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Daily Readings from the USCCB“You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” John 8:23–24Tensions were growing as Jesus gradually unveiled the deeper reality of Who He is, while the Pharisees remained blind to the truth, obstinate in their opposition. When Jesus said, “you will die in your sins,” He was not speaking of a sin...

"Give us this day our daily bread" (Matt. 6:11). God is glorified when He meets your needs. In America, praying for our daily bread hardly seems necessary. Most people need to pray for self-control to avoid overeating! But Matthew 6:11 isn't talking about food only. It is a statement of dependency on God and an acknowledgment that He alone provides all of life's basic necessities. Sad to say, however, many people today have reduced prayer to a means of self-fulfillment. Recently a woman sent me a booklet and wrote, "I don't think you understand the true resource we have in...

Choosing when to collect Social Security retirement benefits is a consequential decision. It will affect your finances for the rest of your life. You’ll be able to claim reduced retirement benefits as early as 62.In fact, in 2022, nearly 30 percent of new Social Security beneficiaries began receiving benefits at age 62, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. The full retirement age (FRA) for those born in 1960 or later is 67, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA). Although you can claim the benefits early, there are drawbacks. And one of them relates to any continued employment.Social Security Earnings...

A massive explosion and fire has broken out at a Valero oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. The extent of the damage, but no one has reportedly been injured. An order to shelter in place has been issued. Following reports of an explosion, a massive fire can be seen at the Valero oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. pic.twitter.com/I3UYBTS41A— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 24, 2026Additional footage shows the massive fire at the Valero oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, following a reported explosion. pic.twitter.com/NhQyNIujCN— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 24, 2026Footage reportedly shows the effect of a large explosion at the Valero oil...

There's a reason reporters capitalize the words Election Day in their stories, why Election Day is on every American calendar, and why it is emblematic of a single day by which you must deliver your ballot to the vote counters. The problem is, a dozen U.S. states have all sorts of cockamamie rules for when voters must get their ballots into the elections office, and it turns out that Election Day is not that day. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court appeared to be leaning in favor of making Election Day great again — or at least making it a...

It was a regional election palooza in France and Germany this weekend. In France, it was Round Two of the march toward the national presidential elections, with a lame-duck Emmanuel Macron's presidency up for grabs. In Germany, it's waffling and wounded German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's desperate bid to avoid losing more Christian Democrat (CDU) seats in regional parliaments to either Alice Weidel's populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party or, even more inexplicably, a resurgent Green party.In France, Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) went into the second round of elections hoping to win major cities' mayoral races, but, much as...

The Democrats have refused to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). That helped to cause chaos at the airports after the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) had hundreds of its employees quit because they weren't being paid. Then, too, some are calling in sick. The wait times to get through security ballooned up to hours, with mammoth lines. Not only that, but it puts all of us in a more dangerous situation when the whole of the DHS isn't being funded and protecting our security. Democrats put their political agenda against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over their...

Democrats are furious that President Donald Trump took action against Iran with Operation Epic Fury. But one of the things that you wouldn't hear from them is how his action puts paid to one of their favorite fictions about Trump - the Russia collusion fiction, that Trump is somehow in the pocket of Russia. Well, he's pounding one of their principal allies, which he would not do if he were in Putin's pocket. So once again, the Democrat narrative gets blown up. Trump said he was in talks with an Iranian leader that were productive, and for that reason, he...

I'm wondering if there is a way to program the news in Free Republic in specific ways. Can you create your own feed? Have a feed of just good news? Or have a feed that excludes topics that you hate. Is there anyway control this or are we at the mercy of whoever posts what they post. I know there are trends in the news, for example, Epstein or trans gender topics, but sometimes you have had enough of a subject to the point of not wanting to even see the headlines... because these posts will show up. So if...

The Paramount+ 'Star Trek' show will end after its already filmed second season.So much for Paramount+‘s Gen Z Star Trek show.The streamer has decided to end Star Trek: Starfleet Academy after season two. Starfleet Academy had recently finished airing its debut season. Paramount+ had (rather optimistically, as it turned out) already ordered a second season, which recently wrapped production. Starfleet Academy has been a polarizing entry in the Trek canon. Many critics have celebrated the show for focusing on a younger generation and its coming-of-age themes. On social media, the show has been a frequent target of mockery from those...

Silicon Valley was energized by legal immigrants from all over the world who founded eBay, Google, Nvidia, SpaceX, Stripe, Sun Microsystems, Tesla, Yahoo and a host of others. The Greek-American Elia Kazan’s 1963 film “America America” is based on the Herculean struggle of the director’s uncle to immigrate to the United States. It summed up Americans’ traditional view of immigrants: They had risked everything for the chance to reach America, and once there, became hyperpatriotic in their gratitude for the magnanimity of their new hosts. I grew up in rural California surrounded by hard-working immigrant farm families from Armenia, India,...

President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States will delay planned strikes on Iran’s power plants and broader energy infrastructure for five days, signaling at least a temporary shift away from immediate military escalation and toward a possible diplomatic opening. The move came after Trump said Washington had held productive conversations with Tehran and remained focused on trying to reach a deal. In comments to CNBC’s Joe Kernen, Trump said the U.S. is “very intent on making a deal” with Iran, a notable statement given how quickly the conflict had been moving toward a potentially wider regional energy war....

"This is Hitler’s last days with Persian characteristics." —LH Grey on X It’s not only darkest before the dawn, but the groupthink is murkiest, and the light at the end of the tunnel might be an explosion up your wazoo. Iran’s increasingly headless Revolutionary Guard (the IRGC) whirls in its gyre of martyrdom as the last traps are sprung under it. Tell the wide-eyed houris of paradise to primp for a fresh harvest of true believers. Looks like Mr. Trump is not chickening-out, as his detractors like to insist. Looks like somebody is already turning off the juice around Tehran,...

As Western forces launched strikes against Iran, most expected tensions to rise in the Middle East. Few expected a different kind of shockwave--one rippling through the streets, communities, and polling data of Britain itself. Yet that is exactly what has emerged: not just disagreement, but a deep and widening divide over who the enemy is--and who deserves support.New polling conducted between March 2nd and 13th--during the opening phase of the American-Israeli military operation against Iran--reveals something far more serious than policy disagreement. It suggests that a significant portion of Britain's Muslim population did not simply question the West's actions. They...

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio Dominguez on Friday sought to convince Canada to prop up the fading Communist regime in Havana, arguing that Canadian companies could lose billions from nullified contracts if the regime falls. De Cossio praised Cuba’s “important trade relations” with Canada and the hefty investments Canadian companies have made in Cuba. “Despite the fact that we do not have a coincidence in all the political and international positions, we have always known how to solve our problems, our differences, and work with them based on dialogue and based on mutual respect,” he said. The...

🇺🇸 A judge ordered the Pentagon to restore press credentials and stop screening journalists. The Pentagon's response: comply with the ruling, close the entire correspondents' corridor, and relocate media to an external annex that's still under construction. The court said you can't control who covers the military. The military said fine, but you're covering it from across the parking lot now. This is happening during the biggest U.S. military operation in two decades, when press access to the Pentagon matters more than at any point since Iraq. Source: @SeanParnellASW @BreannaMorello

For decades, the most powerful argument against Israel's future was demographic. The claim went like this: between the Israeli Arabs who are full citizens of the state and the Arabs of Judea and Samaria living under Israeli military administration, the Arab population in Israel was growing so fast that Jews would eventually become a minority in their own land. Israel faced an impossible choice: either absorb all those Arabs into a democratic state and surrender the Jewish majority, or hold onto Judea and Samaria and be condemned by the world as an apartheid regime ruling over millions who cannot vote....

President Donald Trump, who is in the midst of pressuring senators to curb the use of mail-in voting, voted by mail ballot in Tuesday’s special election in Palm Beach County, Fla. The Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections website indicates that Trump, who is registered to vote at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Palm Beach, “voted by Mail Ballot” in a special election between Democrat Emily Gregory and Republican Jon Maples for a seat in the state legislature. A spokesperson for the office confirmed to The Washington Post that the “information [on the site] is accurate.” Trump’s decision to vote by...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, 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)Religion Forum threads labeled *Prayer* are closed to debate of any kind.1 John 5:20 "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true...

Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles were found guilty Friday of numerous charges related to the Louisiana staged accident scam, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana. According to news reports from local Louisiana media, the jury deliberated about six hours Friday after closing arguments wrapped up at the end of the day Thursday. The case was heard in the U.S. Eastern District of Louisiana. The news reports also said the pair were remanded to federal custody after the verdicts were read. Local news reporting painted a picture of post-verdict chaos. ... The Motta/Giles trial was the...