Free Republic

Explosions were reported in at least three Ukrainian cities Friday as authorities said Russia launched a "major missile attack" on energy facilities and infrastructure. Local authorities on social media app Telegram said air raid alarms sounded across the country as explosions were reported in the capital of Kyiv, southern Kryvyi Rih and northeastern Kharkiv. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported explosions in at least four districts, according to the Associated Press.

Archaeologists have discovered the ancient skeletal remains of a so-called bog body in Denmark near the remnants of a flint ax and animal bones, clues that suggest this person was ritually sacrificed more than 5,000 years ago.Little is known so far about the supposed victim, including the person's sex and age at the time of death. But the researchers think the body was deliberately placed in the bog during the Neolithic, or New Stone Age...Dozens of so-called bog bodies have been found throughout northwestern Europe — particularly in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain, where human sacrifices in bogs seem...

412th Test Wing at Edwards AFB executed the ARRW test flightThe Air Force successfully fired an air-to-ground hypersonic missile that reached speeds more than five times the speed of sound in a test off the southern California coast, officials said Monday. The test of the All-Up-Round AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon on Friday was the first launch of a full prototype operational missile, the Air Force said in a press release. The missile was released from a B-52H Stratofortress and detonated in the terminal area, showing "all objectives were met," according to the release. "The ARRW team successfully designed and...

CNN technology correspondent Donie O’Sullivan warned on Thursday that Elon Musk’s decision to suspend several reporters, including himself, from Twitter could have a “chilling impact” on journalism. “In terms of me personally, many of the national reporters at the Times and the Post, we’re OK,” O’Sullivan said on CNN on Thursday night. “I’m on the Anderson Cooper show. We have a platform. And just like when Trump got kicked off, we can post elsewhere.”

The U.S. Senate on Dec. 15 passed a one-week spending bill to keep the government open as negotiations over a larger spending bill for fiscal year 2023 continue.The bill, known in legislative parlance as a “continuing resolution,” passed the upper chamber in a 71-19 vote.The passage of the bill came less than 36 hours before the government was set to shut down.The short-term measure gives lawmakers more time to work out the details of a larger omnibus spending package for FY 2023. However, such a measure could face trouble in passing.Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has expressed openness to...

According to new research, subcutaneous fat, which is more common in females, is protective against brain inflammation. Females’ propensity toward subcutaneous fat, which is fat stored under the skin, often in places like their hips, buttocks, and the backs of their arms, is protective against brain inflammation, at least until menopause. This is according to a new study by scientists at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. It is important because brain inflammation can contribute to serious problems such as dementia and stroke. Males of essentially any age, on the other hand, have a greater propensity to deposit...

We simply cannot allow the left to keep bullying critics of their agenda by accusing us of causing violence.The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT advocacy organization, has targeted conservative commentator Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire; the person who runs the Libs of TikTok Twitter account; and Seth Dillon, CEO of the satire site The Babylon Bee, accusing them of causing violence in a new report titled “Online Harassment, Offline Violence.” The report argues, “Anti-equality, online extremists are leading a proactive and coordinated campaign of hate against hospitals and medical providers who offer gender-affirming care for transgender, non-binary and questioning...

Can Trump Win in 2024? By Mark K. LewisI recently wrote an article, “Trump Can Win in 2024,” where I played campaign manager and made some suggestions how Donald Trump could regain the White House in 2024. I thought my ideas were prudent:1. Disappear for awhile to plan an effective campaign;2. Put 2020 behind you;3. Quit talking about yourself so much;4. Quit insulting fellow Republicans (even though some need it. Let the rest of us do it, we aren’t running for office.);5. Let Congress handle Hunter Biden, Twitter, etc.;6. Lay out your positive plan to “Make America Great Again”;7. Point...

Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-NC) amnesty push is dead. That might be the best political Christmas gift in years—it’s undoubtedly the best news coming from the Hill in a long time. Tillis was working with Democrat defector Krysten Sinema (I-AZ) to get millions of illegal aliens on the citizenship track. You all know the details of the poison pill stipulation in the bill. The first 2 million Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients would be able to sponsor their extended family members when they’ve completed the process. It didn’t secure the border or remove the issue from the table. It just...

I don't mean to get you too excited, but the newest clickbait trailer for a movie based on a 60-year-old brand just dropped: TRAILER AT LINK......... Wow, that just looks so bad. Which is really surprising, you know, because I figured a loud, unsubtle movie made for nostalgic Gen Xers and Millennials about characters that have already existed for decades would be top-shelf! Let's go over what's obviously really lame about this movie: The 2001: A Space Odyssey sendup at the beginning. Boring, trite, overdone. Kubrick made that movie in 1968, which means it's almost as old as the Barbie...

Top Democrat leaders Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), believe President Joe Biden has “done an excellent job” and deserves a second term. Despite Biden’s negative polling among Democrat voters, Pelosi and Schumer both endorsed Biden for a potential reelection bid. “[He has] done an excellent job” as president, Pelosi told CNN at a lunch meeting with Schumer this week. “I hope that he does seek reelection. He’s a person with great vision for our country. He’s been involved for a long time so he has great knowledge of the issues, and the challenges we face,” she...

Most college students in the United States should be able to expect that freedom of expression will be upheld on their campuses. Public institutions are legally bound by the First Amendment, and the vast majority of private institutions promise their students free speech rights. However, FIRE’s annual review of our Spotlight database of speech codes reveals most schools maintain policies that infringe on those rights. Of the 486 schools included in FIRE’s Spotlight database, 94 earn an overall “red light” rating for maintaining policies that clearly and substantially restrict free speech. 324 earn an overall “yellow light” rating for maintaining...

This is not hype or exaggeration. It is a simple, legal truth.With the signing of the “Respect for Marriage Act” into law, if you do not accept or affirm same-sex “marriage,” you are now in the same category as a racist. And you can be assured that this will be used as a weapon against you in the days to come.How can I make such statements?Let me remind you of the exact language of the bill, beginning with the opening words: “This act provides statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages.”I have already discussed the reasons why this language was...

Remember the old “Whites Only/Colored Only” signs on water fountains and bathrooms in the old Jim Crow South? Thanks to Google, that kind of open, in-your-face racism is back with a vengeance. Google is so concerned that you not be racist that it is doing the most racist thing a major corporation has done at least since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: it is planning to mark the race of the owners of various businesses so that racists of all varieties can patronize only the stores of their favored group. Have Google’s far-Left ideologues really thought...

The Coetus: Trad Godfathers at Vatican IIAbove: Archbishop Lefebvre with Pius XII. Lefebvre and other members of the Coetus were respected by the popes before Paul VI, including by John XXIII. There will be factions. This is the first rule of all voting assemblies, from the Roman Senate to the US House of Representatives. To believe that this rule does not apply to the Ecumenical Councils of the Church is a naïveté that does not survive reading Church History.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowThe second rule of voting assemblies is that the victorious faction is usually in a position to impose...

Washington, D.C. (Dec. 13, 2022)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, held a hearing to examine the ongoing threat to American democracy posed by white supremacist ideologies, and how the federal government can confront domestic terrorist threats.

The election was a disaster.The president’s endorsed candidates had lost in the midterms. And the vultures in the press and the Republican Party were circling.“Never before had a president involved himself so intimately in the selection of Senate candidates,” said one observer. Words like “fiasco” and “bumbling” were used to describe the president’s selection of candidates and the resulting losses. As a result, his own reelection was now doubtful, endangered at best.Then there was another president. The midterms were a disaster for him. As the election losses of his supported candidates sank in with the media, it was an “axiom”...

(NEXSTAR) – Millions of America’s older adults will see a bump in the amount they receive in monthly Social Security benefits, starting in January. The increase in payments is the largest in decades at 8.7%, and is designed to help offset the soaring inflation that would otherwise limit recipients’ purchasing power. The bump in benefits is aptly titled a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. On average, Social Security benefits will increase in January by more than $140 per month, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Ford has once again increased the starting price of its electric F-150 Lightning, citing increased raw material costs for the pickup truck. The new $4,000 price increase means Ford has upped the entry-level pricing of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup by 40% since the vehicle’s launch. The new price of the F-150 Lightning Pro, an entry-level model meant for commercial and business customers, will be $55,974 — up nearly 8%, or $4,000, from previous pricing and a 40% increase from the original pricing of $39,974 announced in May 2021.

EMILY SCHULTHEIS and FRANK JORDANS Fri, December 16, 2022 at 2:02 AM CST BERLIN (AP) — A huge aquarium in Berlin burst, spilling debris, water and more than a thousand tropical fish out of the AquaDom tourist attraction in the heart of the German capital early Friday. Police said parts of the building, which also contains a hotel, cafes and a chocolate store, were damaged as 1 million liters (264,000 gallons) of water poured from the aquarium shortly before 6 a.m. (0500 GMT). Berlin's fire service said two people were slightly injured. Mayor Franziska Giffey said the incident had unleashed...