Free Republic

Executive Summary: - The PRC is exporting an integrated system of smart devices, data infrastructure, and governance standards. Through industrial policy, state-backed overproduction, and strategic data asymmetry, Beijing is building a global IoT architecture designed to embed PRC standards, influence, and governance into the connected environments of other countries. - By dominating core components like cellular IoT modules and steering global standards through initiatives like China Standards 2035, Beijing is creating long-term supply chain dependencies and rewriting the rules of digital interoperability. - Devices manufactured by PRC firms often carry embedded risks: unpatched vulnerabilities, mandated government access under China’s Data...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Appellate court judges expressed broad skepticism Thursday over President Donald Trump’s legal rationale for his most expansive round of tariffs. Members of the 11-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington appeared unconvinced by the Trump administration’s insistence that the president could impose tariffs without congressional approval, and it hammered its invocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to do so. “IEEPA doesn’t even mention the word ‘tariffs’ anywhere,” Circuit Judge Jimmie Reyna said, in a sign of the panel’s incredulity to a government attorney’s arguments. Brett Shumate, the attorney...

In Atlanta, during coverage of the NRA Annual Meeting in 2025, this correspondent had an interesting conversation with the manager of my motel. The motel was chosen for a low price and a reasonably close location to the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta.This correspondent has always pursued frugality as a virtue. Frugality can be taken too far. This correspondent may have been close to the edge in choosing a cut-rate motel a few miles from the city center in Atlanta. After registering with the NRA Annual Meeting and picking up press credentials for the event, it was a...

Ten men aged between 49 and 71 have been arrested as part of an investigation into child sexual abuse in Bradford [England]. The suspects, who are all from the city, have been interviewed and bailed pending further enquiries, West Yorkshire Police said. The alleged offences are said to have occurred between 1994 and 1997 and relate to six victims who were aged between 13 and 15 at the time.

In his second post-office visit in Chicago, former President Joe Biden stopped to accept an award from the National Bar Association, blasting President Donald Trump without ever saying his name to the crowd at the Hyatt Regency in the Loop Thursday evening. “Judges matter, courts matter, the law matters, and the constitution matters,” Biden said. “I think a lot of Americans are starting to realize that under this president. … Get ready folks, he’s just starting.” Biden Thursday decried the abduction of immigrants from their families and communities while highlighting attacks on civil rights and voter access. “There are moments...

At a cursory glance, nothing appears unusual: A Caucasian woman with wavy blonde hair, flushed cheeks and perfect teeth, bared in a wide smile, shows off a long stripe dress with a matching top-handle bag. In another image, she models a floral playsuit with a drawstring that cinches her waist. Yet, in small print on the page, it is revealed that the model was created using artificial intelligence.

The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the...

For centuries, devout Christians have flocked to the Italian city of Turin to pay their respects to one of the most famous relics in the world. The Shroud of Turin is a piece of linen, measuring 14ft 5in by 3ft 7in, that bears a faint image of the front and back of a man. Many believe that this image was created when Jesus was wrapped in the venerated shroud shortly after his death on the cross 2,000 years ago. However, according to a new study, the Shroud of Turin was never laid on Jesus' body. Brazilian 3D designer and researcher...

*US JULY NONFARM PAYROLLS RISE 73K M/M; EST. +104K*US JULY TWO-MONTH PAYROLL NET REVISION SUBTRACTS 258,000*US JULY UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 4.2%; LAST 4.1%

Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in July (+73,000) ...

Human relationships are so easy, why shouldn’t the words for them be just as simple? English has words for numerous family relationships but, unfortunately for us, most of them are gendered. To solve this, we created a list of gender-neutral relationship terms (words and phrases) covering all major cases and based on Universal English. Some of these gender-neutral family terms will sound awesome, some won’t resonate at all but, as always, we’re open to suggestions. If you have better ideas, let me know. Gender-Neutral Relationship Words To a greater extent than other lists, I’ve included many suggested neutral (plain text)...

The first Emerson College Polling survey of the 2026 U.S. Senate race in North Carolina finds former Governor Roy Cooper starting the race with a six-point edge on Republican National Committee Chair, Michael Whatley, 47% to 41%, with 12% undecided.

The Horten Ho 229 was a German flying-wing jet prototype developed in the final days of World War II. National Security Journal was given a guided tour of the plane’s remains at the Smithsonian. Often called the “Nazi stealth fighter” for its resemblance to the modern B-2 bomber, the aircraft was a radical design that was decades ahead of its time.

Astronomers at MIT, Columbia University, and elsewhere have used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to peer through the dust of nearby galaxies and into the aftermath of a black hole’s stellar feast. Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF/NASA Unlike active galaxies that endlessly devour nearby matter, these black holes remain in slumber, stirring only momentarily to consume an unlucky passing star. Astronomers from MIT, Columbia University, and other institutions have used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to look through thick layers of dust in nearby galaxies and examine the aftermath of black holes consuming stars. According to a new study published on July...

Less than a year after President Trump won over the cryptocurrency crowd, some Democrats are trying to reclaim those voters — and the hundreds of millions they pour into elections — ahead of the midterm elections. They believe backing crypto-friendly Republican-led bills — namely the Genius Act, which passed earlier this month, and the Clarity Act, which is still awaiting final passage — as a critical step to rebuild trust with the digital asset community. “I’ve watched optimistically as American Democrats begin to tiptoe toward crypto,” Alex Konanykhin, founder and CEO of Unicoin, an equity-backed cryptocurrency, told me. He noted,...

The long-classified annex from the Durham report tells us what Nancy was really up to. This May 16, 2016 quote from Nancy Pelosi has haunted me: “Donald Trump is not going to be President of the United States. Take it to the bank, I guarantee it.” All these years, I’ve wondered, how could she be so certain? This wasn’t just the usual campaign hyperbole. Her phrasing was simple noun-verb construction, nakedly declarative, and absolutely certain. She left herself absolutely no wiggle-room for later, just in case. Seasoned politicians don’t do that sort of thing typically and Nancy Pelosi is most...

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened former Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev — and dismissed him as a “failed” president. “Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let’s keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!” Trump wrote in the early hours of Thursday morning. Medvedev, another social media motormouth, has ridiculed Trump’s ultimatum to the Kremlin, in which the U.S. president shortened his deadline for the Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine or face crippling economic consequences. “Trump’s playing...

The government is paying more than 154,000 federal employees not to work as part of the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program, according to two administration officials. The number, which has not been previously reported, accounts for workers at dozens of agencies who took offers from the government as of June to get paid through Sept. 30 — the end of the fiscal year — or the end of 2025 and then voluntarily leave government, significantly reducing the size of several major agencies, according to two Office of Personnel Management officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose details...

“Deflection,” “Distraction” and “Dishonest” are just some of the accusations leveled at President Trump recently for saying he’d like to look into past Democrat conspiracies against him. The President’s critics have claimed that he is simply trying to push attention away from the Jeffrey Epstein story. Even some of the President’s defenders have sighed that surely he should focus on moving forward and not get distracted by these past problems. But putting aside for a moment the fact that President Trump has shown himself able to do more than one thing at a time, he is right to bring up...

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko arrived in Saint Petersburg on Friday, where he is expected to meet with his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin later today, as per Tass, citing a Telegram channel close to the Belarusian presidency's press service. The two leaders are expected to have an informal discussion about bilateral relations between their two nations and the security situation in the region, which presumably includes the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.