Free Republic

Japan is SO safe, it's mind-blowing! 🤯 I visited an Apple Store in Japan and couldn't believe what I saw. iPhones were just sitting on MagSafe chargers, completely untethered! No security cables, no alarms, nothing! 😱 You could literally pick one up and walk out (but obviously, don't!). It's the same story with the headphones, iPads, and even the MacBooks – just a charging cable. Imagine unplugging a MacBook Pro, doing a victory lap around the store, and then putting it back! 😂 This level of trust is a true testament to Japanese culture and society. It's a stark contrast...

Peace is not at hand in the Middle East, and Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu remains determined to expand the war. Syria’s de facto partition into Israeli and Turkish territories is the prelude to wider war with Iran. As the Times of Israel reported last week, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) has “continued to increase its readiness and preparations” for “potential strikes in Iran.” Netanyahu’s top priority is the destruction of Iran before Russia wraps up its victory in Ukraine and Syria becomes a new battleground for Turks and Israelis. It’s not simply the end of Washington’s “rules-based international order.” It’s...

Dow ends down over 1,100 points to suffer its worst day since August after hawkish Fed rate outlook By Isabel Wang U.S. stocks finished lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its worst day in over four months after the Federal Reserve decided to lower its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points but reduced its forecast for further rate cuts in 2025. The Dow fell 1,123.03 points, or 2.6%, to end at 42,326.87. The blue-chip index fell for a 10th straight session, logging its longest losing streak since October 1974, according to Dow Jones Market Data....

Donald Trump’s re-election and his hunky son’s enrollment at NYU are fueling college Republican Club membership, sources tell The Post. Students are proudly wearing their MAGA hats on campus, membership numbers have doubled and in New York, the club is fielding many enquiries about Barron Trump, a freshman at the Stern School of Business this year. “Interest was piqued initially by the fact that Barron Trump had matriculated as a student at our business school, but the election motivated a lot of people to act,” said Kaya Walker, president of NYU’s College Republican Club.

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business; End to Sex Slavery; Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14)Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) favorability is declining, sinking even lower than Democrat President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, a new poll shows. Polling from The Economist/YouGov shows Johnson with a 30 percent favorability rating, well below Biden’s 40 percent rating and Harris’s 44 percent. Thirty-six percent of poll respondents say they have an unfavorable view of Johnson, and 34 percent who “don’t know.” The results show a slight decline in public opinion from last month, when another YouGov survey showed Johnson with 33 percent approval and 34 percent disapproval.

A State Department agency – which has been chided by conservatives for its alleged blacklisting of Americans and news outlets – is set to be refunded in the continuing resolution (CR) bill currently being hammered out among lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The Global Engagement Center has been included in page 139 of the CR. Although it doesn’t specify its budget allocation, a previous Inspector General report shows the agency’s FY 2020 budget totaled $74.26 million, of which $60 million was appropriated by Congress. The provision in the CR can be found under "Foreign Affairs Section 301. Global Engagement Center Extension,"...

Iran is in the midst of a fuel shortage and an electricity crisis, causing essential utilities to be shut down in the middle of a cold winter. The regime has failed to provide for its own people but has spent billions of dollars on terror abroad. Al Jazeera reported Wednesday: Tens of millions of people across Iran are facing major disruptions as authorities shut down services in the face of an exacerbating energy and currency crisis amid historic regional tensions. This week, government offices, schools, banks and businesses in major provinces and in the capital Tehran have been largely closed...

North Korean soldiers have been filmed storming Ukrainian trenches as reports emerge of Kim Jong-un’s troops suffering significant losses.Volodymyr Zelensky published a series of clips showing North Koreans on the battlefield in Kursk and accused Moscow of trying to “hide” growing casualty numbers.In drone footage shared on the Ukrainian president’s Telegram channel on Monday, North Korean troops were seen sheltering behind a tree after allegedly advancing on Ukrainian positions in Kursk.Another video appeared to show Russian forces trying to conceal the presence of their North Korean counterparts, covering their faces with masks and using a campfire to burn the faces...

Though it's covered in a layer of downy fuzz, the "hairs" of the gympie-gympie plant deliver a sting so toxic that the pain can last for years. Although the leaves of the gympie-gympie plant may look soft and fuzzy, one touch will make anybody regret they ever saw it. That’s because this stinging bush delivers one of nature’s most painful experiences. In fact, this native to the Australian rainforest has a sting that’s so intense, it’s driven soldiers to suicide ⏤ and the British government once considered using it as a biological weapon of war. Wikimedia Commons - The unsuspecting...

Federal authorities and the U.S. military released a detailed statement on Monday night saying that after an extensive investigation, the mysterious drone sightings that people have seen on the East Coast do not amount to anything nefarious, nor is there any threat to the public.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency due to H5N1, more commonly known as avian influenza or bird flu. The emergency follows an outbreak of the virus among dairy cows in Southern California farms, according to the news release on the governor’s website. After initially being reported in Texas and Kansas in March, bird flu has been confirmed in cattle across 16 U.S. states, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported. "This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this...

Join me as we ride through Indonesia on what is one of the world's best train suites for only $100! We started this trip in Yogyakarta and rode this 6hr train all the way to Jakarta in first class

Michael Brewer of Brewer & Shipley passed away on Tuesday at the age of 80. The news was confirmed in a press release, noting that Brewer had been battling multiple illnesses for the last three years. Brewer & Shipley were best known for their Top 10 hit, "One Toke Over the Line," released as their debut single in 1971. "Who would have guessed they [the duo's record label] would release it as a single, it would go shooting up the charts, and the Nixon administration would try to ban it?" Brewer said to UCR in 2016. "We made Nixon's 'hate...

Explanation: What kind of strange galaxy is this? This rare structure is known as a polar ring galaxy, and it seems to have two different rings of stars. In this galaxy, NGC 660, one ring of bright stars, gas, and dark dust appears nearly vertical, while another similar but shorter ring runs diagonally from the upper left. How polar ring galaxies obtain their striking appearance remains a topic of research, but a leading theory holds that it is usually the result of two galaxies with different central ring planes colliding. NGC 660 spans about 50,000 light years and is located...

OpenAI is giving users a new way to talk to its viral chatbot: 1-800-CHATGPT. By dialing the U.S. number (1-800-242-8478) or messaging it via WhatsApp, users can access an “easy, convenient, and low-cost way to try it out through familiar channels,” OpenAI said Wednesday. At first, the company said callers will get 15 minutes free per month. The news follows a barrage of updates from OpenAI as part of a 12-day release event. The most notable announcement was the official rollout of Sora, OpenAI’s buzzy AI video-generation tool. OpenAI recently hired its first chief marketing officer, indicating plans to spend...

The de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has said the country is exhausted by war and is not a threat to its neighbours or to the West. In an interview with the BBC in Damascus, he called for sanctions on Syria to be lifted. Sharaa led the lightning offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime less than two weeks ago. He is the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant group in the rebel alliance, and was previously known by his wartime pseudonym of Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. He said HTS should be de-listed as a terrorist organisation. It...

-snip- SEC. 605. TREATMENT OF ELECTRONIC SERVICES PROVIDED FOR HOUSE OFFICES. (a) In General.--In this section-- -snip- (d) Motions to Quash or Modify.--Upon a motion made promptly by a House office or provider for a House office, a court of competent jurisdiction shall quash or modify any legal process directed to the provider for a House office if compliance with the legal process would require the disclosure of House data of the House office.

Biggest loosening in 14 years likely just the beginning as Beijing braces for Trump’s sky-high tariffs to comePresident Xi Jinping says he has “full confidence in achieving this year’s economic growth target” and in China “continuing to play its role as the world’s largest economic growth engine.” Global markets seem less sure, though. Pledges this week for bold new stimulus steps by China’s Politburo barely got global investors’ attention. On Monday, Beijing

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is threatening to hold up a short-term funding package that needs to pass by the end of the day Friday to avoid a government shutdown unless leaders in Congress agree to vote on amendments to offset the cost of new spending in the proposal. Paul has significant leverage to force colleagues to vote on spending cuts because congressional leaders are late in unveiling the continuing resolution, which is expected to fund the government until March 14. The House may not even vote on the package until Wednesday or Thursday, which means Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer...