Free Republic

A new study offers insight into how two of the world's most popular beverages, coffee and tea, may influence bone health in older women. The research followed nearly 10,000 women aged 65 and older over a decade to explore whether their daily habits of sipping coffee or tea were linked to changes in bone mineral density (BMD), a key indicator of osteoporosis risk.. The team analyzed data from the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures, using repeated measures of both beverage intake and BMD at the hip and femoral neck, areas strongly associated with fracture risk. Over ten years, participants reported their...

Each Supreme Court term typically includes at least one explosive case that inflames political passions and captures the public imagination. When the court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, or when it greatly broadened presidential immunity, as it did last year in Trump v. the United States, or when it ruled against race-based college admissions in 2023, it reaffirmed its centrality and reminded voters that it mattered. As it happens, very few Americans can name the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (surveys show it is consistently under 16 percent), but most know instinctively the high...

A blood biomarker yet to be used in cardiac arrest care can give a clearer picture of the extent of brain damage after a cardiac arrest. This has been shown in a large international multicenter study. A simple blood test that can very accurately predict the chance of survival with good recovery will be of great significance for patients in intensive care after a cardiac arrest. This assertion comes from the researchers behind a large multicenter study in which four brain damage biomarkers in the blood were compared to ascertain how reliably they could estimate the extent of brain damage...

A systematic review of 17 randomized trials found that among high cardiovascular risk individuals, reducing saturated fat was linked to lower all-cause mortality and possible reductions in cardiovascular deaths, heart attacks, and strokes. Notably, the greatest benefit for preventing nonfatal heart attacks occurred when saturated fats were replaced with polyunsaturated fats (PUFA) rather than simply reducing them. For people at low to intermediate cardiovascular risk, cutting or replacing saturated fat intake offered little or no benefit over five years. Researchers reviewed trials involving 66,337 participants that compared the effect of reducing saturated fat intake or replacement with alternative nutrients such...

The festive movie season is upon us, and one of my perennial favourites is Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. I will die on this hill: it is better than the original. But rewatching it as an adult raises an awkward question. How on earth did the Wet Bandits survive the first film at all, let alone escape without lasting injuries? Ten-year-old Kevin McCallister, the boy left home alone, sets up traps that are played for laughs, but many involve levels of force that would be catastrophic in real life. A 100lb (45kg) bag of cement to the head,...

Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Latin America's political shift toward conservative governments was reinforced this week when Chileans elected far-right politician Jose Antonio Kast for the 2026-2030 term. It was the largest vote total ever recorded in a presidential election there. Chile's result strengthened a regional trend that is reshaping domestic political balances and points to closer political and economic alignment with the United States. Chile became the latest country in the region to deliver an electoral swing by handing victory to the opposition and rejecting the ruling coalition's candidate backed by President Gabriel Boric, a leftist. The outcome reflects a...

[Catholic Caucus] Why won’t the Vatican clarify Catholic doctrine on homosexuality, women’s ordination?Bishop Marian Eleganti joins me on this episode of The John Henry Westen Show, filmed at this year's Rome Life Forum.Bishop Marian Eleganti joins me on this episode of The John Henry Westen Show, filmed at this year’s Rome Life Forum. We discussed doctrinal ambiguity and confusion in the early months of Pope Leo’s pontificate on key issues such as same-sex “marriage,” women’s ordination, and more. I began the episode by noting that some of the most controversial bishop appointments made by Pope Leo have been those who...

Rob Reiner’s daughter, Romy Reiner, reportedly “lived in fear” of her older brother, Nick Reiner, before he allegedly killed their parents. “It feels like Romy has been scared of Nick since she was a child,” an insider told the Daily Mail Sunday. “Even before his drug addiction, his outbursts were frightening because they seemed to come out of nowhere. She tried to stay out of his way as much as she could but it wasn’t easy.” The source alleged that Romy, who will be celebrating her 28th birthday on Dec. 27, “didn’t think it was a good idea” for Nick,...

Throughout 2015 Alex Jones detailed how Chinese-style net censorship is the stepping stone for the technocracy takeover and the depopulation endgame. Summary The speaker warns of an impending global shift toward Chinese-style internet censorship and social control systems, which he claims will be phased in worldwide starting in 2025. He asserts that major tech companies like Facebook, Google, and Microsoft are already cooperating with China to implement integrated surveillance systems that track online activity, social media posts, purchases, and credit scores via algorithms. Criticism of the government in China, he says, results in restrictions on travel, hotel stays, and buying/selling....

Join together with Fellow FREEPERS to Pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media.'And this is the Confidence that we have in Him, that, if we Ask Anything According to His Will, He Heareth us.' 1 John 5:14Religion Forum Threads Labeled [Prayer] are Closed to Debate of Any Kind.Psalm 116:5Gracious is the LORD, and Righteous; Yea, our God is Merciful.

What can Donald Trump do to stop morphing into Joe Biden? The two presidents could hardly be more different in most ways—but in the one that counts most with voters, Trump is in danger of resembling his predecessor. Americans rejected Biden and the Democrats last year because they were incensed at the lousy state of the economy. Right now, they’re not much happier with Trump’s economy. Inflation was the No. 1 concern on voters’ minds last year, and it’s still a top concern today. Trump’s team say they plan to tout “affordability” as a theme Republicans can win on in...

Federal prosecutors have charged a longtime California welfare worker with carrying out a multi-year fraud scheme involving food assistance benefits and dead people. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrest of former Madera County benefits eligibility worker Leticia Mariscal, 55, of Madera. Prosecutors alleged that Mariscal stole tens of thousands of dollars in CalFresh benefits by exploiting her access to county databases. CalFresh is California’s version of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. According to the Justice Department, the alleged scheme took place between December 2020 and April 2025. Mariscal is accused of improperly accessing identifying information for elderly and...

Our Troops Rock! Thank you for all you do! For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces. Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today! ~ Hall of Heroes ~ Berlin Airlift Part 2: OperationsAll info and photos from this website. Link to Part One Lt. Gen. William H. Tunner: Directed Berlin Airlift Operation A native of New Jersey and son of an immigrant father, General Tunner was awarded an appointment to West Point upon his graduation from Roselle High School. He was one of 77 cadets...

Gun owners’ number one fighter in Washington, D.C., Representative Andrew Clyde, along with five senators and 35 other House members, have sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi.In this letter, they’ve made it clear that the DOJ is out of line with Congress’ intent.Specifically, they cite the Justice Department’s recent defense of the National Firearms Act in the Gun Owners of America case that we’re affectionately calling the “One Big Beautiful Lawsuit.”The case itself, Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, centers around the recent removal of the $200 tax from items regulated by the National Firearms Act. Specifically, short-barreled rifles,...

Rising imports have helped stabilize the fuel market, officials said at a meeting Tuesday.California’s petroleum industry regulators are anticipating that the state’s shrinking oil refining capacity could spur more competition in the gasoline market, potentially reducing the likelihood of price spikes at the pump.What happened: Top state energy officials said Tuesday during a meeting of the Independent Consumer Fuels Advisory Committee that increasing imports of gasoline to California this year are beginning to transform the market dynamics in the state.“It may be oversimplification, but that change from episodic imports after price spikes to steady-state imports seems to have resulted, at...

We are only now starting to witness the aftermath of the legislation and policies put in place by blue states as a means to control prices. California under Governor Gavin Newsom may have staged its own economic demise (the final nail in the coffin) after laws were passed requiring even greater state interference into oil refineries and gas stations. The Democrat crusade to divert blame for the stagflation crisis triggered during the Biden Administration led them down a path of economic lies. The central theme of their narrative was that corporations were “price gouging” consumers and inflation was actually a...

The precious, fragrant resin is the scent of the festive season and rising in popularity in the wellness industry – but its natural source is being decimated. Salaban Salad Muse has built his whole life around frankincense. Living the small town of Dayaha in the Sanaag region of Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, he works as a seasoned harvester of the famously aromatic resin, obtained only from the Boswellia tree. Every year, Salad Muse camps for three to six months in a cave near the site he owns with these trees on it. Each day he heads out the...

Cheap Trick has issued a statement in response to criticism they received for performing at last week's Kennedy Center Honors in support of Kiss. The Rockford, Illinois-based rockers paid tribute to their longtime musical compatriots and 2025 Kennedy Center honorees, covering the face-painted band's signature hit "Rock and Roll All Nite" at the Dec. 7 ceremony. Surviving classic-era Kiss members Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss accepted the honors alongside fellow honorees George Strait, Michael Crawford, Gloria Gaynor and Sylvester Stallone. What Did Cheap Trick Say About Performing at the Kennedy Center Honors? On Wednesday, Cheap Trick issued a...

A staggering $9 billion may have been stolen in Minnesota’s sprawling social-services scam orchestrated mainly by members of its Somali community — a figure nearly equivalent to the entire economy of Somalia. The enormous new estimate is a nearly nine-fold increase from the swiped $1 billion previously suspected, according to federal prosecutors. It also accounts for roughly half of the $18 billion in total federal funds provided to the Minnesota-run services since 2018, the feds said — as Democratic Gov. Tim Walz continues to take heat for his handling of the debacle. By comparison to the $9 billion figure, Somalia’s...

For a man who handed Joe Biden $5million for his 2020 election run, it might seem an impossible ask. But with an appeal against his 25-year prison term off to a shaky start, Sam Bankman-Fried's current language is a message he's ready to bend the knee to Biden's successor for a presidential pardon. The mop-haired crypto crook, who also dished out another $40million to Democratic candidates in the 2022 mid-terms, has always been a gambler. Even so, few who watched his spectacular downfall that year amid the $8billion collapse of his FTX crypto exchange might have predicted his latest spin...