Free Republic

On Wednesday, Pierre Masselot received a text from his daughter’s nursery – less than 50 miles from the weather station that was the first this week to break the UK June temperature record – asking parents to collect children early because the school buildings were about to get worryingly hot. Similar scenes were repeated across Europe this week as the continent swelters through its most severe and widespread heatwave on record – an oppressive force made hotter by carbon pollution and less bearable by repeated failures to prepare for it. France experienced its hottest day and night on record, while...

The child was injured near Mud Volcano, just north of Fishing Bridge around 9:15 a.m. The child was rushed to a nearby hospital. Their condition has not been released to the public at this time. Visitors inside Yellowstone are responsible for staying at least 25 yards away from all large animals, including bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose and coyotes. Visitors must also keep a distance of at least 100 yards from bears, wolves and cougars. “If wildlife approach you, move away to maintain the required distance,” Yellowstone National Park said. “Never approach, touch, feed or crowd wildlife, even if...

By Dr. John BergsmaGod is generous, and he rewards those who help his servants as generously as he rewards his servants themselves. That is the message of the Readings for this 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time. We begin with an account from 2 Kings concerning the reward of a wife of the town of Shunem, who was consistently gracious to the prophet Elisha. In the Gospel Reading, Jesus proclaims a blessing on all those who give succor, refuge, and assistance to those he sends out to proclaim the Good News. This Sunday’s Readings complement last Sunday’s, which emphasized the violent...

For years, Democrats have told America they are the ones defending democracy, norms, and institutions. Then the Supreme Court hands President Trump a few major wins, and suddenly they want to change the size of the Court. Rep. Pramila Jayapal went on Newsmax and said Democrats are “absolutely” talking about expanding the Supreme Court. That is the tell. The timing is impossible to miss. The Court just handed President Trump key immigration victories, and the response from the left is already shifting from legal argument to institutional redesign. When you cannot win the ruling, change the scoreboard. Breitbart reported the...

The parents of a 7-year-old boy who died weighing 255 pounds have been charged with murder following a case of suspected neglect near Flint, Michigan. Damien and Jessica O'Brien are charged with second-degree murder, torture and child abuse, according to authorities. First responders were called to the O’Brien’s' home in November after their son, Casper, stopped breathing, according to a report from affiliate FOX 2 Detroit. The young boy was bedridden, unable to speak and living in filth, according to the report. He ultimately died at the hospital from a heart muscle disease compounded by morbid obesity. Genesee County Prosecutor...

Fraud, fraud, fraud. That’s been the buzzword since Donald Trump retook the Oval Office and appointed top law enforcement officials who actually want to do something about it. The staggering amount of grift uncovered in Gov. Tim Walz’s Minnesota and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California — among others — has been revealed to have been conducted on an almost incomprehensible, industrial scale. But more and more fraudsters are paying the price as the administration cracks down, and now one of the leaders of the Feeding Our Future scam, where hundreds of millions of dollars were ripped off from federal child‑nutrition programs,...

John Stockwell, who publicly resigned from the Central Intelligence Agency in 1977, accusing it of deceit and illegality, after a career as a covert operative in Vietnam and Africa, died this month in Austin, Texas. He was 88. .... Mr. Stockwell’s break with the C.I.A. — during a period when several former officers published damning exposés of what was informally known as “the Company” — was public and showy. His resignation letter ran in The Washington Post. He wrote a tell-all book, “In Search of Enemies” (1978), which the C.I.A. sought to suppress. He was interviewed on the CBS news...

This week President Emmanuel Macron spoke with the top leaders of Lebanon a nation formerly under French colonial rule. The Christian President Joseph Aoun, the Sunni Muslim Prime Minister Nawar Salaam and Shia Muslim Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri involved in the phone meeting their positions reserved for their communities that comprise various portions of the Lebanese population. Following the meeting Macron calling on social media for a 'solid ceasefire regime' that would include withdrawal of the Israel military from southern Lebanon and strengthening the Lebanese Army so it could be the only force with the exclusive right to use lethal...

Former President Joe Biden was back onstage at a Democratic Party gala to excoriate President Trump Saturday – but needed a little help figuring out just how to exit. Biden, who got pushed out of his reelection bid by fellow Democrats in 2024 following his debate disaster against Trump, defended his record and blasted his successor during his speech to the Maryland Democratic Party’s Fight Back & Win summit near Baltimore. He ripped Trump for the “deliberate distraction – destruction of NATO” and hammered Trump’s White House ballroom as a “vanity project.” At his speech’s conclusion Biden delivered a familiar...

JD Vance has refused to stop claiming election fraud over the 2020 presidential election ... even after Bill Maher called him out to his face.Read the video transcriptTrump can't run again, and he'd be a little too exciting for me anyway. So it's either gonna be you or Rubio. Here's my deal breaker for your side, OK. Under Trump, you guys have two outcomes that an election can be either we win or they cheated. That has to stop. And the person who. And that means. The person who has to stop it would be you or Marco. Can you...

Scotland have been eliminated from the 2026 World Cup following Croatia's 2-1 win over Ghana, with manager Steve Clarke announcing his resignation. The result in Group L means Scotland cannot finish as one of the eight best third-placed teams that will reach the knockout stage. Scotland announced Clarke would be stepping down after seven years in charge shortly after full-time. It is another group-stage exit from a major tournament for Scotland, who have appeared at nine World Cups and four European Championships without ever progressing past the first phase. Scotland began their first World Cup for 28 years by beating...

South Korea said it had sent up fighter jets as a precaution after more than 10 Chinese and Russian military aircraft entered its air defence zone today. The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said the Chinese and Russian aircraft had entered and then left the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) over the East Sea and the South Sea. “South Korea’s military detected the Chinese and Russian aircraft before they entered the zone and deployed Air Force fighter jets to prepare for any contingency,” it said in a statement, without giving more details. ... An air defence identification zone...

Welcome to Louisiana Saturday Night, when we are hosting a runoff in the party primaries for U.S. Senate. Expect a low-turnout affair tonight, with early voting suggesting 14-17% turnout when it's all said and done. Why the low turnout? Most of the excitement was about getting U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy out of office. Since he didn't qualify for the runoff... Mission accomplished, as far as most voters are concerned. Their job is done. But the race for the party nomination for the GOP has been ugly, with State Treasurer and original member of the Congressional Freedom Caucus John Fleming taking...

Iran attacked another vessel in the Strait of Hormuz Saturday, and the U.S. wasted little time striking back. The American military carried out operations Friday night, but Saturday’s response was described as bigger. United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said on social media that the airstrikes were “at the Commander in Chief’s direction”: After yesterday’s U.S. strikes in response to the Iranian attack on M/V Ever Lovely, Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit M/T Kiku this morning at 4:30 a.m. ET. The Panama-flagged...

U.S. Central Command has released video purporting to show one of its strikes on Iran launched in response to a drone attack a day earlier on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Footage released on Friday showed a strike as well as a burst of smoke. U.S. Central Command said the military struck missile and drone locations and coastal radar sites in Iran. VIDEO AT LINK.............. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military said Saturday it had struck 10 targets in Iran at President Donald Trump’s direction, continuing a string of attacks that have shaken the...

ON PRAYER The Sacred Scriptures urge us to pray always. That seems impossible at first sight; you can't spend your life on your knees. But people pray in many ways. Physical positions and movements, the lotus position for Buddhists, kneeling and folding hands for many Christian faith groups are prayer. Any attention paid to God is prayer. Whether or not any words are spoken, the actions themselves express awareness of, and communication with, God. As St. Teresa of Avila put it, way back in the 16th century, "For though we are always in the presence of God, it seems...

The US military on Saturday conducted additional strikes against multiple targets in Iran. The US launched an additional round of strikes after Iran attacked another ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. Per CENTCOM: U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted additional strikes against multiple targets in Iran, June 27, at the Commander in Chief’s direction. After yesterday’s U.S. strikes in response to the Iranian attack on M/V Ever Lovely, Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit M/T Kiku this morning at 4:30...

President Trump on Saturday threatened to wipe Iran off the face of the Earth after US forces launched strikes against the country for its violations of the 60-day memorandum of understanding and ceasefire. “It is very possible that they will never learn!” Trump said, noting that Iranian missile, drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites were hit by US aircraft. “There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started,” he continued. “If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no...

A leftist school board member in St. Paul, Minnesota, suggested Christian cemeteries should be turned into dog parks so the animals could pee on “white corpses,” the news coming as she faces charges regarding a mob that invaded a church in January during anti-ICE demonstrations. Officials in Minneapolis are preparing to close a dog park to protect so-called “sacred” land, and Chauntyll Allen, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities, shared her thoughts in a social media post, Alpha News reported Friday. “I don’t get why we don’t just make dog parks at White Christian cemeteries if white Christians...

ran claimed Saturday it conducted strikes against U.S. military targets in the Middle East following the U.S.’s recent retaliatory strikes around the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted positions linked to the U.S. military while the regime’s foreign ministry alleged the U.S. had violated the ceasefire agreement between the two countries, CNN reported Saturday morning, citing Iranian state media outlet Press TV. The U.S. military has yet to confirm any military strikes, according to the outlet. The nation of Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, later reported having been targeted by an Iranian drone strike....