Free Republic

An online fundraiser for a 23-year-old British woman ‘jailed for life’ in Dubai has been deleted for breaching one of the platform’s guidelines. GoFundMe said raising funds for the “legal defence of certain alleged crimes” is prohibited. The family of Mia O’Brien from Huyton, Liverpool, say she is being held in Dubai's central prison. They have not disclosed what she has been convicted of but say she “made a very stupid mistake”. Her mother Danielle McKenna, 46, wrote on the now-deleted page: “Mia has been given a life sentence over in Dubai and she is now in central prison. Mia...

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has instructed factory staff to stay at home until at least Tuesday as the company continues to grapple with the fallout from a cyber attack. The attack at the weekend forced the company to take vital IT systems offline, which has affected car sales and production. Production remains halted at car factories in Halewood on Merseyside and Solihull in the West Midlands, as well as at its engine manufacturing centre in Wolverhampton. The situation remains under review and output could remain suspended for longer. Car sales have also been heavily disrupted, although the BBC understands some...

Researchers have found that certain lipids (fats) in obesity-causing foods also cause asthma-like lung inflammation. The findings suggest that in addition to modifying dietary choices, certain existing drugs could be repurposed to help treat this type of asthma. The study was prompted by researchers noticing an association between childhood obesity and neutrophilic asthma, a non-allergic type of asthma triggered by microbial and bacterial proteins. Neutrophilic asthma is more difficult to treat than allergic asthma. To study this in more detail, researchers focused on lung macrophages, which are specialized white blood cells that coordinate immune function during inflammation. While metabolic stress...

Afghan cultural norms, enforced even in emergencies by the ruling Taliban, forbid physical contact between men and women who are not family members. In the village of Andarluckak, in Kunar Province, the emergency team hurriedly carried out wounded men and children, and treated their wounds, said Ms. Aysha, 19. But she and other women and adolescent girls, some of them bleeding, were pushed aside, she said. “They gathered us in one corner and forgot about us,” she said. No one offered the women help, asked what they needed or even approached them. Tahzeebullah Muhazeb, a male volunteer who traveled to...

[Catholic Caucus] WATCH: Mass celebrated in Rome for Fr. James Martin’s Outreach group, other ‘LGBT pilgrims’ Heterodox Jesuit Father James Martin posted a video on the social media platform X on Thursday showing part of a Mass celebrated for his dissident Outreach organization and other “LGBT Catholic pilgrims” at the Oratory of St. Francis Xavier in Rome on the eve of the Vatican’s official LGBT jubilee pilgrimage.The Mass, which was celebrated by Father Sam Sawyer, S.J., the editor-in-chief of the Jesuit-run America Magazine, at the historic oratory proceeded the Vatican’s ongoing LGBT jubilee pilgrimage, organized by “La Tenda di Gionata”...

https://babylonbee.com/news/michigan-police-help-muslim-immigrants-feel-welcome-by-wearing-suicide-vests DEARBORN HEIGHTS, MI — In what experts described as a major step toward a greater level of inclusivity for law enforcement agencies across the country, one Michigan police department announced that it would help Muslim immigrants feel more welcome by having its officers wear suicide vests while out on patrol. The Dearborn Heights Police Department, which provides law enforcement to a town with a significant number of Muslim residents, held a press conference to introduce its latest initiative to make Middle Easterners feel more at home by outfitting officers with authentic suicide vests. "It's all about making the people...

his is the hilarious moment that a dog owner tries to outsmart his German Shepherd while offering her a treat, but it backfires as the smart girl works it out.Our pets deserve a treat every now and then – especially as a reward for good behaviour. And recently, one dog parent decided to make her German Sherpherd earn their treat. He thought it would take a while for the pooch to figure things out – but it quickly backfired when the clever girl managed to figure it out in seconds. So it was actually the owner who ended up learning...

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Judge Jeanine Pirro said on Fox News Thursday that federal authorities seized one of the largest drug precursor shipments ever headed for the Sinaloa Cartel. The Trump administration ramped up its cartel crackdown after President Donald Trump authorized military strikes Tuesday, with the latest operation off Venezuela’s coast killing 11 alleged Tren de Aragua members. In an appearance on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Pirro said her office — working with Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, and the DEA — intercepted 1,300 barrels of methamphetamine precursors shipped from Shanghai and bound for...

“Doctors are being paid to vaccinate, not to evaluate,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a recent video.“They’re pressured to follow the money, not the science.”Doctors administer dozens of vaccines to many children in the United States. Adults are also advised to receive multiple shots.Here’s what to know about vaccines and payments.What Does the Literature Say?A review of studies confirms that some doctors profit from vaccinating.In a 2020 paper, researchers found when analyzing three years’ worth of vaccination claims for five Colorado clinics that reimbursements averaged 125 percent of costs, making administering vaccines “financially favorable across the practices.”Another...

A nasal spray typically used to relieve allergy symptoms may help combat COVID-19, according to a new study. People who received the azelastine nasal spray in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in Germany were less likely to test positive for COVID-19, researchers reported on Sept. 2.Only 5 participants administered the spray had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, compared to 15 in the placebo group, they said.Spray recipients also had a lower incidence of rhinovirus infections.The single-center trial involved 450 people receiving the spray or a placebo three times a day for 56 days. The trial lasted from March 2023 to July 2024.“Azelastine nasal spray...

We're all guilty of saving something 'for a special occasion' - but it turns out when doing so, we might just be ruining the very thing we're waiting for. One man learnt this the hard way after keeping a bottle of whisky for 17 long years, only to be left gutted when he finally came to open it to savour its taste. Taking to Reddit, he revealed how he tucked away a bottle of Johnnie Walker Green Label almost two decades ago - and completely forgot about it until recently. However, when he went to open it, he found the...

President Donald Trump is riding a wave of strong public support, with a new poll showing his highest approval rating yet since returning to office. According to a Daily Mail/J.L. Partners survey released Thursday, Trump holds a 55 percent approval rating among registered voters—a six-point jump from July. “This is the highest approval figure we have ever shown for Donald Trump,” said J.L. Partners co-founder James Johnson. The poll, conducted between August 21 and September 1 with 867 registered voters, has a margin of error of 3.3 percent. Despite constant media attacks and left-wing outrage over his policies, Trump’s America...

Dear Chuck, My parents are retired and have a very low interest rate on a small amount of remaining mortgage. They told me they want to sell their home and rent, thinking they will save money. I am gathering information to help them. Would you suggest they rent or keep owning their home? Retired: Rent or Buy?Dear Retired: Rent or Buy?It depends. I don’t have the full financial picture of your parents, so I don’t want to give advice based on false assumptions. Let me disclose a few assumptions from your question:They are feeling financially insecure.Their home value is...

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s sister and nephew called on the secretary to resign Friday after he questioned the safety of vaccination while testifying before a congressional committee.

For many high school students returning to class, it may seem like geometry and trigonometry were created by the Greeks as a form of torture. So imagine our amazement when we heard two high school seniors had proved a mathematical puzzle that was thought to be impossible for two thousand years. We met Calcea Johnson and Ne'Kiya Jackson at their all-girls Catholic high school in New Orleans. And, as we first reported last year, we expected to find two mathematical prodigies. Instead, we found at St. Mary's Academy, all students are told their possibilities are boundless. Come Mardi Gras season,...

A Purdue University professor has confirmed the historical existence of 53 biblical figures mentioned in the Bible, lending new weight to discussions about the Bible’s connection to real-world history. Lawrence Mykytiuk, emeritus professor of library science, has spent decades analyzing ancient inscriptions to determine whether they refer to the same biblical figures recorded in Scripture. His findings include kings, pharaohs, governors, and scribes — names that appear both in archaeological records and biblical accounts. The confirmed names span multiple ancient empires, including Egypt, Babylon, Persia, and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Mykytiuk’s list includes well-known rulers such as King...

Note: View a copy of the criminal complaint.Four people were charged for their roles in a scheme to smuggle children from Mexico into the United States, sometimes using candy laced with THC to sedate them during smuggling events.“This Department of Justice is investigating and prosecuting human smuggling more aggressively than ever before, and Joint Task Force Alpha is the tip of the spear,” said U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We will not rest until those who profit from the suffering of vulnerable people — including many unaccompanied children — face severe, comprehensive justice.”“These defendants allegedly risked the lives of children...

Crafting a resume can be a stressful affair, and job seekers often rack their brains thinking of ways to stand out from other candidates. One TikToker, who goes by the handle Justcreatingmything, decided that the best way to apply for a job at F&B company BreadTalk would be to do a little arts and crafts. In a video uploaded last Monday (Sept 1), he showed how he had made a 'sponge cake' as his application for the bakery. "Everyone sends resumes... I sent BreadTalk a cake," he said in the caption. To create the 'sponge cake', he took a yellow...

Federal authorities say 475 people were detained this week in what Homeland Security Investigations called the largest single-site enforcement operation in its history.The raid took place Thursday at the HLGA battery plant site in southeast Georgia, a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution, as part of a months-long probe into alleged unlawful employment practices and other federal crimes. U.S. Attorney Meg Heap and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Steve Schrank said the operation followed a judicial search warrant and focused on employers suspected of exploiting undocumented workers. Officials stressed the effort was not a...

Laura Lee Yourex, 62, of Costa Mesa, faces five felony charges related to voter fraud for registering her dog to vote. According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Yourex submitted mail-in ballots under the name Maya Jean Yourex, her dog’s name, during the 2021 gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary. The first ballot was successfully counted, while the second was challenged and rejected, officials said. Last October, Yourex self-reported the crime to the Orange County Registrar of Voters, which in turn reported it to local authorities. An investigation was launched which determined that Yourex had registered Maya Jean...