Free Republic

Former CIA Director John Brennan on Thursday hobbled into a closed-door interview with the GOP Committee on Weaponization to testify on the Hunter laptop letter. Former DNI head James Clapper will appear before the Weaponization Committee on May 17. In October of 2020 – just days before the presidential election – 51 former intelligence officials signed and published a letter that baselessly decried the contents of Hunter’s ‘laptop from hell’ had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” This was a lie. They all knew it was a lie. Former CIA Director John Brennan and former DNI James...

Breitbart News spoke with presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy (R) about the left’s knee-jerk gun control reaction to high profile shootings and noted his conviction that the focus should be on things such as mental health and the breakdown of the nuclear family, rather than firearm laws. The left’s eagerness to push gun control has been evidenced in instances where President Biden has pushed an “assault weapons” ban in response to handgun attacks. He did this following a January 21, 2023, pistol attack in California, the February 13, 2023, after the handgun attack at Michigan State University, and most recently pushed...

Martha Graham was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania on May 11, 1894, into a strict Presbyterian family. Her artistic goal as: "to make dance an art form that was more grounded in the rawness of the human experience as opposed to just a mere form of entertainment." She said: "People have asked me why I chose to be a dancer. I did not choose. I was chosen to be a dancer, and with that, you live all your life." "I hope that every dance I do reveals something of myself or some wonderful thing a human can be." "The body is...

Explanation: Fomalhaut is a bright star, a 25 light-year voyage from planet Earth in the direction of the constellation Piscis Austrinus. Astronomers first noticed Fomalhaut's excess infrared emission in the 1980s. Space and ground-based telescopes have since identified the infrared emission's source as a disk of dusty debris, evidence for a planetary system surrounding the hot, young star. But this sharp infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope's MIRI camera reveals details of Fomalhaut's debris disk never before seen, including a large dust cloud in the outer ring that is possible evidence for colliding bodies, and an inner dust...

The Ukrainian army on Wednesday said that Russian forces have begun to retreat in the key city of Bakhmut — just as President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that more time is needed to prepare for a counterstrike. The hotly contested eastern Ukrainian city that has been the backdrop for many of the war’s fiercest battles has seemingly been abandoned by some Russian troops, according to Ukraine’s ground forces commander. Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said that Russian troops in parts of Bakhmut have retreated following triumphant counterattacks left Wagner troops fatigued. The units that fled have moved about 1.2 miles back, he...

The UK has confirmed it is supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles it requested for its fight against invading Russian forces. The Storm Shadow cruise missile has a range of over 250km (155 miles), according to the manufacturer. By contrast, the US-supplied Himars missiles used by Ukraine only have a range of around 80 km (50 miles). The weapons will give Ukraine the "best chance" of defending itself, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said. They are fired from aircraft, so the longer range means Ukrainian pilots will be able to stay further from the frontlines. Once launched, the Storm Shadow drops...

First off, if you haven't seen the hilarious milk commercial from Aubrey Plaza, it's worth the 1:48 run time. 1:48 VIDEO AT LINK............ Their website is also really funny, especially the FAQ with gems like: Does Wood Milk expire? Yes. But you have to pour out the milk, reassemble the pieces of the trunk and count the rings. I know Parks and Recreation is just a make believe television show, and Aubrey isn't really April. But tell me Ron Swanson wouldn't be proud of his protégé for sticking it to the hippies. Even more so for this Reeeee-action from Vox...

Anthropologie, a store that sells women's clothing and other products, is getting pummeled on social media after posting a video of a man dancing around in dresses and heels. "Twirl to the link in bio to shop bold, beautiful dresses for every solo," an Instagram post declared. The video features a man sporting several different outfits, including a pair of jeans and some dresses. While comments are apparently disabled on the post, people have simply vented their displeasure by leaving comments on other Anthropologie Instagram posts. "Of all the amazing women out there - and especially so close to Mother's...

Tesla shouldn’t be calling its partially automated driving system Autopilot because the cars can’t drive themselves, the top US transportation official says. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he’s concerned about Tesla’s marketing of the system, which is under investigation by his department in connection with crashes that have caused at least 14 deaths. “I don’t think that something should be called, for example, an Autopilot, when the fine print says you need to have your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road at all times,” Buttigieg said in an interview with The Associated Press. The National Highway Traffic...

One of the plaintiffs, who has a transgender daughter, said "taking away this crucial medical care is inhumane and a violation of our rights." Two transgender children, their parents and two health care providers filed a lawsuit Tuesday arguing that a Montana law that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youths is unconstitutional. The ban on puberty blockers, hormone treatment and surgical procedures applies only to transgender youths being treated for gender dysphoria, but that same care can be provided to cisgender adolescents for any other purpose, according to the complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU...

Bo nose porcupine butt.It’s been a surprisingly rough year for Bo Jackson, and none of us knew. The mythic athlete has been dealing with a legendary case of hiccups, and since July of 2022 he’s been hiccuping non-stop. Talking to a local radio show on Wednesday, Jackson revealed that he’s been doing everything to try and get rid of these hiccups — including getting a live porcupine and getting a big ‘ol whiff of its butt. “I have done everything — scare me, drink water upside down, smell the ass of a porcupine, it doesn’t work.” Bo is now having...

HSBC has downgraded Anheuser-Busch InBev stock to hold amid a "crisis" following Bud Light's marketing campaign featuring transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney. Carlos Laboy, managing director at HSBC's global beverage sector, told CNBC that there are "deeper problems than ABI admits" after the social media partnership with Mulvaney in April. "Is ABI’s leadership getting the brand culture transformation right? It’s mixed," Laboy wrote Wednesday in a note. At Ambev, we think the answer is ‘yes;’ in the US, we think it’s ‘no.’ The way this Bud Light crisis came about a month ago, management’s response to it and the loss of...

Fast-food giant Wendy’s is set to automate its drive-through service by employing an AI chatbot powered by Google, replacing human employees who normally take orders. One Wendy’s executive gave the chatbot high ratings, saying, “It’s at least as good as our best customer service representative, and it’s probably on average better.” The Wall Street Journal reports that fast-food chain Wendy’s plans to automate its drive-through service by using an AI chatbot and Google’s natural-language processing technology.

They’re showering this viral craze with ultra-high praise. SNIP The newest trend in grooming is the “everything shower,” which entails taking an extremely warm, steamy shower for two to four hours, soaping up every nook and cranny while they blast their favorite music. On TikTok, the indulgent practice has gone viral, with #EverythingShower racking up over 168.9 million views. “An everything shower with hot water and Taylor Swift is better than sex. Sorry,” social media influencer Kourv Annon, 22, told her fiance when he questioned the lengthy scrub sessions.

A beer analyst has pinpointed the moment that Anheuser-Busch began its billion-dollar decline, slamming the iconic brand's shift away from sport and humor after its founding dynasty lost control of the company. Harry Schuhmacher, a 30-year veteran of the beer business and podcast host, said the brewery was doomed as soon as family patriarch - August Anheuser Busch III - retired from the company in 2006. 'I always looked up to and feared Anheuser Busch,' Schuhmacher said. 'They were the most respected, they knew the market better than anybody... August III knew that sports and humor were the way to...

Congressman Byron Donalds represents Southwest Florida CD-19; he comes from good stock. After the CNN attack townhall in New Hampshire last night, Donalds appeared on a CNN panel to discuss.Prior to Donalds joining the panel, the six other panelists were echo-chambering their narrative talking points without rebuttal. Donalds put that nonsense to rest. However, beyond the epic pushback, notice how the panel reacts to having their narrative challenged; this should be very familiar to people.Notice how when confronted by an opposing viewpoint the panel uses a familiar tactic. Instead of discussing the policy points, the issues at the heart of...

The program is the first in the country to continuously monitor sewage from airplanesInternational travelers can now contribute valuable data to COVID-19 surveillance efforts in the United States from above the clouds. San Francisco International Airport has launched a new program to test airplane wastewater for variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, the airport announced May 9. The program is the first in the country to continuously monitor sewage from airplanes, after previous studies demonstrated the potential value of this work. Airplane wastewater is a key source for COVID-19 surveillance because international travelers frequently bring new variants into...

The Biden administration announced it is providing more than $830 million to help make low-income housing energy efficient using funds from the Inflation Reduction Act that passed last year. The White House said in a release on Thursday that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is making the money available through a funding notice for the Inflation Reduction Act’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, which makes investments in energy and water efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, generating clean energy and implementing climate strategies in multifamily housing.

The SuperPac supporting Ron DeSantis called Never Back Down, has taken hundreds of millions of dollars from the Wall Street, billionaire, Sea Island, multinational corporation and hedge fund donors. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is injecting another $85 million from his leadership pac in Florida. All told it is the largest single assembly of political cash in the history of presidential campaigning, estimated value well north of $500 million.With all of that in mind, this is the best the communications team can come up with:Now, please do not misconstrue what I am saying. I am not saying these people are just...

The Washington, D.C. home of right-wing activist Steve Bannon appears to have been swatted again. Police and rescue workers responded to a shooting call at Bannon’s Thursday morning.