Free Republic

New research suggests that disease-causing amoebas that live on organic leafy vegetables can shelter human pathogens like Pseudomonas, Salmonella, and Helicobacter and are a potential risk to public health. Foodborne illness from consuming contaminated fresh produce is common and can have serious effects on human health, especially when eaten raw. During growth, harvest, transportation and further processing and handling, fresh produce can be contaminated with pathogens from human or animal sources, through contact with soil, irrigation water, air, rain, insects, and during industrial produce-washing. Vegetables can become contaminated with certain protozoa (single-celled organisms) such as free-living amoebae (FLA), that feed...

An outrageous video of a man in a Costco has gone viral for all the wrong reasons. In an Instagram video shared by @millennial_republicans, a masked man in a Costco was holding up pepper spray towards unmasked employees demanding they stay away from him. During a verbal exchange with an employee, who was handling himself with a stunning amount of grace and class for the situation, the masked man shoved him! Yes, the masked man was so scared of maskless people getting close that he decided to make physical contact! (video at link). That maskless dude is a complete...

Illustration of an asteroid. (NASA/JPL/Caltech) A gigantic "potentially hazardous" asteroid that may be twice the size of the Empire State Building is set to zoom past Earth Thursday (April 28), according to NASA. The asteroid, named 418135 (2008 AG33), has an estimated diameter between 1,150 and 2,560 feet (350 to 780 meters) and will break into Earth's orbit at a blistering 23,300 mph (37,400 km/h). Thankfully, the asteroid is expected to skim past our planet without any risk of impact. At its closest point, the asteroid – traveling at more than 30 times the speed of sound – will come...

Associate professor Mazhar Ali and his research group at TU Delft have discovered one-way superconductivity without magnetic fields, something that was thought to be impossible ever since its discovery in 1911 – up till now. The discovery, published in Nature, makes use of 2D quantum materials and paves the way towards superconducting computing. Superconductors can make electronics hundreds of times faster, all with zero energy loss. Ali: “If the 20th century was the century of semi-conductors, the 21st can become the century of the superconductor.” During the 20th century many scientists, including Nobel Prize winners, have puzzled over the nature...

New research has identified the third day of hospitalization as a tipping point in the progression of disease among symptomatic patients admitted for COVID-19 pneumonia. An overactive immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus can cause COVID-19 pneumonia with severe complications. …Blood samples were taken at days 1, 3, 5, and 7 of hospitalization and levels of three host proteins that play vital roles in the COVID-19 immune response were measured: interferon-γ induced protein 10(IP-10), C-reactive protein (CRP) and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL). In general, TRAIL levels increased over time, while CRP and IP-10 fell in all patients. On...

The United Nations secretary-general travelled to Moscow on Tuesday to meet with Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The Ukraine crisis was the central focus of discussions. Russia has not turned away from negotiations with Ukraine and continues to hope that a lasting peace agreement can be reached, President Vladimir Putin has said. "Notwithstanding the fact that the military operation is underway, we still hope that we will be able to reach agreements on the diplomatic track as well. We are holding talks, we are not giving up on them", Putin said, speaking to UN...

House Democrats intend to move in the coming weeks to pass legislation designed to rein in skyrocketing gas prices, the head of the House Democratic Caucus said Wednesday. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) did not commit his support for a federal gas tax holiday, which has divided Democrats on and off of Capitol Hill.

The Trump-obsessed comedian Jimmy Kimmel thought he caught the former president in a “got heem” moment last night when trying to make fun of the former president’s Truth Social app. It aged horribly. A review of the Apple App Store found that Truth Social has taken the No. 1 “Free App” spot, with Twitter down to No. 2. The China-controlled TikTok, another competitor, sits at No. 5. The development comes just hours before Kimmel claimed Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s landmark purchase of Twitter put Trump in a very tough spot as a competitor in the social media market on the...

[SAN FRANCISCO – Apr. 26, 2022] Project Veritas released newly leaked audio today that captures Twitter leadership addressing staff over concerns relating to Elon Musk’s takeover of the company. In a company-wide call that lasted around 45 minutes, Twitter employees questioned board member, Bret Taylor, and CEO, Parag Agrawal, about the company’s direction and Musk’s motives for buying the social media platform. Taylor kicked off the meeting recognizing that many on the staff were shocked by how quickly the Twitter-Musk negotiations unfolded. “I also just want to acknowledge all the emotions of today. It is an emotional day. I want...

Adam Schiff was knee-deep in the Trump Russia collusion sham. He was involved way back in July 2016. John Durham just confirmed it. John Durham released some documents yesterday related to the Trump – Russia collusion sham created by the Hillary Clinton gang. We reported on this earlier. There is much in this latest release but one item, in particular, is that Adam Schiff was involved in this lie from the beginning. Redstate reports: Durham also derides the claim that Fusion was hired for legal work — calling that a “novel” way to cover up opposition research and the derogatory...

Amid rumours about his poor health, a video showing Vladimir Putin's shaking hand as he greeted Belarus's leader resurfaced this week. The clip, which was filmed just before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, showed him gripping a chair and pressing his hand to his chest to stop it shaking as he greeted Alexander Lukashenko. It fueled further speculation of the state of his health after footage and images appeared to show his bloated face and slouching posture. But the scenes of Putin's apparent struggles are reminiscent of a clip that showed Adolf Hitler's own failing health as Germany faced...

"At first, I hoped to sell it to someone to make some money," Nidal Abu Eid, the farmer, told The New Arab, "but an archaeologist told me that it was of great archaeological value.""At first, I hoped to sell it to someone to make some money," Nidal Abu Eid, the farmer, told The New Arab, "but an archaeologist told me that it was of great archaeological value." Staff at the ministry concluded that the head belonged to a statue of Anat, the goddess of love, beauty and war in Canaanite mythology, Rida said. The statue will go on display at...

Levi Strauss & Co. president and CEO Chip Bergh has made advocating progressive politics a corporate priority, stating that business leaders “have a responsibility” to create change. But weaponizing Levi’s for political purposes has come at the expense of those employees who hold opinions different from his own, reports have revealed. Many of the progressive policies championed by the company, once an iconic brand of rugged individualism, are out of step with many of its consumers. Bergh, for example, working with the liberal group Everytown for Gun Safety, led the charge for stricter gun control in the United States. Levi’s...

Lauren Bernett, a former standout at South Fayette High School in Pennsylvania and a current star for the James Madison softball team, has passed away the school said Tuesday. She was 20. No cause of death has been given.

Food prices are continuing to rise at an alarming rate. The 8.8% year-over-year increase (March 2022 compared with March 2021) is the largest in more than 40 years. Over the past seven months, each month’s year-over-year food price increase has been above 4% and each successive month has been higher than the previous month (starting at 4.6% in September and reaching 8.8% in March). This upswing in food prices is being reflected across multiple food categories, from fresh fruit (10.1%) to fish and seafood (10.9%). Skyrocketing food prices are regressive and particularly damaging to low-income Americans, as they spend a...

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on Wednesday. She said they were continuing to work with international partners to get access to alternative sources of natural gas and noted that a “coordinated EU response” was in the process of being crafted. The development comes as Gazprom alleged in a memo that Poland and Bulgaria were refusing to use Russian rubles to pay for natural gas, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded, consequently forcing Gazprom to shut off access of fuel to the two countries, The U.S. and others are seeking to isolate Russia economically...

House Republicans gave Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) a standing ovation on Wednesday as he continues to fight off media and Democrats ahead of the pivotal midterm elections. McCarthy spoke before the House Republican Conference to give a “full-throated defense” of the New York Times tapes released recently.

A new college is opening its doors to students in the fall of 2023. In Costa Mesa, California, Hildegard College is offering students the chance to take their faith and combine it with rigorous academics focused on the liberal arts. This liberal arts Christian college seeks to change the ways of both secular education and Christian education by emphasizing the classics and a well-rounded education. On the college’s website, it states “Christian and secular colleges alike have abandoned the practices that enable deep learning—practices of active, personal, rigorous, and creative engagement. In the name of efficiency, universities have become ineffective.”...

President Joe Biden’s 15-month dismantling of U.S.-Mexico border protections and policies has essentially eliminated efforts to keep illegal immigrants out of the nation, according to the nation’s front-line sheriffs. “We simply have no border left in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, or Southern California,” said the nation’s sheriffs in a four-paragraph letter to Senate leaders and provided to Secrets .The letter, signed by Jonathan Thompson, the executive director and CEO of the influential National Sheriffs’ Association, and dozens of top sheriffs, was law enforcement’s latest support for keeping in place Trump-era COVID-19 restrictions known as Title 42, which Biden wants to...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—In the first step toward a world blossoming with freedom of speech, Elon Musk, the proud new owner of Twitter, ordered the company’s tech team to make all tweets by Bill Gates autocorrect to say “Poopy butt.” “Poopy butt poopy butt, poopy poopy butt butt,” read a subsequent tweet by Bill Gates. “Odd, I could have sworn I typed out a hopeful message on the benefits of global, forced, clandestine sterilization of women,” said a confused Gates, staring at his Windows Phone® while his tailor fitted him for a custom brassiere. “Why does it say, ‘Butt, butt,...