Free Republic

Verónica Garcia did not hear the boos when the race started last weekend. When she took the lead in the State 2A girls 400-meter run at the track and field championships in Tacoma, they grew in volume and became unmistakable as she reached the finish line to become the first transgender high school athlete to place first in state. Such victories are typically a time for celebration but the East Valley High School junior’s win has sparked controversy. People criticized Garcia all season for participating on the girls track team. Yet the jeers at Saturday’s meet were “a bit...

With the Democratic National Convention less than two months away, a coalition of community organizations voiced “serious concerns” Thursday about the Chicago Police Department’s newly revised mass arrest policy. The overhaul stems from closed-door meetings authorized by the federal judge presiding over the department’s court-ordered reform push after the so-called consent decree coalition warned that an earlier version of the policy “eviscerates protections” that are otherwise granted to protesters. In a court filing, the coalition acknowledges the latest draft policy contains various “improvements,” including changes that ban the controversial containment tactic known as “kettling” and prohibit officers from arresting protesters...

He's scratched his right ear 4 or 5 times. Ear piece speaking hints?

North Korean soldiers sent to aid Russia in Ukraine would be "cannon fodder," the Pentagon said. The two nations signed a new security pact, and some Korean units look set to go to Ukraine. Russia is known for treating its soldiers as highly disposable and has suffered high death tolls. North Korean troops that are sent to Ukraine to aid in Russia's war would become "cannon fodder," the Pentagon said.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said during a joint press conference with European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels that Ukraine and its partners should develop a common action plan on the results of the first Summit on Peace and on the Ukrainian Peace Formula within several months in order force Russia to peace."We invited all leaders to gather at the first meeting [at the Summit on Peace]. It was very difficult to gather so many countries from different continents in one place. Now we need the next steps. The next steps are to work on a plan for...

FYI, on both the Android app and on this PC, Rumble.com is totally unresponsive, no 404 error either. Just in time for the debate, eh? Working for anyone else? And yes, I rebooted both the phone and the PC, and I am on a VPN.

Riffing on what he sees for the future of AI, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview published Thursday that he deeply believes that there will not be “just one AI.” Touting the value of open source to put AI tools into many people’s hands, Zuckerberg took a moment to disparage the efforts of unnamed competitors who he sees as less than open, adding that they seem to think they’re “creating God.” “I don’t think that AI technology is a thing that should be kind of hoarded and … that one company gets to use it to build whatever...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. Paul Harvey ~ The signers of the Declaration Of Independence But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in...

After solo jetting back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean during Joe Biden’s state visit to France in order to attend stepson Hunter Biden’s trial on gun charges earlier this month, Jet Set Jill Biden has once again flown her own government jet to join Joe Biden in Atlanta Thursday afternoon for the presidential debate against President Trump. ... Meanwhile. Joe Biden left the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland by helicopter earlier Thursday, landing at Joint Base Andrews just outside the nation’s capital to take Air Force One to Atlanta. It was the first time Biden had been seen...

~Favorite Woman or Man Songs~ Pretty Woman*Video*AC/DC - Thunderstruck (Official Video) *Video*

During an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stated that “We want China’s economy to flourish.” But they can’t have “our most sophisticated, leading-edge AI chips or the equipment that makes those chips.” CNBC Washington Correspondent Megan Cassella asked, “[T]here’s been some reporting recently that the U.S. is looking at further export restrictions to limit the amount of China’s access to our chips and sophisticated technologies. Can you give us any information on sort of what’s under consideration and what to expect?”

WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - The White House Correspondents' Association said on Thursday CNN has rejected multiple requests to include White House pool reporters inside the studio during the first presidential debate between incumbent Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump. The press pool, made up of representatives of major news organizations including Reuters, accompanies the president on foreign and domestic trips and normally has access to any event where he speaks or appears in public, with the goal of keeping the U.S. public informed. It is extremely rare for them to be barred from an event in the United...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican communications head slammed for downplaying Rupnik case: ‘We’re not talking about abuse of minors’‘Who am I to judge?’ said the Vatican’s Paolo Ruffini about Fr. Marko Rupnik, who has been accused of abusing dozens of people and committing blasphemous sexual abuse against religious sisters.The embattled pro–LGBT prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, Dr. Paolo Ruffini, shockingly downplayed last week the sexual abuse scandals of disgraced former Jesuit priest Father Marko Rupnik. Ruffini spoke at the annual Catholic Media Conference, held from June 18-21 in Atlanta, Georgia. In his keynote address, he urged attendees to change “the...

Special interview | RNC spokeswoman Elizabeth Pipko speaks with Arutz Sheva about Donald Trump's plans should he return to the Oval Office and her connection to her Jewish faith.

A small, 1,600-year-old papyrus fragment discovered in a German archive has been revealed to contain the earliest known copy of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, an early Christian text describing the childhood of Jesus that once enjoyed enormous popularity but was not canonized into the New Testament.

The nation’s highest court issued a ruling in a case today where the Biden administration wanted to force Idaho to expand abortions. Instead, the Supreme Court ruled that the case needs more time at the lower court level before it can weigh in on the merits. As a result, the Idaho abortion ban is still in place and Today, the U.S. Supreme Court sent Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States back to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to hear oral arguments on the case. The opinion is what is known as a DIG, which is “dismissed...

Several dozen pro-abortion activists marched to Alaska’s Governor’s Mansion in Juneau to demand that Gov. Mike Dunleavy take down a pro-life flag that he flies next to the U.S. and Alaska flags. Chanting, “Our rights, our choice,” the protesters snaked through the State Capital – whooping and screaming as pedestrians looked on. One marcher, dressed in Game of Thrones’s styled battle garb, wielded a large metal sword, which she jabbed into the air while joining the cacophony of voices railiing against any effort to protect unborn babies from abortion. Organized by Juneau Pro-Choice Coalition, the June 22 rally took place...

Link: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jun/27/tractor-supply-co-backs-woke-policies-after-backla/ Rather than go broke, a merchant isn’t going woke. One of America’s leading rural-supply merchants announced Thursday that it is ending all “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion” programs and will no longer support LGBTQ and global-warming causes. Tractor Supply Co. posted a statement on social media detailing its new direction after three weeks of social-media and other backlash over the previous attachments to left-wing causes that are not popular with its customer base. “We work hard to live up to our mission and values every day and represent the values of the communities and customers we serve. We have heard...

"" Matthew 4 1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city,...

Known for songs like "Sold American," the cigar-chomping character and buddy of Willie Nelson won acclaim as a journalist and novelist and once ran for Texas governorKinky Friedman, the eccentric country singer-songwriter whose musings, novels, one-liners and quixotic gubernatorial run made him a folk hero, died Wednesday at age 79 at his home in Texas.“Kinky Friedman stepped on a rainbow at his beloved Echo Hill surrounded by family & friends,” a statement on X read announcing his death. “Kinkster endured tremendous pain & unthinkable loss in recent years but he never lost his fighting spirit and quick wit. Kinky will...