Free Republic

I didn’t notice it with the naked eye, but as soon as the time exposure ended and I looked at the camera’s back display, there it was — Saturn riding barebacked on the Galactic Dark Horse! The horse, more of a prancing pony, is a collection of dark nebulae in the southern sky beautifully placed for viewing on late June evenings. The Dark Horse is part of the Great Rift, a dark gap that splits the band of the Milky Way in half, starting at the Northern Cross and extending all the way down to the “Teapot” of Sagittarius in...

Coal company Murray Energy has sued HBO and its Sunday-night host, John Oliver, for what it says was a “false and malicious broadcast” last Sunday evening. It's seeking financial damages and a court order barring rebroadcasts of the segment's “defamatory statements.” Oliver's “Last Week Tonight” coal segment criticized the Trump administration's effort to revive the industry, saying coal jobs have dropped for decades and other energy alternatives are driving the industry's decline. He ribbed Murray Energy's CEO Robert Murray, who blames regulatory efforts by the Obama administration for damaging the coal industry. He said the 77-year-old looked like a “geriatric...

The 17-year-old was struck in the chest as he tried to jump on the dog, said the memo, a copy of which was reviewed by The Times. A deputy who had been bitten by the animal was also struck by a bullet fragment in the shooting. ... Authorities said the deputies had gone to a home in the 38500 block of 10th Street East around 3:40 a.m. in response to a call about a loud party. As they arrived, a pit bull charged at them and bit one of the deputies in the leg... The teenager, who was the owner...

Booze isn’t just for drinking anymore. Just in time for summer, one company has released a line of deodorants that smell like your favorite alcoholic beverages. ... The limited edition brunch boxed set from Native Cosmetics includes scents like Rosé, Mimosa and Sangria. ... A three-pack sells for $30 online, including shipping.

A bikini contest competitor is facing a battery charge for allegedly clobbering another female contestant over the head with high-heeled shoes, Florida police report. According to cops, Erica Kaitlyn Mize, 24, tangled with the victim last month during the Miss Sailfish Regatta Bikini Contest in Stuart on Florida’s Treasure Coast. Investigators allege that after the 11 bikini-clad contestants left the stage in Stuart’s waterfront Causeway Park, Mize tussled with the 23-year-old victim (who is the current girlfriend of Mize’s former boyfriend). As first reported by Will Greenlee at TCPalm, the victim told cops that Mize (pictured at right) warned her...

A report of a major earthquake off the coast of Santa Barbara was actually a false alarm based on a quake that happened in 1925. The U.S. Geological Survey sent out an email alert Wednesday afternoon saying a magnitude 6.8 quake had struck in the Pacific Ocean 10 miles west of Santa Barbara. The event was promptly deleted from the USGS website, but screenshots of the page made their way around social media. ... USGS geophysicist Rafael Abreu says researchers were working on the 1925 earthquake when the mistaken alert went out. Dr. Lucy Jones made light of the error,...

ate last month, an excavator operator was working at a peat bog in the Polish municipality of Mircze when he accidentally stumbled upon this glorious specimen of 14th century craftsmanship. The remarkably well-preserved longsword is a unique find for the area, and its discovery has prompted an archaeological expedition. The discoverer of the long sword, Wojciech Kot, donated the artifact to the Fr. Stanisław Staszic Museum in Hrubieszów, and the museum’s staff is currently analyzing the medieval weapon. The sword is badly corroded, but considering it’s been buried in a peat bog for over 600 years, its condition is rather...

A Georgia man caught urinating at a Metro Gold Line station in Pasadena Wednesday was carrying a cache of weapons, including a loaded AR-15-type rifle, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Christopher Goodine, 28, was relieving himself at the Sierra Madre Villa station, deputies said. Besides the rifle, he had a handgun, a machete, a rope, a notebook with odd writing in it, a suppressor and two loaded high-capacity magazines and additional rounds of ammunition inside a duffel bag. Deputies displayed those items during a news conference.

he recycling process is done in Fountain Valley at the Groundwater Replenishment System, which is the world’s largest facility to treat and purify wastewater and transform it into drinking water. “You’ll see this water tastes no different from any other water but can be a great source of additional water to help get us through our increasing demand for drinking water and through our increasing droughts,” said Mehul Patel, Director of Water Production for the OCWD. Here’s an interesting fact. The law currently limits using this recycled water to replenish groundwater basins or for irrigation purposes. But a new state...

The expedition’s destination is Nikumaroro, an uninhabited island some 1,000 miles north of Fiji. The members of TIGHAR have devoted the last three decades to testing what they call the Nikumaroro hypothesis—that when Earhart and Noonan couldn’t find Howland, they landed on Nikumaroro. ... The coral atoll is 350 nautical miles southwest of Howland, on the line of position (157 NW 337 SE) that Earhart identified in her last confirmed radio message. Up the northwest line, there’s nothing but empty ocean for thousands of miles. To the southeast are the Phoenix Islands, which include Nikumaroro. “If you don’t know where...

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said Tuesday that the Star Wars spinoff is parting ways with directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller due to different creative visions on the film. ... Lord and Miller had been filming the untitled project in London since January 2017 with stars Alden Ehrenreich as the young Han Solo and Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian. The supporting cast includes Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke and Thandie Newton. “Unfortunately, our vision and process weren’t aligned with our partners on this project. We normally aren’t fans of the phrase ‘creative differences’ but for once this cliché is true,” the...

Castile was a regular marijuana user who died with high levels of THC, the drug’s chemical component, in his system. ... ...Castile was open about his marijuana use, and posted pictures of it on his Instagram account in 2012. It says he lied on his application for a firearm permit by denying he was “unlawful user of any controlled substance.” ...Yanez smelled marijuana in Castile’s car after pulling him over, and Castile appeared unable to focus or follow commands. Castile ignored the officer’s repeated demands not to reach for the .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun in his pocket.

Airlines, it turns out, prefer the fuel efficiency of smaller planes like the Boeing 777 to the pack-em-in capacity of the Airbus A380. As a result, Airbus hasn’t scored any new orders for an A380 in more than a year. Its big plan to turn things around? Launch a new version, make it cheaper to fly, and slap on some winglets. This week at the Paris Air Show, Airbus announced the revamped “A380plus,” a refresh that packs even more passengers into the super-jumbo and tweaks the wing design. The upswept winglets found on most modern airliners boost fuel efficiency by...

The F-16 had tried to approach the aircraft carrying the defence minister even though it was flying over neutral waters, agencies said today, before a Russian Sukhoi-27 turned up to warn it off. Shoigu was reported to be en route to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad for a meeting to discuss how well Russia's western flank was defended. In dramatic footage appearing to show the incident unfolding, a Sukhoi-27 can be seen flying between an F-16 and another plane before tilting its wings. The F-16 then seems to fly off.

NASA will try to launch its artificial cloud-spawning rocket Saturday, June 24, between 9:07 p.m. EDT and 9:22 p.m. EDT (0107-0122 GMT), after a series of delays due to weather. You can watch it here beginning at 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 GMT). NASA will provide an update on the next launch attempt here. The rocket will launch to test a canister deployment system designed to eject ampoules containing gas that can create glowing artificial clouds in the night sky. Clear weather is vital for mission scientists in order to record the cloud deployment using ground-based cameras at the launch site...

Jerry Lynn, the homeowner, told a local news station that the clock’s presence in the wall is his fault, but that he never dreamed he would still be dealing with the issue well over a decade later. Lynn says he was using the clock, tied to a string and dangling inside the wall, to help him locate a spot in the wall where he needed to drill to run some wire. He set the alarm for ten minutes, then sent the clock down into the gap between the walls, hoping that listening for the chime would allow him to pinpoint...

In anticipation of a solar eclipse that will cross 14 states and more than 1,100 cities this summer, the U.S. Postal Service has issued a commemorative stamp that changes from total eclipse to full moon from the heat of a finger. The stamp, which will be unveiled at the University of Wyoming with NASA scientists in attendance, will be available for sale nationwide starting Tuesday. “With the release of these amazing stamps using thermochromic ink, we’ve provided an opportunity for people to experience their own personal solar eclipse every time they touch the stamps,” Jim Cochrane, the postal service’s chief...

he manager of the state’s power grid issued a statewide Flex Alert for Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday afternoon, urging residents to voluntarily conserve electricity to ease demand on the system. The Flex Alert issued by the California Independent System Operator, or Cal-ISO, will be in effect from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday throughout California. Residents were urged to set thermostats at 78 degrees or higher, close drapes and use fans to cool rooms, turn off unnecessary lights and appliances, and delay using major appliances until early in the morning or late in the evening. In response to...

The incident occurred Saturday evening when the woman fell into Silliman Creek near the Twin Lakes Trail and was subsequently swept downstream, according to the National Park Service. ... Record high temperatures in the region coupled with rapidly melting snow in mountain areas is causing swift, cold and dangerous river conditions, park officials warned. “River crossings fluctuate with temperature and time of day,” U.S. Park Ranger Leah Tobin said in a prepared statement. “Just because you are able to cross in the morning, does not mean the same crossing will be at the same level when you come back in...

A sailor from the cruiser Shiloh whom Navy officials said fell overboard last week, triggering a massive search-and-rescue effort, has been discovered on board. Presumed dead after going missing June 8, Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Mechanical) 3rd Class Peter Mims reportedly hid himself in one of the engine rooms, according to two sources familiar with the situation. It is unclear how Mims survived a week in the engineering space or where he was hiding. He will be flown off Shiloh for evaluation soon. Mims' disappearance prompted a massive, 50-hour search-and-rescue effort off the coast of Japan that included Japanese Coast...