Free Republic

The rise of artificial intelligence should have marked a new frontier in innovation, productivity, and security. Instead, it’s beginning to look more like the opening act of a high-tech cautionary tale. As AI advances in sophistication, it’s not ushering in utopia. It’s opening the floodgates to a new kind of threat -- one that uses data, mimicry, and digital misdirection to exploit our oldest and most reliable vulnerability: ourselves. A recent report reveals how AI is now at the center of a technological arms race in cyberspace. Deepfake technology has reached the point where criminals can manufacture photorealistic video messages...

CNN host Jake Tapper had his lowest-rated month in nearly a decade in May despite a whirlwind publicity tour giving him an onslaught of attention. Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson’s new book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” was released in May to much fanfare. The book helped set the recent news cycle with new accusations of the Biden White House hiding the truth about the former president’s fitness for office. To promote the project, Tapper has embarked on a wide-ranging book tour that landed him on a variety of podcasts,...

CAMBRIDGE, MA — With the Trump administration banning Harvard University from taking international students, the school was forced to begin accepting students from Ohio. "I can't believe I'm doing this," said Harvard Dean of Admissions Phil Donahue. "I never thought we would fall so far. I've spent my entire life trying to never even speak to someone from Ohio, much less allow them into Harvard. This is rock bottom."

In a ruling heard ’round the world, the U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday blocked President Trump’s sweeping tariffs. This is an important moment for the rule of law as much as for the economy, proving again that America doesn’t have a king who can rule by decree. The Trump tariffs have created enormous costs and uncertainty, but now we know they’re illegal. As the three-judge panel explains in its detailed 52-page ruling, the President exceeded his emergency powers and bypassed discrete tariff authorities delegated to him by Congress. The ruling erases his April 2 tariffs as well as...

And how Trump shattered the Establishment’s manufactured consent. There was a moment in the late spring of 2015 when I realized that the ground beneath our feet was shifting. During an appearance on Fox News, Charles Krauthammer was asked to predict the Republican and Democrat nominees for the 2016 election. He said rather confidently that the nominees would be “Jeb” Bush and Hillary Clinton. When asked to explain his reasoning, Dr. Krauthammer pointed out that Bush and Clinton had the money, the political infrastructure, and the backing of their respective party elites. I found his predictions unsettling — partly because...

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Thursday on “The Ingraham Angle” that President Donald Trump has the authority to hit other countries with reciprocal tariffs. A three-judge panel on the New York-based Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday that the president could not use his executive powers to impose reciprocal tariffs on imports. While discussing the ruling, Fox host Laura Ingraham told Turley that the tariffs could “withstand judicial scrutiny,” as previous tariffs from Trump’s first administration were upheld after being dragged through court. “Correct. The fact is the administration wanted to try this approach. This was a...

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced sweeping leadership changes Thursday as part of an effort to dramatically ramp up arrests of illegal migrants. The “leadership realignment” comes as Trump administration officials push for ICE to make a “minimum” of 3,000 arrests per day – up from the 1,800 per day quota the White House initially demanded in January. As part of the shake-up, Kenneth Genalo is out as the head of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division – the branch tasked with executing arrests and deportations. Genalo “decided to retire and will continue to serve the public as a...

Some Mormon women are obsessed with something illicit. They’re phoning friends, calling in favors and paying for international shipping to get it: a sacred tank top. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has redesigned its temple garments, which are worn by faithful members under their clothes. The garments are effectively underwear that until recently, looked like white short-sleeve shirts and knee-length shorts. Now, the church has removed the sleeve on some designs, turning them into tank tops. The church is releasing the tops to its more than 17 million members around the world in phases. Last October, it...

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In 1982, a peculiar commercial aired on televisions across Japan. An actress in a pink floral dress and an updo drops paint on her hand and futilely attempts to wipe it off with toilet paper. She looks into the camera and asks: “Everyone, if your hands get dirty, you wash them, right?” “It’s the same for your bottom, deserve to be washed, too.” ...43yrs later, Japan has overwhelmingly accepted Toto’s innovation. Washlet-style bidets, sold by Toto and a few smaller rivals, are a common feature in Japan’s offices and public restrooms and account for >80% of all household toilets, according...

Happened on South side of Chicago. 1 year old girl and two boys ages 3 to 5. Mom is 33 years old. Neighbor took all 4 to the hospital after finding the baby on the ground, and watching the mom come out with the other children covered with blood. All 3 children are in serious condition. Neighbor said he heard the eldest child say to the mom "don't cry mom everything is going to be okay"

My latest song. Jazz musicians will understand.

The mayor of Panama City, Mayer Mizrachi, said the city could potentially establish a bitcoin reserve. The Mayor of Panama City, Mayer Mizrachi, is taking notes on bitcoin from the leader of El Salvador. Speaking at Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas on Thursday, Mizrachi said he’s been thinking of ways Panama’s capital city, which is home to the Panama Canal, could implement bitcoin payments. This includes potentially setting up a strategic bitcoin reserve for Panama City, as well as possibly taking payments — including for passage through the Panama Canal — in bitcoin, Mizrachi said. “What if you have a...

Mammaliaforms encompass both living and extinct species that share a close relationship with mammals. Research on mammaliaforms aids scientists in deciphering the evolutionary developments responsible for various mammalian features.In two consecutive studies in Nature, Dr. Mao Fangyuan and Dr. Zhang Chi from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with colleagues from Australia and the United States, recently reported two Jurassic mammaliaforms from China, revealing the earliest dental diversification, mandibular middle ears, and articular-quadrate joint transformation of mammaliaforms.The studies provide key information about the evolutionary shift from reptilian jaw bones to early...

An anti-Trump IT specialist the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) was arrested on Thursday for attempting to provide classified national defense information to a foreign government. According to the DOJ, Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia, was arrested on Thursday in northern Virginia, and will make his initial court appearance in the Eastern District of Virginia on Friday. The Justice Department said Laatsch offered to transmit classified information to the foreign government because he did not “agree or align with the values of this administration” and was therefore “willing to share classified information” that he had access to, including “completed...

Earlier this year, as President Donald Trump was beginning to reshape the American government, Michael, an emergency room doctor who was born, raised, and trained in the United States, packed up his family and left the country. Michael now works in a small-town hospital in Canada….He said he feels some guilt that he did not stay to resist the Trump agenda but is assured in his decision to leave. Too much of America has simply grown too comfortable with violence and cruelty, he said. "Part of being a physician is being kind to people who are in their weakest place,"...

"The President of the United States must be allowed to protect America against those who are it Economic and Financial harm"...President Trump... Tonight, Israel ordering a mass evacuation in northern Gaza... The FBI arresting a Defense Intelligence Agency employee suspected of attempting to send national defense information... The US pulling back from cooperation with Israel on attacking Iran... A missile fired from Yemen taken down... Israel launching air attacks in Lebanon... A US federal appeals court allowing President Donald Trump's tariffs to stay... US President Donald Trump commuting the six life sentences of convicted Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover... Four...

SEATTLE — A legally armed civilian shot and killed a 16-year-old boy Wednesday night after the teen allegedly opened fire on two people in downtown Seattle, according to police. The shooting happened just after 10 p.m. near First Avenue and Union Street. Police said the teen shot two people before he encountered a 57-year-old man licensed to carry a firearm, who then shot the teen. “One individual produced a weapon, fired on the two individuals and then began to flee the scene,” said Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes. “When he did, he encountered a private citizen that was licensed to...

A Rockland County father of three, decorated NYPD officer, and beloved member of his community died unexpectedly, leaving behind a legacy of love, service, and deep devotion to family.. ... Joseph Sabino Gravino, 37, of Orangeburg, died suddenly on May 23, 2025 ... A 12-year veteran of the NYPD, Gravino most recently served with the Strategic Response Group, where he earned the respect of colleagues for his integrity and dedication. In addition to his service in law enforcement, Gravino co-owned Masterpiece Renovations, a general contracting business he ran with the same pride and attention he brought to every part of...