Free Republic

No shortage of surprises around here. President Donald Trump, less than half a day after announcing his intention to destroy “a whole civilization” if the Iranians didn’t reopen the Hormuz, declared via Truth Social that the Pakistanis had brokered a two-week ceasefire on the premise that the Iranian 10-point framework is a “workable basis” for a peace deal. This is a bit of a headscratcher to everyone who has actually seen the Iranian framework, which, among other things, asserts the Islamic Republic’s right to uranium enrichment, institutionalizes an Iranian-Omani toll system in the Hormuz, and demands immediate sanctions relief. The...

Cheryl Bartley, 48, was charged with one count of gross negligence manslaughter in relation to her role as a pastor during the baptism, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. Bartley, of Erdington, will appear at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on 14 May. The BBC previously reported that the man was taking part in the ceremony carried out by Life Changing Ministries in a small pool in the property's garden. The baptism event was streamed live on the church's Facebook page, but the stream was cut during the event and the video later removed.

One of the most famous stories from the Gospels is the account of Jesus wisely saving a supposedly adulterous woman from being stoned to death. One of the most captivating moments in this passage is when Jesus writes in the sand, but we are left to wonder what he wrote and why, sparking centuries of curiosity and debate. This raises an intriguing question: what are some of the interpretations of this mysterious act? The story of Jesus writing in the sand First of all, it helps to understand exactly what happens in this story. It appears at the very beginning...

A year-long investigation by journalist John Carreyrou identifies Adam Back, a 55-year-old British computer scientist, as the man who created cryptocurrency under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous figure who introduced Bitcoin in 2008. Back is the CEO of Blockstream, one of the most influential companies in the Bitcoin industry, and the inventor of Hashcash, a computational anti-spam tool that Bitcoin’s mining process directly borrows from. Carreyrou’s investigation began after watching an HBO documentary in late 2024 that tried, and failed, to identify Bitcoin’s founder. Back appeared visibly uncomfortable when his name came up as a suspect. That reaction sparked...

A high-profile killing on a Charlotte light rail train has hit a legal pause after a court filing concluded the suspect is not currently fit to face trial. Decarlos Brown Jr., 35, has been deemed “incapable to proceed” on state murder charges tied to the death of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, per the New York Post. The finding comes from a motion filed April 7 following a mental health evaluation conducted late last year. According to WBTV, Brown was evaluated on Dec. 29 at Central Regional Hospital. The resulting report determined he is not competent to stand trial...

Keir Starmer: “We just reached a ceasefire”. We? WE!?? No, they reached a ceasefire. You had nothing to do with it.

The United Arab Emirates signals readiness to join a coalition to secure navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while stressing that a ceasefire in the Iran war would not be enough to stabilise the region, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President Anwar Gargash said on Tuesday. Gargash framed Abu Dhabi’s position as both immediate and long-term, pointing to the need for coordinated maritime security efforts alongside a broader political settlement that addresses underlying risks. "We are not ready to act as a maritime force, but we will join any American-led or international effort to secure navigation in the Strait of...

It all started next to a field of grazing sheep in Greece, where an unidentified 58-year-old was working outdoors in the dry September heat. She “noticed numerous flies swarming around her face,” according to a new medical report, and about a week later, she began experiencing pain in her sinuses. The next few weeks brought “severe coughing,” but no other symptoms. Until one day, Oct. 15 to be exact, she sneezed out a “worm.” Soon after, an ear, nose and throat doctor got to work surgically removing 10 larvae and a pupa — a teenage insect between the larval and...

The United Arab Emirates emerged Wednesday as a suspected offensive actor in the widening Gulf conflict, with multiple Iranian sources and open-source military analysts pointing to UAE Air Force Mirage 2000-9 fighter jets as the platform behind a strike on Iran's Lavan Island oil refinery, hours after a US-brokered ceasefire was supposed to have halted hostilities. Abu Dhabi has not confirmed or denied the allegation, but the circumstantial case circulating in defense intelligence communities is substantial enough to have triggered an immediate Iranian retaliatory response against Emirati territory. Photographs circulating on social media Wednesday purportedly showed one of the UAE's...

The exclusive reports received by Iran International indicate an unprecedented deepening of the gap at the top of the power pyramid in the Islamic Republic, and it has led to the continuation of conflicts and open confrontation between [President] Masoud Mezikian, the head of state in the Islamic Republic, and the senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to two sources close to the presidential office, on Saturday, April 5, there was a heated conversation between Masoud Mezikian, [former IRGC spychief] Hossein Taib, and figures close to Mojtaba Khamenei [gay unconscious one-legged Supreme Ayatollah], which the attendees described...

MAZE@mazemooreCNN right before we hit Iran's nuclear facilities last year: There is no need for this. Iran isn't close to having a nuclear weapon.CNN immediately after last year's strike: The mission failed, Iran is closer than ever to having a nuclear weapon.CNN right before we hit Iran this year: There is no need for this. Iran isn't close to having a nuclear weapon.Spoiler alert. This is how Democrats/MSM will be, with everything, for the next three years. It's exactly how they were on everything Trump did during his first five years. April 7, 2026

TODAY'S NEWS, April 7-8, 2026 Writer: Larry Schweikart Larry Schweikart HEADLINES: Republicans continue to mostly stay ahead of Ds in registrations; Trump has slashed the Deep State numbers; Grade inflation hurts everyone. The News of Today is the History of Tomorrow PROGRAM NOTE: I will be gone on Friday, but will return on Monday. IN POLITICAL NEWS 1) As you know, I put little stock in any polls, but here you go: President Trump is at 51%-47% approval, up four points from last. And here is Ras, at 49 Here are are some voter registration updates to go along with...

Slam the brakes. Mayor Zohran Mamdani conceded he won’t be able to deliver his promise of free buses this year — making a U-turn on one of the cornerstones of his campaign. Mamdani’s highly-touted demands for free MTA buses have fallen by the wayside in both state and city budget proposals. The democratic socialist mayor notably did not include the pitch in his $127 billion budget proposal, and it has also failed to garner traction in Albany as legislators hash out the state spending plan with Gov. Kathy Hochul. Hizzoner is now admitting he’s turning his focus on restarting his...

Augusta National Golf Club is probably the most prestigious golf club in the country. There are millions of people all over the world who dream of just being able to step on the grounds. There is so much history and information surrounding Augusta National that it can be hard to fully understand the impact that this place has had on the game of golf. August National Golf Course is owned by Augusta National, Inc. The Augusta National, Inc. is a for-profit institution that was created in Georgia back in 1935 when the course was first built. The two original owners...

The Minneapolis City Council is preparing to consider legalizing and regulating venues, such as bathhouses, where consenting adults can engage in sexual activity, possibly reversing the city’s 38-year ban. The ordinances in question would remove “stigmatizing language” and add “new definitions to be inclusive of establishments where sexual activity between consenting adults may be facilitated,” according to The Minnesota Star Tribune. The outlet noted that bathhouses and sex clubs operated in the city until a 1988 ordinance banned businesses that facilitate “high-risk sexual conduct,” which was defined as fellatio, anal intercourse and vaginal intercourse for pay. The language of the...

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again Wednesday in response to Israeli attacks against the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon, casting doubt over whether an already precarious ceasefire to end more than a month of war will hold. The United States and Iran both claimed victory after reaching the agreement, and world leaders expressed relief, even as more drones and missiles hit Iran and Gulf Arab countries. Israel also intensified its attacks in Lebanon, hitting several commercial and residential areas in Beirut without warning. At least 112 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in one of the deadliest days...

Explanation: And to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you, from the Moon. We will see you on the other side, said Artemis II pilot Victor Glover on April 6th at 6:44pm ET as 8.3 billion minus four people and one Earth set below the Moon's horizon. The Orion spacecraft, Integrity, then traveled behind the Moon as part of its seven-hour lunar flyby. The crew characterized never-before-seen regions of the far side of the Moon, which is puzzlingly less volcanically active than the near side. New observations of crater peaks, floors, terraces, and rings...

President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are set to meet with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House Wednesday, following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire with Iran. The Trump administration has expressed strong frustration with the alliance for refusing to support U.S. objectives, including securing the Strait of Hormuz, on which many European nations depend. Alleged “allies” offered little more than calls to resume negotiations, questioned President Trump’s plan, and in some cases even closed their airspace to U.S. military aircraft, moves widely viewed as a betrayal by European partners. This comes after Secretary of State...

When history books are written about Operation Epic Fury, analysts will spend chapters debating whether it was wise, justified, or legally sound. But one consequence may stand above all others in terms of shaping the next century of American foreign policy: the Iran conflict may have finally given the United States the political and moral clarity to walk away from NATO.That may not have been the intention. But sometimes the most important outcomes are the unintended ones. (snip) The Iran conflict has been enormously clarifying. When the United States launched military operations against Iran — alongside Israel, without consulting European...

Full Grok question: "If the United States must be blamed for slavery before the U.S. did not even exist in the year 1776, don't Americans get the privilege of taking the credit for abolitionism that existed prior to 1776 since Britain did not do that?" --- Yes, by that exact same logic of retroactive national attribution, Americans (specifically, the colonists who formed the United States) get full credit for the early abolitionist movements that predated 1776—movements Britain itself did not pursue or enact at the time, and which Britain actively hindered in the colonies. The premise is straightforward and consistent:...