Free Republic

Many in New Delhi welcomed President Donald Trump’s return to power, expecting him to take the Indo-US relationship to new heights. They must wonder where it all went wrong, given that Trump launched an unprecedented broadside against India this week – threatening tariffs of 25 per cent and warning that a surcharge would be added unless India stops buying Russian oil and weapons. He even expressed dissatisfaction with the nation’s participation in the “anti-US” BRICS grouping. Normally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi might just overlook a few social media posts. It may be humiliating to wind up with higher tariff rates...

“Just like doctors who use CT scans to see what’s happening inside the body … we use our radars to spot underground risks before they turn into disasters,” says Zhi Haiyan, a Singaporean and founder of DECOD Science & Technology.Moving slowly along a quiet stretch of road, a sophisticated radar unit mounted on the back of a van is lowered close to the ground. Its aim: to scan for and detect anomalies and underground risks before they become sinkholes. A live feed streams from inside the vehicle. It looks like a CT scan but instead of body parts, it...

"Listen, Donald Trump is a piece of ****, okay? We know that. Yes, yes, he is. But in a functioning democracy, he still would not be able to get away with this." =========================================================================== At a rally in Arizona over the weekend, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) said that President Donald Trump was a "piece of ****," claiming that "in a functioning democracy," Trump "would not be able to get away with this." While telling the crowd at MoveOn’s "Won’t Back Down Tour" about how "corrupt" the Supreme Court has become, Crockett said, "listen, Donald Trump is a piece of ****, okay?...

A zoo in Denmark is asking the public for donations of unwanted small pets or horses to feed its captive predators. "In zoos, we have a responsibility to imitate the natural food chain of the animals — in terms of both animal welfare and professional integrity," Aalborg Zoo said in a post on social media. The zoo in northern Denmark said that chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs were an important part of the diet of its predators, which need "whole prey," reminiscent of what they would hunt in the wild. "If you have a healthy animal that has to leave...

Scientists at Columbia Engineering have developed a bioactive, injectable healing gel derived from yogurt. By harnessing extracellular vesicles (EVs) from milk, the team developed a soft material that mimics living tissue and promotes natural regeneration. This novel gel doesn’t just deliver therapeutic molecules; the EVs help build the structure of the gel itself. In mouse models, it boosted blood vessel formation and tissue repair—without added chemicals. The research hints at a future where food-derived biotechnology plays a powerful role in healing the body. Designing the Next Generation of Bioactive Hydrogels Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a new approach to...

New Mexico’s clean energy and environmental advocates are recoiling from energy policy shifts set in motion by the Trump administration this week, including the possible rollback of a major scientific finding about climate change and the delay of rules regulating oil and gas emissions. For a big oil- and gas-producing state like New Mexico, the consequences could be far-reaching, state officials say. But Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration is sticking to its own clean energy policies, and a state board in the coming weeks will hold a hearing to consider the adoption of a clean fuels rule. “ The proposal...

Explanation: What are these gigantic blue arcs near the Andromeda Galaxy (M31)? Discovered in 2022 by amateur astronomers, the faint arcs -- dubbed SDSO 1 -- span nearly the same angular size as M31 itself. At first, their origin was a mystery: are they actually near the Andromeda Galaxy, or alternatively near to our Sun? Now, over 550 hours of combined exposure and a collaboration between amateur and professional astronomers has revealed strong evidence for their true nature: SDSO 1 is not intergalactic, but a new class of planetary nebula within our galaxy. Dubbed a Ghost Planetary Nebula (GPN), SDSO...

The U.S. ambassador to NATO has said Russian President Vladimir Putin has a “sick and twisted and probably not logical” mind. American diplomat Matthew Whitaker was speaking as President Donald Trump’s deadline for Moscow to make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine is set to expire on Friday. “It is impossible to get into the mind of Vladimir Putin because it is sick and twisted, and probably not logical. But I’m guessing he doesn’t want to take on the most powerful military in the world, which is the United States of America,” Whitaker told right-wing U.S. television channel Newsmax...

A pedestrian died after being struck by a vehicle Sunday night in Coraopolis. Police say it was a hit and run incident in the 800 block of 4th Avenue a few minutes before 8:30 p.m. The driver was arrested later in Ambridge and that person is also under an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer. This is the sixth time in the past year an undocumented migrant has been involved in a traffic accident that caused another person's death.

FReeper Help Needed - 5,000 Year Project (vanity) Yes, I’m serious. Yes, it really is a 5,000 year project. No, I’m not expecting to be around for the whole thing. Available geological, isotopic and cultural evidence strongly suggests that the Earth goes through periodic disasters. We get a major disaster every 12,000 years with “minor” disasters in the midpoints at 6,000 years. See the background video here (skip the starting ad and ignore the long expired fundraiser at the end) for information about the 6,000 year half cycle. The last 6,000 year event was informally called the Noah event, but...

Democrats are planning to spend tens of millions of dollars to spin narratives on social media as part of a $110.5 million fundraising effort, according to images of slides from a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) donor event obtained by Breitbart News. Under a heading “Urgent Off-Year Funding Needs” on one slide, it states the DCCC looks to raise $10 million for social media and content creation, $20 million for “Accountability work,” $15 million for “Voter Registration,” $5 million for “Recruitment” and “Primary Engagement,” and $2 million for “Research” and a “Rapid Response Infrastructure.” One goal is to enlist at...

U.S. fighter jets scrambled to intercept unauthorized civilian aircraft detected over Trump’s Bedminster golf club in New Jersey while a temporary flight restriction (TFR) zone was in place. The civilian aircraft entered the restricted airspace at approximately 12:50 p.m. ET on Sunday. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) used flares to get the pilot’s attention. According to reports, this wasn’t the first intercept and multiple incursions occurred over the weekend. Newsweek has more: The interception on Sunday afternoon was the second in the restriction zone that day, and the fifth of that weekend. NORAD stressed that the flares they used,...

Pope Leo needs to reaffirm that the Church is the true Israel of GodSince the New Covenant, theologies which justify taking lands without divine mandates, along with the accompanying ethnic cleansing and war crimes, are akin to Christian apostasy.The Ninth station in the Via Dolorosa is where Jesus falls for the third time. Jerusalem, Israel (Catholic 460) — [Editorial note: The following essay is the reprint of an introduction to a three-part essay explaining why the state of Israel, founded in 1948, has never had a divine mandate, or authentic theological claim, to the occupied Palestinian territories. The author rejects...

Here's a wild one: A 20-foot mink whale made its way into a shallow bay in New Jersey on Saturday, started freaking out, and then this happened: VIDEO AT LINK................. The whale is now dead. A local nonprofit posted on Facebook: Poor whale made its way into this bay and seems to have been freaking out with the shallow water: The boaters weren't antagonizing the whale at all. Rather, the amount of stress put on the whale in that shallow water led to the collision. The person who fell overboard wasn't reported as injured, and as you can see in...

TEXHOMA, TX — Democratic lawmakers who fled the state to disrupt a vote on a new congressional redistricting map could soon find themselves out of a job, as Governor Greg Abbott announced the construction of a giant northern border wall designed to keep them out permanently. Abbott issued a statement declaring that while any Democrat who did not show up to vote on the new redistricting map was vacating their seat, he would also be building a wall to prevent them from re-entering the state. "You all can just stay up there in Oklahoma," Abbott said. "I just wanted them...

*** I absolutely hate the spam political text messages and the deceit on which so many are based. Responding with “Stop” only seemed to confirm the senders had found me and enabled them to keep them coming from different numbers. Apple seems to have a remedy ahead: In early June, Apple announced a new feature through its forthcoming iOS 26 software that will allow iPhone users to screen messages from “unknown senders.” That will automatically place texts from such senders, starting in mid-September, in a separate folder without notifying the recipients.” Woo hoo! Let it be. I can’t wait. ***

American Eagle (AEO) stock rose as much as 21% on Monday after President Trump waded into the discussion about the company's viral ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney. "Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the 'HOTTEST' ad out there," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, the social media platform he owns. "It's for American Eagle, and the jeans are 'flying off the shelves.' Go get 'em Sydney!" The campaign features a play on homophones — "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans" and "Sydney Sweeney has great genes" — that quickly generated controversy around the potential ambiguity of the ad's message....

Texas Republicans are trying to update their Congressional map in a way that will provide fairer representation for Republicans. (Fairer, in any event, in the context of the gerrymandering for which Democrats have long been notorious.) Texas House Democrats have fled the state to prevent establishment of a quorum, and thus defeat the redistricting. This is nothing new. Democrats did the same thing in Wisconsin a few years ago, and earlier this year in Minnesota. No doubt there are other instances. What is different this time is the Republicans’ response: “Greg Abbott Drops Bombshell on TX Dems Who Fled State:...

We are trying to renew a ham radio license that will expire soon, and are having trouble with the CORES system. Can someone who's done this recently advise? (OK to respond privately) Thanks very much!

FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican wants to crack down on public officials who use their position to grow their wealth. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is set to introduce legislation that would create stiffer penalties for public officials who commit federal bank fraud, tax fraud, or loan or mortgage fraud. Cornyn’s bill comes on the heels of two such instances where top officials and lawmakers were hit with allegations of mortgage fraud.