Free Republic

On Tuesday’s Morning Joe, the panel rode to the defense of Jimmy Kimmel, embracing his claim that his “expectant widow” line about Melania Trump was merely an age-gap “joke”— then turning on Donald Trump and the First Lady for objecting. [snip] Kimmel insisted the remark was harmless: “It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am… It was not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination.” Morning Joe bought that framing wholesale. Co-host Willie Geist dismissed the backlash as “so much bad faith,” suggesting critics were...

A 37-year-old Coptic Christian researcher and YouTuber has filed an appeal to overturn his conviction for posting online videos about Christianity. He was sentenced in January to five years’ imprisonment with hard labor.Augustinos Samaan filed the appeal last week, according to ADF International, the international religious freedom legal advocacy organization representing him.He was arrested in the early hours of Oct. 1, 2025, by masked special forces officers who seized his laptop, phone, books and personal papers, reports Coptic Solidarity, a U.S.-based advocacy group for Egyptian Copts and persecuted minorities.Samaan runs a YouTube channel with more than 800,000 subscribers. His videos...

Once upon a time, a fellow named Carson dominated late night TV. It was more than a show. My father told me that men would be talking about his lines in the coffee break room. Even people who didn’t watch it knew about his one-liners, because that’s the way it was. Who is repeating Jimmy Kimmel’s jokes these days? Probably not a lot of people, unless you like a joke about an expectant widow or the current First Lady losing her husband, the president. Let’s check this out: Jimmy Kimmel mocking Melania Trump at his alternate universe parody WH correspondence...

Californians deserve better and this November, they just might get it.Ahead of the gubernatorial election this fall, pundits are buzzing with something Californians haven’t heard in years: a real chance to flip the Golden State red — at least with a new governor in Sacramento. Thanks to its top-two primary system, in which the top two finishers advance to November regardless of party, this is more than possible.AdvertisementThis election cycle matters more than most for the Republican Party, and for the people of California. The Golden State has suffered under one-party Democrat rule for more than fifteen years, and the...

Leo Prepares Spiritual Death Penalty for SSPX While Honoring Schismatic Heretical Laywoman Impersonating a BishopLeo XIV’s Rome makes room for Anglican theatre, German homosexual blessings, and ecumenical word salad, while preparing excommunications for the Society of St. Pius X.On one side, Sarah Mullally, the newly installed Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, arrives in Rome for the full ecumenical treatment. She is scheduled to meet Leo XIV at the Vatican, worship with Anglican communities in Rome, pray at the tombs of Peter and Paul, meet officials from the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and join Leo for midday prayer in the Apostolic...

In a rare bit of good news for anyone tired of bureaucratic fast-tracking in election matters, the Virginia Supreme Court just told the state’s Department of Elections and Attorney General 'not so fast.' The high court denied an emergency stay of last week’s Tazewell County Circuit Court ruling that bars the Board of Elections from certifying the results of Virginia’s redistricting referendum — at least for now.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice has indicted a former senior adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci for allegedly concealing records from investigations into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.David Morens, 78, has been charged with conspiracy against the United States; destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations; concealment, removal, or mutilation of records; and aiding and abetting.The ex-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) official faces up to 51 years in federal prison if convicted of all charges. The indictment, unsealed Monday in Maryland federal court, also notes two unnamed co-conspirators who “concealed, removed, destroyed and caused...

The Vatican’s Feting of the First Female Archbishop of CanterburyRather than aiding Christian unity, Rome's exuberant welcome of Sarah Mullally is likely to be a stumbling block to reaching it.Pope Leo XIV receives Sarah Mullally, the first female Anglican archbishop of Canterbury, in the library of the apostolic palace, April 27, 2026 (Photo: Vatican Media)The word “scandal” comes from the Greek skándalon, via the Latin scandalum, meaning a “stumbling block” — something that causes another to fall, especially in matters of faith and morals.It was a term Pope Leo XIV returned to several times on Monday in his address to...

Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" show, responded on Monday to demands from first lady Melania Trump and President Donald Trump that he be fired for his "expectant widow" comment.In a sketch last week that was a parody of the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Kimmel referred to Melania Trump as an "expectant widow." Following the shooting on Saturday, the first lady demanded Kimmel be fired for what she said was a call for violence. The president later joined his wife in the demand, posting on Truth Social, "Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC."Kimmel on...

I’ve been convinced for quite some time that the political polarization of America has passed the point of no return. At this stage there seems to be no political solution to the problem. To be blunt about it: there is no voting our way out of this. Where political matters are concerned, the hard Left — which seems to occupy a larger and larger portion of the Democrat Party — has all but cornered the market on violent, incendiary rhetoric. If you disagree with them, you should be beaten up and imprisoned. If you oppose the Narrative, you need...

The U.S. conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of MT Tifani (IMO: 9273337) late Monday, according to a Pentagon post on X. Tifani sails a Botswana flag, while Majestic X sails a false Guyanan flag. The International Maritime Organization considers both ships to be stateless.On Tuesday, following the Monday interdiction of Tifani, Iran said it fired upon and seized two ships – MV Epaminondas (IMO: 9153862) and MV MSC Francesca (IMO: 9401116). MV Euphoria (IMO: 9235828) was also damaged on Wednesday near Iran, although it is unclear whether Iran also targeted the ship for seizure.The U.S. has right-to-visit stateless...

Revelations last year claimed the Biden FBI snooped on the phone records of multiple Republican members of Congress, including eight senators, during its January 6 investigation known as Arctic Frost. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan expanded his committee's investigation Monday into allegations that the Biden administration spied on Republican lawmakers. Revelations last year claimed the Biden FBI snooped on the phone records of multiple Republican members of Congress, including eight senators, during its January 6 investigation known as Arctic Frost. Jordan sent the latest letter to Alpine Bank CEO Glen Jammaron requesting documents and communications related to allegations that...

U.S. — On the heels of yet another attempted act of political violence being used for laughs by late-night talk show hosts, Americans expressed a deep longing for the good old days when comedians were funny and didn't wish death on people. President Donald Trump survived another attempt on his life over the weekend, with the would-be assassin being taken down by law enforcement. Comedian Jimmy Kimmel, meanwhile, gave a parody White House Correspondents' Dinner speech complimenting Melania Trump on having "the glow of an expectant widow," leaving viewers yearning for days gone by when comedians would make people laugh...

Late-night host says joke was 'not by any … a call to assassination'U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by ABC and its parent company ‌Walt Disney, joining his wife Melania Trump in calling out the late-night talk show host for a monologue he delivered prior to a shooting that took place over the weekend near a gathering of journalists and politicians. Last Thursday, in a segment that parodied the upcoming White House correspondents' dinner, Kimmel said that Melania Trump "had a glow like an expectant widow." Trump and his wife were rushed...

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Dylan Carter, a Lowcountry musician and former “The Voice” contestant, has died at age 24, according to people close to the singer. Carter was involved in a single-vehicle crash Saturday night on a rural Colleton County road. The South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating the accident. News about Carter’s death began to spread on social media Sunday afternoon, including a Facebook post from Moncks Corner Mayor Thomas Hamilton, who called Carter a “gifted singer,” adding that his “kindness and charm earned him immense respect.” Carter was scheduled to perform Monday night at the Town of Moncks...

Why White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter Cole Tomas Allen’s reported link to a group known as “The Wide Awakes” receiving such little scrutiny from the media? The name is associated with an arts-and-music-adjacent activist collective that describes itself as a creative, pro-democracy movement inspired by the original Civil War-era Wide Awakes. That’s what the media wants you to believe. But that cultural collective is not the only relevant use of the term: a mainstream progressive group’s own materials repeatedly reference “Wide Awakes” as a direct-action protest tactic. Including specifically targeting the tactic towards Hilton hotels, where the WHCD took place,...

A New York bodega worker, who had previously expressed fear over his safety at the location, was killed just outside his store on Saturday night. Abdul Saleh was reportedly killed while he was on the job in the East Village of Manhattan. According to ABC7, the shooting happened just after 11:30 p.m. in front of Saleh's family-owned business, Sal's Deli & Grocery. Police told reporters that Saleh got into an argument that started inside the deli. "Witnesses say the video shows Saleh and the 28-year-old man arguing. It then spilled outside, where Abdul was shot in the stomach," the outlet...

California is preparing to share with an outside organization detailed information about driver’s license holders, including immigrants who do not have legal authorization to live in the U.S. That breaks a promise the state made a decade ago when it began issuing licenses to unauthorized immigrants, advocates say, and it means more than 1 million people may face higher risk of deportation.

The early Church of course experienced its own racial and ethnic divide, that between Jew and Gentile. As both were coming into the Body of Christ suspicion and prejudice degenerated into polarization and condescending labeling, which Paul addressed in Ephesians 2. “You who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (2:13-14). Reconciliation to Christ meant that now “the other” was to become a friend, brother or sister. New levels of respect, appreciation...

Anthropic just published a study mapping exactly which jobs its own AI is replacing right now. The workers most at risk are not who anyone expected. They are older. They are more educated. They earn 47% more than average. And they are nearly four times more likely to hold a graduate degree than the workers AI is not touching. The argument is straightforward. Anthropic built a new metric called "observed exposure." Not what AI could theoretically do. What it is actually doing right now in professional settings, measured against millions of real Claude conversations from enterprise users. For computer and...