Free Republic

Donald Trump on Tuesday abruptly gave up his plan to deliver a press conference on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, leaving President Joe Biden to address a divided nation. Trump's decision to ditch his planned press conference in Florida means Americans will be spared a split-screen moment on Thursday. If it had gone ahead, Biden would have marked what he calls "one of the darkest days" in U.S. history, while Trump, just a few hours later, was expected to comment on the day as while while also referencing his claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election....

Religious persecution an ‘insane’ act, pope saysTo discriminate against or persecute those who profess their faith is an intolerable act that threatens the fraternal bonds shared by humanity, Pope Francis said.“How can we allow that in this society — which is so civilized — there are people who are persecuted simply because they publicly profess their faith? Not only is it unacceptable; it’s inhuman, it’s insane,” the pope said.In a video message released by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network Jan. 3, the pope offered his prayer intention for the month of January, which he dedicated to people who suffer from...

The NFL, not surprisingly in the midst of a rise in COVID-19 cases, has looked into other potential sites for next month's Super Bowl. That's not unusual because the league does so every year. But with Los Angeles the site for this year's title game, and restrictions increasing for attendance at indoor events, it has become more noteworthy. "We plan on playing Super Bowl 56 as scheduled at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 13," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Wednesday. "As part of our standard contingency planning process that we conduct for all regular and postseason games,...

SEOUL: South Korea has grounded its entire fleet of advanced F-35 fighter jets, officials said Wednesday (Jan 5), pending a probe into a dramatic emergency landing. After the landing gear on a South Korean F-35A stopped working during a major systems malfunction, the pilot chose not to eject and instead landed the jet on its belly, walking away without any injuries. The heart-stopping incident on Tuesday, at an air force base in the west of the country, has prompted a probe during which South Korean F-35s will be grounded. "With the investigation under way, the entire (F-35) fleet is suspended...

Explanation: Does the Sun always rise in the same direction? No. As the months change, the direction toward the rising Sun changes, too. The featured image shows the direction of sunrise every month during 2021 as seen from the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The camera in the image is always facing due east, with north toward the left and south toward the right. As shown in an accompanying video, the top image was taken in 2020 December, while the bottom image was captured in 2021 December, making 13 images in total. Although the Sun always rises in the east...

New York Times economist Paul Krugman is once again making a fool of himself by letting everyone know he believes that 2021 was actually a great year for the economy. Really. His new op-ed, headlined, “Don’t Tell Anyone, but 2021 Was Pretty Amazing,” was about as ridiculous as it was amusing. Here’s his new talking point: “[T]here’s a good chance that once time has passed and we’ve had a chance to regain perspective, we’ll consider 2021 to have been a very good year, at least in some ways.” He continued: “In particular, although nobody seemed to notice, it was a...

A cosmetic surgeon from Belgium has been handed a ten-month prison sentence for a lecture in which he complained that women were no longer willing to give sexual favours in exchange for protection and money from men. Judges in Flanders said the speech by Jeff Hoeyberghs, 60, merited the prison sentence, half of which is suspended, on the grounds that he not only intended to incite discrimination, hatred and violence against women but also refused to apologise. Hoeyberghs insisted he was only speaking the "truth", while some politicians claimed his freedom of speech was being curtailed. In his 2019 speech...

Francis On Homosexuals: “The Lord Will Save Everyone” (Video)Francis claimed that everyone will be saved during his September 15 in-flight press conference thus qualifying Christ's death as superfluous.The blasphemy went unnoticed until NovusOrdoWatch.org (January 3) paid attention to it. While taking about the vice of homosexuality, Francis said,“Respect everyone. The Lord is good and will save everyone — do not say this aloud [laughs] — but the Lord wants to save everyone. Please do not make the Church deny her truth. Many, many people of homosexual orientation approach the Sacrament of Penance, they approach to ask priests for advice, the...

My father, a Vietnam vet, went to the Lord yesterday. He had not been in good health for some time. My boyfriend found him. He is taking it hard. He even tried to do mouth-to-mouth, even though I think it was far too late. My aunt, his sister, is in the hospital with pneumonia. She has T2 diabetes. They will not let me see her because I have to be cleared for Covid and I have been struggling all day to find a place that has tests. I am not able to tell her about her brother. I don't think...

“The family that prays together stays together” Staring his own mortality in the face and struggling beneath the weight of a terminal diagnosis of tuberculosis on the upper lobe of his right lung, Patrick Peyton sat up on his deathbed, feeling his faith ablaze like a pile of hay sprinkled with gasoline and ignited with a match. The words he had just received from one of his professors, Fr. Cornelius Hagerty, C.S.C., while visiting his hospital room, were the most powerful he had ever heard in his life, and they changed everything: If you believe twenty-five percent, that’s what...

The year 2021 ended with a major ‘peel’ for the site as LiDAR-equipped drones helped find 12 previously unknown small structures in Machu Picchu National Park which help identify the caretakers of the complex back in the 15th century. The LiDAR also revealed previously unknown canals that show how the Incas controlled water – a feat they believed was a ‘superpower’ granted to them by the gods. As described in a new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, a team of researchers from the Center for Andean Studies at the University of Warsaw and the Wroclaw (Poland) University...

Just one problem, however: Youngkin won’t be sworn in until Jan. 15, leaving the highway mess in the hands of lame-duck Democrat Ralph Northam. “Looks Youngkin failed his first test in Va, with traffic stopped for 10-12 hrs on 95 in Virginia. Failure for gov,” wrote one user, who described themselves as a “liberal transplant in NC.” “Collateral damage between Glenn Youngkin and the wrath of God,” posted South Florida Sun-Sentinel columnist Fred Grimm. The errors were immediately noticed by other social media users, who were quick to point out that Northam was still in charge.

Stocks fell sharply Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffering its first decline of 2022, as Wall Street geared up for potentially tighter U.S. monetary policy. Rates also jumped, putting pressure on equities, after the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting showed the central bank has discussed reducing its balance sheet shortly after it raises rates later this year. The Fed is tapering its bond purchases now and has already indicated to the market that it will raise rates soon after it finishes that taper in March. But the market is awaiting indications from the Fed on...

Novak Djokovic had received a medical exemption to compete in the Australian Open without being vaccinated against COVID-19, but that same medical exemption could end up preventing him from entering the country. Djokovic has reportedly been denied entry to Australia due to a visa mixup. According to the Times of London, a member of Djokovic's team applied for the wrong class of visa — one that doesn't apply to people who have gotten a medical exemption — and Djokovic's stuck at the airport without a way to enter the country. VIA THE TIMES But Djokovic is presently unable to proceed...

How are the dollars and cents of your life changing as we move into 2022? Peter Schiff joined University of Miami Business School Dean John Quelch and host Holland Cooke on RT’s “Big Picture” to talk about the year ahead. Peter left us with an ominous warning. 2022 will be worse than 2021 as inflation continues to mount. The first question posed to Peter was have Americans’ prospects for prosperity become less likely? Peter said he thinks they’ve diminished dramatically and will get even worse as the decade progresses. He pointed out that in the 50s, Americans had much more...

Even in the best conditions, Benny Abruzzo admits that striding from one of the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway towers onto the top of a tram car is a “gulp” step. But what if you have just climbed up that tower’s 80-foot ladder in slippery, frigid conditions in an effort to rescue 20 people who have been trapped in that car, dangling at an elevation of 8,750 feet, for hours. “That tower was covered in six inches of ice,” said Abruzzo, 63, owner of the tramway, the Sandia Peak Ski Area and Sandia Peak’s TEN 3 restaurant. “I had to break...

In BriefThe Facts:Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer recently explained that up to 50 per cent of "COVID hospitalizations" are not a result of COVID. Many people coming in for other issues that happen to test positive are added to the COVID hospitalization count. Death counts may also be misleading, as it's not certain whether people died because of COVID, or simply with COVID.Reflect On:How can there be a continuing denial that all the supposed "misinformation" that has been censored for months continues to turn out to be true? How is it that those in positions of authority are...

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC/WKRC/CNN Newsource) - There was an angry protest outside of one of America's most respected medical institutions on Monday. The world famous Mayo Clinic made good on a threat to fire employees who refused COVID vaccinations on January 3. That number reached a reported 700 employees, according to CBS Minnesota. That makes up about 1% of Mayo's 73,000 workforce. Between chanting, honking and marching, protesters outside of Mayo Clinic made their message clear. The hospital's deadline for its employees to get vaccinated -- or terminated -- prompted dozens to speak out. Some now-former employees joined in after their...

The Congressional Committee for Grasping at Straws, also known as the January 6 Committee, has been targeting patriots and confidants of President Trump since they were formed. They’ve made a mockery of Capitol Hill will attempting in vain to victimize America First folks fighting to save the nation.Their latest attempt to paint someone in a negative light is MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. According to CNBC:MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell says his phone records have been subpoenaed by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.The revelation came after CNBC reported last month that Lindell has spent $25 million...

Kelly Ernby, an Orange County, California deputy district attorney who recently ran for state assembly and regularly spoke out against vaccine mandates, has died of complications from COVID-19.