Free Republic

In the late 2000s, Li became a believer through a campus Bible study shortly after he began attending its meetings. Li worshiped in an evangelical church that held contemporary services shaped by joyful, fast-paced praise songs. But the upbeat worship music, coupled with his busy work schedule, “made his heart even less quiet,” said Li, who is in his mid-30s. Then he stumbled upon Ancient Faith Radio, a digital network of broadcasts offering Eastern Orthodox liturgical music and teaching. The melodies he listened to were simple, solemn, and contemplative. “It felt like another world,” he said. Li began exploring the...

People living in the Greater Manchester constituency of Makerfield will shortly head to the polls to elect their new MP. More than 30 polling stations across the parliamentary constituency will open at 07:00 BST and close at 22:00, after which the count will take place. The result is expected early on Friday. There are 14 candidates standing in the by-election, which was triggered by the resignation of Labour MP Josh Simons. It is one of three Westminster by-elections taking place, with voters in the Scottish constituencies of Arbroath and Broughty Ferry and Aberdeen South also heading to the polls after...

Daily Readings from the USCCBJesus said to his disciples: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This is how you are to pray: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…” Matthew 6:7–9Many pagans of Jesus’ time believed they could manipulate divine action by sheer persistence, lengthy incantations, or empty repetition. Jesus contrasts this with true prayer, which is about trust in the Father’s providence, not coercion. Christian prayer is...

Well, to be clear, it appears that many of the sanctions have already been lifted, as Iranian oil shipments are flowing out of the Strait of Hormuz. The blockade, it appears, is already over, even before the official signing we expect on Friday. The lifting of sanctions on oil-related exports appears to be point #10 in the leaked but unconfirmed Memorandum of Understanding. 🚨 The Iranian television is broadcasting from the Strait of Hormuz. and claims: At least 3 oil tankers carrying 5 million barrels of crude oil have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in recent hours. pic.twitter.com/13txRGNFEv— Raylan...

For decades, “The Millionaire Next Door” wasn’t just a book title; it was the ultimate retirement goal. If you could hit seven figures in your 401(k), you were set. You had “made it.” But as we move through June 2026, that legendary $1 million milestone is starting to look less like a finish line and more like a checkpoint.According to the latest Northwestern Mutual 2026 Planning & Progress Study, the average American now believes they need $1.46 million to retire comfortably. That’s a significant jump from just a few years ago, and it signals a massive shift in how we...

Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder and U2's Bono and the Edge are among the music stars who will perform on Thursday at the grand opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, where the former president spent years working as a community organizer and politician. "We are bringing together some of today's most prominent voices and global icons for the Obama Presidential Center Grand Opening Ceremony," the Obama Foundation announced in a Wednesday social media post, which you can see below. "The festivities will livestream globally at 11 a.m. CT, Thursday, June 18 — don’t miss it!" Other performers helping...

Graham Platner, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee from Sullivan, wrote about his involvement with the Socialist Rifle Association using the Reddit handle P-Hustle. MANY PICTURES AT LINK............... Last October, The Robinson Report broke the story that Graham Platner — the disabled Sullivan veteran with an oyster hobby who is now the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate — had personally instructed members of the Socialist Rifle Association in firearms training in Maine. Now, two additional accounts — both from self-described left-wingers — have surfaced that confirm Platner’s top role in the Maine chapter of firearms and political activism org. The reporting...

"TRUMP: “I think [Israel] could do better … I'm not saying they shouldn't protect themselves. I'm saying when two drones are shot into the desert and drop harmlessly, you don't have to knock down buildings in Beirut. They could behave better…”

So, how are gas prices where you are?Two weeks ago in my part of S.E. Tennessee: $4.49 - $4.69/gal Today? I filled up at $3.29/gal as I'm going to my good friend Lazamataz's house in Georgia, and we're going to take in an Atlanta Braves v. San Francisco Giants game tomorrow in a Corporoate Suite.

Former Presidents Biden, Clinton and Bush are set to attend the opening of the Obama Presidential Center, according to a new report. The Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday that the three presidents intend to be at a ceremony to commemorate the center’s opening, a source familiar with the event told the outlet. Former first ladies Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton and Jill Biden will also be in attendance, per the Sun-Times. The Obama Presidential Center is set to open Thursday, with its grand opening ceremony featuring a lineup of award-winning performers. Valerie Jarett, the Obama Foundation’s chief executive, said that the event...

In a Latin manuscript from a monastery in Poland, a Latin scholar from Würzburg has found two new sermons by the Doctor of the Church, St Augustine. He is currently working with an edition company on the first edition. Augustine is considered one of the most important Christian Church Fathers. He left behind an extensive body of work that continues to engage scholars today. (Image: Renáta Sedmáková / Adobe Stock) One day in 2024, the telephone of Professor Christian Tornau, a Latin scholar at the University of Würzburg, rings: an employee of the Bad Doberan Monastery Association in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania...

The giant potato was sighted at 9:35 a.m. hovering over Cheyenne Mountain. The year was 2022. It was mid-February, about 50 degrees. The sky was blue. The flying spud, or what looked like one, was sighted by an Army intelligence officer and four members of his unit from Fort Carson in Colorado, according to documents that were among a new tranche of U.F.O. files released by the Trump administration on Friday.

MANY PICTURES AT LINK.................... A family of tourists’ picturesque outing in a Central Park carriage turned into a nightmare Wednesday when an 18-year-old from India died after an out-of-control horse pulling the carriage he was riding in suddenly bolted, sending the carriage careening onto its side as onlookers watched in horror. The precise circumstances of the 2:47 p.m. crash at Cherry Hill near Bethesda Fountain were still coming into focus late Wednesday. Early reports indicated the 18-year-old was in the carriage when it flipped over, but another source familiar with the situation told The News he fell out as the...

Father Dan Reehil, a Roman Catholic priest and exorcist with the Diocese of Nashville, floated the concept of formally cursed movies amid reports earlier this week that Steven Spielberg claimed his new alien film "Disclosure Day" may shake the faith of Christians."[Spielberg] said something very odd. He said that this film will shake the faith of many people or have people re-question their belief in God and their religion," Reehil, who pastors St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Columbia, Tennessee, said in a Wednesday video on his YouTube channel."First of all, I think perhaps he underestimates most people's faith;...

A government panel called for a new independent authority to handle tens of thousands of IDF trauma and PTSD cases. Unlike in past wars, where emotional traumas made up about 15% of claims filed, since 2023, nearly 50% of the war claims filed have included emotional trauma such as PTSD. About 25,000 claims have been filed relating to wars since 2023. One major change the committee recommended is financing a weekly emotional trauma visit instead of once every two to three weeks. In addition, the ministry would provide an IDF representative whenever a harmed soldier appears before the committee, submitting...

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung denied that a text circulating in multiple mainstream media outlets late on Tuesday was an accurate text of the ultimate draft of a memorandum of understanding between Iran and America to end the current war and pave the way for nuclear negotiations.CNN, Bloomberg, and the Saudi news agency al-Arabiya published a 14-point text they claimed to have obtained from involved officials of the “memorandum of understanding” on Tuesday. While many of the provisions therein were agreed-upon terms that the White House has stated publicly would be part of the deal, such as the reopening...

A Florida woman was stabbed in the stomach after a heated argument inside a busy Manhattan subway station on Wednesday afternoon, authorities and sources said. An unidentified individual plunged a knife into the 32-year-old tourist on the platform of the 42nd Street-Bryant Park station around 4 p.m., according to the NYPD and sources. A 32-year-old tourist from Florida was stabbed inside the 42nd Street-Bryant Park station on Wednesday. The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, cops and sources said. A dispute sparked the stabbing, but it’s unclear whether the victim and attacker knew each other, sources added.

The Florida GOP may just be the most wretched in the nation, and that’s saying quite a bit—Arizona GOP, I’m looking at you. Now admittedly, I don’t live in Florida, but the news coming out of the Sunshine state about how they’re scheming to protect Byron Donalds, an objectively bad candidate (but the preferred pick of the establishment), is really quite disgraceful. (Some rumors suggest Donalds’s protected candidacy has Susie Wiles’s fingerprints on it.) First off, the Florida GOP schemed to exclude major contender James Fishback from a debate with Donalds—they don’t want the voters to know how bad Donalds...

Georgia’s Republican legislative leaders on Wednesday rejected Gov. Brian Kemp’s call to redraw congressional and legislative districts during a special session, citing concerns about moving too quickly after a US Supreme Court decision weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections for minority voters. House Speaker Jon Burns sent Kemp a letter hours before a special session was set to begin Wednesday, and he announced the decision as demonstrators filled the Georgia Capitol with chants of “Black voters matter!” The decision marked a setback for both Kemp and President Donald Trump, who has urged Republican-led states to redraw congressional districts to their...

Karmelo Anthony—his first name sounds like some off-brand 99 Cent Store nougat confection—is going to prison for 35 years, and he is relatively lucky. He is lucky he does not live in a society that treats monsters appropriately. A civilized society does not tolerate his brand of sociopathy. It executes such criminals—not only as righteous retribution and not only as an example to others, but as an act of societal hygiene. For a millennium, Europe hanged, beheaded, or otherwise dispatched about 1 percent of its male population every year for various crimes, and you know what? After a while, there...