas — or, rather, his father withdrew for him while he was in California visiting Google, according to a Texas newspaper. The family is headed to the United Nations and then, possibly, Saudi Arabia.

The King and Queen of Hollywood are set to meet another titled leader – the Pope, reports Us Weekly. The couple will reportedly visit the Vatican early this month for a “VIP meet-and-greet” with Pope Francis. Pitt grew up Baptist but told the Hollywood Reporter in 2012, “I don’t have a great relationship with religion. I oscillate between agnosticism and atheism.” But a friend tells the magazine that the glamorous couple “admire the Pope” and like his message of tolerance and non-judgement. In 2013 talking about homosexuality the Pope famously said, “If someone is gay and he searches for the...

Love her or hate her, co-star Oprah Winfrey and her big media blitz helped open the pic even if it did little to help her public image by providing more dirt for her detractors. Yet a survey by Fandango found that 72% of Butler ticket-buyers claimed Oprah’s involvement increased their interest in seeing the film which was her first movie role in 15 years. But The Butler still trailed the opening weekend grosses of two recent and similarly race- and civil rights-themed adult pics: 42 and The Help. No one, and certainly not The Weinstein Company, expected director Lee Daniels’...

For the first time in its 27-year history, a prestigious award for enhancing the global food supply has gone to a creator of genetically modified crops, a top scientist at Monsanto. The choice is likely to add more heat to an intense debate about the role biotechnology can play in combating world hunger. Robert T. Fraley, Monsanto’s executive vice president and chief technology officer, will share the $250,000 World Food Prize with two other scientists who helped devise how to insert foreign genes into plants: Marc Van Montagu of Belgium and Mary-Dell Chilton of the United States. The announcement was...

I’ll say this much: At least in this example it’s her own kid instead of a room full of other people’s children (and I’m assuming the audience watching the segment at the time consisted of fewer people than the average kindergarten classroom). From The Blaze: Regardless of where you stand on the issue of gay marriage, few will likely agree with MSNBC host Krystal Ball’s decision to use her young daughter to promote gay marriage during a segment titled “Political Playground” on Thursday. “What if you were in love with a girl? Would you marry a girl?” Balls asks her...

01-12-2011 18:45 'China’s 1st stealth fighter is product of Xi Jinping' China intentionally made public a test flight of the J-20, its first fifth-generation stealth fighter, through the media, Tuesday, in a strategy orchestrated by Vice President Xi Jinping, reports said Wednesday. Andrei Chang, editor of the Canadian-based Kanwa Asian Defense Monthly magazine, said Tuesday that the J-20’s test flight was just like an episode of a television drama, and this was controlled by Vice President Xi, according to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post. A senior U.S. defense official said President Hu Jintao and other top civilians apparently were...

Michelle Obama joined an American festive tradition when she fielded calls to a Santa-tracking switchboard last night. The North American Aerospace Command (NORAD) has been tracking Santa's Christmas Eve travels for 55 years but this is the first time an American First Lady has joined in the fun. A telephone link from Hawaii, where the Obamas are spending Christmas break, to NORAD, the joint U.S.-Canada command that monitors the North American skies from a control centre in Colorado Springs, allowed Mrs Obama to speak to excited American children keen to know Santa's whereabouts. The White House said Mrs Obama took...

He's been pictured shooting a whale, riding a Harley Davidson and flying a fighter jet. But Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin's latest photo opportunity shows his slightly more environmentally caring caring side. The former KGB man closed his eyes as he lowered his head to gently nuzzle the horse he had just been riding across the Siberian wilderness. Horsing around: Vladimir Putin cuddles his horse during an expedition to monitor the habitat of snow leopards Putin had been fighting the elements, again, as he trekked across the Siberian wilderness to check the endangered snow leopard's natural habitat. The route was...

ABC News' Kate Snow reports: ABC News has learned that Leeland Eisenberg -- the man accused of holding hostages at Hillary Clinton's Rochester, N.H., campaign office for six hours on Friday -- allegedly cited one of Clinton's campaign commercials when police say he entered the office and claimed to have a pipe bomb strapped to his chest. According to sources, the campaign office intruder was complaining about insurance issues and mentioned a recent campaign ad widely seen by New Hampshire voters. "She helped that guy, she can help me," Eisenberg allegedly told Clinton campaign staffers, referring to Joe Ward, a...