Free Republic

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman has made his biggest portfolio shake-up in years, unveiling six new stock picks as he looks beyond the handful of companies that have traditionally dominated his concentrated investment strategy. The Pershing Square boss has revealed new positions in Netflix, Visa, Mastercard, Alcon, Intercontinental Exchange and S&P Global, saying he believes the companies are positioned for strong earnings growth. The purchases were made from the second quarter onwards and will be held across Ackman's investment funds, including his newly launched Pershing Square USA, which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in April. The move is...

15 August 2026 The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Solemnity Pfarrkirche Mariä Himmelfahrt, ca. 1715, BavariaReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: A(II).These readings are for the Vigil Mass on the evening before the feast.These readings are for the day of the feast itself.These readings are for the Vigil Mass on the evening before the feast.First reading1 Chronicles 15:3-4,15-16,16:1-2They brought in the ark of God and put it inside the tent that David had pitched for itDavid gathered all Israel together to bring the ark of God up to the place he had prepared for it. David called together...

Wasserman Schultz’s decision to run in one of a dwindling number of majority-Black districts after Republicans redrew her former seat has deeply divided colleagues. Florida’s primary next week will test whether Debbie Wasserman Schultz can survive her latest fall from grace within the Democratic Party she’s served for decades. Her run in the state’s 20th District has roiled the caucus: Wasserman Schultz, 59, is facing a crowded slate of challengers —several of them younger, several of them Washington outsiders — in an election cycle that has increasingly seen its voters oust longtime incumbents in favor of generational insurgents. ~~~~~ But...

SNL VIDEO AT LINK................

Developers are plotting a nearly 93,000-square-foot indoor rainforest with free-flying birds, sloths, snakes and exotic plants — smack in the middle of Arizona’s scorching Sonoran Desert. Dubbed Paradise Earth, the four-story attraction is planned for 10.5 acres of Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community land near Scottsdale and is being billed by its creators as the largest indoor rainforest in North America. The elaborate wildlife exhibit would also house freshwater fish, two-toed sloths, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates, according to a conditional-use presentation submitted to tribal officials.

Long-time readers may remember a piece I wrote two years ago on how Schleswig-Holstein sold their reliable diesel ferry for a song, spent 3.3 million Euro for a new emissions-free solar ferry that doesn’t work and increased carbon emissions on top of it all. Basically, the State Office for Coastal Protection in Schleswig-Holstein embarked upon a project some years ago to replace the Missunde II, an old diesel automobile ferry that connects the towns of Missunde and Brodersby … Missunde II: An ordinary diesel ferry. … with the hypermodern superclever very progressive Missunde III, which runs entirely on solar power...

Michelle Obama has found an unexpected similarity between Megan Thee Stallion and her youngest daughter, Sasha Obama. The former first lady welcomed Megan Thee Stallion to the August 12 episode of IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson, and the conversation quickly became personal.(snip) Michelle described Megan’s energy as something that “feels like family” and said the rapper reminds her of her youngest daughter.

LINK: Why Is Communism Making A Comeback In America? (From: The Way I Heard it with Mike Rowe) This is an hour and a half of discussion with the peerless Bill Whittle who is, in my opinion, the best communicator of Conservatism and its values in this country today. Mike Rowe makes the statements that Leftists would mouth and acts largely as a willing foil for Bill Whittle.In the context of current events, this is the best hour and a half you can spend. Watch this instead of a movie or a baseball game and pass it along! It is...

U.S. Central Command has unveiled Task Force Falcon Strike, a new multinational attack drone force for the Middle East. This unprecedented initiative integrates U.S. and regional militaries to deploy unmanned one-way attack systems across air, surface, and sub-surface environments. The move comes amid rising Iranian and Houthi drone attacks, prompting CENTCOM to seek a unified, multi-domain deterrent. Allies are being invited to join this coalition, which builds upon earlier U.S.-only efforts like Task Force Scorpion Strike. Falcon Strike will utilize advanced autonomous systems, including USVs, UUVs, and UAS, marking a significant shift towards a more aggressive, collective defense posture in...

A man who shot and killed four people in a Lancaster home before setting their house on fire and leaving their three dogs to burn to death will face life imprisonment.

Firefighters resumed aerial attacks on the Big Sur fire Friday, as the blaze has burned more than 4,000 acres and continues to impact the local community and economy. The fire, located about four miles south of Nepenthe’s restaurant near Highway 1, has been challenging to contain. Advertisement “So it’s a real wild card. If it gets going back there,” said Kirk Gafill, general manager of Nepenthe. “Fortunately, we haven’t had much in the way of wind events. So, you know, cautiously optimistic. It seems like they’re doing a terrific job advancing the containment and work on this fire and very...

[Catholic/Devotional Caucus] The Forgotten Customs of Assumption Day You have crowned the year with your bounty, and your paths overflow with a rich harvest; The untilled meadows overflow with it, and rejoicing clothes the hills. The fields are garmented with flocks and the valleys blanketed with grain. They shout and sing for joy.-Blessing of Herbs on Assumption DayThe Importance of the Liturgical Year The Church’s Liturgical Year is a harmonious interplay of feasts and fasts interwoven in both the temporal and sanctoral cycles that define the rhythm and rhyme of Catholic life. In days gone by, cycles of feasts punctuated...

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon is speaking out about what he calls “outrageous” misconduct at Minneapolis polling sites after a conservative political commenter tried to impersonate Minnesota voters. In the video, Cam Higby, a member of the “Justice League,” is dressed in a burqa and using an accent to try to vouch for others. Higby says he was highlighting the state’s vouching laws. He alleges poll workers would let him vote under a random name; the video shows Higby leaving a polling place after being told he needed to sign an oath. The video also shows a worker explaining...

No shoes, no shirts, no teens … no problems. A Jersey Shore beach town banned all unaccompanied minors from night activities in a citywide crackdown to stop dangerous gatherings that have led to brawls and underage drinking. The Cape May City Council unanimously voted to implement curfews in the city, which block anyone under 18 without an adult from beach access starting at 8 p.m. and from any other public space in the city after 10:30 p.m., according to the newly passed ordinances. “The Cape May Police Department would like to remind residents, visitors, and families about several new City...

A progressive New York City lawmaker says shoplifters should be left in peace to steal items like toothpaste and soap. Emily Gallagher - a Democrat Socialist member of the New York State assembly - shared a clip on her X account that also villainized drugstores, which have been forced to lock products in plexiglass cases because of rampant theft. Gallagher wrote that 'no one should be arrested - much less jailed' for stealing toothpaste' and said in a speech that such thefts were just 'crimes of poverty.' Speaking at an event, she continued: 'People who were stealing things like toothpaste,...

Simon Baron-Cohen, the distinguished Cambridge autism specialist, has been speaking movingly about his friend, Jason Arday, in a BBC radio interview. Baron-Cohen said the last contact he had with Arday was hours before he was found dead at an address in south London yesterday afternoon: “He really wasn’t coping. He was being subjected to relentless scrutiny…ridicule, discrediting every detail of his life… He wasn’t coping with the loss of his career, the loss of his reputation. He felt he couldn’t go on.” Baron-Cohen went on to talk about him as “an incredibly kind and gentle and caring and generous man”....

TAMPA, Fla. — On Aug. 13, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced efforts to establish the first-ever multi-domain, multinational attack drone task force. The unit, called Task Force Falcon Strike, will employ one-way attack drones consisting of unmanned systems from above, on, and below the sea operated by military support staff from the United States and regional partners. Falcon Strike’s launch occurs nine months after CENTCOM established Task Force Scorpion Strike, the U.S. military's first dedicated one-way attack drone squadron in the Middle East. Scorpion Strike rapidly achieved key operational milestones, including the first-ever launch of an aerial attack drone from...

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is asking voters to return her to Congress — less than four months after she resigned from the House of Representatives. Cherfilus-McCormick is one of five Democrats seeking her party’s nomination in the reconfigured Broward County 20th Congressional District in the Aug. 18 primary. The district is so overwhelmingly Democratic — President Donald Trump finished 39 points behind Kamala Harris in the 2024 election — that the winner of the congressional primary is all-but-guaranteed to win the November election. In April, Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from the House. A bipartisan adjudicatory subcommittee found she committed 25 ethics violations. And she...

Umberto Longo, appointed to the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, appears repeatedly in Masonic records. Pope Leo has appointed a historian who appears repeatedly in Masonic records to a Vatican historical committee. On August 13, Pope Leo XIV appointed Umberto Longo, director of the Italian Historical Institute for the Middle Ages and professor of medieval history at Sapienza University of Rome, as a member of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences.The appointment comes despite documentary evidence connecting him to Freemasonry, including records from the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite and later appearances by Longo at events organized within the sphere...

This isn't the video I was planning to upload next, but it was way too cool not to share! Early on August 14th, a meteor entered the atmosphere, lighting up the skies over much of Washington state. Traffic cameras from both Bellevue and Spokane captured footage of the fireball, which was estimated to be beach-ball sized and moving at nearly 33,000 miles per hour! Space invader! Spectacular fireball captured on Bellevue and Spokane cameras! | 3:55 SeattleTraffic Cams | 23K subscribers | 29,148 views | August 15, 2026 YouTube transcript reformatted at textformatter.ai *may* follow.