Free Republic

Monterey Park voters made history Tuesday by passing the first permanent ban on data centers nationwide. Voters are on track to overwhelmingly approve the ban, with 86% in favor according to the latest ballot count, leading organizers to claim victory (the official results won’t be certified until July 10). Where other jurisdictions have passed temporary measures to curb the controversial development of these massive server farms, Monterey Park voters’ decision in this election will keep developers at bay unless voters want to revisit the decision in a future election. “It really goes to show the power of community,” Monterey Park...

Join with fellow FREEPERS across the world to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, Technology, Religious Freedom and the Media. For First Responders, Law Enforcement, and The Watchmen On The Wall, both Spiritual and Secular. "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. "Finally, brothers, rejoice. Set...

A trilateral summit convened by the United States in Washington has resulted in a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, following intensive two-day negotiations on Tuesday and Wednesday. A joint statement issued following the second day of talks on Wednesday stated that the accord dictates that the implementation of the truce is directly "contingent on a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives from the South Litani Sector". To enforce the peace, Israel and Lebanon agreed to "swiftly advance the creation of pilot zones in which the Lebanese Armed Forces will take exclusive control of...

Daily Readings from the USCCBOne of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Mark 12:28We continue to read about Jesus’ various interactions, teachings, and prophetic actions in the Temple area during Passover, just days before He would be arrested and killed. During the week, Jesus cleansed the Temple of moneychangers and merchants and was confronted with hostility by various religious and political factions. First, a group of chief priests, scribes, and elders challenged His authority to cleanse the Temple and then unsuccessfully conspired with some Pharisees and Herodians to trap Him...

It seems like, without fail, the activist Left seeks out ways of using the legal system to get whatever radical policy they want retained via a judge's ruling, or stop some Conservative policy that half of the American people overwhelmingly voted for during a recent presidential election. Such might be tha case in this new story, where an environmental group has filed suit in my state of Arizona against the Trump administration ... over the habitat of a rare species of desert spring snail. But the fact that this snail can only live where President Trump is planning on building...

The president of the Pontifical Academy of Theology, Italian Bishop Antonio Staglianò, who was appointed by Pope Francis, created a stir recently via a viral video on Instagram.AdvertisementIn the video, Staglianò opined that John Lennon’s famous/infamous pacifist song Imagine is the most beautiful song in the world.Imagine that.Staglianò actually stated, “Let’s abolish religion, let’s abolish God, let’s abolish heaven. Who says that? John Lennon, in the most beautiful song in the world, Imagine.”The bishop made his remarks in the context of asserting that no religion — and therefore no concept, idea, or principle — should be worth killing or dying...

A damning discovery of voter registration fraud in New York has flown under the national radar. Andrew Paquette, the research director of the New York Citizens Audit — a non-partisan group of New York citizens who use publicly available voter roll databases obtained directly from state and local boards of elections — discovered 1.47 million voter registrations that currently possess identical signatures. This is an impossibility among legitimate registrations and a clear violation of the law. A number this large is cause for concern no matter the margins of any given election. The concern is even greater given that crucial...

Thomas Massie may be leaving Congress, but don't expect him to disappear from Republican politics anytime soon ... because he and Marjorie Taylor Greene have been cooking up plans behind the scenes to retake the GOP. Charlie caught up with the outgoing Kentucky Congressman Wednesday on Capitol Hill and asked about his recent Costa Rica vacay with Greene and her fiancé, Brian Glenn -- a trip TMZ first revealed after the group was spotted dining together. Massie praised Greene as someone who has "her finger on the pulse" of MAGA voters ... calling her an important voice for people who...

An effort by Tyler Robinson's defense team to keep evidence against their client under wraps failed this week. The judge handling the case refused to restrict cameras from an upcoming hearing. Why does this particular hearing, currently scheduled for next month, matter? Because prosecutors are expected to release a bunch of new evidence against Robinson.Mr. Robinson’s defense has sought to close other hearings in the Utah trial, keep motions and evidence under seal and restrict news coverage of the case, arguing that the intense media attention will lead to negative publicity, prejudicing potential jurors and denying Mr. Robinson’s right to...

By now, everybody is familiar with how absurdly stacked the political system is in California. The "jungle primary" system was introduced to almost ensure that the top two candidates who make it onto the general election ballot are Democrats, and a while back, when it looked like two Republicans might achieve that this year, Governor Newsom assured Democrats that there was a "Break Glass in Case of Emergency" contingency to ensure that a Democrat would win the election anyway. When asked about the possibility of ending up with two Republican candidates for governor and no Democrats, Gavin Newsom responded:“We all...

President Trump went on the record again about the 2020 election, and this time he says the guessing is over. Speaking in a new Pod Force One interview with Miranda Devine, Trump said the contest was rigged and that his team now knows exactly what happened. “The election was rigged. We know who rigged the election,” Trump said. He added: “We know everything now.” Leading Report summarized the moment this way: The important caveat is that Trump did not name specific people in that exchange. When Devine pressed him on whether anyone would be punished, Trump declined to spell it...

I didn't have anything better to do this Monday so after 43 years I totaled our plane. Time to get out.

"Let everyone be . . . slow to speak" (James 1:19). Don’t rush into the role of a Bible teacher. It is reported that when the Scottish Reformer John Knox was called to preach, he shed many tears and withdrew himself to the privacy of his room. He was grieved and greatly troubled at the prospect of such an awesome responsibility. Only the compelling grace of the Holy Spirit Himself enabled Knox to fulfill his calling. John Knox understood the importance of being slow to speak. He knew that God holds teachers of the Word accountable for what they say,...

According to payroll processor ADP, private employers added 122,000 jobs during May, exceeding economist expectations of 110,000 and accelerating from April’s revised total of 105,000. The report arrives at a critical moment for investors. Wall Street is trying to determine whether the economy is heading toward a soft landing, a renewed growth cycle, or a more pronounced slowdown. At the same time, Federal Reserve officials are searching for evidence that inflation pressures are cooling enough to justify future interest rate cuts.For now, the labor market appears to be sending a clear message: employers are still hiring.A Stronger Labor Market Than...

Russia's oil and gas tax revenue, which accounts for around a fifth of ​total budget income, increased by 32.4% year-on-year in May ​to 678.9 billion roubles ($9.3 billion), Finance Ministry data showed ⁠on Wednesday, thanks to a global oil price rally fuelled ​by the Middle East war. Revenue declined by 20.7% from April, when ​the budget received additional payments from profit-based tax, paid cyclically. Russia, the world's third-largest oil producer and exporter after the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, ​has been one of the main beneficiaries of the rise in ​oil prices after the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran began at the...

NEW YORK -- Ten-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson confirmed Wednesday in a video posted to social media that he's retiring from the NFL to take a job with CBS Sports. Wilson's announcement came two days after news broke that he was finalizing a deal to become an analyst on CBS' Sunday NFL pregame show. "As I enter this next chapter with CBS Sports and 'The NFL Today,' I'm so blessed to continue doing what I love most -- being around the greatest game in the world," he said in the video. Wilson played 14 seasons after being taken by...

Suspected Fulani gunmen attacked a Christian farming community in central Nigeria’s Plateau state on Sunday evening, killing eight Christians and injuring at least 15 others, according to residents and government officials. The attack occurred in Gwomjang, a predominantly Christian village in Kadunu Ward of Mangu Local Government Area, near the town of Gindiri. The community lies within Nigeria’s Middle Belt. This region has experienced years of violence involving armed attacks on rural communities, disputes over land use, and growing insecurity affecting farmers and civilians. Residents said the attackers entered the village at about 7:30 p.m. on May 31, shortly after...

The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the arrests of 114 illegal migrants over a three-day operation on South Carolina’s highways I-26 and I-85 last month. The arrests were made during “Operation Safe Drive,” which was conducted in the Palmetto State on May 12, 13, and 14, in cooperation with state and local law enforcement agencies, according to the Columbia Post and Courier. ICE spokesperson Lindsay Williams rated the arrests as both “criminal” and “administrative” but the exact charges and names of the suspects have not yet been released. The department also said that the operation...

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) – The situation is "difficult”, the Christian community is “under pressure”, and the most disturbing aspect involves the current Israeli leadership, because for “the first time" it includes people "who hate Christians, who are notorious Christian haters”, this according to Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel, a German-born Benedictine monk who heads the Basilica of the Dormition on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel spoke[I] to AsiaNews, at a time of growing attacks by Jews against the Christian minority, including Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon attacking Orthodox Christians and Israeli settlers attacking Christians, especially in Jerusalem. In the past, the...

In a shock to absolutely no one, Minnesota continues to be a national embarrassment. While the feds have done their diligence and charged 39 of the activists who stormed Cities Church in St. Paul back in January, including Don Lemon who did us all a favor and recorded his crimes, the City of St. Paul has declined to do anything to the rioters. They won't even call them rioters. Here's KARE 11: The St. Paul City Attorney's Office reviewed the incident after dozens of people were arrested for entering Cities Church on Jan. 18 to protest against Pastor David Easterwood,...