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US forces have so far directed 21 ships to turn around since the blockade began this week, the US Central Command posted on X overnight, accompanied by an image of an American guided-missile destroyer patrolling the Arabian Sea. Trump also mocked Western allies over plans to deploy a British and French-led naval taskforce to patrol the Strait of Hormuz. Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron said on Friday they would send warships to help secure the key shipping route, which carries roughly a fifth of the world's oil. But the US president dismissed the effort in a post on X,...

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, 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) LIFE IS FRAGILE . . . HANDLE IT WITH PRAYER!

ALBANY – Embattled New York Attorney General Letitia James on Friday repeatedly refused to tell The Post why she won’t release her tax returns like other top Democrats in the state did earlier in the week. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul have made income tax returns available for review by reporters, but James is refusing to do so — even as she fights back allegations she falsified information on mortgage applications. The Empire State’s AG bizarrely claimed that the decision to release her own tax return was up to her staff. “They will make that...

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar blamed an accounting “discrepancy” for errors in a financial disclosure that listed her net worth at up to $30 million – while doubling down that she is not a millionaire, a report said. The lefty “Squad” lawmaker – facing fraud probe calls from President Trump – insisted the initial figures in a disclosure filed last May were completely off-base, as an amended filing now shows shared assets with her husband of up to just $95,000, according to The Wall Street Journal. “The amended disclosure confirms what we’ve said all along: The congresswoman is not a millionaire,”...

This week, Pope Leo XIV visited Algeria's "Maqam Echahid" to "honor the sacrifices made by the Christians, Jews, and Muslims in 1962. All exhibited supreme devotion to their faiths. The Christians and Jews died for their faith. Many of the Muslims involved in slaying these non-Muslims also died in pursuit of their faith." Leo explained that "our presence here at this monument pays tribute to this history of Algeria and to the very spirit of a people who fought for the independence, dignity and sovereignty of this nation. Many non-Muslims regard the massacre of persons of different faiths as an...

President Donald Trump announced that the “Strait of Hormuz is fully open and ready for business” during his appearance Friday at a Turning Point USA rally in Phoenix... He also promised to release the Pentagon study on UFOs “very, very soon...I figured this was a good crowd because I know you people. You’re really into that,” the president said, about UFOs. “I don’t know if I am.”... The president touted his first year in office as “the most successful first year of any administration in the history” after ending eight wars. He included securing the southern border among his accomplishments....

According to a report in The Slovak Spectator, the site of an ammunition depot dating to World War II has been identified outside of the city of Bratislava in the Little Carpathian Mountains. "Based on the composition of the finds, the terrain, and their distribution, we were able to determine that this was an ammunition depot used by German forces defending Bratislava at the end of the war," said archaeologist Matúš Sládok of the Regional Monuments Board Trnava. The depot, built in 1944 by forced laborers, was part of a defensive system that began in Slovenia and ran through northern...

An intact mortar shell has been discovered at Scotland's Culloden Battlefield by a team of researchers led by Derek Alexander of the National Trust for Scotland and Tony Pollard of the University of Glasgow, according to a Scottish Field report. Fought on April 16, 1746, the battle marked the English government's defeat of Jacobite forces, who supported the return of the exiled Stuart king to the English throne after the Glorious Revolution in 1688. The undetonated shell is thought to have been fired by government troops from a Coehorn mortar and then to have landed on boggy ground, where its...

Ron DeSantis isn’t committing to making another run for the presidency, saying he’s “got to run through the tape” and cautioning that it would make little sense to plan too concretely in such a dynamic environment. ..."Think of all the new things we’re talking about right now with what’s going on in the world and everything just in the last two months. And so who knows how all this stuff evolves?” Yet he warns that the midterm elections will be tough for his party. “I think the way the winds are blowing currently, I don’t think it’s insurmountable, but I...

Dr Oz confirms that after stopping payments to 450 hospices in California, still NOT ONE has called and asked to have their payments reinstated 450 hospices out of 450 hospices in California were fraud He says collectively they stole $750 million in just on year

Daily Readings from the USCCBWhen they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” John 6:19–20One of the most consoling things we can hear is our Lord saying to us, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” Every time we encounter His divine presence in our lives, we should hear those words. Though we do not always perceive Him, He is there, and when we reach out to Him in faith,...

The parent company behind well-known shopping channels QVC and HSN has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. QVC Group, which filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, announced the filing in a press release Thursday, saying the company will undergo a restructuring support agreement (RSA) to reduce its debt from $6.6 billion to $1.3 billion. The goal of the RSA is to emerge from bankruptcy within 90 days. "The company has ample liquidity to support the business and, importantly, the terms of the RSA provide for vendors, suppliers and all other general unsecured creditors of the...

Iran is planning to execute four more protesters in an attempt to quell further uprisings while the Islamic nation is in talks with the U.S. The four people, Mohammadreza Majidi-Asl, Bita Hemmati, Behrouz Zamaninejad, and Kourosh Zamaninejad were arrested in January and sentenced to death earlier this week. Bita Hemmati is the first woman to be publicly executed for her ties to the anti-regime protests. A reporter asked President Trump about these executions, and this was his response. A pretty amazing response from President Trump to this reporter question:REPORTER: Iran is going to execute four more protesters, including the first...

New York sanctuary politicians are determined to release an illegal alien arsonist who killed multiple people in order to stick it to Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Mexican national Roman Amatitla randomly selected an NYC apartment building to set ablaze on March 16. He injured seven people and killed four, including a toddler. Now he faces eight counts of second-degree murder and first-degree arson, according to New York Post. The local authorities ought to be handing the illegal alien over to ICE, but they refuse to do so. Democrats have become so fanatical in their opposition to federal immigration...

This is a serious question. It seems that on alternate days, “Iran” declares that the Strait of Hormuz is open. The Strait is closed. The Strait is open with strict Iran-favorable conditions. The Strait is closed to all except Iran friends and family. We never get a straight story. I follow the shipping news closely and even in the darkest days of the Iran crisis, a least a few ships appeared to be getting through. Early on, Iran made some threats that they were never in any position to follow through on. Nonetheless, insurance companies panicked, ship owners got cold...

It's not a done deal but the situation in Iran appears to be heading for an off-ramp just as the situation in Cuba might be gearing up. Here's what we know at the moment. First, U.S. officials quietly visited Cuba last Friday to directly make the case for reform.The meeting last Friday itself marks a diplomatic breakthrough because it's the first time a U.S. government plane has touched down since President Obama visited a decade ago in an effort for rapprochement...A senior State Department official told Axios that multiple meetings took place but would not name the participants, except for...

Tyler Robinson was back in court today where his defense team argued that they needed an additional six months just to read and view all of the evidence against their client which prosecutors have turned over to them.Prosecutor Ryan McBride laid out a massive "mountain of proof" against the suspected assassin, arguing that a six-month delay requested by the defense is unnecessary because the state’s evidence already far exceeds the legal bar for trial...[Defense attorney Richard] Novak characterized the state's production as "gigantic and voluminous," telling the court that his lawyers haven't finished reading the thousands of pages of discovery...

The Speaker of Iran's Parliament has declared the opening of the Strait of Hormuz null and void. In a tweet posted on X, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused President Trump of violating the deal opening the Strait of Hormuz and said the Strait is now closed."With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open."Meanwhile, CENTCOM said today they will continue the blockade until Trump tells them not to. https://t.co/1zFz6q3MVt— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) April 17, 2026"With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open."Meanwhile, CENTCOM said today they will continue the blockade...

The lawyer for Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell thinks President Trump is likely to pardon her... The US Air Force meeting its recruiting goal...2026 fiscal year five months ahead... The US extending its easing of sanctions on Russian oil... "The US President has made seven claims in the span of one hour, all seven of which are false" Iran's Parliament Speaker... President Trump speaking of ending ten wars... Meeting in Havana...US State Department officials...grandson of former Cuban ruler... ...judge in Los Angeles ruling that actor Alec Baldwin can be sued... White House upbeat...meeting with the CEO of AI creator "Anthropic"......

The UCC is a really interesting denomination because it was once a genuine powerhouse in American Protestantism. The UCC was formed in 1957 through a merger of two older traditions—the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church. And for the record, Congregationalism mattered a lot in early American history. In The American Religious Landscape, I make the point that Congregationalists likely represented the single largest religious tradition during the Revolutionary era. Today, the UCC is best understood as a mashup of Congregational polity—especially its strong emphasis on local church autonomy—and German Reformed theology. It’s one of the so-called...