Free Republic

AI is all the rage, right now, with both the benefits and the dangers of this breakthrough tech being discussed to the exhaustion. AI is said to help us code, write, and synthesize vast amounts of data. They reportedly can outwit humans at board games, decode the structure of proteins and hold a rudimentary conversation. But now it surfaces a study claiming that AI systems have grown in sophistication to the point of developing a capacity for deception. The paper states that A range of AI systems have learned techniques to systematically induce ‘false beliefs in others to accomplish some...

The Wisconsin Supreme Court seemed poised Monday to overturn a ruling it made less than two years ago that banned the use of most absentee ballot drop boxes in the state. Doing so would effectively reinstate the use of most of those boxes across Wisconsin — a ruling that could have large ramifications on the 2024 presidential election in the crucial battleground. In 2022, when conservatives had a 4-3 majority, the court ruled to significantly reduce the number of absentee ballot drop boxes in the state. But ideological control of the technically nonpartisan court flipped to liberals last year, setting...

Juan Dominguez, a West Point graduate and Gulf War veteran, is unhappy about the VoteVets political action committee’s decision to endorse former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn. Unlike Dominguez and at least two other candidates in the crowded Democratic primary race for Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District, Dunn is not a military veteran. VoteVets describes itself as a progressive political action committee that “endorses veterans and national security professionals” who champion “everyday issues that affect the lives of those who served, their families, and the country.” In a phone interview with Blaze Media, Dominguez shared his frustrations with VoteVets’ endorsement...

Cross-exam today!

The Department of Veterans Affairs has paid out hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in bonuses to executives, according to a federal watchdog report. The VA Inspector General released a report detailing that the VA "erroneously" paid out about $11 million in bonuses to executives that were later found to be ineligible for those bonuses. The bonuses totaled as much as $100,000 for just one federal employee. “During oversight visits across the country, we have consistently heard from VA police officers, medical supply technicians, housekeepers, and other VA staff about the need for VA to better retain quality employees,” House...

Hungary will not participate in NATO's long-term plan to aid Ukraine, its foreign minister said Wednesday, calling the plan a "crazy mission." NATO allies agreed in April to initiate planning on long-term military support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion, through setting up a fund worth 100 billion euros ($107 billion). Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto reiterated the government's earlier opposition to the plan.

Ford’s attempt to electrify its revenue through electric vehicle production has been a swing and a miss. In response to the decreasing market for EVs, Ford has begun cutting orders from its battery supplies, according to Bloomberg. Even though this changeup will be beneficial in the long run, Ford will not come out of its EV experiment unscathed. Sources told Bloomberg that Ford lost over $100,000 per EV in the first quarter of 2024, more than double its deficit from last year. The news comes as the EV market across the country has taken a hit in 2024. The Associated...

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer adults are twice as likely as their non-LGBTQ counterparts to report having had negative health care experiences over the last three years, according to a new report. One-third (33%) of LGBTQ adults say they were treated unfairly or with disrespect or had at least one negative experience with a health care provider, compared to 15% of non-LGBTQ adults, according to a new report by KFF, a health care and polling nonprofit formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation. Of the LGBTQ adults who reported negative experiences, 61% said a provider assumed something about them...

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo granted Ghanaian citizenship to the iconic American musician Stevie Wonder on Monday at a ceremony in Accra. Mr Wonder had indicated in a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, another prominent African American talk show host, that he intended to live indefinitely in Ghana to protect his grandchildren and great-grandchildren from racial discrimination in the United States of America.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday morning by train, meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky and promising that “assistance is now on the way” after Congress passed the $95 billion foreign aid package in April. Blinken is in Kyiv to “highlight the United States’ enduring support for Ukraine”, the State Department said on Tuesday, after the Secretary of State arrived in the country by overnight train, a necessity for foreign diplomatic visits as flying directly to Ukraine remains impossible. The two-day trip is the first by an American government figure since Congress passed the foreign...

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued to attack Hamas terrorists in Rafah and throughout Gaza on Monday, which was Israel’s independence day, despite continued international criticism and caution from the White House. In a statement, the IDF said: IDF troops continue their operations against terror targets in the area of eastern Rafah and on the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing. IDF troops eliminated several armed terrorist cells in close-quarters encounters on the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing. In eastern Rafah, IDF troops eliminated a number of terrorists and located weapons. An IAF aircraft struck a terrorist cell that...

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the Kremlin press service said. "At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to the People's Republic of China on May 16-17 as his first foreign trip after taking office," the statement said. Following the talks, it is planned to sign a joint statement by the heads of state and a number of bilateral documents, the statement read, adding that the leaders will determine the directions for further development of cooperation and...

Inflation at the wholesale level rose much more than expected in April, the latest sign that price pressures within the economy remain elevated and difficult to tame. The Labor Department said Tuesday that its producer price index, which measures inflation at the wholesale level before it reaches consumers, rose 0.5% in April from the previous month. On an annual basis, prices remain up 2.2% — the highest level since April 2023. While the monthly gain is notably higher than the 0.2% increase forecast by LSEG economists, the headline figure is in line with expectations.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is expected to attend the Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday for former President Trump's ongoing New York criminal trial, the latest high-profile GOP lawmaker to flock to New York.

MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. Head of the Main Personnel Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General Yuri Kuznetsov, was detained, law enforcement agencies told TASS. "Lieutenant General General Kuznetsov was detained as a suspect in a criminal offense. The case is being investigated by the Main Military Investigation Department of the Russian Investigative Committee," the source said.

Post See new posts Conversation Eugene Vindman @YVindman I'm Eugene Vindman. I reported Donald Trump's corruption, and it cost me my military career. Now, I am running for Congress to stop MAGA extremists from banning books, abortion, and IVF. I will always do what's right, no matter the cost. Please share our new TV ad! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VIDEO AT LINK................

History gives us conviction and guidance. Today, as we watch ravaging antisemitism and the defacing of the American flag on university campuses, prevalent examples in history of courage and bravery should spur us to respond.In 1942, German medical student Hans Scholl was awakened to the persecution of Jews in the Western world. While serving on the Eastern Front, Scholl and his war buddies, Willi Graf and Alexander Schmorell, witnessed firsthand the Nazis’ murder of innocent Polish Jewish civilians.Scholl committed to exposing the evil being done against the Jewish population. Together with Graf, Schmorell, Sophia Scholl, and Christoph Probst, he began...

Struggling Red Lobster is abruptly closing at least 48 of its restaurants around the country, according to a leading restaurant liquidator. TAGeX Brands is conducting an online auction of Red Lobster restaurant inventory, including kitchen equipment, furniture, tables and chairs. The auction begins Monday and continues through Thursday, according to company founder Neal Sherman. Red Lobster locations in Buffalo, Orlando, Jacksonville and other cities were listed as “temporarily closed” on Red Lobster’s website, according to local news reports. Red Lobster did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment. The company has around 650 locations. Red Lobster is reportedly considering filing...

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