Free Republic

The U.S. on Friday announced a $400 million security aid package for Ukraine, providing more ammunition, equipment and munitions for Kyiv in its fight against Russia. The State Department said the latest package includes munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and howitzer artillery guns, as well as ammunition for the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles the U.S. first announced for Ukraine in January. The latest round of security aid also includes demolitions munitions, equipment and other material, as well as services for maintenance, training and support of Ukrainian troops, who have been fighting against a Russian invasion for...

Animal attacks on people are set to increase in the coming decades as climate change plays havoc with habitats in the wild and forces creatures into human settlements. Scientists have warned that lions, sharks, bears, and the world's most venomous snakes are far more likely to end up in conflict with humans as both vie for living space in the future. In a study published in the Nature Climate Change journal, researchers at the University of Washington’s (UW) Center for Ecosystem Sentinels found that a warming world is increasing human-wildlife conflicts. UW assistant professor of biology and lead author...

Israel should establish rules of standing and recognize the distinction between policy and law.Judges and attorneys general throughout the world—I’ve served in both capacities in the U.S.—wield substantial authority. In any sound legal system, such authority is subject to clear, objective limits. That seemingly unexceptional principle might help clarify the debate roiling Israel over the country’s Supreme Court justices and attorney general, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposals to change that authority and the method of selecting justices.

Apio Bevington was originally from Papua New Guinea but has lived in Camborne for most of his lifeTributes have been paid to a carer from Cornwall who has died suddenly at the age of 32. Apio Bevington, who was originally from Papua New Guinea, died unexpectedly on Wednesday, February 22 leaving family and friends in shock. His friend Max Young, who attended Roskear Primary School in Camborne and Camborne Science & International Academy with Apio, has set up a GoFundMe page to help Apio's family pay for his funeral, which is expected to take place at Treswithian Downs Crematorium, Camborne....

Paramedics battled for an hour and a half to save Libbey Peverall's life after she suddenly became illA family has been left heartbroken after a 'beautiful' young girl collapsed and died suddenly in her dad’s arms, despite his best efforts to try and save her life. Libbey Peverall, who was just 20-years-old, was not known to have any underlying health conditions when she suddenly passed away in traumatic scenes at her family home in West Drayton on February 20. Libbey who had aspirations of becoming a beautician, was described to MyLondon as loved by all who knew her and her...

In 1891, the same year Pope Leo XIII responded to revolutionary economic and industrial upheaval with the encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” the first car powered by electricity made its debut in America. More than 130 years later, dozens of Tesla employees in Buffalo, New York — a still heavily Catholic area — are alleging the electric auto manufacturer fired them in retaliation for attempting to form a union.Tesla faces a complaint before the National Labor Relations Board over accusations the company fired more than 30 employees at its Buffalo facility within two days of workers launching their campaign Feb. 14 to...

It’s almost cliché to say that America is more divided than ever. Countless columns, books, and news segments draw attention to the issue. It fuels the Right’s National Divorce meme. The Left blames social media for fanning the flames of division and fears we’re heading to civil war. Ironically, polarization may be the one political issue everyone agrees on. While backed by clear evidence, our political divisions pale in comparison to our broader, shared monoculture. The political divisions are obvious. Polarization leads some, particularly on the Right, to conclude that America is undergoing cultural balkanization. These voices insist Red America...

Charlamagne says '90% of everything the YouTube scientists were saying has been true'After watching a recent clip of actor Woody Harrelson seemingly questioning the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine and its booster shots, radio host Charlamagne Tha God said most of the skeptics of mainstream COVID-19 narratives were right all along, and now normal people are waking up. "I think people know the jig is up," "The Breakfast Club" host told comedian Andrew Schulz during an episode of Schulz's podcast "Flagrant." Schulz prompted the discussion by playing a clip from Harrelson’s "Saturday Night Live" monologue last week, in a clip...

The U.S. government is sounding the alarm about the Royal ransomware operation, which it says has targeted numerous critical infrastructure sectors across the United States. In a joint advisory released on Thursday, the FBI and U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA said that Royal ransomware has claimed multiple victims in the U.S. and internationally, including manufacturing, communications, education and healthcare organizations. The warning comes after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services warned in December that Royal ransomware was “aggressively” targeting the U.S. healthcare sector. Royal’s dark web leak site currently lists Northwest Michigan Health Services and Midwest Orthopaedic Consultants among...

"Mexican bishops will ask Pope to include Mayan rites in Catholic Masses": Zaire was just the start... San Cristóbal de Las Casas (Mexico), 28 Feb. [source in Spanish] The Diocese of San Cristóbal, in the south of Mexico, will send Pope Francis a proposal to include in Catholic masses indigenous Mayan rites such as dance, music and the participation of women.This is the second proposal of these characteristics that comes from the Catholic ecclesial community; the first one about native peoples came from the Republic of Zaire, in Africa.Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel, who is coordinating the work, explained to...

n mid-February 2023, administrators at an elementary school in Springfield, Ohio, called the police to intervene in a racially charged incident on the playground. According to the police report, a group of black students forced several white students to say “black lives matter” against their will. Around the same time in Orlando, Florida, a teacher at Howard Middle School created and posted to his personal social media account a demeaning skit using students from his classroom. In it, white students bowed to their black classmates, feeding them snacks and fanning them. The teacher, now on administrative leave, captioned the video:...

Tina Peters was found not guilty for obstruction of a peace officer and guilty of obstruction of government operations.

Four astronauts arrived at the International Space Station on Friday, finally crossing through the space station’s hatch after ground teams troubleshooted a faulty sensor on SpaceX’s Dragon capsule. SpaceX’s sixth operational crewed mission for NASA, aptly named Crew-6, blasted off on Thursday at 12:34 a.m. on board a Falcon 9 rocket. The crew was carried by SpaceX’s Dragon Endeavor, which was scheduled to dock to the ISS at 12:43 a.m. ET on Friday. However, the spacecraft had a little trouble anchoring itself to the ISS. The issue was with a faulty docking hook sensor on Dragon that wouldn’t open. SpaceX...

The war-ravaged eastern city of Bakhmut may fall to Russian forces, with Kyiv officials saying its military is contemplating pulling troops back from the city that has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. A Ukrainian serviceman carries a 152 mm shell to fire a Msta-B howitzer towards Russian positions, near the frontline town of Bakhmut on March 2, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A Ukrainian serviceman carries a 152 mm shell to fire a Msta-B howitzer towards Russian positions, near the frontline town of Bakhmut on March 2, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.Alexander Rodnyansky, an economic...

Apple will manufacture iPhones at a new plant in India, officials said Friday, as the US tech giant seeks to ramp up its India production and diversify away from China. The flagship mobile's global supply chain is based mainly in China, where strict Covid policies last year and ongoing diplomatic tensions with the United States have hurt production. "Apple phones to be built in the state soon," Karnataka state chief minister Basavaraj S Bommai tweeted on Friday. "Apart from creating about 100,000 jobs, it will create a whole lot of opportunities for Karnataka," he added. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India's minister of...

Russian tax revenue from crude oil and petroleum products plummeted by 48% in February from a year earlier due to the much lower price of Russia’s flagship crude grade after the EU banned imports of Russian oil, according to Bloomberg estimates based on official Russian data. Total tax revenues from oil and natural gas dipped by 46% year over year to $6.9 billion (521 billion Russian rubles) in February, per data from the Russian Finance Ministry published on Friday. Russia’s revenues from crude oil and oil products alone crumbled by 48% annually to $4.8 billion (361 billion rubles), according to...

I don’t care how bad the pain is, hospital Tylenol is not worth $4,000! Imagine you’re itching for a manicure and a luxurious pedicure, including callus softening, skin scrubbing, foot massage, and foot mask. You arrive at the salon, take a look at the price sheet (which looks oddly reminiscent of a restaurant menu), and tally up your selections in your mind. Once your feet are soaking and the nail technicians are getting busy prepping your fingernails, you already know roughly how much your spa day will cost. Your nail salon was transparent with you ahead of time, and despite...

Donald Trump Jr. scored a victory on Friday when PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reversed course after inexplicably cutting ties with his news aggregation company, then blaming it on a “good-faith error.” PNC Bank made headlines Thursday afternoon after Trump Jr. revealed that the “woke” company shut down the bank account for the app he co-founded with Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich — MxM News — “without any explanation”:

The proudly gay mayor of College Park, Maryland, has been arrested on 56 charges related to child pornography. Patrick Wojahn, 47, once boasted of his mentor/mentee relationship with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is also gay and was the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. “I actually met Mayor Pete Buttigieg shortly after I was elected mayor in 2015,” Wojahn said in a 2019 interview with the Washington Blade, an LGBT outlet. “I went to the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Winter Meeting in D.C. in January and he was assigned to be my buddy.” Wojahn said he attended a White House...

TORONTO -- Nordstrom Inc. announced Thursday it is closing all of its Canadian stores and cutting 2,500 jobs as it winds down operations in the country. The Seattle-based retailer has six Nordstrom and seven Nordstrom Rack stores in Canada, which will be shuttered by late June.