Free Republic

At least three Russian scientists who have worked on hypersonic missile development have been arrested on suspicion of treason over the past year, their colleagues said in an open letter published Monday. Members of the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ (RAS) Siberian Branch warned that the criminal cases risk setting back Russia’s advances in hypersonic technology. “We simply don’t understand how to continue our craft,” the scientists wrote. The institute said its members Anatoly Maslov, Alexander Shiplyuk and Valery Zvegintsev are held in custody on treason charges for speaking at conferences abroad, publishing...

An intruder reportedly walked into the Washington home of President Joe Biden‘s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, bypassing his “around-the-clock” Secret Service detail one night in late April. In the incident that is now under Secret Service investigation, an unidentified man appeared to be intoxicated and confused when Sullivan confronted him at around 3 a.m., government officials briefed on the matter told The Washington Post. Agents stationed outside only learned of what happened when the intruder had disappeared and Sullivan exited the home to tell them what had happened, the sources said. The report, published on Tuesday, said there were...

The Biden administration is selectively prosecuting pro-life activists on trumped-up federal charges of inhibiting access to abortion clinics while turning a blind eye to vandalism and threats against pro-life pregnancy resource centers. Criminal attacks on abortion clinics are so "run of the mill" that staff don't report most of them to law enforcement, creating a "false equivalency" to threats against PRCs. These were the dueling narratives Tuesday between Republicans and Democrats, respectively, at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on "the implications" of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, a 1994 law that protects any facility that offers "reproductive...

A baby-faced 12-year-old boy has been indicted for first degree murder over the 'gang-related' slayings of three teenagers in a small Florida community and will be tried as an adult, authorities have announced. Christopher Atkins faces one charge while Robert Robinson, 17, and Tahj Brewton, 16, have been indicted on three counts of first degree murder of the teens whose bodies were found dumped in rural Ocklawaha, near Ocala. Victims Layla Silvernail and Camille Quarles, both 16, and previously unidentified Michael Hodo Jr., 17, were all shot and discovered in different locations over a period of three days from March...

A father in Texas is sharing a warning to other families about artificial intelligence scams after he said his father was scammed out of $1,000. “When you're in anxiety and panic, when you're there to help your family, I think logic gets thrown out the window,” Lee Hall told "Good Morning America." "That's what the scammers are betting on, so now we have to raise our level of sophistication so these things won't happen to our loved ones." Hall said his father, whom he didn’t name, received a distressed call he thought was from his grandson, Christian, who is Hall's...

NEW YORK, NY — With the Writer's Guild still on strike, Saturday Night Live announced they will be back on air this weekend thanks to a popular new host who requires no writers since he can ad-lib for hours: Donald Trump. "Yes, we know he's an evil orange fascist who will literally murder our democracy, but we have no other options here," said producer Lorne Michaels. "Trump is the only guy I know who can walk in without a script and still have everyone in stitches all night." Sources confirmed this weekend's episode will feature Trump wildly monologuing for an...

Workers at businesses like McDonald's and Walmart could soon be able to accept cash tips under a proposed law before the Colorado legislature. If enacted, the bill would keep an employer "from taking adverse action against an employee who accepts a cash gratuity offered by a patron of the business," per a summary of the proposal. The bill passed the Colorado state house and senate earlier this month and is now headed to Governor Jared Polis for a signature. Tipping has become more common at shops and restaurants, with many businesses adding a prompt asking for a tip to digital...

A strange happening occurred at the Capitol on Tuesday afternoon. On Tuesday, several photos showing the American flag upside at the Capitol went viral on Twitter. The flag garnered so much attention because traditionally if the American flag is upside down then it symbolizes “dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.” Take a look: 🚨Just in: The American Flag is flying upside down at the top of the US Senate on the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC. According to the U.S. Flag Code, flying the American flag upside down is only meant to be done "as...

A cold case investigator is claiming that the FBI has identified the man suspected to be the infamous 'Zodiac Killer' and believes the authorities didn't look into him enough when he was alive. Journalist Thomas Colbert says that an FBI whistleblower confirmed to him that Air Force veteran Gary Francis Poste, who has been previously posited as the killer, is currently listed as a suspect. He claims that FBI labs have a 'partial' DNA sample on Poste that links him to the murders. Poste has been dead since 2018. 'The felon has been secretly listed as the Zodiac 'suspect' in...

Rasmussen Reports 5/11 - 5/15 62 17 6 5 2 -- -- -- 3 -- Trump +45 Reuters/Ipsos 5/9 - 5/15 49 21 5 4 4 1 -- 1 0 1 Trump +28 I&I/TIPP 5/3 - 5/5 55 17 6 4 4 2 1 0 1 0 Trump +38 ABC News/Wash Post 4/28 - 5/3 53 25 6 6 -- 4 -- -- 1 -- Trump +28 CBS News/YouGov 4/27 - 4/29 58 22 5 4 5 1 2 2 1 -- Trump +36 Emerson 4/24 - 4/25 62 16 7 3 3 -- -- 2 2 -- Trump +46...

An Islamic extremist has been given 10 life sentences and another 260 years in prison for killing eight people with a truck on a bike path in Manhattan and severely injuring 18 others. Sayfullo Saipov remained remorseless Wednesday and said the tears of victims and family members in the courtroom were small compared to the blood and tears that those in the Islamic faith have suffered. 'I was here in the court during the three-month trial, and I saw and I heard the victims, families and friends,' he said through an interpreter before his sentencing. 'The court would be filled...

Andy Smart, the comedian known for his work with comedy group The Comedy Store, has died aged 63. The news of his death was announced by Smart’s daughter, Grace, who said in a statement: “I'm very sorry to let you all know that dad passed away unexpectedly last night.

(NewsNation) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to formally announce his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination late next week, two sources familiar with the matter told NewsNation. Some donors got messages Monday indicating they were invited to Miami for events on May 24 and 25 for what is expected to be an announcement event and related activities, one source said, although specifics were not provided.

"Knowingly using your position on House Intel to push a lie that ripped apart our country, cost taxpayers millions of dollars, and authorized spying on a US President and then proceeding to double down on the lie within days of the Durham report coming out makes you unfit for office. Ethics should investigate.” The resolution read: “That, pursuant to Article I, Section 5, Clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States, Representative Adam Schiff, be, and he hereby is, expelled from the House of Representatives.”

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Among the list of things former NASCAR driver and television broadcaster Benny Parsons asked his wife to do prior to his death in January 2007 was to try to get North Wilkesboro Speedway to reopen for NASCAR racing. It took more than 16 years to get it done, but Terri Parsons — along with many others — can celebrate that achievement this week. The NASCAR All-Star Race this weekend will be the first NASCAR race at the historic 0.625-mile oval since 1996. The track was the place that nurtured the love of racing for the Parsons...

link only: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-17/desantis-donors-called-to-miami-expect-him-to-launch-2024-run#xj4y7vzkg

The prime suspect in the disappearance of American teen Natalee Holloway is abandoning the wife he married while in prison for murder in favor of a “prettier and younger” girlfriend suspected of smuggling him drugs behind bars, his lawyer said this week. Joran van der Sloot, 35, asked his wife, Leidy Figueroa, for a divorce about a year ago, his lawyer Maximo Altez told the Daily Mail. The Dutch native is now in a relationship with Eva Pacohuanaco, a “prettier and younger” girlfriend who was once accused of smuggling him drugs, the attorney explained to the outlet. Van der Sloot...

A young Mexican mom who strangled a man with a T-shirt after he raped her has been convicted in his killing and sentenced to more than six years in prison — in a case that sparked protests and backlash in the country. The Mexico State Court found Monday that while Roxana Ruiz had been raped, she was guilty of homicide with “excessive use of legitimate defense,” adding that hitting her attacker in the head would have been enough to defend herself. Ruiz’s lawyers swiftly slammed the ruling as “discriminatory” and vowed to appeal, arguing that it sets a bad precedent...

Last December, Officer Courtney Bannick was on the job for the Tavares, Fla., police department when she came into contact with a powder she believed was street fentanyl. The footage from another officer's body camera shows Bannick appearing to lose consciousness before being lowered to the ground by other cops. "I was light-headed a little bit," Bannick later told WKMG, a local television station. "I was choking, I couldn't breathe." Other officers can be heard on the tape describing Bannick's medical condition as an overdose. They administered Narcan, a medication that reverses opioid poisoning. "She's breathing," a cop says. "Stay...

The city that never sinks? New geological research warns that the weight of New York City’s skyscrapers is actually causing the Big Apple — whose more than 1 million buildings weigh nearly 1.7 trillion pounds — to sink lower into its surrounding bodies of water. The city is plopping closer to the water at a rate of 1 to 2 millimeters a year, “with some areas subsiding much faster.” While that may not seem significant to untrained eyes, the gradual descent makes NYC extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, according to lead researcher and geologist Tom Parsons of the United States...