Free Republic

Six Russian nationals suspected to have terror ties to ISIS have been arrested in a coordinated sting operation spanning Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia, The Post can exclusively reveal. Two ICE sources confirmed to The Post they arrested the six people, who hail from Tajikistan, over the last week after the FBI contacted the agency to warn it. Part of the investigation featured a wiretap which revealed one of the now-arrested individuals was talking about bombs, the sources said. “Remember the Boston marathon [bombing]? I’m afraid something like that might happen again or worse,” one of the sources told...

Screen The frost on Olympus Mons, is shaded in blue. CREDIT: Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlishot A Brown University astrobiologist and an international team of planetary scientists say they have found an ‘improbable’ series of patches of water frost sitting atop a number of massive Martian volcanoes. According to the researchers behind the discovery, this finding represents the first time that water frost of any kind has been spotted near the planet’s equator. It would also be a finding that goes against current models describing the red planet’s atmosphere and water cycle. “We thought it was improbable for frost to form around...

Florida's blanket restrictions on medical care for transgender children were ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge on Tuesday, striking down a key pillar of Gov. Ron DeSantis' platform. In his ruling from Tallahassee, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle invalidated a Florida health code rule and a new state law that prohibited Medicaid payments for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. He found these bans violated federal laws, including the Affordable Care Act's prohibition on sex discrimination in healthcare. "Florida has adopted a statute and rules that ban gender-affirming care for minors even when medically appropriate," Judge Hinkle wrote in his 105-page...

Explanation: Why is the sky near Antares and Rho Ophiuchi so colorful, yet dusty? The colors result from a mixture of objects and processes. Fine dust -- illuminated by starlight -- produces blue reflection nebulae. Gaseous clouds whose atoms are excited by ultraviolet starlight produce reddish emission nebulae. Backlit dust clouds block starlight and so appear dark. Antares, a red supergiant and one of the brighter stars in the night sky, lights up the yellow-red clouds on the upper right of the featured image. The Rho Ophiuchi star system lies at the center of the blue reflection nebula on the...

Patti Davis, the daughter of President Reagan, pointed to Hunter Biden’s ongoing trial as a symptom of all-too-common systemic drug addiction, looking less at its political impacts and more about what it says about the pressure of scrutiny and danger of illegal drugs. “Hunter Biden’s legal case is, at its root, a story about the toxic, careless choices made by a drug addict,” she wrote in a New York Times op-ed Monday. “It’s about the fact that addicts weave tragedy into their own lives and into the lives of those around them. Addicts don’t think about other people; they think...

Gazprom, once Russia's biggest earning company, last year made its largest ever cut in natural gas production as the war in Ukraine continues to affect the majority state-owned energy giant. Until 2023, Gazprom was the largest publicly listed natural gas company in the world, but the engine of Russia's economy has paid a high price due to Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, last month posting its first annual loss in a quarter of a century. Adding to the bad news, Gazprom's annual report released Monday said that it had cut natural gas production by 13 percent to an all-time...

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, slammed his GOP colleagues for their acceptance of the Hunter Biden verdict Tuesday after arguing former President Trump’s guilty verdict was the result of a rigged system. Hunter Biden was convicted Tuesday on three counts related to failing to acknowledge drug use when purchasing a weapon. “The contrast today is just staggering. Apparently, when a Republican is convicted, it’s weaponization. But when a Democrat is convicted — the president’s son, no less — that’s justice. I mean, give me a break. Hunter Biden was found guilty by a...

One of the jurors in the Hunter Biden gun trial said the case was heart-wrenching, moments after the guilty verdict was handed down. The 68-year-old juror from Sussex County, Delaware described the case to Fox News but said he didn't buy the story that Hunter went to a 7-Eleven — and said he thought he was probably buying crack-cocaine. "Nobody is above the law, doesn't matter who you are," the juror said.

A woman in India has reportedly committed suicide after being coerced into an abortion. According to police, Sandu Kavya Sri, age 20, married her husband Sandu Srikantah two years ago, and together they welcomed a daughter, who is now 10 months old. Kavya Sri became pregnant a second time and was five months along when at the end of May, her husband took her for an ultrasound that revealed their second child was also a girl. She then decided to stay with her parents, but was pressured by her husband and his parents to undergo an abortion, because the child...

A new survey has revealed that widening cultural polarization between Republican and Democratic voters is becoming increasingly evident as the November election approaches. On key hot-button issues regarding marriage and family, abortion, gun ownership, race, immigration, and biological sex, Biden and Trump supporters are displaying widely divergent worldviews. The poll results, released last week by the Pew Research Center, surveyed over 8,000 adults (including over 7,000 registered voters) in early April. The survey “examines the political values of the Biden and Trump coalitions that underlie policy attitudes in many of these areas,” wrote Pew. For electoral analysts like Family Research...

The Supreme Court is about to drown us in a deluge of explosive and massively consequential decisions involving some of the most controversial issues of the day. Right now, the justices are scrambling to complete blockbusters involving abortion, guns, homelessness, unions, social media, online disinformation, pollution, the administrative state—and, oh yes, hundreds of Jan. 6 prosecutions, including Donald Trump’s. Yet at the moment, there’s a logjam: The court, which likes to wrap up decisions by the end of June, is way behind schedule, releasing just a trickle of minor cases several weeks in a row. Even if it stretches into...

A new CNN report citing several anonymous sources claims Hunter Biden's convictions on all 3 felonies today bear the distinct marks of Russian disinformation. "Our expert, highly credible, expert, and very reliable expert anonymous sources from deep within the intelligence community have all said these convictions are likely the result of an elaborate disinformation campaign from Russia," said CNN anchor Jim Acosta. "We urge the public to ignore these convictions until we have more details. Do not watch any news sources except CNN, as we are the only ones with this information. You can trust me, because I'm Jim Acosta."...

Bidenomics is great. For somebody. I’m not sure whom. But the media has spent months claiming that…Bidenomics is fantasticThe only reason Americans don’t release it is because they’re morons obsessed with the price of foodAfter all the propaganda, the hectoring and the gaslighting, the media finally decides to admit that it’s hopeless because people are very stupid and keep insisting that they need to eat food instead of economic projections.This Politico article is as close to despair as the media gets.President Joe Biden is running out of the tools — and the time — he needs to turn around Americans’...

Apple’s efforts to narrow its artificial intelligence gap with rivals by partnering with OpenAI did little to move Wall Street. The iPhone maker’s stock price fell about 2% in Monday after-hours trading. ... Apple’s deal with OpenAI has enraged Elon Musk, who threatened to ban Apple devices from his companies — namely Tesla, SpaceX, and X. Why? On June 10 Musk called the Apple/OpenAI deal “an unacceptable security violation,” CNBC reported.

Dr. Tony Evans has recently stepped down from his pastoral duties following an admission of personal failure. Evans, a towering figure in the evangelical world, has long been a polarizing character due to his controversial theological positions and alliances. Serving as the senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, for an astounding 48 years, Evans has built a significant public following, authored many books, and has even released a study bible under his own name. However, his ministry has been marred by several heresies and doctrinal errors that demand scrutiny. Tony Evans’ theological aberrations are not merely...

Convicted felon Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, said he was “disappointed” that a jury held him accountable for gun violations. “I am more grateful today for the love and support I experienced this last week from Melissa, my family, my friends, and my community than I am disappointed by the outcome,” he said in a statement after the verdict. “Recovery is possible by the grace of God, and I am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time,” he said.

As it issues endorsements for the November election, the union representing Portland Public Schools teachers is asking candidates for city office whether Portland should do more to respond to “the ongoing genocide in Palestine.” The Portland Association of Teachers sent a questionnaire to City Council candidates prior to a May 30 group endorsement interview. WW has obtained a copy of the questionnaire, which included questions submitted by union members. “Do you believe Portland elected officials have done their due diligence in responding to the ongoing genocide in Palestine?” one of the 15 questions read.

David French just can’t help himself. Weeks after having his panel on polarization yanked from the Presbyterian Church in America’s (PCA) General Assembly over his well-documented character assassinations of faithful Christians, French wrote a New York Times op-ed bemoaning that his “old church canceled” him and made him “sad.” Then he went on MSNBC and specifically “Morning Joe,” a network that routinely mocks Christians, to double down on his smear campaign and legitimize a bunch of republic-destroying lawfare because the target is Donald Trump. So to recap, David French voluntarily and very publicly left the PCA because it was teeming...

Recent excavations in Pompeii have uncovered a remarkable room with walls painted in a vivid, sky-blue hue, a color seldom seen in Pompeian ruins.This room, discovered in the Insula 10 area of Regio IX, is thought to have served as a sacrarium, a space dedicated to pagan rituals and the preservation of sacred objects.The walls of this 8-square-meter room, known as Room 32, are adorned with frescoes in the Fourth Style, characterized by its intricate and narrative aesthetic...The sacrarium's walls are painted a brilliant sky blue, a color rarely seen in Pompeian frescoes and typically reserved for spaces of great...

Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology of Mérida (IAM) have unearthed a slate plaque at the Casas del Turuñuelo site in Guareña, Badajoz, Spain. Measuring approximately 20 centimeters wide, this plaque is intricately engraved on both sides with various motifs, including geometric patterns, repeated faces, and a combat scene featuring four warriors...The plaque's detailed engravings depict four warriors with decorated clothing and weapons, suggesting its use as a reference for creating intricate designs on various materials.In addition to the slate plaque, the 2024 excavation campaign has revealed the location of the eastern gate of the palace complex. This gate provides...