Free Republic

A New York City native became an ISIS bride at just 18 — and is now the first woman to face trial in the US as an alleged member of the ruthless terror group. Halima Salman, now 27, has been painted by Brooklyn federal prosecutors as an ISIS-trained machine gun-toting wannabe killer, showing footage of the young woman wielding an AK-47 assault rifle in her terrorist husband’s Syria home. “The evidence shows that the defendant received training from a violent, brutal, terrorist organization, an organization responsible for violent attacks all over the world,” Assistant US Attorney Amanda Shami told the...

Archdiocese offers Buddhism course in preparation for 2027 World Youth Day The Archdiocese of Milan is promoting a five-part course on Buddhism before World Youth Day 2027 in South Korea while failing to mention Jesus Christ or Catholic teaching.The Archdiocese of Milan launched an official five-part course on Buddhism as preparation for World Youth Day while failing to mention Jesus Christ or Catholic doctrine a single time.On October 21, as reported by the Italian daily newspaper La Verità, details emerged regarding an official initiative organized by the Youth Ministry of the Archdiocese of Milan and the “Carlo Maria Martini Center”...

(RNS) — The pastor of one of the nation’s largest churches announced Sunday (Oct 18.) that he plans to resign early next year. Andy Stanley, the 68-year-old pastor of North Point Community Church, a non-denominational church based in Alpharetta, Georgia, told worshippers he would step down as the congregation’s pastor and no longer be a church employee when he turns 69 in May 2027. He said it was important to him to leave that role when things were going well, rather than in a crisis. “For somebody in my position, there are really only three exit options open to me,”...

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa was arrested Wednesday morning, according to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. Espinosa faces charges of grand theft and an organized scheme to defraud. Uthmeier announced the arrest in a social media post. According to Osceola County Jail records, Espinosa was booked into custody and is currently being held without bond on both charges. AG Uthmeier speaks Uthmeier and other officials gathered for a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, where they accused her of enriching herself. "If you are going to abuse your office, if you are going to abuse the public trust...

North Korea has released a fresh batch of apparent “proof of life” photos showing Kim Jong Un inspecting shoes and women’s clothing — after wild rumors swept social media claiming the dictator had died from a brain hemorrhage. The images, published by North Korean state media on Monday, show a seemingly animated Kim examining children’s footwear, gesturing toward officials and inspecting women’s coats at a garment and footwear exhibition. The photos surfaced just hours after sensational claims circulated online that the 42-year-old leader had suffered a massive brain hemorrhage, fallen into a coma and died after being rushed to Beijing...

[Catholic Caucus] New Vatican official renews calls for female deacons Sister Mary Barron has committed to her prior activism for ordaining women, despite the Church clearly reserving Orders for men.A new senior Vatican official has reaffirmed her previous push for female deacons, saying that women “hear the call to priesthood”. On October 8, Sister Mary Barron OLA was named by Pope Leo to become the adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization and president of the Pontifical Mission Societies. A native of Ireland, Sr. Mary spent some years in Nigeria and Tanzania with her missionary Congregation of the Sisters of...

In a recent appearance on Steve Bannon’s War Room on Tuesday, Tiffany Justice discussed Pennsylvania mail-in/return ballot numbers. Tiffany is a Senior Advisor for Citizens Alliance and also co-founded Moms for Liberty. She is a very smart and eloquent speaker, someone you listen to whenever you see her on a show you like. Tiffany had good news for Republicans from Pennsylvania: Tiffany Justice: "The GOP returns are already higher than at this point in 2022. So, the GOP share of returned ballots has reached 25%. As of August 19th, 2022, it was just 20%. So things are looking really good...

The waterway’s decline poses an existential threat to Elephant Butte, N.M., and surrounding farms. ‘This place is going to turn into a ghost town.’ ELEPHANT BUTTE, N.M.—Three decades ago, a rare event drew hundreds of people from miles away to the Elephant Butte reservoir, this state’s largest lake. The reservoir, which supplied drinking water to thousands and nourished vast acres of farmland, had swelled from the Rio Grande and begun to overflow. Jim Paxon remembers the roar as water cascaded down the dam’s spillway, tossing mist into the air and churning the ground below. Those days are long gone. One...

[Catholic Caucus] The uniqueness of Jesus "cannot be absolutized": a Brazilian joins the Theological Commission Tiago de Fraga Gomes, a 39-year-old priest, has been studying Claude Geffré’s religious pluralism since 2015 and in 2025 defended an “even sacramental” integration of irregular situations.Pope Leo XIV on Monday, October 19, appointed Brazilian priest Tiago de Fraga Gomes, 39, a member of the International Theological Commission. He is a presbyter of the Diocese of Osório in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and an associate professor at the School of Humanities of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS)...

Ben Roberts-Smith has revealed he contemplated suicide for months amid war crimes allegations, saying thoughts of his children helped him through his lowest point. The nation's most decorated living soldier said the relentless coverage took a psychological toll and left him believing his family might be better off without him. 'When that flood of media and allegations came, it was relentless,' Roberts-Smith told NewsCorp. 'From the perspective of someone sitting there going, 'What is going on? I don't understand where it's coming from. I don't know why that's being said.' 'Psychologically, that takes a toll. 'And there were many times...

21 October 2026 Wednesday of week 29 in Ordinary Time Bridlington Priory Church, Bridlington, East YorkshireReadings at MassThis is a preview of Universalis. The Universalis app gives you every day of every year, not just the single week you’re seeing now, and it doesn’t need the Internet. It gives you the official New American Bible version for the readings at Mass. As well as the Mass, it gives you the Liturgy of the Hours. It costs $9.99-12.99 on your phone, or £19.99 (about $26.50) on your computer. Get it now.Liturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First readingEphesians 3:2-12The pagans now share...

Transcript: The group included groundbreaking Asian Americans like Vera Wang and — and — and Joan Shingang- — Shin- — I’m — I’m going to pronounce it wrong — Shangaka- — -kawawa [Shigekawa]. I think I pronounced it correctly. She can call me “Joe Bid-en.” (Laughter.)

Is Israel to blame again? French President Emmanuel Macron hinted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump were exploiting the riots in France for political purposes ahead of the upcoming elections. During a speech in Qatar, Macron referred to "leaders who are in the midst of election campaigns, whether here in the region or across the Atlantic, who are innocently spreading narratives that certain circles are clearly trying to promote," apparently referring to Netanyahu and Trump. Macron added, "They are using our country for their political campaigns. And we don't need that. We already have our own...

Somaliland’s president has offered to put Donald Trump’s name on an airport.Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, commonly known by his nickname Irro, has floated renaming Berbera International Airport. The idea came after weeks of lobbying at Washington and New York to win what his government has sought for decades: formal recognition from the United States. Berbera, a port city on the Gulf of Aden, has a runway built by the Soviet Union in the 1970s that stretches more than 4,000 meters, among the longest in Africa. So far, no agreement has been reached on the airport, on military access, or on recognition...

Former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has questioned whether he can receive a fair trial, giving two major interviews on his dramatic arrest at Sydney Airport, the prospect of life behind bars if convicted on five counts of war crime murder and his defamation loss against the Nine newspapers. Breaking a years-long silence amid serious allegations he murdered unarmed Afghan civilians and prisoners between 2009 and 2012, the Victoria Cross Recipient said he was unsure a jury could be found that were impartial towards him — but he was “trusting again in the system”. It comes after his legal team pondered...

A report spotlighted two charities and Minnesota’s Somali refugee history. It says Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services received at least $62 million in government funding tied to resettling about 29,000 Somali refugees since 1993.The figure raises questions about public spending and humanitarian work. It also invites a closer look at how Minnesota became home to one of the country’s largest Somali communities.The organizations named are Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, a faith-based social-service provider. Both operated within a wider network helping newly arrived refugees find housing and connect with essential services.The reported $62 million is a...

Marine Le Pen is set to officially launch her presidential campaign this weekend at the National Rally two-day party congress in Orléans. The latest Ifop poll, carried out in the wake of the mass protests and riots in France, suggests the far right leader would win the first round of the presidential election by a wide margin, and far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon emerged as her most likely opponent in the runoff. ...

WASHINGTON — Liberal Justice Elena Kagan sharply criticized the Supreme Court’s conservative majority Tuesday, saying it undermined democracy in a series of rulings, including several that have prompted a new wave of legislative map-drawing that has increasingly eliminated competitive districts. Kagan, who has dissented in those cases

The White House has blocked the transfer of Patriot missiles to Ukraine, US officials have said. The transfer of interceptor missiles from countries friendly to Ukraine requires the approval of Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary. While Mr Hegseth has not formally rejected the deals involving countries other than the US – as the manufacturer, it retains control over the weapons – he has not completed the steps required to approve them, sources told The Washington Post. Last week, a Ukrainian official told the Post that Kyiv had "only a couple" of missiles – vital to intercepting Russian missiles –...

During this election season, there has been a significant surge in entirely Fake Polls and Suppression Polls designed to do nothing more than interfere with the regular functioning of the electoral process and alter the normal patterns of voter turnout and enthusiasm. Many journalists and broadcasters have been amplifying or airing these Polls without regard to basic journalistic ethics and without informing the public that those Polls lack a scientific, accurate, or even real basis. The FCC takes these issues seriously. Broadcasters are prohibited by the terms of their federal licenses from engaging in News Distortion or promoting Broadcast Hoaxes....