Free Republic

A Minnesota “violence interruption” charity has collapsed after its leaders allegedly used $6.5 million worth of charitable funds to bankroll lavish lifestyles and a private liquor store. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Friday a civil lawsuit against nonprofit We Push for Peace and its former directors, Trahern Pollard and Jaclyn McGuigan. The organization, which held lucrative contracts for community outreach and violence prevention, was driven into the ground by “rampant abuse” and blatant self-dealing, prosecutors allege. According to the complaint, Pollard personally pocketed more than $6 million of the diverted charitable funds. Instead of helping the community, the...

Elisabeth “Betty” Broderick, who in 1989 infamously murdered her ex-husband and his new bride as they slept in the bedroom of their California home, has died at 78 while serving a life sentence. Broderick died on Friday at the California Institution for Women of natural causes, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed to People.

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Friday warned Democrats against forming alliances with former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), accusing the former lawmaker of being a “proven bigot.” A student at an event hosted by the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics asked Ocasio-Cortez about working across the aisle with Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), and if she stood by comments she made in 2021 about “legitimate white supremacist sympathizers at the core of the House of Representatives caucus.” Ocasio-Cortez said she stood by the comments, and that her work with Republican colleagues has been “about where we trust...

Rare royal appearance: The Duke of Kent, 90, joined King Charles for a formal chivalry ceremony, marking one of his few public engagements in recent years. Historic royal duty: This was Charles’s first time leading the Order of St Michael and St George service as monarch, a tradition dating back to 1818. Honoring global service: The Order recognizes individuals for distinguished service abroad or in Commonwealth affairs, with ceremonies held every four years. A rare reunion of royal cousins King Charles III and the Duke of Kent appeared together at St Paul’s Cathedral for the Order of St Michael and...

The twelve apostles included "Simon, who is called Peter" (Matt. 10:2). God knows how to get results. God makes leaders by taking people with the right raw material, putting them through the right experiences, and teaching them the right lessons. That's how he trained Peter, and the results were astonishing. In the first twelve chapters of Acts we see Peter initiating the move to replace Judas with Matthias, preaching powerfully on the Day of Pentecost, healing a lame man, standing up to the Jewish authorities, confronting Ananias and Sapphira, dealing with Simon the magician, healing Aeneas, raising Dorcas from the...

Earlier this week, the actor John Lithgow appeared on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and did something that guests on the show have been doing a lot lately: He paid extensive tribute to the host. Lithgow was so troubled by the idea that Colbert is leaving CBS after 10 years in May — a cancellation that has the appearance of Paramount’s new leadership trying to curry favor with the Trump administration — that he wrote a poem. Reading this ode, entitled “The Mighty Colbert,” Lithgow honored the “sublime masterworks” that are Colbert’s monologues, and asked, “So why is he...

‘Star Wars’ Writer’s Scripted Hollywood Satire Podcast ‘See You in Hell’ Takes on AI in Timely New Episode“See You in Hell,” a new, independently-produced podcast satirizing Hollywood, has just dropped its third episode, and it’s all about Hollywood’s increasingly uncomfortable relationship with AI. Per a press release, “See You in Hell” is about “married showrunners Dan and Gayle Bellingham are the creators of ‘West Palm Beach,’ the biggest, buzziest hit show in modern TV history. But when an acrimonious divorce brings their collaboration to an abrupt end, Dan and Gayle embark on separate careers, each determined to prove to the...

...In recent months, we have witnessed profound changes within Iranian church communities. Many who once participated in worship with passion are now wrestling with difficult questions, doubts, and even despair. Some have distanced themselves from the church, others are experiencing spiritual burnout, and many quietly carry the burden of grief and concern for their loved ones in Iran. A pressing question has emerged in many hearts: “How is it that we are under pressure from the Iranian government, and at the same time, this conflict has brought us no hope or relief?” These questions are real and cannot simply be...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.” John 14:18–20The feeling of being an orphan, of longing for belonging, reflects a deeper spiritual reality Jesus addressed with His disciples in today’s Gospel. Those with close families are truly blessed, as a supportive family fosters personal growth and a sense...

The United Kingdom has fallen. It’s a country where people are jailed for flipping off traffic cameras, where social media posts can also land you in prison, and where smoking is now banned for anyone born after January 1, 2009. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, and it makes one proud to be American that they are not part of this chaos. And HBO’s Bill Maher was not shy about discussing it either.

In a significant development for the tech and semiconductor industries, Apple and Intel have struck a preliminary agreement under which Intel will manufacture some of the chips that power Apple devices. The news, reported by Robbie Whelan and Rolfe Winkler for The Wall Street Journal on May 8, 2026, marks a notable comeback effort for Intel and highlights ongoing efforts to strengthen domestic U.S. chip production. The Role of the Trump Administration: The U.S. government played a pivotal role in facilitating the deal. Last summer, the Trump administration converted nearly $9 billion in federal grants into a roughly 10% stake...

A committee comprising three senior Iraqi figures is close to finalizing an "executive plan" to disarm factions within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) that enjoy support from Iran, Asharq Al-Awsat reported on 8 May.Development of the plan, which will be presented to US officials in the next few days, comes amid expected changes to the leadership of key security agencies under the incoming government of Ali al-Zaidi.Trump congratulates Iraq PM nominee Ali al-Zaidi, eyes stronger tiesZaidi was nominated by the Shia-majority Coordination Framework (CF) political bloc on April 27 as the consensus candidate to succeed Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani....

Anticipation of a forthcoming U.S. government “disclosure” on alien life is everywhere in the media.President Trump has ordered a full release of files on UFOs. This week, FBI director Kash Patel said, “You’re going to start seeing those releases literally happening in the very near future. We just met on it.” Where do language-based code, computer-like information processing, or machines come from? In our experience, they have only one known cause: intelligence. The existence of ET life wouldn’t prove unguided, purposeless naturalistic evolution—it would provide another example to doubt it.Some, including Dawkins himself, have speculated that life on Earth could...

So, this is weird.Vi Lyles, the five-term mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, has announced her resignation and will leave office at the end of June.Charlotte Observer: Longtime Charlotte, NC Mayor Vi Lyles plans to step down less than halfway through her latest term leading the nation’s 14th-largest city. https://t.co/8lkHJasPBY— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) May 7, 2026Huh.As well, you might imagine, speculation is swirling like mad concerning the 'why' of it, only six months into a new term that ran in the face of her horrific performance during the Iryna Zarutska murder.For urging compassion for a multi-felonious, vicious, bestial...

Nearly 130 people arrested Wednesday night as soccer fans rioted in celebration of the Paris-St. Germain (PSG) victory over... On Friday President Emmanuel Macron announcing the return of French Ambassador Stephane Romatet to Algeria. Romatet was recalled just over a year ago as tensions between Algeria and France boiled over... On the surface of French politics there is supposed to be a united "Left" bloc that includes the far-left "LFI", Ecologists and the Socialist Party. But elements of the Socialist Party... This week the aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle" and escort ships making their way into the Red Sea placing...

The primary purpose of government is to protect the liberty and property of the citizens. We have seen, for some time and in almost every major American city, how municipal governments from Boston to Los Angeles have utterly failed in this primary role. In Los Angeles in particular, the despicable phenomenon of "flash mobs," organized (presumably) online, strikes with the speed of summer lightning and loot convenience stores, threatening the owners and employees, and stealing everything but the shelving and light fixtures - leaving chaos in their wake.On X, a prominent Californian, Justine Bateman, took to her X account to...

In this age of technology, it's not uncommon to come across at least one AI-generated video with every scroll on social media. But recently, a particular trope of short-form videos took the internet by storm - in the form of snowy mountains, a wood-chopping man, braised duck and a mystical woman draped in white. "Did you save a fox on a snowy mountain?" is a question that has made its rounds with the release of a Chinese AI-generated microdrama. Created to appear like a period drama made in the 1970s, it follows a traveller on a snowy mountain who saves...

ANYONE WHO has stood in a long queue at border control, or bypassed one, knows that not all passports are created equal. Citizens of some countries can speed through the gates; citizens of others must submit to interrogation and delay. Henley & Partners, a consultancy that helps rich people acquire citizenship in attractive countries, ranks passports by the number of countries their holders can enter without a visa. Its latest assessment of passport power shows that America is sliding down the table. Our map below shows how countries compare this year. Asian countries dominate the top of the table. Singapore...

Miners in Myanmar have discovered a rare ruby of enormous size, considered to be the second-largest by weight ever found in the conflict-battered Southeast Asian nation, state media reported Friday. The ruby, measuring 11,000 carats (2.2 kilograms, or 4.8 pounds), was unearthed near the town of Mogok, in the upper Mandalay region, the heartland of the lucrative gem-mining industry that has recently experienced intense fighting in the country’s wide-ranging civil war. According to a report from the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, the newly found rough ruby was discovered in mid-April, just after the traditional New Year festival. While...