Free Republic

ZDNET's key takeaways - Treat the AI like another developer, not a magic box. - Encode design systems and user profiles in system prompts. - Every fixed bug becomes a permanent lesson learned in the project's DNA. Ever since the days of punched cards, I've self-identified as a programmer and a computer scientist. The programmer side is the practical side of my engineering identity, the person who crafts code line by line. The computer scientist is the theoretician, the scientist, the strategist, and the planner. While I love the theory and science of computers, I've always enjoyed the hands-on feeling...

Give me a phone and a list of registered Democrats, and I’ll find you one who thinks Donald Trump's the greatest thing since sliced bread — and Gavin Newsom is the devil incarnate. That’s essentially the level of polling rigor Audie Cornish brought to Tuesday’s edition of CNN This Morning. Discussing issues ahead of the State of the Union address, Cornish said: “We called up one of the people we polled, a Republican voter, Sean from New Mexico. He said: ‘I think people were expecting Trump to provide a bit of relief to their suffering. Grocery prices are just through...

You just can’t script this kind of pure gold. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) just delivered an absolute masterclass in political comedy, and his target was none other than Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Appearing on Fox News alongside political analyst Charles Hurt, Kennedy launched a full minute of straight-up stand-up comedy that left Hurt visibly struggling to maintain composure as the Louisiana senator rattled off one punchline after another. Hurt can be heard laughing in the background as the senator compares AOC to Kamala Harris, only with more bartending experience. He also jokes that AOC’s strategy is “Operation Let Her Speak.” Sen....

A Pennsylvania man is being accused by federal prosecutors of traveling to California to have sex with a 13-year-old girl in a plot that would have culminated in both their suicides if not for law enforcement intervention. Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice held a press conference and released a complaint surrounding the allegations against Matthew Edward Pysher on Monday morning. The complaint, filed Sunday in Los Angeles, charges Pysher, 18, with travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. According to the complaint, Pysher groomed and encouraged a girl, listed as “Minor Victim One,” to send him...

Pastor Scott Thomas is the pastor of Free Life Chapel in Lakeland, Fl who was recently invited to speak at Fellowship Church’s 2026 Creative Marriage Conference in Grapevine, Tx. During a spirited sermon illustration with a wedding cake, he slammed it onto the table, not realizing there were skewers holding it together. He explains what happens next: “Cindy and I spoke on “Building A Marriage” and used a wedding cake for our illustration. To close the teaching, we stressed that if we build our marriages outside of God’s order… the whole cake (marriage) crashed! All went well… until I slammed...

The United States women’s ice hockey team, fresh off a gold-medal victory over Canada in the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, declined an invitation from President Donald Trump to attend his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

The son of director Rob Reiner, who is accused of killing his parents in their Los Angeles home last year, pleaded not guilty to two murder counts at an arraignment Monday. Nick Reiner, 32, was slumped over in a tan jumpsuit with his hair closely shaved during the hearing at a Los Angeles County Superior Court. He sat in a glass box and only spoke to the court to agree to waive his rights to a speedy trial. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the Dec. 14 stabbing deaths of Rob Reiner, a beloved director, and...

Earlier this month (Feb. 7), the board of trustees for Providence Christian College (PCC) in Pasadena, California, voted to close the Reformed liberal arts school at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. The president’s announcement cites declining enrollments, rising operational costs, heightened accreditation expectations, and the loss of federal funding. “Being mindful of stewarding God’s resources well,” said Dr. Steven B. Kortenhoeven in his announcement, “and after exhausting a number of different options to decrease operational expenses, recruit additional students, and even change the campus location, the board felt that this was the only option remaining.” In 2023, PCC...

Office of the DNI@ODNIgov·6h🕘🇺🇸SOTU COUNTDOWN: This is what America FIRST leadership looks like.@POTUS designated violent cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, enabling our National Counterterrorism Center to deploy two decades of counterterrorism expertise against narco-terrorists.We are dismantling their networks and protecting American lives.TRANSCRIPT BEGINS~~Tulsi Gabbard:President Trump has already taken historic action,immediately, to secure our borders in record timeand designated several cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations,a move that has empowered our National Counterterrorism Centerhere at ODNI to deploy over two decades of counter-terrorismexpertise towards detecting and deterring cartels andgangs like never before.In just one year, this designation by President Trump preventedmore than...

Florida State Sen. Don Gaetz (R) is pushing legislation to allow churches to use volunteer security rather than being required to pay to hire licensed security personnel. FOX News reported that Gaetz’s legislation is Senate Bill 52, which has already passed the state’s Senate and will now be weighed by the House. FOX 13 noted, “Supporters say…[the bill is] aimed at cutting costs while keeping people safe in places of worship.” Triumph Church of Tampa pastor Elvis Piggott pointed out that “it can get very costly” under the current requirement for licensed security. He said, “Just for myself at an...

The crowded race to succeed California’s Governor Gavin Newsom, which has no clear front-runner in the Democratic ranks, has likely just been made tougher by the party’s failure this weekend to endorse a candidate. Hundreds of delegates and party members gathered for the California Democratic Party convention at the Moscone Center in San Francisco over the weekend, ahead of the crucial June 2 statewide primary election. Among them were nine eligible candidates hoping to run for the state’s governor this year with the backing of the party. These included former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, State Superintendent of Public Instruction...

President Trump declared February 22 “Angel Family Day” as he honored families on Monday who lost loved ones to illegal alien crime. The president’s declaration honors two survivors and 62 individuals killed by illegals, among them Laken Riley, the New York Post reported Sunday. Riley is the young nursing student who was attacked and killed during a morning jog on the University of Georgia campus. President Trump chose the date, February 22, because Riley was brutally murdered on February 22, 2024. “It will be the first event of its kind to honor ‘angel families’ who have had loved ones killed...

You can now get paid $30 an hour to shovel snow in New York City. New York City is urgently hiring emergency snow shovelers to help remove snow and ice from public areas, including bus stops, crosswalks, fire hydrants, and step streets.

Atlanta, GA — After months of public drama among the employees and higher-ups of Planned Parenthood Southeast, six former PPSE employees recently filed discrimination charges against the affiliate, submitting the charges to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). One filing submitted by Jessica Swanson, PPSE’s former Director of Education, alleges she was fired by the new interim CEO, Mairo Akposé, in retaliation for voicing concerns about Akposé. Before being suddenly promoted to CEO, Akposé was the Human Resources Director. Swanson alleges that she first complained about Akposé in her HR role when Akposé failed to refer to the current...

After a Tourette syndrome advocate shouted the N-word at “Sinners” actors Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan during Sunday’s BAFTA Awards, Lindo says organizers of the event had yet to reach out about the incident. John Davidson, the inspiration for the BAFTA-nominated biopic “I Swear,” disrupted the ceremony with several involuntary outbursts of expletives and slurs, a symptom of the nervous system disorder.

Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen is turning down an offer from President Trump, who has openly sought to acquire the island from Denmark, to send a Navy hospital ship to his country. “It’s going to be a no thank you from here,” Nielsen wrote on Facebook. “President Trump’s idea to send an American hospital ship here to Greenland is noted. But we have a public health system where treatment is free for citizens. It’s a deliberate choice. And a basic part of our society. It’s not like that in the United States, where it costs money to go to the...

A Texas man has died after he and his ex-wife reportedly worked together to plan and carry out his suicide. Joseph Cheffo was found dead in his Odessa home on February 13. Though assisted suicide is illegal in Texas, authorities allege that his ex-wife and primary caretaker, Sarah Regmund, helped facilitate his death after being in contact with Final Exit Network. Investigators say a copy of Final Exit by Derek Humphry was found near his bed. The book, written for the terminally ill, goes beyond arguing for “the right to die.” It provides instructions. In one disturbing line, it states:...

Feb 23, 2026

23 February 2026Monday of the 1st week of Lent (optional commemoration of Saint Polycarp, Bishop, Martyr)Saint Polycarp Catholic Church, Stanton, CAReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(II).First readingLeviticus 19:1-2,11-18Only pass judgement on your neighbour according to justiceThe Lord spoke to Moses; he said: ‘Speak to the whole community of the sons of Israel and say to them: ‘“Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy. ‘“You must not steal nor deal deceitfully or fraudulently with your neighbour. You must not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God. I am the Lord. You must...

"It's very clear that this administration is not interested in legal immigration," she told the publication backstage at the Target Center. “They're interested in violent theater," Carlile continued. "Violent theater and dominance over other people. I don't believe most people signed up for that. Even people who voted for Trump, who I'm angry with, I don't think they voted for this, and I do think that they can still change their minds."”