Free Republic

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Broken Hearts of Pine - Maine's Official Sports Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfmgErJ_mDs&ab_channel=TheUnquirer Here we go again, fighting for our rights again, ironically, this time, stripped away by other women! I’m just a girl, sixteen years old, Tryin’ to find my place in a world so cold. I go to school, I play my sports, But now I’m scared in the spaces I thought were for us. Boys in my locker room, boys in my showers, They say it’s progress, but I’m losing my powers. I just want a place where I can feel safe, Not a battleground where my voice gets erased....

LONDON (AP) — Britain and India announced Tuesday that they have agreed on a long-stalled free trade agreement that will slash tariffs on Scotch whisky and scores of other products. The deal comes more than three years after negotiations started — and stalled — under a previous British government. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X that the deal was “ambitious and mutually beneficial.” The British government called it a “landmark.” It said the deal will reduce Indian import taxes on whisky, cosmetics, medical goods, car and airplane parts and other goods from the U.K. Whisky and gin tariffs...

Leader of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov has requested to be relieved of his duties, he told Chechnya Today news agency, APA’s Russia bureau reports citing lenta.ru. Kadyrov made the remarks in response to circulating rumors about his possible resignation. “I myself am asking to be relieved of my duties. Someone else will have their own initiative, their own vision. I hope that my request will be supported,” Kadyrov said. The Chechen leader did not specify who he had specifically addressed regarding his dismissal.

When you try to find the right supplements to treat a health condition, it can feel like a shot in the dark. You often have to count on word of mouth. But some men with BPH have found success with supplements. And there’s at least some scientific research to back them up. When you have BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia), your prostate is larger than normal. It can cause problems such as a weak urine stream or a need to pee a lot throughout the day. Your doctor might suggest a prescription drug to treat your symptoms, but you might find...

All Rebels, Without Regard to Rank or Employment, Allowed to Take the Oath of Amnesty. HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF THE JAMES, RICHMOND, Va., May 3, 1865. Major-Gen. Ord, Commanding Department of Virginia: GENERAL: All persons, without regard to their rank or employment in the civil or military service of the late rebel government, will be permitted to take the amnesty oath, and will receive the corresponding certificate. Those excluded from the benefit of such oath can make application for pardon and restoration to civil rights, which applications will be received and forwarded to the proper channels for the action of...

Gov. Kathy Hochul is delivering a big win to businesses that have been pressuring her to pay off their billions of dollars in unemployment-insurance debt — but she’s stealing the cash from state reserves to do it. Hochul said Monday that the state will cover the roughly $7 billion debt still lingering for employers from the pandemic. The businesses had hoped federal money that the state received during COVID-19 would at least partly be used to help cover the deluge of unemployment claims spurred by the pandemic, as most other states did.+ But the state used the money for other...

The result marks an unanticipated setback for Merz who was widely expected to secure the necessary votes and be officially sworn in later in the day...Friedrich Merz became the first chancellor candidate failing to be elected in the first round of voting in the Bundestag...Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg, described the situation as a "bad surprise...It shows that he cannot fully rely on his two coalition parties."

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Head, Elon Musk, made a massive revelation while speaking to Lara Trump on her Fox News program, My View. During the segment, Musk explained how over 100,000 federal workers were taking unemployment while still collecting paychecks from the government. For context, DOGE was established during one of Trump’s first executive orders and charged with fighting fraud, waste, and graft in the federal government. Since the department started work, it has had a number of bombshell reports that have electrified conservatives. Such was shown when Elon Musk appeared on Fox alongside Lara Trump on May 2,...

Multiple fires were set by Antifia militants at the University of Washington campus in Seattle on Monday night. A group of black bloc Antifa occupied the Interdisciplinary Engineering building and blockaded the doors. The building opened just a few weeks ago and the $100 million price tag was funded by private donors, taxpayers, a federal grant, Amazon, T-Mobile and Boeing. Activists blocked streets with bike racks and dumpsters and set them on fire. Antifa gathered rocks to throw at police. The fires were set around 10:30 pm local time and neither police nor fire fighters were on the scene as...

Adding banana to a smoothie dramatically cuts your absorption of heart-healthy flavanols, researchers found, by as much as 84%, thanks to an enzyme bananas contain. Berry-only blends fare far better. Credit: SciTechDaily.com Research helps maximize the health benefits of fruit smoothies. ********************************************************************************** If you’re blending a smoothie to boost your health with flavanol-rich berries, you may want to leave out the banana. New research suggests that adding banana could significantly reduce the health benefits you’re hoping to gain. In a study published in Food and Function, scientists tested how a naturally occurring enzyme, polyphenol oxidase, affects the body’s ability to...

Gabrielle Wimer’s suspension ‘effectively is an extended vacation,’ one person who spotted her says ... Columbia University medical students accused the Ivy League school of pushing a double standard after a classmate who was suspended following her arrest for storming a Barnard College building returned to campus. The student, Gabrielle Wimer, appears to be on course to graduate later this month. Wimer was one of the four anti-Israel Columbia students arrested for storming Barnard’s Milstein Library in March. The Ivy League university promptly suspended the quartet and restricted them from campus, though officials didn't say how long the punishments would...

Ukraine fired drones at Moscow days before Vladimir Putin was set to host world leaders at a Victory Day parade through the capital. Russia was forced to cancel Second World War anniversary events in occupied Crimea because of security concerns. Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, has said he cannot guarantee the safety of delegates attending the march through Moscow on Friday, which will be attended by Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader. ...It came as Ukrainian forces launched a second incursion into the Russian region of Kursk, breaking across the border and destroying bridges. On Monday Kyiv fired dozens of drones...

Marvel Studios has officially retitled Thunderbolts* as The New Avengers. The studio made the announcement on social media Monday with a change to the title on the film’s poster. And lest you think this is just a social media stunt on Marvel’s part, the New Avengers poster is already being used by AMC Theaters and Fandango to promote Thunderbolts ticket sales.Marvel also posted a video of the cast peeling the Thunderbolts title off the poster to reveal The New Avengers underneath it at last week's Hollywood premiere as well as a video of Sebastian Stan changing posters at a bus...

Small Reforms to Improve the US Medical SystemThe American system of medical-care delivery has no name. It is neither single payer nor based on private enterprise. It is a patchwork of cockamamie carrots and sticks, agencies and incentives, exceptions and accounting tricks, cajoles and punishments, cobbled together over some 50-100 years of legislation that itself was a product of pressure-group pushes, graft, loopholes, mandates, and subsidies. It’s not even a clean public-private partnership. It’s a public-private-nonprofit-grifter-payola regulatory cacophony of confusion and chaos over which pharmaceutical companies and professional lobbyists exercise the dominant influence. Still it quasi-functions. It hobbles along year...

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) reacted Monday evening to President Donald Trump’s proposed 100% tariff on movies made outside the U.S. by asking for a $7.5 billion tax credit for the industry instead. Trump made the tariff proposal Sunday as a way of shifting Hollywood production back to the U.S., after decades in which the industry sought to cut costs by filming in Canada or even as far away as South Africa. The president’s proposal drew applause from unions that represent “below the line” workers in the film industry, such as the Teamsters, which praised the president for taking American...

Massive airstrikes targeting Houthi-held Sana'a International Airport and al-Dailami airbase in Sana'a Over 15 strikes so far This after the IDF ordered an evacuation of the airport earlier

Latest statistics reveal alarming increase in rapes, reaching 5,206 incidents in 2024, nearly triple the figure reported six years ago ... Spain has seen an alarming rise in sexual violence over recent years, culminating in a record-high number of rapes, which reached 5,206 incidents in 2024, ... With an average of 14 rapes per day across the country, the figure nearly triples the 1,878 cases reported in 2019 when five daily incidents were reported. The upward trend has remained consistent year-over-year since 2018 ... Regional breakdowns show that communities like Catalonia, Madrid, and Andalusia report the highest numbers, although increases...

Have you ever walked through a city and wondered what might be hidden underneath? In this video, we explore the fascinating phenomenon of layered cities, where entire civilizations were built on top of one another. From the buried ruins beneath the Roman Forum and the Basilica of San Clemente to the multi-layered city of Troy and the sunken streets of Seattle, learn how history gets hidden underground and why street levels rise over time. Why Ancient Ruins Are Underground | 8:31 Primal Space | 1.54M subscribers | 85,234 views | May 3, 2025

Germany faces criticism from all directions for its authoritarian actions against the country's largest opposition party ... The German government appears to be seriously preparing for a ban of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party after the country’s powerful domestic spy agency classified the party as “definitely right-wing extremist.” Now, world leaders are reacting to the classification, with Hungarian Prime Minister saying he backs the party and its co-leader Alice Weidel. After the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) gave the AfD its new designation, which paves the way for a ban of the entire party, Orbán asked...