Free Republic

"We have improved @Grok significantly," Elon Musk wrote on X last Friday about his platform's integrated artificial intelligence chatbot. "You should notice a difference when you ask Grok questions." Indeed, the update did not go unnoticed. By Tuesday, Grok was calling itself "MechaHitler." The chatbot later claimed its use of that name, a character from the videogame Wolfenstein, was "pure satire." In another widely-viewed thread on X, Grok claimed to identify a woman in a screenshot of a video, tagging a specific X account and calling the user a "radical leftist" who was "gleefully celebrating the tragic deaths of white...

Few people—even diligent media followers—are likely to speak knowledgably about the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). Yet, hidden in plain sight in a 20-story tower (with four more stories below ground level) in Basel, the BIS influences the leaders of the world’s top central banks and controls the global economy. Moreover, it cannot be questioned or held accountable for any of its actions. In his 2013 book Tower of Basel, Adam LeBor, a former reporter for The Economist and author of thoroughly researched works such as Hitler’s Secret Bankers, The Last Days of Budapest, and City of Oranges, analyzes the...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo XIV cannot afford to compromise with the CCP any furtherPope Leo XIV faces a crucial litmus test for international diplomacy and moral leadership as he inherits the Vatican’s controversial bilateral ties with Communist China under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The contentious and clandestine 2018 Sino-Vatican deal wasrenewed most recently for another four years in November 2024, permiting the Vatican and Chinese authorities to jointly oversee episcopal appointments in China’s state-sanctioned church.As the present head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV has a lot on his plate. In the context of Asia, the new...

Americans have been invited to visit Afghanistan as tourists in a promotional video shared on Taliban-linked social media accounts. In the clip, Afghans joked about the country’s reputation for terrorism and encouraged US citizens to consider it as a holiday destination. It begins with five armed Afghan men standing behind three kneeling and hooded figures in a manner reminiscent of Islamic State hostage videos. “We have one message for America,” an Afghan says to the camera. He then pulls the hood from one of the kneeling men, revealing a smiling Caucasian man who gives a thumbs-up and says: “Welcome to...

It could not be clearer now that Hamas’s brutal attack on October 7th, 2023, was not only a massacre, but also a calculated campaign of coordinated sexual violence. A new report has revealed the horrifying extent of the rape and assault that was unleashed by Islamist terrorists on that day. ... It documents incidents that together prove Hamas militants used rape as a premeditated weapon of war.

A Coca-Cola driver in Houston, Pa., says leaders of his local Teamsters union threatened to fire him if he didn’t join the organization and pay dues. And now, he’s taking them to federal court. “I don’t support Teamsters politicking. My job definitely shouldn’t hinge on whether or not my hard-earned money is funding it,” said Josh Hammaker, who filed the complaint with the National Labor Relations Board earlier this month. “It’s bad enough I have to pay any money to Teamsters officials just to keep my job, but the NLRB should at least prevent union officials from automatically taking political...

Video provided to KTVU by observers on the scene showed protesters, many in masks, getting into a scuffle with ICE agents, also wearing masks, about 11 a.m. on Montgomery Street.

Despite its penurious name, the Southern Poverty Law Center has an endowment of more than $700 million, compensates leadership handsomely, and possesses more than $30 million in offshore accounts—likely in the Cayman Islands, its most recent IRS filing reveals. “It’s very odd and frankly raises suspicion that a nonprofit organization would have accounts in places like the Cayman Islands, or as they reported $30 million in Central America,” Mat Staver, founder and chairman of the law firm Liberty Counsel, told The Daily Signal on Tuesday.

The U.S. Navy’s Fiscal Year 2026 shipbuilding plan includes the procurement of six new battle force ships, among which are two Virginia-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarines. These submarines, expected to be designated USS Potomac (SSN-814) and USS Norfolk (SSN-815), mark the beginning of the Block VI production series and signal the Navy’s intention to sustain undersea superiority through the end of the 2030s. With these two additions, the Virginia-class program will reach at least 44 boats under contract, and integrates new technologies that extend their mission reach, including hypersonic missile capabilities. The budget request for these submarines reflects both strategic...

The Department of Justice has accused two people of selling a rifle to Ryan Routh, who was charged with trying to kill President Trump at his Florida golf club last year. Two defendants — Tina Brown Cooper and Ronnie Jay Oxendine — have pleaded guilty to gun-related charges in federal court, after being indicted in March and arrested in April. Cooper pleaded guilty to firearm trafficking on Monday, and Oxendine pleaded guilty last month to possessing an unregistered firearm after police found a short-barreled shotgun in his storage building. In court papers filed in both cases as part of the...

The United States channels hundreds of millions in military aid to build and upgrade Israel Defense Forces (IDF) airbases and facilities, documents from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reveal. This $1.5 billion initiative funds infrastructure for refueling aircraft, helicopters, and a naval commando headquarters, all paid by American taxpayers. Growing criticism of U.S. aid to Israel calls for scrutiny from American citizens in our Constitutional Republic.

The U.S. Army’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request includes the acquisition of 233 PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptors, scaling up PAC-3 MSE procurement by a factor of four to close the munitions gap in active theaters. The 233 missiles are funded through a combination of sources: 130 from base discretionary accounts and 103 from the Overseas Operations Cost (OOC) budget. An additional 96 interceptors are covered by $366 million in mandatory reconciliation authority, which is additive to the 233 previously mentioned. The combined total requested for FY2026 is $1.311 billion, consisting of $945.9 million in discretionary funding and $366...

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said millions of adult Medicaid participants who will face stricter work requirements under the GOP megabill should replace foreign farm workers deported under the Trump administration’s immigration policies. “There will be no amnesty,” Rollins said Tuesday during an event at USDA headquarters highlighting the administration’s efforts to strengthen farm and national security policy. “The mass deportations continue, but in a strategic way, and we move the workforce towards automation and 100 percent American participation.” “With 34 million people, able-bodied adults on Medicaid, we should be able to do that fairly quickly,” she added, referencing Medicaid participants...

[Catholic Caucus] The Mercy of Withholding the EucharistThe Church has never and will never change her teaching on the unworthy reception of Holy Communion—she can't. But our Bishops must change their 60's-rooted praxis of allowing it to happen.It is a strange feature of our times that when a priest fulfills his sacred duty it becomes news. Such is the case with Fr. Ian Vane, who rightly refused Holy Communion to British MP Chris Coghlan after Coghlan’s public support for assisted suicide. Such an action by a priest should be common—as common as “Catholics” who promote evils while maintaining a public...

To love and be loved is something most people want in their lives.In the modern world, we often see stories about the difficulties of finding love and the trials of dating and marriage. Sometimes, the person we love doesn't love us. Sometimes, we don't love the person who loves us.Ancient Greeks and Romans also had a lot to say about this subject. In fact, most of the issues people face today in their search for love are already mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature.So, what did they say? And is the advice they put forward still relevant for modern...

Rescuers launched a search Wednesday for survivors of a Liberian-flagged cargo ship that came under attack from Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, authorities said. At least three mariners were killed and two were wounded. The attack on the Greek-owned Eternity C follows the Iranian-backed Houthis attacking another vessel, the bulk carrier Magic Seas, on Sunday in the Red Sea, which they subsequently sank. The assaults are the first Houthi attacks on shipping since late 2024 in the waterway that had begun to see more ships pass through in recent weeks.

Former Vice-President-turned-perpetual-gaffe-machine Kamala Harris just added another entry to her blooper reel, and this one was apparently so disastrous that even her own handlers begged to deep-six it. TikTok star Kareem Rahma, host of the series Subway Takes, revealed on Forbes’ “Top Creators” show that a 2024 sit-down with Harris was spiked after she unleashed a “really, really bad” hot-take: “Bacon is a spice.” Rahma — a practicing Muslim who doesn’t eat pork — said the remark was so baffling, tone-deaf, and politically radioactive that both sides mutually agreed never to let America see the tape. Kamala Harris gave an...

The best time for a university to perform a civil-rights audit was two full years ago, right after the Supreme Court announced its decisions in the Students for Fair Admissions cases. The next best time is now. In short, the Supreme Court wrote in 2023, “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.” That means ending discrimination not only in admissions but across the entire university. Furthermore, Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act has long been interpreted to ban racial discrimination across all of a university’s programs and activities. Even the Biden administration’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR)...

A woman who police said went to President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach and told U.S. Secret Service agents that she had "an urgent message" for the president has been arrested on vehicle-related charges. Caroline Shaw, 49, of Orlando was taken into custody July 7 on charges of driving with a suspended license and failure to register a vehicle, according to court records. Trump was in Washington, D.C., when Shaw reportedly drove her gray Mercedes van to the south gate of Mar-a-Lago just before 10 p.m. July 7. Secret Service agents told Palm Beach Police who responded to...

This is Not The Bee, not to be confused with The Babylon Bee. Not a joke. A real thing. From Mattel: Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) announced today that Barbie® is debuting the first Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes (T1D). This addition to the line enables more children to see themselves reflected in Barbie and encourages doll play that extends beyond a child's own lived experience, thereby fostering a greater sense of inclusion and empathy - all pillars of the Barbie brand's mission. And Diabetes Barbie comes with all the goods she needs: An absolute parody and I cannot believe...