Free Republic

Government scientists have shown that they can filter the precious metal from the state's shale gas wastewater: pulling tons of lithium per day, with little left behind. They concluded that Pennsylvania alone could produce nearly half of the total US demand for lithium — starting in the first year — supplying this key compound that's needed to power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles to solar panels. A project on this scale could make Pennsylvania a rust-belt Saudi Arabia, ending US dependence on lithium from China, which now controls 90 percent of the market. People compare it to the Gold...

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis used a highly derogatory term towards the LGBT community as he reiterated in a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops that gay people should not be allowed to become priests, Italian media reported on Monday. La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera, Italy's largest circulation dailies, both quoted the pope as saying seminaries, or priesthood colleges, are already too full of "frociaggine", a vulgar Italian term roughly translating as "faggottness". The Vatican did not respond to a request for comment. La Repubblica attributed its story to several unspecified sources, while Corriere said it was backed up...

Remember the “New Atheists”? They were a big deal 15 or so years ago, bashing irrationality and superstition in bestselling books like “The God Delusion,” “The End of Faith” and “God Is Not Great.” Some of them ultimately ended up as believers, others turned to ayahuasca, and Richard Dawkins recently admitted to being a “cultural Christian.” He still doesn't believe in the big J.C., but acknowledges his worldview was shaped in a Christian context. In a similar way, I've always been a cultural libertarian. A son of the Mountain West, my traditional conservatism is heavily dosed with a “leave me...

The Apprentice left the Cannes Film Festival empty-handed, with no announcement of a U.S. distribution deal following former President Donald Trump’s threat of a lawsuit and cease-and-desist demand against the filmmakers. In addition, the movie failed to win any prizes at Saturday’s closing ceremony, despite some movie pundits predicting that actor Sebastian Stan would be rewarded for his portrayal of Trump.While a buyer could materialize in the weeks ahead, the road to U.S. distribution looks uncertain as streamers and specialty theatrical labels would have to weigh the possibility of a messy and protracted legal fight. Box-office prospects also appear dim,...

<p>Kimberly Helmus still gets chills thinking about her first rage ritual.</p><p>Two-and-a-half years ago after her divorce, the cybersecurity engineer embarked on a retreat to Scotland with Mia Banducci − an author and self-described "Spiritual Fairy Godmother," better known online as Mia Magik.</p>

Zelensky Unmasked is an explosive 12 part series that exposes the truth behind the war in Ukraine, as well as the face of it all. The series reveals who masterminded the cult of Volodymyr Zelensky and why it was created. It also investigates the deep state and corporate interests that have profited off of this war. Who is really benefitting from the over $100 billion dollars the US has sent Ukraine? What’s the Nord Stream pipeline and who blew it up? Where are all the weapons we have sent? And why has Ukraine signed its destiny over to BlackRock, the...

"There is no nice metaphorical way to deal with the rising wave of fascism," director Ali Abbasi said when asked why he wanted to make the film about the former president's rise to power in 1980s America. "I think it's time to make movies relevant. It's time to make movies political again."One of the most anticipated moments of the 77th Cannes Film Festival finally arrived Monday night with the world premiere of the Donald Trump drama The Apprentice, starring Sebastian Stan as a young version of the real estate mogul in his pre-MAGA days. Only Francis Ford Coppola’s wildly ambitious...

The Kansas City Chiefs kicker was mocked by Pearl Jam's front man at a Vegas show after the pro athlete's Benedictine College's commencement speech went viral last week.Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder and an order of nuns at Benedictine College can be added to the growing list of those denouncing the divisive commencement speech given by Kansas Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker at Benedictine College last week. At a sold-out Las Vegas Pearl Jam concert on Saturday at the MGM Grand, Vedder joined Butker naysayers — including the National Football League — in denouncing the speech where Butker condemned abortion, euthanasia,...

No one can predict the future, of course, or if there will even be one. But all of us crystal ball gaze—if we live, it will be in today’s future. So, we make plans and contingencies based on our best guesses of what the short-term and long-term will bring. We do that individually, and we need to do it as a country. The re-election of Joe Biden in November, as improbable and horrifying as the thought is to right-thinking Americans, is far from impossible. All the polls tell us that, currently, Mr. Trump has the edge, but that the election...

ROME — Pope Francis told CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell that conservatives are willfully blind and manifest a “suicidal attitude” in their narrowmindedness. In an interview set to air Sunday on 60 Minutes, the pope asserts that a conservative “is someone who clings to something and does not want to see beyond that. It is a suicidal attitude.” “One thing is to take tradition into account and consider situations from the past but quite another is to be closed up inside a dogmatic box,” he adds. The Pope addresses his conservative critics in the church. “Conservative is one who clings to...

President Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign and affiliated groups announced a $90 million fundraising haul for March on Saturday. The total — which includes funds from the campaign, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and affiliated joint fundraising committees — out-paces former President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee’s (RNC’s) $65.6 million raised in the same month. Biden’s fundraising apparatus now has more than double the amount of cash on hand as Trump’s, at $192 million compared to $93.1 million, according to a press release. “ The money we are raising is historic, and it’s going to the critical work of...

Donald Trump on Saturday shot down a report that Nikki Haley, his bitter presidential primary rival, has vaulted into “active consideration” to become his running mate. “Nikki Haley is not under consideration for the V.P. slot, but I wish her well!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, signing the post “DJT.”

Transgender college runner Sadie Schreiner won three women's events at the Liberty League championship meet (Division III) on Saturday.Schreiner of the Rochester Institute of Technology won the 400 meters with a time of 55.07 and the 200 meters at 24.14.Both times would have been last in the men's races at the meet, but they were school records in the women's category, according to the site that lists the results of the meet.The 200-meter time is now a Liberty League conference women's record (beating Schreiner's own previous record of 24.50 set earlier this season). Schreiner was also the anchor leg of...

... It was the third papal meeting for Laura, 57, a saucy Paraguayan sex worker who, in her realest moments, described herself as “una travesti,” outdated Spanish slang for “a transgender woman.” She lived by a code: Tough girls don’t cry. But the first time Pope Francis had blessed her, she couldn’t suppress her tears. On their second meeting, they chatted over lunch. He came to know her well enough to ask about her health. On top of her longtime HIV, she’d had a recent cancer diagnosis. During treatment, the church sourced her a comfortable hotel room in the shadow...

MSNBC commentator Donny Deutsch said Monday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that former President Donald Trump looked beat up while attending the New York City business records trial. Host Nicolle Wallace said, “Donnie, I think in terms of Trump’s brand, I’ve said this a million times, I’ve said this to you, this is the only criminal case that he’s not running on, right. And these are the only facts that he’s running from. He stands in front of the courthouse bloviating and waving around papers but these are not facts that he embraces even though the alleged relationships with Stormy and Karen...

LEAKEDThe document that could have ended the Ukraine war in April 2022Zelensky scrapped it under UK/US orders, directly leading to the dеаth of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians and vast ongoing territorial losses17 pages- military neutrality - outlaw extreme nationalism - cede Crimea and part of Donbass- full Russian withdrawal - no further attасks - guarantor countries (🇨🇳🇺🇸🇫🇷🇬🇧🇹🇷) obliged to intervene within 3 days if Russia invadesDetails about the new Donbass borders would be discussed directly by Putin and ZelenskyDocument at link

If the election for president were being held today, the race would be a dead heat between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump with each candidate receiving 46 percent support, according to a Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pea-ack) University national poll of registered voters released today. Democrats support Biden (92 - 6 percent), while Republicans support Trump (90 - 6 percent). Independents are split, with 44 percent supporting Biden and 42 percent supporting Trump. "In a country at odds over wars and the economy, abortion, immigration and the very survival of democracy, there is one current point of agreement: there's no...

Donald Trump won the Pennsylvania Republican primary with 82.8% of the vote. The Keystone State's primary is closed, meaning only Republicans can vote. But is this cause for worry? Trump won Pennsylvania in 2016 by 44,000 votes. Biden won the state in 2020 by 80,000. However, former candidate Nikki Haley, who dropped out a month ago, received 16.5% of the vote in this year's primary, or about 156,000 votes. That's a healthy slice of the electorate in a state so evenly divided. We can assume that a significant portion of Haley's votes are going to be "hold your nose and...

As the 2024 presidential race heats up, a central paradox is becoming ever clearer: Many voters are growing disenchanted with, and are certainly not enthused, by the two main candidates, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who are 81 and 77 years old, respectively. With a little over six months to go before election day on Nov. 5, this can be seen in Biden’s relatively low approval ratings. Meanwhile, Trump’s ever-growing list of controversies and court cases might be buoying his populist political base but they are turning off many independents and more moderate Republican voters. One of the key implications...

How liberals killed Earth DayOPINION:Earth Day used to be a celebration of our individual and collective responsibility to protect the planet and improve human health. It was about science and data. Unfortunately, today, Earth Day has little to do with the planet and more to do with far-left agendas meant to increase control over the population.The paint-throwing, street-blocking activists will be out in force pushing their narrative of climate doom, more than happy to ignore science in the process. The media will reflexively add credibility to the nonsense.President Biden will tout the importance of some patently unachievable electric vehicle or...