Free Republic

Marauding marine mammal makes cameo at contest, chews surfboardSurfer Karl Anderle knew just whom he was dealing with Saturday in Santa Cruz when he turned around and saw a large adult sea otter sitting on the back of his board: Otter 841, the notorious marine mammal whose surfboard-stealing and wave-riding rampage last summer captured the world’s attention. “I’m going over in my mind what I should do,” said Anderle, 69, who had been sitting up on his board at a surfing contest as a volunteer keeping non-competitors out of the competition zone. “I didn’t really want her to bite me....

Lunden Roberts — the mother of the 5-year-old granddaughter President Joe Biden has yet to meet — revealed that she considered suicide when pregnant with Hunter Biden’s baby while he was in the throes of serious drug addiction. The 33-year-old spoke exclusively with Piers Morgan for a new episode of his show “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” premiering on YouTube Thursday at 3 p.m. ET. President Biden’s son, now 54, initially refused to acknowledge the existence of Navy Joan, who was born in 2018 following his months-long affair with Roberts. While, Roberts said, Hunter and the child have been “building a relationship”...

In recent years, the entertainment industry, particularly Hollywood, has discussed at length the role of the intimacy coordinator. However, the title of the role itself isn’t quite as clear-cut as that of a director, an actor, or a camera operator, so the question remains: just what does an intimacy coordinator do on a film or TV show’s production? Firstly, the intimacy coordinator will work closely with film directors, writers, and producers during pre-production to understand which scenes might require supervision. By understanding a scene’s requirements, particularly sexual content or physical intimacy, the IC can prepare to help actors set personal...

As high prices at grocery stores, gas pumps and pharmacies have soured many voters on his first term, President Biden has developed a populist riposte: Blame big corporations for inflation, not me.But despite facing a tough re-election battle where economic issues will be central, Mr. Biden has not leaned into that message as frequently or naturally as some other Democrats, including senators running in competitive seats across the southwest and the industrial Midwest. The Biden campaign has not focused its television or online advertisements on messages berating companies for high prices, unlike Senators Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Sherrod Brown...

Explanation: Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is viewed edge-on from planet Earth. Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565 is a stop on many telescopic tours of the northern sky, in the faint but well-groomed constellation Coma Berenices. This sharp, colorful image reveals the galaxy's boxy, bulging central core cut by obscuring dust lanes that lace NGC 4565's thin galactic plane. NGC 4565 itself lies about 40 million light-years distant and spans some 100,000 light-years. Easily spotted with small telescopes, sky enthusiasts consider NGC 4565 to be a prominent celestial masterpiece Messier missed.

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The notorious Deborah Birx has apparently never heard the term “let the dust to settle,” because mere days after her partner-in-pandemic-crime, Anthony Fauci, appeared for a congressional hearing in which he confirmed that his Covid-19 mandates were not science-based, sending much of the “normie” world into a fit of hysterics because they’ve just discovered what we knew all along, Birx decided to announce new mandates for the American public regarding the “Bird Flu” virus; from Jordan Schachtel of The Dossier: First, and I must get this out of the way because it’s a critical piece of the puzzle and it’s...

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday hailed Turkiye’s significant efforts to resolve the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians since 7 October and left most civilians homeless and at risk of famine, Anadolu Agency reports. “What is happening now in Gaza … does not really look like a war, it is some kind of total destruction of the civilian population,” Putin told the heads of leading global news agencies, including Anadolu, at the Lakhta Centre as part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). -snip- The real issue, political matters, need...

Here's why you're better off with canned and bottled drinks.Regardless of where you’re traveling from or where you’re flying to, the best part of being on a plane is when the flight attendants start handing out snacks and drinks. Would I like a bag of pretzels? Yes, I would. Do I want a second package of cookies? Of course, I do. As enjoyable as it is to crack into a tiny bottle of in-flight bourbon — or even a can of Sprite Zero — one former flight attendant is warning passengers off ordering two common beverages. TikTok influencer Kat Kamalani,...

Here's what soda Americans are sipping on (second) most.Move over Pepsi, there's a new second-favorite soda in town. New data by Beverage Digest, which looked at sales-volume data, shows that Dr. Pepper has officially overtaken Pepsi, which held the second-place spot since 1985, as the number two soda brand in America. According to the data, shared with the Wall Street Journal, Coke still leads by a very healthy margin, taking home 19.2% of the soda market in the U.S. by sales volume. Next came both Dr. Pepper and Pepsi, with 8.3%, but Dr. Pepper took it by a nose....

When astronomers turn our radio telescopes out towards space, we sometimes detect sporadic bursts of radio waves originating from across the vast expanse of the universe. We call them “radio transients”: some erupt only once, never to be seen again, and others flicker on and off in predictable patterns. We think most radio transients come from rotating neutron stars known as pulsars, which emit regular flashes of radio waves, like cosmic lighthouses. Typically, these neutron stars spin at incredible speeds, taking mere seconds or even a fraction of a second to complete each rotation. Recently, we discovered a radio transient...

Two former law enforcement officers who defended the U.S. Capitol from rioters during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection were jeered by state GOP lawmakers as they visited Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives on Wednesday, according to several Democratic lawmakers present.Former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and former sergeant Aquilino Gonell were introduced on the floor Wednesday as “heroes” by House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D) for having “bravely defended democracy in the United States Capitol against rioters and insurrection on Jan. 6.”As the two men — both of whom were injured by rioters on Jan. 6 — were introduced, the House...

A large bull elk with his harem of does relaxes on the front lawn of a home in Estes Park, Colorado. (Via X) In separate incidents less than a week apart, two children — an 8-year-old girl and a boy, 4 — were hurt by irate cow elk protecting their calves in Estes Park, Colorado. The girl was charged and stomped by a cow elk May 30, and the boy was similarly attacked Monday, according to reports from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife department (CPW). In both instances, the children were taken to hospitals, treated and released the same day....

As the cost of shopping at the supermarket remains a gripe for Greeks, the country’s famed Feta cheese is driving a political debate over what – or who – is responsible for the high prices. Feta, the High Prices of Greek Food, and the Political Debate Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has stated that multinationals – and by extension corporate greed – are to be blamed for keeping prices high, despite being fined by his government for gouging, along with some domestic companies. However, the cost of going to the supermarket still looms as a large complaint for the Greeks. Olive...

In a pioneering study, a team of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital have identified a brain network essential for human consciousness. Aided by advances in ultrahigh-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology, researchers discovered previously unknown pathways connecting various brain regions, forming what they termed the “default ascending arousal network” (DAAN). In findings published in Science Translational Medicine, researchers propose that this brain network plays a pivotal role in maintaining wakefulness and integrating arousal with awareness in the resting human brain. The discovery could be a significant breakthrough in understanding a range of neurological disorders while shedding...

The survey shows that Greece is an exception in its views on the EU. Credit: European Parliament, CC-BY-4.0 According to a Pew Research Center survey published just ahead of European Parliament elections this week, fifty-three percent of adults in Greece hold a negative opinion of the European Union (EU). Greece ranks at the bottom among countries surveyed. The survey by the US think tank found that a median of 63 percent of adults in nine member countries have a favorable view of the bloc. Among the member countries surveyed, views of the EU are most positive in Poland and Sweden,...

The Biden administration on Thursday offered up a definition for what is considered a zero-emission building, as part of an effort to reduce building emissions around the country. The new definition is completely voluntary — but seeks to help industry figure out how to move toward cutting the structures’ contributions to climate change. “The National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building will support the sector as it advances innovative solutions essential to creating resilient communities and high-quality jobs,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a written statement. In order to be considered zero emission, a building must be energy efficient,...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called out the US government for neglecting to even ask questions after an American journalist was tortured to death in a Ukrainian jail earlier this year.Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday in St Petersburg, Putin was asked whether Russian officials would help facilitate an investigation of a French journalist who was reportedly killed last month in a missile strike west of Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine). He offered to help enable the probe, but he also contrasted the response to the Frenchman’s death to how the administration of US President Joe Biden reacted...

Greeks fought on the side of the Allies on D-Day, June 6, 1944, which was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France (and later western Europe) and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front. Eddie Lambros was one of the 155 Greek soldiers who landed on Normandy Beach the day World War II took a turn. It was a day which would eventually lead to the end of European Nazi occupation. Greeks D-Day Eddie Lambros (circled). The photograph was published in the New York Times. The photograph of the Greek-American...

Free and Equal is sponsoring a presidential debate on Friday, July 12, in Las Vegas, at Caesars Forum. The event is simultaneous with Freedomfest. Oliver Chase, Jill Stein, and Randall Terry are confirmed. Invitations have also been extended to Cornel West, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The debate moderators will be Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie, and Free & Equal founder Christina Tobin. Massie is a Republican who has served in Congress since 2012.