Free Republic

Bishop Strickland: Catholics must reject Vatican’s view against proselytism ‘Truth is not constantly evolving,’ declared Bishop Strickland. ‘Truth is Jesus Christ present with us in the world and His Church is the vehicle for our salvation.’Bishop Joseph Strickland has issued a searing criticism of the Vatican’s new document on inter-religious dialogue downplaying the need for all people to be evangelized by the Catholic Church. He has also written a pastoral letter on the topic. (See below.) Strickland zeroed in on this troubling line: The defensive entrenchment in one’s own position and the view that proselytism is the only way to...

OpenAI has disclosed six cases in which its AI models concealed errors, bypassed restrictions, used unauthorized resources or found unexpected ways to communicate. None caused a public catastrophe. That does not make them easy to dismiss. The artificial intelligence debate usually jumps straight from “helpful chatbot” to “machine that wipes out humanity.” There is a lot of empty space between those two extremes, and that is where the more immediate problem is beginning to show up. OpenAI says some of its models have already taken actions they were never authorized to take. One searched for an exposed API key and...

The midterm elections are less than two months away on Tuesday, Nov. 3, but in some states, early voting begins in September. Three states begin early voting on Friday, with one more starting later in the month. Virginia, South Dakota, and Minnesota allow voters to begin casting ballots for the 2026 midterm elections on Sept. 18. Meanwhile, early voting in Illinois begins 40 days ahead of the election, on Sept. 24. Of the states with early voting in September, Virginia has sparked the most national interest in House races. Democrats could pick up two seats in the 1st and 2nd...

Walmart is making a bigger move into healthcare, and this time it is targeting one of the largest and most valuable groups of consumers in America: Medicare beneficiaries. The retail giant is partnering with nonprofit insurer SCAN Health Plan to launch co-branded Medicare Advantage plans in two states. The plans are expected to be available to more than 2 million Medicare enrollees, pending regulatory approval. Walmart is also following a familiar name into the business. SCAN recently announced a similar Medicare partnership with Costco. That makes the trend more interesting than either deal on its own. Walmart Wants to Connect...

Democrat Senate candidate Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed is polling weaker than other statewide Democrats in Michigan, recent surveys revealed. An Emerson College poll looked at the races and showed Michigan likely voters choosing El-Sayed over Republican candidate Mike Rogers by two percentage points – 48 percent to Rogers’ 46 percent. However, the results for the governor’s race are far more decisive in favor of the Democrat candidate, Jocelyn Benson, who sees 49 percent support. Republican John James sees 42 percent support — a seven percent gap. Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, noted the “substantial educational divide in the...

In early March, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States had already “won” the war against Iran but still had to “finish the job.” Months later, as fighting escalates across the region and diplomacy is stalled, the “job” remains unfinished with no end in sight. Trump on Wednesday said that “hopefully we are toward the end of the war” and suggested that Iran wants to make a deal. But that optimism is belied by what’s happening on the ground—and there’s little evidence that Tehran is eager for an agreement. The United States has had military successes in the...

Sept 17 (Reuters) - Starbucks (SBUX.O), opens new tab agreed on Thursday to settle a discrimination lawsuit by the state of Florida, pledging not to ​adopt race- or sex-based quotas or preferences in hiring, ‌promotion and pay decisions. Starbucks and Florida's Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier jointly announced the settlement of a lawsuit filed by the state last ​December. Florida accused the company of violating state anti-discrimination law, ​including by setting racial quotas and tying executive compensation ⁠to meeting diversity goals. Starbucks denied wrongdoing and said in a ​statement it would focus "on offering great jobs and career opportunities to...

MEMPHIS (WMC/Gray News) - Authorities arrested 13 people after they were allegedly caught stealing $250k of chicken from a semi-trailer. According to a press release, Javunte Johnson, 33, was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm; an arrest warrant was executed for him for aggravated robbery. Authorities found Johnson, along with 12 other people, unloading stolen pallets of chicken, valued at $250,000, from an 18-wheeler in the back parking lot of an Economy Inn. The suspects fled; however, they were all caught. Memphis Police said during the investigation, officers determined that the merchandise being unloaded had been stolen. Detectives...

It includes a ~6.5-minute video clip from his appearance on The Ingraham Angle (Fox News). Interview overview (from on-screen graphics and context) Laura Ingraham interviews David Sacks (identified as White House AI Adviser / former AI and crypto czar). Key themes and chyrons visible in the clip: “BEWARE OF THE GLOBAL ELITES” “DEMOCRACY DESTROYERS STRIKE AGAIN” “WHO WILL CONTROL AI REGULATION?” “THE DEBATE OVER AI GOVERNANCE IS JUST BEGINNING” “BERNIE BEGS TRUMP FOR AN AI TREATY WITH CHINA” Visuals include Sacks speaking, server racks, an Anthropic logo on a phone/keyboard graphic, and standard Fox News split-screen with Ingraham. Fox News...

A 50-year-old Florida man who says he spent decades battling severe psoriasis, pain and depression credits an extreme "lion diet" with saving his life. Stephen Lashbrook of Pensacola told Fox News Digital that his depression began at just four years old. In his teens, it was compounded by chronic pain and sleeplessness; in his early 20s, he was diagnosed with psoriasis, an immune-mediated skin disease. "I was probably 90% covered in psoriasis," Lashbrook said. "My body was just one big, giant, itchy, flaky scab." Creams, steroids and other medications did not help, he said. Doctors recommended expensive, long-term injections to...

A Tennessee woman who said she was falsely jailed after Fargo police relied on artificial intelligence is suing the city and a detective. In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday, Angela Lipps alleged five counts against the City of Fargo and Detective Lucas Heck, including violation of her civil rights and malicious prosecution. The city has been preparing for a lawsuit from Lipps, according to reporting from The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Law enforcement arrested Lipps in Tennessee last year in connection with a case of bank fraud in Fargo. Police said they used facial recognition software to link Lipps to...

Named Leopardus tilcayo, the new cat looks not unlike a leopard that shrank to the size of a house kitten. A new cat has been discovered in Bolivia, the first time in more than a century that scientists have confirmed a new feline species in the world. Named Leopardus tilcayo, after the word by which locals referred to it, the cat weighs roughly five pounds, is spotted with a slender body and has a light brown coat patterned with dark rosettes, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Current Biology. It looks not unlike a leopard that shrank...

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi on Thursday denied claims that Yemeni forces had targeted Mecca, calling the allegation "the lie of the age" and "a great slander," and claimed that the "Zionist enemy" represented the true threat to Mecca and other Islamic holy sites. "The real threat is the Zionist enemy, which seeks to target all Islamic holy sites, including Mecca, Medina, and Al-Aqsa Mosque," al-Houthi said. "We are ready to confront it as an Islamic alliance." Addressing the allegations against Yemeni forces, al-Houthi said: "This is an exposed lie intended to conceal failure on the battlefield and to incite others."...

StopWorldControl.com@davidjsorensen·Sep 16Once again il Donaldo Trump (@PapiTrumpo) posts this clip in which the President confirms in public and on camera that he is indeed Papi Trumpo.Keep this in mind for, besides the many jokes, this account sometimes gives some real gems of intel that help you understand the behind the scenes happenings.Imagine having a president with such a sense of humor… Who loves to secretly talk to his people…September 16, 2026

30 Seconds in.You Will Get it. Here is a concise bullet-point summary of the speech in the video:Trump says the United States has developed a “new and powerful relationship” with Venezuela.He claims the U.S. has secured 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil, which he describes as the largest oil deal in history and “500 years’ worth” of oil.He says the oil arrangement was obtained as a result of “an attack,” without explaining further in this clip.He pledges that, if Republicans win both the House and Senate in the midterm elections, every adult American would receive a $5,000 “Trump Dividend.”He argues...

The Democratic Party is not in the grip of a “Bolshevik revolution,” as House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) claimed from the stage of the GOP’s midterm convention last week in Dallas. Nor is it true, as President Donald Trump declared, that “it’s going to be a communist country” if the Democrats win in November. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) was a bit closer to the mark when he said, “Next year the communists will be in Congress.” What’s fair to say is that a handful of this fall’s Democratic candidates, many of whom will no doubt win seats in...

As he stood before a bathroom mirror at a Wyoming rest area off Interstate 80, a Sacramento truck driver saw a strange man step up behind him. The stranger slammed a fist into his head, then plunged a knife into his arms, chest and rib cage, the 28-year-old trucker later recalled.

Former recent Federal Reserve chair contender and BlackRock chief investment officer of fixed income Rick Rieder thinks the guy who ultimately got the gig — Kevin Warsh — has one big challenge on his hands. That is, a rate hike won't necessarily bring down the cost of things for households. "What is difficult concerning inflation today, based on the San Francisco Fed's analysis, is that the cyclical parts of inflation are generally well behaved, yet it is the acyclical parts of inflation that are difficult to contain, and tend to resist movements in interest rates," Rieder wrote in a new...

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to address the annual gathering of world leaders on Wednesday. The Trump administration has agreed to let Iran’s leaders attend next week’s high-level United Nations meetings in New York, even as the two countries remain at war. “Consistent with our host country obligations, the core delegation from the Iranian regime will be able to attend UN General Assembly High Level Week,” the State Department said in a statement. The granting of travel documents to the Iranian delegation means that its members will be able to attend the United Nations General Assembly, which begins Tuesday....

The woman accused of fatally stabbing an elderly Mount Dora, Florida, couple on New Year’s Eve 2022 has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and her lawyers are arguing the murders were driven by psychosis. Opening statements began this week for the trial in the fatal stabbings of Florida couple Darryl Getman, 83, and Sharon Getman, 80. The Getmans were found stabbed to death in their home after they invited Vickie Lynn Williams into their home to help her out. Williams’ DNA was found on the murder weapons, and her fingerprints and bloody footprints were at the scene. Testimony...