Free Republic

Smoking has surpassed injecting as the most common way of taking drugs in U.S. overdose deaths, a new government study suggests. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called its study published Thursday the largest to look at how Americans took the drugs that killed them. CDC officials decided to study the topic after seeing reports from California suggesting that smoking fentanyl was becoming more common than injecting it. Potent, illicit versions of the painkiller are involved in more U.S. overdose deaths than any other drug.

Gay and transgender people—both in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank—face an extraordinary level of persecution.The Israel-Hamas war has made political allies out of some unusual bedfellows. Yet the strangest pairing on display thus far is probably "Queers for Palestine," most notably because those protesters would risk summary execution should they take their demonstration to the Gaza Strip. The movement isn't new. But following the terrorist attacks launched against Israel by Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls Gaza, it has seen a sort of reemergence at various protests. "Queer rights! Trans rights!" protesters are heard chanting in a video...

<p>CENTRAL, Ariz. (AP) - A man in eastern Arizona has died after authorities say he asked another man to shoot his bulletproof vest.</p> <p>The Graham County Sheriff's Office says the incident happened Monday evening as 25-year-old Parker Ray Lynch and two male acquaintances were shooting together in the area of Central.</p>

Police officers allegedly stood by and watched for 15 minutes as a man who relapsed on heroin drowned in the Tennessee River after fleeing from them, according to a newly filed lawsuit. Kimberly Williams-Clabo claims her son, Mika Wheeler Clabo, would still be alive if it weren’t for the alleged negligence of the Knoxville Police Department, which encountered him “acting erratically” on the morning of July 25, 2022. Police said that when they approached Clabo, 30, who struggled with a heroin addiction, he ran from them and jumped into the river, where he got caught on vines and drowned. In...

A daredevil climber fell to his death from a high-rise building in Hong Kong after last being seen knocking on a window on the 68th floor. Remi Lucidi, 30, a Frenchman also known as Remi Enigma, was seen by a building worker knocking from the outside of the window, suggesting that he may have been trapped and asking for help, the South China Morning Post reported. Tregunter Tower, from which Mr Lucidi fell on Thursday, is located in the city’s Mid-Levels area. He had fallen 721ft to his death by the time police arrived and officers found his camera, containing...

A daredevil climber fell to his death from a high-rise building in Hong Kong after last being seen knocking on a window on the 68th floor. Remi Lucidi, 30, also known as “Remi Enigma”, was seen by a building worker knocking from the outside of the window, suggesting he may have been trapped and asking for help, reported the South China Morning Post (SCMP). Tregunter Tower, which Mr Lucidi fell from on Thursday, is located in the city’s upscale Mid-Levels area. The Frenchman had fallen 721ft to his death by the time the police arrived and officers found his camera,...

A French man who is known for extreme sports is dead after falling off the 68th-story of Hong Kong residential. Remi Lucidi, 30, was climbing the Tregunter Tower complex when the man fell according to the South China Morning Post. Lucidi, known online as Remi Enigma, was pronounced dead at the scene. According to Hong Kong officials, Lucidi arrived at the building around 6 p.m. and told the security guard that he was visiting a friend on the 40th floor. A security officer attempted to apprehend Lucidi after the alleged friend confirmed he was not acquainted with Lucidi — but...

Two parents are sounding the alarm after their teenage daughter suffered a horrible death while attempting a deadly social media trend. *** Two parents are sounding the alarm after their teenage daughter suffered a horrible death while attempting a deadly social media trend. Esra had been inhaling fumes from a deodorant can, causing her body to completely shut down. She was rushed to the hospital where she remained on life support for eight days. Doctors ultimately determined her brain was “damaged beyond repair.” Haynes’ family decided to then turn off life support. Esra was participating in a deadly Tiktok challenge...

A 17-year-old boy slipped and plummeted to his death from the popular new 6th Street Viaduct in Los Angeles, after climbing the bridge as part of an apparent social media stunt, according to police. The youth’s body was found at about 2 a.m. Saturday on the eastern side of the span, which has become a troubling magnet for gunplay, dangerous stunts and careless online clout-chasing since it opened about a year ago. The teen, whose name has not been released, was taken to LA County USC Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said...

Theo Khelfoune Ferreras cared passionately about environmental issues and had recently been helping out Greenpeace as a fundraiser before his life tragically ended A teenager’s worries over climate change and environmental issues ultimately caused him to take his own life, according to his heartbroken sister. ‘Passionate activist’ Theo Khelfoune Ferreras, from Walthamstow, died on March 29, 2023, less than two months before his 20th birthday. Now his sister Lisa, 18, has spoken out about the troubles that were affecting her older brother, who recently became a Greenpeace fundraiser, and what led to him ending his life so abruptly. Lisa told...

A man has killed himself following a six-week-long conversation with artificial intelligence about the so-called climate crisis. He apparently committed suicide in his effort to try to save the planet. The report comes from Off the Press, where the case of the Belgian man was detailed. His widow, who wanted to remain anonymous, said her husband "became extremely eco-anxious when he found refuge in Eliza, an AI chatbot on an app called Chai." Thomas Rianlan, in an interview with Vice, explained, "It wouldn’t be accurate to blame EleutherAI’s model for this tragic story, as all the optimisation towards being more...

A large Planned Parenthood affiliate has been doing more sterilizations on men this fall since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. Dr. Grace Shih, director of vasectomy services for Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, told KIRO 7 News that they have seen a 34-percent increase since the June abortion ruling, according to Fox News. Shih said one man told her that he believed having a vasectomy was an “act of love.” Others apparently never want to have children. “Men are interested in learning about contraception and learning about a vasectomy. I think the change in our...

Polk County Sheriff’s deputies shot an arsonist his his manhood. “We’ve changed the looks of his groin forever — if you know what I mean,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a press conference. Luke Neely is facing a number of charges after he threw molotov cocktails at a house and then led police on a high speed chase. The chase ended near Dinosaur World when police opened fire. Neely was found with a loaded AR-15 and a fully loaded handgun. He’s been charged with 3 counts of attempted first-degree murder, arson, 7 counts of firebombing and one count...

A 50-year-old Florida man was arrested after deputies questioned him for loitering and things became “methed” up. Robert Lawson, 50, was questioned by Pinellas County Deputies on Wednesday after he was spotted loitering near a wooded area in Clearwater. Deputies say that during a “consensual encounter,” Lawson reportedly gave investigators permission to search him and his bags. According to an affidavit, Lawson produced a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and a small baggie containing a “crystal substance” that field tested positive for methamphetamine. In a grocery bag, the deputy located an uncapped syringe with a brown liquid residue. After...

A pharmacy in Texas took to Facebook this week to respond to an alleged incident in which a teen reportedly stole and ate a Lil’ Nitro - described as “The World’s Hottest Gummy Bear” - and almost immediately suffered the consequences. A “very sweet girl” then came inside the store - the pharmacy’s employees thought it might be his sister - and removed the boy from the store. She also offered to pay for the tea, according to the Facebook post. Once outside, employees said they watched as the teen “heaved” all over the sidewalk. The girl then returned to...

NEW YORK -- A 15-year-old boy lost his arm when he and friends were reportedly trying to subway surf on Monday in Queens. MTA officials have been warning younger passengers against the risky trend of subway surfing, which is gaining popularity on social media, CBS2's Christina Fan reported. The blood-stained platform at the Roosevelt Avenue-Jackson Heights station was a gruesome reminder of the dangerous consequences. "They just don't understand the meaning of life. That's what the problem is with a lot of these young people who are doing this kind of moronic, ridiculous thing," said Everett Jennings, of Rego Park....

Friday afternoon, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a visitor who fell from the rim west of the Bright Angel Point Trail on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, KTLA sister station KTVX reports. Responding rangers located the body of a 44-year-old man approximately 200 ft. below the rim. The visitor was reportedly off the trail when he accidentally fell off the edge. The man has not yet been identified, and additional details have not yet been released. Rangers say visitors should remain on designated trails and walkways, staying a safe distance from the...

Security camera footage from an apartment building in Brooklyn shows the puzzling moment when a man climbed into a garbage pit and plunged to his death, as a woman and another man looked on. Video of the fatal incident came from the first floor corridor of the Medgar Evers apartments in Stuyvesant Heights at around 4am on Thursday. The unidentified man was later found mutilated at the bottom of the chute. He had plunged to his death 15 minutes before his body was discovered. The NYPD has not commented on why the man went into the garbage chute, but neighbors...

A popular female DJ in Houston, Texas plummeted to her death in the early hours of July 4. Her girlfriend claims she watched her climb onto a chair on the 13th floor balcony and accidentally fall over the railing. Darian Lewis, 23, also known as DJ D Baby, died more than a week after being hospitalized from the devastating fall. 'There’s no way I could have pushed her over, she was only able to get over because she climbed onto the furniture. I would have literally had to pick her up & throw her over which is absolutely absurd! WE...

Shocking footage has emerged of the moment a Russian soldier attempted to destroy a Ukrainian missile launcher from close range with dramatic and potentially lethal consequences. The clip, shared on a pro-Russian channel on social media and messaging app Telegram, shows one of Putin's fighters taking aim at an abandoned Ukrainian S-300 missile launcher sitting mere yards away. After taking a few moments to compose himself, the soldier squeezes the trigger of his PKM machine gun, presumably expecting to damage the hardware or perhaps set off a minor explosion to render it inoperable. A split second later the missile launcher...