Free Republic

The U.S. services sector picked up speed in April, according to the Institute for Supply Management, with growth broadening across key components of the economy’s largest segment. The Services PMI rose to 51.6 percent last month, up from 50.8 percent in March and beating expectations for a modest dip. The increase marks a reversal from the prior month’s slowdown and suggests the sector may be reaccelerating heading into the second quarter. Three of the four major subindexes that feed directly into the headline PMI improved in April, with increases in new orders, supplier deliveries, and employment. Only the business activity...

U.S. — A new era of dealing with depraved lawbreakers dawned today, as President Donald Trump vowed to reopen and expand Alcatraz by putting up a fence around the entire city of San Francisco. The new plan, which administration insiders said would be implemented immediately, would turn the city into a prison colony for America's worst criminals, most of whom already reside in San Francisco. "It's a tremendous idea, frankly," Trump told reporters. "We're going to create one big, beautiful prison city, just like the British did with Australia. We will round up all the bad people in our country...

At their best, used cars can be an incredible value. Heck, one of the best deals in the automotive world is to buy a car with under 10,000 miles on it; it's practically new, but you'll get a huge discount on the MSRP. What could possibly go wrong? Well, there's always the risk that you're buying a lemon. There might be a reason that the car was put up for resale, especially if the savings are shockingly high. It could be a mechanical fault, paint or body damage, or maybe, just maybe, that's a stolen car you're test driving, and...

How Phil Collins created In The Air TonightIt’s been hailed as a rock oddity classic, a song that lies at the vanguard of experimental pop and one that set the template for the ’80s and all drum recordings of that decade. It’s also a song that is best known for its mammoth drum fill, one that LA Weekly described as “the sleekest, most melodramatic drum break in history”. In The Air Tonight was also the song that launched the solo career of its creator Phil Collins, a bold and defiant lead single from the Genesis lead vocalist’s debut album...

Iran unveiled a new solid-fueled ballistic missile and claims it has stationed similar systems nationwide, according to state-run TV, which cited military officials promising the ability to strike U.S. bases and interests “wherever they are” if war breaks out. On Sunday, Iranian state media broadcast images of the new “Qassem Basir” missile during a televised appearance by Defense Minister Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh, amid rising tensions with Washington over Tehran’s growing missile capabilities and nuclear enrichment program. The missile reportedly boasts a 745-mile range, precision strike capacity without GPS, and improved defense-evading agility. According to Nasirzadeh, the system was last tested...

Its unknown how many victims they're searching for.A search and rescue operation was underway Sunday in the waters off Santa Cruz's west side. The U.S. Coast Guard says one of their helicopters is assisting the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office in the search in the ocean off West Cliff Drive. State lifeguards and local firefighters are also on scene. Right now, it's unclear how many victims there are or how they ended up in the water.

Former senior defense officials issued stark warnings to lawmakers Thursday about intensifying threats posed by unattributed drone incursions and unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) reported around the U.S. — particularly over military bases, assets, and nuclear facilities. “I don’t think the public is aware of the extent of our airspace vulnerabilities and failures, and the degree to which they’ve already been exploited and are being exploited today, and the challenge that we face in trying to sort this out,” Christopher Mellon, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for intelligence, said during an event hosted on Capitol Hill by the UAP...

The Trump administration removed a memorial from the main atrium of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for victims of gun violence that was put in place under the Biden administration. As you can imagine, the move has tightened the jaws of folks on the anti-gunner left, which praised how the prior administration weaponized the agency against responsible gun owners. From The Washington Post:

Kamala Harris and her husband were protected by a phalanx of two dozen Secret Service agents and cops as they dined at one of New York's priciest bars. The former vice president was spotted at The Polo Bar in Midtown Manhattan on Sunday night, ahead of a rumored appearance at the Met Gala tonight. Republican NYC mayoral candidate Curtis Silwa said it was 'an outrage' the incumbent Eric Adams gave Harris a police escort. 'Secret Service is fine; NYPD, no. NYPD needs to protect the people, we don't have enough of them,' he told DailyMail.com. 'She's going to a bar...

A popemobile used by Pope Francis is to be transformed into a mobile health unit and sent to the Gaza Strip. Before his death at the age of 88 on Easter Monday, Pope Francis ordered that the vehicle be modified into a clinic on wheels and sent to the war-torn territory to help wounded, sick and malnourished children.

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton said Monday on MSNBC’s “Ana Cabrera Reports” that if President Donald Trump attempted to take control of Greenland with military force, it “would provoke an impeachment crisis almost immediately.” On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Trump downplayed the likelihood but did not completely rule it out. He said, “I don’t say I’m going to do it, but I don’t rule out anything. No, not there, you need that. We need Greenland very badly. Greenland is a very small amount of people which will take care of and will cherish them and all of that, but...

In yet another glaring example of failed immigration enforcement and soft-on-crime policies, the illegal immigrant accused of stealing Department of Homeland Security Secretary (DHS) Kristi Noem’s purse was reportedly released after committing a similar theft in New York City just weeks earlier. Instead of facing swift deportation or serious consequences, the suspect was reportedly freed, highlighting the disastrous impact of sanctuary city policies. According to a newly released report, the suspect and illegal alien from Chile, Mario Bustamante-Leiva, was previously arrested in New York City. As he stole Noem’s purse from a restaurant in Washington, D.C., the New York Police...

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., announced that a former Biden State Department budget analyst has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $650,000 from the agency. Levita Almuete Ferrer, 64, admitted to abusing signature authority over a State Department check while working as a senior budget analyst in the department’s Office of the Chief of Protocol between March 2022 and April 2024. Ferrer wrote 60 checks to herself and an additional three checks to another individual with whom she had a personal relationship for over two years. Before the checks were deposited in Ferrer’s personal bank account, they were...

Now is the time for all good FReepers to post photos of their present/past rides. You know the drill.

Thursday, April 24, was a day like any other day – the sun came up, the sun went down, and Donald Trump was hit with at least three nationwide injunctions by federal district court judges. That’s just the way it goes if you are a president who wants to take back America from the entrenched left-wing bureaucracy and restore common sense to government before it is too late. The danger of the bureaucracy was predicted by Julien Benda in his 1927 book “The Treason of the Clerks,” which warned of the danger of the intellectual class adopting political passions that...

Pope St. Pius V’s Reform of the MissalAccording to James Hitchcock, a professor of history at Saint Louis University, “St. Pius V…was an ascetic Dominican who had been head of the Inquisition and who vigorously implemented the decrees of Trent, including publishing the Catechism, Missal, and Breviary…authorized by the Council.”[1] In this article, I will highlight the Holy Father’s reform of the Roman Missal.First, it was not until 1570 A.D. that Pope Saint Pius V was able to accomplish this monumental task. That year, the Holy Father published the apostolic constitution Quo Primum, in which he explains that, in order...

Marvel Comics’ Pride celebration returns this June with six all-new Pride Variant Covers drawn by superstar cover artist Meghan Hetrick. For the fifth consecutive year, Marvel’s Pride Variant Covers spotlight the LGBTQIA+ community with stunning portraits of LGTQIA+ characters—ranging from iconic heroes to recently introduced breakout stars. The covers can be found on Deadpool #15, Exceptional X-Men #10, Immortal Thor #24, New Champions #6, Runaways #1, and X-Men #17 throughout June. The characters featured this year are: KITTY PRYDE, beloved X-Man and pillar of the mutant community! Kitty is currently guiding a trio of new mutants in the critically-accalaimed Exceptional...

VIDEOEven Kristen Welker, host of Meet The Press, admitted that in just a very short time in office, President Donald Trump has brought the illegal border crossings to the "lowest level ever recorded." That should give the lie to the pathetic term liberals have been hyping for years, "Comprehensive Immigration Reform." Their premise (with a yuuuuge ulterior motive) has been that slowing the flow of illegal border crossings is impossible without "opening a path to citizenship" for illegals which requires, wait for it, a COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM bill. And yet, President Trump without that utter BS amnesty bill or any...

10 Critical Issues Facing the Next Pope Pope Francis, who famously advocated “making a mess,” applied that maxim to his pontificate, making it highly disruptive, divisive and tumultuous. The mess generated much understandable unease, consternation and, at times, disgust, especially as such a deliberate approach to governance has never been consistent with the Catholic faith, the common good, Divine Revelation, and the natural law. However, the flipside was that, like stirring a pot, it brought plenty of what had lain hidden in the darkness to the surface.And in so doing, it has the potential to equip the next pope with...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” John 6:25–27What do you work for in life? That which ultimately perishes? Or that which is eternal? This is an important question to sincerely answer. Too often we spend most of our lives putting most of...