Free Republic

The leader of a prominent Christian megachurch was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to multiple counts of child sexual assault late last week. During the hearing, the defendant — and many others — were sharply upbraided by the judge. “I never cease to be amazed at what people do in the name of religion,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen angrily mused. “And how people’s lives are ruined in the guise of serving a supreme being.” After years of proclaiming his innocence and pledging to fight the charges against him,...

The Colombian army has released a video showing gold coins and other valuable items around the shipwreck of the San Jose galleon, believed to be the resting place of billions of dollars in treasure. Royal Navy vessels sank the Spanish flagship in 1708 during the War of the Spanish Succession, but its resting place - near the port of Cartagena on Colombia's coast with the Caribbean - had been a mystery for more than three centuries before the Colombian navy formally announced its discovery in 2015. Experts speculate that the ship was loaded with at least 200 tons of treasure,...

A new study investigating if mental health helps shape satisfaction with partners has revealed there are differences between females and males—with men having the potential to experience a vicious circle. Led by Loughborough University's Professor Paul Downward, professor of economics in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, the analysis used data on 42,464 couples gathered through the British Household Panel Survey (1991–2008) to test aspects of the marital adjustment model, which assesses dyadic partner satisfaction. The findings suggest for females, relationship satisfaction is more likely to influence mental health. For males, however, there is a potential "vicious circle...

A team of researchers has found that a metabolite produced by bacteria in the gut promotes neural cell death resulting in cognitive decline in mice. In their paper, the group describes their study of the metabolite isoamylamine (IAA) and its impact on cognitive decline. Prior research has suggested a strong link between gut bacteria and brain health. The researchers looked into the possible impact on the brain of just one metabolite produced by one family of bacteria in the gut, Ruminococcaceae. They found first that IAA becomes more prevalent in the gut as people age due to the presence of...

Amid ongoing controversy over whether education in the classics should be eliminated or reformed to exclude works deemed too Western or white, a black professor affirmed that the classics are for everyone. University of Virginia sociology Professor Angel Parham said the study of Greco-Roman culture still has “much to teach us.” The classics should be “elevated and broadened,” not repudiated, she wrote in a May 20 op-ed for The Wall Street Journal. “The study of Greek and Latin literature and history has a proven record of lifting the performance of students, especially the disadvantaged.” “…It is ironic that critics deem...

Having multiple conditions that affect the heart is linked to a greater risk of dementia than having high genetic risk, according to a new large-scale study. The international research team identified those who had been diagnosed with the cardiometabolic conditions diabetes, stroke, or a heart attack, or any combination of the three, and those who went on to develop dementia. Within this study population, the researchers found that the more of these three conditions a person had, the higher their risk of dementia. People who had all three conditions were three times more likely to develop dementia than people who...

Pro-choice activists marched in front of the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh Wednesday evening just hours after a man was charged with threatening to kill him. In videos shared online, protesters – comprising members of the activist group "Ruth Sent US" – chanted slogans while banging drums and walking up and down the sidewalk. "Keep your rosaries, off my ovaries," the protesters could be heard chanting in call and response fashion while police stood on guard in front of Kavanaugh’s home.

A group representing 600 Texas families and backed by the American Civil Liberties Union sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday to stop state officials from treating transgender healthcare for minors as a form of child abuse. In February, the Texas governor ordered the Department of Family and Protective Services to open child abuse investigations of families that provide minors with transgender care such as estrogen or testosterone treatments or hormone blockers that delay the onset of puberty. The measure was part of a wave of initiatives by Republican governors and legislators affecting transgender rights across the country, with some...

If you can spot the hidden message in this image then you’re smarter than most. The visual puzzle challenges you to find the “hidden tiger” in the jungle scene – and it’s harder than you think. That’s because the artwork contains not one but two big cats, with one much easier to identify than the other. Alongside the fairly obvious striped predator in the middle, rather than a second tiger, the image contains the text “the hidden tiger”. It’s this text that you’re tasked with finding in order to solve the fiendishly difficult puzzle.

Days after a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school that left 19 children and two teachers dead, the Biden Administration is fighting a court-ordered $230 million verdict for the victims of a different Texas mass shooting. The Justice Department filed an appeal in an attempt to not pay the multi-million dollar verdict to the families and victims of the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting by former Air Force airman Devin Kelley, said Texas attorney Thomas J. Henry. “That federal judge found that the United States government was at fault for allowing the gunman to acquire a gun because the...

Over the past two centuries its magnetic strength has taken a nosedive, and nobody has the foggiest idea why. At the same time, a concerning soft-spot in the field called the South Atlantic Anomaly has blistered over the Atlantic ocean, and has already proven problematic for delicate circuitry on orbital satellites. Both of these troubling observations fuel concerns that we might be seeing signs of an imminent reconfiguration that would turn the compass points all topsy-turvy in what's known as a magnetic pole reversal. But researchers behind a new investigation modelling the planet's magnetic field in the recent past warn...

The telescope, called eROSITA and mounted on the Russian Spektr-RG spacecraft, scans the sky for sources of X-ray radiation (black holes and neutron stars) and works in tandem with Russia's ART-X instrument that searches for supermassive black holes. Russian scientists involved in the cooperation reportedly criticized the idea, saying that restarting eROSITA without German participation could damage the telescope. "The telescope was turned off not by the Germans, but by Russian specialists at the request of Germany," Rogozin wrote in the unverified post, which is dated June 6. "Russian astronomers need a working observatory, not a de-energized piece of iron...

As Americans debate gun control measures following the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, some politicians are using the tragedy to advance their agenda against firearms. One day after the shooting, Democrats began using the tragedy as a vehicle to push for the types of policies they were already wanting. That effort was evident when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged voters who want more strict gun control to vote for Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections. Senate Democrats have failed to advance their wider-reaching federal gun control legislation by falling short of a 60-vote filibuster threshold, which is needed...

“What I don’t want to do, and I’m not being facetious, is I don’t want to emulate Trump’s abuse of the Constitution, and constitutional authority,” President Joe Biden told Jimmy Kimmel today of why he hasn’t inked an Executive Order to try to stop the murderous gun violence that America has tragically seen in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, to name a few, in recent weeks. “I often get asked, well the Republicans don’t play it square, why do you play it square,” Biden added in his first live in-studio late night sit-down since taking office in January 2021. “Well, guess...

"It always baffles me when guys use Jesus as their excuse to discriminate."Openly gay pro-baseball player Bryan Ruby is outraged over some Tampa Bay Rays players’ personal decision not to wear rainbow-colored logos on their uniform for Pride Night, in at least one case expressly for “faith-based” reasoning.Ruby, who has played in the minor leagues but is reportedly taking June off, trashed the players in an interview with USA TODAY Sports, claiming their actions make other gay people feel like “second-class citizens” and are using Jesus to shield their homophobia.“It always baffles me when guys use Jesus as their...

US State Department cites Jerusalem-based monitor’s findings on PA textbooks IMPACT-se has found the promotion of violence, martyrdom and jihad in "all grades and subjects." (June 8, 2022 / JNS) A U.S. State Department report on June 2 features research by a Jerusalem-based monitor of educational material in Palestinian Authority textbooks and their systematic messaging regarding the promotion of violence, martyrdom and jihad. Research by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Culture Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) found that textbooks made for “all grades and subjects” in Palestinian schools contained such incitement. The report also discussed IMPACT-se's critique of the...

A judge has ruled that Arizona’s legislature is within its constitutional rights to allow “no-excuse” mail-in ballots, denying the state GOP’s legal challenge ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.Mojave County Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen ruled against the Arizona GOP and its chair, Dr. Kelli Ward, in support of a 1991 law that permits no-excuse mail-in ballots.“Defendants for the past thirty years have applied the laws of Arizona as written,” Jantzen wrote in his ruling (pdf). “The laws are far from perfect and nobody anticipated thirty years ago that approximately 90 percent of Arizona voters would vote by mail-in ballot...

On Tuesday, San Francisco’s largely liberal residents successfully recalled their woke district attorney, Chesa Boudin. The majority of San Franciscans held Boudin accountable for the city’s skyrocketing crimes and the deterioration of the quality of life. The recall’s success has significant implications for San Francisco and the rest of the country. 1. Wokeness Gone Too Far, Even For Democrat VotersSince elected San Francisco’s DA in November 2019, Boudin has become the standard-bearer of the so-called progressive prosecution movement, which includes Los Angeles County DA George Gascón (he previously served as San Francisco’s DA), Chicago Cook County DA Kim Foxx, Philadelphia...

Donald Trump Jr. @DonaldJTrumpJr As I was saying!!! It’s just too obvious and predictable these days. They don’t have to play by their rules only you do folks. Hope you’re all waking up!!! BREAKING: All charges have reportedly been dropped against Paul Pelosi for his DUI crash.

Nicholas John Roske was arrested today and charged with attempted murder when agents of the FBI took him into custody. He has been charged with the attempted murder of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Initial indications are that Roske is not entirely cogent with his crime. Yes, it is serious no matter the condition of the alleged perpetrator, and there was premeditation during his confession to police during the initial interview by the arresting officer. In no means is this an excuse to his behavior, and he should be looking at both serious criminal ramifications and punishment, in addition to...