Free Republic

Flaco, a Eurasian eagle owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo in New York earlier in February, has been seen hunting and eating his own food, officials said. Photo courtesy of the Central Park Zoo Feb. 14 (UPI) -- A Eurasian eagle owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo in New York earlier this month is now hunting for his own food, officials said. Flaco, an owl that escaped from his enclosure at the zoo after his exhibit was vandalized in early February, has been spotted in the park on numerous occasions since his escape, but has evaded...

Chinese state media continued having a field day with the Ohio train disaster on Tuesday and Wednesday, crowing that the calamity has become a viral sensation on Chinese social media because it exposes the corruption, incompetence, and hypocrisy of the U.S. government. “Many netizens, when criticizing the U.S. for not properly handling the disaster, also questioned if the U.S. government is trying to deliberately withhold information, and hype a balloon incident involving China to divert domestic media attention,” the state-run Global Times said on Tuesday, hammering Beijing’s favorite new talking point about how President Joe Biden’s administration targeted China’s harmless...

After Michigan leaders pledged $1 billion in taxpayer subsidies to Ford’s new electric vehicle plant in Marshall, Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is calling for an investigation into the agreement between Ford and its Chinese partner CATL. Rubio sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, calling for an immediate Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States review of the licensing agreement between Ford and CATL. Rubio asked the Biden administration not to support Chinese Communist Party efforts by providing tax credits.....

This Miami Florida woman learned why you should always read the fine print. And now she’ll always be connected to an Erotic Novel Titled ‘His Big Childhood Sweetheart’. Christian Demeritt of Miami shared her story on Tik Tok which all started when she graduated college back in 2010. Fresh off her theater degree, she needed some new headshots. So she met up with a recommended photographer at the park at Bayside. They took pictures in some different tops, she paid him $100 and everything seemed good. She was hoping to use the new pics to find work as an actress....

“The cause of a gambling problem is the individual’s inability to control the gambling.” So says the National Council on Problem Gambling, an organization funded by the gambling industry to help people who have become addicted to its products. This attitude—that anyone who falls into gambling addiction has only themselves to blame—has allowed state lawmakers to ignore arguments that more access to gambling might make it easier for people to lose control. Since the Supreme Court struck down previous restrictions on sports betting in 2018, 36 states have legalized it (26 of which allow mobile betting), and new ballot initiatives...

A man is dead after he was run over by the driver of a car from which he was allegedly trying steal a catalytic converter in Palmdale.

DeSantis is so good at this sort of thing one wonders if he's an artist. Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, is starting to look like an artist right now. A sculptor perhaps, a bas relief sculptor, yet one whose lacy carvings cut all the way through. Because against the great marble wall of woke which forms the establishment, he's carving out something else for Floridians, and it's a thing of beauty: According to Crankers, cited by news aggregator Whatfinger: Ron DeSantis continues his war on the woke. Slamming ESG as an “elite-driven phenomenon” that seeks to impose policies that would otherwise...

A "rigged election" is equivalent to war since both "put into power" a "victor," argues plaintiff, and therefore allegations of a rigged election must be investigated. The Supreme Court is set to reconsider whether to hear a lawsuit alleging President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former Vice President Mike Pence, 291 House members, and 94 senators violated their oaths of office by refusing to investigate evidence of fraud in the 2020 election before certifying Biden as the victor on Jan. 6, 2021, allowing for Biden and Harris to be "fraudulently" inaugurated. The plaintiff, Raland J. Brunson, seeks the defendants' removal...

Scientists are reporting a breakthrough discovery: A $3-per-pill epilepsy drug may be used to “switch off” autism symptoms in mice, according to a new peer-reviewed study published Tuesday in Molecular Psychiatry journal. Autism spectrum disorder is a complex developmental condition that impacts how an estimated 5.4 million (2.2% of) adults — and one in 44 children — in the United States perceives and socializes with others. It is often accompanied by abnormalities such as epilepsy or hyperactivity, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. A team of experts at Germany’s Hector Institute for Translational Brain Research found that...

Former President Donald Trump's campaign is examining ways to win over the mail-in vote after the Democrats' performance in the 2020 presidential and 2022 midterm elections. The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump's staff is examining state laws on absentee and mail-in voting, as well as ballot harvesting techniques. Trump, who was famously critical of mail-in votes following the 2020 election, is changing his tune following comments by some GOP 2024 presidential hopefuls, like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who have criticized the party for not capitalizing on opportunities in recent elections by focusing too...

Raquel Welch has died at the age of 82. The iconic 1960s sex symbol passed after a struggle with a brief, unknown illness, according to TMZ. Her family confirmed the news to the site on Feb. 15, stating that she had passed away that morning.

Two things are happening in the Black Sea which together could shift the dynamic in Russia’s favor. Russia has copied Ukraine’s’ maritime drones and started using them. At the same time, a decision by Elon Musk to limit Starlink use may stop Ukraine using their own. As the saying goes, Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The Russian military has copied Ukraine’s now famous ‘Maritime Drone’ and begun using it against Ukrainian targets. At the same time, Ukraine’s own ability to deploy maritime drones looks to have been massively reduced. SpaceX has said that it will prevent Ukraine using...

A Chicago man is facing a slew of felony charges after allegedly robbing a man at gunpoint and then staying at the scene to eat the victim’s takeout fried chicken. Chicago police arrived at the robbery scene within minutes and allegedly found James Taylor, 20, still there, enjoying the victim’s delicious fried chicken. Officials said the victim, 35, parked in front of his home in the 4500 block of South Calumet around 1:30 a.m. Saturday and started to head toward his residence with his piping hot yardbird. When the victim turned around, Taylor was pointing a pistol at his face,...

A former dean of Stanford's law school and a computer science researcher at the university co-signed indicted FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried's bond, according to court records made public on Wednesday. Bankman-Fried, 30, has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges over the collapse of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. He has been out on $250 million bond co-signed by his parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, who pledged their Palo Alto, California, home as collateral for his return to court. His parents are both professors at Stanford Law School. The names of two other sureties had been redacted until Wednesday,...

Half of Americans in a recent survey indicated they believe national news organizations intend to mislead, misinform or persuade the public to adopt a particular point of view through their reporting. The survey, released Wednesday by Gallup and the Knight Foundation, goes beyond others that have shown a low level of trust in the media to the startling point where many believe there is an intent to deceive. Asked whether they agreed with the statement that national news organizations do not intend to mislead, 50% said they disagreed. Only 25% agreed, the study found. Similarly, 52% disagreed with a statement...

Ukraine is accusing Russia of using spy balloons as part of its ongoing war — saying it shot down six over the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. “Aerial targets were detected in the sky over the Kyiv region. As a result air defense kicked into action,” the Kyiv Regional Military Administration reported on Telegram. “Keep calm and stay in shelters!” Although the message did not specify when the balloons were shot down, air alerts were issued in Kyiv on Wednesday. The apparent use of balloons comes on top of the US shooting down several unusual objects in American skies, including a balloon...

A West Virginia journalist was fired last month after exposing alleged abuse of disabled people in the state’s health agency. Amelia Ferrell Knisely said she had been warned to stop reporting on allegations that the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources was hiding information on the treatment of disabled persons in state care in the weeks before she was let go from her part-time job at West Virginia Public Broadcasting. “I was let go from my job at WVPB last week following threats from DHHR about my reporting on DHHR’s treatment of people with disabilities,” she wrote on...

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) says he is not sure how Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) would perform in a presidential contest if he joins the race, saying that “none of us really know who he is” on the national stage. Christie said in an interview with the conservative outlet The Dispatch published Wednesday that DeSantis has done a “good job” as governor, but he does not know how DeSantis would perform in a Republican primary. DeSantis has not publicly confirmed whether he is considering a run for president in 2024, but he has been the subject of...

Taking an electric car on a road trip can be a stressful experience — at least according to a couple who took their Kia EV6 on a cross-country trip from Michigan to Florida. Axios reporter Joann Muller said her husband took the electric car on a 1,500 mile road trip — she joined him part-way through — to see if the US is truly ready for mass EV adoption. While electric cars are becoming more prevalent, charging infrastructure isn't quite what it should be, Muller wrote. "We were constantly thinking about where to charge next," Muller wrote of her experience...

Cleveland, Ohio, has informed city residents that their water is safe amid growing concerns about the environmental consequences from the derailment of a train hauling chemicals in the northeastern part of the state. In a statement, Cleveland Water notified residents that its drinking water comes from Lake Erie, which is “separate from the Ohio River and its watershed.” “There’s no indication that Lake Erie or its watershed have been impacted by the train derailment in East Palestine,” the department said in its statement. “The testing that we regularly perform would catch any changes to our source water should they arise.”...