Free Republic

Explanation: 2MASS J17554042+6551277 doesn't exactly roll off the tongue but that's the name, a coordinate-based catalog designation, of the star centered in this sharp field of view. Fans of the distant universe should get used to its spiky appearance though. The diffraction pattern is created by the 18 hexagonal mirror segments of the James Webb Space Telescope. After unfolding, the segments have now been adjusted to achieve a diffraction limited alignment at infrared wavelengths while operating in concert as a single 6.5 meter diameter primary mirror. The resulting image taken by Webb's NIRcam demonstrates their precise alignment is the best...

Republicans demand new probe into Hunter Biden laptop, coverup A growing number of Republicans around the country are demanding a new investigation into Hunter Biden after the New York Times confirmed the authenticity of a laptop whose contents were published by The Post 17 months ago. Though The Post exclusively revealed in September 2020 the existence of Hunter Biden’s laptop and the potentially compromising material contained there, the story was censored by social media companies at the behest of the Democratic Party. Mainstream media outlets — including The Times — attacked or ignored The Post revelations, while the Biden administration...

House Democrats are turning up the pressure on oil companies as high gas prices continue to hurt drivers, with a congressional hearing planned for April to question oil executives. As Republicans seek to blame President Biden for the pain at the pump – with gas prices nationally at $4.262 per gallon, according to AAA – Democrats have sought to turn the attention away from Biden and place the blame first on Russian President Vladimir Putin and now on big oil companies.

Greetings: Can anybody here point me to a non-PC web browser that can post images as wallpaper? I have both Microsoft Edge and Gab Dissenter, but neither appears to be capable of posting images as wallpaper. I was thinking of downloading Firefox again, as I've had it before, and it can create wallpapers from images. Unfortunately, I have no idea whether that lunatic who wanted to squash Trumpian internet thought is still in charge of Mozilla. (FD: I do use Firefox on my work laptop, and it's fine for that purpose and used by lots of us at work, along...

Aerorozvidka (Aerial Reconnaissance) is being used to attack Russian drones and target Vladmir Putin's army of tanks with the help of the newly available Starlink system which improves internet and connection speeds US billionaire Elon Musk's new technology helps to keep Ukrainian drones connected with their bases It comes as the country has continue to suffer through internet and power outages throughout the invasion The Starlink app is the most downloaded in Ukraine with global downloads tripling in the last two weeks Elon Musk's Starlink satellite system is giving Ukrainian forces the edge in winning the drone war as the...

The film follows U.S. government agent T.R. Devlin (Grant), who enlists the help of Alicia Huberman (Bergman), the daughter of a German war criminal, to infiltrate a Nazi organization. The situation becomes complicated when the two fall in love as Huberman is instructed to seduce Alex Sebastian (Rains), a leader of the organization who had previously been infatuated with her.

ANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday vetoed Republicans' proposal to permanently cut the state income tax, make more seniors eligible for deductions and restore a child tax credit, saying it would reduce funding for basic government services. The veto, which was expected, may prompt negotiations between GOP legislative leaders and the Democratic governor, who has called for more targeted tax breaks for retirees and lower-wage workers....... While Michigan has a $7 billion budget surplus, her administration says it is largely one-time revenue that cannot be counted on in future years..... “This plan would have cut taxes for...

Hitler phones Putin because he wants him to stop his invasion; people are comparing Putin to him and he's embarrassed. Putin refuses.

apocalyptic landscapes in Mariupol from today

While the last few first ladies have reworn outfits to different official events, the practice used to be unacceptable. Rosalynn Carter committed this then-fashion sin when she wore an off-the-rack blue chiffon and gold-embroidered dress and matching coat to her husband President Jimmy Carter's inaugural ball in 1977. What sent the media into a tizzy was that the first lady had worn that same dress twice before, including when her husband was elected governor of Georgia in 1971, according to Time. "Rosalynn set fashion back on its ear," Edith Mayo, then-curator of the first ladies exhibit at the Smithsonian, told...

Mar. 17—Authorities say a 23-year-old woman who apparently was upset over a prior purchase trashed a Target store in West St. Paul — throwing merchandise on the floor, smashing display cases, knocking over display stands — during an angry outburst that caused at least $7,000 in damage. Gaylynn Atlene Bailey of West St. Paul was charged Thursday in Dakota County District Court with felony first-degree criminal damage to property following Tuesday's incident that also caused the store to be evacuated and then shut down so workers could clean up the mess.(snip) West St. Paul Police Chief Brian Sturgeon said Thursday...

Russian parliament member Oleg Matveychev on a TV program addressed waves of sanctions against Russia in response to the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, saying leaders should “think about reparations.” “The harm these sanctions caused us cost money. Return of possessions, including possessions of the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and even parts of Russia that are now occupied by the United States,” Matveychev said on Sunday, according to the Anchorage Daily News. The host of the show asked Matveychev about the return of Alaska and Fort Ross, which was established by Russians in California, according to the California Department of...

For the week ending 18 March 2022: New Cases down 16.6% New Hospitalizations down 27.2% Deaths down 11.4% Variants - About 100% Omicron, the BA.2 sub-variant has grown to 23% of those. Test Positivity Rate is now down to 2.2%. Vaccinations decreased 17.6% from the previous week.

A senior Chinese government official said on Saturday that sanctions imposed by Western nations on Russia over Ukraine are increasingly "outrageous". Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng also acknowledged Moscow's point of view on NATO, saying the alliance should not further expand eastwards, forcing a nuclear power like Russia "into a corner". China has yet to condemn Russia's action in Ukraine or call it an invasion, though it has expressed deep concern about the war. Beijing has also opposed economic sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, which it says are unilateral and are not authorised by the U.N. Security Council. "The sanctions...

A plurality of Americans believe the country is more divided since President Joe Biden took office, a Monmouth University Poll released this week found. “Has the country become more united, more divided, or not really changed since President Biden took office?” the survey asked. A plurality, 48 percent, said the country has become “more divided,” compared to 15 percent who said “more united” and 35 percent who said it has “not really changed.” This serves as yet another blow for the commander-in-chief, who chose “unity” as one of his top priorities upon taking office. However, he has continued to drive...

Inhalers, pills or injections help most people control their asthma, but some with severe disease opt for cutting-edge surgery that "remodels" their airways to improve their breathing. Bronchial thermoplasty shrinks smooth muscle in the lungs, which prevents them from tightening up and causing an attack. The U.S. FDA approved the treatment for adults with severe asthma in 2010. About 5% to 10% of people with asthma have illness that can't be controlled with medicine, inhalers or other therapies, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Now, a new clinical trial reports that their symptoms had significantly improved five years after their procedure....

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday warned that any cargo transporting weapons to Ukraine will be considered "legitimate targets" for Russian troops as it pushes forward with its invasion. The comments come as Ukraine continues to ask for military help in its fight against Russian troops. "We clearly said that any cargo moving into the Ukrainian territory which we would believe is carrying weapons would be fair game,” Lavrov said on RT Friday, ABC News reported. “This is clear because we are implementing the operation the goal of which is to remove any threat to the Russian Federation coming...

Is a question asked by Patrick J. Buchanan in his classic work The Death Of The West. ` Says Buchanan: ` One reason is "The Liberals have captured the institutions where the young spend most of their waking hours -- MTV and primetime, movies and magazines, schools and colleges -- the Liberal Revolution is able to shape the values, beliefs, and attitudes of the young. Artists, actors, playwrights, song writers, and popular singers are almost all on the other side. ` (As for the Conservatives. . . ) ` Op-ed page commentators and radio hosts (eg Mark Levine) cannot match...

The Cloud Cuckoo Landers who 30 years ago may have been living under lock and key in some insane asylum are now taking their place in positions of authority and are dictating how the rest of us should view reality. It would be amusing if there weren’t real-life victims of this nonsense. A British woman reported to police that she had been raped during a stay in a hospital. But the police were told that simply wasn’t possible because the ward where the woman claims she was raped was for “females only.” And since there “was no male in the...

A Florida bridgetender has been charged with manslaughter after allegedly raising a drawbridge connecting Palm Beach to Florida before a 79-year-old grandmother walking her bicycle reached the other side. West Palm Beach police arrested Artissua Lafay Paulk 43, at her home on Thursday in connection to the death of Carol Wright, 79. Her bond is set at $20,000 and a judge issued a no-contact order on Friday, according to Fox 13. Paulk is accused of opening the Royal Park Bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway on February 6 as the cyclist walked across, causing Wright to plunge 60 feet to her...