Free Republic

New research using ancient DNA has revealed that plague has been endemic in human populations for more than twice as long as previously thought, and that the ancestral plague would have been predominantly spread by human-to-human contact -- until genetic mutations allowed Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis), the bacteria that causes plague, to survive in the gut of fleas. These mutations, which may have occurred near the turn of the 1st millennium BC, gave rise to the bubonic form of plague that spreads at terrifying speed through flea -- and consequently rat -- carriers. The bubonic plague caused the pandemics that...

Kelly McGillis, who played Tom Cruise's love interest in "Top Gun," claims she wasn't asked to reprise her role in the sequel "Top Gun: Maverick." In the 1986 original, McGillis' character, Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood, is not only Maverick's lover, she's also his flight instructor. Entertainment Tonight asked the actress if she'd attend any of the film's promotional events, and she was diplomatic yet candid in her response, admitting, "I don't know how to answer that because one, it hasn't happened. Two, if and when it did happen, I would have to assess where I am, what I'm doing, what's going...

Dan Coats to leave post as director of national intelligence as Trump selects Rep. John Ratcliffe as replacement President Trump on Sunday announced that Texas GOP Rep. John Ratcliffe, a staunch White House ally, will replace Dan Coats as director of national intelligence (DNI), following months of speculation and public spats between the president and the intelligence community. "I am pleased to announce that highly respected Congressman John Ratcliffe of Texas will be nominated by me to be the Director of National Intelligence," Trump wrote. "A former U.S. Attorney, John will lead and inspire greatness for the Country he loves,"...

Michelle Obama is a master in the subtle art of shade. The former first lady took to Twitter Saturday to honor a step-dancing team from Baltimore, just hours after President Donald Trump attacked a prominent African-American congressman and referred to his Baltimore district as a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess." "On #NationalDanceDay, I'm shouting out the Lethal Ladies, a Baltimore STEP team who I saw perform back in 2017. I'm so proud of you all—and everyone who's dancing today!" Obama wrote.

BALTIMORE, MD – Charm City is once again among America's "Rattiest Cities," according to a new report from pest control company Orkin, although it has shown progress in each of the past two years. Baltimore comes in at No. 9 on the company's 2018 rankings released Monday.This is the fourth year that Orkin has compiled the rankings, which are based on the number of rodent treatments the company performed from Sept. 15, 2017 to Sept. 15, 2018. It includes both residential and commercial treatments.Baltimore dropped one slot from last year, when it was ranked eighth; two years ago it was...

One of the major changes at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that the Trump administration implemented under Francis Cissna was to apply some scrutiny to the approval process for H-1B visas.Previously, the H-1B program had been a rubber-stamp operation with a huge fraud rate in approved visas.The situation was so bad that one could even import sex slaves into the United States using H-1B.Now USCIS is taking the long overdue step of ensuring that H-1B workers actually have jobs or that the position is actually a specialty occupation that requires a college degree.The change from no scrutiny to some scrutiny...

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) on Sunday said President Trump "richly deserves impeachment," but stopped short of joining a growing call for House Democrats to begin a formal inquiry. "My personal view is that (Trump) richly deserves impeachment. He has done many impeachable offenses, he's violated the laws six ways from Sunday," Nadler said on CNN's "State of the Union." "That's not the question," Nadler said, noting his desistance to begin impeachment proceedings. "The question is can we develop enough evidence." He added that he sees no "time frame" for impeachment. The House Judiciary chairman has said in the...

The Baltimore Sun penned a scathing editorial following President Donald Trump's claims that Baltimore "is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess." According to Trump, if Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) spent more time in his district, it would no longer be a "dangerous and filthy place."According to the Sun, Trump's comments were geared towards Cummings because he's "been a thorn in the president's side."From the editorial: It’s not hard to see what’s going on here. The congressman has been a thorn in this president’s side, and Mr. Trump sees attacking African American members of Congress as good politics, as it both warms the...

Disney hit a major box office milestone, crossing the all-time record for global ticket sales for a single studio. After this weekend, the company has surpassed $7.67 billion worldwide, smashing the benchmark previously set by Disney in 2016 with $7.61 billion. ... Already, the company holds five of the top six biggest films of the year globally with “Avengers: Endgame” ($2.79 billion), “Captain Marvel” ($1.1 billion), “Aladdin” ($1 billion), “The Lion King” ($962 million) and “Toy Story 4” ($917 million). Three of its movies have already crossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, and “The Lion King” and “Toy...

In no world is a 14-year-old an underage woman. She is a child. On Saturday, July 6, Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire financier who has ties to Prince Andrew, President Trump, and former President Clinton was arrested for violating Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 1591. Epstein was charged with child sex trafficking crimes and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking both in New York and Florida between 2002 and 2005. The charge comes from the Attorney General’s Office of the Southern District of New York, 11 years after Epstein got off on similar charges through a plea deal handed...

Upping a feud with an influential black lawmaker, President Donald Trump on Sunday assailed Rep. Elijah Cummings as a “racist” over the “rodent-infested mess” in his district while White House aides sought to downplay his comments as frustration over Democrats’ unrelenting investigations. In a series of tweets, Trump insisted that his comments Saturday referring to Cummings’ majority-black district as a disgusting mess where “no human being would want to live” were not racist. On the contrary, Trump argued, “if racist Elijah Cummings would focus more of his energy on helping the good people of his district, and Baltimore itself, perhaps...

Actor and anti-Trump activist Alec Baldwin appeared to suggest Saturday that U.S. Customs and Border Protection practices – including enforcing border laws and placing illegal migrants in detention facilities – are the part of “Trump’s America” that “could bring this country down.” Alec Baldwin retweeted a video promoted by left-wing actress Alyssa Milano. It features Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) questioning Chief of Law Enforcement Operations for Customs and Border Protection Brian S. Hastings over the case of a 3-year-old girl separated from her migrant grandmother for 47 days. “This is Trump’s America,” Baldwin remarked, before implying that immigration enforcement practices...

The dig's archeological team --- co-directed by UNC Charlotte professor of history Shimon Gibson, Rafi Lewis, a faculty member at the University of Haifa and Ashkelon Academic College, and James Tabor, UNC Charlotte professor of religious studies -- has revealed the rumored, but never physically detected, moat-trench the Fatamid defenders dug along the city's southern wall to protect against siege engines - a defense that contemporary accounts claim helped stymie the southern assault. Through stratigraphic evidence, the archaeologists have been able to confirm the 11th Century date of the 17-meter-wide by 4-meter-deep ditch, which abutted the Fatimid city wall (built...

https://youtu.be/fY3QKR4BnEQ?t=19

However, one lesser known aspect about his life was his pedophiliac activity. Economist Saifedean Ammous’ book, The Bitcoin Standard, details some interesting factoids about Keynes’ life. Ammous started off by detailing how the family unit is destroyed by government largesse: Substituting the family with government largesse has arguably been a losing trade for individuals who have partaken in it. Several studies show that life satisfaction depends to a large degree on establishing intimate long-term familial bonds with a partner and children. Many studies also show that rates of depression and psychological diseases are rising over time as the family breaks...

I reiterate, I have no interest in occupying the position of Governor. The constitution dictates it. I hope that the Governor identifies and submits a candidate for the position of Secretary of State before August 2 and I have told him so," Vasquez wrote in a tweet in Spanish on Sunday.

Theo Anthony, the director and writer of the new documentary Rat Film, bookends the narrative with the following quote: “Before the world became the world, it was an egg. Inside the egg was dark. A rat nibbled the egg and let the light in. And the world began.” The quote may not quite make sense until the end when it resurfaces and can be placed in context with the rest of the film. Rat Film tells the story of bureaucratic oppression on Baltimore’s lower-class and minority citizens, but it does so through the Norway rat. Anthony doesn’t use the rat...

HMS Duncan has joined frigate HMS Montrose to escort vessels sailing under the British flag through the Strait of Hormuz. HMS Montrose has so far accompanied 35 vessels through the strait, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK continued to push for a diplomatic resolution to the situation. He said: "Freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is vital not just to the UK, but also our international partners and allies. "Merchant ships must be free to travel lawfully and trade safely, anywhere in the world." Mr Wallace added the Royal Navy...

Located in northern Newfoundland, the site of L'Anse aux Meadows was founded by Vikings around A.D. 1000. Until now, archaeologists believed that the site was occupied for only a brief period... In August 2018, an archaeological team excavated a peat bog located nearly 100 feet (30 meters) east of the Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows. They found a layer of "ecofacts" -- environmental remains that may have been brought to the site by humans -- that were radiocarbon dated to the 12th or 13th century. These ecofacts include remains of two beetles not native to Newfoundland -- Simplocaria metallica,...