The expression “Dark Ages” grew out of the work of the fourteenth-century Italian scholar Petrarch, who contrasted the cultural achievements of classical antiquity with what he saw as the darkness that followed. Later writers expanded that judgment until the term came to describe much of the period between the fall of the Western Roman Empire […]

The post 10 Groundbreaking Innovations That Prove the “Dark Ages” Weren’t Dark appeared first on Listverse.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus Christ – Gospel of Saint John the Apostle (14:6)

“Do not fear them, then, for there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing secret that will not be made known.What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops.”

Jesus Christ – Gospel of Saint Matthew the Apostle (Mt 10:26-28)

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In the cover image the Arcbishop of Saint Pio, father Franco Moscone, and the Zionist rulers Netanyahu and Trump

The Heroic Homily of the Archbishop of San Pio on Genocide, Rampant Zionism, and Banks Profiting from Arms

by Fabio Giuseppe Carlo Carisio

VERSIONE IN ITALIANO

In an era when Catholic progressivism is obscuring the diamond-bright light of the Word of God with diabolical worldliness, there remain Shepherds who have the courage to challenge wolves in sheep’s clothing to save their flock.

One of them is undoubtedly Monsignor Franco Moscone, Archbishop of Manfredonia, Vieste, and San Giovanni Rotondo—home to the Shrine of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina. Yesterday, during the Solemn Mass marking the liturgical feast of the Franciscan friar, the prelate—originally from the Piedmont region of Saint John Bosco and the Langhe (home of the philanthropist Servant of God Giulia di Barolo)—delivered a homily that was not only moving and courageous but truly heroic.

The SAINT, the KING and the SATANIC FREEMASONRY. St. John Bosco’s Prophecy and Fight of to Defend Christianity by the Italian Masons Persecutions

Just as those authentic Christians of the 19th century had to defy Freemasonry in a Turin inflamed by a sham *Risorgimento* in order to defend Gospel values, Archbishop Moscone did not hesitate to use the whip of rhetoric to proclaim the truth as taught by Jesus. Thundering from the virtual pulpit of the modern, magnificent church dedicated to the Saint of the Stigmata, he railed against the dangerous drift of “a narrative leading us straight toward war.”

Gospa News has dedicated three previous articles to the battle waged by this high-ranking prelate of the Archdiocese of Manfredonia, for—just as Gospa News points an accusing finger at the profiteering of… The Weapons Lobby and death.

WEAPONS LOBBY – 20. HUGE BUSINESS OF ZIONIST TRUMP’s WARMONGERS. How a German Industry Became the Golden Goose for the US

Indeed, every one of his statements is borne out in detail by the investigations we have linked to them.

Yesterday, he stood in solidarity with the “Priests against the Gaza genocide”—with whom he had demonstrated in Rome the day before, subsequently having to explain to some of the faithful why his seat was empty at the overnight vigil for the Feast of Saint Pio—but above all, he boldly exposed “dominant Zionism” and the “armed banks” that profit from “ethnic cleansing in Palestine.”

In an era when every public authority is terrified of discussing Jewish extremism for fear of being branded antisemitic, Monsignor Franco displayed a fortitude and intelligence truly bestowed by the Holy Spirit; he used unequivocal words to condemn the Tel Aviv regime, while tempering them by citing the book by Israeli historian Omar Bartov:

“Into the Abyss: From Zionism to Genocide. Israel’s Moral Defeat” (Laterza),

DEVIL NETANYAHU’s HOLOCAUST. Explosive UN findings: “Israel DELIBERATELY TARGETED Gaza CHILDREN”

He did so in a speech challenging—and calling for the “disarming” of—all “theologies of fundamentalism,” such as that of the Boko Haram terrorists: heirs to ISIS and Al-Qaeda, groups created by Anglo-American intelligence to invade the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria—a connection certainly not made by the priest himself, but one argued in his books by former Interpol official Antonio Evangelista, whom I have interviewed on several occasions.

The prelate cited the theological fundamentalism found among Hindus, as well as among Evangelical Christians and xenophobic Catholics. He concluded with two resounding remarks—delivered before the final blessing of the Mass—regarding the “wars spread by NATO” and the possibility of reviving in Italy the concept of conscientious objection to military spending, as was done during the Cold War.

The Grim NATO’S JIHADs. How Atlantic Intelligence “14 Eyes” uses ISLAMIC TERRORISTS: from Italy to Libya, Ukraine and Syria

I have summarized in a few lines a homily lasting about twenty minutes; it must be heard in its entirety to fully grasp the Gospel narrative that began with the blood of Padre Pio’s stigmata and now extends to Gaza—to the 300 children killed during the sham truce—as well as to Lebanon and the 145 others who died during yet another bogus ceasefire.

For this reason, I will limit myself here to transcribing only those sentences containing the aforementioned key points.

The Empty Chair at the Saint Pio Vigil: Standing with “Priests Against Genocide”

«Someone rightly wrote to me this morning saying, ‘Last night there was an empty chair at the vigil for Saint Pio’—and it was mine, the local bishop’s! It was empty here because I sought to embody the spirit of prophecy, solidarity, and peace that Padre Pio always brought through his life and continues to urge upon us: a most urgent cry in this historic moment to which we are all witnesses». 

St. Pio’ Prophecy on Christians’ homelands, NWO Rockefeller’s Abortion law and Masons war

Thus begins Father Franco’s homily, which seems to encapsulate two years of impassioned denunciations against the holocaust of children in Palestine and Lebanon.

«Yesterday, I attended a demonstration called ‘Priests Against Genocide’; it is an international network of priests that emerged just over a year ago in response to a cry for help from an African nun—a plea heard and taken up by a dedicated priest from Sicily. The network currently brings together over 2,600 priests from 57 nations, as well as 27 bishops and three cardinals. Yesterday, we walked a route through Rome, starting at the Jesuit Curia, passing the embassies to the Holy See for Palestine and Lebanon, and arriving at Piazza Mazzini, where Leonardo’s administrative headquarters is located» the priest continued (hereafter, we will not specify that the italicized text comes from his homily).

ZIONISTS’ Neverending WAR CRIMES, as GENOCIDES. Iran: “US, Israel GUILTY of gravest MASSACRES since 1949”. Children’s Murdering in Lebanon, Qeshm, Minab

«We arrived at this point through prayer, by listening to the Gospel, and by reflecting on the words of Pope Leo’s *Magnifica Humanitas* and those of the Israeli historian Omar Bartov, who published a book titled *Into the Abyss: From Zionism to Genocide—Israel’s Moral Defeat*».

The Stigmata of the Holy Land: 445 Children Killed During False Truces, Christians Driven Out

«I look at the wounds of Padre Pio—at the signs of his identification with Christ Crucified and the blood he shed alongside Jesus’s for fifty years—and I ask myself: where is the blood of the Lord’s stigmata and Padre Pio’s stigmata today? Where is it being shed?»

«It is certainly found in the stigmata borne by the population of Gaza, 97% of whom are left without homes or means of subsistence—a place where a truce is said to exist, yet a genocide quietly continues. Yesterday, we recited the names of 300 children killed in Gaza since the truce began.Padre Pio’s wounds are also found in the ethnic cleansing taking place in the West Bank and southern Lebanon; there, too, we counted 145 children killed since a peace plan was supposedly in place». 

HORRIFIC! Children Killed in Gaza as ISIS-Style by IDF (100 only During Truce). Shot in the head and chest. Investigation by BBC Africa. The best VIDEO of the week

«In those lands, our Christian brothers—representing the oldest churches in history—are particularly being driven away; only one Christian village remains under the administration of the Palestinian Authority. All the others have been wiped out.»

The Archbishop of San Giovanni Rotondo went on to mention the “stigmata” visible in Africa: the wars in the Sahel and Sudan, the massacres committed by Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria and the abduction of girls, and the repression in Myanmar and across the Middle East.

“The CHRISTIAN ZIONISM Threatens CHRISTIANITY in HOLY LAND”. As in WEST! Apocalyptic Analysis on Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarch’s Prophetic Alarm

He added: «And here in our own Europe, too, Ukraine and Russia continue to send their finest youth to the front lines to be sacrificed. These open, bleeding wounds—akin to the stigmata of Christ—persist in the humiliation of the Venezuelan people and the starving of the Cuban people.»

«I urge everyone to make praying for peace our primary commitment; it was a central focus of Padre Pio’s thoughts and heart throughout his life.»

WARS in VIDEO (until August 2026) & 14 ESCLUSIVE MILITARY INVESTIGATIONS. Zelensky is WASTING EU-funded Drones to KILL Russian Civilians. Putin’s Missiles are WIPING out Military Assets in Kiev

Monsignor Moscone noted that, in the past, prayer groups did not succeed in halting wars as the “greatest Saint of the last century” had hoped: «It was not effective then, yet we must believe it can be effective today, preventing these scattered conflicts from escalating into a world war.»

Father Franco Moscone: “Disarming Fundamentalist Theologies: From Dominant Zionism to Catholic Xenophobia”

«From Padre Pio, we also learn how to properly interpret Sacred Scripture—the words of the entire Bible, and the Gospel in particular. Let us, therefore, call for the disarming of the theologies that fuel fundamentalism of every kind. Jewish theologies that fuel the dominant Zionism; Islamic theologies that foment terrorism and fundamentalist groups; Hindu theologies—but also Christian theologies, particularly of an evangelical bent as well as within our own Catholic Church—that spread division and violence and stoke xenophobia and racism».

FREEMASONRY & ZIONISM – 4. How SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN was LICENSED to KILL! It arose from Conspiracy behind the Heretical Catholic text “Nostra Aetate”

“Arms multinationals and ‘armed banks’ that invest in death.”

«Let us, therefore, pray and read the Word of the Lord and the values ​​of our religion—and all religions—with authenticity and integrity. And let us not be afraid to speak out against what is wrong in this regard. Prayer must translate into action—action that speaks truth and denounces injustice. We cannot settle for a narrative that aims for and leads directly to war—serving solely to boost the interests of major arms multinationals, ‘armed banks,’ and anonymous investment funds that invest only in death—thereby denouncing a form of capitalism and power that makes the rich ever richer and the poor ever poorer, while also—even in our developed West—wiping out the middle class and social mobility, driven by a mindset that leads only to death and injustice».

WEAPONS LOBBY – 21. NATO’s WarCrimes! Attack to Moscow, SCHOOLGIRLS’ Massacre by DRONE of Ex CIA Chief POMPEO. Behind UAV FP-1 the Satanic Kiev Gang of Corruption funded by SOROS too

At the conclusion of Holy Mass—following the reading of the prayer for Civil Protection, of which Saint Pio is the patron—the Archbishop of Manfredonia added a pointed remark that struck like a dart aimed at European armament plans, which he had already severely condemned in previous public statements…

“Wars Spread by NATO and Tax Objection to Arms Spending”

«This is the security we need and desire: the security of Civil Protection, of environmental stewardship… This is true deterrence—not that of armaments and NATO, an alliance that, since its inception, has only brought and spread war across four continents»—a fact confirmed by the recent geopolitical “Mediterranean Sea: Same Blood, Same Mud”) by Interpol official Antonio Evangelista.

“NATO’s LIES ON MEDITERRANEAN WARS FOR GAS”. Exclusive Interview to Former Interpol EU Officer

«A form of deterrence that is essentially cost-free, requiring no massive financial outlay. It makes me wonder if the time has come to revisit a concept discussed during the Cold War—in the 1970s and 80s—namely, not merely conscientious objection to military service, but objection to military spending itself: a tax objection regarding that 5% of funds they want us to divert to entirely different purposes. I take personal responsibility for what I have said; let us now receive the Lord’s blessing—a blessing that is surely one of Peace, and nothing else».

Invoking Saint John Paul II, a heroic fighter against war

In a gesture reminiscent of the greatest, most heroic crusader against conflict and weaponry—Pope Saint John Paul II—the Mass concluded with the moving hymn “Jesus Christ, You Are My Life,” composed by Monsignor Marco Frisina for the World Youth Day held at Tor Vergata, Rome, during the Jubilee of 2000.

From Fatima to Ukraine. The Useless Lesson of Peace by Pope Wojtyla to Christians who want Weapons and War

Every Christian must give praise to God, Jesus Christ, and Saint Pio for sending us another courageous prelate—a bishop—like Karol Wojtyła: the Bishop of Kraków during the Soviet communist regime’s political occupation who later became the Bishop of Rome and succeeded in bringing down the USSR dictatorship through the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in obedience to the secret messages received at Fatima by the visionary Lucia.

Suffice it to recall that it was not the assassination attempt against him on May 13, 1981, nor the military regime imposed by General Wojciech Jaruzelski, but rather the Solidarity trade union—fueled by the Christian spirit instilled by John Paul II himself—that managed to triumph, much like David against Goliath.

IL MIRACOLO NELL’ATTENTATO A PAPA GIOVANNI PAOLO II. Proiettile Deviato dalla Madonna di Fatima e da Suor Rita in BILOCAZIONE come San Pio

That is why, in these recent times that carry an apocalyptic air—as foretold by the secrets of Medjugorje—the prayers of devout Christians and the messages of Our Holy Lady are not enough; heroic bishops are also needed who know how to translate the Gospel and prophecies into action.

A heartfelt thank you, Father Franco!!!

Fabio Giuseppe Carlo Carisio – Founder and Director of Gospa News

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New PANDEMIC and Third WORLD WAR by Now Inevitable… Only Christ Can Help Us in Tribulations of Prophecies by Apocalypse and Medjugorje

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45th Medjugorje Anniversary – MISTERY in VATICAN! Late Cardinal Ruini Certified the Holy Lady’s Apparitions as Authentic (Video). Then “Masonic Clergy” Hid this

Holy Lady’s Victory against Freemasonry in Lourdes. Miracles’ Cave reopened by the Christian Empress thanks Shepherdess Bernadette

FREEMASONRY & VATICAN – 2. Cardinals, Bishops kneeling before Satan at the Masonic Summit in Italy

WEAPONS LOBBY – 19. EU’s MAD REARM by VON DER LEYEN to ENRICH GERMAN DEFENSE INDUSTRY. Rheinmetall 202 % in one Year, + 52 % in two Weeks

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Hamas had negotiated with Israel for an end to the 17-year siege strangling Gaza, an increase in food entering Gaza, & release of Palestinian political prisoners. The Israeli army advised Netanyahu respond to these demands with an all-out attack on the Gaza. Al-Aqsa Flood was an attempt to preempt this attack.

by Gospa News Editorial Staff

VERSIONE IN ITALIANO

To best honor the extraordinary and radiant Christian life of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina—whose feast day is celebrated today, September, 23, in the Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar—Gospa News presents three exceptional video documentaries of varying lengths and some exclusive reports.

Gospa News is an Italian and international news outlet focused on Christian —and specifically Marian—information; the name “Gospa” (used in Medjugorje, the site of the Queen of Peace’s apparitions) signifies “Our Holy Lady.”

The Italian articles linked below can easily be read in English and other languages ​​by activating the automatic translation feature via the flags at the top left.

Enjoy the videos and articles, courtesy of Gospa News—founded by Fabio Giuseppe Carlo Carisio, who holds deep devotion and gratitude toward the Friar of the Stigmata.

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3 EXCEPTIONALS VIDEOS ON PADRE PIO DA PIETRELCINA

VIDEO 1 – St. Pio of Pietrelcina, The Friar Who Bore the Marks of Christ

VIDEO 2 – This Was the Life of Padre Pio: The Mystery Behind His Wounds and Miracles – 29 minutes

VIDEO 3 – The Extraordinary Life of Padre Pio – The Origins and The Stigmata – 63 minutes

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4 EXCLUSIVES REPORTS ON SAINT PIO

St. Pio’ Prophecy on Christians’ homelands, NWO Rockefeller’s Abortion law and Masons war

St. Pio’ Prophecy on Christians’ homelands, NWO Rockefeller’s Abortion law and Masons war

Saint Pio: “Holy Priest and Perfect Victim for Jesus.” Charity and Supernatural Gifts of the Stigmatized Franciscan Friar.

SAN PIO: «SACERDOTE SANTO E VITTIMA PERFETTA PER GESU’». Carità e Doni Soppranaturali del Padre Francescano con le Stimmate

“THE POWERFUL FIRE OF SAINT PIO”: A recollection by his spiritual son, Father Guglielmo, on the 70th anniversary of his priesthood at the age of 97.

“IL POTENTE FUOCO DI SAN PIO“. Ricordo del Figlio Spirituale Padre Guglielmo nel 70° del Sacerdozio a 97 anni (VIDEO)

“STOP GENOCIDES, STOP WEAPONS”. The SAINT PIO’s BISHOP THUNDERS vs EU for REARM Plan: “I am Ashamed to be European…”

“STOP GENOCIDES, STOP WEAPONS”. The SAINT PIO’s BISHOP THUNDERS vs EU for REARM Plan: “I am Ashamed to be European…”

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RELATED POSTS

45th Medjugorje Anniversary – MISTERY in VATICAN! Late Cardinal Ruini Certified the Holy Lady’s Apparitions as Authentic (Video). Then “Masonic Clergy” Hid this

Holy Lady’s Victory against Freemasonry in Lourdes. Miracles’ Cave reopened by the Christian Empress thanks Shepherdess Bernadette

The SAINT, the KING and the SATANIC FREEMASONRY. St. John Bosco’s Prophecy and Fight of to Defend Christianity by the Italian Masons Persecutions

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by Nicolas Hulscher, MPH – originally published on his Substack Focal Points

All links to previopus Gospa News post or videos have deen added in the aftermath by virtue of the ties with topic covered

A coalition of 168 physicians, scientists, researchers, health-freedom advocates, and public figures—collectively representing over 63 million followers across social media—has just sent an open letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Donald Trump calling for decisive action on the mRNA platform.

The effort was coordinated by Dr. Mary Talley Bowden and includes signatories such as Dr. Peter McCullough, Louisiana Deputy Surgeon General Dr. Sean Troxclair, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson, and myself. The full list is at the bottom of this article.

The letter argues that current federal actions have fallen short of the health-freedom movement’s stated goals and calls for the removal of mRNA/gene-therapy-derived vaccine technologies, termination of the COVID-19 PREP Act declaration, repeal of the PREP Act, an end to pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer advertising, and reforms addressing conflicts of interest and coercive healthcare incentives.

“The COVID mRNA SHOTS qualify as GENE THERAPY according to the EU’s definition” Eminent Canadian Bioimmunologist Jessica Rose sentenced

Below is the full open letter and list of signatories:

Open Letter Regarding the Removal of the mRNA Platform

Dear Secretary Kennedy and President Trump,

Executive summary

As influential leaders within the MAHA and health freedom movements, we are writing to object to policies under your oversight related to the mRNA platform, and to call you to act on our policy goals.

While the centerpiece of the MAHA and health freedom agenda has been removal of mRNA shots, you have failed to take decisive action on this front despite overwhelming credible evidence to the harm of this technology. Instead, your policies related to mRNA technology are neutered and self-defeating, putting pregnant women and children at risk, misleading parents and eroding their rights, and failing to help those harmed by vaccines.

If you continue to ignore our central issue of removing the mRNA platform, the MAHA and health freedom movements will withdraw their support of you, and you will face the political consequences.

Our objections

We are writing to express deep concerns about policies emerging from HHS, the CDC, and the FDA. Specifically, we object to:

• The administration of COVID mRNA shots to over 50 million Americans this year. Included are 7 million children, despite no studies demonstrating prevention of hospitalization or death and voluminous data demonstrating severe harms, including deaths of children (at least 10 acknowledged by the FDA to date).
• The appointment of Erica Schwartz to lead the CDC, who declared during her Senate confirmation hearing that mRNA technology is safe and effective. As you are well aware, it is not possible to make legally valid determinations of safety or efficacy for EUA Countermeasures under ongoing public health emergency under the PREP Act. No technology can be presumptively deemed safe or effective for medical applications for all people or all ages and health statuses.
• The approval of a new mRNA flu shot that was not tested against a true placebo, lacks long-term safety data, did not measure hospitalization or death outcomes, showed significantly higher side effects, higher deaths, and was not compared to early treatment or any alternative prophylaxis.
• The absence of meaningful help for those injured from the mRNA shots.

Brain Damages after COVID mRNA Vaccines: Pfizer Knew of 44,000 Injured since 2020! Study confirms Alert already launched by CDC and FDA

• The HHS award of $1.24 billion contracts with Pfizer for future mRNA shots, including for children.
• Failure of the CDC to provide up-to-date cancer statistics amid rising concerns of accelerating incidence of cancer linked to mRNA shots.
• Failure to enforce the contractual obligations of mRNA shot providers to report adverse events to VAERS.

Removal of the mRNA platform from the market remains one of the central goals of the grassroots medical freedom movement.

From SONG ON COVID-VACCINE (Video) to the “Brief Battle” vs LETHAL TURBO-CANCER. The Tragic and Mysterious Story of Dolly Parton

Millions of concerned citizens set aside partisan differences and identities to support the historic MAGA/MAHA alliance. Instead of decisive policy actions on these core issues, we see distractions, linguistic misdirections, and watered-down announcements that avoid serious action on the deadly mRNA injections.

Meaningless and constitution-corroding executive action

Despite the Executive Order from August 10, 2026 reducing the recommended vaccination schedule from 17 to 11 types of vaccines, it simultaneously elevates pneumococcal and HPV shots into the “universal core recommendation”.

The elevation of HPV shots to universal core recommendation is surprising given Merck just reached a $50M settlement¹ with 200 plaintiffs who alleged the Gardasil HPV vaccine caused autoimmunity. In addition, the EO promotes the unconstitutional notion of “shared” decision making between the federal government and parents with respect to the mRNA and some additional vaccines. This Orwellian language does not belong in a free society.

Overwhelming credible data calls for the removal of mRNA

We do not need more data to determine whether mRNA products should be removed from the market. The data are already in from multiple credible sources, including over 4,550 peer reviewed publications, the Pfizer documents released through Aaron Siri’s lawsuits, the VAERS and V-safe datasets, and data from foreign governments.

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These sources document catastrophic levels of deaths and serious injuries from the mRNA injections, as well as reproductive harm, including approximately 400% increase in miscarriage rates.

Self-defeating action puts pregnant women at risk, erodes parental rights

You stated that the shots were removed from the CDC recommendation for pregnant women. Yet pregnancy remains listed as a “high-risk” health category in the revised FDA policy for mRNA shots. It is especially troubling that the new versions of these injections are recommended for all pregnant women, even though this platform has never been tested and proven safe in pregnancy.

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Pregnant women have not been made safer by this linguistic shift. Removing the mRNA injection from CDC recommendations for pregnant women and healthy children is meaningless when the American Academy of Pediatrics, to which the vast majority of pediatricians belong, still recommends all babies get a mRNA shot.

Further, the CDC still recommends the shots for every child except those labeled “healthy.” Those outside of this category include children with minor ailments such as an acute illness or allergies. The risks of these shots far outweigh any benefits, particularly given they now carry an FDA warning for increased risk of myocarditis and pericarditis in children.

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Parental choice is not realistic when parents are not getting informed consent on the true risks of these products. CDC language appears to erode parental rights. Even for healthy children, the CDC frames the decision as one that parents must “share” with healthcare providers—including pharmacists who lack authority to treat patients. By treating the decision to inject a child with mRNA as a “shared decision,” while treating routine injections as the default, a dangerous legal precedent is being set that assigns powers to the federal government that have historically belonged solely to parents.

Failure to remove labeling of COVID-19 injections as FDA-approved

The CDC’s COVID shot policy claims to be evidence-based. However, no evidence has been provided—and none exists to our knowledge—showing that the categories of people labeled “vulnerable” under this policy would benefit from mRNA injections.

A formal Citizen Petition authored by Children’s Health Defense, asking to properly relabel the COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna as “EUA Countermeasures” is pending with HHS since December 8, 2025.

Under the PREP Act declaration for COVID emergency, the products that went on the market de novo as “EUA Countermeasures” – a non-investigational legal status – cannot be declared “safe, effective and fully approved by the FDA” without complying with the investigational pharmaceutical product requirements under the applicable federal law.

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The PREP Act was extended by the Biden Administration in December 2024 and upheld by you to date to last until December 31, 2029. The COVID-19 injections never underwent legally valid investigational assessment for safety and efficacy, being subject to only emergency distribution requirements, since the PREP Act precludes use of bio-chemical compounds in clinical investigation.

This Petition gathered a record number of public comments in support of it (over 104,000). Your failure to respond to this Petition speaks louder than any placating HHS / Trump Administration messaging on vaccine schedule issues in advance of the midterm elections.

Conflating clearly established risks with an automatically assumed benefit from a product that remains a poorly regulated, liability-free EUA Countermeasure under the PREP Act emergency declaration defies both scientific reason and common sense.

The health freedom movement will withdraw support without action

We did not fight to place you in positions of leadership so that our clearly stated policy goals would suffer a “bait and switch” that rebranded the grassroots powerful objection to the damaging mRNA platform as a concern about coloring agents in Skittles.

Health freedom is not the possession of Secretary Kennedy or his advisors. Health freedom agenda arose from the voices of millions of those impacted by the harmful government policies during the pandemic.

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The MAHA/health freedom vote was a historic game-changer. Neither Republicans nor the Democrats could have prevailed without this critical swing vote.

Health freedom voters can and will walk away if we continue to see inaction—or condescending non-policy—on our core issues.

If you continue to ignore the centerpiece of our policy agenda—removing all mRNA products covered by PREP Act emergency declarations entirely from the market—you will pay a political price. We will run our own candidates at the state level, and we will support other challengers and sponsors who share our values and advance our draft bills at the federal level for the midterms and for 2028.

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Our call to action

We ask you to deliver our actual policy goals in the near term, or face the political consequences:

1. Ban mRNA/gene therapy-derived technologies for all vaccines, due to their demonstrated abject failure regarding safety, efficacy, and disease prevention after more than four years of real-world use and billions of doses administered.
2. Terminate the PREP Act declaration for COVID injections, as no emergency exists. Extending this declaration, with its ironclad liability shield for manufacturers and administrators, serves no public health interest.
3. Recommend that Congress repeal the PREP Act entirely, due to its numerous constitutional conflicts.
4. Ban pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer advertising, as is the practice in every other country except New Zealand.
5. Review and revise current HHS-level policies that create perverse incentives for healthcare providers to engage in medical coercion, including but not limited to vaccinations.
6. End conflicts of interest at the CDC, FDA, NIH, and NIAID.

by Nicolas Hulscher, MPH – originally published on his Substack Focal Points

Epidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough Foundation

Support our mission: mcculloughfnd.org

Please consider following both the McCullough Foundation and my personal account on X (formerly Twitter) for further content.

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The names below with a link are those for which we have written an article on Gospa News regarding vaccines.

Signatories

Deborah Adams, RN
Sally Adams, DVM
Adnan Al-Daini, PhD
Arden Andersen, DO, MSPH, PhD
Lars Bo Appel, World Council for Health
Robert Apter, MD
Anthony Arnott, MD
Raphael Balbino, MD
Clayton Baker, MD, Brownstone Institute Senior Scholar, Global Wellness Forum Council
Bradley Banko, MD
Richard Bartlett, MD, Texas HHS Meritorious Service Award, Texas Health Disparities Taskforce
Nancy Benedict, RN
Laura Bevis, DNP, APRN
Kimberly Biss, MD, FACOG, Senior OBGYN Fellow for Independent Medical Alliance
Marsha Blakeslee, DO, Personaldocs LLC
Mary Talley Bowden, MD, Americans for Health Freedom, Independent Medical Alliance, VSRF
Avery B. Brinkley, Jr., MD
Mark Brody, MD
Margaret Aranda Brown, MD, PhD, CTP
Lisa Bryhn, MD
Dariusz Brzezinkski, DC
Ora Burstein, MD
David B. Collum, PhD.
Carrie S Cannon, MD, MS, CTP
Buckley Carlson
Tucker Carlson
Renee Carlson, BSN, RN (ret)
Lora Chamberlain, DO
Pete Chambers, LTC (Ret), DO
Geeta Chougule, World Council for Health
Liz Churchill, Medical Freedom Activist
Ryan Cole, MD, Head of Medical and Scientifc Affairs, Independent Medical Alliance
Esther N. Cooper, MD, Texas Medical Do No Harm Physician Activist
Jean Coyer, NP
Greta Crawford, Survivor of COVID Hospital Protocol, Founder of ProtocolKills.com
Michelle A. Cretella, MD, Past Executive Director of the American College of Pediatricians
Barbara A. Crothers, DO, FCAP, FMCP-M
John Davidson, Director, “Epidemic of Fraud”
Hannah Davis, BSN, RN
John Day, MD
Xylie Desiree, Founder, Interest of Justice
Maryanne Demasi, PhD, Investigative Journalist
Jan DeNapoli, MHS, PA (ret)
Jimmy Dore, Host of “The Jimmy Dore Show”
Jeff Dornik, CEO Pickax
William Campbell Douglass III, MD, MS – DutyToDissent.Substack.com
Edward Dowd, Phinance Technologies
Henry Ealy, Energetic Health Institute
Richard Edgerly, MD
Charles Fall, Green Liberty Caucus
Brian Festa, Esq.
Harry Fisher, EMT, Medical Freedom Activist
Catherine Austin Fitts, The Solari Report
Christina Flaming, CRNA, DNAP
Jon Fleetwood, Investigative Journalist
Kim D. Folse, DC
Tracy Forker, RN
Jeremy Friedman, Esq.
Lynn Fynn, MD, Global COVID Summit, Independent Medical Alliance
Suzanne Gazda, MD
Eleftherios Gkioulekas, PhD, Professor
Simon Goddek, PhD
Russ Gonnering, MD, MMM, FACS, CPHQ(ret)
Dana H. Granberg-Nill, MD, COO Goldcare.com
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Former U.S. Representative – GA
Erin Greer, MD
Arthur Grinstead, MD
Joseph Guarino, MD, Piedmont Occupational and Urgent Care
Meredith Harwell, DC
Sierra Hamm, RN, BSN, World Council for Health
Dan Hartman, Father of COVID vaccine victim Sean Hartman
Thomas F. Haviland, 2022-2025 “Worldwide Embalmer Blood Clot Survey”
Mary Helms, Health Freedom Advocate
Margaret Hertel, Naturalist
Eric Hensen, DO
Jennifer Hibberd, DDS, FRCDC, Global COVID Summit
Trisha Hope, National Delegate, Texas
Lyndsey Nicole House, RN
Nicolas Hulscher, MPH, Epidemiologist, McCullough Foundation
John Humiston, MD
Stella Immanuel, MD, Faith and Freedom
Ehsan Joader, Medical Freedom Advocate
Daniel Jones, APRN, FNP-C
Jack Jasper, The Paradox Press
Bobbie Jo Jenkins, RN
Sayer Ji, Founder Restore the 1st and Greenmedinfo, Chairman Global Wellness Forum
Shannon Joy, The Shannon Joy Show
Laura Kasner, “Worldwide Embalmer Blood Clot Survey”
Tamra Kelly, MSN, CRNA, APRN
Sandy Kim, MD
Stacy Kiraly-Duran, RPh
Steven Kirsch, Founder, Vaccine Safety Research Foundation
Deanna Kline, AGNP-C, MSN, RN, Author, Substack NPTru4u
Jack Kruse, MD, Kruse Longevity Centers, Inc
Brian Kung, MD
Karl Lambert, ARNP
Seth Landry, FNP
Sasha Latypova, Independent Investigator and Writer, “Due Diligence and Art”
Tess Lawrie, PhD, Founder, World Council for Health
Levi Leatherberry, National Organizer for Medical Freedom
Lionel Lee, DO, FACOEP
Susan Lee, MD
Debbie Lerman, The Brownstone Institute
Maria Liljeblad, World Council for Health
Katarina Lindley, DO FACOFP, Americans for Health Freedom, Independent Medical Alliance
John Littell, MD
Lisa Lopes, World Council for Health
Donna Lowery, RN
Aseem Malhotra, MD
Robert Malone, MD, MS, pioneer of mRNA technology
Jill G. Malone, PhD
Leslie Manookian, Founder/President, Health Freedom Defense Fund
Ben Marble, MD, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee
Allen Martin, Parent of COVID vaccine victim Trista Martin
Taylor Martin, Parent of COVID vaccine victim Trista Martin
Thomas Massie, U.S. Representative – KY
Jonathan Maxham, DO
Kevin McCairn, PhD, Synpatek Labs
Culpepper McCuller, MD, Informed Health Initiative
Peter McCullough, MD, President, McCullough Foundation
Shane Mekeland, Rep., MN (R) District 27A
Reni Moon, MD
Kirk Moore, MD, Ex-Defendant, Freedom Surgical and Aesthetics
Cindy L. Morris, MD, World Council for Health
David Nelson, PhD
MyHuong Nguyễn, MD
Hanna Parikka, MSc, Biotechnology
Gayln Perry, MD
Ivan Raiklin, Esq., Green Beret Lieutenant Colonel (ret)
Tom Renz, Esq.
Charles Rixey, MA, MBA, Edogawa Hospital & D.R.A.S.T.I.C.
Brian Roberts, Americans for Health Freedom
Jessica Rose, The Brownstone Institute
Jeanne A. Rungby, MD, World Council for Health
Molly Rutherford, MD, Americans for Health Freedom
Erica Samp, Vaccine-injured mother from Iowa with Federal lawsuit pending
Andy Schmitt, The Paradox Press
Carl Scott, PhD, Professor, Author, Dissident Conservative Substack
Cynthia Shoemake, RN
Michelle Simpson, RN
Brad Skistimas, Five Times August
Patrick Slater, MD, Austin Ear Clinic
Laurel Starr, MD
Daniel Stock, MD, Senior Fellow, Independent Medical Alliance
Mary Kelly Sutton, MD
Edward Szall, CEO, TLM Global, Producer, Died Suddenly
James Thorp, MD, ObGYN – Maternal Fetal Medicine
Mark Trozzi, MD, World Council for Health
Sean Troxclair, MD, Deputy Surgeon General of Louisiana
Tamella Trulson, MD
Jeffrey Tucker, The Brownstone Institute
Dan Twelmeyer, Medical Freedom Activist, Iowa
Suzanne Vandenhul, MD
Kenneth G. Varley, MD, FRCPC, BSc, MSc, MBA
Rajeev Varma, MD
Joe Varon, MD, President and CMO, Independent Medical Alliance
David Vella, MD, CovidAccountabilityNow.org
Denise Verni, PA
Kelly Victory, MD, President, Victory Health
Joel Wallskog, MD, Co-Chair React19
Bret Weinstein, PhD
Sheri Weinstein, MD, Founder, Health and Freedom Forum
Marcus Wheeler, MD
Lauren Witzke
Gizela Wolan-Szymanski, RN
Katherine Zbodula, NP
Andrew Zywiec, MD, Co-founder, CEO Ekklesia Research Group

In July 1952, reports of a railway disaster in Poland began circulating in the Western media. According to these reports, a Soviet military train derailed near the Polish town of Rzepin on 9 July 1952, killing around 160 Red Army soldiers who were returning to the Soviet Union. The train reportedly left the tracks between Rzepin and Boczów and plunged into a lake. What makes this alleged accident interesting is the uncertainty surrounding whether it actually happened.

The accident as reported by various western newspapers. Credit. Newspaper.com

After seeing it, I can understand why Israel finds it so threatening. Its subjects described factory-scale targeting, enabled by artificial intelligence, in which little effort was made to avoid enormous numbers of civilian casualties. The Israeli military made a series of choices that ensured Gaza would become a killing field

On 19 November 2025, Indian police raided the ‘Kashmir Times’ in Jammu. They said they were on an “anti-terror” operation. The offices had been shut since 2022 and were in dilapidated condition, the equipment largely defunct. Yet, the police claimed to have recovered a “pistol and live AK-47 cartridges.” 

Since 2018, only five journalists have faced cases under India’s draconian anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Trials rarely start, leaving journalists in a state of perpetual purgatory, even if they are out on bail under onerous conditions.

Before the police came charging into these unused offices last year, the ‘Kashmir Times’, founded by my father in 1954, had long suffered sustained persecution – the seizure of records, of equipment, the harassment of staffers, the use of social media to spread slurs, trumped up charges of tax evasion and the embedding of spies.

The first ever copies of Kashmir Times, initially a weekly, were seized by the government. In 1983, my father survived a murderous assault with serious injuries inflicted by a Hindu nationalist mob. I joined the newspaper in 1989, as the armed militancy, the ‘insurgency’ against the Indian state, became widespread, and experienced firsthand the struggle to report the news accurately and truthfully. The government would frequently withdraw its advertising, which was the main source of funding for most news outlets. We were besieged on several fronts, facing down the state, militants and aggressive Hindu nationalists.

In 2019, as Indian prime minister Narendra Modi began his second term in office, his government removed the special autonomous status granted to Jammu and Kashmir and protections that had existed for nearly 70 years. Once a state, Jammu and Kashmir was split into two federally governed territories. The Indian-administered part of Kashmir – the subject of several military conflicts between India and Pakistan, with both countries claiming the entire disputed territory while controlling a portion of it – had effectively become a police state and control of the media was a critical component of this transformation.    

As Executive Editor of the ‘Kashmir Times’, one of the oldest newspapers in the region and the largest, with four editions, I petitioned India’s Supreme Court against the six-month-long internet shutdown that the Modi government imposed in 2019. But by 2020, three editions of the ‘Kashmir Times’ had shut down and the fourth only limped along, a once daily newspaper that was now only occasionally published. By February 2022, even this edition was shut down. I left India with my husband Prabodh Jamwal, the editor of the ‘Kashmir Times’, and revived it as a digital newsroom in exile in the United States in November 2023. 

But, as the so-called terror investigation and the mysterious discovery of weapons in our long disused office in 2025 showed, the ‘Kashmir Times’ remained a thorn in the side of the Modi government. The Indian prime minister has frequently presented India on the international stage as the “mother of democracy” and the “Vishwaguru”, a moral exemplar and teacher to the world. Just last week, between September 12 and 13, Delhi hosted Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian as part of the annual BRICS meeting, the global group founded initially by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (hence the acronym) that is increasingly being presented as an alternative power centre to the American-led Western alliance. For an India seeking to portray itself as not just an emerging superpower but as a democratic force, it is vital that Kashmir remain repressed, hidden away from global scrutiny.  

It’s why, even as a newsroom in exile, we continue to be pursued by an Indian government seeking to tarnish our credibility, to deny us the right to report on Kashmir. We are being subject to a vendetta and it represents what has happened to journalism in Kashmir. Journalists have been silenced by the Modi government, Kashmiri voices strangled, and the local media industry deliberately destroyed. 

What is happening to journalism in Kashmir is a harbinger of what lies ahead for the rest of India.

A model of suppression

Geeta Seshu of Free Speech Collective, which monitors press freedoms in India, argues that Kashmir is a laboratory where every strategy of media suppression is tested and perfected for use elsewhere. India, which once had a noisy, argumentative press, now ranks at a lowly 157 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index. Reporters Without Borders, which compiles the ranking, says “press freedom is in crisis” in Modi’s India. 

The 2023 Digital Personal Data Protection Act provided a “dangerous framework for expansion of surveillance and censorship” across the country. It empowered the government to demand data from any entity, including journalists, effectively requiring them to reveal their sources. The amendments to the 2020 Information Technology Rules already burden intermediaries with harsh obligations and have been used to arrest journalists, block websites and compel social media platforms to restrict content. Recently, Instagram restricted posts about reports of Kashmiris shot by Indian security forces using pellet guns on unarmed protestors. 

Seshu’s fear that what happens in Kashmir will be replicated in the Indian mainland has largely been borne out. For example, in 2023, nearly 50 journalists associated with the portal ‘NewsClick’ – some only vaguely – were subject to arrests and interrogations. Many had their devices seized without due process. Their alleged crimes were essentially guilt by association, charges manufactured not from evidence but from a, frankly, lazy piece of journalism published in the  ‘New York Times’ about NewsClick’s funding. The charges were eventually quashed by an Indian court.  

Such court rulings are less likely in Kashmir. As a Kashmiri journalist based in Delhi says, “unlike the rest of India, Kashmir is a police state, and state control requires any independent journalism to be shut down.” 

In Kashmir, the Indian state has engineered a sophisticated edifice of control through securitization, surveillance and interrogation. It is invisible, intangible, and all-pervasive, a model that extracts quiet surrender and obedience. Unlike the targeted killings of journalists in Gaza, in Kashmir the control of information is seamlessly embedded in everyday life, requiring no enforcement, no traces of brutality. The journalists are essentially cowed into submission.

It began with the world’s longest internet shutdown – a complete lockdown for six months and a partial one for another year. What the shutdown created, despite a court verdict restoring communications, was fear among journalists compelled to work out of a government-surveilled computer facility, and then a perpetuation of that fear through consistent localized and temporary digital shutdowns. So commonplace are these shutdowns that they no longer warrant reporting or commentary.

In June 2020, the Modi government introduced a 53-page document called ‘J&K's Media Policy’ which gave the authorities sweeping powers to monitor, judge, and punish journalists, branding critical reporting as “fake news”, “unethical”, or “anti-national”. The authorities would also routinely remove government advertising from cash-strapped outlets and provide accreditation only to journalists deemed loyal, thus turning bureaucrats into arbiters of what constitutes news and who gets to report it. The effect is chilling.

And then there’s the monitoring of communications.

“I can’t say if they’re using Pegasus or some other spyware or technology,” a journalist told me about being interrogated over emails sent to an editor, “but they knew everything about our conversations.” In a 2021 leak, it turned out the Indian government was using Pegasus to spy on at least 40 Indian journalists, only one of who was Kashmiri.

But, a Kashmiri journalist says, “officials have told us ‘nothing in Kashmir is end-to-end encrypted’ and digital activity is clearly being constantly monitored.” No Kashmiri journalist I spoke to for this story, including those who contribute to the ‘Kashmir Times’, have the encrypted messaging Signal app, used worldwide by journalists, on their phones. Devices are routinely checked when journalists are summoned to police stations in Kashmir for questioning. Some said their devices were returned after being tampered with. “You face humiliation and beatings for using Signal and VPNs,” many journalists said. “You can only get away with it if you’re not on their radar,” said one. 

In November 2025, the Indian government issued a directive insisting on verifying the “bona fides” of journalists working in Jammu and Kashmir, and the police followed up by requiring journalists to part with personal information including biometrics and bank statements. In January this year, senior journalist Basharat Masood of The Indian Express spent seven hours at a Srinagar police station, then was summoned for three more days and told to sign a bond promising not to “repeat his mistake” – for reporting on the surveillance of mosquea surveillance, even as officials had already admitted to large-scale data collection and verification. 

Surveillance normalized

Police also surveil Kashmiris through the use of drone cameras, a network of 1,000 electronic cameras installed at major traffic junctions, and through unrestricted access to people’s social media activity across platforms ostensibly to track anti-India activity. During an illegal “Census 2024” drive, the police collected residents' personal data and GPS-tagged coordinates of homes. And the soon-to-be-rolled-out Jammu and Kashmir-specific digital identity cards that collects the data of entire households, purportedly to ensure the smooth rollout of welfare schemes, has also sparked local anxieties. 

Still, as pervasive as the surveillance is, it is journalists that find themselves in the firing line. Any critical word warrants a summons to a police station, interrogation, intimidation and even detention. This happens repeatedly, with journalists never aware of what specific “offence” might trigger a police summons. The reflex, after several such visits to police stations, is self-protection and self-censorship.

A Kashmiri journalist told me that the language the police use to summon journalists for questioning is particularly sinister. It is almost as if the police are enjoying instilling fear. “Aaj dastarkhan par aapki dawat hai”, for instance, is a typical summons. You are invited to a feast, the police say cynically, knowing a journalist is likely to be harshly questioned, even beaten.

Often, Kashmiri journalists, without notice, are placed on no-fly lists. Sanna Irshad Mattoo, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, was twice prevented from travelling abroad for exhibitions and award ceremonies, a pointed message that even international recognition offers no protection. At least twelve journalists have had their passports revoked; two of them were already abroad at the time, rendering them stateless. 

The Free Speech Collective filed a Right to Information (RTI) query in March 2024 to ascertain exactly how many Kashmiris had had their passports revoked or cancelled. The plea was rejected by the government on grounds of “national security”.

As India continues to press its case as a formidable, if still rising power, citing its 7.8% growth rate over the past quarter, it continues to be defensive and secretive about Kashmir. Foreign journalists are largely barred, or at least heavily restricted, from reporting from both Indian and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. In May, last year, India and Pakistan exchanged air strikes after a terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir and Modi fell out with Donald Trump over the latter’s claim to have stopped both nuclear powers from accelerating towards a disastrous war.

Despite Kashmir being a long-standing issue that merits global attention, reporting from the region has reduced to a trickle. 

A Google search of Kashmir-related news floods your screen with links, but it is bulk without substance. Articles read like a log of official announcements and statements, punctuated by the occasional piece on a shrinking water body, a development project, a political tussle over a non-issue, or unemployment figures. Each report floats like a loose, individual particle suspended in air, packaged and presented as definitive. No investigation into context. No excavation of the past. No interrogation of contributing factors. A story about an alleged terrorist’s hair transplant and cosmetic dentistry, based entirely on police sources, is passed off as an investigation into Kashmiri insurgency. A superficially detailed piece on anti-encroachment drives or home demolitions will carry little beyond the grief of the displaced, or the remarks of a politician whose interest in the community begins and ends with votes. A terrorist’s hair transplant story, based on the police version, passes off as an investigation into Kashmir’s complex insurgency dynamic. 

Kashmir fell off the radar a long time ago, says Free Speech Collective’s Geeta Seshu.  

Even mundane stories are difficult to report. No one wants to be quoted. A university professor said he could once “talk to journalists and trust they understood the context. Now, a single sentence can be pulled out, circulated on WhatsApp, and suddenly I’m either an anti-national or a government stooge. Both sides will use the same quote to attack you differently. Why would I take that risk?”

Tarushi Aswani, an Indian journalist, told me that “a curtain has been pulled over Kashmir by silencing journalists who ask questions.” Instead, she added, “press release journalism fills the vacuum, erasing the truth about Kashmir, its history, its politics, its development, environment and aspirations.” Kashmir is no longer looking at a mirror. The lack of truthful reporting means nothing is reflected back. Instead, Kashmiris are looking into the lens of a surveillance camera. 

*The eight Kashmiri journalists interviewed for this story spoke on condition of anonymity.

The post How Modi silenced Kashmir appeared first on Coda Story.

During the early 1860s, reports of violent robberies known as garrottings filled British newspapers. Victims were said to be attacked from behind, choked into unconsciousness, and robbed before their assailants vanished into the darkness. As sensational accounts multiplied, fear spread far beyond the actual crime scenes. Respectable citizens grew afraid to walk alone at night, politicians demanded action, and newspapers warned that London was facing a new and terrifying criminal menace.

On June 21, 1913, a tiny woman weighing barely 80 pounds climbed into an airplane over Los Angeles and prepared to do something no woman had ever done before. Suspended outside the aircraft in a small swing-like seat, Georgia Ann “Tiny” Broadwick pulled a release lever and dropped into empty space. Moments later, her parachute blossomed overhead and she drifted safely to earth. With that leap, Tiny Broadwick became the first woman to parachute from an airplane.

Yet this remarkable feat was only one chapter in her extraordinary career. A year later, during a military demonstration, she would help pioneer a technique that evolved into the modern ripcord, forever changing the way parachutists escaped from aircraft.

Broadwick ready to drop from an airplane piloted by Glenn Martin. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

On the morning of April 16, 1947, residents of Texas City, a busy industrial port on the Gulf Coast of Texas, watched smoke rise from a cargo ship moored at the docks. Fires aboard ships were not uncommon, and many people gathered along the waterfront to observe the firefighters at work. Few suspected that within minutes they would witness one of the most devastating industrial disasters in American history.

At 9:12 a.m., the French cargo vessel SS Grandcamp exploded with tremendous force. The blast shattered buildings, ignited refineries, hurled pieces of steel across miles of countryside, and killed hundreds of people. By the time the catastrophe ended, at least 581 people were dead and more than 5,000 injured. It remains the deadliest industrial accident in United States history.

A view of the port from a residential area after the 1947 Texas City Disaster. Credit: University of North Texas Libraries

Milo of Croton was the strongest man in the ancient Greek world, or so the stories say. A six-time Olympic champion, military hero, and larger-than-life celebrity, he became the subject of countless legends. Yet despite his extraordinary feats of strength, Milo is remembered today as much for the bizarre manner of his death as for his victories. According to ancient writers, the man who could carry a bull on his shoulders met his end while attempting to split a tree apart with his bare hands.

Milo of Croton, by Joseph-Benoît Suvée (1743–1807). Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Underneath the narrow streets, churches, and palaces of the Italian city of Siena lies a sprawling network of underground aqueducts that supplied water to the Tuscan city for centuries, enabling it to flourish despite a chronic lack of nearby rivers and streams. Extending for roughly 25 kilometers, the so-called Bottini constitute an ingenious hydraulic system that sustained the city from the Middle Ages until the early 20th century.

Fountain Fontebranda, its waters fed by Bottini. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Ancient history is usually told through grand things: ruined cities, royal tombs, battlefield weapons, and monuments built to make rulers look eternal. History loves the flashy stuff. Swords. Crowns. Burning cities. Mysterious tombs. Kings with dramatic beards. Paperwork? Not so much. But that is a mistake. Some of the most revealing things ever found from […]

The post 10 Boring Ancient Documents That Exposed Astonishing Secrets appeared first on Listverse.

There are ancient monuments that impress with their size and others that impress with their precision. The Sacred Well of Santa Cristina, in the municipality of Paulilatino, province of Oristano in Sardinia, belongs to the second group. Its basalt stones are carved and assembled with such geometric precision that, according to the site management center […]

For nearly seven decades, one of the most feared men in Rome lived an otherwise ordinary life. He sold umbrellas, attended church, and walked the narrow streets of the Borgo district near the Vatican. Yet whenever he crossed the Tiber River, Romans knew that someone was about to die.

His name was Giovanni Battista Bugatti, though history remembers him by a different name: Mastro Titta.

Across much of the world, powerful royal dynasties are things of the past. But you’d be shocked at how long some of them held power—or repeatedly regained it through cadet branches, restorations, and lines of descent. From the formidably influential Habsburg family to the French Capetians to Japan’s Imperial House, these are ten of the […]

The post 10 Royal Dynasties That Endured for Centuries appeared first on Listverse.

More than a century before Albert Einstein revolutionized physics with his theory of general relativity, and nearly two centuries before astronomers accepted the existence of black holes, an English clergyman and scientist named John Michell proposed a startling idea. In 1783, Michell suggested that some stars might possess such immense gravity that even light could not escape from them. These invisible objects, which he called "dark stars," bear a remarkable resemblance to what we now know as black holes.

Visualisation of a black hole. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Jeremy Schnittman

The world is a crazy place, and it always has been. Looking back through history, there are seemingly endless stories about real-life situations, events, moments, and acts that now seem very hard to believe. But they were real, they were documented, and in many cases, they are every bit as unsettling today as they were […]

The post 10 Super Unsettling Historical Facts We Wish Were False appeared first on Listverse.

It appears that quite a few people have been killed or brought to justice for having failed to deliver on their promise of turning ordinary metals into gold, in other words, alchemy. One was the English chemist James Price, who took his own life after his deception was exposed. Another was Georg Honauer, whose downfall ended not in disgrace alone but in a spectacular public execution.

Georg Honauer was born in Olomouc, Moravia (now in the Czech Republic), in 1572. In 1596, he entered the service of Friedrich I, Duke of Württemberg, in Stuttgart after persuading the duke that he was both a skilled goldsmith and a successful alchemist.

An etching depicting the execution of the alchemist, Georg Honauer. Credit: Science History Institute