Free Republic

Explanation: What caused these Martian rocks to be layered? The leading hypothesis is an ancient Martian lake that kept evaporating and refilling over 10 million years -- but has now remained dry and empty of water for billions of years. The featured image, taken last November by the robotic Curiosity rover, shows one-meter wide Whale Rock which is part of the Pahrump Hills outcrop at the base of Mount Sharp. Also evident in the image is cross-bedding -- rock with angled layers -- which were likely facilitated by waves of sand. Curiosity continues to find many layered rocks like this...

Gubernatorial candidate voted against Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act Abigail Spanberger, the Virginia Democrat gubernatorial candidate, really wants voters to know she has three daughters, and that should scare every Virginia mother and father straight to the polls. The girl mom crosses her heart that she’ll put families first, even though she refuses to pull her endorsement from attorney general candidate Jay Jones, who dreamed of putting bullets in a former Virginia House speaker and watching his children die. Maybe she isn’t talking about putting the speaker’s family first. SPANBERGER QUIET ON TWIN CONTROVERSIES IN FINAL STRETCH...

With Election Day two weeks away, all eyes are on Curtis Sliwa, as pressure grows on the Guardian Angels founder and Republican nominee to drop his mayoral bid. Cuomo, who has consistently trailed Mamdani in the polls, has attempted to make overtures to Republican voters and has dismissed Sliwa as a “spoiler” in the race. In a recent appearance on Fox News, Cuomo addressed Republican voters directly, saying the mayoral race is about “the future of New York and saving New York City.” With Election Day two weeks away, all eyes are on Curtis Sliwa, as pressure grows on the...

[Catholic Caucus] Papal Interview in Retrospect: Is the Leonine Honeymoon Drawing to a Close?Editor’s note: The following is a review of some of the aspects of Pope Leo’s first interview. For a more complete analysis of the interview in its totality, see this videoPope Leo XIV’s first extended interview, given to Elise Ann Allen of Crux Now and later included in a biographical volume, offers a telling portrait of his papal style. His words have drawn criticism across the Catholic world for their omissions and potential implications. In particular, traditionalists see cause for concern in the Pope’s opinions about the...

Donald Trump will no longer meet Vladimir Putin in Hungary after a phone call between US and Russian negotiators reportedly turned sour. The decision to call it off was made following discussions between US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. It is understood that the conversation did not go well - with Lavrov telling Rubio that Russia would not accept freezing the current front line in Ukraine. 'An additional in-person meeting between the secretary and foreign minister is not necessary, and there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the...

When I arrived in Minneapolis, the frost had just lifted, and gray clouds hung low over the horizon. I had come to make a pilgrimage to George Floyd Square, where the revolution of 2020 began. It has been more than five years since Floyd lost his life and became a patron saint of the Left, and I wanted to see what had happened here since then. The square is situated in a run-down intersection that now features a statue of a clenched black fist in the central roundabout. On one corner stands a minimarket called Unity Foods—formerly Cup Foods—where George...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Construction workers tasked with building a new White House Ballroom reportedly discovered 1,357 stashes of cocaine hidden within the walls and ceilings of the East Wing. Work on the project was briefly postponed on Tuesday when a wheeled excavator demolishing a section of the East Wing suddenly tore through what turned out to be several kilos of heat-sealed polyethylene-wrapped cocaine, scattering it into the wind. Initially, workers cleared the area, fearing asbestos exposure, but after becoming strangely energetic and fearless, they returned to work. Secret Service agents later determined that the powdery substance was actually cocaine...

Former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) showrunner Elon Musk raged at Trump Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Tuesday, accusing him of “trying to kill NASA” in an angry series of tweets that included a derogatory nickname. Musk and Duffy had previously sparred over Musk’s efforts at DOGE. “I think it might not have been intentional, might have been ham-handed [like] some of the requests that were made by [the Department of Government Efficiency], but my position was, we are not going to fire air traffic controllers,” Duffy told The New York Post‘s Miranda Devine earlier this year. “Safety-critical positions are...

This idiotic statement was made by CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour. "The hostages were a key bargaining chip of Hamas in the peace negotiations," she said. "So, I'm sure they were better fed and cared for than the average inhabitant of Gaza. None of them had to worry about whether aid would get through to them. On the other hand, the latest data released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health says Israel's military killed 67,173 killed Gazans, including 20,179 children." On October 7, 2023 Hamas took 251 hostages. This week they released the 20 who survived captivity. This amounts to a...

The House Judiciary Committee referred former CIA Director John Brennan to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution on Tuesday over allegations that he “knowingly made false statements” to Congress about his role in the Russia collusion hoax.In the letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi obtained by The Federalist, Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, argued that “Brennan made numerous willfully and intentionally false statements of material fact contradicted by the record established by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and the CIA.” (snip) The referral highlights numerous instances in which Brennan allegedly issued untrue remarks when testifying before...

Graham Platner, the Maine Democratic Senate candidate backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), wrote in 2020 that he had an "antifa supersoldier" label on his "armor," according to an archived post reviewed by Axios. Why it matters: Progressives have elevated Platner as one of their top candidates in next year's midterm elections, but his old Reddit posts have thrown his campaign into turmoil. Platner is running to unseat Sen. Susan Collins, Senate Democrats' top Republican target next year. The contest for the Democratic nomination between Platner and Maine Gov. Janet Mills — who's preferred by Democratic Party leaders — already...

Molly Lee is talking to me about the tales her aunt Nelle, known to the world as Harper Lee, would weave for her when she was a little girl. "She was just a great storyteller," says the 77-year-old from her home in Alabama. That's an understatement if the success of Harper Lee's Pulitzer-prize winning novel To Kill A Mockingbird is anything to go by. Since its publication in 1960, when it was an instant hit, the book has sold more than 42 million copies worldwide Based around the story of Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of rape, it's...

3:04 VIDEO AT LINK.................... We are thrilled to unveil "Jetson Air Games" Concept with Electrifying Aerial Showcase at UP.Summit 2025. the Jetson Air Games, a competitive format designed to redefine personal air mobility through dynamic aerial sport. For the first time ever, Jetson executed a 4-ship formation flight, followed by a high-speed pylon race, culminating in a solo aerial display by Jetson Co-Founder and CTO Tomasz Patan, who took the controls himself and participated in both the formation and the race. The performance, set against the backdrop of the UP.Summit’s Community Day airshow, was a powerful demonstration of Jetson’s technological...

There are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in the immediate future, a White House official said Tuesday, a pivot after Mr. Trump suggested last week that he would meet his Russian counterpart soon in Budapest to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine. Mr. Trump said last week that he planned on meeting with Mr. Putin after senior American and Russian officials spoke. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov then had a “productive call,” the official said. It is unclear whether Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin...

Beyond Meat has regained a bit of its meme mojo status, surging 93% on Tuesday. The food company known for its plant-based meat alternatives is having an incredible week, with shares surging more than 127% Monday in its best day ever after Roundhill Investments, which develops thematic ETFs, added the name to its Roundhill Meme Stock ETF (MEME). It continued that rally Tuesday after Beyond Meat announced a deal with Walmart to expand distribution to more stores across the U.S. It appears the ETF addition has unleashed a short squeeze with investors who bet against the stock forced to cover...

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell has ruled that Planned Parenthood affiliates in California, Iowa, and New York do not have to comply with recent executive orders requiring them to affirm biological sex and discontinue the promotion of radical gender ideology and promiscuity in order to receive federal funding Key Takeaways: * Despite multiple Trump executive orders specifying otherwise, a district judge has ruled that certain Planned Parenthood affiliates in three states do not have to rid their sex ed curricula of radical gender ideology. * The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program has been shown in the past to have failed to...

Daily Readings from the USCCBJesus said to his disciples: “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.” Luke 12:35–36What does it mean to “Gird your loins?” This phrase, which is not commonly used today, literally means “tighten your belt.” It traditionally refers to one who is wearing a long robe that makes it difficult to move quickly and easily. Thus, to gird your loins means that you tuck in the long robe and tighten your belt so that you are...

Staunch conservative Sanae Takaichi was elected Japan’s first female prime minister by parliament on Tuesday, in a landmark moment for the historically patriarchal country where both politics and workplaces are dominated by older men.Takaichi steps into the role as Japan faces mounting economic woes and a fractured politics, and just days before US President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit. The 64-year old Takaichi, who is a heavy metal drummer and motorcycle enthusiast, grew up in Nara near Osaka. Her arrival at the pinnacle of Japanese politics tops a remarkable rise, from TV presenter to flag bearer of traditional and...

Today, Governor Phil Murphy issued a Conditional Veto of the proposed Abortion Travel Advisory bill (S3663). His veto raises important questions about his motives and logic and whether the state should be in the business of evaluating other states’ laws in the first place. The bill, strongly backed by Planned Parenthood, called for the creation of an ‘Abortion Tourism’ website to be maintained by the Department of State (DOS), a move that would promote one-sided information and political messaging. According to the proposal, the website would have used a three-tiered, color-coded system—Blue: Exercise normal caution; Yellow: Exercise increased caution; and...

Reporter Savanah Hernandez joined Jesse Watters on Fox News to share her experience at a “No Kings” rally. As The Gateway Pundit reported, Hernandez joined a panel of other reporters, along with President Trump, White House officials, and cabinet secretaries, who participated in a roundtable event to discuss the leftwing terror network. Other reporters included Jack Posobeic, Nick Sortor, Cam Higby, Jonathan Choe, Andy Ngo, Katie Daviscourt, James Klug, Nick Shirley, Brandi Kruse, Julio Rojas, and Seamus Bruner. They all shared their knowledge of the left-wing terrorist network and some of their violent experiences with Antifa. You can watch Hernandez’s...