Free Republic

While “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” have hogged the headlines, an unlikelier blockbuster swept the box office this month: “Sound of Freedom,” a thriller lauded by QAnon conspiracy theorists and high-profile Republicans. It also draws from a conspiratorial well that includes a number of anti-Jewish canards, including the “blood libel” accusation, while its star, actor Jim Cavaziel, has floated antisemitic theories in interviews promoting the film. Despite the film’s low budget and independent distributor, “Sound of Freedom” has made over $100 million in its first few weeks, going toe-to-toe with “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” since it opened on July...

A former U.S. general has forecast the surrender of Russian forces in Kherson, a strategic city in Ukraine. The Kherson region has been almost entirely controlled by Russian troops since March, when it became the first major city to fall during Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian forces have launched a counteroffensive to take back the critical port city. Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling commented Monday on a Ukrainian soldier's video from the frontlines showing destroyed Russian positions in Kherson. According to Hertling's analysis on Twitter, the footage indicated "extremely poor soldier discipline" and "horrible fieldcraft/training"...