Free Republic

As we go toward the 2026 midterms, normally, the party out of power - in this case, the Democrats - would have the edge. But redistricting has made things much closer. On top of that, Democrats still have the problem that the voters don't think very highly of them, as we reported. CNN senior data analyst Harry Enten explained that, in addition to redistricting, which is likely to deliver more seats to Republicans, their generic Congressional ballot numbers have gotten worse since March, and they are now within the margin of error. Now the AP just dropped a piece about...

SSPX to Pope Leo XIV: “We Would Rather Die Than Renounce the Faith”In response to Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández’s warning that the SSPX’s upcoming July 1 episcopal consecrations could constitute a “schismatic act,” SSPX Superior General Don Davide Pagliarani has issued a sweeping Declaration of Catholic Faith addressed directly to Pope Leo XIV. Far from announcing a break with Rome, the SSPX insists its mission is to preserve the Traditional Mass, the Sacraments, and the perennial Catholic Faith amid what it sees as a profound crisis in the Church.Following Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández’s May 13 declaration that the upcoming episcopal...

Time travel movies often make for the most mind-numbing sci-fi films with paradoxes aplenty. But it’s those confusing temporal gymnastics that make them so fun. We’ve rounded up our favorites, from classic films like Back to the Future and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure to more recent flicks like Arrival and Interstellar, which left our minds tangled in knots. These are the 35 best sci-fi films that explore the fluidity of time. 🤯 You love mind-bending science. So do we. Let’s nerd out over it together. ============================================================

Reform UK has already opened applications to be its candidate for the Makerfield by-election. Party members were emailed about the selection process this evening, and the deadline for applications is Sunday. “We’re determined”, said one senior party figure. “It’s going to be a tight fight.” The constituency on the western fringes of Greater Manchester has a Labour majority of 5,399 and has been a party stronghold for decades. Yet at last week's local elections, across the eight Makerfield wards that voted, about 50 per cent of people backed Reform UK

Islamist terrorists have claimed the killing of more than 80 Christians in several armed assaults in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In the deadliest attack, an estimated 60 “Christian combatants” were killed by fighters from Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) in a May 5 attack in Beni Territory on the border of North Kivu and Ituri provinces. In recent months, Islamic State propaganda has used the word “combatants” to describe Christians who have refused to accept either conversion to Islam or dhimmi status as subjugated people. In classical Islam, those who accept such a status must pay...

BREAKING: A federal judge has just REFUSED to block Tennessee's new maps from going into effect HUGE win!🔥 Dem. Rep. Justin Pearson, who went on a racist rant against Tennessee State troopers last week, filed the suit in an attempt to block the map He FAILED Sit down, loser

Senators unanimously voted Thursday for Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy’s resolution to withhold their paychecks during government shutdowns. The Senate adopted the measure in a 99-0 voice vote, which allows senators to receive backpay only after a government shutdown ends. The resolution only impacts the Senate and would not prevent members of the House or other government workers from getting paid. The chamber voted to advance the resolution Wednesday. Republican Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts did not vote on the resolution. Kennedy said that if other government workers cannot get paid, then neither should the Senate. “It’s about shared sacrifice,” Kennedy...

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster officially calls Special Session to Redistrict which will begin tomorrow at 11:00 AM ET Current Map: 🔴 Republicans: 6 🔵 Democrats: 1 Proposed Map: 🔴 Republicans: 7 (+1) 🔵 Democrats: 0 (-1)

Claudine Longet, who has died aged 84, was an actress and chanteuse who became one of the few French female artists to have sold significant numbers of records in the US. But unlike compatriots such as Edith Piaf and Françoise Hardy, she was never acclaimed as a major figure in global popular music: her hits were anodyne cover versions of songs such as the Beatles’ Here There and Everywhere and Good Day Sunshine. She played the female lead, opposite Peter Sellers, in Blake Edwards’s 1968 film The Party, but she was best known for her appearances on the weekly television...

When Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping sit down to a lavish state banquet in Beijing on Thursday, one Chinese cuisine is likely to feature on the menu: Huaiyang food, from the region surrounding Shanghai, known for its mild and subtle flavours, refined knife-work and emphasis on seasonal dishes... "One of the key strengths of Huaiyang cuisine is its broad appeal. Its flavours are widely acceptable and accessible to most people ... including international guests," said Shi Qiang, executive chef at Gui Hua Lou, an upscale Huaiyang cuisine restaurant in Shanghai... China even created a chicken dish named after US...

The Senate Parliamentarian on Thursday struck down three key provisions of the Senate’s reconciliation bill Last month, the House of Representatives passed the Senate-approved package to fund the Department of Homeland Security by voice vote, ending the 75-day shutdown. ICE and Border Patrol were to be funded separately through a reconciliation package. Senate Republicans put together a $72 billion reconciliation package to fund ICE and Border Patrol. On Thursday, Democrat and Republican staffers met with Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough to go through the reconciliation package. Elizabeth MacDonough, the Obama-era Senate Parliamentarian, struck down key provisions: Main Border Patrol funding, additional...

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was once again interrupted while providing testimony before the Senate on May 12, 2026, by angry left-wing protesters opposed to the war effort in Iran. The protesters were ultimately ejected from the room, but not before causing quite a scene and interrupting the proceedings. Hegseth took a number of questions during the hearing from members of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee concerning the U.S. conflict with the Middle Eastern nation. While Hegseth was in the middle of delivering his opening statement, a woman shot up behind him and started yelling. A nearby security guard leapt into...

Erin Stewart suspended her campaign for governor of Connecticut Thursday after an investigative report concluded that her personal use of a city credit card as mayor of New Britain was a “repeated and deliberate circumvention of the city’s purchase order system to benefit herself, members of her family, and her political campaigns.” The “great majority” of the $207,076 in purchases charged to Stewart’s city-issued credit card over nearly a decade were unrelated to city business, and they warrant a criminal investigation by state and federal criminal authorities...

FBI investigations of a heinous online child predator network have expanded to target more than 450 people, the bureau said on Tuesday. Officials continue to crack down on groups going by names such as “764” that lure children into violent online communities and induce them toward self-harm or sexual acts, FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Joe Rothrock said in a statement warning parents and schoolteachers. Authorities have traced similar groups’ beginnings to at least 2019, announcing more than 350 subjects of investigations by late last year. FBI Dallas is sharing information with parents, guardians, and teachers about violent online...

LIVESTREAMING FROM the passenger seat of a car in San Diego, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, breathlessly described the past year. Twelve months ago he was in solitary confinement, having been found in contempt of court for repeatedly libelling a Syrian schoolboy. In September, he claimed, he brought 1m people onto the streets of London for a rally (police say it was 150,000), beaming in a speech by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. Despite criminal convictions he was allowed into America, visiting the State Department, which had given him a waiver, hobnobbing with congressmen and touring podcasts...

I'm looking for an old b-movie and am hoping someone just might have seen and remember it. Probably 1950s or perhaps 1940s. Black and white. The story centers on a Chinese woman who has been cared for her adult life by a western man. She was hobbled through foot binding as a child so has had to be cared for. Not sure, but I think the man has recently died leaving her alone, and she is telling her story to a woman who has come to help her. AI keeps suggesting Inn of the Sixth Happiness which is absolutely wrong....

How Safe is Sin? Consider today’s message: "It is all right to sin as long as you practice SAFE SIN. Drunkenness is OK as long as someone sober drives you home. Narcotics are OK as long as you use clean needles. Sexual deviation is OK since it exists, and so it should be approved. Promiscuity is OK as long as you take safe precautions. It is all right to sin, but please, play it SAFE!" The Bible gives the true perspective: "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death ....

It's a powerful claim found in Scripture: “God shows no favoritism.” ...This phrase appears throughout the Bible, but one of the clearest moments is in Acts 10, when Peter says, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right” (Acts 10:34-35). This is a turning point—not just for Peter, but for the early Church. A Jewish man raised within strict boundaries of culture and religion suddenly recognizes that the Gospel is for all people, not just some... It’s important to understand...

A university student died after being repeatedly stabbed by a man armed with a Sikh ceremonial sword, a court heard. Finance student Henry Nowak, 18, was on his way home from a night out when he was allegedly attacked by stranger Vikrum Digwa, 23, with the eight inch 'Shastar' blade. Digwa was caught on camera saying 'I am a bad man' before the fatal attack, jurors were told. He is now on trial accused of murder alongside his mother Kiran Kaur, 53, who is accused of assisting an offender. Prosecutors said she went to the scene before running home with...

Five Italian tourists have died while exploring underwater caves 160ft below the surface in the Maldives. The group had set off on a diving expedition on Thursday morning to explore the Vaavu atoll, according to local media. Authorities received reports of the divers' disappearance at around 1.45pm local time after they failed to resurface at around midday. During the search and rescue operation, their bodies were discovered. According to initial reports, the five tourists had boarded the 'luxury' Duke of York yacht, a foreign-operated live-aboard diving vessel, and they disappeared near Alimatha, one of the atoll's most popular diving spots....