Free Republic

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Wednesday explained his apparent flip-flop on a controversial surveillance law, saying that he now favors limited reforms after receiving a classified briefing. Speaker Johnson was asked by reporters why he changed his opinion on reforming Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a controversial surveillance law that is meant to target foreign adversaries, but often surveils Americans’ communications without a warrant. Johnson this week came out against a warrant requirement for Section 702 and moved not to allow an amendment that would have barred intelligence and law enforcement agencies from purchasing Americans’ private...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told donors and supporters at a private retreat last weekend that he plans to help raise money for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, according to three sources familiar with the matter. “He did say it in front of a group of people at the Hard Rock,” a DeSantis adviser told NBC News. A Trump campaign adviser said they were not aware that DeSantis was going to start raising money from them but added that “everyone should be working towards defeating Joe Biden and electing President Trump.”

First daughter Ashley Biden made a rare appearance at a lavish state dinner welcoming the Japanese prime minister to the White House on Wednesday, a day after the woman who stole and sold her diary was sentenced to a month of prison time. The New York Times noted the timing of her appearance: Ashley Biden, the president’s daughter, politely but quickly drifted away from the cameras after telling reporters about her dress. On Tuesday, a Florida woman was sentenced to jail for selling Ms. Biden’s private diary to a right-wing activist group. But outside worries rarely come between a Biden...

John 3:31-61 Friends, today’s Gospel declares that the Son of God does not ration his gift of the Spirit. At the cathedral in Chartres, the figure of Jesus is surrounded by seven doves, symbolizing these seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. The Messiah will be filled up with all of the powers and energies of God’s Spirit.These seven gifts have played a prominent role in our tradition, appearing in theologians as diverse as Gregory the Great, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas. These gifts are signs that the Christian is participating...

Explanation: Start at the upper left above and you can follow the progress of April 8's total eclipse of the Sun in seven sharp, separate exposures. The image sequence was recorded with a telescope and camera located within the narrow path of totality as the Moon's shadow swept across Newport, Vermont, USA. At center is a spectacular view of the solar corona. The tenuous outer atmosphere of the Sun is only easily visible to the eye in clear dark skies during the total eclipse phase. Seen from Newport, the total phase for this solar eclipse lasted about 3 minutes and...

When Barack Obama was campaigning for president in 2008, he was fond of saying that he wanted to "fundamentally transform America." He wasn't always upfront about the specifics, but when we read between the lines, we knew what he was talking about. Steeped in Chicago radicalism, Obama wanted to push America hard toward socialism. Seven years after Obama left office, the Democrat Party has abandoned Obama's vision of "fundamentally transforming" that nation and instead wants to end America. I know you're thinking that I'm making a melodramatic statement, but let's explore why it's true. For starters, the left has put...

OXFORD, England (AP) — Humanity has only two years left “to save the world” by making dramatic changes in the way it spews heat-trapping emissions and it has even less time to act to get the finances behind such a massive shift, the head of the United Nations climate agency said. With governments of the world facing a 2025 deadline for new and stronger plans to curb carbon pollution, nearly half of the world's populations voting in elections this year, and crucial global finance meetings later this month in Washington, United Nations executive climate secretary Simon Stiell said Wednesday he...

The Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt, a massive structure carved from a single rock, has long fascinated visitors and experts alike. While many believed that the imposing statue, with its human head and lion's body, was created by humans during the ancient kingdom of Egypt around 2600 BC, its true origins remained shrouded in mystery. However, a recent study conducted by scientists from New York University, published in the journal Physical Review Fluids, provides insight into how this extraordinary statue was formed over 4,500 years ago. The multi-layered body: A puzzle Traditionally attributed to human craftsmanship, the exact process...

Sexually transmitted infections are becoming more common in older adults. Rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in people ages 55 and up more than doubled in the U.S. over the 10-year period from 2012 to 2022, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of syphilis cases among people ages 55 and up increased seven-fold during those 10 years, while gonorrhea cases increased nearly five-fold and chlamydia cases more than tripled during that time.

One reason that America’s youth is disgusted with Bidenomics is skyrocketing prices, particulalry housing. (simply unaffordable). Thanks to awful economic policies, home prices are up 32.5% under Biden and 30-year mortgage rates are up a whopping 160%! Good luck buying a home with a part-time job. The bad news is that the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.53%, the highest since November 2023. This means that mortgage rates will rise even further. Yes, rising rates AND home prices are daunting to part-time job holders. Of course, Biden and Powell want to addicted to gov. Doctors, doctos (Yellen and Brainard), we’ve...

J.K. Rowling had harsh words for Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and more stars who do not agree with her transgender views. The Harry Potter author, who has been criticized for her anti-trans comments over the years, shared an article via X on Wednesday, April 10, about “medical evidence for transitioning children.” A fan replied to Rowling’s post saying they were “waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology … safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them.” Rowling, 58, responded, hinting she would not forgive them for speaking out against her beliefs. “Not safe, I’m...

Arizona’s Democrat Attorney General says she will not enforce an 1864 law that was upheld by the state Supreme Court on Tuesday banning nearly all abortions. “The decision made by the Arizona Supreme Court today is unconscionable and an affront to freedom. Make no mistake, by effectively striking down a law passed this century and replacing it with one from 160 years ago, the Court has risked the health and lives of Arizonans,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (pictured above) said in a statement. “The Arizona Court of Appeals decision, which the Supreme Court has struck down [on Tuesday], was...

Hamas's political leader Ismail Haniyeh has confirmed that three of his sons and four of his grandchildren were killed in an air strike in Gaza. Hamas-linked media said the car his sons were travelling in was hit in Al-Shati camp near Gaza City. Haniyeh said that the incident would not change Hamas's demands in talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire deal. Israel's military said the sons were members of Hamas's military wing - a claim denied by Haniyeh. The group was reportedly on its way to a family celebration to mark the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid....

Russia destroyed the largest power-generating plant in Ukraine’s Kyiv region in a missile attack on Thursday, as President Volodomyr Zelensky accused the West of “turning a blind eye” to his country’s need for more air defenses. Ukraine’s Air Force said it shot down 18 of the incoming missiles and 39 of the drones. Russia fired 82 missiles and drones in total, including six hypersonic Kinzhal missiles – none of which Ukraine’s air defenses were able to down.

America fascinated me as America fascinates every newcomer. Nineteen years old and fleeing the study of medicine at my Nigerian university, I longed to be a writer, to live a life of the mind. From my first days, I watched and read and learned. I was struck by the excess and the newness of America, by its flagrant contradictions, but mostly by how identity as an idea shaped so much of American life....... Shortly after the Black American George Floyd was murdered by a White police officer, a woman told me she had just read Americanah. “You are a prophet;...

Harvard College will require applicants to submit standardized test scores once again, becoming the latest Ivy League school to reinstate the requirement after making the choice optional during the pandemic. The university had previously said it would remain test-optional through the 2025-2026 application cycle.... Harvard becomes the latest Ivy League school to reinstate the requirement after making the choice optional during the pandemic. Dartmouth College, Yale and Brown universities announced similar changes in recent weeks, after officials cited data suggesting that SAT and ACT scores were the best predictors of students’ academic performance at their schools — and that making...

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who is a key vote on the question of whether the Senate will hold a full impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, confronted Mayorkas about the southern border at a hearing this week. Tester, who is also one of the most vulnerable senators up for reelection, directed some of the harshest criticism of any Senate Democrat at Mayorkas when the secretary appeared before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee Wednesday. “All you have to see is what’s gone on at the southern border, and you know that we’re in a situation that needs immediate repair, immediate...

BEIJING—The extent of China's soil pollution, long guarded as a state secret, was laid out in an official report that confirmed deep-seated fears about contaminated farmland and the viability of the country's food supply. Nearly one-fifth of the country's arable land is polluted, officials said in the report, shedding unexpected light on the scale of the problem—a legacy of China's three decades of breakneck economic growth and industrial expansion.

Over 11 million illegal aliens crossed the open border with Mexico since Joe Biden took office. The Biden administration has no idea how many entered the country, who they are, or where they went. In late March Islamic terrorists attacked a major music venue located in Krasnogorsk, a city in the north-west of the Moscow region, on a Friday afternoon. This occurred just days after the American embassy in Russia warned citizens of imminent attacks at mass events. 145 Russians were slaughtered by the terrorists during the attack. Russia blamed the attack on foreign Islamists who were then captured on...

In recent months Tesla has had a bumpy ride. In January the electric-vehicle (ev) pioneer warned that growth would be “notably lower” this year, as motorists’ enthusiasm for battery power loses charge. The same month it had to suspend most production at its giant factory near Berlin because of supply disruptions caused by turmoil in the Red Sea. Its market share in China, the world’s biggest ev market, is falling as it fends off cheaper local competition, especially from byd, which late last year briefly eclipsed Tesla as the world’s biggest ev-maker. Tesla hit another big pothole on April 2nd,...