Free Republic

Explanation: Why does the nebula around the star WR-18 shine brighter on one side? Also known as NGC 3199, this active star and its surrounding nebula lie about 12,000 light-years away toward the nautical southern constellation of Carina. The featured deep image has been highly processed to bring out filamentary details of the glowing gas in the bubble-shaped nebula. The nebula is about 75 light-years across. Near the nebula's center is a Wolf-Rayet star, WR-18, which is a massive, hot, short-lived star that generates an intense and complex stellar wind. In fact, Wolf-Rayet stars are known to create nebulas with...

Data stolen from a major Australian health insurer that had earlier refused to pay ransomSydney: Hackers on Wednesday began leaking sensitive medical records stolen from a major Australian health insurer that had earlier refused to pay the group's ransom demand. Medibank told investors and customers that a "sample" of data from some 9.7 million clients had been posted on a "dark web forum". Names, birth dates, addresses, passport numbers and information on medical claims were among the sensitive personal data posted anonymously early Wednesday. Medibank said more leaks were likely.

Shares in Walt Disney tumbled 11% to the lowest since March 2020 on Wednesday, as ballooning costs at the entertainment giant’s fast-growing streaming division cast a shadow on strong subscriber additions. Disney+ has attracted millions of subscribers and will launch an ad-supported tier next month, but executives’ promise of profitability next year and forecast for operating results in the next quarter failed to impress. The company, led by CEO Bob Chapek, missed analysts’ expectations for fiscal fourth-quarter earnings after a $1.5 billion loss in its streaming division.

Roberts, a White House reporter at Fox during former president Trump’s time in office, took issue with Lake’s criticism of the media. “I’m not quite sure what she was getting at there because the ripe the history of a free press — the rich history of a free press in this country is something we have embraced for many, many hundreds of years,” Roberts said during the network’s show “America Reports.” “So I’m not quite sure how a politician goes about reforming the media.”

Businessman Rick Caruso held a razor-thin lead over U.S. Rep. Karen Bass early Wednesday morning in the historically expensive race for mayor of Los Angeles, with returns remaining far from definitive. Initial returns gave Bass a slight lead, but the two traded positions throughout Tuesday night, with Caruso pulling ahead slightly Wednesday morning. Caruso leads with 51.25% of the vote, with Bass trailing at 48.75%. Just under 500,000 votes have been counted. As the contest seesawed, Bass emerged at 10 p.m. to address a crowd at the Hollywood Palladium. She led Democratic stalwarts and elected officials in chants of “We...

No, it won't make your hallucinate. Yes, it is delicious.There is no spirit whose history is more steeped in misconception than absinthe. Throughout its lengthy history, the light green liquor has been blamed for a slew of bad behavior from silly drunkenness to murder — yes, murder. In spite of the dangerous discourse, this potent but delicious spirit is well overdue for a serious debunking, and a spot on your home bar. What is Absinthe? Absinthe is an overproof liquor, meaning it is a spirit whose ABV (alcohol by volume) is over 50%. It is made from medicinal and culinary...

Cryptocurrencies have tumbled in a wild 72-hour market panic over the near-collapse of one of the world's biggest digital assets exchanges and a hostile takeover by its larger competitor sparked by a public squabble between rival billionaires.

A UK teen is being mocked mercilessly online after plunging her car into a river — right after nearly acing her driver’s test. A video detailing the car-tastrophe racked up 2 million views on TikTok before being taken down. “Just because you’ve passed your driving test well, it doesn’t mean you are an amazing driver,” Leia Darnell, 18, told NeedToKnow.online of the fiasco. The Oxford native had reportedly been “over the moon” to take her Volkswagen Polo for a spin after passing her driving test two months ago with only one minor fault, per the clip. After visiting a fireworks...

President Biden Delivers Remarks and Takes QuestionsWOW, they actually put in the title "takes questions". And why not, he typically doesn't, in fact almost never. So, will he have his silly card to call on people?

Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) wins a second term as South Dakota's Governor.

Beto O'Rourke (aka El Puta Politico) today conceded defeat to Governor Abbott of Texas. As a failed candidate again, Beto may have to take some action to improve his elective chances. Beto is considering a move to either Pa. or Ma. Pa. has shown that you can achieve elective office even if you are brain damaged which Beto could qualify. But a better chance would be in Ma. where, he as a fake Mexican, could stand an excellent chance of achieving elective office and score a position in a Neo-fascist law college, such as Harvard, to tide him over until...

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — A detailed inventory of the top known sources of greenhouse gas emitters launched by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore at the U.N. climate summit in Egypt on Wednesday found that the top 14 individual polluters are all gas and oil fields and their associated facilities, despite their emissions being “significantly underreported.” Gore said the data shows the extent of the “deep cut in greenhouse gas pollution we need to prevent the most catastrophic impacts of the climate crisis.” Al Gore said the world could reduce emissions by 50% by the end of this decade,...

As vote counts continue to be posted, it is clear that Republican hopes and dreams of a huge wave election have been dashed. Instead of a large House majority and solid control of the Senate, Republicans will be lucky to have small majorities in each chamber, and even that outcome is not secure at this moment. But in one state, Florida, Republicans have triumphed in tsunami-like proportions. With 98% of the vote counted, Marco Rubio has a 16.4% landslide lead over Senate challenger Val Demings, and Governor Ron DeSantis has a 19.4% lead, a gigantic increase over his fraction-of-one-percent squeaker...

They want to preserve the honor of the dead, also of the other sideThe geographer Yehuda Ziv investigated and revealed the true story of Mount Pilots, and cleared the Arab residents of the nearby village of the guilt that stuck to them. Now he works to protect their cemeteryNir Hasson, 02 June 2012 Three months after the crash, when the village of al-Omur no longer existed, and the area was occupied by the Harel Brigade, a delegation of Palmach personnel arrived at the scene led by Isser Halamish, the patrol officer of the 6th Battalion in the brigade and Ziv's...

The Gateway Pundit reported earlier that the Democrats were reportedly winning. They want us to believe that a solid red state switched to the Democrat Party in 2020, and then after two years of complete disaster and a wide open border, Democrats came back to sweep the state for the first time ever. (Snip)Another ballot drop from Pima County this morning brought Kari Lake less than 1 point and less than 12,000 votes behind Katie Hobbs, with less than 70% of the total votes counted.

Italian archaeologists have unearthed 24 beautifully preserved bronze statues in Tuscany believed to date back to ancient Roman times. The statues were discovered under the muddy ruins of an ancient bathhouse in San Casciano dei Bagni, a hilltop town in the Siena province, about 160km (100 miles) north of the capital Rome. Depicting Hygieia, Apollo and other Greco-Roman gods, the figures are said to be around 2,300 years old. One expert said the find could "rewrite history". Most of the statues - which were found submerged beneath the baths alongside around 6,000 bronze, silver and gold coins - date to...

After years of hosting, cooking, and writing about Thanksgiving dinner, I have a confession to make: I have never used a roasting pan to cook my turkey. I don’t even own a roasting pan big enough to cook a turkey, nor a roasting rack to set it on. I roast my birds on a wire rack set over a baking sheet, and the bird has never suffered. In fact, the bird is the better for it. Roasting pans are quite deep. When you set a turkey down inside one, the sides come up around the lower parts of the body,...

The hotly contested Georgia Senate race will head to a runoff between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican former NFL player Herschel Walker, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said. Neither candidate will garner the 50% of the vote needed to clinch the seat outright under state rules. The two Senate hopefuls will head to a Dec. 6 runoff. “Right now we have less than 20,000 total votes still out to be counted. That’s not enough to change the race. So this is headed for a runoff,” Raffensperger said Wednesday morning on “The Brian Kilmeade Show.” The Georgia race, one of...

f there was one message that summed up how President Biden was feeling on the heels of Tuesday’s midterms, it came in the form of a tweet. “I ain’t dead and I’m not gonna die,” Biden said in an old video from 2020 shared again on Wednesday afternoon by White House digital director Rob Flaherty. It was an attitude reflected among Democrats, who were feeling hopeful with the results that had come in: President Biden had a good night. In fact, it was much better than expected. “I honestly thought we’d all be writing the obituary today on President Biden...

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) announced a bid to become the next House majority leader on Wednesday as the GOP appears likely to win a narrow majority in the lower chamber. “The American people deserve a House of Representatives that can move the agenda that was promised to them on the campaign trail,” Scalise said in a letter addressed to his GOP colleagues in the House.