Free Republic

Can you imagine finding not one, but two dogs that resemble adorable pandas? That's exactly what Carly D'Eliseo experienced when she decided to adopt a dog after moving to North Texas during the pandemic. Moving to a new place can be daunting, especially during a pandemic. But Carly D'Eliseo, a dog enthusiast, saw it as an opportunity to fulfill her dream of adopting a furry friend. Little did she know that she would not only find one, but two dogs that resembled adorable pandas.

A Glendora woman who works as a preschool teacher has been arrested and faces child sex abuse charges related to an alleged sexual relationship with a 15-year-old and possession of child pornography. Sherry Bernal, 33, was arrested by officers from the West Covina Police Department on Thursday as part of an investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security.

Senate Democrats are deeply divided over an emerging border deal that some Democratic lawmakers fear will include harsh asylum policy reforms plucked from the House-passed Secure the Border Act in order to win GOP backing of long-delayed funding for Ukraine. A growing number of Senate Democrats, including Latino caucus members, are sounding the alarm over leaks that say the administration is prepared to support new authority to expel migrants without asylum screenings and expand their detention and deportation. They worry they’ll get blindsided next week if Senate negotiators reach a deal on border security and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer...

Russia's central bank has today raised its key interest rate by 100 basis points to 16%, hiking borrowing costs for the fifth meeting in a row under stubborn inflation pressure from widespread labour shortages, high lending and the weak rouble. The central bank has now raised rates by 850 basis points since July, including an unscheduled emergency hike in August as the rouble tumbled past 100 to the dollar and the Kremlin called for tighter monetary policy. The bank said pro-inflationary risks over the medium-term horizon remained substantial and warned that stabilising inflation near its 4% target would require high...

Update from Ukraine | The Worst Army in the World Fails again | Putin wants more blood https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1V2r9Q8itA Militaryland news: Invasion Day 658 – Summary. The summary of the situation of Russian re-invasion to Ukraine covering the recent developments on the battlefield, as of 9th December 2023 – 22:00 (Kyiv time). https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-654-summary/ [NOTE: two summaries per week, released on Wednesday and Sunday] *** Great interactive maps with viewer controlled Map magnification tool to use for each Front! https://militaryland.net/maps/

The suspect in the murder of a Nebraska priest was discovered lying on top of the victim forming the shape of a cross as the pastor was bleeding to death, according to an affidavit filed in the Washington County Court. The responding officer said in the court filing that he saw the suspect, 43-year-old Kierre L. Williams, lying perpendicularly across 65-year-old Father Stephen Gutgsell’s chest after the stabbing. Gutgsell, who served as the pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, died from his injuries later that morning. “On top of the white male [Gutgsell], there was...

“If you want to live, dig.”The words, often spoken by Ukrainian troops, are universal advice for trench warfare in general, but especially for both sides in Russia’s war against Ukraine.Normally expressed as advice to the individual soldier, the maxim now applies to the country as a whole.Twenty-one months into the full-scale war, World War I-style tactics, with the high-tech edge brought by drones and other innovations, continue to dominate.Russia and Ukraine are diving head-long into a winter campaign looking to be no less brutal than the last, and it is Russian forces that have taken the initiative on a wide...

Explanation: Peering from the shadows, the Saturn-facing hemisphere of tantalizing inner moon Enceladus poses in this Cassini spacecraft image. North is up in the dramatic scene captured during November 2016 as Cassini's camera was pointed in a nearly sunward direction about 130,000 kilometers from the moon's bright crescent. In fact, the distant world reflects over 90 percent of the sunlight it receives, giving its surface about the same reflectivity as fresh snow. A mere 500 kilometers in diameter, Enceladus is a surprisingly active moon. Data and images collected during Cassini's flybys have revealed water vapor and ice grains spewing from...

(The Center Square) - A man who damaged a Satanic statue in the Iowa Capitol building said he raised $20,000 for his defense after he was criminally charged. Michael Cassidy, a former candidate for the Mississippi House of Representatives, is charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief for tearing down the statue placed there by the Satanic Temple Iowa, according to KCCI. He closed the defense fund after it reached $20,000 but reopened it Friday afternoon, saying he had learned additional charges could be filed against him. The statue is destroyed, temple officials said on Facebook. Florida Gov. and presidential candidate Ron...

A Democrat congressional aide has been fired after a gay sex tape filmed in the US Senate swept the internet. Aidan Maese-Czeropski, 24, was let go from his job by Maryland Senator Ben Cardin Saturday afternoon. It came less than a day after a video showing two men having sex in a Senate room was exposed. Their identities have not been revealed. A spokesperson for Cardin said: 'Aidan Maese-Czeropski is no longer employed by the US Senate. We will have no further comment on this matter.' Maese-Czeropski, who appeared in a 2020 campaign video with Joe Biden, had shared his...

In a world where people are constantly seeking unique hobbies and ways to express themselves, one Japanese man took it to the extreme. Toco, as he is known, spent nearly $15,000 to transform himself into a dog. Complete with a hyperrealistic collie costume, he embarked on a mission to experience life as a four-legged friend. However, his recent encounter with a real-life dog proved that his transformation was not foolproof.

Ukraine's Interior Ministry on Friday placed the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, a backer of the Kremlin's 21-month-old war against Kyiv, on a wanted list after security services accused him of abetting the conflict. A post on the Ukrainian ministry's wanted list identified Kirill by name, showed him in his clerical robes and described him as "an individual in hiding from the bodies of pre-trial investigation". It said he had been "missing" since November 11. Orthodox Christianity is the dominant faith in Ukraine and authorities in Kyiv have launched criminal cases against clergy linked to a branch of the Orthodox...

A US Senate staffer allegedly caught filming himself having sex in a Judiciary Committee hearing room has been fired, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) said on X. “Aidan Maese-Czeropski is no longer employed by the U.S. Senate. We will have no further comment on this personnel matter,” a Cardin spokeswoman told The Post. Maese-Czeropski, a 24-year-old legislative aide, posted video of himself...with another man on a public X account. His face was clearly visible according to The Spectator, which first broke the story Friday. The roughly eight seconds of intercourse took place in the same room where nominees to the Supreme...

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When a vehicle is captured and then...

It has been revealed that Seattle law enforcement personnel had been ordered to allow anti-Israel demonstrators to seize control of a major bridge during rush hour traffic on Thursday evening. In addition, the United States Coast Guard had reportedly agreed to hold boat traffic ahead of the demonstration. The activists shut down the drawbridge for more than 3 hours, which caused significant traffic delays with miles-long backups.

Divine Providence and the “Poisonous Soups” of Vatican II, Paul VI, and FrancisIn his 2016 conference dealing with the relations between the Society of St. Pius X and Rome, Bishop Bernard Fellay used the analogy of a poisoned soup to explain the SSPX’s objections to Vatican II:“But the problem is not the good things that you can find in it, which actually exist. The problem is the bad things! If you put a drop of cyanide in the soup, what difference does it make if you add good vegetables, good stock, the best water that you can find; the soup...

TAMPA, FL — Fresh off the case of George Bailey, Clarence the Angel embarked on a new mission over the weekend to show California Governor Gavin Newsom what the California could be like if he'd never been born. "I just picked him up and flew him over to Florida," Clarence explained. "Easiest job I've ever had." Earlier in the day, residents had observed Newsom wandering the streets of San Francisco, muttering to himself about the futility of life. "I was supposed to be President! I was supposed to be the guy!" cried out Newsom. "Instead, I've spent my days toiling...

In 2018, Bank of the West issued policy statements vowing to limit the business it would do with fossil fuel companies. The bank’s decision was made entirely on an ideological opposition to fossil fuels and not out of any concern that the investments weren’t paying off, saying that they were withdrawing support for companies and business activities that are "detrimental to our environment and our health." In those days, few had ever heard of environment, social and governance (ESG), a form of corporate responsibility that rates funds according to certain progressive-friendly markers. Among them is a commitment to fighting climate...

[Catholic Caucus] Clash of the Catechisms: Part IAuthor’s Note: This series endeavors to correct the historical record and encourage Catholic parents and educators with a sure sign of hope for the future. Part I demonstrates the public rupture in the catechetical manuscript tradition over the past sixty years, while Part II offers a critical review of the new catechism Credo within this same manuscript tradition.In light of the Vatican’s summons to “new categories and new languages” in catechesis[1] and its formal adoption of the terms “transgender person” and “homosexual person,” one may reasonably expect another update to the Catechism of...

The NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals plan on moving to a proposed new arena in suburban Virginia in 2028, ownership group chairman Ted Leonsis announced on Wednesday. The $2 billion deal would see an entertainment district constructed at Potomac Yard in Alexandria, about four miles south of the current home arena for the clubs, Capital One Arena in the heart of the nation’s capital.