Free Republic

The Trump administration said Wednesday it will control Venezuela’s oil sales “indefinitely” in the wake of deposed strongman ruler Nicolás Maduro’s capture. Energy Secretary Chris Wright asserted the US will market and sell Venezuelan crude, with proceeds held in US-controlled accounts that he said “can flow back” to Venezuela, a day after President Trump said Venezuela would turn tens of millions of barrels of oil over to the US. “Instead of the oil being blockaded, as it is right now, we’re gonna let the oil flow … to United States refineries and around the world to bring better oil supplies,...

An apparently homeless thief was electrocuted to death while trying to steal copper wiring from a California construction site — as power was knocked out to 2,500 homes, reports said. The unidentified man was killed Sunday in a vacant strip mall that’s in the process of being demolished, with witnesses saying they heard a loud explosion at around 2 p.m. before electricity went out for several hours, police told CBS News. The explosion is believed to be a transformer that blew up, knocking out power for several hours, Pomona police said. One neighbor rushed to the scene where a woman...

Tensions have been high in Minnesota, particularly after the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) recent announcement that they’d be sending 2,000 ICE officers to the state. After the January 7 shooting that killed a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis, Governor Tim Walz responded in a press conference, calling for protestors to remain calm, and rejecting any further federal law enforcement be sent to the Twin Cities. “I have a very simple message, Walz said, “We do not need any further help from the federal government. To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, you’ve done enough.” DHS Secretary Noem herself held two separate...

Working out, we can see the all the local media "news" reports at the gym. Some network affiliated stations, some 'independent' ones. Amazing that Minnesota has been the epicenter of fraud and took center stage on that and Florida media is silent. Then the governor of the state, the handpicked running mate of the 'black' woman sidekick to Sleepy Joe, is forced to quit his attempt for re-election. Florida media again is silent. But a moron driver tries to run over an ICE agent and the Miami media...goes all in on "eeeevil Trump!"

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace...

More than 100 people were killed during the U.S. military operation in Venezuela that captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife, the country's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said Wednesday...Cuba revealed on Monday that 32 of its citizens were killed during the operation...Seven U.S. service members were injured

Intestinal parasites are my companion in Costa Rica. Every six months or so I make a trip to the pharmacy and ask for pastillas antiparasiticos. The most common over-the-counter pill is the anti-protozoal agent Nitazoxanide: two pills a day for three days to treat an array of intestinal parasites. The pills scour your digestive system, wiping out nematodes, cestodes, and helminths, as well as various protozoa with exotic names such as Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia lamblia, and Entamoeba histolytica. My body always lets me know when it is time for a treatment. The first sign is a growling stomach within a...

SALT LAKE CITY — Two people were killed and six were injured in a shooting in Salt Lake City's Rose Park neighborhood on Wednesday evening when a fight broke out in a church parking lot outside a funeral. The shooter or shooters remained at large as of the latest update from police at 11 p.m. "The situation still is very fluid. At this point, we know that there are at least eight victims, I can confirm that two of them have died; three of them are critical condition, and three others (are) in unknown condition," said Salt Lake police spokesman...

Jellyfish and sea anemones, despite lacking brains, show sleep behavior similar to that seen in humans, according to a new study published in Nature Communications. Researchers found that these simple marine animals, like jellyfish, experience periods of rest that align closely with human-like sleep, offering new insight into how sleep functions in creatures with nervous systems but no centralized brain. The study revealed that the upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea andromeda) sleeps for about eight hours daily, primarily at night, with a short rest during the day. The starlet sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis), which was studied in a lab setting, also showed...

On my phone if I hold it straight up and down I cannot see free republic. The font size is too small. But if I flip it over and the phone is now east and west the font is big enough that I can scroll comfortably. Was this done on purpose?

A dangerous combination of bromazolam and fentanyl is fueling a sharp rise in overdose deaths across Oahu.The drug, often called fake Xanax or designer Xanax, is being mixed with other substances, mostly fentanyl, to make counterfeit prescription pills. Experts feel people experimenting, especially teens, will fall victim to the lethal combination. Bromazolam-related deaths have hit seven fatalities on Oahu so far this year. By comparison, in all of 2024, there were zero on the island with one in Hawaii County. “A lot of abusers and people in general take it for depression and anxiety,” said Gary Yabuta, director of the...

The grieving wife of a woman shot dead by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota broke down in tears and blamed herself for the tragedy. Harrowing footage from the scene showed the unidentified woman in tears over the shooting death of 37-year-old poet Renee Nicole Good, as she admitted encouraging Good to confront agents. 'I made her come down here, it’s my fault,' she could be heard saying at one point, through tears. 'They just shot my wife.' Witnesses have claimed Good and her wife were acting as legal observers and filming the protest when she was shot three...

A set of rare fifth-century armor fittings featuring a dragon-adorned gilt-bronze design has been identified in Japan, offering new insight into the craftsmanship and ceremonial culture of the Kofun period. The fragments, originally excavated from a burial mound in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, are now recognized as one of the most refined examples of military ornamentation from ancient Japan. The seven fragments, preserved and displayed at the Meiji University Museum in Tokyo, are believed to have once decorated the neck guard of a suit of armor. Measuring approximately 35 centimeters long (13.8 inches) and 22 centimeters (8.7 inches) wide when assembled,...

The risk of space debris falling through airspace is going up in 2026, according to researchers. Experts said spacecraft, or parts of one, fall back into the Earth’s atmosphere once a week on average. Most of this space debris is empty rocket stages, while others are dead satellites whose low orbits decayed enough for them to slip into the atmosphere. Most of these “human-made meteors” don’t survive long due to the heat and shredding force that come as the objects speed through the air. However, some bits of debris from these objects can survive long enough to fall through the...

A wombat, spotted quoll and ringtail possum have also been caught up in the chaos.A family of cheeky Tasmanian devils have been caught on camera ransacking a suburban property yard in the state’s Central Highlands. CCTV video shows the mischievous marsupials dashing out a hole in the early hours of the morning, pinching dog toys and several other household items. Property owner Jayne Warner told 7NEWS several items have gone missing, “There’s at least seven or eight items under the house at the moment and previous to that we didn’t know what the hell was going on, so it could...

As unpredictable as United States President Donald Trump may sometimes be, the decision to strike Venezuela and seize its leader Nicolas Maduro on Saturday (Jan 3) was not taken on a whim. It was clearly calculated to send a message about America’s power and interests – and its ability and willingness to mobilise one to advance the other. The question is whether it was the only message that everyone else received. The writing was on the wall for Maduro: In his first term, Mr Trump had refused to recognise the legitimacy of the Maduro presidency. Since his return to the...

United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday (Jan 7) invited his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro to the White House, just days after threatening him with military action over alleged drug trafficking. Trump had warned Petro on Jan 3 to "watch his ass" following US forces' ousting of leader Nicolas Maduro in neighbouring Venezuela. On Wednesday, following the first phone call between the leaders since Trump took office in January last year, the 79-year-old Republican said he was arranging to meet with Petro "in the near future". Petro "called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have...

A blood-covered woman who identified herself as the wife of Renee Nicole Good hysterically blamed herself for her partner’s killing at the hands of ICE agents, gut-wrenching footage shows. The woman was filmed distraught and sobbing just steps from Good’s wrecked car in Minneapolis Wednesday morning, as a neighbor who heard the commotion asked her what happened. “I made her come down here, it’s my fault,” the woman said through sobs. “They just shot my wife.”

After this weekend’s stunning raid to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, many analysts are asking, what comes next? Most charge that the Trump administration lacks a clear plan for the future of Venezuela. Some have expressed worries that U.S. military action in Venezuela will become a costly quagmire, like Iraq or Afghanistan. Others are puzzled and exasperated that the Trump administration has not provided a full-throated endorsement of Venezuela’s democratically elected opposition. In fact, a clearer plan is coming into place. It relies on Washington using carrots and sticks to coax Venezuela’s leadership to change policies in a way that...

The UK's Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had provided "enabling support" to the US during its operation to seize the tanker. US forces have boarded a Venezuela-linked sanctioned oil tanker in North Atlantic after pursuing it for weeks, the US military announced on Wednesday. "The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro," US European Command said in a post on X. Russia sent a submarine to escort the empty oil tanker the US military had been pursuing and attempting to seize for weeks,...