Free Republic

Researchers recently carried out a study involving mice, exploring the possibility that the exposure to bright lights also influences eating behavior and body weight. "Environmental light regulates nonimage-forming functions like feeding, and bright light therapy shows anti-obesity potential, yet its neural basis remains unclear," wrote Wen Li. "We show that bright light treatment effectively reduces food intake and mitigates weight gain in mice through a visual circuit involving the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA)." Light is known to play a crucial role in various physiological processes, including sleep, the release of hormones and eating patterns. Bright light therapy (BLT), which entails...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has authorized the state’s National Guard to help support local law enforcement as tensions have risen in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of Renee Good.The National Guard will help protect critical infrastructure and maintain public safety, a news release from Walzs’ office said.“Yesterday, I directed the National Guard to be ready should they be needed,” Walz said in a statement. “They remain ready in the event they are needed to help keep the peace, ensure public safety, and allow for peaceful demonstrations.”He also thanked Minnesotans as they have “met this moment,” adding “we have every reason...

Traci Kornak, the former treasurer of the Michigan Democratic Party, was hauled into probate court this week, suspected of embezzling from her ward, a brain-damaged elderly woman. I caught Kornak feasting on the woman’s finances nearly four years ago and have written many stories about it since. I’ve made TV appearances. I even lost my newspaper job over it. After my first story was published, Attorney General Dana Nessel, a close friend of Kornak, opened a superficial investigation that was no investigation at all. Her detectives made a few cursory phone calls before Nessel prodded them into shutting down the...

Mahyar Tousi, host of Tousi TV, delivered a live stream update on the escalating situation in Iran. He reported that the Islamic Republic has effectively declared war on its own citizens by deploying official IRGC military forces after withdrawing police and Basij units from the streets. This shift followed massive protests across the country, with millions responding to calls from Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi to take to the streets. Tousi claimed exclusive direct access to sources inside Iran despite a nationwide shutdown of internet, mobile data, and phone lines (with some limited access via Starlink). He described widespread demonstrations in...

Pope Leo begins a new catechism series dedicated to Vatican IIPope Leo on Wednesday praised the ‘liturgical reform’ launched by Vatican II that laid the groundwork for the revolutionary Novus Ordo Missae, the new Mass.Sculpture on St Peter's basilica door: Vatican IIVATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV announced Wednesday that he is beginning a catechesis series to “closely” study the Second Vatican Council, which many priests and scholars have affirmed to be in need of correction.“We are beginning a new catechesis series dedicated to the Second Vatican Council and to a fresh reading of its Documents,” Leo wrote in...

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President Trump’s attack on immigrants affects immigrant workers and employers. This guide explains: the most common immigration actions affecting employers, recommendations for how employers can prepare, employers’ rights and responsibilities, and what employers can do after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) action. Important! This guide is general information. It is not legal advice. It is not tailored to your situation. Talk to an immigration lawyer for advice in your case. What Employers Can Do if Immigration Comes to a Workplace Immigration agents may come to your workplace for a Form I-9 audit, a raid, or to detain specific people....

<p>A federal officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday, shortly after the Trump administration deployed thousands of immigration agents to the city. Although the full circumstances of the killing remain unclear, video of the shooting shows an officer opening fire on the woman as she drove away.</p>

The Republican establishment is on the verge of extinction. Donald Trump’s first term wasn’t enough to kill it off: Trump came into office in 2017 with establishment figures such as Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan leading the party in Congress, and Trump’s own vice president, Mike Pence, had been chosen for that role as a reassurance to the old guard... This time, though, things are very different. Though congressional Republicans have yet to become thoroughly MAGA, there’s no longer a sense that GOP leaders in the House or Senate represent a distinct political brand of their own, as McConnell and...

Recent polling has shown young voters overwhelmingly disapproving of Trump and the GOP amid increasing anxiety over the state of the economy, while young people played a big role in helping Democrats win in 2025’s off-year races. “If you’re 29 and you’re paying out the nose for health care, and you can’t own your own home and groceries are killing you, you don’t really care about the conversations about tariffs. That’s not where you’re living. You’re living at, ‘Hey, I need the price of eggs to drop,’” said Brett Loyd, a longtime Republican pollster who now works with an independent...

At 2:19 PST, US Border Patrol agents were conducting a targeted vehicle stop in Portland, Oregon. The passenger of the vehicle and target is a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring and involved in a recent shooting in Portland. The vehicle driver is believed to be a member of the vicious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents. Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off...

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Two people were shot by federal agents in Southeast Portland on Thursday afternoon, according to police. At 2:18 p.m., Portland police officers responded to the 10200 block of Southeast Main Street on a report of a shooting. Officers confirmed that federal agents had been involved in a shooting, PPB said. The FBI office in Portland confirmed that the two agents involved in the shooting were working for Border Patrol on X/Twitter. But a short time later they deleted that statement. There’s no word on the condition of the people who were shot.

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. Here Am I (Hineni) The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Conflict between law enforcement and activists erupted outside an Orange Mound restaurant Sunday evening after a group of National Guard members was asked to leave the property. The Memphis Police Department was at the scene Sunday night, along with dozens of Memphis Safe Task Force members, outside Da Sammich Spot on Park Avenue, which has a posted sign banning ICE agents. Video shared by one of the activists protesting the National Guard’s presence showed National Guard troops standing by the sidewalk after being asked to leave the property before more reinforcements arrived, bringing dozens of National...

President Trump touted retired Navy SEAL officer Ed Gallrein, who’s challenging Trump critic Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) in the GOP primary, in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday, calling his endorsee “A WINNER WHO WILL NOT LET KENTUCKY DOWN!”“A Brave Combat Veteran, Ed knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Defend our Country, Support our Military/Veterans, and Ensure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH,” Trump wrote, lauding the retired Navy SEAL as a candidate who “happens to be central casting.”Trump also noted Gallrein’s recent support for the Trump administration’s military intervention in Venezuela, calling Gallrein a “big fan” of the...

More than two years after the British Museum announced that a number of its Greek and Roman artifacts were stolen, missing or damaged, the institution hopes to strengthen its search for the lost items by hiring... a dedicated treasure hunter....will assist in finding the items... whereabouts remain unknown after the museum revealed the theft in 2023...Of the estimated 1,500 artifacts that were originally reported missing, 654 have been recovered so far. Some items were identified after being listed on eBay -- including a piece of Roman jewelry worth $60,000 that was selling for $48 online -- and many others were...

MEME REVIEW: Hysterical Maduro Memes BREAK Internet After Capture By Trump 🤣

@SecScottBessent: "Under Governor Tim Walz, billions of dollars intended for families in need, housing for disabled seniors, and services for children were diverted to benefit fraudsters. I am here this week to single the @USTreasury's unwavering commitment to recovering stolen funds, prosecuting fraudulent criminals, preventing scandals like this from ever happening again."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents shot two people in Portland on Thursday afternoon, according to Portland city councilors. The condition of the two people who were shot wasn’t immediately known but Portland City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said as far as she knew they were still alive.

TO ALL OF YOU CRITICIZING ME FOR STANDING BY LAW ENFORCEMENT... I’m a mother, people calling me “sick”. So I’m going to address that here since I can’t comment to anyone right now. I will say this exactly the way a mother thinks it, raw, direct, and without pretending this is complicated. A 37-year-old woman. Three kids. Middle of a work week. The father of those children is dead. She is the parent left. The one job she has above every cause, every protest, every headline, is getting home to her kids. And what is she doing instead? She’s out...