Free Republic

America might still be a military and economic superpower. The dollar might be the world’s most powerful currency (and we think it’s likely to remain so). America is still a country with high salaries, and coming to America is still a decent way to make a fortune, if one has the right skills and the right connections. And yet, for the average person on the ground, America is no longer really a First World country in the sense of being a country where a high-quality way of life can be had for an affordable price. For young people, the “American...

Ralph Lee, the celebrated puppeteer and theater artist who masterminded the Land Shark character on Saturday Night Live, has died at age 87 following a monthslong illness. The Westbeth Artists Housing and Center for the Arts, where Lee lived, shared the news in a statement. "Ralph Lee, Westbeth Master Puppeteer and founder of the Village Halloween Parade and the Mettawee River Theater Company, among many other accomplishments, passed away on May 12, 2023," the organization wrote. "He was a gentle, beloved figure of immense creative vision in the Westbeth community and the world — which is now a lonelier place...

As Ukraine prepares for what is said to be the Spring Offensive against Russia, a debate has sprung up about why Europe’s contribution to the war is not getting due recognition as compared to that of the United States. The debate is based on the age-old maxim that the quality manpower (in this case, the soldier’s quality and competence) is as important as quality weapons in fighting a war. Accordingly, the point is being made that while the United States may have contributed more than half of the $160 billion in economic, humanitarian, and military aid that Ukraine has received...

Ever since he was a child, Jonny Kim, a highly decorated Navy SEAL and a graduate of Harvard Medical School, said he had always wanted to go to the moon. Kim, 39, was among the 18 people NASA chose to take part in the training for its Artemis program, which has plans to put the first woman and possibly first person of color on the lunar surface in 2024. Kim, who served as a combat medic for the Navy SEAL, could become the first Korean American to land on the moon. “I wanted to go to space since I was...

Sister of Bob Lee's accused killer who 'attended sex and drug parties' with him arrives at court to support her brother WITHOUT her plastic surgeon husband: Suspect, 38, pleads not guilty and is denied bail Khazar Momeni arrived at the San Francisco court this morning after her brother was arrested for allegedly stabbing Bob Lee to death Cash App founder 43, was killed on April 4. Nima Momeni has pleaded not guilty The glamorous sister of Bob Lee's accused killer, who allegedly attended drug-fueled sex parties with him, has arrived in court to support her brother for his arraignment. Khazar...

Just listened at hour news break on Dan Bongino Show.

Skynet. Ultron. HAL-9000. These are but a few artificial intelligence systems that have gone rogue in films. Whether The Creator can produce a fictional AI that would make a mark on popular culture remains to be seen, but it is another movie that pits humanity against artificial intelligence. Its official website says the movie is about Joshua, an ex-special forces agent recruited to hunt down the Creator. That's the architect behind the advanced AI that was developed to protect humanity only to detonate a nuclear warhead in Los Angeles. The Creator apparently also developed a weapon with the power to...

Walgreens will pay the city of San Francisco nearly $230 million, after a federal judge found the company liable for contributing to the city’s opioid epidemic. The settlement, which will be paid out over 14 years, will go towards addressing the city’s opioid crisis, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu announced on Wednesday. “Opioids have wreaked havoc across our nation leading to immense suffering and untold damage,” he said in a statement. “Cities like San Francisco have shouldered much of the burden of the opioid epidemic. “ “Following our win against Walgreens during the liability phase, this historic agreement ensures...

Shocking dashcam video shows South Carolina deputies getting into a shootout with a man who jumped out of a car and began firing after getting pulled over earlier this month. The dangerous gun battle began when deputies pulled the black Ford over along a highway. A second deputy had arrived on the scene to provide backup when he realized that the man in the passenger seat had a gun. That's when the passenger jumped out and began the shootout. Video shows the wild gun fight as one deputy is hit and another fires across the driver's seat, where the driver...

A study on monkeys found that stimulating a certain part of the forebrain wakes monkeys from anesthesia. Research suggests a tiny part of the brain plays a key role in enabling consciousness. The findings might someday be used to bring people out of comas, treat consciousness disorders or ensure patients stay anesthetized during intensive procedures. Past research has suggested that certain brain areas, like the parietal cortex and thalamus, are critical to consciousness. In the study, published in Neuron, a team of scientists used electrodes to stimulate various parts of the brains of two macaque monkeys. Macaque brains closely mirror...

A great-grandmother with dementia is fighting for life in hospital after being tasered by police at her nursing home in the NSW Snowy Mountains. Clare Nowland, 95, was home in Yallambee Lodge in Cooma when staff called NSW Police to the facility on Wednesday. Ms Nowland, who has lived at the aged care facility for more than five years, was believed to have been carrying a knife when officers tasered her. She was taken to Cooma Base Hospital where she remains in a critical condition. Ms Nowland is well-known in the local community, and on her 80th birthday she celebrated...

(Last Updated On: May 17, 2023) NATIONAL CHEESE SOUFFLE DAY | MAY 18 Each year on May 18, we celebrate National Cheese Soufflé Day. On this tasty day, take the opportunity to enjoy this French delight. #NationalCheeseSouffleDay A soufflé is a baked egg-based dish whose origins appear in France during the early 18th century. Earliest mention of the soufflé is given to French mastercook Vincent La Chapelle. However, master French chef Marie-Antoine Careme receives the honor for popularizing the dish by using a new elaborate style of creating dishes. The soufflé’s base consists of a French creme base made of...

(Note: The information coming from Bakhmut so far is confirmed. The rumors about the fate of Ukraine’s generals are not confirmed.) The Dnieper is absolutely strategic for Ukraine. If the Russians can reach its banks, Ukraine will be cut in half.....manpower remains Ukraine’s Achilles heel. It is becoming more and more difficult for Ukraine to recruit soldiers or dragoon young men into service. This will only multiply when the full impact of the Bakhmut defeat is known to the Ukrainian public. The Ukrainian army leadership also is in doubt. Its top leader, General Valery Zaluzhny, seemingly has disappeared. And so,...

Suspended FBI agents Garret O’Boyle, Steve Friend, and Marcus Allen testified Thursday before the House Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government to detail the alleged ‘abuses of power’ by the federal bureau’s leadership – ranging from discrimination against conservatives to inflation of domestic terrorism statistics. O’Boyle testified that he was transferred across the country only to be suspended on his first day of work...

Another day, another traveler with a bold new way to game the luggage fine system. An Australian teen was slapped with a fine after attempting to circumvent an airline baggage fee — by donning more than 13 pounds of clothing, as seen in a video blowing up online. “I looked like a bear. I’m small and petite but I looked like the exact opposite,” Adriana Ocampo, 19, told South West News Service of her backfired travel hack, which she attempted to pull during a Jetstar Airways flight from Melbourne to her hometown of Adelaide. The teen, who had just been...

Sam Brinton, the “nonbinary” activist tapped by Joe Biden for a key nuclear role before he was fired for repeatedly stealing women’s clothes, was arrested Wednesday night as a “fugitive from justice,” The Daily Wire has learned.Montgomery County, Maryland, police arrested him at his home on Wednesday, police logs show. He is currently in jail and being held without bond.A neighbor told The Daily Wire that “four unmarked police showed up last night, they would not let his spouse Kevin leave. After about an hour Sam Brinton was escorted out in handcuffs.”Brinton is set to appear for a hearing before...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican stamp inspired by monument celebrating colonial era stirs controversyROME – One of the hard lessons about being pope is that while it can require massive effort to accomplish something positive, it doesn’t take much at all to get you into trouble. As proof of the point, Pope Francis is facing blowback right now over a tiny piece of paper that measures less than two inches by 1.3 inches.The paper in question is a new Vatican postage stamp promoting the next World Youth Day, to be staged in Lisbon, Portugal, August 1-6.The stamp depicts Francis leading a small...

A Reddit user took to that platform after feeling stressed upon learning that his fiancé wants to raise their future children to be vegetarian. The user, who posted to the subreddit “TrueOffMyChest” on May 8, said that he and his fiancé do not have kids yet, but are having conversations about children. His wife-to-be believes that “eating meat is wrong” because it causes unnecessary suffering to animals, he wrote. The Redditor’s fiancé said she will not raise their children to think it’s OK to “torture animals,” he wrote.

State and federal health officials are warning US residents to cancel planned surgeries in a Mexico border city after five people from Texas who got procedures there came back and developed suspected cases of fungal meningitis. One of them died, officials said. The five people who became ill traveled to Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, for surgical procedures that included the use of an epidural, an anesthetic injected near the spinal column, the Texas Department of State Health Services said Tuesday. Four remain hospitalized, and one of them later died.

Two Home Depot stores in Chicago were defrauded of $5.5 million by scammers who collected $900 credits more than 6,000 times for a single purchase made three years ago, prosecutors said Wednesday. Officials said the scam began in March 2020 when someone made a purchase of more than $6,000 from the home improvement chain’s 2570 North Elston location. Days later, someone returned to the store and said the purchase was for a tax-exempt church. A store employee accepted the tax-exempt documents and issued the representative a $900 gift card for the tax value, Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Dale-Schmidt said yesterday....