Free Republic

Black-Boxing DemocracyPutting technology ahead of humanity in decision making will end democratic self-rule.Editors’ Note:The following is adapted from testimony presented before the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs on May 16, 2023, on the topic of “Artificial Intelligence in Government.”Throughout history, warfare has spurred the development of transformative new technologies. My experiences in the War on Terror provided me with a glimpse of the AI revolution that is now remaking America’s political system and culture in ways that have already proved incompatible with our system of democracy and self-government and may soon become irreversible.I first encountered...

The legendary Titanic has been unearthed like never before — with the first-ever full-size 3D reconstruction revealing incredible new details about the doomed cruise liner 111 years after its infamous sinking. More than 1,500 passengers died after the ship struck an iceberg and sank while sailing from Southhampton, England, to New York in April 1912. The disaster has fascinated the world for more than a century. However, much is still unknown about the specifics of the shipwreck — but that could now change. The stunning images were created from more than 700,000 scans of the wreckage that were captured last...

The recall from General Motors affects Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles from the 2014 to 2017 model years. General Motors issued a recall for 994,763 vehicles over concern that the vehicle's airbags may rupture. The recall affects certain Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles from the 2014 to 2017 model years. The recall is related to a much larger investigation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, concerning 67 million airbags produced by ARC Automotive. General Motors has announced a recall of nearly one million crossovers with a potentially life-threatening airbag defect. The recall specifically...

A former Islamic teacher remains hospitalized after Muslim extremists in eastern Uganda on Tuesday (May 2) beat him unconscious for converting to Christianity, sources said. Shaquru Ndifuna, 33, was receiving treatment for blood loss at a medical clinic in Iganga town in the district of the same name, area Christians said. A former Islamic teacher at Noor Islamic Institute in Mayuge District, Ndifuna is a resident of Kaliro Town Council, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Iganga town. He put his faith in Christ in January an open-air evangelistic event in Namutumba, 39 kilometers from Iganga town. Word of his...

The Codex Sassoon, believed to date from the late 9th or early 10th century, was bought at Sotheby’s by the American Friends of the ANU — Museum of the Jewish People.The oldest near-complete Hebrew Bible sold at Sotheby’s for $38.1 million on Wednesday, one of the highest prices for a book or historical document ever sold at auction.The volume, known as the Codex Sassoon, includes all 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, minus about eight leaves, including the first 10 chapters of Genesis. Researchers have dated it to the late ninth or early 10th century, making it the oldest near-complete...

Sen. John Fetterman's (D-PA) team is calling out detractors who mocked the senator's health struggles while questioning witnesses at a hearing on Tuesday. The junior Pennsylvania senator's team says they have been "clear and open" about his "auditory processing challenges" as Fetterman recovers from a stroke he suffered last year, adding that doctors "expect his abilities to improve." “For many months, we have been clear and open about the fact that John still faces challenges with auditory processing challenges as a result of his stroke. His doctors expect his abilities to improve, but in the meantime, if pathetic losers want...

The daily number of migrants apprehended by Border Patrol agents fell by 62 percent during the past week from a peak of 10,605 one week ago. On Monday, agents apprehended only 3,882 migrants who crossed the southwest border with Mexico between ports of entry. In the two weeks leading up to the end of Title 42, Breitbart Texas reported the daily migrant apprehension rate increased from about 7,400 during the last three days in April to 10,605 on May 10 — one day before the end of Title 42. On the final day of Title 42, that number fell slightly...

Vatican: Disturbing Statements by the President of the Marian Academy Analyze and discern the different cases of Marian apparitions as well as the mystical phenomena linked to the figure of the Virgin Mary: this is the mission of the new body created on April 15, 2023 by the International Pontifical Marian Academy. It has a goal for the future: to prevent alleged messages from generating confusion within the Church.The mission of this new Marian observatory is as follows: “It will be a matter of activating national and international commissions responsible for evaluating and studying the apparitions and mystical phenomena...

, the death cap mushroom. (Archenzo/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0) In spite of being responsible for over 90 percent of mushroom-related fatalities around the world, we still don't know why the death cap mushroom is as lethal as it is. Which makes it a little difficult to discover ways to prevent its toxic effects. Fortunately, scientists may have now identified a substance that could work as an antidote for poisoning by the famously deadly mushroom, Amanita phalloides. In even better news, the candidate, called indocyanine green, is already FDA approved and used as a dye for medical diagnostic imaging. A research...

Florida Republicans may love their GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis but it's former President Donald Trump, who's a resident of the state, they'd like to see in the White House in 2024, according to a poll of Sunshine State voters. Despite recent legal battles and DeSantis' unofficial moves into the spotlight, 69% of registered GOP Floridian voters say they will back Trump in 2024, according to the poll conducted by Florida Atlantic University and Mainstreet Research. Eighteen percent of survey participants say they "somewhat support" Trump. Survey participants said they would back Trump 59% over DeSantis at 31%. "Former President Trump...

Salamander Red Spotted Newt Notophthalmus viridescens The salamander species studied by the Yun group: a red spotted newt Notophthalmus viridescens. By studying salamanders, which have remarkable regenerative abilities, researchers discovered that the presence of senescent cells speeds up the limb regeneration process. The cells secrete factors that signal mature muscle fibers to dedifferentiate into muscle progenitor cells, enhancing regeneration. This finding could help researchers understand why humans have limited regenerative abilities and potentially develop new treatments for age-related diseases. Credit: Maximina Yun ============================================================================ Scientists show that so-called senescent cells, i.e., cells that have permanently stopped dividing, boost production of new...

(LifeSiteNews) — With the fall of Roe v. Wade, journalists are working to lionize abortionists, who are presented as the heroic defenders of reproductive rights on the frontlines of a heated culture war. The latest is a profile of one of America’s most notorious abortionists, Warren Hern, in The Atlantic. Hern literally wrote the book on abortion (Abortion Practice) and has been blunt about what he does. Destroying babies in the womb at 22, 25 or even 30 weeks can be hard work — “the sensations of dismemberment,” Hern has noted, “flow through the forceps like an electric current.” Hern...

Flailing Fox News has revealed who will get Tucker Carlson’s 8 PM slot and announced several other changes to its primetime lineup are on the way. According to The Drudge Report, Sean Hannity, who has been with the network since it’s inception in 1996, will be moving into Tucker’s old slot. Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld will also see their hours shuffled as well and move into primetime. A source for Fox News called the new line-up “our boldest and most fearsome ever.” Such a comment brings to mind an old quote by former President Lyndon Baines Johnson: Don’t p**s...

A mistake listing every Nassau County registered voter as blue had many — especially Republicans — seeing red.Many voters in the GOP-leaning Long Island county got their voter ID cards in the mail on Tuesday, and a half-million who got their cards saw a pretty glaring typo: All the cards say voters are registered Democrats, when in fact they might be Republican, independent or members of another political party.

An argument between two families at Orlando's Walt Disney World has erupted in a mass brawl after a disagreement over a holiday snap. The scuffle at the Disney theme park on Monday ignited after one family asked another to move so they could take a group picture in front of the park's iconic 100th-year anniversary sign. The shocking video showed the families laying into one another, pushing and throwing punches at 'the most magical place on earth'. Around 10 members appeared to get involved in the chaos. The fight raged on for several minutes with other visitors shocked by the...

The Durham report and our carousel of corruptionThe report from special counsel John Durham has been released, confirming what anyone with eyes to see already knew: The justice system in the United States is rotten to its core. The report documents the corruption that rests deep at the heart of critical federal agencies like the FBI and their willingness to interfere with elections by attacking political enemies. According to the report, the FBI was fully aware that the “Russia collusion” narrative was manufactured and advanced by the Hilary Clinton campaign in an attempt to smear the opposing presidential candidate, Donald...

Resume fabrication?Ron DeSantis’ Never Back Down Pac lied about New Hampshire Representative Lisa Smart switching her endorsement from Trump to DeSantis. Smart released a statement Tuesday afternoon stating she supports Donald Trump, not Ron DeSantis for president.Smart’s statement read, “I was so incredibly proud to join many of my colleagues in endorsing President Donald J. Trump last month and my support for him has not changed. I’m dismayed by the games being played by Never Back Down and I will NOT be participating in any activities with Ron DeSantis.”pic.twitter.com/5r6gz50k71— Steven Cheung (@TheStevenCheung) May 16, 2023Trump’s campaign commented on Team DeSantis’...

Historian David Starkey has sparked outrage after claiming that left-wing activists are trying to destroy 'white culture' and are 'jealous' of the Holocaust. In a speech to the National Conservatism Conference in London, Dr Starkey claimed that groups such as Black Lives Matter were attempting to 'do exactly what was done to German culture because of Nazism and the Holocaust'. He added: 'The determination is to replace the Holocaust with slavery. 'In other words, this is why Jews are under such attack from the Left. There's jealousy, fundamentally. There is jealousy of the moral primacy of the Holocaust and a...

Alec Baldwin has lined up another project, joining the cast of the upcoming feature film Kent State. The film is set to bring to life the violent and tragic events of May 4, 1970, when four students were shot and killed by the National Guard during a campus protest against the Vietnam War. Baldwin will play Kent State president Robert I. White.

Ron DeSantis is facing criticism for campaigning for himself in Iowa instead of helping out his endorsee in Jacksonville.Democrats scored a major upset over Republicans in Tuesday’s Jacksonville Mayor race. Ron DeSantis-endorsed Daniel Davis lost to Democrat Donna Deegan. DeSantis is facing mounting criticism for spending the weekend before Jacksonville’s election traveling to Iowa to campaign for himself.In March, DeSantis released a statement that read, “I am proud to endorse Daniel Davis for Jacksonville mayor because I trust him to fight for Jacksonville’s hardworking families, and I know he will stand with the city’s brave men and women in law...