Free Republic

If you live in one of these states, it might be time to put down your coffee mug (at least for now). With a record-breaking heatwave sweeping across the Southwest, experts are warning that your daily cup of joe could do more harm than good. As temperatures soar well into the triple digits, staying hydrated is absolutely essential. Experts are calling out specific areas of the U.S. and urging people there to avoid coffee. The warning covers parts of California, Arizona and Nevada.The problem is caffeine, which is the key ingredient in coffee. Caffeine acts as a diuretic, meaning it...

Ukraine and Russia have completed an exchange of dead bodies - the final stage of a deal to bring home fallen soldiers. Kyiv said Moscow handed over 1,245 bodies on Monday, bringing the total to 6,057 in the past few days. It said it was now verifying whether all the bodies were indeed of Ukrainian soldiers. Russia put 6,060 the overall number of bodies transferred to Ukraine. It also said 78 bodies of Russian soldiers had been repatriated. The latest exchange took place at an undisclosed location on Monday. The bodies in white bags were brought in refrigerator lorries. Red...

Thanks to @POTUS’s pro-growth, America First policies, real wages for hourly workers are up nearly 2% in the first five months of @realDonaldTrump’s second term — the strongest growth in 60 years. No president has done that before — except President Trump in his first term. Hardworking Americans and Main Street businesses have never had a stronger ally in the @WhiteHouse .

Rare ruling highlights controversial legal debate around violence pegged to extreme intoxicationWARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone affected by it. On a Friday night in March 2019, Leon-Jamal Daniel Barrett concluded that humanity was corrupt and his only means to save it was by having "sexual congress" with a woman chosen by God. The fact Barrett took magic mushrooms in the hours before coming to this realization would later prove pivotal to his being found not guilty for what happened next. "He waited at his house for this woman to come," wrote...

*** Rival factions of the MAGA movement are now openly feuding in an increasingly nasty civil war, and questioning whether the president will make what they regard as the right move in the Middle East. Trump himself stunningly split with one of his own close advisers on Tuesday, dismissing Congressional testimony from Director of National Security Tulsi Gabbard. In March, Gabbard stated that the intelligence community had assessed Iran was not building a nuclear weapon. 'The IC continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon, and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that...

Let's take a little detour from January 6 and gas prices and remember a couple of people who turn 79 this weekend. First, we remember Newt Gingrich, who came out of Georgia to lead the 1994 GOP revolution. He has become one of the real statesmen of our time. I no longer think of Newt as a politician, but rather as one who has his eye on the big picture.

Daily Readings from the USCCBJesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” Matthew 5:43–45Jesus continues to deepen and clarify His call to His new command to love of others. The love to which He calls us is radical, total, and...

LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - Central banks around the world expect their gold holdings as a proportion of their reserves to increase over the next five years while expecting their dollar reserves to be lower, a survey by the World Gold Council (WGC) showed. Gold demand from central banks has risen significantly over the past three years despite its price rally to consecutive records. It hit an all-time high of $3,500.05 an ounce in April, up 95% since February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine…. Seventy three central banks responded to WGC's survey, carried out between February 25 and May 20,...

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Over the past several days, all eyes have been on the Middle East. Last week, Israel initiated “Operation Rising Lion,” its unilateral military campaign to roll back Iran’s nuclear program. The effort marks the end of a quarter-century during which Israeli policymakers desperately urged Western governments to take the threat of the Iranian atomic effort more seriously – and to take concrete steps to mitigate it.

When you let law enforcement catch criminals, you will get less crime. Murder rates are plummeting. While we still have more than half a year to go, Kash Patel, the FBI’s director, says that the U.S. is on track to have the lowest murder rate ever. The current record low occurred in 2014 when the FBI reported a murder rate of 4.45 per 100,000. The question is: why? Law enforcement matters, but it is probably also that Trump is deporting criminal illegal aliens. According to Patel, “Let good cops be cops,” is the answer. “I’m gonna let you, the agents,...

The alleged killer of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband allegedly texted his family afterward, saying, “Dad went to war last night,” according to TMZ. The 57-year-old shooting suspect, Vance Boelter, allegedly dressed like a police officer and drove a car equipped with lights which resembled those of a police cruiser as he carried out his attacks. Hortman and her husband were killed in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman (D) and his wife were shot in their home as well, but both are expected to survive. Breitbart News reported Boelter was...

Local, state, and federal law enforcement officers who cover their faces while conducting official business could face a misdemeanor charge in California under a new proposal announced Monday. If approved, the bill would require all law enforcement officials to show their faces and be identifiable by their uniform, which should carry their name or other identifier. It would not apply to the National Guard or other troops and it would exempt SWAT teams and officers responding to natural disasters. The Department of Homeland Security called the proposal “despicable” in a post on X, saying ICE officers are facing a “more...

Kraft Heinz said Tuesday that it will remove FD&C artificial dyes from its products by the end of 2027, and will not launch any new products in the U.S. containing those ingredients. Affected Kraft Heinz brands include Crystal Light, Kool-Aid, MiO, Jell-O and Jet-Puffed, according to a Kraft Heinz spokesperson. The decision follows pressure from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the food industry to pull back on artificial dyes. Kraft Heinz said Tuesday that it will remove FD&C artificial dyes from its products by the end of 2027, and will not launch any new products in the U.S....

VIDEOIf you get your information only from the mainstream media then you think the case of the Minnesota shooter is already solved. Namely you believe the official line repeatedly parroted by the media that Vance Luther Boelter was a MAGA registered Republican who was so filled with rage against Democrats that he went out and shot Democrat Minnesota state officials. End of story. You can STOP thinking now. HOWEVER, independent journalists who don't blindly follow the official line are finding lots of yuuuge holes in this story and are reporting that the facts just do NOT add up.

TEHRAN — As yet another massive bombing attack from Israeli forces rained down on the Iranian capital after the most recent failed wave of retaliatory strikes, sources said the leadership of Iran had started to regret putting "ol' Blind Mohammed" in charge of aiming all the missiles. Though the elderly blind sheikh had been the surprise choice to direct Iran's missile counterstrike operations following Israel's attack late last week, leaders were reportedly now second-guessing the decision due to his lack of sight and apparent inability to hit any targets of significant consequence. "In hindsight, having someone with eyesight direct the...

Hillary Clinton recently paid a visit to the newly-minted Tony Award-winning production of Purpose on Broadway. The show recently took home two awards, including Best Play and Kara Young for her performance.(snip) What's it all about? For decades, the influential Jasper family has been a pillar of Black American Politics: civil rights leaders, pastors and congressmen. But like all families, there are cracks and secrets just under the surface. When the youngest son Nazareth returns home with an uninvited friend in tow, the family is forced into a reckoning with itself, its faith and the legacies of Black political power...

An unidentified man died at the scene after allegedly trying to rob an off-duty officer’s property in Weatherford, Texas, and being shot dead by that officer. NBC DFW reported that the incident occurred around 1 p.m. in a warehouse which belonged to the off-duty officer. CBS News noted that the Texas Department of Public Safety indicated “a business was being burglarized… and the business owner stopped the burglary.” The 0ff-duty officer works in Arlington, Texas, and is now on leave while an investigation into the incident takes place. The officer was not injured in the incident.

Austria has been shaken by a legislative proposal that, if confirmed, would represent a true authoritarian shift: parents who refuse to allow their underage children to undergo genital modification surgeries (commonly known as “sex-change” procedures) could end up in prison. The measure has sparked a wave of outrage, with many seeing it as a direct attack on parental rights and plain common sense. According to a report by ServusTV, a draft bill promoted by the SPÖ (Social Democrats) and Neos (Liberals) parties would impose penalties of up to €30,000 or one year in jail on anyone who questions a minor’s...

New York CNN — At Home, a popular home goods retailer with 260 stores across 40 US states, has filed for bankruptcy, citing the backdrop of tariff increases and a slowdown in consumer spending. The Dallas-based company announced Monday that it had entered an agreement with its lenders that “will eliminate substantially all” of its roughly $2 billion in debt and provide $200 million in fresh funding to keep At Home operating while it navigates the Chapter 11 process. Brad Weston, At Home’s CEO who joined the company last year, said in a statement that the company is “operating against...