Free Republic

A majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, adopted two asylum laws around midnight. The laws, drafted by former PVV Minister Marjolein Faber, are intended to implement “the strictest asylum policy ever” in the Netherlands. 95 parliamentarians voted in favor of the Two Status System Act and 55 against. The Asylum Emergency Measures Act got 94 votes for and 56 against, NOS reports. It is uncertain whether these laws will also make it through the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate. The CDA, an important swing vote in the Senate where the caretaker Cabinet has no...

Education Minister Jason Clare has flagged the government is mulling major changes to the national curriculum that would see classes implemented to curb the rising surge in antisemitism.Education Minister Jason Clare has said the government “stands ready” to implement changes to the national school curriculum, including implementing antisemitic prevention classes. On Monday the Victorian government announced the creation of a new anti-hate taskforce in response to a swathe of antisemitic attacks on the Jewish community. Multiple incidents occurred across the city starting last Friday night, including an alleged arson attack on an East Melbourne synagogue. Days later, pro-Palestinian protesters allegedly...

WASHINGTON—President Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he wasn’t responsible for a halt in weapons shipments to Kyiv, signaling U.S. openness to continuing military aid for Ukraine. Trump informed Zelensky in a Friday phone conversation that he had directed a review of Pentagon munitions stockpiles after the U.S. struck Iran’s nuclear sites last month but didn’t order the department to freeze the arms deliveries, according to people briefed on the conversation. The call came shortly after Trump publicly acknowledged he was “very disappointed” and “didn’t make any progress” on an Ukraine peace deal in a separate call Thursday with...

Benjamin Netanyahu presents President Trump with a letter nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize

Giorgia Meloni has condemned the “vile” killing of a sniffer dog that died after sausages filled with nails were thrown into its kennel overnight. Bruno, a seven-year-old bloodhound, was once honoured by the Italian prime minister for helping to locate nine missing people. But on Sunday, the dog was found lying in a pool of blood at an animal training centre near the city of Taranto in Italy’s southern Apulia region. The animal died an agonising, hours-long death from internal bleeding, Arcangelo Caressa, his trainer, said as he vowed to track down the culprits. In a Facebook post, Ms Meloni...

The Austin Firefighters Association claims Chief Joel Baker delayed sending firefighters to help with rescue efforts in Kerrville until it was too late. AUSTIN, Texas — Austin's firefighters’ union is calling for a vote of "no confidence" against Austin Fire Department Chief Joel Baker over his response to the deadly Central Texas flooding. The Austin Firefighters Association claims Baker delayed sending firefighters to help with rescue efforts in Kerrville until it was too late. The union says lives were likely lost because of his decision. Union President Bob Nicks will hold a press conference on Tuesday morning at 11 a.m....

Vatican pushes ‘new way of being Church’ in 3-year Synod rollout planThe document is intended to be read alongside, and indeed formed by, the final document from the Synod on Synodality's October 2024 session in Rome.The Vatican’s synod office has issued guidelines for how to implement the three-year implementation phase of the multi-year Synod on Synodality, emphasizing that it is a manner of “growing in a new way of being Church.”As announced last week, on July 7 the General Secretariat of the Synod published a 14-page document on how the Catholic Church at the local level ought to continue with...

-A study in the European Journal of Nutrition found that adults 55 and older who drank two to four (European-sized) cups of coffee daily were less likely to become frail over time. -Antioxidants, polyphenols, and bioactive compounds in coffee help reduce inflammation, maintain muscle mass, and improve metabolic health — all of which contribute to preventing age-related frailty. -The study also found that decaffeinated coffee was associated with a lower risk of frailty, suggesting that non-caffeine components are key; however, adding excessive sugar or heavily sweetened syrups to coffee can cancel out these health benefits. Most people start their mornings...

ICE raids across Los Angeles have driven the migrant workforce into hiding, sparking concerns over the sanctuary city's already rocky economic state. As the California city tries to recuperate from wildfires, businesses and developers have revealed they do not have the manpower to get these crucial jobs done. LA has one of the nation's largest immigrant workforces, with nearly 38 percent of workers originating outside the US, according to 2023 data. Estimates from the Public Policy Institute of California suggest than one in 10 workers in the Golden State are undocumented immigrants, while the Migration Policy Institute reports there are...

Therapy student Naomi Epps Best was fired from her internship after she exposed her university’s program for forcing her to share sexual information with the class and take a tour of a BDSM sex dungeon. Her courage cost her time with her children and the ability to graduate on time, but Best says the sacrifices are worth it as messages pour in from other concerned therapists who were previously too scared to speak out. “My goal to raise the standards of training in psychotherapy and also raise the standards of care for clients,” ... Best, 26, began her studies at...

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told interviewer Tucker Carlson that people shouldn't take his country's 'death to America' slogans literally – claiming the phrase is more about calling for a 'death to bullying.' Pezeshkian made the comment to the podcaster and former Fox News host, who wanted to know if Americans should fear the phrase calling for their country's annihilation or having the U.S. referred to as the 'great Satan.' The Iranian president called it a 'very wrong impression.' 'When they say death to the United States ... they don't mean death for the people of the United States or even...

An Italian sniffer dog was killed after eating sausages filled with nails that were thrown into his kennel, his trainer has said. Bruno, a seven-year-old bloodhound, had been hailed as a hero for finding nine missing people during his career, and was once honoured by Italy's prime minister. Giorgia Meloni condemned the "vile, cowardly, unacceptable" killing in a post on X. "Thank you for all you have done, Bruno," she said. The dog's trainer, Arcangelo Caressa, said he knew who was responsible and vowed to make them pay for their actions. It has been suggested the killing was carried out...

Recent information from July 7, 2025, indicates that Planned Parenthood has sued the current Trump administration over a new law in the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" that would strip Medicaid funding from its health centers. Planned Parenthood argues this provision is unconstitutional and specifically targets them to punish them for their association with abortion services, even though federal law prohibits using these funds for abortion procedures. Planned Parenthood has stated that this measure could lead to the closure of nearly 200 clinics nationwide. An Obama-appointed judge, Judge Indira Talwani, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts...

Attorney General Pam Bondi is facing increasing calls for her resignation or firing as a leaked Department of Justice memo has indicated the agency found no evidence that Jeffrey Epstein engaged in large-scale blackmail and that no master list of his clients existed. Conservative activist Liz Wheeler ranked among the most vocal in her calls for Bondi's ouster, saying ""If I'm President Trump, I would not tolerate this behavior anymore. She has become a LIABILITY to his administration." Wheeler further referenced Bondi's past orchestration of a botched public release of information to MAGA influencers in binders. "Bondi BRAGGED to us...

🚨 BREAKING: An Obama judge just BLOCKED the Big Beautiful Bill provision which bars taxpayer funding for Planned ParenthoodWTF?So now activist judges are cosplaying as President, House, AND Senate??!STOP TOLERATING THIS! START IMPEACHING! pic.twitter.com/aX2dzRGjy9— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 7, 2025

France’s food safety agency found that glass-bottled drinks, such as iced tea, lemonade, and beer, exhibited some of the highest contamination levels.-A French food safety agency study found that drinks in glass bottles contained more microplastic particles per liter than those in plastic bottles or cans. -The researchers traced the microplastics to the exterior paint on plastic-sealed caps, which released particles into the drink. -Despite being bottled in glass, both water and wine showed fewer microplastics, although the researchers couldn’t determine exactly why. The evidence showing the harmful effects of microplastics is building up. Study after study shows that microplastics...

Eight years ago, in the aftermath of yet another river flood in the Texas Hill Country, officials in Kerr County debated whether more needed to be done to build a warning system along the banks of the Guadalupe River. A series of summer camps along the river were often packed with children. For years, local officials kept them safe with a word-of-mouth system: When floodwaters started raging, upriver camp leaders warned those downriver of the water surge coming their way. .... In the end, little was done. When catastrophic floodwaters surged through Kerr County last week, there were no sirens...

Researchers found 96 chemicals in toddlers—many unregulated, all absorbed through everyday life. Childhood, it turns out, is more toxic than it looks. Credit: Shutterstock A sweeping NIH-funded study tested the urine of 200 toddlers and found a startling mix of 96 chemicals—some of which aren’t even tracked by government health surveys. These toxins, from plastics, flame retardants, and pesticides, show up in kids through everyday exposures like food, air, and playtime. The study revealed that 90% of children carried unmonitored substances, and in many cases, their bodies held more chemicals than their mothers had during pregnancy. Widespread Chemical Exposure in...

SummaryJudge finds legal dispute remains active Salvadorian national faces US criminal charges GREENBELT, Maryland, July 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge ruled on Monday that Kilmar Abrego's legal challenge to his wrongful deportation to El Salvador can continue despite the decision by President Donald Trump's administration to bring him back to the United States to face criminal charges.Maryland-based U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis found that there were ongoing issues to resolve in the case, including whether the administration fully complied with prior orders to facilitate Abrego's return and allow his immigration case to be handled as though he had not...

According to the Academy of Athens, scientists decoded the DNA of the famous Greek feta cheese. Recently, scientists from the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens studied a wide variety of feta cheese produced all across the nation of Greece in an effort to quantify the nutritional specifics of the popular Greek cheese. According to findings, feta cheese has 489 different types of protein, making it one of the most protein-rich cheese varieties in the entire world. Feta cheese is a white cheese produced in Greece and made of sheep’s milk, but it can also be made from...