Free Republic

"Part of the reason why US President Donald Trump dismissed National Security Adviser Michael Waltz was due to behind-the-scenes coordination with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on possible military action against Iran, without the president’s full knowledge or approval, The Washington Post reported on Saturday. According to the report, which cited multiple senior administration officials, tensions between Waltz and Trump had been mounting for weeks. Waltz allegedly worked closely with Netanyahu to prepare military options in advance of a February Oval Office meeting — a move he reportedly made without informing the president. ..."

How the Church’s Enemies Have Exploited Mistaken Views of Heresy to Essentially Guarantee Another Heretical Claimant to the PapacyDays away from the conclave to elect Francis’s successor, serious Catholics fear that it would take a miracle for the white smoke to signal the election of a pope who is Catholic. We offer our prayers and sacrifices for the most favorable outcome, but as we study the list of those cardinals most likely to receive serious consideration, it is evident that very few of them would have been recognized as Catholic by Pope Pius XII or any of his predecessors.Some sincere...

...scientists have uncovered a hidden feature underneath a medieval castle in Milan, Italy, that researchers once could only speculate about based on a sketch of Leonardo's from around 1495 and references in other historical sources — underground passageways that were likely intended for soldiers to use in the event that the castle's defenses had been breached.The discovery, which the Politecnico di Milano announced in January, came about through a series of surveys that aimed to digitize the 15th century Sforza Castle's underground structures through nondestructive methods such as ground-penetrating radar and laser scanning...Biolo and her team originally intended to digitize...

India signing a deal with France to receive 26 French Rafale fighter jets for use by India's navy. India already using Rafale fighters... May Day a day of protest and events on the streets of France. The CGT trade union saying 300,000 participated with 157,000 involved according to the ministry of the interior... The suspect in the killing caught in Italy and awaiting extradition to France... The father apologizing to the family of Aboubacar Cissi. A judicial investigation is underway to determine if Cissi's murder was based on race or religion. On Friday evening the prosecutor handling the case describing...

Seven Georgia students — some as young as 5 — were arrested for allegedly attacking their 7-year-old classmate during an early morning bus ride to school, according to police. The alleged attackers, who range in age from 5 to 14, were slapped with battery charges for the vicious beatdown that erupted while their bus was en route to Mattie Lively Elementary School in Statesboro on April 18, the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday. Police said they were notified of the heinous assault roughly a week later and identified the troubled students after reviewing the transport’s security footage, which captured...

A bit of a surprise for you as you enter your weekend: somewhere around 20% to 30% of Microsoft’s code in “repos”, according to CEO Satya Nadella, is written by artificial intelligence (AI). This is, perhaps, not quite as surprising as it could be—at Meta Platforms , it is actually closer to half—but it still made investors take notice. Shares of Microsoft gained nearly 2.5% in the closing minutes of Friday’s trading. While at LlamaCon, Nadella noted the figure in question, and noted that that number was not standing still, either. In fact, the proportion of code written by AI...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is obsessed with America’s falling birth rate. In 2019, he predicted that “the biggest problem the world will face in 20 years is population collapse.” Just last month, he told Fox News it’s the main thing that “keeps him up at night.” And according to an April 15 report in the Wall Street Journal, Musk is personally using in vitro fertilization (IVF) to sire what he has described as a “legion” of children — at least 14 so far, with four different women — “before the apocalypse.” “Low birth rates will end civilization,” the billionaire warned...

Join us as we travel to Pyongyang, North Korea and explore one of the most secretive and isolated countries on Earth 🇰🇵

Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson 🚨Epic. Secretary Doug Burgum gets a tour of an oil rig in the Gulf of America: "Biden banned the possibility of even developing acres of the Gulf of America. He banned all of that. Trump unbanned that... we're back in business again." From Rapid Response 47 9:31 AM · May 3, 2025

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal’s caretaker government plans to expel some 18,000 foreigners living in the country without authorization, a minister said Saturday in the buildup to a national election.Minister of the Presidency António Leitão Amaro said the center-right government will issue approximately 18,000 notifications to people in the country illegally to leave. The minister said officials will begin next week by asking some 4,500 foreigners to leave voluntarily within 20 days.Portugal will hold an early general election on May 18. Prime Minister Luis Montenegro called the snap ballot in March after his minority government led by his conservative Social...

UK police have arrested five men, including four Iranian nationals, on suspicion of “terrorism offences”, police have said. The arrests were carried out in London, Swindon and the Greater Manchester area and were related to “a suspected plot to target a specific premises”, London’s Metropolitan police said in a statement. The men, aged between 29 and 46, were arrested on suspicion of “preparation of a terrorist act” and remain in custody, the police said. The nationality of one of the men was still being established, they said. Counter-terrorism police had been in contact with the site allegedly targeted to make...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum threads labeled “Prayer” are closed to debate of any kind.

Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson 🚨BREAKING: Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoes a bill ordering her and the Attorney General to enforce federal immigration laws. 12:47 PM · May 3, 2025

The D.C. Circuit just issued a major ruling in favor of the Trump Administration that lifted a stay on the Administration's decision to terminate contracts and positions at Voice of America. The decision severely undercuts the arguments used by other district courts, particularly jurisdictional arguments. This is only the latest appellate decision pushing back on district court injunctions. However, the analysis will reach beyond the confines of this case.

The liberal DC Circuit Court of Appeals handed President Trump a massive win on Saturday after a district court judge ordered him to rehire staff from far-left Voice of America that will have impacts lasting beyond just this one case, according to a legal expert. As The Gateway Pundit reported, a federal judge last month ordered the Trump Administration to rehire Voice of America (VOA) and other affiliate news services staff. The affiliate staff included Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Network. In March, Trump placed employees and contractors for government-funded Voice of America on leave. US District...

[Catholic Caucus] Here’s what the cardinals must do to cleanse the Church after Pope Francis’ deathSurely a holy and fearless man who loves the Catholic Church exists in the College of Cardinals?“And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all of them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the chairs of them that sold doves: And he said to them: My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves.” Matthew 21:12-17If ever there’s a turning over the tables...

New York Attorney General Letitia James said Saturday she plans to team up with other lefty AGs nationwide to sue the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services over healthcare funding cuts. “The White House is threatening our way of life in so many ways, and I just want you to know that in the coming days we will be filing a lawsuit against [HHS],” revealed James at a National Action Network rally in Harlem. James cited as examples anticipated cuts in federal aid to the Head Start program that helps low-income kids ages five and under prepare for...

Three crew members of the Bayesian superyacht are officially under investigation for crimes including negligence, recklessness and failing to save the ship from an oncoming storm, according to Italian prosecutors. Captain James Cutfield, chief engineer Timothy Parker Eaton and deckhand Matthew Griffiths are in line to face criminal charges, according to the public prosecutor of Termini Imerese in Sicily, close to where the yacht sank amid a severe storm. The potential charges were set out as rescue workers strive to raise the vessel, currently 50 meters (164 feet) below the surface, off the coast of Porticello. Allegedly, “through negligence consisting...

The long shadow of the pandemic still looms over the workforce, with many still working from home. But office buildings and downtown parking garages are slowly filling up as people return to their cubicles. The latest data from the Placer.ai Office Index suggests that nationwide office visits may be trending upwards once again. Although March 2025 office visit levels didn’t match the peaks of October and July 2024, visits last month were only 32.2% below March 2019 levels — an improvement over March 2024. Significantly, among months with 21 or fewer working days, March 2025 ranked as the second-busiest in-office...

Jon Voight has been taking meetings around town with union reps and studio executives to understand the issues plaguing domestic production, Deadline has confirmed... We understand that Trump’s other two ambassador picks, Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson, are not involved in Voight’s conversations... The exact plan that Coming Home Oscar winner Voight, whose daughter is Angelina Jolie, has prepared for Trump is unclear, but sources with knowledge of his conversations with Hollywood insiders tell us they expect a federal tax incentive to be the main component. As the lack of production in L.A. displays, the U.S. film and television industry...