Free Republic

A mutant strain of monkeypox with 'pandemic potential' has been found in a town in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The virus is a descendent of the deadlier clade 1 mpox strain, but has evolved to become even more infectious and better at evading tests than its predecessor. The concerning discovery was made in Kamituga – a poor, densely populated gold mining town that is feared to be ripe for an explosive outbreak. So far there have been 108 cases. Researchers who detailed the virus in a pre-print have called for 'urgent measures' to contain the virus and avoid a...

Yesterday, we reported that Mark Driscoll was booted from the stage by the conference host, Pastor John Lindell, who interrupted him and told him he was “done.” Driscoll was criticizing the conference for having a male stripper perform on a stripper pole while ripping his shirt off and dancing in a sexually charged manner. Unfortunately, but not unsurprisingly, Driscoll later returned to the stage with Lindell to apologize and say that he should have handled his grievances privately—a complete and total cop-out. But also at this conference was a completely ridiculous and absurd stunt. The stunt included a person driving...

DENVER — Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law Monday that officially eliminates most restrictions on how many unrelated roommates can live together in Colorado. House Bill 1007 prohibits local governments from enacting occupancy limits, which Polis and other critics of the policy have derided as discriminatory and outdated. Roughly two dozen Colorado cities have such restrictions on the books, though lawmakers said that only a few — including the college town of Fort Collins — actively enforce them. “This issue is both a housing issue and a civil rights issue,” Polis said during a bill-signing ceremony outside the...

David Hughes, the president and CEO of C̶h̶u̶r̶c̶h̶ Goat Farm by the Glades in Coral Springs, Florida, has successfully turned the organization into a highly profitable carnival act. Rather than providing spiritual sustenance through the gospel, Hughes is preoccupied with putting on a spectacle. Week after week, we have reported that this church, which remains in fellowship with the Southern Baptist Convention and the powers that be, blasphemes God with its worldly performances and secular music. This past weekend, Church by the Glades opens a new sermon series on “Family” by worshiping to a popular anthem that is used to...

The United Methodist Church lost one-fourth of its U.S. churches in a recent schism, with conservatives departing over disputes on sexuality and theology. Now, with the approach of its first major legislative gathering in several years, the question is whether the church can avert a similar outcome elsewhere in the world, where about half its members live. The question is particularly acute in Africa, home to the vast majority of United Methodists outside the U.S. Most of its bishops favor staying, but other voices are calling for regional conferences to disaffiliate. At the upcoming General Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina,...

A Drag Queen Story Hour event that was scheduled for later this month at a church in Mountville has been canceled. Christopher Paolini, who performs as Miss Amie Vanité, said that the decision was made to cancel the event after a news article by another media outlet was posted Saturday incorrectly saying the event was a reschedule of the canceled March Drag Queen Story Hour at the Lancaster Public Library. “Hate started piling in with comments and shares on social media,” Paolini said. The church hosting the event, the Vision of Hope Metropolitan Community Church, had posted Saturday on its...

A married substitute teacher was arrested in Nebraska after she was caught undressed in the backseat of a car with a teenage boy, according to authorities. Douglas County Sheriff's deputies identified Erin Ward, 45, on Saturday after they were notified about a suspicious car parked on a dead-end road around 3am near 10200th block and North 189th Street. As they approached a gray 2015 Honda Pilot, police said that they spotted Ward and a 17-year-old boy in the backseat as she was putting her clothes back on. The boy then hopped into the driver's seat and fled the scene before...

BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers on Friday approved legislation that will make it easier for transgender, intersex and nonbinary people to change their name and gender in official records. The “self-determination law,” one of several social reforms that Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s liberal-leaning coalition government pledged when it took office in late 2021, is set to take effect on Nov. 1. Germany, the European Union’s most populous nation, follows several other countries in making the change. Parliament’s lower house, the Bundestag, approved it by 374 votes to 251 with 11 abstentions. The German legislation will allow adults to change their first...

An Air Force cadet and a Navy midshipman have won their lawsuit after being denied promotions for being HIV-positive. Former Navy midshipman Kevin Deese and former Air Force cadet John Doe (a pseudonym) filed the lawsuit against the Department of Defense in 2018 when they were denied commissions after graduating from their respective service academies simply because they are living with HIV. The settlement, announced Monday, will see that the two are commissioned as officers "in recognition of the status and military careers they qualified for and earned years ago," according to a Lambda Legal press release.

Megyn Kelly went after a sports columnist whom she referred to as a “national disgrace” during her SiriusXM show on Monday over the writer’s support for a women’s college basketball coach who came out in support of biological men playing in the league. Kelly singled out Nancy Armour after the columnist called South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley a “goddamn national treasure” for supporting transgender basketball players. “If you consider yourself a woman and you want to play sports or vice versa, you should be able to play,” Staley said in a pause-filled response to a question about whether she...

Mpox cases have been elevated since October, with an average of roughly 200 monthly cases detected per month, spurring efforts to avoid a summer surge like what was seen in 2022. Recent numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed a startling difference between the first quarter of 2023 and 2024, with the first three months of this year seeing nearly double the rate of cases seen the same time last year.

Ron DeSantis has been going full force to win the title of 'BEST GOVERNOR IN THE NATION' since dropping out of the Presidential race and his latest should push him over the top in that fictional contest we just made up. :) He announced the signing of NEW laws in Florida that target child sexual abusers. We are positive the Left is going to try and spin this somehow like they did with 'Don't Say Gay' which had nothing to do with saying the word gay. We are not sure why the Left thinks putting down things that protect kids...

Guido understands that the conversion therapy ban has finally been killed off. The government committed to a draft bill for pre-legislative scrutiny last January, though now it will not be put forward a Joint Committee, cutting it off at the first stage. Banning conversion therapy for gay and trans people has been kicked down the road since 2018, and now Rishi has let it die… Like most things, it’s an issue that polarises the Tories, and it seems that Sunak doesn’t want the backlash from the Tory right if he were to go ahead with the ban. MPs raised their...

Wearing a black pantsuit and buzz-cut hairstyle, Fin introduced themselves by their new name before reading a bible verse to the congregation.

Founder and CEO Mike Grondahl detailed a history of rampant abuse at the company and alleged it misrepresented its financials during a recent interview with controversial right-wing X user Libs of TikTok. This comes after weeks of calls for boycotts of the brand after the company canceled the membership of a Planet Fitness gym goer after speaking out about a biological male in the women's locker room. Planet Fitness's policy allows gym members to use the locker room associated with their gender identity. But this policy has led to a few high-profile cases of women feeling uncomfortable in Planet Fitness...

Scholastic is both a publisher and a distributor of books. It’s well-known for publishing educational material for schools, teachers, and parents, as well as books and resources for children. Scholastic’s publishing arm is responsible for producing a wide range of content, including books, magazines, and digital products and includes popular series and titles that cater to children and young adults. Scholastic is also well-known for its book fairs in schools where it children can attend and purchase books without direct parental supervision—and some of the stuff you might find at these book fairs is rather disturbing. So parents, beware. First...

Former First Lady Melania Trump is helping the homosexual ‘conservative’ group Log Cabin Republicans kick off its ‘Road to Victory’ campaign at her and her husband’s Florida resort home on April 20. ... PALM BEACH, Florida (LifeSiteNews) — After an extended absence from public view, former First Lady Melania Trump is reportedly set to return to the campaign trail for her husband starting with a fundraiser for homosexual “conservative” group Log Cabin Republicans at her and husband Donald’s resort home of Mar-a-Lago. The news puts to rest unsubstantiated rumors that Mrs. Trump was distancing herself from the former president’s 2024...

A Salon writer has been roasted on social media for blaming the “male rage fuelling MAGA” for the recent incidents of women being punched in the face in New York City. The leftist website published bizarre and unfounded claims in an article authored by Amanda Marcotte that the same misogyny behind Trump supporters animated the brutal attacks. The article reads: “These stories resonate, as well, because the nation is having a moment of increasingly unhinged male fury at women for daring to have lives that are centered around something other than catering to a man’s every whim. Unleashed by Donald...

U.S. intelligence personnel likely will resume the activism they prominently displayed in 2016-2021 as the presidential campaign season deepens. U.S. intelligence personnel likely will resume the activism they prominently displayed in 2016-2021 as the presidential campaign season deepens. They then were driven by ideology and special interests, which now are stronger. Many of the former senior intelligence officers then critical of Donald Trump have badly damaged their credibility, so new politicizers with new messages may emerge, especially after July, when Trump presumably will be formally renominated. The agencies themselves, as matters of policy, will not be activist. The culprits will...

The American Library Association, a nonprofit organization that tracks efforts to ban books nationwide, released a list Monday detailing the 10 most challenged titles of 2023 — seven of which deal with LGBTQ themes, according to the group. Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer,” a graphic memoir that chronicles the author coming out as nonbinary, topped the list for the third year in a row. The other LGBTQ-themed titles on the list include George M. Johnson’s “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” Juno Dawson’s “This Book Is Gay” and Mike Curato’s “Flamer.” In recent years, school districts and state legislatures across the U.S. have...