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Explanation: The New General Catalog of star clusters and nebulae really isn't so new. In fact, it was published in 1888 - an effort by J. L. E. Dreyer to consolidate the work of astronomers William, Caroline, and John Herschel along with others into a useful single, complete catalog of astronomical discoveries and measurements. Dreyer's work was largely successful and is still important today, as this famous catalog continues to lend its "NGC" to bright clusters, galaxies, and nebulae. Take for example the star cluster known as NGC 188 (item number 188 in the NGC compilation). It lies about 6,000...

DNA testing has finally revealed that two mysterious individuals -- a young boy and a teenage girl entombed together in a rare Anglo-Saxon double burial -- were brother and sister, according to a report by The Independent. The pair initially drew attention two years ago when they were discovered in Cherington, Gloucestershire, because of the unusual way they were laid to rest. Both children had been placed gently on their sides. The young girl faced her brother and had been propped up in a way, perhaps on pillows, that made it look like she was watching over her younger sibling...

According to a statement released by the University of York, researchers have identified rare traces of dyed purple textiles in two Roman infant burials. Known as Tyrian purple, the extremely costly colorant was manufactured by crushing thousands of murex marine sea snails and was typically reserved for use by emperors, royalty, and members of the aristocracy. However, experts were able to detect its presence on garments wrapped around two small children who died and were buried around 1,700 years ago. Their remains are held in the collections of the York Museums Trust. The dye was identifiable through chemical analysis because...

Republicans’ support for President Donald Trump's war on Iran fractured on Wednesday. Senate Democrats have tried to splinter off Republicans from their near-unified backing of Operation Epic Fury for months with a campaign of attrition, putting war powers resolution after war powers resolution on the floor ever since fighting began. And after two months of trying, they finally got some in the GOP to flip on Trump with Sen. Jeff Merkley's, D-Ore., latest attempt. Still, it wasn’t enough to terminate ongoing operations in the Middle East. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has consistently...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business; End to Sex Slavery; Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14) 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...

According to a statement released by the University of Southampton, a crannog in shallow waters in Loch Bhorgastail on Scotland's Isle of Lewis has been evaluated by researchers from the University of Southampton and the University of Reading with a technique called stereophotogrammetry, which involves stitching together photographs taken at different angles to create a high-resolution 3D model. The study determined that the structure began as a circular wooden platform, measuring about 75 feet in diameter, that was topped with brushwood. Neolithic pottery was also discovered in the area surrounding the crannog, enabling archaeologists to date this first construction of...

According to a Herald Scotland report, National Trust for Scotland archaeologists, assisted by volunteers, recovered a piece of copper alloy from a stone structure in Highland Scotland's Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve that may have been used to distill whisky in secret to avoid paying taxes that had been levied beginning in the 1780s. The researchers suggest that the copper part is a piece known in Gaelic as An Gearradan, or the collar connecting a still to its lyne arm, which controlled how much vapor returned to the pot and therefore controlled the flavor of the finished product. The team...

Iran’s football federation has shared a list of conditions with FIFA surrounding the country’s participation in the upcoming 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, including a ban on LGBTQ+ pride flags. The Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) told FIFA that it would compete in the competition “without any retreat from our beliefs, culture and convictions” and insisted that the hosts “must take our concerns into account”, as per Out Sports. The list of 10 demands for Iran’s participation comes after the FFIRI’s president, Mehdi Taj, was denied entry to Canada before the FIFA...

"Yes, the Vice President, acting as the President of the Senate, has the constitutional authority to influence filibuster rules, primarily by making rulings that allow the Senate to change procedures with a simple majority rather than the typical 60-vote threshold. This authority is exercised by interpreting or challenging existing rules as unconstitutional, a power used historically to eliminate filibusters for executive and judicial nominees."

The murder convictions and consecutive life sentences for Alex Murdaugh, a prominent South County attorney who was found guilty of killing his wife and son, were overturned on Wednesday by the state's supreme court. Murdaugh was convicted in March 2023 for killing his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at the family's estate in 2021. He will be given a new trial. Murdaugh, 57, also pleaded guilty to a series of financial crimes in September 2023 and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Lawyers for Murdaugh pushed for a new trial based on "improper" conduct by the county clerk, Becky...

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Science, according to the European Union Brussels, the beating heart of the European Union’s bureaucratic empire – where “science” means whatever the green agenda demands and dissent gets you labeled a heretic. In a jaw-dropping display of totalitarian intolerance straight out of the climate cult playbook, a top EU official completely lost it during a public lecture by one of Europe’s leading geologists. The incident unfolded Monday night at the end of a conference featuring Professor Alain Préat, a respected geologist and one of the finest scientific minds of his generation. Préat had just delivered a measured, fact-based presentation painting...

On the eve of President Trump’s meeting in Beijing with Xi Jinping, it is worth reminding ourselves of something not often discussed—the Chinese president's family background. Xi’s is so radically different from almost all Americans that it's extremely difficult for most of us to understand exactly who he is. I first ran into this some years ago, when, at the beginning of writing columns for The Epoch Times, I was informed by their then-publisher (now deceased) to “go easy” on Xi because their objective was to encourage the Chinese leader to liberalize. That seemed naive. But I went along, assuming...

Saudi fighter jets carried out airstrikes on Iran-linked Shi’ite militia targets inside Iraq during the Iran war, while retaliatory strikes were also launched from Kuwait into Iraqi territory, Reuters reported citing multiple sources familiar with the matter. Sources cited by Reuters included three Iraqi military and security officials, a Western official and two people briefed on the matter, including one in the United States. According to one Western official and another source familiar with the operations, Saudi air force fighter jets targeted Iran-backed militia positions near the kingdom’s northern border with Iraq. The Western official said some of the Saudi...

The World War II slogan (that’s a two, not an eleven, Ilhan) “loose lips sink ships” reminded Americans that careless talk could provide our enemies with vital intelligence. Here we are, nearly a century later, and the principle still applies. Recent events involving Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Defense secretary Pete Hegseth illustrate how public disclosures about military capabilities can still compromise our national security.AdvertisementSenator Kelly appeared Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation. Drawing from a classified Pentagon briefing on U.S. weapons stockpiles that were depleted during operations against Iran, Senator Kelly detailed the strains on specific munitions: Tomahawk missiles,...

Like Fang Fang, the Chinese spy who had former Rep. Eric Swalwell under her thumb, Arcadia's Democrat mayor, Eileen Wang was quite the social butterfly. She got around. She was an active member of the Arcadia Rotary Club, the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce, the Arcadia Lions Club, the Arcadia Association of Realtors and the Arcadia High School Chinese Parents Booster Club in addition to organizing the “U.S. Heroes Music and Art Festival” which sounds like a pretty busy calendar.AdvertisementAnd with all this socializing, she won a seat on the Arcadia city council in 2022, which in its rotating system, allowed...

The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that the state's redrawn congressional maps are constitutional.

For generations, Americans viewed homes as more than assets. They were the physical foundation of family stability, equity-building, and civic continuity — the bedrock of a middle-class society rooted in dispersed private ownership. Owning a home was analogous to owning a piece of the American Dream itself: a symbol of citizen sovereignty and national agency. That understanding is fading. Recently, while selling a property, I encountered a buyer who presented himself as a flipper. The contract revealed something else: minimal earnest money, aggressive escape clauses, cash-only terms, and assignment language that treated the deal more like a tradable derivative than...

Archaeologists from the University of Haifa have unearthed a 1,600-year-old mosaic with a Greek inscription reading, "Peace on the elders," that may be the earliest evidence of a dedicated institution for the elderly.The discovery was made at the Sussita (Hippos) National Park near the Sea of Galilee, the primary Christian city in the region during the Byzantine period. The mosaic, dating to the late fourth or early fifth century CE, was discovered at the entrance to a public building.According to Dr. Michael Eisenberg, co-director of the excavation project, the finding provides "living proof that care and concern for the elderly......

The Trump administration has moved to seize more than 14 acres of land owned by the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces to expand border‑wall infrastructure near Mount Cristo Rey in southern New Mexico, according to court documents reported by KVIA. The effort puts federal border‑security construction on a collision course with religious‑freedom protections tied to one of the region’s most significant Catholic pilgrimage sites. If approved by a judge, the action could disrupt annual pilgrimages and set a legal test for using eminent domain against religious institutions along the U.S.-Mexico border. The civil case was filed at the request of...