Free Republic

AI, China’s impact on global events, upcoming elections, major developments in Israel, and many more events are shaping the world in 2024. I would like to provide a brief overview of what I consider “six mega-trends” for the upcoming year, which carry important prophetic significance.

The latest calculations from several science agencies showing Earth obliterated global heat records last year may seem scary. But scientists worry that what’s behind those numbers could be even worse. The Associated Press asked more than three dozen scientists in interviews and emails what the smashed records mean. Most said they fear acceleration of climate change that is already right at the edge of the 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) increase since pre-industrial times that nations had hoped to stay within. “The heat over the last calendar year was a dramatic message from Mother Nature,” said University of Arizona climate...

Forecasters are warning that “life-threatening” blizzard conditions are heading toward Iowa this weekend ahead of the caucuses on Monday. A blizzard warning has been issued over much of Iowa for Friday into Saturday, with several areas under a winter storm warning, as well, the National Weather Service (NWS) advised. NWS predicts that 3-5 inches of snow could fall in Des Moines, and some areas could see up to 8 inches over the next three days. Winds are expected to increase Friday and create life-threatening blizzard conditions overnight into Saturday. Temperatures are expected to be dangerously low throughout the weekend and...

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) went after former President Trump on Friday, demanding in a letter that he return about $7.8 million Trump’s companies received from foreign governments while he was in office. House Oversight and Accountability Committee Democrats first made the allegation in a report last week, claiming Trump’s companies accepted money from foreign entities in 20 countries and alleging the payments violate the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. HOUSE Raskin demands Trump return $7.8M foreign governments paid his companies during presidency BY NICK ROBERTSON - 01/12/24 10:53 AM ET SHARE TWEET Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) Greg Nash Rep. Jamie...

Government power is causing inflation and middle class economic repression. For example, US credit card debt is at an all-time high as consumers attempt to cope with inflation under Biden. While inflation RATE is finally cooling off, the LEVEL of inflation remains high. Purchasing power for consumers is down 15% under Vacation Joe. Following yesterday’s hotter-than-expected CPI, this morning’s Producer Price Index was expected to accelerate (headline not core). However, it did not – headline PPI actually decline 0.1% MoM (+0.1% MoM exp). That is the 3rd straight month of ‘deflation’ but inched PPI YoY up to +1.0% I am...

12 January 2024 Friday of week 1 in Ordinary Time Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys - Brookfield, Connecticut Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: B(II).First reading1 Samuel 8:4-7,10-22 ©The people of Israel demand a kingAll the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ‘Look,’ they said to him ‘you are old, and your sons do not follow your ways. So give us a king to rule over us, like the other nations.’ It displeased Samuel that they should say, ‘Let us have a king to rule us’, so he prayed to the Lord. But the Lord said...

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was recently diagnosed and is being treated for prostate cancer. He is one of the nearly 290,000 American men who will be diagnosed with the condition this year. Nearly all types of cancer have become less deadly over the last 30 years, with one notable exception: advanced-stage prostate cancer, according to a recent report from the American Cancer Society (ACS). “We have had more men diagnosed with more advanced prostate cancer over the last decade,” Dr. Sam S. Chang, the Chief Surgical Officer at the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, told The Epoch Times in an...

The multimillionaire star’s Barwood Films Ltd. received loans from the Paycheck Protection Program in 2020 and 2021 — then had them written off by the federal government. Among the workers paid through Barwood Films in 2020 and 2021 was a groundskeeper responsible for the gardens at her $20 million Malibu clifftop home — where the business is registered — and an “executive support” employee. Her spokesman claimed Streisand’s gardener had not been paid with taxpayer funds. The Post has confirmed that the groundskeeper was employed by Barwood Films when it took public money to make payroll.

President Joe Biden announced on Friday that federal student loans will be wiped out for borrowers who received less than $12,000 and have been in repayment for the past decade. Starting in February federal loan borrowers 'who took out less than $12,000 in loans and have been in repayment for 10 years will get their remaining student debt cancelled immediately,' Biden said in a statement.

'To date, you have failed to respond to any of our requests...' Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, whose net worth reportedly stands at $250 million, wasted approximately $4.3 million in taxpayer funds to pay his climate office within the Biden administration, according to newly revealed documents. The multi-million-dollar bill surfaced through documents released on Monday via a Freedom of Information Act request made by the Boston Herald. Strikingly, the office declined to disclose the identities of Kerry’s top officials despite handling U.S. policy abroad.

SCARSDALE, NY — As thousands of illegal migrants continue to arrive in New York, a local white liberal resident was seen quietly removing his "All Are Welcome Here" sign from his front yard. The man, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid being canceled by friends and neighbors in his gated community, removed the sign shortly after seeing yet another bus full of foreign nationals arrive down the street. "I want them to feel welcome here…but not, like, HERE here," he said as he tossed the sign away and out of view. "I believe very strongly that these people...

California’s higher-education system, beset by alarming acts of hate, intimidation, and bigotry on its campuses (e.g., anti-Israel and anti-Jewish protests), has launched a series of initiatives. Among them is an educational program that will present a “viewpoint-neutral history of the Middle East.” Many UC faculty oppose the plan and accuse UC president Michael Drake of an assault on their academic freedom. This raises important questions of principle: Is “viewpoint-neutral” history possible? Is it desirable? Opponents of the hegemonic, imperial American Left’s control of the education space have an almost instinctive recourse to slogans. As the Left increasingly uses the education...

Catholic persecution is still rising around the world, especially in Africa. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) found that 132 of those in the Catholic clergy and nuns were arrested, kidnapped, and murdered in 2023. All of the stats are likely higher. ACN only counts arrests related to persecution. We all know places will trump up charges to avoid persecution accusations. The stats do not include members of the Catholic Church. Terrorists slaughtered almost 200 Catholics across Nigeria and destroyed villages, leaving tens of thousands homeless from December 23-26. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has intensified his war on the...

Jan. 12 (UPI) — U.S. wholesale prices declined to end 2023 but was up overall for the year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday. The Producer Price Index measure of wholesale inflation, seasonally adjusted, declined 0.1% for December and rose 1% for all of 2023 compared to 6.4% wholesale inflation for 2022. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the decline for December was driven by a 0.4% fall in goods prices. The unadjusted index for final demand goods fell 0.4% in December, the third consecutive decline, according to the BLS.

The U.S. has become the world’s top exporter of liquefied natural gas. President Biden is finding that this superpower status comes with its own set of headaches. In the past two years, hundreds of cargoes loaded with supercooled gas departed the U.S. Gulf Coast as foreign buyers turned to America for energy supplies. Developers of export terminals have seized the momentum to advance plans to build new plants and crank out even more LNG. Now, climate activists and Democratic lawmakers are exhorting the Biden administration to halt this expansion. They argue that the federal government, which has to approve LNG...

91% of small business owners are concerned that "educational institutions are fostering unrealistic expectations among students regarding post-graduation and professional life." An alarming number of small business owners are concerned that American colleges and universities are creating far-fetched expectations for graduates as they transition into the workforce, according to a new survey. The Freedom Economy Index, a project of Red Balloon and PublicSquare, surveyed over 70,000 small business owners and found that 91% of respondents are concerned that “educational institutions are fostering unrealistic expectations among students regarding post-graduation and professional life.” Small business owners who responded to the survey reported...

Nancy Pelosi on Trump: “Many of us know that it is impossible for him to be the president again

Stephen A. Smith launched a furious and foul-mouthed attack on Jason Whitlock on Wednesday's edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show, branding his rival 'a devil' and even claiming he is worse than a 'white supremacist'. The X-rated tirade came after Whitlock penned a column claiming details in Smith's recently-released memoir did not 'add up'. On Wednesday afternoon, Smith teased a savage response, vowing: 'Today is the day I finally speak my mind about that no good fat b******.' The host of ESPN's 'First Take' then unloaded on his rival over 59 brutal minutes. 'I hate this b*****. Far more...

Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor leading the election interference case against Donald Trump in Georgia, did not deny having an affair with his boss, Fani Willis, when he was spotted Thursday for the first time since the bombshell allegations came to light. Wade, who appeared to be openly carrying a handgun, refused to respond — but also didn’t issue a denial — when asked by The Post if he had spent any of the $654,000 he had earned working on the Trump case to take Willis on lavish trips. Willis is the Fulton County district attorney who brought election interference...

A U.S. Navy helicopter crashed in Southern California on Thursday night, according to a military spokesperson. A MH-60R Seahawk crashed in the waters of San Diego Bay shortly after 6:30 p.m., as the aircraft was participating in a training exercise, according to Cmdr. Beth Teach of the Naval Air Force Pacific Fleet. All six crew members survived the crash. "Due to the nature of the training, a safety boat was on location," the statement said. The surviving crew members were rescued from the water, taken ashore and underwent medical evaluations.