Free Republic

The final catastrophe of the Hundred Years War ended in 1453 with the total annihilation of Sir John Talbot’s English army at Castillon, but an extraordinary discovery made over five centuries later has rewritten the final moments of this medieval tragedy. Based on the authentic records from the file captions, this episode investigates the stunning 1974 retrieval of approximately 80 elite medieval swords from the mud of the Dordogne River -- a find originally kept under rigid Cold War secrecy by the French Navy. By dismantling the long -- accepted myth of defeated soldiers frantically dropping their weapons in flight,...

New agreement could allow Arizona to access more Colorado River water by helping expand ocean desalination in Southern California. For years, Arizona has explored the possibility of turning seawater into drinking water as a way to help offset shortages on the Colorado River. Now, state water leaders say a new partnership with California could move that concept one step closer to reality. This week, Arizona signed a memorandum of understanding with California water agencies to explore a first-of-its-kind water exchange involving desalinated ocean water from Southern California. The agreement centers on the Claude "Bud" Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant in Carlsbad,...

Daily Readings from the USCCBWhen Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven…” Matthew 5:1–3Like Moses, Jesus “went up the mountain” to deliver divine teaching. Rather than issuing commandments, He proclaimed invitations to partake in God’s very life. The Beatitudes do not merely set forth a moral code; they unveil the interior dispositions of those who live in communion with God’s grace, revealing a blessedness that transcends worldly notions...

The fake news is now brazenly defending the (alleged) election fraud happening in California. To give you a quick rundown of what’s been going on in the LA Mayor race, Spencer Pratt was solidly in second-place to Karen Bass on Election Night, with Nithya Raman trailing behind in third. But, as Election Day turned into days, flood after flood of mail-in ballots have come in. And, they have not been favorable to Spencer Pratt. Now, at this point, he’s only barely beating out Nithya Raman and may not advance at all. We covered the latest in the race here: Spencer...

Socialist Nithya Raman might be familiar with a phrase widely misattributed to Joseph Stalin: “It’s not the people who vote that count, it’s the people who count the votes.” Not much voting went on in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, so Stalin probably didn’t say that. But the point about counting the vote stands. On Sunday evening, Raman overtook challenger Spencer Pratt for second place in the race for LA mayor. The trend seems likely to continue. We would like to report the ballots counted thus far as a percentage of the total cast, but unfortunately, we cannot: ballots...

Pope Leo XIV, in his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, compressed here from Paragraphs 163-168, asserts that:“More than ever, in the age of AI and robotics, it is no longer possible to rely solely on the ‘invisible hand’ of the market. Politics has the task of orientating economies and technologies to the common good ... to ensure equity: taxation, social protection and industrial policies must correct the imbalances created by the concentration of wealth and power” (emphasis mine). Can the Pope reasonably hope to achieve these aims by relegating Adam Smith’s invisible hand illustration to the dust bin of history? Pope...

Marc Zell, Chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel, rejects reports that Trump ordered Netanyahu not to retaliate for the latest Iranian missile launches.

Israel conducted strikes on military targets in western and central Iran early Monday local time, the Israeli military announced, escalating a conflict that had already broken through the ceasefire just hours earlier when Iran fired multiple waves of missiles at Israel on Sunday. The strikes came despite a direct phone call from President Trump to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him not to retaliate immediately for the Iranian missile attack. A senior U.S. official told the Associated Press, on condition of anonymity to describe a private call, that Trump believed he had convinced Netanyahu to wait. Israel struck anyway....

For many Americans, retirement represents decades of hard work, disciplined saving, and careful financial planning. Unfortunately, a growing wave of sophisticated scams is threatening that financial security, and the losses are reaching record levels. According to newly released FBI data, Americans aged 60 and older reported losing an astonishing $7.7 billion to internet fraud in 2025. That figure marks a significant increase from the previous year and highlights a troubling reality: scammers are increasingly targeting retirees, often with devastating financial consequences.For investors and retirees alike, protecting savings is no longer just about managing market risk. It is also about recognizing...

A stripped-back take on Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman dominated this year’s Tonys, winning six awards, while Lesley Manville and John Lithgow took home lead acting trophies. Death of a Salesman was named best revival of a play, with the award-winning director Joe Mantello praising Miller’s story as one that “still talks to us through time”. Star Nathan Lane accepted the award on behalf of the cast, and called it a play that “continues to teach us who we are as humans and Americans”. The six wins makes it the most awarded play revival in Tonys history. Death of...

"I test the Army’s new 30×42mm Precision Grenade Rifle and break down how it’s changing infantry combat. The Squad Support Rifle System or SSRS 30mm grenade launcher. It fires ammunition from airburst rounds to counter-drone and anti-armor munitions, this weapon delivers insane accuracy and firepower. Here’s why it might replace traditional grenade launchers like the M203 and M320 and M32 and become the squad’s most lethal system." Cappy Army

Dementia is a degenerative disease that no known drug can completely stop or reverse, despite decades of tests. Now, a historically vilified psychedelic is emerging as a possible new avenue for controlling Alzheimer's symptoms. Neuroscientists around the world are starting to investigate if psilocybin – the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms – can help protect the aging brain. A recent case study in Brazil hints at that tantalizing possibility. It reports that after a patient in her 80s with advanced Alzheimer's disease took a high dose of psilocybin-containing mushrooms, she temporarily regained bladder control and the ability to speak beyond...

A Kingdom and a Village. By Simon Morrison. Knopf; 528 pages; “Do you love Moscow?” Not long after this reviewer moved there in 2004, he was asked that question by his grizzled landlord. A bit early to know, was his cautious response. “Good,” replied the landlord. “Foreigners who say they love it here soon run back to the airport—with no luggage.” Simon Morrison of Princeton University, a devotee of the carnivorous city since the last days of the Soviet Union, is less equivocal. “Moscow is hard to love,” he acknowledges, “but I love it.” His is a love without illusions,...

A progressive Christian denomination is facing sharp internal backlash over a proposed rule that would require ordained clergy to be in monogamous sexual relationships. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is set to vote on the monogamy requirement at its General Assembly this summer in Milwaukee. he PC(USA) has allowed for the ordination of openly gay clergy since 2011 and altered its definition of marriage to “two people” in 2014. The new proposed rule, known as CON-10, does not mention sexual orientation or same-sex relationships. Instead, it targets multipartner relationships... ... In its official response, the Advocacy Committee for Women and Gender...

The Black Death: A Global History. By Thomas Asbridge. Random House; 544 pages; $38. Allen Lane; 560 pagesThe disease seems to have emerged in Asia. It soon reached Europe, ravaging Italy first. It killed millions, often quickly. Many people perished at home, or died within a few hours or days of receiving medical treatment. So large was the death toll and so great was the danger of contagion that funerary customs were disrupted. People fled cities. All this was true of covid-19. It was also true of the Black Death. As Thomas Asbridge describes in detail, the medieval plague was...

Texas has overtaken California in Fortune 500 companies for the first time, as firms continue to leave the Golden State’s increasingly unfriendly business environment.

British historian Simon Schama has condemned U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth over his D-Day address while deriding the “little people” who oppose mass migration into Europe. Marking the 82nd anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy in a speech delivered at the American military cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, Secretary Hegseth painted a contrast between the “Greatest Generation” which overcame the evils of Nazi Germany, and the modern West, which he warned has, at least in part, become “comfortable” and under the misaprehension that “empty slogans” and “lavish summits” will preserve peace and stability in Europe. Following the example of other...

To get into the S&P 500, a company is supposed to make some money. The sum of its four quarters of earnings has to be positive—at least GAAP wise—and so does its most recent quarter. That’s a pretty basic rule, decades old and it’s the reason Tesla sat outside of the index until the end of 2020, years after it had become one of the most valuable companies on earth. Soon, that rule will be broken, likely three times. On purpose. SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic are all independently preparing to go public, at different speeds; SpaceX has released its S-1,...

VIDEO AT LINK............... A U.S. registered Gulfstream G200 private jet (registration N318JF, operated by Aibonito Aviation LLC) crashed and burst into flames during an emergency landing attempt at La Romana International Airport (LRM) in the Dominican Republic on Sunday, June 7, 2026. Key details: - The jet had just departed La Romana bound for Austin, Texas (no passengers aboard — only the two crew members). - Shortly after takeoff (about 16 nautical miles southwest), the crew declared an emergency, likely due to a technical issue such as engine or hydraulic failure, and turned back. - During the landing, the aircraft...

The prosecution continues stacking witness after witness against Carmelo Anthony—and the testimony is becoming increasingly difficult for the defense to explain. Multiple student witnesses described Anthony refusing repeated requests to leave the Memorial High School team area, becoming increasingly confrontational, and challenging Austin Metcalf to physically remove him. Several witnesses testified that no one ganged up on Anthony, no serious fight occurred, and that the confrontation ended almost immediately after a minor shove.