Free Republic

Thousands of protesters swarmed Mexico City Saturday, attacking police officers and attempting to breach a security barrier around the National Palace, which houses the federal government's executive branch. Plumes of tear gas filled the street as hooded protesters dragged riot police out of formation, beat them with hammers and chains and threw explosive devices at them, as they were stripped of their shields and communication radios. The Secretariat of Citizen Security of Mexico City announced via social media that at least 60 police officers had minor injuries, and 40 officers were taken to hospitals. Of the 40 officers hospitalized, 36...

They describe the system, called Circulatronics, as more of a treatment platform than a one-off brain chip. Working with researchers from Wellesley College and Harvard University, the MIT team recently released a paper on the new technology, which they describe as an autonomous bioelectronic implant.As New Atlas points out, the Circulatronics platform starts with an injectable swarm of sub-cellular sized wireless electronic devices, or “SWEDs,” which can travel into inflamed regions of the patient’s brain after being injected into the bloodstream. They do so by fusing with living immune cells, called monocytes, forming a sort of cellular cyborg.After they’ve been...

LOS ANGELES — A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to working with Mexican traffickers to bring drugs into the U.S., officials said Thursday. Diego Bonillo, 30, pleaded guilty in July to multiple charges, including conspiracy to import controlled substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. As part of his plea deal, he admitted to using his position to allow drug-filled cars into the U.S. from Mexico without inspection. He allowed at least 75 kilograms of fentanyl, 11.7 kilograms of methamphetamine, and more than 1 kilogram of heroin...

The founder of Virginia-based defense startup Govini was arrested on charges of attempting to solicit a pre-teen girl for sexual contact in Pennsylvania, authorities said Monday. The founder, Eric Gillespie, 57, was charged with four felonies, including multiple counts of unlawful contact with a minor, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. Gillespie, who lives in Pittsburgh, was denied bail by the judge, citing flight risk and concerns over public safety. His company, which placed him on administrative leave on Monday, has a $900-million U.S. government contract, and multiple deals with the Defense Department. Govini last month announced it had...

Losing more than half your team to an ejection can be a winning strategy apparently. West Virginia topped No. 15 Duke on Friday night after a mini-brawl at the end of the first half resulted in seven ejections, including six Mountaineers and four of the team’s starters. Those ousters left West Virginia with just five players for the second half, yet it rallied for a 57-49 win. “I think that’s the craziest game I’ve ever been a part of in my coaching career, without question,” West Virginia coach Mark Kellogg said after his team improved to 4-0. The skirmish broke...

“‘You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight’” (Matthew 11:25–26). An infant is completely dependent on others for everything he or she needs. A baby has no resources of its own to draw upon for help. The same Greek word (for “infants”) is used of those who can’t eat solid food (1 Cor. 3:1; Heb. 5:13). It is also used of those who can’t speak (1 Cor. 13:11) and of those who are helpless (Eph. 4:14). To such spiritual babes, those who...

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People granted asylum in the UK will have to wait 20 years before they can apply to settle permanently, under plans due to be announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Monday. The major shake-up to asylum policy comes as the government seeks to reduce small boat crossings and asylum claims. Under the plans, people who are granted asylum will only be allowed to stay in the UK temporarily, with their refugee status regularly reviewed and those whose home countries are then deemed safe told to return. Currently refugee status lasts for five years, after which people can apply for...

California's Medicaid-for-illegals disaster couldn't come at a worse time for Democrats. After grinding the federal government to a halt for more than 40 days — partly to reopen a loophole letting taxpayers foot the bill for illegal immigrant health care — the Golden State is serving up a perfect example of why that's a terrible idea. The numbers are staggering.According to a report from the Epoch Times, California's spending on health care for illegal immigrants through Medi-Cal is now projected to hit $10 billion annually from the state's General Fund. That figure is more than double what officials initially estimated....

Many Mexicans are at their limit with the cartel violence and political bribery plaguing their country, and a crowd made its anger felt in a startling and fierce way by storming the National Palace Saturday. The violent protest was particularly striking as being explicitly organized by “Gen Z” — that is, very young adults, my age group. There were, however, angry citizens of all ages in the mob that clashed with riot police and breached a barrier at the National Palace. President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo faces mounting criticism for her refusal to address rampant cartel violence, with one of her...

Jesus, of course, was born and raised in Palestine. Like his apostles and earliest disciples, he was a Middle Eastern Jew. Christianity emerged from a Hebrew matrix, drawing on stories of prophets and patriarchs firmly set in the Middle East. All Christians know this, as does anybody even slightly acquainted with the Christian story. Yet we sometimes fail to understand the historical implications of Christianity’s Middle Eastern origins. An Egyptian friend relates an anecdote that illustrates our point. He once surprised a European visitor to his country by identifying himself as a Christian. “Who converted your family?” the European tourist...

Homeowners vote red. Renters vote blue. Will President Donald Trump's 50-year mortgage make a red voter out of you? That is what the president hoped on Saturday, when he posted the idea of stretching out the customary 30-year repayment terms for home mortgages to 50 years. Turns out, that idea is smoke and mirrors. But at least Trump is recognizing that home affordability is a real crisis, not fake news. "Affordability" is the campaign pledge that produced big wins on election day, and most of the winners were Democrats. Affording a home is increasingly out of reach. The median age...

The Court of Appeal ordered former President Nicolas Sarkozy released from prison on Monday. Sarkozy returning home to his previous house arrest status awaiting appeal of his latest corruption conviction... On Tuesday French President Emmanuel Macron receiving Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas... A somber ceremony on Thursday commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Bataclan terrorist attacks... 130 people killed in the various terrorist attacks in Paris... In Paris this afternoon a seventh anniversary commemoration of the Yellow Vests protests...

Under Kevin D. Roberts, the Heritage Foundation is unraveling the remarkable legacy Edwin Feulner built. Once known as “the intellectual backbone of the conservative movement,” Heritage’s moral and philosophical clarity has yielded to confusion, populism and personality-driven politics. The damage to Heritage’s mission and credibility is becoming irreparable. Much of the recent outcry focuses on Roberts’s decision to maintain Heritage’s partnership with Tucker Carlson after Carlson’s now-infamous interview with Holocaust-denier Nick Fuentes. During that exchange, Carlson ridiculed Christians who affirm the Jewish people’s right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland, sneering that figures such as Ambassador Mike Huckabee and Senator...

I have a fitbit alta I've used very little. The digital readout is very small and I don't wear my reading glasses when I'm exercising. I have 20/25 vision and want something accurate that has a large screen. Suggestions?

The British actress Tilly Norwood began appearing in viral videos and short films across the internet earlier this year. She is young, fresh-faced, with girl-next-door vibes. She will be signed by a major talent agency soon. But Tilly Norwood is not real. She is an artificial-intelligence synthetic. She is not in the real world, not embodied. She is not a person or an actress. She is a digital Frankenstein’s monster of video software and ChatGPT. Tilly was created by Particle6 Productions, an AI studio founded by Dutch comedian and actress Eline Van der Velden. Tilly is her project. Van der...

AMERICAN GENERALS once spoke in euphemisms about the possibility of fighting a war in space, preferring to talk about space “dominance” rather than the grim prospect of shattering satellites in orbit. Now they speak openly about the need to launch weapons from, within and towards space in any future conflict with Russia or China. In 2026 there are five areas to watch that could shape the direction of this intensifying competition. One is President Donald Trump’s plan to build a “Golden Dome” missile-defence shield to protect America. Much of that project is a rebranding of older, more prosaic efforts to...

Road lanes across the country are to become narrower to stop cars overtaking cyclists as part of a new war on motorists, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Official guidance quietly published last week on the Government's website states that the standard width of a road lane in Britain – which for almost 150 years has been 12ft – is no longer appropriate because of the safety risk posed to cyclists. Instead, lanes on local roads should either shrink no more than 10ft 8in wide or expand to at least 12ft 10in. Critics say space constraints in towns and cities...

This is Donald Trump’s world—we’re all just living in it. The disruptor-in-chief was the biggest factor shaping global affairs in 2025, and that will be the case for as long as he remains in the White House. His norm-shattering approach has caused turmoil in some areas (as in trade) but has also delivered diplomatic results (as in Gaza) and forced necessary change (as with European defence spending). As the Trumpnado spins on in 2026, here are ten trends and themes to watch in the coming year. 1. America’s 250th.Expect to hear wildly diverging accounts of America’s past, present and future,...

[Catholic Caucus] Priority of New Bishop of Austin, Texas: Kneeling for Communion discouraged -- Communion kneelers to be bannedBishop Garcia has just arrived back at the capital of Texas, after a few mean years in Monterey (California) -- where his last measure before departing was to cancel the local Traditional Latin Mass. What is his first main concern in Austin, a burgeoning diocese filled with young Catholics and newcomers? Vocations? Inspire the faithful? Instill love for orthodoxy, Christ, the Sacraments, the Blessed Virgin?No: it's to discourage kneeling for Communion in the masses of Paul VI:Priorities... "For where your treasure is,...