Free Republic

When the chairman of AI chip startup Rivos wanted Intel to bid for the company, he had no need to phone the chip giant. That’s because the chairman of Rivos was also Intel’s CEO: Lip-Bu Tan. Reuters was unable to determine how much the Intel CEO profited personally as a Rivos shareholder because the financials are not public. But in a blog post on its website, Tan’s venture-capital firm, Walden Catalyst, touted how he had delivered a “successful outcome” for its investors and congratulated the Rivos team for their “remarkable achievement.” The events show one of at least three instances...

Archaeologists have found the earliest evidence yet of fire technology — and it was created by Neanderthals in England more than 400,000 years ago. Neanderthals were the world's first innovators of fire technology, tiny specks of evidence in England suggest. Flecks of pyrite found at a more than 400,000-year-old archaeological site in Suffolk, in eastern England, push back archaeologists' evidence for controlled fire-making and suggest that key human brain developments began far earlier than previously thought. "We're a species who've used fire to really shape the world around us," study co-author Rob Davis, a Paleolithic archaeologist at the British Museum,...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ My Daddy Is Home!! In this courtesy photo, Steve Nielsen gives his daughter Kaylee Nielsen a ride upon his shoulders while celebrating his unit’s return to Nevada from Afghanistan. Nielsen was in the heart of a combat zone for more than one year while deployed as a Chinook helicopter pilot in Afghanistan. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Erick Studenicka) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. Congratulations On A Job Well...

U.S. President Donald Trump’s new national security strategy appears to blow up some of the key principles behind 80 years of European collective defence, challenging the foundation of the continent’s relationship with the country. But on whether the White House will — or even can — follow through on many of its more radical or transformative demands, many European capitals will likely need more convincing. In a blistering attack, Trump’s new policy portrays Europe’s governments as weak and ineffective. Migration has destroyed the continent’s self-confidence, it claims, accusing the European Union of contributing to a loss of national sovereignty, weakened...

“The Venezuelan opposition leader was trying to get to Norway by Wednesday in time to receive the Nobel Peace Prize that she won for challenging Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro. First she had to get from the Caracas suburb where she has been in hiding for a year to a coastal fishing village, where a skiff awaited her.”

Jammer made a shocking admission on social media this weekFormer San Diego Chargers cornerback Quentin Jammer raised some eyebrows on Monday, when he took to social media to reveal that he played a number of games during the 2011 season while under the influence of alcohol. "True story……. In 2011 I played completely **** faced drunk in at least 8 games," Jammer wrote. Jammer said that football players deal with real-life issues just like everyone else, no matter how much money you make or how famous you are. He also lamented the fact that his public revelation was shocking...

The Wolverines will undergo their second coaching change in three years, releasing Moore after eight years with the organization, including two as head coachMichigan fired coach Sherrone Moore for cause at the conclusion of his second season leading the Wolverines football program. Athletic director Warde Manuel said Wednesday the termination was the result of an inappropriate relationship between Moore and a staff member. "Sherrone Moore has been terminated, with cause, effective immediately," Manuel said in a statement. "Following a university investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. This conduct constitutes...

The 1950s song was briefly taken off the air due to its lyricsChristmas is nearly here and that means old Xmas classics will be blasting on the radio soon. However, will this ‘cancelled’ one make an appearance this year? There has been a slew of controversial festive hits in the last few decades, and mostly, it’s down to changing times and social or political norms. For example, The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s1988 ‘Fairytale of New York’ hit is regularly censored as it includes a word which is used as a homophobic slur. There’s also Weird Al Yankovic’s ‘Christmas At...

A video clip from Kirk Cameron caused a firestorm over the weekend on social media in which he stated that he no longer believes that hell is a place of eternal conscious torment. He has embraced an alternative view called annihilationism or conditional mortality.Does the Bible teach that hell is indeed a literal place of eternal conscious torment?The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus clearly teaches some truths about the reality of hell.Luke 16:19–31 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid...

I’ve spent my life covering Chicago politics and Chicago political corruption. So, I guess you could say that I’ve seen some things: Many years ago, when I was first starting out in the newspapering business, the vaunted Chicago press corps—the corporate legacy media–was bowing and sniveling before a black “reform” mayor (not named Johnson) for fear of being branded as racists. This was just as the mayor’s top aide wearing a bad wig, collected rent in a city limousine from impoverished women living in his slum buildings full of rats. Or later, when Chicago politicians were terrified into silence when...

Fired MSNBC host Joy Reid played Grinch on social media this week, sharing a video claiming beloved Christmas anthem “Jingle Bells” was written “to make fun of black people.” In the video she shared to her 1.3 million Instagram followers, a man in a Christmas sweater and Santa hat stands on the streets of Medford, Massachusetts near a plaque marks the site where James Lord Pierpont is believed to have penned the song in 1850. He takes off his hat disapprovingly and scowls at the plaque, the video caption reading “this is where a racist Confederate soldier wrote ‘Jingle Bells’...

Ukraine delivered its response to the latest US-drafted peace proposal aimed at ending the war with Russia to the Trump administration on Wednesday, US and Ukrainian officials told CNN, as the contours of a tenuous potential deal take shape and the US president continues to make clear he wants the conflict resolved quickly. Efforts to end the yearslong war have sharply accelerated in recent weeks. President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested a solution could soon be “figured out,” telling reporters at the White House that “a lot of people say it’s closer than it’s ever been.” He said he “discussed...

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson argued that the president of the United States should not be able to fire government experts such as scientists, doctors, economists, and PhDs, and she claimed it is “not in the best interest” of American citizens. During oral arguments for Trump v. Slaughter, while talking to U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, Jackson said she did “not understand” why “agencies aren’t answering to Congress.” Jackson pointed out that “Congress established them and can eliminate them.” The oral arguments come after the Supreme Court, in September, allowed President Donald Trump to remove Rebecca Kelly Slaughter,...

ASHWAUBENON, Wis. (WLUK) -- A pair of fundraisers have been launched after video of an incident at the Cinnabon stand at Bay Park Square Mall in Ashwaubenon went viral. As FOX 11 first reported Saturday, a Cinnabon employee was fired after she was caught on camera using racial slurs toward a Somali couple. The video has garnered tens of millions of views globally across X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. The two fundraisers are competing against each other. One is in support of the two Somali customers who recorded the video and the other is for the terminated Cinnabon worker. So...

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Ocean temperatures warmed by human-caused climate change fed the intense rainfall that triggered deadly floods and landslides across Asia in recent weeks, according to an analysis released Wednesday. The rapid study by World Weather Attribution focused on heavy rainfall from cyclones Senyar and Ditwah in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka starting late last month. The analysis found that warmer sea surface temperatures over the North Indian Ocean added energy to the cyclones. “When the atmosphere warms, it can hold more moisture. As a result, it rains more in a warmer atmosphere as compared to a...

Rome's rise created a supply challenge on a massive scale. This segment uncovers the harbour system at Portus and Ostia that helped keep the empire running, and why its remains are so important today. The Roman 'Mega-Harbour' that Powered an Empire | 6:00 BBC Timestamp | 905K subscribers | 3,502 views | December 10, 2025

Israel's Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter unleashed a pointed retort at NBC News anchor Kristen Welker on Meet the Press on Sunday, dismissing her citation of casualty figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry as unreliable propaganda. Welker referenced the ministry's reported death toll while grilling Leiter on civilian casualties during Israel's operations in Gaza and Lebanon. Leiter fired back: "Kristen, you just quoted the Gaza Health Ministry. That’s like quoting MS-13 Social Welfare Ministry." The analogy, equating the ministry to the brutal Salvadoran gang MS-13, quickly went viral via the Washington Free Beacon's X post. Link to...

We have reached one of the most critical turning points in modern history, but most people don’t seem to understand this. Without a doubt, 2025 has been a year of war. There has been war in Ukraine, war in Iran, war in Gaza, and lots of other regional conflicts as well. But as I have been warning my readers, 2026 could potentially be far worse. Decisions that world leaders make during the months ahead will determine which way things go. Let us hope that they make their choices wisely. According to CNN, White House officials are coming up with plans...

The Tower of David Museum has recently undergone comprehensive renovation work and in the process, an astonishing archaeological discovery has been unearthed. Just in time for the Hanukkah holiday, when we remember how the Hasmonean Maccabees fought and gained victory over their Greek oppressors 162 years before the birth of Yeshua (Jesus), a huge section of ancient wall from the Hasmonean era has been found underground. The Tower of David is an iconic part of Jerusalem’s old city skyline, and has been made into an impressive museum. The Israel Antiques Authority (IAA) have been carrying out excavations at the historic...

FReepers of a certain vintage will recall that strange species of missive, the “Opus.” Periodically members would leave, but would pen an “Opus,” the lengthy explanation. I never quite understood these; they seemed a bit self-important to me. Today is my 25th anniversary on FR. I’m not going to anywhere, so this is my “No-Pus.” Many thanks to my FRiends for this great community. Apologies if I’ve ever been unduly unkind. As of today I have 12,777 replies, 1.4 per day on average for 25 years. When I post a stat like this, some of my FRiends will point out...