Free Republic

The proposal might be the biggest attempted power grab in the history of the United Nations. If approved, the United States as we know it could cease to exist.In September 2024, less than two months before the next U.S. presidential election, the United Nations will host a landmark “Summit of the Future,” where member nations will adopt a Pact for the Future. The agreement will solidify numerous policy reforms offered by the U.N. over the past two years as part of its sweeping Our Common Agenda platform. Although there are numerous radical proposals included in the agenda, perhaps none are...

Israeli air defenses shooting down five rockets incoming from Gaza early Wednesday morning... A federal district judge in Louisiana with a July 4th order regarding censorship of social media posts by the Biden Administration... Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that Russia and the US are talking about a prisoner exchange... Nuclear incident talk as Ukraine reinforces its military positions on the border with Belarus... An emergency evacuation of the White House Sunday night over a white powder that turned out to be cocaine... US politics and Joe Biden's approval ratings moving downwards... In Tunisia a local resident killed during fighting...

Every country should pay its sovereign debt. Default, we are told, is not an option. But has anyone told China? The United States pays interest on approximately $850 billion in debt held by the People’s Republic of China. China, however, is currently in default on its sovereign debt held by American bondholders. Successive U.S. administrations have chosen to sidestep this fact, allowing business and trade with China to proceed as normal. Now that the relationship with China has soured and the People’s Republic of China has become the greatest adversarial threat to the U.S. and Western security, policymakers should revisit...

Debt doesn't care about elections. The U.S. government must continue to pay its bills, and as long as current spending trends continue, it must keep borrowing money to do so. But politicians care very much about elections. When it recently became apparent that the government was about to smash its head on the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling established by Congress, thus potentially triggering a catastrophic cash crunch and default on American debt obligations, the political leadership of both parties got right to work figuring out the best way to avoid losing their next election. In the end, the bipartisan deal...

(RNS) — Whitworth University, a Christian school affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), has revised its policies to allow for the hiring of faculty who identify as LGBTQ and to add sexual orientation to its non-discrimination statement. In so doing, it joins a sliver of Christian colleges and universities that are hiring faculty in same-sex marriages. Last year, Eastern University, a Christian school affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA, made a similar change to its hiring policy. Whitworth, which is located in Spokane, Washington, and last academic year had an enrollment of 2,500 students, announced the change on Thursday...

North Carolina megachurch Elevation—known for its popular music and charismatic pastor—is withdrawing its affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention effective immediately, according to a letter sent to the SBC’s Executive Committee and the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. “We would like to thank the Southern Baptists for the privilege of partnering with you, especially through the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina for nearly two decades,” says the letter, which was published by the official SBC publication Baptist Press. It goes on to thank the Conference for “the privilege of having been affiliated with the SBC all these years”...

"This July 4th, we must remember that we stand on stolen land toiled by enslaved Africans and recommit ourselves to the fight for freedom, equality, & justice so that these ideals are accessible to everyone, not just a privileged few. We are not free until everyone is truly free."

Early Sunday evening, controversial pastor (see endnotes) and noted plagiarizer Mark Driscoll took to Twitter to complain that his new book “New Days, Old Demons: Ancient Paganism Masquerading as Progressive Christianity” got him suspended from Amazon. He claimed the online retail giant was trying to “silence the word of God and faithful Bible teachers” and urged followers to purchase it from his website instead. While it’s true that his book wasn’t available on Amazon at the time of his tweet, it’s also true that it wasn’t available anywhere. Not at Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, Thriftbooks, or Powells. Driscoll’s...

The United Church of Christ elected its first female general minister and president on Monday at its 34th General Synod in Indianapolis. The Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson’s election also makes her the first woman of African descent to lead the mainline denomination. “Today, United Church of Christ, we created a first together. It won’t be the last first,” Thompson, dressed in white, told delegates afterward. Those delegates overwhelmingly approved Thompson’s nomination to a four-year term as general minister and president of the UCC on Monday morning, breaking into song and applause as the results of the vote — 626 yeses...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A white powder found inside the White House late on Sunday was identified by Washington's fire department and emergency services as cocaine, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The source said the powder was found in the West Wing, but gave no further details. The West Wing is attached to the executive mansion where President Joe Biden lives. It houses the Oval Office, the cabinet room and press area, and offices and workspace for the president's staff.

MUMBAI – In the latest escalation in what was already the Catholic world’s nastiest liturgical dispute, the papally appointed administrator of the largest jurisdiction in the Syro-Malabar Church has issued a decree accusing priests and laity of “sedition and hatred against ecclesiastical authorities” and giving them until July 2 to comply with a new format for celebrating Mass before facing sanctions. The seven-page decree from Archbishop Andrews Thazhath was dated June 22, and is addressed to the vicar of St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica in Ernakulam in southwestern India, part of the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly. The Syro-Malabar Church, based in India,...

In the country known as the ‘Eldest Daughter of the Church,’ Islam and evangelical Protestantism could reach hegemonic positions over the next few decades, while Catholicism would become anchored with a more orthodox momentum.Today’s announcement of the resignations of two French bishops suffering from episcopal burnout, and the impending release of a potentially devastating report about sexual abuse allegations at France’s Community of St. John, have directed renewed attention towards the fragile state of the Church in France. Is Catholicism now on the verge of extinction in France, “Eldest Daughter of the Church” and homeland of St. Louis and St....

ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 27, 2023 / 16:20 pm The dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, in Nicaragua has set up the red and black flags of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, the regime’s political party, in front of the cathedral in Matagalpa. The bishop of Matagalpa, Rolando Álvarez, was sentenced Feb. 10 to 26 years and four months prison, charged with treason to the homeland. Ortega has been in power since 2007. The Sandinistas are a socialist political party. In a statement to EWTN News, Martha Patricia Molina, a researcher and the author...

According to reports, anyone 'repeatedly protesting' outside an Irish abortion facility could face a €2,500 fine or six months in prison.(LifeSiteNews) — A proposed anti-Catholic law designed to criminalize prayer in the vicinity of abortion sites is expected to pass in Ireland today. With typical Orwellian doublespeak, the bill is described as providing “safe access zones,” designating the presence of prayer and the reminder of God as a danger. The new law carries severe penalties including fines and the loss of liberty. As Breaking News.ie reported: Anyone repeatedly protesting outside medical centers that provide abortions could face a €2,500 fine...

Aminata Diallo was being escorted from her foul-smelling holding cell to an interview room inside the Hôtel de Police in Versailles, France, the first time she heard the name Tonya Harding. Harding’s name is infamous in sports, of course. A decorated American figure skater, she was a central figure in the notorious case involving the assault of her biggest rival only weeks before the 1994 Winter Olympics. The scandal — a sudden and violent attack by a mystery man, accusations and denials, tabloid headlines — led to worldwide attention and, years later, a feature-length movie about Harding. But to Diallo,...

If you don't know what you are celebrating, why make any noise about it?

Monday is being called the hottest day in Earth's recorded history, according to climate change scientist Dr. Robert Rohde, citing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data. The average global air temperature 2 meters above the planet's surface was 62.62 degrees Fahrenheit (17.01 degrees Celsius), which taken on average is not necessarily hot, but temperate. The previous record for the warmest day on Earth was set in July 2022 and August 2016 (62.46 degrees Fahrenheit or 16.92 degrees Celsius), The Hill reported. It has Rohde and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction forecasting more record-setting days to come in the next...

[Catholic Caucus] EXCLUSIVE: Cardinal Müller reacts to Pope Francis’ new appointment to Vatican’s Doctrine chiefFormer CDF Prefect Cdl. Gerhard Müller fielded LifeSite's questions about the import of the Pope's new appointment at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The following is an interview Cardinal Gerhard Müller gave to LifeSiteNews via email, responding to the recent news of Archbishop Victor Fernández’s nomination to become the new prefect of the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF).LifeSiteNews reported the announcement on July 1, outlining Archbishop Fernández’s controversial stance on a number of issues, such as on the...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Tuesday that he is under the impression that Russian forces will destroy the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is under Russia's control. Russia has told staff to leave the plant by July 5. "Now we have information from our intelligence," Zelensky said on Twitter, "that the Russian military has placed objects resembling explosives on the roof of several power units of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant."