Free Republic

Three crew members of the Bayesian superyacht are officially under investigation for crimes including negligence, recklessness and failing to save the ship from an oncoming storm, according to Italian prosecutors. Captain James Cutfield, chief engineer Timothy Parker Eaton and deckhand Matthew Griffiths are in line to face criminal charges, according to the public prosecutor of Termini Imerese in Sicily, close to where the yacht sank amid a severe storm. The potential charges were set out as rescue workers strive to raise the vessel, currently 50 meters (164 feet) below the surface, off the coast of Porticello. Allegedly, “through negligence consisting...

The long shadow of the pandemic still looms over the workforce, with many still working from home. But office buildings and downtown parking garages are slowly filling up as people return to their cubicles. The latest data from the Placer.ai Office Index suggests that nationwide office visits may be trending upwards once again. Although March 2025 office visit levels didn’t match the peaks of October and July 2024, visits last month were only 32.2% below March 2019 levels — an improvement over March 2024. Significantly, among months with 21 or fewer working days, March 2025 ranked as the second-busiest in-office...

Jon Voight has been taking meetings around town with union reps and studio executives to understand the issues plaguing domestic production, Deadline has confirmed... We understand that Trump’s other two ambassador picks, Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson, are not involved in Voight’s conversations... The exact plan that Coming Home Oscar winner Voight, whose daughter is Angelina Jolie, has prepared for Trump is unclear, but sources with knowledge of his conversations with Hollywood insiders tell us they expect a federal tax incentive to be the main component. As the lack of production in L.A. displays, the U.S. film and television industry...

[Catholic Caucus] CONCLAVE: Restoring Unity to the ChurchFr. Claude BartheRes NovaeMay 3, 2025Even prior to the opening of the pre-conclave General Congregations, the Eternal City has entered into a state of effervescence. The question has arisen as to whether the 135 cardinal electors, nearly 80% of whom were appointed by Francis, will bring to the pontificate a man whose governance will be in the same vein, or, on the contrary, a cardinal with a will to compromise, who will take into account the grievances of the conservatives, to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the state of the forces...

The coalition campaign in this election has been shocking - incompetent, flatfooted, timid, incoherent and today we saw Liberals (in Australia the major conservative party is called the Liberal Party) ...... If the coalition draws the wrong lesson ..... it risks being destroyed ....... and already I do hear fake autopsies being written like this today by the Prime Minister: "The Liberal Party has become more and more right wing under Peter Dutton ,,,,," In fact Dutton isn't of the hard right or certainly hasn't shown it ....... he isn't even offering bigger tax cuts than Labor (the governing party)...

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW.... I LEARNED FROM NOAH'S ARK 1. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark. 2. Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone might ask you to do something REALLY big. 3. Don't listen to critics -- do what has to be done. 4. Build on high ground. 5. For safety's sake, travel in pairs. 6. Two heads are better than one. 7. Speed isn't always an advantage. The cheetahs were on board, but so were the snails. 8. If you can't fight or flee -- float! 9. Take care of...

Hamas has told mediators it will release a number of foreign captives in the coming days, Abu Ubaida, the spokesman of the group's armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, said in a video on its Telegram account on Tuesday (May 3). The Brigades spokesman did not give more details on the number of captives or their nationalities. He also said his group clashed with the Israeli army on three fronts and was able to "kill and injure a number of Israeli soldiers" as well as destroy 22 military vehicles. The unit's navy also used an underwater missile called 'Aasif' for the first...

Hollywood celebrities using popular weight loss drug Ozempic to shred those unwanted pounds are now facing an unexpected new side effect dubbed “Ozempic mouth,” according to a report. Users of the hottest prescription drug in Tinseltown, including Sharon Osbourne, Whoopie Goldberg, and Rebel Wilson, are showing signs of the distinctive side effect linked to rapid facial weight loss from a higher dose of the GLP-1 medication, a New York-based cosmetic dermatologist told the DailyMail.com. “Many users of Ozempic who I know report noticeable volume loss in the face, which can result in the formation of fine lines, wrinkles, sagging skin,...

The United Nations could become unable to pay its staff and suppliers by September and its peacekeepers by mid-2025, following an outsized projected deficit and a leaked White House proposal to end funding for the intergovernmental body,.. The U.N.’s $200 million deficit in 2024 is measly compared to the $1.1 billion deficit the organization is projected to incur at the end of 2025, barring any budget cuts, .. The deficit reportedly will hobble the organization’s ability to pay salaries and suppliers by September. The U.N. is billed to inform its member states Saturday that its $3.7 billion budget intended to...

Nearly 100 volunteers and rescue personnel showed up on Long Island Saturday to continue the frantic search for a missing political candidate who inexplicably vanished last month. Splitting off into pairs, the volunteers set out at 7 a.m. to canvas and comb through Long Beach, where Petros Krommidas, 29, was last seen on April 23 when he went for a training swim, cops and family said. Soon after he went missing, police found the Krommidas’ locked car by the Allegria Hotel, just near the beach he had regularly visited to train for a triathlon, his family added. Krommidas – a...

The statement, titled “Statement of Support for Trans and Non-Binary People’s Inclusion and Rights,” called the ruling “harmful,” “transphobic,” and a “victory for the patriarchy.” It calls for inclusive policies in single-sex spaces, rejecting the idea that trans inclusion undermines women’s rights. They declared that trans women are women. So far, 1600 alleged academics have signed it. You don’t get crazier than that.

Backcountry runners are embracing the physical and emotional challenge of racing with pack burros that don't always move at their pace. Burro races honor Old West history and hinge on a delicate partnership between runner and beast of burden. Burros, a Spanish-derived word for donkeys and their wild cousins, must carry a saddle, pick, pan and shovel in homage to a bygone era and the mythical sprint by miners to a land claims office with their pack animal. Some 70 teams tested their skills Saturday in a race winding through the historic, turquoise-mining town of Cerrillos in northern New Mexico....

​Sovereignty is the winner of the 151st Kentucky Derby with the favorite, Journalism, finishing second.

John "Paddy" Hemingway, the last surviving pilot who flew in the Battle of Britain, died in March of this year. He was 105. Hemingway was forced to bail out of his aircraft four times – three times in England and a fourth over enemy territory in Italy, where locals helped him get back to Allied lines. He said that his "biggest regret was the loss of friends, in particular that of Richard 'Dickie' Lee in August 1940.“ The last living witnesses to World War Two are leaving us and taking a shared memory of its history with them. If you...

Trump’s proposed budget follows his attempts to reshape the nation’s arts landscape and defund institutions.President Donald Trump’s budget proposal would eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, reviving his failed first-term attempts to scrap the grantmaking agencies as he moves to reshape the nation’s artistic and cultural landscape.The proposed cuts come even after the NEH slashed its workforce and the NEA canceled grants in compliance with Trump’s directives to reduce the federal workforce and shut down diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The tentative budget plan also targets the Institute of Museum and Library...

The hikers found the treasure hidden in a field overgrown by treesTwo tourists discovered a treasure trove of gold coins and bracelets while hiking in the Czech Republic. The hikers found the treasure in two containers hidden in a man-made wall in an overgrown field in February, according to an official Facebook post from the Museum of East Bohemia. Upon opening the containers, they discovered gold coins, bracelets, and cigarette cases weighing a total of 15 lbs. The museum — which is currently in possession of the treasure — said that the hikers began investigating the wall when they spotted...

Researchers have created the first laboratory analog of the 'black hole bomb', a theoretical concept developed by physicists in the 1970s. If there's one thing black holes are known for, it's their insatiable, inescapable gravity. Stuff goes into a black hole. From beyond the event horizon, this is, as far as we know, true. But from the space around a black hole, you might be able to get something. As Roger Penrose proposed in 1971, the powerful rotational energy of a spinning black hole could be used to amplify the energy of nearby particles. Then, physicist Yakov Zel'Dovich figured out...

In the seventh century BCE, the Greek poet Homer wrote the Odyssey. This fascinating tale of adventure and loss would captivate readers for centuries, even millennia. It tells the story of Odysseus attempting to travel home after the Trojan War. One of the most intriguing things about this lengthy poem is that there is significant controversy surrounding the locations mentioned throughout. Based on the best available evidence, where did Odysseus really travel to in the Odyssey? Does the Odyssey take place all over the Mediterranean? The most common belief is that the Odyssey takes place over a very large area....

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Saturday she declined President Trump’s offer for US troops to crack down on the fentanyl produced by cartels in her country. The world leaders spoke recently by phone when Trump broached the topic of making American military service members available for operations inside Mexico, where traffickers concoct the deadly synthetic opioid using precursor chemicals imported primarily from China. “I told him, ‘No, President Trump, our territory is inviolable, our sovereignty is inviolable, our sovereignty is not for sale,'” Sheinbaum revealed during an event. We will never accept the presence of the United States Army in...

[Catholic Caucus] Imagining a Restorative ConclaveThe pope has died. As good Catholics we always pray for and commend the souls of all who have died to the mercy of God. This we also do for the man chosen by conclave in 2013 to serve in the office of supreme pontiff for these past twelve years. Requiescat in pace, Pope Francis.One of the most important consolations for all of us, if not the ultimate gift, are the prayers of the Church, the power of Christ on Earth, through His Mystical Body, to sanctify and save our souls. Above all it is...