Free Republic

AVE MARIA, Fla. — A Southwest Florida woman thought a burglar was breaking into her home. It was much more terrifying -- two angry alligators were brawling outside in a battle that spilled onto her screened-in porch. Kayla Burress told WINK that she heard a noise outside of her home in Ave Maria that was getting louder by the minute. When she looked outside, the two large reptiles were fighting violently. The alligators slammed into the porch’s screen, ripping through it and leaving shredded mesh and twisted metal in their wake, the television station reported. “I thought somebody was breaking...

Let’s make a deal – or not. Gov. Kathy Hochul bungled the announcement of a deal on New York’s long-delayed budget Thursday — as state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie shot down her claims that top Democrats reached an agreement. The budget drama unfolded after Hochul announced the supposed agreement at 9 a.m., releasing the spending plan’s top lines. Roughly two hours later, however, Heastie effectively called the governor a liar. “There’s no budget deal. There’s no deal,” the Bronx Democrat said. “I’m not conferencing anything else until I know what the financial picture is.” Heastie said he walked out of...

[Catholic Caucus] On Excommunication and the SSPX: A Canonical, Theological, and Pastoral Defense Against the Proposed Excommunication of the Society of Saint Pius XIntroductionIn July 2026, the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) is expected to proceed with the consecration of new bishops without a pontifical mandate; an act that Rome has signalled may result in automatic excommunication under canon law. The argument here is that, if imposed, would be not be canonically sensible, theologically coherent, nor pastorally sound. Drawing upon the Church’s own legal tradition, historical precedents, and the pastoral imperatives consistently invoked by the current and previous pontificates,...

On May 1st, Viviana aka “Vivi” joined our family, and our hearts instantly exploded with love. 💕 She is perfect and healthy, and her big brother is joyfully adjusting to life with his new baby sister. We are enjoying every moment in our blissful newborn bubble. Thank you to everyone who reached out with prayers during my pregnancy - I truly felt them throughout the entire experience. God is Good.🙏

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday announced the birth of her second child, a baby girl named Viviana. Leavitt announced the joyous news in a post on X, sharing details about her growing family. "On May 1st, Viviana aka "Vivi" joined our family, and our hearts instantly exploded with love," Leavitt wrote. "She is perfect and healthy, and her big brother is joyfully adjusting to life with his new baby sister." "We are enjoying every moment in our blissful newborn bubble," she continued. "Thank you to everyone who reached out with prayers during my pregnancy - I truly...

A California college professor who scuffled with pro-Israel demonstrators has pleaded guilty in the death of a Jewish man who was fatally injured during the clash. According to the New York Post, Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji, 54, admitted on Tuesday to felony involuntary manslaughter and felony battery causing serious bodily injury in connection with the 2023 death of Paul Kessler, a 69-year-old pro-Israel demonstrator from Southern California. The incident unfolded during rival demonstrations in Thousand Oaks, where anti-Israel activists and Israel supporters gathered amid escalating tensions following the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks and the following war in Gaza....

Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, said this week that Democrats are still eyeing major changes to the Supreme Court if they win the Senate in November. During a Tuesday appearance on “All-In with Chris Hayes” on MSNOW, Booker openly discussed “reforming” the court. Host Chris Hayes noted that many Democratic voters increasingly believe “something has to be done” about the court’s conservative majority. He asked Booker whether going after the court had become a priority for Democrats seeking to regain power in November. “The Supreme Court is another example of an area where most Americans agree,” Booker claimed....

While she indicated to donors that she had no issue with releasing it, Harris has not discussed the postmortem with DNC Chairman Ken Martin and did not know about his decision to keep it under wraps until it happened, this person said. Like most prospective candidates, Harris is staying involved in political affairs. That includes touring the country, giving speeches to state parties, developing the framework for a policy platform and sounding out fellow Democrats about her next chapter. What’s unique about Harris is that while she tries to orient toward the future, many in her party are actively fighting...

Joschka Fischer, a titan of Germany's post-reunification foreign policy, says he finds Trump "deeply distasteful," discusses the need for a European bomb and says he never trusted Putin. DER SPIEGEL: Mr. Fischer, if you were still Germany’s foreign minister, how would you be dealing with the current U.S. administration and President Donald Trump? Fischer: I'm glad I don't have to, because I find this person deeply unpleasant. The German government has not done a bad job with him so far, and neither has NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. They're often criticized for approaching Trump on a broad trail of slime....

Legal experts are pushing back on skepticism surrounding the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, arguing the Department of Justice would not have brought the case without meeting key legal thresholds. "Lots of folks are saying the case is going nowhere, but, way too early to reach that conclusion," former Democratic U.S. Attorney John Fishwick, who served in Virginia during the Obama administration, said, cautioning against prematurely dismissing the case. The indictment, brought last month in the Eastern District of North Carolina, alleged Comey, a longtime Trump nemesis, threatened the president and delivered interstate communications containing threats when he...

Police in North Carolina arrested and charged a 24-year-old over the alleged rape and murder of his teenage girlfriend, who was found stripped and bound in a Charlotte apartment — after suffering months of torture. The body of 19-year-old Isabella Stroupe was found almost naked and bound with a tow strap in east Charlotte on Friday, WSCOTV’s Hunter Sáenz reported, citing court records. Her boyfriend, Thomaz Hamilton, 24, initially claimed the couple was having sex when she suffered a suspected heart attack, according to court documents. But following an autopsy, the medical examiner ruled Stroupe’s death a homicide, Sáenz reported....

As former Vice President Kamala Harris considers another run for president, she is also signaling that she has no problem with a public airing of what went wrong last time — telling donors she believes the Democratic National Committee should release its buried autopsy of her failed 2024 campaign, according to a person who has heard the conversations. While she indicated to donors that she had no issue with releasing it, Harris has not discussed the postmortem with DNC Chairman Ken Martin and did not know about his decision to keep it under wraps until it happened, this person said.

Central California farmers are expected to gain up to $9 million in federal aid to help remove 420,000 clingstone peach trees following the closure of Del Monte Foods’ canneries earlier this year. Del Monte permanently closed its Modesto and Hughson canneries in April after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last July. The factory closures left hundreds of workers without a job while also leaving farmers in dire straits as they navigated what to do with their crops. In March, the Sacramento Bee reported that many Central California farmers had their 20-year contracts to grow peaches with Del Monte canceled while...

A Milwaukee woman is facing multiple felony charges after prosecutors accused her of carrying out Medicaid fraud, PPP loan fraud and money laundering schemes tied to her home health care business. What we know: The Wisconsin Department of Justice charged 44-year-old Debbie Long with five felonies, including fraud and money laundering. ederal prosecutors said Long owned Pinnacle Home Health Care, LLC, a company that provided personal care services to Medicaid members, including mobility assistance, meal preparation and bathing services. From March 2017 through August 2022, prosecutors allege Long billed Wisconsin Medicaid for exaggerated or fabricated services, including inflated billing, fraudulent...

he deal, announced Wednesday, May 6, 2026, addresses Anthropic’s growing pains head-on. Claude’s popularity created a problem most startups dream of having: too much demand. Users on Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans faced strict throttling during peak hours, turning productive workflows into frustrating waiting games. Now those five-hour rate limits disappear for most paying subscribers. Computing Power Meets Rocket Science SpaceX’s Memphis data center becomes Claude’s new computational backbone. Ami Vora, Anthropic’s head of product, highlighted the partnership at their developer conference in San Francisco, stating they’re utilizing “the full capacity of Colossus One” to improve service for Claude...

She is the loudest, most aggressive pro-Israel voice in Donald Trump's orbit. So when Laura Loomer leaned in close to the President two months ago and warned him that the American public was giving up on the Jewish State, his two-word reply landed like a thunderclap, carrying an ominous message for Benjamin Netanyahu. 'You're probably going to be the last pro-Israel President we ever have,' Loomer recounted telling Trump, in an interview with the New York Times. Trump, she says, replied: 'You're right.' The White House pointedly did not deny the exchange. Spokeswoman Anna Kelly instead offered a boilerplate response...

'Absolute inept [staff], who were keeping me in the waiting room, not cleaning the blood dripping down my face. I'm hearing them gossiping in the other room — the hospital is almost completely empty.' An American bare-knuckle boxer has hit out at the quality of healthcare he received from the NHS and claimed that treatment after his most recent fight led to serious health complications. Paulie Malignaggi, 45, picked up his first win in nearly a decade when he defeated Tyler Goodjohn at a bare-knuckle event in Leeds in October 2025. The brawl, which Malignaggi won by split decision, saw...

Hopefully senators starring in the failure theater production of ‘debating’ the SAVE America Act heard Indiana’s message loud and clear. Indiana conservatives just sent a message to RINOs everywhere: FAFO. These voters are mad as hell and they’re not going to vote for spineless Republicans anymore. Most of the Republican Indiana state Senate candidates endorsed by President Donald Trump won primary races Tuesday against incumbents who voted with Democrats to stop a congressional redistricting bill. As of late Tuesday evening, The New York Times election results showed challengers picked up at least five of the seven state Senate seats targeted...

President Trump suspended a plan to have the military escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Saudi Arabian officials warned Riyadh would not allow the US to use its airspace or air bases to support the initiative.“Project Freedom,” which the president announced Sunday evening, was paused Tuesday following pushback from the Gulf nation — as well as a phone conversation between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that did not resolve the issue, NBC News reported. The military operation had been intended to stop Iran from blocking the vital waterway, through which at least one-fifth of...

TexAM University at Dallas is marketing itself as a new, Dallas-based “Texas American Muslim University” that blends STEM degrees with mandatory Islamic studies and explicitly positions Islam at the center of its academic model. With a physical address in Richardson, the university has received a warm welcome from Mayor Amir Omar, who is the city’s first Muslim mayor. The address is shared by the Dallas Diyanet Mosque and the Islamic Seminary of America. In a video posted to social media, Omar praised TexAM’s plans and signaled strong support, even joking that he has already “picked out” future office space for...