Free Republic

A recent study using drone mapping has revealed that Dmanisis Gora, a 3,000-year-old mountainside fortress in the Caucasus Mountains, is far bigger than previously thought. The discoveries also prompted a reassessment of settlement dynamics during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages...Their work, ongoing since 2018, has revealed that Dmanisis Gora is not only a major archaeological site in the South Caucasus but also a critical case study for understanding ancient urbanism and population dynamics...Initial excavations took place near a fortified promontory between two deep gorges. However, the fall visit — when thick summer foliage had receded — revealed remains...

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel announced his resignation just days before Trump’s return to the Oval Office. Werfel, who had three years left in his term, made the decision to step down on President-elect Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day as Trump has nominated former Missouri Congressman Billy Long as the new IRS Commissioner to revitalize the corrupt agency. “After significant introspection and consultation with others, I’ve determined the best way to support a successful transition is to depart the IRS on January 20, 2025,” Werfel said in a memo obtained by Wall Street Journal. “While leaving a job you love is never...

Experts have identified the brand-new threat that may further destroy the Golden State as Californians continue to lose their homes to hellish wildfires. At least 25 people have lost their lives and over 12,000 buildings have burned to the ground in the Palisades Fire - which has razed much of the Pacific Palisades, once a stunning coastal enclave home to the rich and famous. However, according to the US Geological Survey the worst is yet to come. As firefighters battle the flames and continue to diffuse them out, the federal agency claims landslides caused from burn scars left after the...

MARIETTA, Ga. — Former professional football and baseball player Bo Jackson is giving up a $21 million judgment against his niece and nephew, whom he said harassed and tried to extort money from him. A judge in February ruled in Jackson’s favor in the suit he had filed in April 2023 against Thomas Lee Anderson and Erica M. Anderson, also known as Erica Anderson Ross. Jackson, a running back who won the Heisman Trophy at Auburn and also played in both the NFL and MLB, Jackson had alleged in his lawsuit that his relatives tried to extort $20 million from...

Apparently, California environmentalists wanted the dry brush and dead trees to accumulate.The Wall St. Journal just wrote,“for environmental conservation reasons, the state doesn’t typically remove brush”Original: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/climate-environment/how-l-a-bureaucracy-made-it-harder-to-clear-flammable-brush-683f953eArchive: https://archive.ph/GVK6JI disagree with this policy.But I don’t live in California.And I respect the right of California voters to adopt policies that I disagree with.I would be curious to hear a more detailed explanation from California environmentalists, voters, elected officials, policy makers, and other people about why they chose to adopt this policy.

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis’s Autobiography, or Why the Pope Shouldn’t Be a Psychoanalyst — Article by Dr. Tomasz DekertIn recent reports about Pope Francis's newly released autobiography, two aspects particularly caught my attention. First, the book recounts episodes from Fr. Jorge Bergoglio SJ's life in which he sought help from a psychiatrist. Second, it includes his now-traditional (ironic, isn't it?) critique of what a German website calls the “arch-conservative church representatives who continue to cling to the so-called Tridentine Mass.”I reconstruct the Pope’s discourse based on the English version of the book (Pope Francis, Hope: The Autobiography, trans. R. Dixon,...

Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson 🚨BREAKING: President Trump and First Lady Melania boarding a plane to head to D.C. From Trump War Room 3:42 PM · Jan 18, 2025

Allies of ex-Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) are reportedly angling to win a pardon for the disgrace pol from President-elect Trump. President Biden has apparently rebuffed the idea multiple times since the fall, forcing Menendez to set his sights on Trump — who he voted to convict during both of impeachment trials, sources told NBC News. Despite the bad blood, the former Jersey pol who awaits a Jan. 29 sentencing, is more confident that Trump will deliver mercy once he retakes the Oval Office — especially if he asks for a sentence commutation instead of a full pardon, the outlet reported....

Donald Trump made the Village People "great again" for conservatives, and now the 1970s disco group will be featured during his inauguration weekend, along with Kid Rock and Billy Ray Cyrus. Why it matters: Trump is personally picking his celebration's musical acts to represent his eclectic tastes, an inauguration official tells Axios. The Village People earned a special place in MAGA world because their 1978 hit "YMCA" inspired what's now known as "The Trump Dance" (yes, it has a Wikipedia entry).

Cancer cells express an abnormal metabolism characterized by increased glucose consumption owing to genetic mutations and mitochondrial dysfunction. Previous studies indicate that unlike healthy tissues, cancer cells are unable to effectively use ketone bodies for energy. Furthermore, ketones inhibit the proliferation and viability of cultured tumor cells. As the Warburg effect is especially prominent in metastatic cells, we hypothesized that dietary ketone supplementation would inhibit metastatic cancer progression in vivo.

This is very well done.

rt 22 m 44 s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg0xExQIy6k California leaders are speaking out about the LA Fires redevelopment plans, and we've got the latest updates. From rebuilding efforts to coastal building concerns, we're diving into the details of the proposed plans and what they could mean for the state's future. Stay informed about the latest developments in the LA Fires and what California leaders are saying about the tragedy going on right now. Get the inside scoop on the proposals, controversies, and more.

...rt 11m 52 s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsQ6-tCeXp0 \/ Will Washington D.C. see a historic and unprecedented attack unfold on Inauguration Day? As the country prepares for a regime change, rumors and speculation are swirling about the possibility of an attack. Join us as the "Negotiating Reality" channel delves into the rumors, examines the evidence, and explores the potential consequences of such a drastic event. From Washington D.C. to the streets of New York, he'll explore the what-ifs and maybes of a potential attack on Inauguration Day. Stay tuned for a thought-provoking and informative analysis of this extraordinary scenario.

President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he “most likely” would give TikTok 90 more days to work out a deal that would allow the popular video-sharing platform to avoid a U.S. ban. Trump said in an NBC News interview that he had not decided what to do but was considering granting TikTok a reprieve after he is sworn into office on Monday. A law that prohibits mobile app stores and internet hosting services from distributing TikTok to U.S. users takes effect on Sunday. Under the law passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden last year, TikTok’s China-based parent...

The Charismatic Cardinal Suenens | Part 1Editors Note: We are happy to republish this previously ‘lost’ (unpublished since 1997) article in conjunction with a history of the CCR with Kennedy Hall on our YouTube Channel. The late John Vennari was a crusader for Catholic orthodoxy and our former Editor-in-Chief.Part 2 will be published soon.The August 1997 issue of Catholic Family News featured the article “A ‘Catholic’ Charismatic Extravaganza” which contained a report on the Charismatic’s 30th Anniversary conference in Pittsburgh. The article also catalogued a brief summary of the most serious problems with “Catholic” pentecostalism as being radically opposed to...

A federal judge in Texas ruled against American Airlines after the company centered employee retirement plans on environmental, social, and governance factors, also known as ESG. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor concluded on Jan. 10 that American Airlines failed to exercise its fiduciary duty to make investment decisions for retirement accounts based on the best interests of the beneficiaries, according to a report from Reuters. O’Connor added that American Airlines had inappropriate ties to BlackRock, the asset management behemoth which has long been a leading advocate for the ESG investing movement. ... The evidence made clear that [American’s] incestuous relationship...

TEMPLE, Texas — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeks to classify a Central Texas plant formerly believed to be extinct as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.... Big red sage, commonly found along streams and ravines in Central Texas, was presumed extinct until it was rediscovered in 1980....

A man in a lunatic asylum shouted, “I am Napoleon.” Another man asked,, “How do you know?” The first patient said, “God told me!” Just then, a voice from another room shouted, “I did not!”The very real state of contemporary identity politics.Dr. Rick Levine, who likes to go by ‘Rachel’ and ‘Admiral’, and was made Assistant Health Secretary and an admiral by the Biden administration (which still couldn’t make him a woman) was deemed worthy of a high-profile exit interview at Politico since he will now leave office to pursue whatever it is men in admiral and female drag do.He...

KUTZTOWN, PA — Honoring the theme of love with universal symbols and imagery, the Postal Service has released the latest in its popular Love series stamps, featuring the work of iconic graphic artist Keith Haring. The Love (2025) Forever stamp features an untitled 1985 drawing by Haring that includes two moving figures reaching toward a red heart. “The non-specificity of the figures allows a variety of people to see themselves in this stamp,” said Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS who selected Haring’s work for the stamp design. Centered on a red heart with motion lines radiating toward two...

While set to leave office in the next few days, Biden isn’t done making stupid and dangerous decisions that harm Americans. By now, most Americans are familiar with the horrendous policies enacted by outgoing President Joe Biden. From leaving our southern border wide open to driving up inflation, the Democrat commander-in-chief’s tenure in the Oval Office has been an unequivocal disaster for the country and its citizens. While Biden is set to leave office in disgrace in the next few days, that doesn’t mean he and the left-wing radicals running his administration are finished making stupid and dangerous decisions. In...