Free Republic

Under the leadership of Dr. Francis Collins – who recently admitted the U.S. had "no control" over the Wuhan lab despite funding it – the U.S. National Institutes of Health signed a memorandum of understanding to boost collaboration with a Chinese Communist Party-run scientific organization funding the People’s Liberation Army, The National Pulse can reveal.The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) has also funded several studies conducted by the Wuhan Institute of Virology, including research focused on bat coronaviruses alongside U.S.-based research groups such as the Anthony Fauci-funded EcoHealth Alliance.Revealed through a recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request,...

Former President Obama said Monday that Congress needs to pass voting rights legislation before the 2022 midterm elections, or American democracy could be at risk. "We can't wait until the next election because if we have the same kinds of shenanigans that brought about Jan. 6, if we have that for a couple more election cycles, we're going to have real problems in terms of our democracy long-term," said Obama. Speaking on a call with grassroots supporters alongside former Attorney General Eric Holder, Obama said debate over the voting rights bill, known as the For the People Act, was worth...

New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard was selected to be part of the Olympic team this year.Hubbard participated as a man in the sport before her transition in 2013.Laurel won her first international women’s weightlifting title in Australia in 2017 breaking four national records in the process.Transgender weightlifter, Laurel Hubbard wins Gold at Australasian Championships.https://t.co/FeitrqVh8C pic.twitter.com/6Tm9bRHKfw— FloElite (@FloElite) March 20, 2017The Daily Mail reported:New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard has been selected to be part of the country’s team for the Tokyo Olympic Games, becoming the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the event after qualifying requirements were modified.Hubbard will compete...

Pro-Abort Priest Loses Job After Media StinkCardinal spins Fr. Philip Dyer-Perry's firing as withdrawing for 'reflection'WESTMINSTER, London (ChurchMilitant.com) - A pro-abortion priest who denounced Poland's pro-life law banning eugenic abortion has withdrawn from a plum posting following a media exposé revealing the cleric's anti-Catholic position on the sanctity of life and homosexuality. Father Philip Dyer-Perry's appointment as pastoral director of Allen Hall Seminary was scrapped after archbishop of Westminster Cdl. Vincent Nichols received "an unprecedented number of complaints," multiple diocesan sources told Church Militant. Dyer-Perry's Facebook post encouraging Catholics to be 'woke' Outraged Catholics blasted Nichols for offering Dyer-Perry the...

The San Francisco Walgreens shoplifter defended by one CBS anchor last week as probably just stealing something he needed has reportedly been arrested and linked to at least seven different shoplifting incidents. [cut] Lugo-Romero was arrested around 8:30 a.m. Saturday after officers spotted him entering a store on Haight Street, San Francisco Police Department said in a recent press release. At the time, police officers who recognized him followed Lugo-Romero, 40, into the drug store "to find him clearing shelves of cosmetics and placing the merchandise into a duffel bag," SFPD said. After arresting him, officers determined the stolen goods...

Residents in the four richest cities in southern China’s Guangdong Province were caught off guard when authorities suddenly began imposing lockdown measures over the past few days. Locals told The Epoch Times that many people are concerned because they didn’t have enough time to stock up on food and other necessities, and others don’t trust the Chinese regime’s data on the number of local infection cases.Authorities in Guangdong Province announced on June 21 that one infection was reported and 230 people were being treated for COVID-19 at local hospitals, according to state-run media Xinhua.On June 20, authorities in Guangzhou, Shenzhen,...

UPDATED — St. Veronica Church in North Philadelphia sustained damage in an apparent arson attempt last weekend. This afternoon, a Philadelphia Fire Department spokesperson advised in an email to CatholicPhilly.com the fire marshal’s office has ruled the fire “incendiary,” and added “the incident is being investigated by the city’s Arson Task Force, which includes members of the Philadelphia Fire Department, the Philadelphia Police Department and the ATF (federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives).” Two exterior doors at the church in the city’s Franklinville section were badly scorched in an early morning blaze June 19, with the stained glass...

WASHINGTON—The Commerce Department said Monday it was rescinding a list of prohibited transactions with TikTok and WeChat that were issued in September as the Trump administration sought to block new U.S. downloads of both Chinese-owned apps.The withdrawals came after President Joe Biden earlier this month withdrew a series of Trump-era executive orders that sought to ban new downloads of Tencent-owned WeChat and TikTok, and ordered a Commerce Department review of security concerns posed by those apps and others.The Commerce Department under Trump also had sought to ban other transactions that would have effectively banned WeChat’s use in the United States...

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday stepped up efforts to squeeze Republicans ahead of a key test vote on a sweeping election reform bill, railing against new voting rules in GOP-led states and former President Trump’s efforts to cast doubt on the election. Schumer, speaking from the Senate floor, tied Tuesday’s test vote to Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen,” even though his legal team lost dozens of legal challenges and election experts dismissed claims of widespread voter fraud. “He lied over and over and over again ... poisoning our democracy, lighting a fire...

Pope Francis has repeatedly delivered mixed signals, often seeming to significantly depart from Church teaching regarding the pastoring of individuals afflicted with homosexuality and transgenderism.Pope Francis greets Juan Carlos Cruz, an openly homosexual man whom he appointed to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors VATICAN CITY, June 21, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – On Saturday Pope Francis greeted Juan Carlos Cruz, an openly homosexual man whom he appointed to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors earlier this year at the Vatican. Cruz is himself a victim of clerical sexual abuse. “Today I thanked Pope Francis for my appointment...

Sadly, many people have every reason to mistrust science, medicine and the public health system because of the endless pandemic lies.The biggest, long-lasting lie is the attack on the use of hydroxychloroquine for early COVID home/outpatient treatment. It was always more about politics than medicine and health care.The chief protagonist in the battle against HCQ is Anthony Fauci, the darling of big media. The details of this travesty were laid out in my book, "Pandemic Blunder."Recently, a physician in India made this fascinating observation: "In the 1985-86 edition of 'Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine' [a highly recommended book for students...

The White House on Monday would not comment specifically on President Joe Biden and reception of Communion, and would not answer if a 15-week-old unborn child is a human being. When asked by a reporter at Monday’s press briefing if Biden believes that a 15 week-old unborn baby is a human being White House press secretary Jen Psaki would not directly answer the question. “Are you asking me if the president supports a woman’s right to choose? He does,” Psaki said. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments this fall in a pivotal abortion case on Mississippi’s ban on...

The 9th Circuit, acting on a June 10 appeal filed by Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, put Benitez’s ruling on hold pending a full-blown decision. “This leaves our assault weapons laws in effect while appellate proceedings continue,” Bonta said said in a tweet. “We won’t stop defending these life-saving laws.” The 9th Circuit judges on the panel issuing the stay were Barry G. Silverman, a Clinton appointee, Jacqueline Nguyen, an Obama appointee and Ryan D. Nelson, a Trump appointee. Benitez, appointed by former President George W. Bush, said the weapons ban unconstitutionally infringed on the rights of California gun owners and...

Twitter locked the account of the National File, a national populist news website, for reporting on a tweet from Tami Burages, a woman who says her 13-year old nephew died three days after receiving a second dose of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine. Twitter later said the account had been locked in error and reinstated it. According to a Twitter spokesman, the platform took enforcement action on the National File’s account in error. That action has been reversed and the account has been reinstated. The National File’s report was about Twitter user Tami Burages, who said her teenage nephew had died shortly...

For months Democrats in Washington have vehemently opposed photo ID requirements for potential voters, and they have argued that minorities tend to agree with them. According to a new poll from Monmouth University, that is not the case. Monmouth conducted the poll by phone between the dates of June 9 and June 14. It contained 39 questions relating to American elections, and 810 adults in the U.S. participated. The poll’s margin of error was +/- 3.5 percentage points. In one poll question, respondents were asked, “In general, do you support or oppose requiring voters to show a photo I.D. in...

A new image of Princess Latifa, the daughter of the ruler of Dubai, has been posted on Instagram suggesting she was at a Spanish airport. Several pictures of the princess appearing alive and well have been posted by the same person, Sioned Taylor, in recent months. Princess Latifa had not been seen in public since her failed attempt to flee the UAE in 2018. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum has consistently denied his daughter has been kept hostage, saying she is safe and well. Calls had been made for the sheikh to provide "proof of life" of his daughter...

The question of the authenticity of the Ekaterinburg remains discovered in 1991, believed to belong to Tsar Nicholas II and his martyred family, will be taken into consideration by the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, which will meet in Moscow in November. The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church met at Danilov Monastery in Moscow yesterday under the chairmanship of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. Among the many decisions made by the Synod, it was resolved to refer the results of the extensive examinations carried out on the remains in recent years to the upcoming Bishops’ Council, reports...

Men, like nations, think they’re eternal. What man in his 20s or 30s doesn’t believe, at least subconsciously, that he’ll live forever?In the springtime of youth, an endless summer beckons. As you pass 70, it’s harder to hide from reality.Nations too have seasons. Imagine a Roman of the 2nd. century contemplating an empire that stretched from Britain to the Near East, thinking: This will endure forever.Forever was about 500 years, give or take.France was the thing in the 17th and 18th centuries. Now the land of Charles Martel is on its way to becoming part of the Muslim ummah.In the...

Former President Donald Trump's company sued New York City Monday for allegedly wrongfully terminating contracts the Trump Organization had to operate city facilities. "The City has no right to terminate our contract," Trump Organization officials said in a statement. "Mayor [Bill] de Blasio's actions are purely politically motivated, have no legal merit, and are yet another example of the mayor's efforts to advance his own partisan agenda and interfere with free enterprise." Mayor de Blasio announced in January he was moving to terminate the contracts with the former president's company following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. "The...

The oldest maxim in politics is “follow the money.” That maxim also applies to electric grids. Following the billions of dollars that have been spent on the Texas grid explains why the state continues to have electricity shortages. On Monday, ERCOT, the state’s troubled grid operator, asked Texans to reduce their electricity use. That request came exactly four months after Texas residents were asked to conserve electricity due to a massive winter storm. Before going further, I’ll give you the punchline: As I explained in these pages in April, about $66 billion was spent on wind and solar in Texas...