Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Was Pope Francis ‘used’ by liberal cardinals in attempt to thwart Benedict XVI’s election?While Pope Francis' comments about the 2005 conclave have made waves, several aspects require further investigation.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis has confirmed prior information that he was a close contender to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger during the 2005 papal conclave, while also claiming he was “used” by other cardinals and that he himself voted for the future Pope Benedict XVI. “In that conclave – the data is known – they used me,” said Pope Francis, in a preview chapter released Easter Sunday, ahead of the...

President Biden has received criticism from Democrats and Republicans this week over his response to an Israeli airstrike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza on Monday. On Tuesday, Biden, 81, said he was “outraged and heartbroken” over the deaths of the aid workers delivering food to Gaza’s population, but didn’t signal any change in approach to his administration’s backing of Israel in its war against Hamas. The president, in his public statement, pinned the blame squarely on Israel, demanding an investigation that “must bring accountability” and accusing the Jewish state of not having “done enough to...

A new type of illicit synthetic street drug known as “Pink Cocaine” and “Pink Panther” was found in a San Jose business where investigators suspect it was being manufactured. Luis Carrillo-Moyeda, 32, of San Jose, was arrested last month on drug charges after San Jose Police Department officers served search warrants at his home and business on Blossom Hill Road. SJPD wrote, “The illegal narcotics being manufactured and sold by suspect Carrillo-Moyeda, commonly known as ‘Tusi,’ ‘Pink Cocaine,’ ‘Pantera Rosa,’ or ‘Pink Panther,’ is a new synthetic drug made from a mixture of ketamine, MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, and opioids.” Detectives...

Last week I wrote about how a good deal of former President Donald Trump's popularity is fueled by pure spite by the people whose lives have been damaged or made harder by the Biden administration's destructive policies. His popularity has risen in part because the Democrats have made it very clear to the American people that they fear Trump, and if the people who've made your life miserable are telling you that they're afraid of someone, you're probably going to gravitate toward that figure and attempt to put him between yourself and them: My theory is that as Biden and...

Stop me if you've heard this one before: The Biden administration misled the American people about a major foreign policy issue. According to a new report, the claim that the infamous Chinese spy balloon was blocked from transmitting data as it flew across the mainland United States was false. Astonishingly, the balloon was allowed to connect to a domestic telecommunications service. That connection was then used to send "burst transmissions" back to China, and it's unlikely it was transmitting take-out orders.The balloon connected to a U.S.-based company, according to the assessment, to send and receive communications from China, primarily related...

The Iowa caucuses are two weeks away, and the New Hampshire primary follows a week later. This is the official starting gun for the 2024 elections, but the battleground has already been laid. When RedState reported earlier in December on Kate Cox and the lawsuit over Texas' Heartbeat Law, this prescient statement was made.Tragically, in the case of Kate Cox, the agenda bled through. Whether Cox was driving this or someone was driving Cox is yet to be seen. But it was clear the focus was to challenge the Texas law in order to create an issue that would carry...

Pierce Brosnan has been in hot water plenty of times as an actor playing the secret agent James BondPierce Brosnan, whose fictitious movie character James Bond has been in hot water plenty of times, is now facing heat in real life, charged with stepping out of bounds in a thermal area during a recent visit to Yellowstone National Park. Brosnan walked in an off-limits area at Mammoth Terraces, in the northern part of Yellowstone near the Wyoming-Montana line, on Nov. 1, according to two federal citations issued Tuesday. Brosnan, 70, is scheduled for a mandatory court appearance on Jan. 23...

A painting dated from the 16th century depicting the biblical figures of Adam and Eve, looted from the collection of Dutch-Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker during World War II, has been returned to Goudstikker’s only living heir. The scene, attributed to Dutch artist Cornelis van Haarlem, was returned after being offered for donation by a private collector to Musée Rolin, a museum in Autun, a city in central-eastern France. According to New York law firm Kaye Spiegler, which facilitated the painting’s return, museum officials raised flags internally over the painting’s ownership record after uncovering a label with Goudstikker’s surname on...

Tesla’s stainless steel Cybertruck was involved in its first reported accident after finally hitting the road last month — and it wasn’t pretty for the other car. A Toyota Corolla was left crumpled after appearing to collide head-on with the fully electric, bomber-like vehicle on Thursday, according to a Reddit post that showed photos of the accident. The Toyota’s front end was completely demolished, with the sedan’s side airbags deployed as it rested on the side of the road with its hood popped open and a headlight dangling, one photo shows. The 17-year-old driver was not hurt, local police told...

The Black Sabbath frontman received an unpleasant surprise when he found a picture of himself in a YouTube in memoriam video of celebrities who died.Ozzy Osbourne is declaring he’s not dead, despite what online hoaxes claim. During the latest episode of The Osbournes Podcast, the Black Sabbath frontman informed his family that he stumbled upon a YouTube in memoriam video and was surprised to have found himself in it. “I put it on and I died!,” he said. “The thing on YouTube, which goes, ‘Celebrities Who Have Died Today,’ and there’s a picture of me.” Osbourne then referenced Monty Python...

Ozzy Osbourne has always been perceived as a controversial figure, but that’s nothing new for rockstars, who seem to be always met with disdain and controversy. The difference for Ozzy Osbourne is how much he welcomed and encouraged such dispute; whether it was a PR tactic or simply because of a lapse in judgment is unknown. The ‘Prince of Darkness’ has never been a stranger to dividing opinion. His 1982 interview with Night Flight is the pinnacle of this, where, amongst other things, he cites Hitler as an influence. To get straight to the quote, when Ozzy was asked where...

Access to the region by journalists, diplomats and others is tightly controlled by China, as is movement outside the region by Uyghurs, Kazaks and other Muslim minorities.China has said it will impose ban on US research company and two analysts who extensively reported on alleged human rights violations against Uyghur Muslim community in the country’s Xinjiang region. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning was quoted as announcing late Tuesday night that Los Angeles-based research and data analytics firm Kharon, its director of investigations, Edmund Xu, and Nicole Morgret, a human rights analyst affiliated with the Centre for Advanced Defence Studies, would...

It took two people 10 months to drive the Nissan Ariya from the North to South PoleChris and Julie Ramsey completed their 10-month road trip from the magnetic North Pole to the South Pole, making them the first people on Earth to drive a car, EV or ICE, over 18,500-miles from the top of our planet to the bottom of it. The couples’ Nissan Ariya was upfitted by polar mobility specialists at Arctic Trucks to accommodate the 39-inch tires, but aside from that was completely stock from the battery to the drivetrain and everything in between. The couple started their...

Everyone owes astronaut Frank Rubio an apology.NASA astronaut Frank Rubio returned to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) in late September, after a record-setting 371 straight days in space. During his lengthy mission, Rubio orbited our planet roughly 5,936 times, covered a distance of more than 157 million miles … and inadvertently lost one tiny tomato. Rubio was among the ISS team who worked on a project called VEG-05, an experiment into how (or if) red robin tomatoes could grow in space. After a 100-day growth period, the inch-long tomatoes were harvested, but, according to NASA, the astronauts were...

In the same way that scientists have studied Antarctica for what insights could prove valuable for a Mars mission, the Whale-SETI group said its studies with humpback whales can help them develop “intelligence filters” used in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. A team that includes a UC Davis professor and a scientist with SETI, the organization that searches the cosmos for signs of alien intelligence, has cited a breakthrough here on Earth – a 20-minute “conversation” with a humpback whale in the wild. The Templeton Whale-SETI group said its findings on what it calls “non-human intelligence communication” could help in...

A Brookline teen was severely injured after he had “magic mushrooms” and jumped from a sixth-story window, according to police who arrested a drug dealer accused of targeting local kids. Brookline Police are now warning parents after this incident and the arrest of a 22-year-old man in Brookline Village. Based on a tip, Brookline detectives began investigating a suspected drug dealer who goes by the name Niko. He was allegedly selling drugs to underage teens. Some of the products were purchased at local marijuana dispensaries, where Niko allegedly bought the products that are legal for those 21-plus. Many students at...

Things have not calmed down on the campus of Harvard. Quite the opposite — behind the ivy-choked masonry in Boston, the atmosphere is roiling. After the campus president inflamed the country, we now have faculty members stepping up to decry her stature, and businesses are showing signs of backing away from the once austere character of the college’s graduates, as we are seeing evidence of a viral mindset infecting this school. You know things are bad when a story like this not only remains in the news cycle but continues to evolve. Following her testimony before Congress over the actions...

Completely deluded Democrats and statists continue to double down on their stupid attempts to prevent Donald Trump from being on the ballot in 2024, as they've still not realized that their derision and hysterical overreactions to his every breath have the effect of making him more popular and increasing his support. Americans as a people do not like being told what to do; it's essentially part of our DNA at this point since our ancestors came from all across the globe to this place precisely because they didn't like being told what they could and couldn't do in their native...

I’m not sure exactly when it happened. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) is making a lot of people who were formerly critical of him suddenly find themselves in agreement with him. That includes me. No one is more astounded than me. When John Fetterman was elected, I thought he was a far-left progressive married to an illegal immigrant. He was. Then he had a massive stroke. As he recovered, he continued to run for the Senate. He campaigned from his basement and his wife ran interference for him. She misled everyone into believing that he was fine and would be ready...