Free Republic

A zoo in the German city of Nuremberg has announced it euthanised 12 baboons on Tuesday because of a lack of space for them, ending a saga rooted in concerns that it lacked space to house them due to an increase in animals. The plan to cull them caused great controversy in the country. The Tiergarten Nürnberg Zoo first announced plans to sacrifice the baboons in February 2024. It has been said that it examined offers to take in some of the animals but was unable to make any of them work, according to CNN. The plans drew criticism from...

https://babylonbee.com/news/awkward-obama-hillary-hire-same-hitman-to-kill-each-otherU.S. — In an awkward turn of events, former President Barack Obama and former presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton reportedly hired the same hitman to kill each other. The two political figures were allegedly compelled to target each other as more information related to the Trump-Russia collusion hoax was declassified by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who claims the two were complicit in a coup to undermine the Trump presidency. This prompted the pair to allegedly target the other in a desperate attempt to tie off any loose ends. The matter became known when a hitman working under the pseudonym...

What really is and isn’t eugenics.Somewhere on Madison Avenue an ad exec pitched his boss on an edgy proposal. “Let’s do a generic jeans ad, but put an attractive white woman in it.” TikTok influencers, who had come of age after 2019 (and the last time a white person appeared in an ad) had their minds blown. The media declared that the American Eagle ad, a company founded by Jews and currently run by a philanthropist who funds translations of the Bible, was the second coming of the Third Reich. Supporters of Planned Parenthood, an organization founded by actual eugenicists...

The press that lied about Russia is not backing off after seeing the Durham Annex. Instead is in denial or looking for a new spin.Every parasite needs a host. Ticks need dogs, tapeworms need fat Victorian chicks, and Democrats need the propaganda press.The clues for how the propaganda machine was set in motion to benefit Hillary Clinton’s scandal-ridden 2016 campaign are found in the declassified “Durham Annex,” released to the public Thursday by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.The formula for selling the public on a campaign lie — in this case, that Donald Trump colluded with Russia to...

Controversy over an Amy Sherald painting of the Statue of Liberty reveals divides over US national symbols, joining debates that have centred on the statue since it was first unveiled. So fixed is our focus on the radiant points of her spiky crown and the upward thrust of her flickering lamp, it is easy to miss altogether the shackles of human enslavement that Lady Liberty – who is at the centre of a fresh skirmish in the US's accelerating culture wars – is busy trampling underfoot. Her meaning contains multitudes. It pulls her in many directions. Messily inspired, as all...

Thousands of Army Reserve soldiers are being forced to scramble for new assignments after the service abruptly ordered the dismantling of its helicopter units, a sweeping move that has caught commanders off guard and upended aviation operations across the country. The cuts, which are set to eliminate all of the reserve's helicopter units by the end of the summer, are part of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George's broader push to modernize the force by shedding legacy formations and redirecting resources toward emerging technologies such as drones and artificial intelligence. But the transition has left troops questioning both the...

The F1 champion Niki Lauda had a horrifying accident in Germany in August 1976, 49 years ago this week. He was not expected to live, let alone race again. After defying all expectations, he told the BBC in 1977 how he willed himself to stay alive. When Formula 1 racing driver Niki Lauda spoke to the BBC in 1977, his face bore testimony to the trauma he had endured during the German Grand Prix. Trapped inside the burning wreckage of his smashed Ferrari on the Nürburgring circuit, Lauda had been badly scarred and had lost part of his ear to...

The historic trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union agreed upon in Scotland marks a significant shift in the transatlantic relations. After the 2024 triumph of the conservative patriots in the United States, the long-standing alliance between Western democracies began collapsing.European nations, well-known for their restraint in foreign policy, led the way to cautious denial of the new American vision, which President Trump called “the complete restoration of America.” It comes as a stunning change to the American people, especially given the fact that Europe’s high living standards are largely based on the U.S. support, dating back to...

More than 1,000 people turn out to anti-migrant protest demonstrations continue to spread ================================================================ Fresh anti-migrant protests have broken out amid plans to house asylum seekers at a new apartment development in Hampshire. More than 1,000 protesters gathered in Waterlooville last night amid plans to house 35 people in £250,000 flats above shops in the town. Flats will reportedly accommodate couples, or single parents with young children, with one single flat used to house a single woman. It comes after former Conservative Home Secretary Suella Braverman labelled the Home Office’s plans “utterly inappropriate”. But Havant Borough Council's leader, Phil Munday,...

How the European Union became the world’s regulatory superpower.In a world where global power is measured by military strength, technological innovation, or cultural influence, it is striking that the European Union, without housing major tech giants or centers of disruptive innovation, has turned bureaucracy into a tool of global power. It shapes the behavior of global companies, including American big tech firms, which adapt their products to comply with European norms. This phenomenon is known as the “Brussels Effect” and has positioned the EU as the world’s regulatory superpower, fueling growing tensions, particularly with the United States following the re-election...

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting said Friday it would begin winding down its operations after its funding was eliminated by the Trump administration and Congress. The CPB is a private nonprofit that serves as a steward of funding for public media. It provides funds to public radio and television stations, including PBS and NPR. It employs about 100 people. Both PBS and NPR, the most high-profile public media organizations, have long been the target of Republican criticism and have been preparing for the possibility of cuts since President Trump's reelection. The broadcasters receive roughly half-a-billion dollars in public funding through...

A Japanese restaurant owner’s call to action shed light on the scourge of transnational child sex tourism – and forced Japan’s government to respond.A Rare, Direct Warning From Japan Signals a Shift in the Fight Against Child Sex Tourism in Asia Credit: Depositphotos Japan’s embassy in Laos and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs have issued a rare and unusually direct advisory, warning Japanese men against “buying sex from children” in Laos. The move was sparked by Ayako Iwatake, a restaurant owner in Vientiane, who allegedly saw social media posts of Japanese men bragging about child prostitution. In response, she launched...

The move to develop the Amu Darya field aligns with the Taliban’s goal of self-sufficiency, but can the cash-strapped regime go it alone?In late July, Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government decided to pursue unilateral development of the Amu Darya oil field, at least for the time being. It seems unlikely the cash-strapped regime will be able to maximize the potential of the oil field without foreign investment, but it will still be able to collect millions of dollars in revenue by going it alone. The move aligns with the Taliban’s oft stated goal of self-sufficiency. However, international investors may be troubled by...

California, 15 other states and the District of Columbia are suing the Trump administration over efforts to end gender-affirming care for people younger than 19. The lawsuit challenges a Jan. 28 executive order calling on the Justice Department to, among other things, investigate healthcare providers. California and a coalition of other liberal-led states sued the Trump administration Friday over efforts to end gender-affirming care for transgender, intersex and nonbinary children and young adults nationwide — calling them an unconstitutional attack on LGBTQ+ patients, healthcare providers and states’ rights. The lawsuit was brought by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and officials...

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS, says it will close down after federal cuts.

Nvidia chips do not contain "backdoors" allowing remote access, the US tech giant has said, after Beijing summoned company representatives to discuss "serious security issues". The California-based company is a world-leading producer of AI semiconductors, and this month became the first company to hit US$4 trillion in market value. But it has become entangled in trade tensions between China and the United States, and Washington effectively restricts which chips Nvidia can export to China on national security grounds. "Cybersecurity is critically important to us. Nvidia does not have 'backdoors' in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to...

The party is hoping to move on from its losses and look to the future — but its central figures from the last election keep stepping back into the spotlight.Former vice president Kamala Harris is promoting a book about her losing 2024 presidential campaign, leaving the door open to another White House bid in 2028 and building a group that would enable her to hit the trail for fellow Democrats in the midterms.Former president Joe Biden is set to deliver a speech in Chicago Thursday night as campaign books, congressional hearings and occasional sparring with President Donald Trump have kept...

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Bill Long said the agency will end its Direct File program after a limited pilot and one full filing season. President Donald Trump’s massive spending and policy bill includes funding to research and “replace any direct e-file programs run by the Internal Revenue Service.” Already, the program is “gone,” Long said at a tax professional summit on July 28, Bloomberg Law reports. “You’ve heard of Direct File, that’s gone,” Long said. “Big beautiful Billy wiped that out. I don’t care about Direct File. I care about direct audit.” The agency has not confirmed the future of...

President Trump’s executive order carved out a special tariff on goods shipped indirectly to the United States by way of other countries.Ever since President Trump began raising tariffs on goods from China during his first term, Chinese companies have raced to set up warehouses and factories in Southeast Asia, Mexico and elsewhere to bypass U.S. tariffs with indirect shipments to the American market via other countries.But on Thursday, Mr. Trump took aim at all indirect American imports, which he blames for part of the $1.2 trillion U.S. trade deficit. The president imposed 40 percent tariffs on so-called transshipments, which will...

Aug 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in regions near Russia in response to threats from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. "I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that," Trump said in a social media post that called Medvedev's statements highly provocative...