Free Republic

Vermont Principals’ Association to pay $566K to Christian school in transgender athlete dispute

Researchers at Cornell University found chatbots and AI models are all overwhelmingly programmed to suck up to users. “We find that models are highly sycophantic: they affirm users’ actions 50% more than humans do. “Participants [in the study] rated sycophantic responses as higher quality, trusted the sycophantic AI model more, and were more willing to use it again. This suggests that people are drawn to AI that unquestioningly validate, even as that validation risks eroding their judgment. “These preferences create perverse incentives both for people to increasingly rely on sycophantic AI models and for AI model training to favor sycophancy,”...

We’re approaching 60 days of the so-called Iran war, and we’re still getting these loud voices that Donald Trump has failed, that the war’s not going well. It’s completely nonempirical. It’s antithetical to the evidence. Here we are at 60 days, and Iran is losing about $500 million in input per day. It’s running out of storage space in a week or two for its daily output of oil, at which point they either have to stop pumping or they’re going to have—if they don’t stop pumping—their wells will collapse. They either have to stop pumping, or they have to...

During a May Day rally in Chicago, several demonstrators — including students participating in a walkout encouraged by teachers — struggled to explain the core ideologies they were championing, according to on-the-ground reporting by Fox News senior correspondent Mike Tobin. Tobin spoke with a Chicago Public Schools student, Cody West, who was carrying a "Party for socialism" sign. When Tobin asked the student if he believed in or knew what socialism was, West admitted, "not really, not too much." West mentioned that some teachers told students "it's a walkout, you guys can just go, go protest." A Chicago Teachers Union...

"Hi my name is Guido Reichstadter & I'm currently occupying the top of the Frederick Douglass memorial bridge in Washington DC. I'm calling on the people of the United States to bring an immediate end to the Trump regime's illegal war on Iran and the removal of the regime power through mass nonviolent direct action and non-cooperation. I also want to urgently warn the people of the US and the world of the imminent danger we are in of crossing a point of no return towards the development of artificial intelligence which poses the risk of catastrophic harm to humanity,...

Britain has agreed to create a unified naval force with nine European countries to deter future Russian threats from the “open sea border” to the north, the head of the Royal Navy has announced. Gen Sir Gwyn Jenkins said that despite the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, where the strait of Hormuz remains closed after the US-Israeli war in Iran, “Russia remains the gravest threat to our security”. In a speech, the first sea lord said the 10 members of the Joint Expeditionary Force (Jef), had signed last week a statement of intent to create a “multinational maritime force”...

Florida deputies arrested 266 people in a six-day undercover sting targeting alleged human traffickers, child predators and illegal immigrants. Sheriff Grady Judd announced the results of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office’s (PCSO) six-day operation “Polk Around and Find Out” during a Friday press conference. He announced 247 arrests connected to human trafficking. Officials previously said there were 19 more apprehensions connected to child sexual predators. Of the 247 trafficking-related apprehensions, 34 are in the U.S. illegally and 22 were receiving public benefits totaling more than $15,000 per month, according to the PCSO, FOX 13 reported, citing the PCSO. Those taken...

Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber said his X account was “compromised” on Wednesday evening, a statement offered after a post on his account called British Columbia Premier David Eby a “liar” earlier in the day. MLS has been ensnared in a relocation controversy surrounding the Vancouver Whitecaps, who say they have faced serious financial issues as a result of having to play at BC Place, the stadium owned by the province. The long-running saga has most recently seen the Whitecaps connected with a potential move to Las Vegas or Phoenix. Eby posted a 45-second video clip on his own...

Henrilynn Ibezim, a former Democratic mayoral candidate in New Jersey, pleaded guilty to forging nearly 1,000 voter registration applications during the 2021 Democratic primary, New Jersey's Office of the Attorney General announced Thursday. During the 2021 Democratic primary for Plainfield, New Jersey's mayoral seat, Ibezim allegedly brought a garbage bag filled with around 1,000 falsified voter registration applications to a post office in Elizabeth, New Jersey, with the intention of mailing them to Union County's registration commissioner. Of the 1,000 applications, most were completed with the handwriting of only three or four people, according to the attorney general. None of...

Police accused a semi-truck driver from New Jersey of causing eight accidents on a Chicago highway before attempting to strangle another driver on April 28 in an alleged instance of road rage. Police alleged that the suspect was driving “recklessly,” which resulted in a string of collisions on I-57 northbound, according to an Illinois State Police (ISP) news release. The suspect, 25-year-old truck driver Hassan A. Moutassim of Jersey City, New Jersey, reportedly removed a driver from another crashed vehicle and allegedly started “battering the driver, including an attempt to strangle the victim,” the press release stated. The alleged victim...

The US Department of Defence plans to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, amid a spat between US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the war with Iran. The decision comes a day after Trump criticised Merz, who suggested the US had been "humiliated" by Iranian negotiators. In social media posts on Thursday, Trump said Merz was "doing a terrible job" and had "problems of all kinds", including on immigration and energy. Trump has also suggested pulling US troops from Italy and Spain. The US has a significant military presence in Germany, with more than 36,000 active duty...

Ex-con former first son Hunter Biden may have to shell out more in child support to his former stripper baby mama, given his alleged lavish lifestyle featuring gourmet food and a mountain home with ocean views. An Arkansas judge Thursday ordered Biden, a 56-year-old dad of five, to turn over his tax records and other financials and sit for a grilling under oath by lawyers for Lunden Roberts — with whom he shares 7-year-old daughter Navy Joan Roberts. The ruling came as part of Roberts’ bid to have Biden start coughing up more than the $5,000 a month he currently...

A song that became a symbol of profound change, one that lives on decades after its release.It’s strange to think that Helen Reddy’s now-iconic women’s empowerment anthem was not initially a hit. Once the 70s burgeoning second-wave feminist movement found it, though, “I Am Woman” evolved into so much more than just a song: it became a symbol of profound change, one that lives on decades after its release. Co-written with Ray Burton, “I Am Woman” was Reddy sounding off about the entertainment industry and all of the demeaning comments made to her by men in positions of power....

I hear a lot from young people about their hopes, their dreams, and their fears. You see, young people are idealists. They respond to vision. For the past four years, they’ve seen the vision of the Biden-Harris regime. That vision is you’ll own nothing and be happy. The Democrats say instead of owning a home, you’ll rent a 400 square foot studio apartment. Instead of owning a car, you’ll rent a scooter using some app. Their vision is this, limit your dreams, give up, aim lower, be content with less. If you’re a twenty-something in America, life has been really...

US Oil & Gas Association@US_OGA·7hWe see where the Regime has trolled the SecDef. Admirable. But let's show them how it's done...."If you have to export 1.5 million barrels oil in 5-gallon buckets instead of tankers, because a US Naval blockade has choked off your export capacity, that's 12.6 million Home Depot buckets per day.To assist you in your efforts, here is the link to Home Depot where you can find those buckets for $3.98. There are 17,644 currently available.P.S. For the mullahs: 1 barrel = 42 gallons."ransomnote: The post above is in response to the following post.

[Catholic/Anglican Caucus] Msgr. Bux asks the Vatican for clarification on the gestures towards MullallyThe recent scenes starring during Sarah Mullally’s visit to Rome, Primate of the Anglican Communion, have sparked a critical reaction from the theological sphere. Monsignor Nicola Bux, priest and theologian, has warned of a possible “confusion” among the faithful stemming from some gestures performed in the Vatican in the presence of the Anglican leader.According to the portal Stilum Curiae, Bux has particularly questioned the coherence between these acts and Catholic doctrine on the priesthood and ecclesial authority.A visit marked by controversial gesturesThe presence of the Anglican leader...

Lord Hayward forecasts Labour to lose in 75 per cent of the wards it is defending, with net losses standing at 1,850. Sir Keir Starmer has been left bracing for a Labour wipeout in the upcoming 2026 Local Elections. Polling guru Lord Hayward, who is also a Tory peer, is predicting a torrid night for the Prime Minister at the ballot box. The forecast suggests Labour could lose three-in-four seats, with net losses standing at 1,850. Such a result would prove far more catastrophic than Labour’s haul in the 2025 Local Elections, when Sir Keir’s candidate was defeated in just...

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?😂😂 DONALD TRUMP: I’ve been told by my many sources, good sources - they're very good sources - that the chicken crossed the road. All the Fake News wants to do is write nasty things about the road, but it's a really good road. It's a beautiful road. Everyone knows how beautiful it is. JOE BIDEN: Why did the chicken do the...thing in the...you know the rest. SARAH PALIN: The chicken crossed the road because, gosh-darn it, he's a maverick! BARACK OBAMA: Let me be perfectly clear, if the chickens like their eggs they...

“Pam Bondi’s era —which paved the way by restructuring the DOJ and navigating the Epstein disclosures— is over. We’re in the Blanche era now.”—Jeff Childers You might be pleased to know that today’s May Day street actions — rallies, marches, teach-ins, walkouts, demonstrations, and a broad economic blackout (”No Work, No School, No Shopping”) — planned and coordinated by hundreds of activist orgs, is styling itself as “Workers Over Billionaires.” How do they figure that, exactly, considering the Lefty-left Resistance movement is entirely funded by. . . billionaires? You know. . . George and Alex Soros (the Open Society Foundations),...

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) on Wednesday said he is not interested in launching a presidential campaign for 2028. “I have zero interest in running for president in 2028. I love serving the state of Georgia. I’ve got two young daughters,” Ossoff said during a Wednesday appearance on MS NOW’s “The Briefing.” The Georgia lawmaker warned against playing “fantasy football” with the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, arguing it “risks distracting us from the urgent task at hand.” … In addition to Ossoff, strategists have floated Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker as potential...