Free Republic

Spain’s Foreign Ministry has called for the immediate release of a Spanish citizen detained by Israel following the interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla, after an Israeli court extended his detention by two days. Saif Abu Keshek, a resident of Barcelona, and Brazilian national Thiago Ávila appeared before a court in Ashkelon on Sunday, several days after Israeli forces intercepted multiple vessels attempting to breach Israel’s maritime blockade on Gaza. The flotilla consisted of dozens of boats carrying activists from numerous countries. Israeli authorities stated that over 170 individuals were removed from the vessels, with Abu Keshek and Ávila transferred to...

Prego Pasta Sauce announced they were teaming up with StoryCorps to create a device that would store pasta while also eavesdropping on, recording, and, according to some reports, uploading your family's dinner conversations to the Library of Congress. It gets even crazier. The devices sold out almost instantly! (Probably picked up by some guys in an unmarked van). To be fair, though, Prego promised the devices won't upload your conversations without permission. And it seems pretty innocent. The Prego x StoryCorps Connection Keeper is a simple, AI-free, screen-free device designed to help families create an audio scrapbook of the moments...

Nigel Farage and Reform are campaigning around the country in the local elections and consistently polling higher than the other parties. Reform’s campaign started with a series of rallies for supporters and candidates, where they asked attenders who were not already members to join the party and put their names forward as candidates. Now Farage is on a busy schedule of walkabouts and meet-ups with prospective councillors and supporters around the country.

Today, Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) introduced the End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026, which would pause the issuance of H-1B visas for three years and implement significant reforms when the program resumes. Reps. Brian Babin (R-TX), Brandon Gill (R-TX), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Wesley Hunt (R-TX), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Keith Self (R-TX), and Andy Ogles (R-TN) have signed on as original cosponsors. Following growing concern about companies turning to foreign labor instead of American workers, Rep. Crane drafted legislation to reset and reform the H-1B system. In addition to the three-year pause, the bill includes reforms such as: Reducing the...

Researchers at Cornell University found chatbots and AI models are all overwhelmingly programmed to suck up to users. “We find that models are highly sycophantic: they affirm users’ actions 50% more than humans do. “Participants [in the study] rated sycophantic responses as higher quality, trusted the sycophantic AI model more, and were more willing to use it again. This suggests that people are drawn to AI that unquestioningly validate, even as that validation risks eroding their judgment. “These preferences create perverse incentives both for people to increasingly rely on sycophantic AI models and for AI model training to favor sycophancy,”...

It is Friday. Time once again for some silliness!

Geologists have discovered that the African continent will split apart sooner than we thought. An active rift has reached a "critical threshold" and will soon break apart, forming a new ocean. That said, 'soon' is a relative term – it'll still take a few million years more, but that's a blink of an eye on a geological scale. "We found that rifting in this zone is more advanced, and the crust is thinner, than anyone had recognized," says Christian Rowan, a geoscientist at Columbia University. "Eastern Africa has progressed further in the rifting process than previously thought." The most intriguing...

The family of Freddy Ray Baca told authorities they "long feared what had happened to him,” although they never reported him missing. On Wednesday, those fears were confirmed. Remains found in 2023 “between two walls” in a building in Ruidoso Downs have been identified as Baca, who was 41 or 42 when he was last seen in 2018, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office announced in a news release. The sheriff’s office said the case is being investigated by the 12th Judicial District Major Crimes Unit. The release did not give a cause of death for Baca, and a call to...

Indian magnate Anant Ambani, son of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has offered to take in at his wildlife sanctuary in India, 80 “cocaine hippos” currently living in Colombia, where the government is planning to cull them. The hippos are descended from animals introduced to the country in the 1980s by Pablo Escobar, one of Colombia’s top drug lords, who sought to have one of the largest private zoos in Latin America with a wide variety of animals. Since then, their population has exploded to around 160 individuals, and their presence is now endangering native species. A few weeks ago, Colombia said...

Wednesday on CNN’s “OutFront,” Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) claimed that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had committed war crimes. (snip) He added, “And on top of that, we then have the strike where they came back in and hit it again, a double tap, just purely to kill these survivors who were clinging to wreckage. You know, it’s interesting, Erin, another historical analogy back in World War II, the Allies tried Nazi submarine captains for doing this exact same thing. And guess what the conclusion was? They got executed.”

Discover the chilling truth about 12 missing atomic weapons lost during American military operations. Join investigators in Savannah as they dredge the boggy waters, searching for a suspected armed nuclear warhead. Featuring firsthand accounts from pilots involved in these incidents, this documentary dives deep into the consequences of these devastating losses. 45 MINUTE VIDEO AT LINK.....................

A white conservative content creator who goes by the name Sasha sparked widespread outrage online after she posted a TikTok claiming that “hood prom” — a term used to describe elaborate, over-the-top prom looks celebrated by Black teens — exists solely because Black girls have little chance of ever getting married. More show notes from the transcripts: "...Lies is hood prom and baby mama culture are like this. The reason why the dresses are so extravagant in the cars, in the show, in the presentation, is because this is the closest these girls will ever get to being a bride...

During a combative Senate hearing last week, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat from Maryland, leaned forward and asked U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy about his vision for a national system of "wellness farms." "You said every black kid can be reparented on a wellness farm, can you admit that you said that?" Alsobrooks said, describing the concept as "dangerous" and "irresponsible." Alsobrooks was referring to one of Kennedy's signature ideas to remake U.S. health and addiction care, by sending people to farm or work camps. Kennedy appeared startled by Alsobrooks' question and quickly pushed back. "I would have to see,...

Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, the European State of the Climate Report for 2025 has found. From the Mediterranean to the Arctic Circle, its climate is shifting in ways that are no longer subtle, no longer gradual, and no longer distant. The consequences are cascading across Europe’s environment, economy, and ecosystems. With hotter air, warmer seas, shrinking ice, drying soils, and stressed ecosystems, the warning signals are screaming from every part of the climate system. Europe has been warming at a rate of 0.56°C per decade throughout the past 30 years. This is more than twice as fast...

Authorities in Sri Lanka have detained 22 Buddhist monks after customs officers discovered about 240 pounds (110 kilograms) of high-grade cannabis hidden in their luggage at Bandaranaike International Airport. Officials said the haul is the largest cannabis seizure ever recorded at the country’s main international gateway. Drugs hidden in modified luggage Customs officers stopped the group during routine checks after they arrived from Bangkok. Investigators said the monks, many of them junior trainees from temples across Sri Lanka, each carried roughly 11 pounds (5 kilograms) of cannabis concealed in suitcases fitted with false compartments. A spokesperson for Sri Lanka Customs...

Mentalist Oz Pearlman, who hosted the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday night, is revealing the magic trick he performed on Karoline Leavitt moments before shots were fired. Pearlman was seen speaking with the White House press secretary and First Lady Melania Trump, who was sitting next to President Donald Trump, and then showing them a mysterious piece of paper. Moments later, they all ducked to the ground behind the table on stage, before Trump and Melania were rushed out of the Washington Hilton ballroom. ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl later caught up with the mentalist, who revealed...

Grindr’s in bed with strange fellows. The LGBTQ+ dating app has expanded its political presence in both Washington and California as it seeks to flex its influence muscles on a range of policy priorities. The app’s ambitions have grown since President Donald Trump’s return to office — and much of that is due to the registered Republican running the shop. Since April 2025, Joe Hack has navigated a GOP-controlled Washington as he pushes forward Grindr’s biggest legislative priorities. Out in California, George Arison, Grindr’s self-described “conservative” CEO, has waded into primary politics, pushing moderate San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan as...

The 2026 season-opener between the Indiana Fever and Dallas Wings will be one of the most highly anticipated games in WNBA history. However, it is nowhere near a sellout as of this writing due to outrageous ticket prices. This is the first time ever that the Indianapolis-based organization is struggling to sell seats. Cost is the primary factor in the stark decline of sales for the Fever home-opener, which reflects a larger concern for the WNBA. Someone has to pay for the increased player salaries but the demand may not match the financial expenditure. The 2026 WNBA season will get...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that he backed the idea of providing economic support in the form of a currency swap to the United Arab Emirates, an oil-rich ally that has been contending with economic fallout from the war in Iran. Speaking at a Senate hearing, Mr. Bessent said that the Emirates, along with several other countries in the Persian Gulf and Asia, had inquired about the possibility of a swap. He said such a maneuver would prevent the disorderly sale of U.S. assets as nations look to secure access to dollars. The war in Iran has damaged...

Multiple oil spills are visible from space after Iranian and US-Israeli strikes hit oil facilities and ships in the region, with experts warning of an impending environmental catastrophe. Satellite images are giving an insight into destruction in the region, including to the fragile biodiversity of the Persian Gulf. Oil spilt there has the potential to affect the lives and livelihoods of people along the Gulf coastlines, as well as the region’s rich marine life...such as turtles, dolphins and whales that might ingest or become trapped in the oil. They could also potentially affect the filtering systems of desalination plants, on...