Free Republic

Police are investigating swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti found in the left-wing beach town of Santa Monica, California, which prides itself on its “progressive” politics. The local Santa Monica Daily Press reported: The Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) is actively investigating multiple reports of anti-Semitic graffiti discovered in various locations throughout the city, including the Pico neighborhood (2100-2300 Pico Blvd) marking sidewalks, trees and light posts. In a statement, the SMPD expressed its unequivocal condemnation of these hateful acts. “This behavior deeply offends the values of our inclusive community and will not be tolerated.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gathered about 100 top supporters and donors over the weekend at South Florida’s Hard Rock Hotel and Casino to say “thank you” — and to foreshadow what might be next. DeSantis supporters see those moves, along with the weekend event at the Hard Rock, as clear signs the Florida governor is once again eyeing a White House bid. The main event Saturday evening featured DeSantis speaking with Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., He needs to repair his image nationally,” said one of the attendees. “I don’t know anyone is going to be like...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the date had been set for an Israeli military operation in the city of Rafah, near Gaza’s border with Egypt, to attack the last remaining Hamas battalions and destroy them. Netanyahu spoke as Israeli negotiators were in Cairo, Egypt, in the hope of striking a deal with Hamas via Egyptian, Qatari, and American mediators to see some of the remaining 133 Israeli hostages released, some of whom are dead. In a statement posted online, and translated and released by Israel’s Government Press Office, Netanyahu said: “Today I received a detailed report on...

The Army intends to introduce in 2023 a rifle and light machine gun pairing to substitute the M4 carbine and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon for its close combat unit. The Marine Corps and Special Operations Command are also involved in the extensive testing and experimentation phase and will be able to choose the new-caliber firearms. The new 6.8mm round, specially designed by the Army, is the most significant change for shooters. In the Next Generation Squad Weapon program, competitors were tasked with building the weapon to accommodate this round. Sig Sauer secured the $4.7 billion weapon contract last year, while...

SNIPRegarding blood biochemistry, the results were pronounced:Stevia administration caused a significant reduction in hemoglobin and hematocrit levels, and RBCs (red blood cells) count, compared to control groups.In female mice, stevia showed a significant decrease in WBCs (white blood cells) count.In reference to liver health, the results were again extreme:Stevia administration increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels. (AST and ALT are two of the liver enzymes doctors look at when trying to figure out if you have a problem with your liver.)Levels of liver triglycerides and cholesterol in male mice groups increased.Stevia significantly elevated liver cholesterol levels in...

The public has been repulsed by the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza, incoming Taoiseach (prime minister) Simon Harris has said. Mr. Harris said that Ireland stands ready to recognize the Palestinian state while calling for a two-state solution. In his keynote speech at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis* in Galway, the Fine Gael leader said the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened “before our eyes” and Ireland cannot stay silent on the actions of Israel. “We condemn the massacre carried out by Hamas in October and again call for the release of all hostages,” Mr Harris said....

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Pete Buttigieg took to X (formerly Twitter) to praise President Joe Biden for improving the economy while acknowledging that more work remained, on Sunday, April 7. The Transportation Secretary shared a clip from his interview on MSNBC, where he spoke on the subject, netizens, however, are unconvinced by his statements. In the clip posted by Pete Buttigieg, he is seen telling the interviewer, "I think it's important to recognize where people are at. Two, the country has been through a lot, (and) families have been through a lot. And just because a number on a...

Tennessee is divided over reparations, with a black Memphis pastor leading the charge against a bill that would prohibit the funding of a proposed reparations study in the state. Rev. Earle Fisher, the senior pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church, has garnered more than 1,100 signatures for his petition against the “reprehensible legislation” introduced to the state legislature to prohibit local governments from “engaging in the vital work of studying or disbursing reparations.” The commissioners of Shelby County — which includes Memphis — voted last year to launch a “feasibility study to examine reparations for the descendants of slaves,” the Daily...

When President Biden proposed an additional $24 billion in supplemental funding for Ukraine in August, Moscow spin doctors working for the Kremlin were ready to try to undermine public support for the bill, internal Kremlin documents show. In an ongoing campaign that seeks to influence congressional and other political debates to stoke anti-Ukraine sentiment, Kremlin-linked political strategists and trolls have written thousands of fabricated news articles, social media posts and comments that promote American isolationism, stir fear over the United States’ border security and attempt to amplify U.S. economic and racial tensions, according to a trove of internal Kremlin documents...

Luke 1:26-38 Friends, in today’s Gospel from Luke, we find the Annunciation to Mary. Here is what Gabriel said to the Virgin: “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. . . . The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”No first-century Israelite would have missed the meaning here: this child shall be the fulfillment of the promise made to King David.And this means that the child is, in...

The Vatican on Monday issued a new document approved by Pope Francis stating that the church believes that gender fluidity and transition surgery, as well as surrogacy, amount to affronts to human dignity. The sex a person is assigned at birth, the document argued, was an “irrevocable gift” from God and “any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.” People who desire “a personal self-determination, as gender theory prescribes,” risk succumbing “to the age-old temptation to make oneself God.” ....Cardinal Fernández made clear, drawing a distinction between the...

As the automotive industry rapidly evolves towards electrification, high-voltage batteries are finding their way into various applications. From mining trucks to hydrofoil boats, electric powertrains are finding their homes in many unsuspecting vehicles. But one area is particularly fascinating: the classic car domain. Due to the high-torque nature of electric motors and battery packs that allow for a low center of gravity, swapping an old gas-guzzling engine for a battery pack and electric motors provides a quieter, faster, and more refined driving experience. Florida-based automaker E.C.D. Automotive Design Inc. has been working on precisely that. Founded in 2013, the automaker...

1 Mr Chairman, creating a Clean, Green and Resilient Shared Future for Singapore is a collective effort. 2 During our Forward SG engagements, Singaporeans acknowledged that the whole society needs to work together to ensure that Singapore remains a clean, green and safe home. Keeping Singapore clean and safe Shared Collective Responsibility 3 Our education efforts and campaigns over the years have paid off, and Singaporeans are generally civic-minded. However, we continue to observe some persistent issues, that require us to go beyond just public education. 4 Public hygiene remains a top priority for MSE. Ms Rahayu, Mr Liang Eng...

Darwin contestant. He lived though.

An illegal alien is accused of spying on girls by looking under stalls in a Walmart bathroom in D’Iberville, Mississippi. Jesler Jairo Perez, a 20-year-old illegal alien from Guatemala, was arrested this month by the D’Iberville Police Department and charged with three counts of voyeurism. According to police, three young girls were in a Walmart bathroom when they noticed Perez in a stall. The girls told police that Perez was seemingly looking from under his stall into their stalls.

Explanation: How does a comet tail change? It depends on the comet. The ion tail of Comet 12P/Pons–Brooks has been changing markedly, as detailed in the featured image sequenced over nine days from March 6 to 14 (top to bottom). On some days, the comet's ion tail was relatively long and complex, but not every day. Reasons for tail changes include the rate of ejection of material from the comet's nucleus, the strength and complexity of the passing solar wind, and the rotation rate of the comet. Over the course of a week, apparent changes even include a change of...

"I FIGURED [THE SURGEON] WAS MESSING WITH ME, BUT HE HAD TO STOP BECAUSE EVERYTHING WAS SHAKING." Ball Drop When a small earthquake rattled the New York City area and surrounding states on Friday morning, Pennsylvania resident Justin Allen was lying down on an operating table getting a vasectomy. As The Guardian reports, the geological rumbling alarmed his surgeon enough to momentarily pause the procedure. "I thought maybe a train was passing by or it was just something that happens at that office, even when the doctor was like 'I think this is an earthquake,'" Allen told the news outlet....

Two New Jersey officers were attacked after responding to a 911 hang-up call, police said. The attack occurred Sunday night as officers responded to a 911 hang-up call in Galloway Township, New Jersey, according to the police department. 10 Philadelphia reports that the call brought two officers to a home on Cresson Avenue, where they were attacked as they investigated the call. The attacker injured both officers — one suffered a head injury and the other was “stabbed in the face.” The attacker has been caught, and both officers were treated at the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, although ABC 6...

Former NBA star turned Turner Sports analyst Charles Barkley has been getting more into the political world, thanks to his new show, "King Charles" with Gayle King on CNN. Recently, Barkley made his opinion on the United States border crisis extremely clear. Barkley thinks the border is a disaster. "First of all, the border is a joke. The border is a joke. They have these migrants bussed up to New York. They have them on camera kicking and beating cops. They beat up these two cops," Barkley said on his show. "They were out of jail in 24 hours and...

Conservative groups backing former president Donald Trump in his re-election bid say they are "deeply disappointed" with his official position on abortion unveiled Monday, but it won't deter their support in November. The former president and presumptive GOP nominee in a video posted on Truth Social Monday morning said he cemented his position on the controversial issue, saying that abortion access should be a states’ issue and didn’t endorse a national, federal limitation – like a 15-week ban. Pro-life interest groups who have endorsed Trump expressed disappointment at his announcement, but it appears unlikely to sway their support in consideration...