Free Republic

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have purchased 110 acres of a former sugar plantation reservoir on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The agricultural land includes most of the earthen Ka Loko Reservoir, which tragically dumped over 400 million gallons of water when one of its walls failed in 2006, killing seven people... The new land grab adds to Zuckerberg’s already sizable estate on the island, most of which lies on protected agricultural and conservation land surrounding the couple’s Hawaiian home, Ko‘olau Ranch, according to the Star-Advertiser. Zuckerberg had previously purchased about 700 acres for $100 million...

ROME – As Europe rolls out its vaccination campaign for young children this week, a top Vatican official has endorsed the move, saying children have been uniquely impacted by the pandemic, and must be protected and cared for. Speaking to Crux, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said, “The pandemic has not only affected elderly people, in Italy and around the world, but also children and adolescents.” Younger generations have mainly been affected through school closures, presenting challenges not only in terms of ensuring an adequate education, but also building and maintaining social relationships and the...

The ancient church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Syrian province of Daraa, almost totally destroyed by terrorists, will be rebuilt with support from the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense. “Some parts of the church are 1500 years old, and some of its most ancient stones date back to 1700 years ago,” said Mashur el Emkhann, the rector of the church. “We also know that before our Lord Jesus Christ was born, this was already a place of worship. People came here to pray. That means that this has been a sacred place for several millennia. The Divine services...

Trans Antifa rioter charged with felony has federal case dismissed after 30 hours of community service A Portland-area serial riot arrestee charged over assaulting officers in August 2020 at an Antifa riot had a federal case dismissed after completing just 30 hours of community service. A serial riot arrestee charged over assaulting officers in August 2020 at a Portland riot had a federal case dismissed after completing 30 hours of community service. Male to female trans #Antifa rioter Joshua "Eva" Warner, who was federally charged over assaulting officers in August 2020, had her case dismissed after completing just 30 hours...

All they did was meet together for worship in obedience to the Word of God. Then the government started fining them. Now, officials have shown up with a warrant and are interrogating their employees. The worst part of all is that the Supreme Court has twice ruled in favor of Calvary Chapel San Jose, yet still state and local governments are harassing them. First it was California Governor Gavin Newsom (D), who clung to one of the nation’s strictest lockdowns far longer than science or prudence could justify. Eventually, the Supreme Court intervened to end what had been nearly a...

A female Delta passenger was arrested by the FBI after she was captured attacking an elderly man on a flight for not wearing a mask - even though she wasn't wearing one either. Patricia Cornwall was on a Thursday flight from Tampa to Atlanta when the altercation took place, after she took exception to her 80 year-old male target taking off the face covering to eat and drink while at his seat. The pair exchanged a volley of foul-mouthed insults, which ultimately descended into physical violence, with at least one crew member and multiple other passengers reportedly injured while trying...

Chicago's grim crime-ridden year continued its familiar path over the Christmas weekend and into Monday, with three people fatally shot and 22 injured in a city run by woke Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Murders are at a 25-year high, with 793 recorded so far in a city with 2.7 million people. By comparison, New York City, which has a population of more than eight million, has had 479 murders to date. On Christmas Day, 24-year-old Giovanni Lozano was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head in Logan Square on the Northwest Side at 10:40pm. On December 26, Clifford Jeffrey,...

Students can already pick a ‘health justice’ trackGeorgetown University will add a new track to its seven current options for medical students. The School of Medicine’s “Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion” track joins Health Justice Scholar Track, Healthcare Leadership Track, Literature and Medicine Track, Medical Education Research Scholar Track, Population Health Scholar Track, Primary Care Leadership Track and Environmental Health and Medicine Track as concentrations for aspiring medical professionals. Professors and co-directors Ann Jay and Tamara Wilson have not responded to two emailed requests for comment on the curriculum sent in the past month by The College Fix. Completion of the...

In Brendenburg, around 9,000 took to the streets in 16 locations on the Monday after Christmas. There were protests and riots across the country. Potsdam-In numerous cities in Brandenburg, critics of the corona measures and suspected vaccine opponents took to the streets Monday evening... Despite the cold and black ice, people also demonstrated in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: In Rostock, the officials counted 6500 participants at the top... In Schwerin according to the police, about 2,700 people marched through the city center in the evening. Above all, the legal obligation to vaccinate, which was considered by politicians because of the still inaedquate...

Fires erupted in Syria's Latakia Port's container storage area following an Israeli missile attack, Syrian state media reported on Tuesday. The attack, the second in December, damaged facades of a hospital, some residential buildings and shops "The Israeli "aggression" caused big materialistic damages and assessing its results is still a work in progress", the Syrian defence ministry said in a statement. Israel has mounted frequent attacks against what it has described as Iranian targets in Syria, where Tehran-backed forces including Lebanon's Hezbollah have deployed over the last decade to support President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's war. Live footage aired by...

This is the moment a so-called Karen trespassed into a family's home in Chicago to complain about the noise of their Christmas party - only to be quickly thrown out by furious family members. The video, posted on TikTok by user Katy Ileana, shows a family delighting in Christmas celebrations as they open presents in their kitchen on the evening of December 24, as is traditional for many Hispanic Americans. Suddenly, a grey haired, bespectacled woman enters through the kitchen door with her arms in the air and says: 'Can I ask you guys to shut it down? 'It's about...

Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN on Monday Americans should stay away from large gatherings for New Year's Eve even if people are fully vaccinated with boosters because they would not know if others are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. "I do wonder we are approaching New Year’s Eve at the end of this week, a lot of people have got events and gatherings planned, and I know you said it’s OK to be with friends and family if you’re vaccinated and boosted, but what is your advice to people about larger settings for New Year’s parties?" CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked. "Kaitlan,...

Sugar may actually be healthy for some Greenland residents, a study finds. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen found that up to three percent of Greenlanders may have a rare genetic mutation that allows their body to process sugar in a way that is healthy. Since many people in Greenland come from gene pools that have consumed little sugar at all for centuries, their body has adjusted to consume sugar in a different way. Those who have the mutation are less likely to become obese, or suffer from a wide range of health problems generally tied to being overweight. 'Adult...

FEAST OF SAINT JOHN, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST JOHN 20:1A, 2-8 Friends, today we celebrate the feast of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. St. John is, of course, a spiritual master, but he is a literary master as well. We can see his skill throughout his Gospel, but perhaps especially in the stories dealing with the resurrected Jesus. We can find them in the twentieth and twenty-first chapters of his Gospel. Our passage for today is from chapter twenty, and it contains, in short compass, the whole of Christianity, if we have the eyes to see it. “On the first...

Gabriel Weinberg’s DuckDuckGo is taking aim at the desktop browser market, betting that default privacy-centric settings will provide safer alternatives to Google’s Chrome and Microsoft’s Chromium-based Edge browsers. The upstart search engine company says it is building a desktop browser from scratch with the same privacy-enhancing defaults that makes the DuckDuckGo search engine popular with privacy advocates. Weinberg, who co-founded DuckDuckGo in 2008 and expanded beyond search into email protection and mobile app tracking, said the new desktop browser will attempt to make things simple for confused web surfers. "No complicated settings, no misleading warnings, no 'levels' of privacy protection...

At 4' 9" 97lbs, Richard J. Flaherty achieved the impossible by becoming a Green Beret Captain and a Vietnam vet war hero. Known as the smallest man to ever serve in the U.S. military, Flaherty earned the Silver Star, 2 Bronze Stars & 2 Purple

New details have emerged about “Dallas Buyers Club” filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée’s unexpected passing. The 58-year-old director is believed to have died from a heart attack at his cabin outside Quebec City over Christmas, sources told Deadline. The “Big Little Lies” filmmaker was prepping to host guests over the weekend, sources said, adding that it is likely he died Dec. 25 and was found the following morning. Vallée was a health enthusiast, who abstained from drinking, worked out constantly and practiced Wim Hof’s extreme breathing methods, which involve holding one’s breath for long periods of time, often in frigid environments. Tributes...

NASCAR driver Brandon Brown says affiliation with the "Let's go Brandon" chant is costing him marketing opportunities. Brandon Brown, the NASCAR driver who unintentionally sparked the “Let’s go Brandon” phenomenon, says he is having sponsorship struggles as a result of the chant. In October, Brown was being interviewed by Kelli Stavast on NBC after he won a race at Talladega. The crowd was chanting “F–k Joe Biden,” and Stavast talked about how they were chanting “Let’s go Brandon!” The phrase quickly became a rallying cry among conservatives who believe President Biden gets treated with kid gloves by the media, and...

Chinese companies have long been toxic places to work. Tech companies have long practiced the presenteeism of ‘996’ – working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for 6 days a week without overtime pay. Famous founders Jack Ma and Richard Liu have lauded 996, mistakenly equating long hours with strong work ethic. What’s worse, this standard has now seeped into most other sectors in China. In January, a delivery worker of E.le.ma (餓了麼) set himself on fire after the company did not pay him 5000 yuan that they owed him for two weeks. Delivery workers across the country have staged...

WILSON, N.C. (WTVD) -- The man accused of murdering 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant in his front yard in 2020 has officially been indicted. Investigators said Darius Sessoms, 25, shot and killed Hinnant on August 9, 2020 in Wilson, North Carolina. The young boy was on his bike not far from his own front door when he was fatally shot. I just don't understand why he did it," a neighbor said at the time. "How can you walk up to a little boy, point blank, and put a gun to his head and just shoot him? How could anyone do that?" On...