Free Republic

The CDC altered a webpage Wednesday dealing with autism and vaccines to state that the idea that vaccines don't cause autism "is not an evidence-based claim." The page notes that "studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism," adding that "Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities." The development was first reported by The New York Times.The site now contains information often cited by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including that the rise in autism diagnoses since the 1980s coincides with more childhood vaccines administered. "Though the cause of autism is likely...

ABC News might soon find itself staring down another expensive defamation lawsuit from President Trump, and honestly, it wouldn't come as a shock. On a recent episode of The View, Joy Behar confidently claimed that it was "obvious" Trump was a pedophile connected with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, implicating him in Epstein’s crimes. This wild accusation came without a shred of evidence tying Trump to Epstein’s criminal activities. In fact, Trump is arguably one of the few prominent figures who did the right thing and severed ties with Epstein years ago, unlike many Democrats who have since been ensnared...

Female participation keeps rising Female participation continues to be one of the brightest growth areas for USA Hockey. The 2024-25 season saw 4,784 more girls and women register, a 5.1 percent increase year-over-year. That’s the largest non-pandemic bounce the female category has seen since USA Hockey began breaking out female-specific data.

“Down with autocracy” and “Down with war” read the banners of the March 8 (Feb. 17 in the Julian calendar) Women’s Day march in St. Petersberg, Russia that began the 1917 Revolution… Leon Trotsky would later reflect, “The February revolution was begun from below… the initiative being taken by the women textile workers of their own accord, demanding bread for the children.” Besides the desperation of the times, Russia had strong currents of feminism, going back to Catherine the Great who ruled the empire from 1762 to 1796… The Russian Revolution was the first in history to seek women’s emancipation...

And the lesson that our professional betters in Washington have drawn over the past few weeks is that means they are as bad as Nick Fuentes. They are Nazis too!Tucker Carlson: "But of course, they are not Nazis by and large. They are just American young people. And so the question is—and it is a pressing question if you care about the future of the country—why have they been listening to Nick Fuentes? Sincerely, like what is this?Why aren’t they listening to somebody from the Heritage Foundation or the Daily Wire? Why do they believe Nick Fuentes more than they...

Disgraced former Harvard President Larry Summers spent his honeymoon on billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's private island after marrying one of the school's English professors. The professor, Elisa New, flew to Little Saint James on Epstein's infamous 'Lolita Express' with Summers, who left the school earlier this week over embarrassing emails where he referred to Epstein as his 'wingman.'The couple flew from Bedford, Massachusetts to the island on December 11, 2005, ten days after their wedding and while Summers was still president, according to publicly available flight logs obtained by The Harvard Crimson.The logs show Summers and New flew alongside Epstein's...

I must say I am very nervous, so…Well, thank you, Ambassador Waltz, for this invitation. It is an honour to stand on this stage with you and the other distinguished speakers here today, to shine a spotlight on the deadly threat faced by thousands of Christians in Nigeria. I would like to thank President Trump for prioritising this issue and for his leadership on the global stage, and calling for urgent action to defend Christians in Nigeria, to combat extremism, and to bring a stop to violence against those who simply want to exercise their natural right to freedom of...

Grok Summary of Video Transcript:The speaker (a military analyst) discusses the major strategic shift caused by the U.S. finally supplying Ukraine with longer-range, modern ATACMS missiles (up to ~300 km / 200 miles range) in meaningful quantities.Key points from the summary:ATACMS are precision-guided, long-range army tactical missiles that have become a game-changer in the Ukraine war, especially for deep strikes against Russian rear-area targets.Ukraine previously only had short-range versions (~30–40 miles); the new ones allow strikes up to 200 miles inside Russia, targeting logistics hubs, troop concentrations, supply lines, and critical infrastructure.Recent Ukrainian strikes (last 24 hours at time of...

Comedian Jay Leno is taking his wedding vows seriously. Leno candidly opened up about honoring the promises he made more than 40 years ago as his wife, Mavis, battles advanced dementia. "The idea that you get married and take these vows — nobody ever thinks they’ll be called on to act on them, you know?" Leno said on the "Today" show.

Fool's Ball, Week Pigskin Pickem Thread, Week 12 Your home for all things Fool's Ball! In Memoriam Danny Lee (BENDER2)

German twin entertainers Alice and Ellen Kessler died together in Munich at 89 through medically assisted death, inseparable to the end. The sisters performed with Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte and Fred Astaire, launching an international career in 1955 after fleeing a few years earlier from East Germany to what was then West Germany. The women never married and requested to be buried together in one urn alongside their mother and beloved dog. They performed together with Frank Sinatra. With Harry Belafonte. With Fred Astaire. And on Monday, Germany’s Kessler twins — Alice and Ellen — ended their lives together...

New images from airport security video shows the UPS plane's left engine detach from the wing moments before the deadly crash.

The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika — an emblem of fascism and white supremacy inextricably linked to the murder of millions of Jews and the deaths of more than 400,000 U.S. troops who died fighting in World War II — as a hate symbol, according to a new policy that takes effect next month.Instead, the Coast Guard will classify the Nazi-era insignia as “potentially divisive” under its new guidelines. The policy, set to take effect...

It is a time of superlatives in the tech industry, with historic profits, stock prices and deal prices. It’s enough to make some people very nervous.It would not be a stretch to describe this period of hyperactive growth in the tech industry as a historic moment.Nvidia, which makes computer chips that are essential to building artificial intelligence, said on Wednesday that its quarterly profit jumped to nearly $32 billion, up 65 percent from a year ago and 245 percent from the year before that.Just three weeks ago, Nvidia became the first publicly traded company to be worth $5 trillion. Microsoft,...

It’s the ultimate homecoming photo — a smiling family rushing to reunite with a U.S. Air Force officer in 1973 who spent years as a POW in North Vietnam, his oldest daughter sprinting ahead with her arms outstretched, both feet off the ground. “Burst of Joy,” the iconic black-and-white image capturing the Stirm family at Travis Air Force Base in California, was published in newspapers throughout the nation. Taken by Associated Press photographer Sal Veder, it won a Pulitzer Prize and has continued to resonate through the years, a symbol of the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War....

Two male chimpanzees eating the plum-like fruit of the evergreen Parinari excelsa tree at Taï National Park in the Ivory Coast in 2021. Credit: Aleksey Maro/UC Berkeley and Taï Chimpanzee Project ========================================================================= A survey measuring the ethanol levels in fruits consumed by chimpanzees suggests that these animals are regularly exposed to alcohol. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, conducted the first direct measurements of ethanol in fruits naturally available to chimpanzees across their African habitats. The findings suggest that the animals could ingest the equivalent of more than two standard alcoholic drinks per day through their fruit-based diet. While...

Filmmaker Eugene Jarecki opens up about uncovering secrets, working with Pamela Anderson, and the global power struggle that turned the WikiLeaks founder into a political target. For filmmaker Eugene Jarecki, the story of The Six Billion Dollar Man began with a leak — one that shook even a seasoned documentarian known for tackling political corruption and moral collapse. “It started about five years ago,” Jarecki says. “My producing partner Kathleen Fournier and I came into possession of absolutely groundbreaking and shattering information on the Assange case that had never been seen by the public before.” That information, he adds, revealed...

https://babylonbee.com/news/in-show-of-support-for-immigrants-pope-leo-dons-new-papal-sombrero VATICAN — In a powerful show of solidarity with people who cross America's southern border illegally, Pope Leo XIV unveiled a brand new Papal Sombrero at the Vatican. The ornate Spanish headwear is trimmed with real gold and cost $12 million, according to sources. "Church teaching is clear on this. Walls are racist, and deporting illegal immigrants is a mortal sin," said Pope Leo as the Sistine Chapel Choir sang a lively rendition of "La Cucaracha" in Latin. "Also, our Catholic NGOs at the southern border are strapped for cash, and withholding these needed funds is an affront to...

NEW YORK, NY — Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced plans on Thursday to specifically target the rich with a new tax on anyone who makes more than $0.00 a year. The plan, dubbed the "How Much You Got?" Tax, was expected to go into effect in January after Mamdani officially takes office. He has called the tax a day-one initiative, claiming his bread lines would be a disaster without the increased revenue from taking all of everyone's money. "Everything will be free because we'll use everyone's money to pay for it," Mamdani said. "It's basic economics. You wouldn't understand." Officially, Mamdani...

Explanation: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka are the bright bluish stars from east to west (upper right to lower left) along the diagonal in this cosmic vista. Otherwise known as the Belt of Orion, these three blue supergiant stars are hotter and much more massive than the Sun. They lie from 700 to 2,000 light-years away, born of Orion's well-studied interstellar clouds. In fact, clouds of gas and dust adrift in this region have some surprisingly familiar shapes, including the dark Horsehead Nebula and Flame Nebula near Alnitak at the upper right. The famous Orion Nebula itself is off the right...