Free Republic

“Conspiracy theory” — the label evokes connotations of something so preposterous that it couldn’t possibly be true. With an obvious simple explanation for some incident easily at hand, generally involving a single perpetrator or a natural cause, the alternative “conspiracy theory” posits that a large group of people plotted to bring the incident about. The very size of the posited group alone makes the conspiracy theory seem unlikely, because such a large group could never hope to keep the secret. And then, in the classic conspiracy theory, the large group of conspirators consists mostly or entirely of agents of the...

Despite an apparent lack of Arab partner states willing to accept Gaza residents voluntarily leaving the Strip, the number of civilians departing Gaza has risen over the last month. Since the beginning of March, 1,000 residents have left the Gaza Strip, with another 600 expected to leave this week, according to Hebrew media reports. During the 2023-2024 war period, around 35,000 Gaza residents fled the Strip for other countries, often paying bribes to be smuggled out through Egypt. Some Gaza residents were also permitted to leave to receive medical treatment in other countries. The announcement of an increase in the...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s fiery Oval Office exchange with President Trump may have been influenced by the “gift” he chose to give the command-in-chief during the highly televised meeting. Zelensky brought the championship belt of Oleksandr Usyk, the current world heavyweight boxing champion, during his February White House visit and planned to hand it over to Trump as a show of goodwill, he told Time Magazine on Monday in his first major interview since the Oval Office clash. The belt was next to him on a table when the sit down between the two world leaders and Vice President JD...

A United Airlines Boeing 787 jetliner flying from Los Angeles to Shanghai had to turn around last weekend after it was discovered one of the pilots had taken off without a passport, the airline told CNN in a statement. Flight UA 198 departed LAX at around 2 p.m. Saturday, March 22, with 257 passengers and 13 crew onboard and headed northwest over the Pacific Ocean, bound for China’s largest city. About two hours later, the plane turned around and was redirected to San Francisco, where it landed around 5 p.m. local time, according to the website FlightAware. “The pilot did...

SEOUL, South Korea — Han Jong-Hee, a senior Samsung Electronics executive credited with elevating the company’s television business, died Tuesday, the company said. He was 63. Han, a co-chief executive who oversaw the company’s consumer electronics and mobile devices businesses, died at a hospital after being treated for a heart attack, Samsung said. Han joined Samsung in 1988 and spent most of his career in TV-related divisions, during which the company became the world’s leading TV manufacturer. He was appointed co-vice chairman and CEO in 2022.

This is the best path for greater independence for African nations, although the transition from dependence to independence must be managed carefully. The potential dismantling of USAID (United States Agency for International Development) services in Africa presents both opportunities and challenges. While some view this as a loss of critical support, others see it as an opportunity for African nations to assert greater control over their own development. The true impact of this decision will hinge on how African countries navigate the shift, leveraging the advantages of independence while managing the risks that come with it. USAID’s History and the...

During a meeting at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, Argentinian President Javier Milei assured visiting officials from the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) that he would grant them access to classified documents detailing how 5,000 Nazi war criminals settled in Argentina after the Holocaust. Ten thousand Nazi war criminals are estimated to have fled Europe – and justice – following World War II via escape routes known as the so-called “ratlines.” The records of the escapes and who financed them have remained classified preventing historians and Nazi hunters, including the SWC, from gaining access. “While some previous leaders...

India is open to cutting tariffs on more than half of U.S. imports worth $23 billion in the first phase of a trade deal the two nations are negotiating, two government sources said, the biggest cut in years, aimed at fending off reciprocal tariffs. The South Asian nation wants to mitigate the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal worldwide tariffs set to take effect from April 2, a threat that has disrupted markets and sent policymakers scrambling, even among Western allies. In an internal analysis, New Delhi estimated such reciprocal tariffs would hit 87% of its total exports to...

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White House insiders have vented their anger at National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, with one reportedly calling him a 'f***ing idiot' after it emerged that he added a prominent journalist to a secret group chat revealing highly sensitive war plans. 'Everyone in the White House can agree on one thing: Mike Waltz is a f***ing idiot,' the source, identified as a 'person close to the White House', bluntly told Politico.

The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it's happening right now and affecting what matters most to us. Hurricanes intensified by a warming planet and drought-fueled wildfires are destroying our communities. Rising seas and flooding are swallowing our homes. And record-breaking heat waves are reshaping our way of life. The good news is we know how to turn the tide and avoid the worst possible outcomes. However, understanding what needs to be done can be confusing due to a constant stream of climate updates, scientific findings, and critical decisions that are shaping our future. That's why the ABC News...

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The results of Monday's Russian-US talks in the Saudi capital Riyadh are currently being analyzed and will not be made public, said a Kremlin spokesman. Speaking at a Tuesday press briefing in Moscow, Dmitry Peskov described the discussions as "technical in nature" and confirmed that further negotiations would take place. "These were technical negotiations, focused on details, so their content will not be disclosed. That should not be expected. Secondly, as I’ve already mentioned, the reports submitted to the capital are now being analyzed. Only after that will it be possible to speak of any conclusions," he said. He added...

BOSTON (AP) — When Ash Lazarus Orr went to renew his passport in early January, the transgender organizer figured it would be relatively routine. But more than two months on, Orr is waiting to get a new passport with a name change and a sex designation reflecting who he is. The delay has prevented him from traveling overseas to receive gender-affirming care this month in Ireland since he refuses to get a passport that lists an “inaccurate sex designation.” Orr blames the delay on President Donald Trump, who on the day he took office issued an executive order banning the...

TBN Israel's Yair Pinto reports on the Israel-Hamas War. Israel is intensifying its operations against Hamas leadership with precise airstrikes targeting high-ranking officials. In the past 24 hours, the newly appointed Hamas prime minister, along with key financial and military leaders, have been eliminated. The IDF is preparing for a significant ground maneuver while tightening control over Gaza’s humanitarian aid and security zones. Meanwhile, Hezbollah is attempting to reestablish its presence along Israel’s northern border despite facing setbacks. On the broader regional front, Iran is escalating rhetoric while facing pressure from the U.S. over its nuclear ambitions. With diplomatic negotiations...

I posted this because I believe we need to understand the perspectives of the more intelligent Democrats. This video is one of the rare instances where I found Democratic operatives analyzing the election in a meaningful way that was worth hearing. It’s not the usual nonsense soundbite. These are Democrats conducting the kind of examination we’d prefer to avoid if we aim to win in 2028.

It’s become vogue on the right to trash electric vehicles. And, mostly, we’re right to. Most of them are garbage retrofits that rely on a garbage network of chargers which are made by garbage ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) manufacturers who have absolutely no idea what they are doing. What they are manufacturing is virtue-signaling, not cars with anything even remotely resembling good EV—or any other type of—engineering. And then there’s Tesla. There are EVs, and there are Teslas. And though they are both clearly electric cars, they are two completely different animals. This article aims to give you a permanent...

In early March, Deepa Rao received a seemingly innocuous message from an unknown number on WhatsApp saying ‘Hi, how are you?’ To Rao’s query asking ‘Sorry, who is this?’, she was told “Hello! I’m Shamika, a recruiter at Flypside Global Services India Pvt Ltd. I would like to offer you a job. Can you give me 5 minutes of your time to discuss more about the job details?’

A Swedish AI startup company has created a robot dog named Luna that has a functional digital nervous system capable of learning and adapting like humans and many animals, the company, IntuiCell, said on Wednesday. In one of the first-use cases of physical agentic AI, which can make decisions and take actions towards specific goals rather than just perform narrow tasks or generate content, the robot dog would be able to learn like a real dog. IntuiCell will hire a dog trainer - instead of integrating a generative AI model and vast datasets - to teach Luna to walk, based...

Greenpeace backed radical protesters who tried to block a North Dakota pipeline. Now the pipeline company has won huge damages in a lawsuit against the iconic NGO. Other nonprofits should take notice. Last week, a jury in Mandan, ND, returned a stunning verdict against Greenpeace for its role in the violent protests and misleading public-relations campaign that disrupted construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016. The jury hearing the civil lawsuit found Greenpeace USA and two other Greenpeace entities liable for civil conspiracy, defamation, trespass and other misdeeds. If the verdict stands, the storied environmental nonprofit will have to...