Free Republic

It is a running joke with my repeat students that “it depends” is the phrase most likely to set me off during a classroom discussion. Don’t get me wrong, I understand context matters, and we should strive to see as much of the picture as possible. Still, repeated appeals to “it depends” by the same student reveal a very different intent. In most cases, the student is using “it depends” as an excuse not to think carefully, substituting feelings for reason. Such students risk nothing in class discussion, insulating their beliefs and ideas from challenge in precisely the place where...

Los Angeles voters are heading to the polls Tuesday to elect their next mayor, a race that has put all eyes on the nation's second-largest city. But if no one reaches more than 50% of the vote after all the ballots are counted, the top-two vote getters will head to a November runoff. Traders on prediction market platform Kalshi think the incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and insurgent former reality TV star Spencer Pratt are most likely to advance to the second round. Traders are fairly certain Bass will make it to the second round, giving her 93% odds. Bass has...

MAGA host Dave Rubin drew a painful blank when a debate opponent asked him for a single measure under which the economy has improved under the second Trump administration. “What is one main metric that Donald Trump has made better off since he got into office?” asked one of Rubin’s opponents in the debate, published Sunday by Jubilee Media under the title “Dave Rubin vs 20 Far-Left Democrats.” “An example would be GDP, unemployment, inflation, et cetera,” the person, who goes by the social media handle “parkergetajob,” added.

For thousands of people across southern Italy, the first sign that something unusual had happened was not a news alert or a warning from authorities. It was the sound. Shortly after midnight on 2 June, residents in several regions reported hearing a loud rumble and feeling their homes shake. Some were already asleep when the tremor woke them. Others took to social media within minutes, trying to work out whether what they had just experienced was an earthquake. It was. A 6.2 earthquake rattled southern Italy and was felt hundreds of kilometres away Tourist begs police not to fine her...

First, the bad news: The Iran War shows no signs of ending soon. Tehran on Monday said it would suspend peace talks with the U.S. in protest of Israeli strikes in Gaza and Lebanon. Now, the even worse news: The Iran War is linked to the Ukraine War in myriad disturbing ways, and the longer the former drags on, the more dangerous the latter becomes. Talk of “World War III” tends to be ludicrously overwrought—crafted to generate clicks and grab eyeballs on social media, rather than highlight geopolitical risks—but the connections between these two wars have, if anything, been underdiscussed....

This story is unbelievable... from the show transcripts: "In 2021, my church was bombed, right? I was going to ask you about that. It was bombed by homosexuals because of my preaching. So, we started in the city of Elmani and you know, it was a righteous church."

Republican Congressman Tom Kean Jr has not been seen in Washington or his New Jersey hometown for months, but he is expected to easily win his party's backing for re-election on Tuesday, after a recent endorsement from President Donald Trump. "Tom Kean has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election," Trump wrote on social media, adding, "HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!" Kean is running unopposed so has not needed to campaign with voters. But US media report he also has not been in Congress, and has missed more than 100 votes. He was last seen on 5 March. His...

[Catholic Caucus] No Communion for Adulterers - President of Spanish Bishops Defies 'Amoris Laetitia'One cannot receive Communion “when a marital relationship has broken down and those who were part of that marriage are living in a new conjugal relationship,” said Archbishop Luis Argüello of Valladolid, Spain, president of the Spanish Bishops' Conference, in a pastoral message reported by EFE (June 1).Those living in a new conjugal relationship after the breakdown of a valid marriage must understand that the rupture of the Sacrament of Marriage “prevents them from receiving Eucharistic Communion.”“They may participate in the celebration, as well as in the...

Japan's Environment Ministry said 13 people were killed in more than 230 bear attacks in 2025, exceeding the number of fatalities and attacks in any preceding year. A bear injured four people in a residential area of Japan on Tuesday in the latest case of an attack by the animals in an area of the country where bears have increasingly encroached on the human population in recent years. Police and fire department officials rushed to the scene in the Sasakino district of Fukushima in northeastern Japan after receiving an emergency call from the Fukushima Steel Works reporting bear attacks on...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) Board of Directors today approved the launch of the initial phase of the nation’s largest track and systems installation efforts. An American-led consortium of Kiewit, Stacey Witbeck, and Herzog will install the track, overhead contact system, train control and communications infrastructure needed to transform the 119 miles of guideway completed in the Central Valley into an electrified high-speed rail system capable of speeds up to 220 mph.

MEP Charlie Weimers told Euronews’ flagship morning show Europe Today that an “era of deportations” has begun in the EU, following a deal on what is described as the strictest-ever migration law, which includes return hubs outside the bloc. The “era of deportations” has begun in the European Union, according to Charlie Weimers, a Swedish conservative MEP and one of the negotiators of the bloc’s strictest-ever migration law, which was agreed on Monday and marked the most significant shift in the EU’s migration policy in decades. Speaking to Euronews's Europe Today show, Weimers — who is a member of the...

@realDonaldTrump: CALIFORNIA: Vote today for Steve Hilton for Governor. He will work with me and the Federal Government, the money will flow because I have confidence in him (but not any of the others!), and we will MAKE CALIFORNIA GREAT AGAIN. Steve Hilton will NEVER let you down. VOTE NOW!

A North Carolina high school valedictorian hijacked her graduation speech to rant against Israel and ICE — and was dramatically yanked from the podium, shocking video showed. Clayton High School senior Leen Hijaz was delivering the commencement speech Thursday when she ditched her pre-approved remarks, unleashing a fiery tirade blasting immigration enforcement and backing the Palestinian cause, according to ceremony footage and district officials. “Before I leave the stage, I have one last thing to say. Every single person here has a voice; we have the privilege to use it when millions around the world are struggling and suffering to...

What's happening in the states where the polls are open today? Here in CA I was the 5th to vote in person at 10 am. Two very socialist candidates had lit at my door; then again I am in San Francisco. While there I once again filled out the form to state that four of my kids and one neighbor, still on the rolls since they MOVED 5-20 years ago, need to be removed.

JoeLange@JoeLange·3hWhy “purposely” create confusion?This Trump appointment has thrown DC and the entire media into confusion.“Donald Trump has tapped a close ally to serve as the country’s top intelligence official, days after Tulsi Gabbard announced her exit from the role.The US president said that Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), and heir to a home construction company fortune, will serve as acting director of national intelligence.”“Pulte has used his role at the powerful housing agency, which oversees regulations of the federal housing lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to publicly level of a string of extraordinary allegations...

For nearly thirty years, Lycos occupied a strange corner of internet history. It started as a search engine project in the early web era and grew into a portal packed with hosting services, personal websites, and email. Lycos launched its email service in October 1997, at a time when having an email address still felt novel rather than mandatory. At the olden times of 1997, they had partnered with USA.NET (NetAddress) to offer a co-branded free email service to its portal users, before ditching it in favor of their newly acquired proprietary platform (MailCity) in 1998.For many users, an @lycos.com...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Wester: The church must draw closer to L.G.B.T.Q. peopleIn 1 Samuel 3, we hear a scriptural lesson we would do well to heed today. In the silence of the night, the young Samuel hears a voice calling to him, a call he did not initially recognize as the Lord’s. It takes the elder Eli, a man of experience and humility, to listen and help the boy discern that God was indeed speaking. In my years of episcopal ministry, I have come to realize that we bishops are called to be like Eli. The bishop’s charism is not...

A police officer has resigned following the release of bodycam footage showing the arrest of 18-year-old Henry Nowak, while three other officers involved remain in post as an investigation continues. Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary confirmed the resignation Tuesday, stating, “Three of the officers are still serving, one officer has resigned,” a spokesman said, according to GB News. The force added, “As the IOPC has confirmed, they are all being treated as witnesses, so not subject to any current restrictions.” The case relates to the December 3 death of Nowak, a finance student who was stabbed with a 21...

California Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez confessed Tuesday to cheating on his wife — after The Post in April revealed he was seen kissing a congressional aide outside a DC party. The Post’s report unleashed an official investigation, which turned up sordid new details, CNN reported. “Years ago, I made personal mistakes outside my marriage that have caused real pain to my wife and family,” Gomez told the news outlet. Gomez, a close Swalwell friend, initially denied The Post’s reporting and his confession did not specify particular wrongdoing.

Two proposed bills threaten to worsen pregnancy outcomes and increase intimate partner violenceShe stays quiet because of her child, my patient tells me. But despite her passivity, her husband always manages to find something wrong with her. He shouts at ungodly volumes, threatening, "Don't make me do something to you that I'll regret!" Another time, "You're making me angry enough to hit you!" She invariably cowers in terror, shielding the child from him. "Like a switch, he shuts it off and turns to our son, smiling, comforting him, even when he's just threatened me. I don't understand it," she weeps...