Free Republic

View of winged Lion of Venice at Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy. (Photo by BGStock72 on Shutterstock) In A Nutshell Scientific testing shows Venice’s bronze Lion of St .Mark was cast in China during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907), not in Europe. Lead-isotope analysis traced the copper to the Guishan, Yaojialing, and Anji mines along China’s Lower Yangzi River. Stylistic evidence reveals it began as a mythic tomb guardian called a zhènmùshòu, complete with horns and bat-like ears later cut away. Venetian merchants, possibly the Polo family, may have refashioned the statue into a winged lion as Venice’s new...

Monday's off to a busy start! As investors and traders await any developments from Washington DC, Tom White points out the fact that in the previous 5 government shutdowns equity markets actually rose higher. He joins Diane King Hall to set up the trading week before turning to a pair of big premarket movers. AMD (AMD) is jumping on news that it reached a deal to sell a potential 10% stake to OpenAI in tranches. And, Micron (MU) begins Monday's action with an upgrade at Morgan Stanley and a new price target to $220. Market Rally: AMD/OpenAI Deal, MU Upgrade...

An Boeing 787 Dreamliner was forced to deploy its emergency Ram Air Turbine during final approach to Birmingham Airport on Saturday. An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Birmingham landed safely on Saturday, October 4, after the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deployed during its final approach. The flight AI117 departed Amritsar Saturday, October 4 2025 for a 10-hour flight to Birmingham, UK. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner (registration VT-ANO) landed on runway 33 at 19:07 BST while pilots detected deployment of the Ram Air Turbine during final approach to Birmingham. According to an Air India spokesperson, the aircraft’s electrical and hydraulic...

Tens of millions of seniors may have to wait longer to find out how much their Social Security checks will rise next year. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is expected to announce the 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) on Oct. 15, the same day the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) planned to release September's inflation data. But with most BLS employees furloughed amid the government shutdown, economic reports — including the inflation update — could be delayed, USA Today reported. The SSA cannot calculate the annual COLA without the inflation report, according to USA Today.Although the COLA announcement may be delayed,...

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein. On the first day of their new term, the justices declined to take up a case that would have drawn renewed attention to the sordid sexual-abuse saga after President Donald Trump’s administration sought to tamp down criticism over its refusal to publicly release more investigative files from Epstein’s case. Lawyers for Maxwell, a British socialite, argued that she never should have been tried or convicted for her role in luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein, a New York financier....

MARYVILLE, Tenn.—Tucked in the foothills of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains is a factory that has figured out a way to manufacture in America that’s cheaper, quicker and better. It’s the home of a famous American writing implement: the Sharpie marker.Pen barrels whirl along automated assembly lines that rapidly fill them with ink. At least half a billion Sharpie markers are churned out here every year, each one made of six parts. Only the felt tip is imported, from Japan. [snip] Newell began moving some Sharpie production to China in the 2000s, part of the wave of outsourcing by U.S. companies looking...

The United States of America’s plan to cap international undergraduate students at 15 per cent per campus, with no more than 5 per cent from any single country, has caused unease among global students—especially in India, which sends one of the largest cohorts to American universities. What the White House proposal says Earlier this month, the White House sent a memo to nine universities outlining a proposal that ties federal funding to new conditions. These include limiting international undergraduate enrolment to 15 per cent overall and capping any single country at 5 per cent. The memo is not a universal...

While Italian goods are being subjected to the White House’s 15% across-the-board EU tariffs, pasta producers in Italy are facing additional increases of 91% over their listed prices in the US. The move is the result of a Department of Commerce investigation that found two producers – La Molisana and Garofalo – were dumping their products on the American market. In economics, dumping refers to a practice – illegal in the United States and many other countries – often employed by large players in a given sector, of selling one’s products at below market value in order to establish market...

Pharmacy chain Rite Aid closed all of its locations after filing for bankruptcy twice in less than two years. The retailer posted a brief announcement on its website. “All Rite Aid stores have now closed,” the site states. “We thank our loyal customers for their many years of support.” The website offers former customers their pharmacy and immunization history, as well as assistance with finding pharmacies that their prescriptions were transferred to. The drugstore chain operated in the U.S. for more than 60 years. The company had opportunities to merge with Walgreens in 2017 and Albertsons in 2018, but rejected...

VIDEOThe state of Illinois appears to be in state of Open Rebellion against enforcement of the immigration Laws. One big example of this rebellion happened in Chicago when members of ICE were under assault and aid was requested of the local police. However, the Chief of Patrol REFUSED to give them any aid thus endangering the lives of the ICE crew. Of course, this would not have happened without the consent of the deranged Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. Fortunately, the voters have an opportunity to soon let their feelings on this Open Rebellion be known since there will soon be...

In a drama reshaping Virginia’s high-stakes 2025 elections, Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones remains in the race despite widespread condemnation of a series of 2022 text messages in which he stated he would shoot a Republican politician in the head and fantasized about the children of another Republican being killed. The fallout has put pressure on Jones’ party to act, but so far, many prominent Democrats have stopped short of demanding his exit. The messages, first reported by the National Review on Friday and later picked up by multiple outlets, emerged from a 2022 exchange between Jones and Virginia...

A college student killed in a Tesla Cybertruck crash was trapped inside the vehicle as it burst into flames due to a design flaw involving its doors, a lawsuit has claimed. Krysta Michelle Tsukahara, a sophomore at Savannah College of Art and Design, was one of three who died in the accident in Piedmont, California, last November. Her parents have alleged that Tesla, run by Elon Musk, knew of the design flaw for years and could have fixed the problem but failed to do so. Krysta, 19, along with friends Soren Dixon, 19, who was driving, and Jack Nelson, 20,...

In criminal prosecution, like construction, the smallest crack in the foundation can bring down the entire structure. The case against Tyler Robinson, accused of assassinating conservative leader Charlie Kirk, appears solid from the outside – confession texts, a recovered weapon, witnesses by the thousands. But beneath this seemingly ironclad exterior, a troubling vulnerability has emerged that should concern every American who values justice. Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was shot dead while speaking to 3,000 supporters at Utah Valley University on September 10. A single bullet to the neck silenced one of conservatism’s most influential young...

Hunt has been testing the waters as a potential third way for Texas Republicans as Cornyn and Paxton have waged a contentious battle of words in the media. Hunt and groups supporting him have spent $6.5 million on advertising in Texas.

Although most scientists have concluded that the mysterious object is comet, NASA's Perseverance rover on the Martian surface sent back photos showing what appears to be a massive cylindrical shape.

The Islamic state of the United Kingdom updated health guidelines to appease new residents. According to the National Health Institute, there are “benefits” to first-cousin marriage “despite birth defect risk.” The United Kingdom has fallen. The once-trusted national health agency stated that the benefits of inbreeding outweigh the disadvantages due to “stronger extended family support systems and economic advantages.” “Genetic counseling, awareness-raising initiatives and public health campaigns are all important tools to help families make informed decisions without stigmatizing certain communities and cultural traditions,” the NHS added. The nation would prefer to permit inbreeding and create a population with irreparable...

SB-771 threatens to turn digital platforms into ideological enforcers, punishing those who hold traditional, faith-based viewpoints. California lawmakers are once again leading the charge — not toward progress, but toward repression. Their latest move, Senate Bill 771 (SB-771), is being packaged as a bold stand against “hate” on social media. In reality, it’s a direct assault on the free expression and constitutionally protected speech of ministries, minority groups, and faith-based organizations. The bill would force Big Tech to remove content that could be interpreted as “harassment” or “intimidation” based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and more — or face...

The Supreme Court on Monday said it would not hear the appeal of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking related to the sexual abuse of underage girls by Jeffrey Epstein.

Germany's former Chancellor Angela Merkel has blamed Poland and the Baltic states for Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Merkel, who led the country from 2005 to 2021, made the explosive claim in an interview with Hungarian outlet Partizan. She said she blamed Poland and the Baltic states for the severance of diplomatic ties between Russia and the EU, which she said led to the invasion just a few months later. In her telling of history, Poland's refusal to support the Minsk Agreements, a pair of key international agreements between Russia and the EU, emboldened Putin to properly invade Ukraine in...

Few social media sites are as big a swamp as Reddit.Leftists use the platform to call for attacks on ICE facilities and agents, and the site is populated by lunatics who think January 6 is worse than 9/11 and the Holocaust.They are driven by a deep hatred of President Trump and conservatism, which is why one Reddit user is upset that prices at Costco are coming down.No, really.[snip]The post reads:Costco is quietly slashing prices. This feels wrong.I go to costco every week. it’s probably the only thing i do consistently. i’ve been doing it for years, i know how the...