Free Republic

The Texas Board of Education gave final approval to changes to the state's high school social studies curriculum, a controversial move that will impact how students are taught about Islam and Christianity. The amended social studies curriculum, which covers U.S. history, government and world geography, comes after dozens of people gave public testimony, with most expressing their opposition to the finalized version. The board approved language asserting that "radical Islam" motivated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks rather than taking a more narrow focus on the terrorist groups involved in the attack. The material also requires students to study early...

The home of Australian pastor Andrew Sedra was reportedly attacked by multiple LGBT activists, who issued threats against the family members, including their newborn son. The pastor's X account posted security footage of the attackers, saying they cut off power to the home and tried to gain entry. "On Thursday night, 4 left-wing activists including 2 hooded individuals came to our home after our address was leaked publicly online," the post said. "They threatened to kill us and destroy us, they cut out the electricity from our home and attempted to break in. They knew our whole family by name,...

Amanda Hirsch, host of “Not Skinny But Not Fat,” posted the ad for Polymarket — an online platform that lets users bet on real-life events — the same day the case ended in a mistrial following a hung jury. “On Polymarket it was predicted the verdict would be Not Guilty. Are you surprised? #Polymarketpartner,” Hirsch wrote. The post has since been deleted. Ahead of the mistrial, more than $161,000 was wagered on the outcome of Clancy’s trial on Polymarket. The trade wasn’t available to U.S.-based users, only those located outside the country. While it isn’t legal to bet on the...

Seattle Interim Police Chief Andre Sayles raised eyebrows on Monday by using the term “trigger-pullers” instead of calling violent criminals “shooters.” Sayles’ sanitized choice of words smacks of his boss Mayor Katie Wilson’s own soft-on-crime, leftist attitudes. “Working with business owners, increasing patrols, bike patrols, working with our community response group and our gun violence reduction unit as well, looking at ways to where we can identify individuals that are known — we call them trigger pullers in our community,” Sayles said. “Identifying them, making sure that we’re putting cases on those individuals, working with King County Prosecutor’s Office to...

Police are seeking to identify protesters after several officers were injured and vehicles damaged in Portsmouth at a demonstration sparked by the arrival of 120 migrants in a single dinghy. Policing Minister Sarah Jones told the House of Commons the disorder on Sunday night was "intimidating and thuggish" and warned "those who cross into illegality" would "face the full force of the law". The protests followed a large group of masked men holding a demonstration over small-boat crossings at the Port of Dover on Saturday, causing major disruption. Portsmouth City Council said the Home Office had "serious questions to answer"...

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III on Tuesday announced that he would retire at the end of the year, the Washington Post reported. His retirement comes amid pressure from the Trump administration, which has worked to revamp many of the Institute's museums and displays. Last year, the administration notified the Smithsonian that it would review museum exhibits ahead of the 250th anniversary of the United States.

Planes are grounded across the UK. The United Kingdom is experiencing major airport disruptions as flights are grounded nationwide following a technical failure in air traffic control. Huge disruption at multiple UK airports including Heathrow and Gatwick as flights blocked from taking off due to air traffic control error https://t.co/EaeMmO52Dd — LBC (@LBC) September 8, 2026 The Telegraph reported: “All flights into London Heathrow and Gatwick have been halted until at least 7pm, with airports including London City, Manchester, Stansted, East Midlands, Birmingham, Belfast City, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton also experiencing disruption. The Telegraph understands that equipment at the headquarters...

Ford joined GM this year in seeking U.S. military contracts after the Trump administration approached U.S. companies about assisting the military with their expertise in mass manufacturing. The automakers’ efforts so far are largely focused on military vehicles, but could grow with time. Simultaneously, both companies are entering the energy storage system, or ESS, market amid an expected growing need related to rising consumer energy costs and data centers. Energy storage systems use a lot of the same underlying technology as electric vehicle batteries to store power for homes, businesses and even utilities. Both markets are viewed by Wall Street...

Security is always the top priority in the world of airlines and airports. The events of September 11, 2001, led to even tighter airport security. Until now, only passengers holding valid boarding passes for the day of travel have had access to post-security areas of the airport. Thanks to Gateside by TSA PreCheck, a new TSA initiative, 13 U.S. airports have relaxed those strict rules. Let’s take a look at the details of this major development. n a nutshell, Gateside by TSA PreCheck is a new complimentary benefit of TSA PreCheck membership that grants members access to the secure post-security...

This week I visited a Prefab Home that gets delivered in a shipping container in two pieces then unfolds and gets built in 3 hours. This is the Unfold House, a 19'2 x 25' prefab home with 12+ foot ceilings that make it feel incredibly spacious. It has a wall of windows on the front, a shed room and a look that I think people will like. In this video I look at the build, talk about how it's set up and get into the pricing. Watch to learn more about Unfold House! Inside the Folding Prefab Home with 12'...

[Catholic Caucus / Devotional] Happy Birthday to Our Blessed Mother Mary Today the liturgy celebrates the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We post the refection of the day from the Magnificat. It's called, "The Birth of the Divine Abode" and reads like a poem. The author is Saint Andrew of Crete who was a Greek monk, archbishop, theologian, and hymnographer, and influential in the development of the Byzantine liturgy.The present festival is for us the beginning of feasts…. This first day of the feasts…offers creation a new joy. Have courage, it says, this festival is a...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV Appoints Communist Chinese Bishop: "Love the Party!" Today, the Vatican announced that Leo XIV approved Archbishop Andrea Ding Yang, 44, of Chongqing, China, on 28 July and that he was consecrated a bishop today.Andrea Ding Yang, born in Chongqing in 1981, was ordained a priest in 2007 after studying at the Beijing state seminary.He was chosen unilateral by the Chinese state religion on 15 April. ChinaCatholic.cn states that he “was elected bishop-designate” on that date.Beijing’s ApparatchikHe served as a formator at the National Seminary in Beijing from 2012–14, and was allowed to study at the Pontifical...

YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING, a documentary by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim. Featuring Elizabeth Holmes. Only in theaters this October. pic.twitter.com/b3Pcx0Se2o— A24 (@A24) September 7, 2026

Alex Zhavoronkov, founder and co-chief executive of techbio company Insilico, is among the scientists who have devoted countless hours to studying aging. He has a reality-check for anyone who thinks that artificial intelligence means that the ability to double lifespans is tantalizingly close. “Absolute nonsense,” said Zhavoronkov, whose company uses AI to discover and develop drugs.In 150 years of discovery, no drug has been clinically proven to extend life, he said in an interview. “Regardless of how rich you are…you cannot buy one year of life with a drug.” What could be within reach in the next decade or so—in...

New Mexico Democratic leaders are aggressively pushing back on President Donald Trump’s social media posts about renaming the state of New Mexico as “New America.” “New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate — it’s been ours since before the United States existed,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, said in a post on X featuring an image of the state labeled with “New Mexico.” “While the President tries to distract Americans from his disastrous war in Iran, the price of gas —and everything else — keeps rising. “Under Democratic leadership here in New Mexico, we’re providing families with...

Sanity returned to the University of Florida Saturday when the Gators took on the Florida Atlantic Owls at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. During the neo-Marxist cultural revolution that was the summer of 2020, everything deemed "racist" had to be purged, regardless of context or logic dictating otherwise. ESPN reported that this included the popular "gator bait" chant, in which fans would extend their arms in front of them and clap their hands together like an alligator seizing its prey. What exactly does that have to do with race? The university's president that year, Kent Fuchs, announced racial...

Key TakeawaysThe Porsche 718 Cayman has the lowest five-year depreciation in the ranking at 9.6%, while the Nissan LEAF loses 63.1% of its value.Six EVs rank among the 15 fastest-depreciating vehicles.Toyota places seven models among the 15 vehicles with the lowest five-year depreciation.Five-year depreciation varies dramatically by model, with a spread of more than 50 percentage points between the best and worst performers in this ranking.This graphic ranks cars with the highest and lowest five-year depreciation in 2026, based on data from iSeeCars. The automotive research firm analyzed more than 950,000 five-year-old used vehicles sold between March 2025 and February...

As students across California head back to school, it’s a good time to highlight an all-too-common contributor to asthma attacks in children: exhaust pollution from diesel-powered school buses. Thankfully, there’s a solution that’s ready and available for school districts. Electric school buses provide a zero-emission ride to and from school for kids, which means zero time spent inhaling toxic fumes from their own bus.

The F-word has transitioned from culturally taboo to commonplace in modern American discourse across workplaces, entertainment, and casual conversation.The normalization of vulgar language reflects broader cultural shifts away from traditional standards of decency and respect.Christians are called to elevate their speech as a reflection of faith, choosing words that honor God and build up others.There was a time in America when certain words were simply not spoken in polite company. The boundaries were clear, the standards understood. That world seems increasingly distant.The F-word, once relegated to the margins of acceptable discourse, has become ubiquitous. It saturates our entertainment, punctuates workplace...

Rafael Vela Gonzalez was a few steps away from the front door of his Silver Lake home when two Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents grabbed him in early January. The 66-year-old, originally from El Salvador, had been in the U.S. since he was a teenager. ... He has spent nearly eight months in ICE detention ... The 81-year-old and Vela Gonzalez have been together for more than 30 years" ... Vela Gonzalez arrived in time to qualify for the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which provided nearly three million undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship. He applied for...