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Jars of peanut butter stashed in a traveler’s checked luggage at a New York City airport triggered an alarm which resulted in his arrest. On Thursday, Dec. 22 , TSA officers at John F. Kennedy International Airport opened the checked bag after it set off an alarm when passing through an X-ray, according to a statement from the agency. They removed two jars of JIF creamy peanut butter from the luggage, each of which contained pieces of a dismantled semi-automatic handgun “artfully concealed inside,” the agency stated. The parts, including a magazine loaded with .22 caliber bullets, were encased in...

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Small arms, ATGMs, MANPADS, loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles, trailers and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When the...

The House select committee’s report detailing its probe of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection provides overwhelming evidence of former President Donald Trump and his allies’ efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, including multiple instances in which Trump was fully aware that he had lost and examples of potential witness tampering during the panel’s public hearings. The 845-page report released Thursday presents findings from the panel’s 18-month-long investigation into the events of Jan. 6, 2021, including Trump’s attempts to undermine the peaceful transfer of power by pushing unfounded claims of voter fraud and pressuring officials in states...

Saturday 24 December 202224 December Cologne Cathedral. The St Sylvester and St Gregory of Spoleto window Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(I).First reading2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-12,14,16 ©Your House and your sovereignty will always stand secure before meOnce David had settled into his house and the Lord had given him rest from all the enemies surrounding him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, ‘Look, I am living in a house of cedar while the ark of God dwells in a tent.’ Nathan said to the king, ‘Go and do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with...

Two winters back Texas plunged into a deep freeze which normally only northerners experience. This winter the cycle repeated. Unfortunately lots of Texans use inefficient electric heat pumps and heating strips for heat. So when Texas goes cold electricity demand skyrockets. It was the late 1990s. Enron was promising cheap electric rates using pixie dust. Large east coast investors demanded that Texas electric generating companies lower generating plant expenses. As punishment these investors threatened Texas providers with connection with the national grid. George W. Bush was Texas governor. Bush avoided this punishment by setting up a system called Electric Regulatory...

In my 2019 book, "Unmasking Obama," I focus the spotlight on those intrepid investigators who are doing the work that mainstream journalists are paid to but don't. One unsung investigator who deserves more attention is Ty Clevenger, a self-described, "Ex-cop, ex-journalist, disgruntled lawyer, muckraking blogger (http://LawFlog.com), and cheerful optimist. (OK, maybe that last one is a stretch.)" In a sense, all the investigators I have highlighted are, like myself, optimists. We continue to believe that surrender is not an option and that despair is for losers. For the last several years, Clevenger has dug away the dirt surrounding what may...

There was hell-up in a small Cornish village when a group of Santas tried to drive a tank through and got stuck - damaging a car and blocking access to the famously decorated streets. Residents and festive revellers in Angarrack were left fuming when a group of military re-enactors dressed as Santa Claus drove into the village outside Hayle in a vintage armoured personnel carrier but came a cropper when the metal beast, complete with tank tracks, proved too wide for the roads. Several punters have filmed the unusual yet rather comical scene which shows the Santas, some of them...

The pattern really got going with the "bailout" in 2008. Buried in a monster bill that was waived the three day lockdown on votes was a provision that allowed Ben Bernanke to set bank reserves to zero. It was one line in a monstrosity that Hank Paulson insisted on being passed after his "one page" equivalent, which gave him sole authority on $700 billion dollars of public money, went down in defeat a day earlier. I caught it and reported on it but nobody in the Legislature said a single word about it at the time, likely because they didn't...

I live in an early-60's-build house. For the most part, it's wonderful, but it has very little insulation. I've been meaning to rectify that, but didn't yet. So, after spending a warm night buried under blankets, I wake up to a shivering-cold set of rooms, all under 60 degrees F.... even though me and the missus set all the baseboard heating to max and left both space heaters going. So, I decide to go to Walmart. I find two pallets of space heaters, one of them Infra-red, and one of them Oil-radiant. Both are electric. I go ahead and put...

(Daily readings from the USCCB)Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free…” Luke 1:67–68Our story of the birth of Saint John the Baptist concludes today with the song of praise spoken by Zechariah after his tongue had been loosened on account of his transformation in faith. He had moved from doubting what the Archangel Gabriel had spoken to him to believing and following the command of the Archangel to name his firstborn son “John.” As we saw in yesterday’s...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

Like a famous scene out of “A Christmas Story,” a young child in southern Illinois learned the hard way not to place their tongue on a frozen pole. The Cairo Fire Department tells FOX 2 that crews responded to a call around noon for assistance involving a child who attempted to lick a frozen pole before their tongue ended up stuck on it. The situation was resolved without any significant injuries, and the Cairo Fire Department calls it “a lesson learned.” Investigators did not disclose any details about the age, gender or location of the child. The incident may remind...

((( FreeRepublic is infiltrated by a small minority of pro Neo-commie Kremlin enthusiasts... a great Reagan speech about Russia is good medicine for them. ))) >>>>> View the FULL speech here: https://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3409 Address to the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida that would come to represent Reagan's view of the Soviet Union. Reagan defends America's Judeo-Christian traditions against the Soviet Union's totalitarian leadership and lack of religious faith, expressing his belief that these differences are at the heart of the fight between the two nations. March 8th, 1983

https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/moose-can-fly-thru-3-feet-of-show/

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rebutted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) comment calling the government funding omnibus bill “one of the most shameful acts” in the chamber’s history, asking if he had forgotten about the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Pelosi responded on the House floor on Friday ahead of the voting to pass the $1.7 trillion bill, saying it would likely be her last speech as Speaker on the floor. “It was sad to hear the minority leader earlier say that this legislation is the most shameful thing to be seen on the House floor in this Congress. I...

Sasha Solomon, a software engineer, joined others in the media business who lost their jobs this year after publicly taking on their employers. In the middle of a workday, Sasha Solomon, a 34-year-old software engineer in Portland, Ore., put her French bulldog, Bosworth, on a leash and walked down a leafy street to a favorite coffee shop. It seemed like an ordinary November afternoon, or as ordinary as it could be for someone working at Twitter under its mercurial new owner, Elon Musk. Ms. Solomon ordered a latte for herself and a drip coffee with cream for her husband. Then...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Russian shells pummeled the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Saturday, killing seven people and injuring 58 more in the city that Moscow’s forces were forced to abandon last month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, just back from his quick trip to Washington, posted photos of the wreckage on his social media accounts. He noted the destruction came as Ukrainians were beginning Christmas celebrations that for many Orthodox Christians will culminate in the traditional celebration on January 7th.

A Chicago man slammed his boyfriend’s miniature Goldendoodle against a CTA station wall and threw it to its death during an argument early Thursday in Lakeview, prosecutors said. Demetrice Spencer, 43, was allegedly seen arguing with his boyfriend, who was holding the dog, as they waited for a train at the Paulina Brown Line station around 12:01 a.m. According to prosecutor Sarah Dale-Schmidt, the video shows Spencer throwing items from the platform, including his own phone and a backpack. At one point, Spencer picked up the dog, slammed it against the train station wall, and tossed it from the platform...

Ottawa, Canada - Fresh on the tail of banning handguns, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has initiated a ban on poutine. Poutine, a staple in Canadian diets, is French fries covered in gravy and cheese curds.A spokesman for Trudeau issued the announcement, "Now that we've eliminated handguns, we need to look at the real big killer in Canada, eh. Far more people are dying of poutine-related heart disease than were ever killed by guns. We Canadians are usually too polite to shoot each other, but we're also too polite to say 'no' to a second helping of poutine."Opposition leader Pierre...

Election denialism runs rampant in the U.S. Some deniers claim all the ballots weren’t counted. “Once we have that full and accurate account of the ballots casted, then we will know who our next president is and our country can move forward.” Others have said that they should delay conceding a lost race. “[He] should not concede under any circumstances, because I think this is going to drag out, and eventually I do believe he will win if we don’t give an inch.” And, “I did win my election. I just didn’t get to have the job.” And “We were...