Free Republic

Russian lawmakers on Tuesday passed a bill raising the upper age limit for military conscription and banning draftees from leaving the country, as Moscow continues its efforts to widen the pool of potential recruits for its war in Ukraine. Under current Russian law, all men aged 18-27 are required to complete a one-year term of compulsory military service, a requirement that has been in place since before the invasion of Ukraine. Amendments published on the day of the bill’s third and final reading would raise the age limits for this compulsory military service to 18-30 starting in January 2024. The...

(Daily readings from the USCCB)On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables… Matthew 13:1–3Why did Jesus speak in parables? In today’s Gospel, Jesus goes on to teach the familiar “Parable of the Sower.” Immediately after that parable in today’s Gospel, the disciples do ask Jesus this question. They ask, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” Jesus responds to them,...

CINCINNATI — A brawl after a basketball game in Indiana was caught on camera. The video shows a referee getting attacked on the court during the Next Level Classic in Fairland, Indiana, on Sunday. Witnesses are blaming a girls team from Cincinnati. "They were looking for trouble," Bobby Ewing, coach of the DSB Heat from Owensboro, Kentucky, said. Ewing said his team was playing the Cincinnati Indians Elite team. Owensboro was up 41-10 when he said the Cincinnati girls started swearing at his players. Tensions escalated, and a referee called the game.

[Catholic Caucus] Attending traditional Mass is forbidden in the home of the Patron Saint of Parish PriestsEpiscopal pettiness :Celebration of the Mass in the Sanctuary of Ars.1) Priests who wish to celebrate the Mass or hold confessions must produce a valid CELEBRET and prove their identity2) The Mass can be celebrated in Latin and in any vernacular language, but only with the Roman Missal in its presently approved form3) Exception: a priest can be admitted to celebrate with the old Missal only if he is alone and only in the crypt4) An offering on your part is welcome in order...

This is not a surprise. This is not disappointing. This is not unexpected. This collapsing campaign, and the eventual complete campaign withdrawal, was entirely predictable. Ron DeSantis and everything around him is a big fibber.I have no sympathy whatsoever for the lying, conniving, scheming and Machiavellian organization, as the DeSantis operation now starts to publicly embarrass itself and become the target of scorn and ridicule.Keep in mind, the Florida legislature was pressured by the governor’s office to change the political sunlight laws – just so DeSantis could obfuscate his travel expenses and hide that he was flying around the country...

The race is on to try and save 46 pilot whales stranded on a West Australian beach after 51 died overnight. An image showed the mammals huddling in the shape of a heart near the shore before the mass stranding on Cheynes Beach in southern Western Australia on Tuesday, making international headlines. Authorities on Wednesday morning said volunteers would help to get the surviving whales back out to deeper water throughout the day. The public has been asked to stay away from the popular tourist spot.

Abortion used to be a “fall back” option for couples who forgot to use birth control or their birth control failed. In most states under Roe v. Wade, aborting an unborn baby was a casual, convenient “choice” for irresponsible couples. In some states, pregnant mothers even could get same-day appointments and arrange for taxpayers to pay for their unborn baby’s death. That is still true in some states. But because of the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling, 15 states protect unborn babies by prohibiting or strictly limiting elective abortions, and doctors report more men and women are seeking sterilizations as a...

The DeSantis campaign has laid off dozens of staff members as it attempts to ease the concerns of donors and streamline operations due to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) lackluster performance in the Republican primary race thus far.The campaign reportedly laid off 38 staffers, which DeSantis’s campaign manager, Generra Peck, described as part of the “aggressive steps” it has taken to “streamline operations” and boost the governor’s position in the polls.“Following a top-to-bottom review of our organization, we have taken additional, aggressive steps to streamline operations and put Ron DeSantis in the strongest position to win this primary and defeat Joe...

Last summer, Rebecca Vance talked with her family about a dream she’d had: She wanted to live in a land disconnected from the world, which she viewed as chaotic and dangerous. She told her stepsister, Trevala Jara, that she could grow and gather her own food in a remote place, that she and her teenage son could be happy and safe away from the news, the viruses, the politics of modern-day America. “I’m going to worry about you,” Jara told her stepsister. But Vance was resolute. “I’m going to live off the land,” she replied. Her decision proved to be...

Former President Donald Trump, the leading GOP candidate in 2024, is formally backing the Republican National Committee (RNC) “Bank Your Vote” initiative to push to get as many Republicans nationwide to vote early in 2024, Breitbart News has learned exclusively.“Radical Democrats have abused and taken advantage of absentee and early voting laws to build a big lead over Republicans before election day,” Trump says in a new video recorded for the RNC and provided to Breitbart News exclusively. “While Republicans have worked to share our beautiful values with voters, Democrats and dangerous groups funded by the far left have simply...

Starting with his campaign for the presidency and continuing until this week, Joe Biden has maintained one clear and consistent position on his son’s influence peddling schemes. As a virtual mantra, Biden — and the White House staff — have categorically maintained that he had no knowledge of any foreign dealings of his son. That has been proven to be a lie, but Biden continued to maintain the position. Yet, on the eve of the testimony of a key Biden associate, the White House has changed its position. Now the President is only claiming that he was “not in business”...

PBS’s post-Dobbs abortion coverage has been all one-way: No celebration of saving babies or showing respect for the culture of life. Instead, the focus has been 100% on lost opportunities to abort, with the hardest cases nationwide reliably rounded up and presented as commonplace, leaning on the alleged horrors occurring in red states that have instituted abortion bans. Sarah Varney, correspondent for KFF Health News, has been providing a strong pro-abortion lean in her reporting for the tax-supported PBS NewsHour ever since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. On Thursday night, Varney marveled at a new...

By definition, few things represent the pinnacle of human achievement. Among them are science, great art, free markets, great literature, philosophy, music, and American football. On that list, only science and football are modern inventions, and of those two only football is getting better. Science, unfortunately, is in crisis. I’ve written other pieces on science and academia, and no doubt will write hundreds more. But after having read two pieces today that touch on this topic, I thought I would share some thoughts with you. I often refer to Vinay Prasad in my writing because he is clear-thinking and an...

Hunter Biden‘s lawyers were accused last night of an ethical violation in misrepresenting their representation in the case. Jessica Bengels of Latham & Watkins, the head of the firm’s litigation group, is accused of lying to the court clerk in seeking to remove an amicus (or “friend of the court”) brief from access to the public. The clerk insisted that Bengels stated that she was representing the amicus, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, who filed the details on recent evidence showing a “sweetheart deal” behind the plea bargain. The court gave Latham a deadline of last night...

In a press conference on Tuesday where he delivered remarks on “expanding access to mental health care,” President Joe Biden bragged that his administration had “ended cancer as we know it.” “One of the things I’m always asked is: You know, why — why Americans have sort of lost faith for a while on being — being able to do big things,” Biden began. “If you could do anything at all, Joe, what would you do?” he continued. “I said, ‘I’d cure cancer.’ And they looked at me like, ‘Why cancer?’ Because no one thinks we can. That’s why. And...

Palm trees and fat checks … Justin’s got it made. Superstar quarterback Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers have agreed on a massive five-year, $262.5 million contract extension, according to an official announcement from the franchise. The financial terms were reported by ESPN‘s Adam Schefter. The news comes just a day before the Chargers begin training camp, and means that Los Angeles will keep their 25-year-old quarterback in Southern California through 2029. Herbert’s deal also features $133.7 million in guaranteed money, $193.7 million in injury guarantees and a no-trade clause. Herbert is now the highest paid player in the...

Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department has launched an investigation of a violent incident over the weekend where advocates assaulted two pro-life advocates who were helping women and saving babies outside the Planned Parenthood abortion business in Washington D.C. “Two proaborts decided to assault me and another pro-life defender outside Planned Parenthood in Washington DC this morning simply for standing on the sidewalk offering resources to families in crisis,” said Terrisa Bukovinac, one of the victims. Bukovinac, who heads a liberal pro-life group called PAAU, told LifeNews that police initially declined to investigate, but a new report today indicates they have...

Dedicated viewers of Fox News are likely familiar with Lear Capital, a Los Angeles company that sells gold and silver coins. In recent years, the company’s ads have been a constant presence on Fox airwaves, warning viewers to protect their retirement savings from a looming “pension crisis” and “dollar collapse.” One such ad caught the attention of Terry White, a disabled retiree from New York. In 2018, White invested $174,000 in the coins, according to a lawsuit by the New York attorney general — only to later learn that Lear charged a 33 percent commission. Over several transactions, White, 70,...

ST. PETERSBURG, July 26. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have begun talks in St. Petersburg. The meeting is being held at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna. The meeting between Putin and Ahmed opens a series of contacts between the Russian leader and the heads of delegations coming to the forum and the Russia-Africa summit. Over the next few days, in addition to attending the summit and the forum itself, the Russian president is expected to hold separate meetings with each of the African leaders arriving in St. Petersburg. On Wednesday, in addition to the...

Today, New Mexico Alliance for Life released its findings from our investigative report through public records reveal New Mexico’s pro-abortion Governor Lujan-Grisham’s taxpayer funded abortion hotline is referring women to The Satanic Temple Health (TST Health) abortion clinic – advertised as, “the world’s first religious abortion clinic.” Additionally, New Mexico Alliance for Life found that only 13 of the 33 abortion clinics women are referred to are in-state businesses, while 20 are out-of-state: from Bethesda, MD, Seattle, WA, to Wichita, KS. The in-state state taxpayer-funded abortion referral list includes Presbyterian Health of Espanola, 5 Las Cruces area abortion businesses, 6...