Free Republic

The NFL’s player safety and concussion protocols were drawn into the limelight for all the wrong reasons during Buffalo’s Week 5 loss to Houston on Sunday. For the second week in a row, Bills quarterback Josh Allen found himself face down on the turf in a scene similar to the one in last week’s loss to Baltimore— a defender bearing down, an off-balance throw and a grimace-inducing blow to the head. This story featured a new wrinkle, though: smelling salts. The big hit Allen took late in Sunday’s game drew the attention of the league’s concussion spotter, though the quarterback...

Former Jets defensive tackle Abdul Salaam, a member of the team’s famous “New York Sack Exchange” defensive line, has died at the age of 71, his wife, Debbie, told ESPN on Wednesday. He had been dealing with multiple health issues, including diabetes, per the report. Salaam played for the Jets for eight seasons from 1976-83 and starred alongside Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko and Marty Lyons on the Jets’ feared defensive line. The four first became teammates in 1979 and played together for five seasons, with the nickname reportedly first surfacing in 1981.

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to ban the sale of filtered cigarettes in unincorporated areas of the county. This measure was passed to cut down on the pollution of cigarette butts and promote human health by restricting the use of plastics. The ordinance was created by the Board’s Tobacco Waste Ad Hoc Subcommittee. It was supported by a coalition of environmental, health, educational and other groups and stakeholders. "This is a momentous day that builds on the work our community has been doing for generations to protect our environment and establish Santa Cruz County...

The 60th quadrennial presidential election in the United States is in four weeks, less than a month away. As the campaign season is heating up, let’s take a look at the election of 1968, the last time the incumbent President decided not to run for re-election despite not being term-limited, just like President Joe Biden did this year. As the 2024 election is fast approaching, we need to make a big jump in American history, skipping from 1932 to 1968. Evidently, there are a lot of events we have to jump over, here’s a list of just the most significant...

WASHINGTON, DC — Kamala revealed a new strategy to combat the devastation of Hurricane Milton by simply saying "Don't" to the massive storm system with 150mph winds. "Don't, Milton. Just don't," Kamala told the hurricane. "You've been warned, Milton!" The Vice President's message to Hurricane Milton was reportedly met with gale-force winds, flash flooding, and flying debris. Despite Harris's bold words, Milton somehow continued inland undeterred. Meteorologists praised Harris for her decisive action, but said they worried her tactics may not defeat the hurricane. "The Vice President is a great leader, and we appreciate all she's done to mitigate the...

Four newly translated Japanese texts describe how ritual samurai beheadings were supposed to take place during the Edo period and later.When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. This 1860 photo shows a samurai with a raised sword. Four newly translated texts shed light on how samurai carried out the death ritual of Seppuku. (Image credit: Heritage Images / Contributor via Getty Images) Four texts that discuss how the samurai carried out Seppuku, a ritual death in which a fellow samurai would usually behead another, have been translated into English...

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) revealed Wednesday that the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization is using an environmental non-governmental organization (NGO), “Green Without Borders,” as a front for its activities. In a statement, the IDF said: The IDF’s 36th Division is conducting limited, localized, targeted raids against key Hezbollah terrorist targets in southern Lebanon that pose a threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel. During the operations so far, the troops have eliminated numerous terrorists, destroyed underground infrastructure, and dismantled over 500 operational enemy infrastructure and combat compounds, including weapons storage facilities. Over many years, the Hezbollah terrorist organization has cynically...

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – The North Carolina National Guard says a Black Hawk helicopter crew was grounded after an incident in which they flew low over a Hurricane Helene donation and supply area, blowing over three tents and scattering items in the air.

You’re letting this be said in your classrooms? That men who won’t vote for Kamala Harris for President should be lined up and shot?? ⁦

North Korea is now sending troops to fight and die in Ukraine alongside Russian soldiers, according to Seoul’s defense minister, Kim Yong-hyun. Kim told South Korean politicians on Tuesday it was "highly likely" six North Korean officers were killed in a Ukrainian missile strike on Donetsk last week. "We assess that the occurrence of casualties among North Korean officers and soldiers in Ukraine is highly likely, considering various circumstances," Kim said, adding that they expect Pyongyang to send more soldiers to Russia in the near future. "The relations between Russia and North Korea are evolving to be almost as close...

Wednesday on CNN, network contributor Scott Jennings derided Vice President Kamala Harris for her comments criticizing Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) amid Hurricane Milton’s track to his state’s west coast. Jenning called Harris’ move a “big campaign mistake,” noting that Harris’ comments contradicted President Joe Biden’s remarks about the Florida governor. “In all of your public communications, no matter what you’re doing, you have to always show that American people that you have their fellow citizens in your heart,” Jennings said. “I mean, this is the kind of historic storm that some people aren’t going to survive it. There’s going to...

Trump teases Biden's beach attire and claims sleeping is what Biden does best. 'Somebody convinced him he looks good in a bathing suit. And when you're 82, typically bathing suits.

Today is the first anniversary of the massacre perpetrated by Hamas on Israel. One year ago today, about 1200 hundred people were killed in the surprise attack, and about 250 taken hostage. Almost all of those killed or taken hostage were civilians, and the large majority were either women, children, or the elderly. About 100 remain as hostages today. This sad occasion gets me to thinking about the term “Islamophobia.” I don’t even remember this term existing in my youth. This piece in The New Republic in 2011 traces the origin of the term to the 1970s. But from those...

In Michigan, election clerks are barring partisan election observers from participating in the phase of the election process where mail-in ballots are checked to see if the person casting the ballot is registered to vote, when the ballot was received, and whether the signature is valid. Committee on House Administration, Chairman Bryan Steil, (R-Wis) has asked Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson "to communicate to the various clerk offices that partisan challengers are permitted to observe initial processing of mail-in ballots and signature verification." Benson insists that "partisan observers are only permitted to view the counting of ballots that have...

Pro-Palestinian radicals vandalized the constituency office of Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) in New York City early Tuesday, smashing windows, smearing the façade with red paint, and painting “Free Gaza” on the sidewalk outside. The attack occurred shortly after October 7, the anniversary of the Hamas terror attack in Israel. There had been anti-Israel protests in New York City all day, with some demonstrators celebrating terrorism as a form of “resistance.” The New York Post, which obtained surveillance video of the attack, reported Wednesday:

The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland has said it is appalled by remarks made by a Fine Gael councillor at a meeting of Dublin City Council last night. Councillor Punam Rane has apologized for the remarks she made at last night’s local authority meeting during a motion on the Occupied Territories Bill. Rane, who represents the Kimmage Rathmines Ward, said during the debate that the “USA should have taken a stance but how many of you know that the entire US economy is ruled by the Jews, is ruled by Israel. They will never be able to take a stance”....

Fulton County is currently in a legal fight with the board over which election monitors to hire this election cycle. The Georgia State Election Board voted to subpoena Fulton County's 2020 election records amid a legal fight over election monitors. The board voted 3-2 on Tuesday to subpoena all election records from the 2020 election in Fulton County, the Associated Press reported. The vote came a day after Fulton County filed a lawsuit claiming that the board does not have the authority to make the county "accept, and Fulton County to pay for, additional monitors for the 2024 election that...

About 70.6 million Social Security recipients are expected to receive a smaller cost of living increase for 2025 than in recent years, as inflation has moderated. The Social Security Administration makes the official COLA announcement Thursday, and analysts predicted in advance it would be 2.5% for 2025. Recipients received a 3.2% increase in their benefits in 2024, after a historically large 8.7% benefit increase in 2023, brought on by record 40-year-high inflation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin supposedly demolished his beloved summer residence in southern Russia due to his fear of being killed in a Ukrainian drone strike. The Bocharov Ruchey residence in Sochi appeared to have been torn down in February or March, leaving a dirt pit and construction materials behind, according to satellite images obtained by the Russian opposition outlet Proekt. Putin, 72, allegedly felt a “threat to his physical safety” at the Black Sea resort after Sochi was hit by multiple drone attacks, Proekt said. In September 2023, in particular, plumes of smoke and flames were seen at the site...

The last few weeks support my theory that leftist feminist - lefteminism - is not a political or social ideology but a form of psychosis. For the idiots out there, I’m not talking about the idea that women should be treated equally to men with only a few necessary allowances for differences. I’m talking about the bizarre ideology that had been on display again and again in this campaign. Lefteminism has nothing to do with empowering women. It is merely a collection of hysterical daddy issues compounded by its affluent, over-credentialed practitioners’ personal psychodramas. Now, this is where we stop...