Free Republic

A Florida pastor and his alleged accomplice were busted Thursday for running a phony immigration racket out of a church, duping desperate migrants out of thousands, police said. Nelson David Ochoa-Vasquez, 46, a pastor at La Iglesia de Dios Jireh, and Ismer Gonzalez, 45, were arrested by the sheriff’s Organized Crimes Bureau for what officials called an “organized scheme to defraud” in a press release. The pair allegedly posed as legal helpers while targeting at least 16 immigrants between April 2024 and January 2025, ... Ochoa-Vasquez used his pulpit to gain victims’ trust before allegedly referring them to Gonzalez under...

This is a work in progress for a trilogy that is 60% written. I would very much value any questions, feedback, or criticism as I craft it! ---------------------------------- Prologue A light breeze brought Rhora awake. She was lying in her bed in rich chambers in what used to be Pernil Manor, with a window cracked open to provide fresh, cool air. As she lay there, another breeze, sweet with the aroma of spring, wafted inside. “Rhora.” It was only the slightest whisper on the wind, so faint that she thought she imagined it. “Rhora,” a woman’s whisper repeated. Her eyes...

Staff. July 25, 2025 Ilhan Omar’s Father and the Isaaq Genocide: The Truth Revealed. Between 1987 and 1989, the Somali military in which Colonel Nur Omar Mohamed, Ilhan Omar’s father, served as a senior officer executed a brutal and systematic campaign of genocide targeting the Isaaq people of the modern day Republic of Somaliland. This dark chapter in Africa’s history, which was known as the Isaaq Genocide, was a merciless military campaign that resulted in the killing of over 200,000 Isaaq civilians. It also involved widespread forced displacement, scorched‑earth destruction of the second and third largest cities (Hargeisa and Burao),...

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu studio in San Jose is recovering after being a victim of a hit-and-run collision over the weekend. According to the San Jose Police Department, a vehicle crashed into Caio Terra Academy at 4:03 p.m. on Sunday. The studio, located on Park Avenue and Sunol Street, did not report any injuries. No one was inside the studio at the time of the crash. As of Monday afternoon, the hit-and-run driver remains at large. SJPD said the driver was involved in a separate collision with another vehicle prior. The outside brick walls, framing, glass, and mats were “all destroyed,”...

Democrat Rep. Delia Ramirez (IL) sparked controversy after reportedly declaring at the second annual Panamerican Congress held in Mexico that she is a proud Guatemalan before she is an American. Ramirez, whose husband is a DACA recipient and defines her marriage as "mixed-status" on a campaign website, apparently made the controversial remarks this past weekend at what the Daily Caller has described as a "radical" summit organized by the director of an "anti-American organization." “I’m a proud Guatemalan before I’m an American,” she told the group while speaking in Spanish, according to the outlet's translation. The Daily Caller informs us...

Caitlin Clark has done for the Women’s National Basketball Association what Michael Jordan once did for the NBA—made it more valuable, watchable and marketable. Instead of protecting its transformative star, the league’s leadership ignores the relentless targeting of Ms. Clark, treating its greatest asset as if she were a PR headache. That approach could turn into a legal liability for the WNBA. Since she joined the league last year, Ms. Clark’s impact has been seismic: Merchandise sales soared 601%, Indiana Fever viewership jumped 170%, the team’s value tripled, League Pass subscriptions climbed 366%, app engagement rose 613%, and her endorsements...

The founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF) has been accused of ordering the falsification of research to make it appear that Brexit was detrimental to Britain’s economy. An internal probe conducted by the Homburger law firm into the alleged misconduct of former WEF Chairman and founder of the globalist Davos institution, Klaus Schwab, has reportedly found that the German-born economist orchestrated the manipulation of economic research to advance his political agendas. According to the Swiss Sonntags Zeitung newspaper, the architect of the Great Reset is accused of personally intervening during the World Economic Forum’s 2017/18 Global Competitiveness Report to...

Senior Hamas Official Ghazi Hamad: October 7 Led To International Recognition Of A Palestinian State And Proved Defeating Israel Is Not That Difficult; We Will Never Surrender Our Weapons – Israel Can Dream We Will. Aug 02, 2025.

It looks like Senate Republicans aren’t just talking tough on corruption—they’re laying the groundwork for real accountability, and Democrats like Sen. Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James may finally have reason to worry.Sen. John Cornyn has introduced the Law Enforcement Tools to Interdict Troubling Investments in Abodes—or the LETITIA Act, pointedly named after the New York AG herself. But this isn’t just a symbolic jab. The bill represents a serious move to expand criminal liability and, more importantly, stiffen penalties for public officials who abuse their positions for personal gain—specifically through shady dealings like mortgage or tax...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business; End to Sex Slavery; Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14) 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...

State and local policies might still force sports organizations to deny the reality of male advantage.With the federal route closed under the Trump administration, transgender males seeking admission to women’s sports are turning to state courts. There, fuzzy and sometimes absurd definitions in state and local policies might still force sports organizations to deny the reality of male advantage and surrender competitive fairness and safety for female athletes.Two trans-identifying male athletes are suing sporting event organizers after being told that they were not permitted to compete in the female category. One suit is in New York, and the other in...

In its near-century of existence, Chateau Marmont — a faux French castle perched on a hill near the entrance of West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip — has kept countless secrets for the artists, actors and other icons that have stalked its halls. It has also held a few mysteries of its own, including a long-rumored secret tunnel. In its near-century of existence, Chateau Marmont — a faux French castle perched on a hill near the entrance of West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip — has kept countless secrets for the artists, actors and other icons that have stalked its halls. It has also...

President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday that his administration could distribute dividends from tariff revenues to Americans with certain income levels.Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Trump said that a distribution of dividends to selected U.S. households is possible, even as the government works to pay down the national debt.“We have a lot of money coming in, much more money than the country has ever seen, by hundreds of billions of dollars,” he said. “There could be a distribution for dividends to the people of our country. I would say for people that would be middle-income people and...

AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File The New York Times ran a photo on its front page that was a visual lie. The point of that lie was to back the claims made in their article that Israel was intentionally starving Gazan children, but apparently, there were no photos available that would back the claims made in their story. No doubt they believed the story that their reporters were feeding them, not that any reporter who was not a Hamas toady would dare set foot in Gaza--but in the circular logic of the Times they assumed that nothing printed in their...

Energy poverty is quite literally destroying culture in Great Britain, and it's a fate that all societies pursuing a Net Zero agenda face. Among the reasons why this is so is that wind power blows. iv-gpt-300x250_4" class="gpt-ad ad-90 text-center"> Climate madness on stage:A Handel opera canceled because its single wind turbine generated no power in still weatherPrior to cancellation? SIX blackouts through performance, each causing a 15-min restart delayAnd back-up generators couldn't copeOh, bright green future… pic.twitter.com/nIxTNTO6hj— Bjorn Lomborg (@BjornLomborg) July 4, 2025Perhaps, given that this concert was to feature Handel's music, the Opera House should have chosen to be...

President Donald Trump has people doing a double-take with the latest news about plans to not only get us back to the Moon, but build a nuclear reactor on the lunar surface and soon. According to documents obtained by Politico, interim NASA administrator and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will announce expedited plans with a definitive timeline to get a reactor built and take significant steps to improve U.S. efforts in the second space race. The report noted that NASA previously revealed plans, but no timeline was put in place. "It is about winning the second space race," a NASA senior...

The Texas House of Representatives passed a resolution Monday afternoon calling for the arrest of dozens of Democratic lawmakers who fled the state to prevent a congressional redistricting vote from going forward. At least 100 of the 150 members of the Texas House must be present for a quorum so business can be conducted.

Sucralose is a popular sugar substitute, but new research suggests that the artificial sweetener may not be the best choice for patients undergoing cancer immunotherapy. The study found that patients with melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer who consumed high levels of sucralose had worse response to immunotherapy and poorer survival than those with diets low in the artificial sweetener. Strikingly, supplements that boosted levels of the amino acid arginine mitigated the negative effects of sucralose on immunotherapy in mice. Diwakar Davar, M.D. used mouse models to show that the negative impacts of sucralose are driven by disruption to gut...

A new study shows that regular exercise may do more than help colon cancer patients feel better—it may actually change gene activity in both tumors and surrounding fat tissue. Says Vicky Bandera, "We're seeing early indications that exercise might actually change how cancer behaves at a molecular level." Bandera, who studied exercise oncology, was driven by a simple question: Could movement change not just how patients feel, but what characteristics a growing tumor develops? "Seeing patients struggle with side effects pushed me to study how we can leverage something as accessible as exercise," she says. "More work needs to be...

Normally, a close call is a bad thing when it comes to riding motorcycles. But in 1979, motorcyclists explored a niche intersection between safety and fun. Using precise driving, riders danced around each other with timing and skill -- at seven miles per hour. The Tripoli Shrine Motor Club met every week for practice. Watch the video above to see motorcycles make some close calls. If you like this video, check out the archival playlist below.