Free Republic

There is a new tool available to the public that tracks the deadly impact of the fentanyl epidemic throughout Texas. Governor Greg Abbott has launched a fentanyl dashboard on the Department of State Health Services' website. The dashboard, below, shows drug poisoning deaths in orange and fentanyl-related deaths in blue. So far, in 2023, there have been 540 deaths from fentanyl. Just last year, there were 2,100 deaths from fentanyl. About a month ago, Abbott signed a bill that will classify fentanyl deaths as poisonings – it will go into effect in September. Additionally, it increases criminal penalties for producing,...

Middle-aged and older men with zero sexual interest in women are prone to shorter lifespans, a study shows. The finding was based on a follow-up study of nearly 20,000 residents of Yamagata Prefecture. The research team was led by Kaori Sakurada, a professor who specializes in brain tumors at the Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine’s School of Nursing here. Sakurada said the results could help to develop methods to reduce the risk of earlier death. The survey methods will be reviewed for future study because the latest results did not take sexual minorities into account, Sakurada added. The research results...

Join with fellow FREEPERS across the world to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, Technology, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (1 Timothy 2:1-2) THOSE WHO HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THEIR HEARTS AND THE SCRIPTURES IN THEIR HANDS HAVE ALL THEY NEED - Alexander Maclaren

The ex-Navy SEAL from Houston and Ocasio-Cortez, a New York democratic socialist, extol psilocybin to treat PTSD, depression and addiction.The House is poised to approve mood-altering drugs to treat combat-related brain maladies, capping years of effort by an ex-Navy SEAL from Texas and a New York democratic socialist. Magic mushrooms make strange bedfellows. “There’s already some pretty solid studies that show just unbelievable outcomes — massive reduction in PTSD symptoms,” said Houston-area Rep. Dan Crenshaw on Thursday, making a final public plea with his partner on the issue, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The duo has fought to get Congress to direct...

A woman with short red hair and black glasses stands in front of a woman with blonde hair and a pink blazer Victoria Cock says protonitazene has been mixed with other drugs.(ABC News) Share this article Health authorities across Australia have begun issuing warnings about a deadly new drug called protonitazene, which has been linked to at least one person's death. The drug has been described as a very strong synthetic opioid which can be fatal even in small amounts. It has been detected in Victoria and Queensland, and most recently in South Australia, where health authorities have linked it...

An aide from former Vice President Mike Pence’s presidential campaign confirmed Friday he has raised less than $1.2 million during the second quarter of the year. The low sum is a combination of Pence not announcing his campaign until early June and his second-quarter fundraising reports only covering an estimated three weeks. While it is not known how many donors he has, the monetary amount could mean Pence could have a hard time meeting the newly set criteria from the Republican National Committee that candidates must meet to qualify for the first debate in August.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit apparently decided that the federal government maintaining its Orwellian censorship collusion with Big Tech was more important than protecting Americans’ free speech. Louisiana Chief District Judge Terry A. Doughty issued a preliminary July 4 injunction prohibiting President Joe Biden’s administration from “engag[ing] in any communication of any kind” with Big Tech platforms for the purpose of pushing censorship of constitutionally protected speech. That ruling had a shelf life of about 10 days. After Doughty initially denied the Biden administration's request for a stay on the injunction on July 10, the Fifth...

The Taos County Sheriff's Office has offered safety tips for campers in the area due to a Bigfoot warning. The tips are the "do's and don'ts" if you happen to encounter one. The warning states that the species are coming down from the high country to the Kern River to hunt for fish and vegetation. If you happen to see one, here's what they are saying to do: Do's Go about your business Take photos documenting the event Don'ts Do not run toward or away from Bigfoot Do not yell Do not try to feed Bigfoot The sheriff's office also...

Greg Kelly weighs in on the serial killer in Long Island that was arrested, the FBI's consistent incompetency case after case, and shares his thoughts on prostitution.

The Billboard Hot 100 dated July 4, 1964 showed the Beach Boys climbing to the top of the chart with ‘I Get Around.’It’s one of those lovely poetic facts that the band who have come to represent the spirit of America had their first US No.1 on Independence Day. The Billboard Hot 100 dated July 4, 1964 showed the Beach Boys climbing to the top of the chart with “I Get Around.” The song that it replaced at the summit was one of the early non-Beatles bestsellers from the British Invasion of that year, Peter & Gordon’s “A World Without...

The 20-year-old 'Percocet Princess' who allegedly sold Robert De Niro's grandson drugs before his death warned him that they could potentially kill him before she sold him the pills. Sophia Haley Marks, 20, is accused of selling 19-year-old Leandro De Niro Rodriguez drugs shortly before he was found dead in his New York City apartment. Marks, who has been nicknamed 'the Percocet Princess', was arrested Thursday night at around 6 p.m. in an NYPD undercover sting operation, according to the New York Post. Legal documents say that police found pills at the scene where Rodriguez died and used the teenager's...

Police in Panama seized more than six tonnes of shark fins bound for Asia on Thursday (Jul 13), arresting five people in connection to the illegal trade, authorities said. The black-market shark fin trade is estimated to be worth US$500 million annually, and Panama last year spearheaded international efforts to protect many endangered shark species. Attorney General Javier Caraballo told a press conference that most of the seized fins "were already dehydrated and ready to be exported". The shark fins were allegedly destined for Asia, police said, where a kilo of fins can cost up to US$1,000.

Intense controversy immediately brewed at last year’s Colorado State Fair when an artificial intelligence-generated submission won the first-place prize in the amateur division of the fair's digital arts competition. The entry became so high-profile that state fair staff placed a rope barrier in front of the entry as a security measure to preserve and protect it. The entry, called “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial” and submitted by Pueblo West’s Jason Allen, sparked online debate and attracted international attention as artists sparred over whether it should qualify as art. The Washington Post labeled the discourse surrounding it as “the writing of a new...

The mixture of honey and vinegar, also known as oxymel, has been used as a medical treatment throughout history and now scientists have established that this combination could have modern applications. Bacterial infections can be difficult to treat, particularly when they are protected within a biofilm. A biofilm is a complex system of bacteria which can attach tightly to surfaces, like flesh in a wound infection. Bacteria which are protected in a biofilm are difficult to kill, and treatments today are not always effective at removing them. Doctors have utilized this information in medicine today. While they use manuka honey...

It is a practice normally employed by the unemployed and people down on their luck. However, begging is turning out to be a lucrative job for one individual in Mumbai, India. Local media is reporting that beggar Bharat Jain has bagged himself $890,708 (₹7.5 crores) by panhandling on the streets of the tech and financial metropolis. It’s believed he takes home about 2500 rupees daily, which works out to be $30 a day or $904 a month.

House conservatives are bundling the nation’s defense budget with “culture war” amendments they say are needed to reverse the Biden administration’s “woke” politicization of the military through “radical race theories” instituted in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.The U.S. Capitol in Washington on July 6, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)In the span of 10 hours on July 13, the Republican-led House repealed the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) abortion travel policy, prohibited DOD health care programs from providing gender transition procedures, and introduced a host of other proposed add-ons targeting DEI programs—including several that failed—to a must-pass defense budget normally approved...

The sound of airplanes flying overhead late at night is linked to a slight increase in hospital admissions for heart-related problems the following day, a study suggests. Researchers combined hospital admissions and mortality data with environmental modeling to assess short-term associations between aircraft noise and cardiovascular events the following day in a population of 6.3 million residing near Heathrow Airport between 2014-2018. Risks of airplane noise They found that a 10 decibel increase in noise during the previous evening and previous early morning was associated with a small increase in risk for all cardiovascular disease admissions. This risk was most...

Dylan Mulvaney is back Stateside for a flashy film festival event in California after she traveled to Peru, claiming she didn’t feel safe in the US. The transgender influencer, 26, appeared in good spirits as she wore a daring dress at the celebrated LGBTQ+ festival Outfest at downtown Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theatre on Thursday. The model opted for a see-through dress for the star-studded premiere, pairing the look with bold eyeliner and a pair of black heels. She enjoyed several photo ops on the pink carpet, before posing for snaps with TikTok star Chris Olsen. Mulvaney attended the screening of...

Is there any event Kamala Harris can attend that doesn’t involve tripping over her tongue? It’s become an astounding feat for the office of the vice presidency. She bungles the event whenever the Biden crew lets her do something publicly. It’s not the most exciting job. The most powerful vice president in American history is arguably Dick Cheney, whose influence was omnipresent in DC during the Bush years. Was he the puppet master? No, that’s an overblown liberal narrative, but he did have access and weighed in on decisions where previous VPs wouldn’t even be near the discussion. The litmus...

The US sending F-16 fighter jets to the Persian Gulf... "Joe Biden's decision to mobilize reserve forces proves that his reckless escalation in Ukraine is straining the US military to the point of disaster" That's part of President Trump's reaction... "Now rather than acknowledge failure, Biden admin prepares to sacrifice American lives too" That's some of Democrat Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr's... In Long Island, New York an architect is under arrest charged in three of 11 murder cases... Nigerian President Bola Tinubu declaring a state of emergency over high food prices and food shortages...' Israel scrapping a 40...