Free Republic

Archaeological excavations off the coast of Rome in the Mediterranean Sea reveal that Stone Age people living over 7,000 years ago utilized sophisticated manufacturing techniques and advanced nautical technology in the construction and operation of their seafaring vessels.According to an analysis published in the journal PLOS ONE, the ancient seafaring vessels discovered at the site are the oldest ever found in the Mediterranean, which may offer "invaluable insights" into the technological sophistication employed by Neolithic navigators...According to the researchers, they found five dugout canoes in the ancient lakeshore village of La Marmotta near the coast of Rome, Italy, dating from...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday announced a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones that boxes out competitors and stifles innovation. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Jersey, alleges that Apple has monopoly power in the smartphone market and uses its control over the iPhone to “engage in a broad, sustained, and illegal course of conduct.” The lawsuit — which was also filed with 16 state attorneys general — is the latest example of the Justice Department’s approach to aggressive enforcement of federal antitrust law that...

The U.S. has submitted a resolution at the United Nations that calls for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and the release of all hostages held by Hamas, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Blinken said in an interview Wednesday with an outlet in Saudi Arabia that the U.S. put forward a resolution that calls for an immediate cease-fire tied to a release of hostages. Hamas is believed to be holding some 100 hostages still alive in Gaza. “We hope very much that countries will support that,” Blinken said. “I think that would send a strong message, a strong signal.” A...

Wyoming House Bill 125 is on the way to Governor Mark Gordon. Two Wyoming State Senators (Bouchard and Biteman) were instrumental in passing a ban on Red Flag gun seizures (SF – 109) and the removal of gun free zones (HB 125). They give an explanation of how they passed the bills in an 8-minute video. Senator Biteman reports the last time a similar bill passed, in 2017, the former governor, Matthew Hansen Mead (R), vetoed the bill. Wyoming is on the way to removing nearly all “gun free zones”. Anyone who is not prohibited from owning a firearm will...

Jeremiah 17:7-8 King James Version 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. What is it like to wake up every day of your life in the country you despise and believe it is your duty to destroy your own country? The Communist...

JAMES TISSOT "Judas Hangs Himself"

Former President Donald Trump is ahead of President Joe Biden in all seven swing states, according to new polls as the 2024 presidential race heats up. Trump leads Biden by 4% in Arizona, 1% in Michigan, 3% in Nevada and 3% in Wisconsin, according to four polls released Wednesday and Thursday by Emerson College Polling/The Hill. Trump is also ahead of Biden by 3% in North Carolina and 4% in Georgia, according to polls released Wednesday by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion.

February’s existing home sales are like a scoop of cottage cheese. Seemingly satisfying until you look more closely at the data (or get hungry 30 minutes later). Existing home sales soared a stunning 9.5% MoM in February, smashing the expectation of a 1.3% decline and building on the 3.1% MoM in January. However, even with the big monthly jump, existing home sales remain down 3.3% YoY… Source: Bloomberg Total existing home sales SAAR surged to 4.38mm – a 12 month high… Source: Bloomberg Homeowners may be accepting that mortgage rates are settling into a new normal and can’t delay moving...

The Black Swan event is likely to occur before the 2024 election, especially if it becomes obvious that Trump will win despite the Left's every effort to cheat him a second time. SO let's have some fun with it! Might as well laugh at the Grim Reaper! I have a prediction: Taiwan is invaded or blockaded by China. China activates 100's of sleeper cells, who interfere with or destroy much of America's infrastructure. Electrical power is shut down nationwide. Then, Biden's helicopter is shot down by a lucky shot. It will be done with a Ghost Gun AR-15 with a...

Had Mr. Schumer told the truth, he would have said this: Israel's being a pariah among the world's nations tells us much more about the world's nations than about Israel. Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) twice described Israel as a “pariah” among the world’s nations: “Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah. … [The Israeli public] understands better than anybody that Israel cannot hope to succeed as a pariah opposed by the rest of the world.” It was for that reason that the majority leader said that Israel should choose a leader other than Benjamin Netanyahu,...

Alabama governor Kay Ivey has signed a bill into law in effect banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs across public schools, universities and state agencies, the latest move in a wave of a Republican-led legislation that aims to restrict diversity efforts across the country.

The Brazilian newspaper O Globo revealed on Wednesday that prosecutors in the country are pursuing charges of money laundering and fraud against 25-year-old Jair Renan Bolsonaro, the youngest son of the nation’s eponymous ex-president. An attorney for the younger Bolsonaro appeared to confirm the charges in remarks to the Globo-affiliated G1 news outlet, objecting that the improper leaking of the details of the case to the media was “very detrimental to the defense, due process, the presumption of innocence and, thus, the image of those who have the right to defend themselves.” The Brazilian newspaper Estadao independently confirmed the criminal...

Amie Ichikawa spoke about male condom dispensers being installed in female prisons ... Amie Ichikawaregarding predators taking advantage of transgender policies... Gaines spoke to Ichikawa regarding the controversial standards of housing biological males in all-women’s prisons based on them identifying as females. ... "A large percentage of the people who are transferring are individuals the state has a hard time keeping safe because of their status that's not trans related; status with the gangs, being informants, just very problematic individuals. So they're coming from these level four men's prisons, they’re maximum security, and entering women's general population, which is completely...

VIDEO I know this Buddhist monk means well with his advice for controlling anger. Perhaps his suggestions would work for normal people. But for some people who appear to have been born angry, such as former mayor Alan Simon of Spring Valley, NY I don't think the monk's methods would have much effect. Perhaps something more drastic is called for. Paging Dr. Buddy Rydell!

(NEXSTAR) – Tax season isn’t really fun for anyone, but some states’ residents have it harder than others this time of year. As families around the country collect their paperwork and get ready to file, people in Illinois may find themselves with a heftier tax bill than their neighbors in other states. An updated analysis by MoneyGeek, a personal finance site, evaluates how “tax friendly” each state is by calculating the tax burden on the average citizen. States with low tax burdens earned an A, while those with the highest tax burden earned Fs. The state that scored worst overall...

Baseball sensation Shohei Ohtani's long-time interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, has been fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers after allegations of theft connected to illegal gambling. According to ESPN, at least $4.5m (£3.5m) was transferred from Ohtani's bank account to a bookmaker. Ohtani is not accused of wrongdoing. Mr Mizuhara spoke to the sports network about his gambling debts on Tuesday. The news comes as Ohtani made his regular season debut with the Dodgers. The team's senior communications director has told the BBC that they are gathering information and that they "can confirm that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara has been terminated".

There was a bit of good news about the future of public discourse this week. The United States Supreme Court, even though stacked with right-wingers, sounded like it was ready to give the Biden administration the go-ahead to try to persuade social-media platforms not to put out content promoting nonsense about the presidential election, conspiracy theories about the pandemic and other assorted bilge and crackpottery... When other communications revolutions like the printing press, radio, and television came along, they were still largely controlled by the elites. But when the internet came along, regulatory bodies like Canada’s CRTC backed off. It...

Daily Readings from the USCCBJesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area. John 8:58–59When Moses encountered God in the burning bush, God revealed His name: I AM. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that this revelation of God’s name “​​is at once a name revealed and something like the refusal of a name.” It expresses that God is “infinitely above everything that we can understand or say.” He is the “hidden...

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the Turkish President, and the rude-and-crude master of all he surveys from the 1,100 room “White Palace” that he had the government build for him in Istanbul, at a cost to the Turkish taxpayers of $615 million. But when a man like Erdogan comes along only once a millennium, why should the national exchequer skimp? In Istanbul, having announced to the world that he will not be running for office again (the hundreds of journalists he has imprisoned in Turkish jails must now be breathing proleptic sighs of relief), just to make sure we do not...

The quest to ascertain the extent of the shady sleaze that Hunter Biden got into when Pops was Barack Obama's Number Two continued on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Hunter's former business associate Tony Bobulinski was before the House ... Hunter Biden wasn't there. After insisting that he wanted to publicly clear his name, he's gotten rather shy. Bobulinski was quite ready to roll, however. He is now very familiar with the smear machine that the Democrats fire up when the Big Guy and his boy need to be protected. He gave them a strong dose of truth, which can cause...