Free Republic

The Associated Press reports that sandstone sculptures depicting door guardians have been unearthed near the north gate of the Royal Palace at Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmer Empire. Long Kosal of the Apsara National Authority said that archaeologists were looking for fallen stones around the gate at the eleventh-century palace when they found the statues, which range in height from about 39 to 42 inches. Each of the 12 guardians are standing at attention, and wearing unique facial hair ornaments, added archaeologist Sorn Chanthorn. The statues have also been dated to the eleventh century, based upon their...

There is reportedly a five-alarm fire in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. This area will decide the 2024 election. Donald Trump must win here. He split with Hillary Clinton in 2016 and won the state. While historically an evenly split county, the voter registration advantage has tilted toward the Republicans. Shockingly, that coincides with some administrative issues at election sites that some allege are intentional. The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee were incensed that voters were reportedly turned away during the early voting process. They sued, and a Pennsylvania judge sided with them, extending the deadline until yesterday. Even then,...

DNA from 131 ancient individuals throughout the Caucasus region between Europe and Asia has been analysed, pointing to a split into two populations – one group became farmers, while the others continued living a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.The region is known as one of the earliest places people practiced animal husbandry. The new study adds insight into how this developed.The study, published in Nature, spans nearly 6,000 years of genetic data in the region.The Caucasus mountains are on the border between Europe and Asia. They stretch between the Black Sea to the west and the Caspian Sea to the east. The mountain...

The daughter of legendary NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown has endorsed former President Trump, citing his support for the black community during his first term in office. In an interview with Fox & Friends, Kimberly Brown spoke of how her father’s relationship with the former president “opened her eyes.” “My dad went to go meet with President-elect Trump, and when my dad went to go meet with the president-elect, that really opened up my eyes,” Brown said on Friday. “I stayed neutral for about a year within his presidency, and after that… I came out as a Trump supporter...

Archaeologists have found a previously unknown network of massive Bronze Age sites in Central Europe that could explain so-called Bronze Age "megaforts."..."Some of the largest sites, we call these mega-forts, have been known for a few years now, such as Gradište Iđoš [modern-day Serbia], Csanádpalota, Sântana [Hungary] or the mind-blowing Corneşti Iarcuri [Romania] enclosed by 33km of ditches and eclipsing in size the contemporary citadels and fortifications of the Hittites, Mycenaeans or Egyptians," says lead author Barry Molloy, an associate professor at University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland."What is new, however, is finding that these massive sites did not stand alone,...

[Catholic Caucus] Women Deacons, ‘Sexuality’ and More: Here’s How the Synod Final Document Changed From the DraftAmendments, or other avenues for affecting what was included in the text, still made significant difference in the 2024 text on a number of topics, including sexuality and the selection of bishops.When the final document of the Synod on Synodality’s was confirmed on Oct. 26, it emphasized that the possibility of women deacons remains unsettled.“The question of women’s access to diaconal ministry remains open,” reads the document, which was expressly approved by Pope Francis after each of its 155 paragraphs were affirmed by 355...

Does anyone in the United States not have a microwave oven? As of 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau reported “nearly universal” coverage—97 percent of U.S. households1—up from about one in four households in the mid-1980s and barely one percent in 1971.2 Apparently anticipating the growth trend that was to come, the Bureau of Labor Statistics added microwave ovens to the Consumer Price Index “basket of goods” over forty years ago.3

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Western allies for not stepping up to the plate following reports that thousands of North Koreans have joined forces with Russia. "[Russian President Vladimir] Putin is checking the reaction of the West. ... And I believe that after all these reactions, Putin will decide and increase the contingent. ... The reaction that is there today is nothing, it is zero," Zelenskyy told South Korean broadcaster KBS on Thursday in a televised interview, according to Breitbart. The U.S. must have been listening because on Friday, the Pentagon announced it was sending an additional $425 million in...

During the Roman period, Apsaros was an important port and garrison on the Colchis coast—a term that refers to a historical region on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, roughly corresponding to what is now western Georgia—Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski said. Apsaros, constructed around 2,000 years ago, was of particular importance in the time of the Roman emperors Trajan (who ruled from A.D. 98-117) and Hadrian (who ruled from A.D. 117-138).The votive plaque found during the 2024 excavation season at the site, which ran from mid-May to the end of July, is essentially a thin gold plate. It features a Greek inscription...

The RNC filed a lawsuit on Saturday after four Georgia counties extended their election office hours and decided to accept absentee ballots over the weekend in violation of state law. Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties are refusing to allow Republican poll watchers in to observe the process, according to the Republican National Committee. “This is a blatant violation of Georgia law . . . which states ‘all drop boxes shall be closed when the advance voting period ends,’” the Georgia Republican Party said in a statement on Friday. “To make matters worse, the four election office locations are situated...

Dick Cheney did it. Arnold Schwarzenegger did it. Adam Kinzinger did it, of course. So did Jeff Flake. Mike Pence walked right up to the edge but ultimately declined to take the plunge, but even George W. Bush’s daughter, Barbara Pierce Bush, and Dick Cheney’s notorious daughter Liz (that is, former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Jan. 6) jumped right in. And now Liz Cheney is calling upon the biggest prize of all, former President George W. Bush, to join the party for the uniparty and endorse Kamala Harris for president. appropriate forum for an establishment mouthpiece to issue a call to...

The chances of former President Donald Trump winning Wisconsin are good, Democrat and Republican sources told Mark Halperin — limiting Vice President Kamala Harris’s path to an Electoral College victory. Political experts have said for months that whichever candidate wins Pennsylvania wins the election, but Harris could win Pennsylvania and lose the election, according to Halperin. “My reporting is that she’s [Harris] in trouble in Wisconsin,” Halperin said on his 2Way platform. “This is based on three sources, two Republicans, one Democrat, all of whom know the state quite well, and all of whom told me today the same version...

Lebanese reports on Saturday said that an Israeli military force raided an area near the coastal city of Batroun, and took a senior Hezbollah official captive. An Israeli security source confirmed to Sky News Arabic that "a special operation was carried out, in which a person was taken captive in northern Lebanon." Arab news outlets reported that a large naval force, suspected to be Israeli, arrived at the Batroun coast in northern Lebanon and captured a Hezbollah operative staying in a hut in the area, around 140 kilometers from the Israeli border. According to the reports, the operation included over...

Brutal TV ad takes on Catholic bishops for silence on abortion: ‘You’re either a coward or a Judas’Randall Terry bluntly states in a presidential campaign ad, ‘Bishops, if you don’t warn your flock that voting for Democrats is a vote to kill Jesus in the womb, you’re either a coward or a Judas, taking 30 pieces of silver to betray innocent blood by your silence.’In the closing days of the 2024 election, a brutal new ad by the Randall Terry presidential campaign takes direct aim at the nation’s Catholic bishops for failing to boldly speak out against abortion and a...

A new study conducted on roundworms finds that a common plastic ingredient causes breaks in DNA strands, resulting in egg cells with the wrong number of chromosomes. Benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) is a chemical that makes plastic more flexible and durable, and is found in many consumer products, including food packaging, personal care products and children's toys. Previous studies have shown that BBP interferes with the body's hormones and affects human reproduction and development, but the details of how it impacts reproduction have been unclear. In the new study, researchers tested a range of doses of BBP on the nematode...

Kamala's going home. Based on Ozzies Mama I coming home. He did a great job.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced this week that it is moving military assets to the Middle East to deter continued Iranian aggression against the U.S. and Israel after Iran vowed this week to hit Israel following last week’s strikes in Iran. The Pentagon ordered the deployment of “additional ballistic missile defense destroyers, fighter squadron and tanker aircraft, and several U.S. Air Force B-52 long-range strike bombers to the region.” The forces will arrive in the region in the coming months as the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group prepares to leave the region. “These deployments build on the recent...

Peanut has been a social media celebrity for seven years. An animal rescue nonprofit was built around him, saving hundreds of animals, from rodents to horses, from abuse, neglect, or simply bad luck. His story and his antics charmed millions of people, and helped people escape from the grittier and nastier realities of living in an unforgiving world. Until the New York government decided to raid his home and kill him

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Left-wing comedian Bill Maher tore into the corporate media during his Real Time Overtime segment for lying about Donald Trump calling for Liz Cheney to be executed. “I woke up to the headline ‘Donald Trump had called for a firing squad for Liz Cheney,’ said Maher, adding, “and this is what I really don’t like about the media — No, he didn’t.” Maher goes on to explain what Trump clearly said. “He’s criticizing her for being a war hawk. I mean she is Dick Cheney’s daughter.” Maher then read Trump’s full and unambiguous quote. Here it is: