Free Republic

TOKYO -- The asking price for precious metals commonly found in catalytic converters has fallen to lows not seen in several years as demand declines in China, the world's largest automobile market. The most commonly traded futures for palladium hit a price of $1,204 per troy ounce in the New York market on June 28, a low not seen in four and a half years. The metal currently trades around $1,240, down 30% from the beginning of the year. Catalytic converters in automobile exhaust systems use precious metals such as palladium to transform harmful gases into less-toxic pollutants. Russia produces...

Marvel Cave is the deepest cave in Missouri.The deepest cave in Missouri, which sprawls over 500 feet below the surface of the Earth, was first discovered by the Osage Nation in the 1500s. Not long after, Spanish explorers in search of riches and the fountain of youth made the journey into the cave and returned empty-handed. The fountain of youth has yet to be found, but riches — albeit from an unexpected source — were discovered by miners in the 1800s. They came to the cave, which was later named Marvel Cave, in search of marble and iron. But instead...

The U.S. national debt has increased by $1 trillion in the five weeks since President Biden signed a bill into law that effectively turns off the debt ceiling until 2025. According to Treasury Department data, the total national debt stood at $32.47 trillion on July 6, $1 trillion more than the $31.47 trillion level last seen on June 2. The national debt had been stuck at or near that June 2 level for months because the government had hit the debt ceiling and was legally prohibited from borrowing any more money. On June 3, however, Biden signed legislation reflecting negotiations...

Italy's lower house of parliament on Thursday backed a parliamentary inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the opposition voicing fears of a witch hunt against those in charge at the time. Italy was the first Western nation hard hit by coronavirus in early 2020, and the centre-left government of then prime minister Giuseppe Conte drew strong criticism from the right-wing opposition for its handling of the emergency. The house -- now dominated by rightist forces supporting the administration of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni -- approved a bill setting up the inquiry with 172 votes in favour. It...

The BRICS alliance with Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa recently announced that they were planning to float a gold-backed currency to settle international trade payments to challenge the global reserve status of the US dollar. The bloc of the five nations is projected to decide on introducing the new BRICS currency during its next summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August. “A tremendous change is taking place in the international economy,” Rasoul Mousavi, the head of the South Asia Department at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said on Sunday. “The BRICS’s introduction of a gold-backed currency, which is supported by...

A bumbling, long-winded and crooked Southern senator, considered by some as a dark horse for the Presidency, panics his party when his tell-all diary is stolen. Stars, William PowellElla RainesPeter Lind Hayes

The last song on the "Sticky Fingers" album from 1971. Many think it was just a filler song, but it is one of my favorite Stones songs. Keith Richards plays a steel guitar on this one.

“Sound of Freedom,” a religious thriller led by “The Passion of the Christ” star Jim Caviezel, is becoming an unlikely box office savior. The faith-based movie about child sex trafficking has collected an impressive $40 million after six days of release. “Sound of Freedom” opened last Tuesday, generating a mighty $14.2 million on the Independence Day holiday. The film picked up another $18.2 million between Friday and Sunday, enough to place third on domestic box office charts behind “Insidious: The Red Door” ($32.6 million) and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” ($26.5 million). It’s playing in 2,850 North American...

Baldur's Gate III evelopers Larian got its livestream banned on TikTok after it revealed a spicy scene with a bear. Per IGN, the scene in question, which is still available to view on Twitch, sees the player as Astarion share a tender moment with a bear. The bear in question is actually a Druid, Halsin, taking Wildshape bear form after the two agree to have sex. The scene is partly played for laughs, according to Larian, as evidenced by the shot of a squirrel witnessing the moment and dropping its acorn. "Every single person who's seen it is like, 'oh...

A handwritten document found stuffed in Aretha Franklin’s couch cushions is at the crux of a dispute over her multi-million dollar estate — with a Michigan jury seated Monday in the case tasked with deciding whether it’s a valid will. The panel was chosen to oversee the Oakland County Probate trial between the Queen of Soul’s sons Kecalf and Edward Franklin — who believe the 2014 document is valid — and their brother, Ted White II, aka Teddy Richards, who wants a handwritten from 2010 to be honored instead. Both documents were found in the “Respect” singer’s suburban Detroit home...

Videos of the rapes of 10 unconscious boys were found on the cellphone of a Tennessee soccer coach after he left it behind at a restaurant, police said Sunday. Camilo Hurtado Campos, 56, was booked on allegations of child rape and sexual exploitation of a minor, the Franklin Police Department said in a statement. He continued to be held Sunday on $525,000 bond, Police Lt. Charles Warner said. It's not clear whether Campos has legal counsel, and the local public defender didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Police described Campos as a popular soccer coach and a 20-year...

The movie franchise speaks to ethical issues at the very heart of anthropological thinkingPop culture’s most famous archaeologist, Indiana “Indy” Jones, returns to the big screen this summer. In this fifth installment, The Dial of Destiny, Harrison Ford once again stars as the titular character who defined public perceptions of archaeology. Producers have confirmed this will be the final chapter in Indy’s story. It’s also the first and only film in the series not directed by Steven Spielberg, though he remains an executive producer. Now directed by James Mangold, the flick premiered at the Cannes Film Festival with lackluster initial...

CLAIM: An organization is seeking online donations of human bodies as a way to end world hunger. AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The website for the Human Meat Project states in its terms and conditions that it is a conceptual art piece meant to “give an understanding of the importance of accepting any services’ policy and agreements.” Organizers of the project didn’t respond to messages seeking comment. THE FACTS: In a widely viewed video on social media, a woman describes with increasing horror a website that seems to promote cannibalism as a way to address some of the world’s most intractable ills.

VILNIUS, July 10 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to forward to parliament Sweden's bid to join the NATO military alliance, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday, on the eve of a NATO summit in Vilnius. "I'm glad to announce ... that President Erdogan has agreed to forward the accession protocol for Sweden to the grand national assembly as soon as possible, and work closely with the assembly to ensure ratification," Stoltenberg told a news conference.

One year ago today, China made to clean up its image — with public health advocates, if not with human rights advocates — by executing* its former Food and Drugs minister for economic crimes. Zheng Xiaoyu, China’s drug regulation capo from 1994 to 2005 and only (“only”?) the fourth minister-level official to be put to death in China since the immediate aftermath of Mao Zedong’s reign, was sentenced for extracting bribes from pharmaceutical companies he nominally regulated in exchange for approving their worthless and/or unsafe products. One bogus antibiotic he rubber-stamped killed ten in China before it was pulled from...

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb (D) blamed the Sunday morning shooting that wounded nine people on constitutional carry and Ohio Republicans and called for the state legislature to give him the ability to enact more gun control. The Cleveland shooting took place in the Warehouse District around 2:30 a.m. The shooter fled the scene after opening fire, as Breitbart News reported. There were no fatalities.

Bud Light is still reeling from the social media-led boycott against its brand.The Bud Light controversy has proven to have legs; and for the second month in the row the once-dominant brand is taking a back seat to one of its biggest competitors. Bud Light had been on a two-decade run as the country's most popular beer, but after the company decided to expand its marketing outreach with Dylan Mulvaney -- the transgender social media influencer at the center of the controversy -- a sustained boycott has cost the company its top spot. For the second month in a row,...

Ukrainian forces finally reaches the Russian "First Line of Defense", north-east of Robotyne; fierce fighting ensued and ongoing. With this "breakthrough", Ukrainian forces continue to pour troops in this direction to build on their momentum. However, the relatively long distance between Novodanylivka to the frontline, means that the Ukrainian forces were at the mercy of Russian artillery and airstrikes all along the way.

If struggling Disney had any hopes of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny breaking even at the box office, those hopes were dashed this weekend, as the fifth and final Harrison Ford swashbuckler fell to second place in the U.S. and Canada after just one week. According to Variety, Patrick Wilson’s fifth installment in the Insidious series knocked Indiana Jones off the top spot with a $32.6 million debut on 3,188 screens. Dial of Destiny earned just $26.5 million on 4,600 screens. Do the math: Indy earned about $5,760 per screen while Insidious: The Red Door did nearly double...

President Biden has a short temper and frequently lashes out at staff members with profanity-laden rants if they do not meet his expectations, according to a new Axios report. One official in the administration told the outlet that “no one is safe” from Biden’s wrath. Aides are reportedly known to meet with him in groups of two or more to defuse potential tension. Some of the president’s go-to attacks include, “How the ---- don’t you know this?” and “Don’t ----ing b------ me!” Aides have framed his outbursts as a desire for accuracy and competence, telling the outlet that many see...