Free Republic

CHICAGO -- Sixty-five people were shot, five fatally, in shootings across Chicago over the weekend, police said. A 16-year-old boy was near a parking lot in the 5900-block of South Indiana Avenue in the Washington Park neighborhood when he was shot in the abdomen around 6 p.m., Chicago police said. The teen was rushed to Comer Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. Earlier in the day, a few blocks away, a man and a 25-year-old woman were arguing in the 5400-block of South Winchester Avenue around 3:30 a.m. when a 37-year-old man tried to intervene. The other...

Thanks to the horrific drought which is absolutely devastating ranching in the Southwest, ranchers are now in “panic mode” and are selling off their cattle at an unprecedented rate. In fact, some are choosing to sell off their entire herds because they feel like they don’t have any other options. In recent days, seemingly endless lines of trailers waiting to drop off cattle for auction have gone viral all over social media. Everybody is talking about how they have never seen anything like this before, and if the drought in the Southwest persists the lines could soon get even longer....

But first: Now that Maryland’s primaries are over — NBC News on Friday projected Wes Moore the winner in the Democratic race for governor — we now turn to the three big primary days left on the 2022 calendar. On Aug. 2, we’ll see primaries in: Arizona (featuring Trump-backed Kari Lake vs. Karrin Taylor Robson in Arizona Governor, plus the Trump-backed Blake Masters vs. Jim Lamon and Mark Brnovich in Arizona Senate). Michigan (the GOP race to take on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, as well as the Democratic member-vs.-member race in Michigan-11, and the Trump-backed primary against GOP Rep. Peter Meijer...

Ukraine is pressing ahead with its plan to resume grain exports across the Black Sea, a government official said on Monday, in the face of a Russian missile attack on the port of Odesa that raised doubts about the viability of an international agreement aimed at easing a global food shortage. Millions of tons of grain in Ukraine’s ports have been held hostage by the war, but a deal struck on Friday in Istanbul that involved Turkey and the United Nations appeared to offer hope, especially for the countries in Africa and the Middle East most reliant on the country’s...

Joe Biden considered declaring climate change an “emergency.” Pressured by his party’s leftist flank, which can’t enact climate-change legislation and wants a work-around ... officials continue to abusively extend their powers. Gov. Kathy Hochul has been extending her “emergency” powers monthly since she declared a state of emergency in November ... The order suspended competitive bidding ... This is a big deal. The state spends our money recklessly at the best of times — but with this “emergency” in place, it doesn’t have to answer to us or even pretend to give expensive contracts to anyone but friends. The family...

Thomas Malthus predicted that famine was the inevitable byproduct of agriculturally successful populations: A well-fed population would breed faster than the agricultural sector could grow. For him, that was an unavoidable tragedy. Modern leftist governments, though, have a new approach to this: They are forcing Malthusian famines by mandating fertilizer reductions and seizing farmers’ lands. It’s all part of the Great Reset that the New World Order of Klaus Schwab et al have planned for us: You’ll have nothing, including no food, while they live in their castles on the hill, insulated from the Hobbesian terrors they’ve created.

"The war in Ukraine is in its sixth month, and there’s no end in sight. Here’s what we know… Almost everything you heard about the war in Ukraine from U.S. media over the course of March, April and May was a lie. **** It’s not that I’m pro-Russian — I’m not. I’m pro-truth. And I don’t defend the Russian invasion in any way (although I do understand it). Even Bloomberg and The New York Times are now starting to admit that the war is a lost cause for Ukraine and the U.S. economy is suffering from sanctions aimed at Russia....

A Lehigh County PA man was charged Friday in the Jan. 6 insurrectionist riot in Washington after making statements to the FBI that he entered the Capitol. Samuel Fontanez Rodriguez, 33, of Emmaus, PA faces a charge of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority. Fontanez Rodriguez allegedly told the FBI he entered the Capital “for a short period of time” and “was exposed to tear gas and smoke bombs” during the siege that occurred as Congress and Mike Pence were working to certify the 2020 vote for president. The riot, now the focus...

Monday 25 July 2022 Saint James, Apostle Feast St. James' Church Noblejas, Spain Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Red. Year: C(II).First reading2 Corinthians 4:7-15 ©Such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from usWe are only the earthenware jars that hold this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from us. We are in difficulties on all sides, but never cornered; we see no answer to our problems, but never despair; we have been persecuted, but never deserted; knocked down, but never killed; always, wherever we may be, we carry with us...

General Motors (GM) on Friday revealed the Cadillac Celestiq, an electric car that will reportedly cost approximately $300,000. [cut] The Celestiq will be built at the company’s Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, according to the CNN report. “The Celestiq features technology already available on other Cadillac models, like Super Cruise, GM’s hands-free highway driving system. It also has a 55-inch diagonal display screen and a glass roof that can darken to different shades in each of four different zones,” the outlet said. [cut] In June, the Biden administration’s push to have more citizens driving electric vehicles (EV) encountered a dilemma...

A Google developer was recently fired for revealing that the tech giant’s AI bot had a mind of its own. The trigger that made him realize that the technology was sentient was a joke it made about Israel not belonging to any religion. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, former Google developer Blake Lemoine explained how he arrived at the conclusion that Google’s AI system, LaMDA was sentient and how a witty response about Israel being run by a philosophy based on a science fiction movie. As part of the process, Lemoine would continually challenge artificial intelligence with nuanced questions...

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE ESTHER BEGS FOR THE JEWS' RESCUE E S T H E R CHAPTER 8 Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews. Then the king extended the gold scepter to Esther and she arose and stood before him. 1 FRANC KAVČIČ "Esther before Ahasuerus" 2 JEAN FRANÇOIS DE TROY "Esther Fainting" 3 JAN STEEN "Esther before Ahasuerus" 4 GUERCINO "Esther before...

The Czech Republic plans to purchase 24 F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters to replace their current fleet of 14 Gripen fighter jets, the defense ministry announced Wednesday, in the latest move by Prague to rapidly move toward NATO-standard weapons in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Defense Minister Jana Cernochova announced that she has been authorized to negotiate the purchase of the two dozen of the Lockheed Martin-produced fifth-generation jets, which cost about $80 million apiece in the current U.S. Air Force contract, although it is not clear what unit price Prague would get. Lockheed officials directed questions about the...

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a cabinet meeting on Monday with senior officials, amid concerns about Ukraine's High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from the United States that Western officials claim hamper Moscow's war efforts. The rocket systems first arrived in Ukraine in June from the U.S and have been seen as crucial to helping Kyiv's forces repel the Russian military. The Russian state-backed TASS news agency reported on Monday that Putin will hold the cabinet meeting via videoconference on Monday, with the main topics being the development of air transport and aircraft manufacturing. Deputy Prime Minister and Trade...

Last week I wrote about how "We're All Dutch Farmers Now." As you'll recall from that editorial, there is a battle taking place right now between farmers in the Netherlands and the technocrats in their government who are seeking to put them out of work and close up their farms in the name of the globalists' grand 2030 Agenda. And, as you'll also recall, I warned that no matter where you are on the globe or what your position in society is, this Great Reset nightmare will be coming for you and your livelihood next. Recent events in various countries...

An Iranian senior missile engineer died in southern Iran several days ago, according to a report by an Iranian dissident group published on Saturday night. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps engineer Said Thamardar Mutlak was described in alleged funeral announcements shared by the National Iranian Congress as having been made a shahid (martyr) and murdered in Shiraz. The report stated that Iranian authorities did not want news of the death to be published, and that Mutlak’s family had been threatened not to share the news. Did Iran hint to alleged assassination? “Cowardly assassination of heroes of our scientific prowess didn’t help...

Tour de France fans took matters into their own hands on Saturday as they removed a gang of eco-protesters threatening to disrupt the bicycle race by sitting in the middle of the road to block riders. MailOnline has more. "Eight climate activists from French campaign group Dernière Rénovation (Last Renovation) sporting T-shirts emblazoned with the message “we have 978 days left” to tackle environmental decline tried to stop the race during the 20th stage between Lacapelle-Marival and Rocamadouron on Saturday. "But their attempts to wreak havoc at the stage were thwarted by spectators, who stormed onto the road and dragged...

Ours is USAA but it excludes a lot. What do you use? Thanks.

Alienating half the country is not a wise strategy of military recruitment. The U.S. Army has met only 40 percent of its 2022 recruiting goals. In fact, all branches of the military are facing historic resistance to their current recruiting efforts. If some solution is not found quickly, the armed forces will radically shrink or be forced to lower standards—or both. Such a crisis occurs importunely as an aggressive Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea believe the Biden Administration and the Pentagon have lost traditional U.S. deterrence. That pessimistic view abroad unfortunately is now shared by many Americans at home....

A chess robot broke a 7-year-old boy's finger during a match in Russia last week. Video posted to social media of the incident shows the robot, which is playing three simultaneous matches against various opponents using a large mechanical arm, playing the young victim. The boy, reaches to move one of his pieces and the robot grabs his finger. The robot did not appear to make any severe twisting or other movements after grabbing the finger, however. Several adults rushed in soon after the incident and freed the boy's hand. "The robot broke the child’s finger," Sergey Lazarev, president of...