Free Republic

This may bring to mind that elementary school Bible song: Father Abraham had many sons, Many sons had father Abraham, I am one of them and so are you, So let’s all praise the Lord! We’d then scream something about our right arms and left arms, and by the end of the song we all looked like we were marching in place... Well, the song serves it purpose — to expend energy. But what about it? Just who are the sons of Abraham? Can we modern, western children really be Abraham’s sons? It is no surprise that Abraham held such...

Some people reach their 80s with memories sharper than many 50-year-olds. Scientists now think they know why: Their brains never stopped growing new cells. Scientists studying a rare group of older people known as superagers—those aged 80 and over whose memory rivals someone 30 years younger—have found that their brains produce new neurons at twice the rate of typical older adults. “For most of the last century, the prevailing belief was that brain cells only die as you age—you were born with what you had, and that was that,” Jordan Weiss, professor at the Optimal Aging Institute at NYU Grossman...

Japan for the first time has deployed ground troops to the Balikatan exercise, a series of multidomain drills staged across the Philippine archipelago. Participation by about 1,000 Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Soldiers augments the annual training that began decades ago as a Philippines-United States exercise and now involves about 20 nations. Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) personnel previously attended Balikatan as observers and in noncombat roles focused on humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR). They participated in a maritime drill in 2025. A reciprocal access agreement between Manila and Tokyo, which took effect in September 2025, allows JSDF and Armed...

The U.S. military, which has been responding to Iran’s loitering drone attacks, has finally adopted Ukraine’s air defense technology. As low-cost drones continued to damage high-value military assets, it is interpreted that the U.S. has deployed Ukraine’s combat-proven response system at key Middle Eastern bases. On the 22nd, Reuters reported, citing multiple sources, that the U.S. has deployed Ukraine’s command and control platform at Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia, a key military asset in the Middle East, to defend against Iranian drones.… Ukrainian military officers are reported to have visited the base over recent weeks to train U.S. forces...

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the agency overseeing Medicaid and Medicare, announced Tuesday that his agency’s anti-fraud effort will come to every state. During an interview at a Politico-hosted event, Oz said that every U.S. state can expect anti-fraud activities involving funds received through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS).“We are going to announce this week that all 50 states are going to be requested to give us a plan over the next 30 days of how they’re going to re-validate providers in high-risk areas in their states,” Oz said.Oz explained that it would involve proving whether individuals...

It's hard to say whether or not Trump is prepared to restart kinetic action against Iran, or continue his indefinite cease-fire...indefinitely. No doubt Trump likes it that way. While I hate that every time a security studies guy or gal talks about military action, they always quote Clausewitz or Sun Tzu, I have to say that Trump is the most Clausewitzian and Sun Tzu-style military leader we have had in a long while. By that I mean that Trump understands that war is an extension of politics, and that military success relies as much on deception as good tactics. I...

Canada is very proud to have opened its own spaceport, making it the next world power with direct access to the wonders of the universe. Only...Iran and North Korea have infinitely more impressive space launch capabilities than our wonderful neighbor to the north. LOL IM DEAD 😂☠️This is AN ACTUAL broadcast from the Canadian "spaceport" in Nova Scotia.Bro the rocket is like a hobby rocket and its a concrete pad! pic.twitter.com/RugGNCGHVe— Tablesalt 🇨🇦🇺🇸 (@Tablesalt13) April 22, 2026Yes, that is real, as is that rocket, which looks even less capable than many hobbyist rockets you can see take off from the...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo XIV celebrates Francis’ ‘birth into heaven.’ Will he canonize him?Marking the first anniversary of Pope Francis' death, Leo XIV praised his predecessor as a ‘devoted shepherd’ who upheld the ‘legacy of the Second Vatican Council.’While celebrating Pope Francis’ “birth into heaven” on the first-year anniversary of his death, Pope Leo XIV said his predecessor took up the legacy of the Second Vatican Council.In a message delivered by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re at the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major, Leo honored Francis yesterday as a “devoted shepherd,” saying that he, “in continuity with his predecessors, took...

U.S. ‌Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that he extended sanctions relief on Russian and Iranian ‌seaborne oil ​for 30 days because of requests from countries ⁠that are the ​most vulnerable to oil shortages from ⁠the closed Strait of Hormuz.Bessent told a U.S. Senate ‌Appropriations subcommittee budget hearing ​that the ‌requests came from finance ‌leaders of about 10 countries during last week's International Monetary Fund ⁠and World ‌Bank meetings. The action reversed his ⁠earlier comments ⁠last week that he would ‌not renew expiring sanctions waivers. Bessent said estimates that Iran has ‌gained ​more ‌than $14 billion from the relief are...

Senate Republicans voted largely in unison Wednesday to defeat a Democratic-sponsored war powers resolution that would prohibit President Trump from continuing military operations against Iran. It marked the fifth time that Republican senators voted against a proposal to halt the military conflict. The Senate voted 46-51 to defeat a motion to discharge the resolution out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was the only Republican to vote to advance the measure. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was the only Democrat to vote against it. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who sponsored the measure, argued on the Senate...

Former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., is facing a fresh ethics complaint urging the Justice Department to investigate whether he leveraged his position in Congress to promote a startup business he was running on the side with his chief of staff. The complaint comes as Swalwell has also been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct in recent weeks, allegations he has denied despite conceding he has made poor choices in his past with women. The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), a conservative ethics watchdog, filed a complaint Wednesday calling on the Justice Department's Office of Congressional Conduct to...

The Iranian regime folks are not happy campers right now. They're being squeezed by the U.S. blockade that's costing them an estimated $435 million a day. As Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained, that's going to cause their Kharg Island operation to be "shut in" soon. That's the money that sustains the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that would then be cut off. Meanwhile, the U.S. is even seizing its ships, like the MV Touska, that tried to run the U.S. blockade with some bad materials aboard that could have helped their missile program. So what are the regime's options? They...

Two years and two weeks have passed since Gov. Gavin Newsom issued his first return-to-office order, which directed state employees to begin working from government offices two days a week. Newsom upped the in-office requirement to four days last year, but subsequently postponed that mandate after facing steep push-back from state employees and labor groups. In the intervening time, unions have filed lawsuits, lawmakers have introduced legislation and state workers have continued rallying, all to push back against the governor’s mandate.

Democrats cheered a redistricting measure that reportedly passed in Virginia on Tuesday. The passage gives the Democrat-controlled state legislature the ability to redraw the commonwealth's congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterms. Except there are already questions about whether this will stand, as we reported. On Wednesday afternoon, Tazewell Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled that Tuesday's referendum is unconstitutional and issued an injunction preventing the certification of the election maps. Judge Hurley has also denied any motion to stay his ruling pending appeal. That decision will likely be appealed. Democrats like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) were...

The state of “current” affairs is not good. An Atlantic current that’s key for maintaining the climate could collapse sooner than we thought, potentially bringing about a global weather apocalypse, per an alarming study in the journal Science Advances. “This is a key result with implications for the future climate of the Atlantic and beyond,” the international team of researchers wrote in the paper. The at-risk current in question is the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, a “conveyor belt of the ocean” that circulates warm water toward the ocean surface from the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere. This oceanic...

DoorDasher EXPLODES Over Wrong Address… Then Crosses the Line (just get your own food and avoid the crazy)

Thieves have destroyed nearly 75 fire hydrants on the west side of Detroit in the last 48 hours, stealing parts and putting lives at risk. Crews with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department are racing to repair the broken hydrants along Southfield Road and across the west side after thieves tore through dozens in about two days. "We think the number is about 75 so far," DWSD Deputy Director Sam Smalley said. The thieves are targeting metal nozzles and stems on top of the hydrants, which are worth about $600. Executive Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms said the vandalism is a...

In declaring an extension to the ceasefire in the Iran war, President Trump signalled clearly enough that he would prefer to strike a peace deal with Tehran. J.D. Vance, the vice-president, has been kicking his heels, waiting to return to the Pakistani capital Islamabad for another go at achieving a breakthrough. The Iranians keep blowing hot and cold on whether they are ready to play their part. Trump suggested in a social media post earlier this week that he believes this is because Iran’s government is ‘seriously fractured’. His ceasefire extension is aimed at allowing the regime time to deliver...

On March 26, 25-year-old Noelia Castillo Ramos was put to death by the Spanish government. She had not committed any crime. In fact, she was the victim of a horrendous one. In 2022, Ramos was sexually assaulted by a group of men, which compounded her existing mental struggles and led to at least two suicide attempts. One of the attempts left her with permanent injury and constant pain. Eventually, she appealed to die by euthanasia, which had been legalized in Spain in 2021. For two years, her parents tried to save her with the help of a Christian law group....

A Canadian university is advertising five research positions, but applicants must be a part of the LGBTQ+ community to apply. Memorial University of Newfoundland posted five new Canada Research Chair (CRC) positions that are open to current employees of the liberal arts school, but there's a catch. In order to be eligible to apply, the applicant has to be a member of an equity group, including the 2SLGBTQIA+ people, a woman, Indigenous, a racialized person, or a disabled, according to the job postings viewed by the Daily Mail. The five-to-seven-year gig, which pays up to $200,000 CAD ($145,000 USD) annually,...