Free Republic

INTRODUCTION On April 29, 2026, Sen. Bernie Sanders convened a 75-minute panel in the US Capitol on “the existential threat of AI.” Two of the four panelists were Chinese government affiliates: Zeng Yi, Dean of the Beijing Institute of AI Safety and Governance, and Xue Lan, a Tsinghua University professor who chairs China’s national AI governance expert committee and serves as a Counsellor of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. From a US Senate platform, Xue called the US-China AI race “an inaccurate narrative” and argued for “safe zones” of cooperation on AI safety. The event was...

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Monday efforts to combat per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during a roundtable.During the roundtable, the EPA proposed advancing a comprehensive, lifecycle-based strategy to address unsafe levels of PFAS, known as "forever chemicals," in drinking water. As part of the new strategy, RFK Jr. announced nearly $1 billion in new funding to states set to address PFAS in drinking water. "EPA and HHS are addressing PFAS at every stage contamination, exposure to treatment, monitoring and long-term research. Americans want honest science, accountability...

President Donald Trump has called for the Department of Justice to open an investigation into the state of Maryland for sending out mail-in ballots to individuals of the incorrect political party ahead of the state’s closed primary elections. #BREAKING: Trump demands DOJ probe into Maryland voting, allegedly 500,000 illegal mail-in ballots were issued.— Insider Wire (@InsiderWire) May 18, 2026After the mistake, the Maryland Board of Elections made the decision to mail out additional correct ballots despite having no ability to indicate which ballots were originally sent out incorrectly. Elections officials have not publicly released a plan for how to invalidate...

Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down pic.twitter.com/Zes4VRdZxX— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) May 18, 2026

Spencer lays it out for all to see. 1:55 VIDEO AT LINK..............

WEEEEE!Oh, muh gosh, this is going to be so much fun, I can hardly stand the thought.What I especially love about the whole concept is being able to turn the progressive mantra about 'paying your fair share' right on its ear and right back at them. blockquote>Electric car owners could be forced to pay as much as $150 annually under a new tax that is being proposed by bipartisan leaders of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.A new proposed EV fee that will start at $135 annually beginning in October 2026 is included in a new bipartisan draft of...

This week, the new Star Wars picture – the first live action film since 2019’s commercially successful but largely ridiculed Rise of Skywalker – will come out in cinemas. Clunkily entitled The Mandalorian and Grogu, it is a big-screen spin-off of the once-successful and now largely passé Mandalorian series. A lot is riding on its success, and Lucasfilm, now controlled by Dave Filoni, will be very relieved if it is a hit.Unfortunately, audiences don’t seem especially interested. Advance word on it has been mediocre for some time now – the words “feature-length television movie” have been used more than once...

Examples of podomorphs interacting with the microtopography of the rock. Credit: Oxford Journal of Archaeology (2026). DOI: 10.1111/ojoa.7002 Etched into the ancient rocky outcrops of southern Scandinavia and large boulders left behind by retreating glaciers are footprints, also called podomorphic petroglyphs. Some are barefoot with every toe visible, while others carry the imprint of strapped sandals. A recent study argues that these human footprints created during the Scandinavian Bronze Age, roughly 3,700 to 2,500 years ago, were not mere art or decorative symbols because the petroglyphs weren't placed at random. They were deliberately arranged around water sources and shallow depressions...

For more than two centuries, scientists have tried to determine one of the most important numbers in physics: the universal gravitational constant, known as "big G." It defines the strength of gravity throughout the universe, influencing everything from falling objects on Earth to the motion of galaxies. Yet despite its importance, researchers still cannot agree on its exact value. That uncertainty weighed heavily on Stephan Schlamminger, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), as he prepared to open a sealed envelope containing a crucial secret number. For nearly 10 years, Schlamminger had devoted much of his...

After decades of stigma, researchers are studying cannabis and its compounds like never before. As regulations and restrictions ease in many parts of the world, including the US, this controversial plant and its ancient health claims are finally being put to the test. For many years now, scientists have noticed that some cannabis users tend to have lower body weight and a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who don't use cannabis. That is somewhat unexpected, as cannabis is known to trigger the 'munchies', or an appetite for food, in those who use the drug. Now,...

Speaking virtually Monday at the Samson International Smart Mobility Summit in Tel Aviv, Musk said Neuralink’s work restoring speech, movement, and eventually vision amounts to “Jesus-level technologies.” The comments arrived alongside fresh timelines for Neuralink’s expansion, including a new prediction that the company could implant its vision-restoration device, Blindsight, into a human patient before the end of this year.For investors, this was more than another headline-grabbing Musk appearance. It was a reminder that one of the world’s richest men is trying to build an entirely new medical and computing industry at the same time the AI boom is reshaping capital...

An interview for the ages. IMHO - one of the most important interviews I've ever watched. I HIGHLY recommend you take the time to watch this interview. Tommy explains his battle with Islam, why, and what is wrong with the Church in the UK.

In the dark tunnels of an active mine near Timmins, Ontario, something extraordinary is leaking out of the Earth. Long-term measurement provided evidence of sustained accumulation and discharge of natural hydrogen generated within Earth’s crust. Barbara Sherwood Lollar In the dark tunnels of an active mine near Timmins, Ontario, something extraordinary is leaking out of the Earth. It isn’t toxic gas, but pure energy. For the first time, geochemists have captured and measured sustained bursts of “white hydrogen” emanating directly from billion-year-old rock formations. The discovery was led by researchers at the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa....

Inside a hidden burial chamber, researchers found 22 painted coffins and sealed papyri linked to the mysterious Singers of Amun. © Archaeologists Found Coffins Stacked Like A Sacred Archive. Credit: Canva A tightly packed rock-cut chamber beneath the Luxor desert has yielded one of the more striking funerary finds from Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period: 22 painted wooden coffins belonging to women who served as Singers of Amun, stacked in ten horizontal rows alongside eight sealed papyri stored inside a ceramic vessel. The discovery was announced in March 2026 by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities following excavations in the Asasif...

The Thief on the Cross - Billy Graham

A new Toyota dealer bulletin is starting to spread online, and it’s raising a question most enthusiasts never expected to ask in 2026: why is Toyota suddenly telling dealers to substitute engine oil? The internal document (2026-013), dated April 30, 2026, warns Toyota Parts and Service Managers about temporary supply issues involving Toyota Genuine Motor Oil 0W-8 and 0W-16. According to the bulletin, Toyota and ExxonMobil “may experience challenges in fulfilling demand” due to “production and logistics constraints within the global petrochemical supply chain.” And honestly, the timing is hard to ignore. Toyota Is Reportedly Facing A Supply Issue With...

College radio used to have great music, from experimental jazz to progressive rock to fusion country to classical music. But then the Corporation for Public Broadcasting promised to help pay their bills... as long as they passed that money onto NPR. Your local university allowed its radio station to essentially launder money to NPR (and other even further-left organizations like Pacifica Radio). So when NPR claimed it received only 1% of its funding from the federal government, they meant only 1% came DIRECTLY from the federal government, but it nearly all came from the federal government. To the extent they...

President Trump just did something Washington has talked about for decades but never delivered: he built a tool that lets Americans see what their prescriptions actually cost and shop for the best deal. The White House announced a major expansion of TrumpRx.gov, the administration’s drug-price transparency platform, adding more than 600 generic medications to the site. TrumpRx and Most-Favored-Nations Drug Pricing: Saving BILLIONS for Americans.Watch President Trump deliver remarks on TrumpRx at 4:30 pm TODAY. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/BiGOIEtjqd— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 18, 2026Even more notable than the drug list is who Trump brought into the room to make it...

Funny how the media are all worked up that POTUS gets involved in GOP primaries to support his preferred candidates and, conversely, to defeat those who don't support him or his agenda. Presidents have done this since the political parties have existed in this country. They are called primaries, after all. Some more recent presidents, including and especially FDR, unleashed the IRS-DOJ-FBI against their political opponents -- AND media outlets and businessmen who were unfavorable to them and their agenda. The fact that POTUS is upfront and open about what he is doing is actually evidence of his honesty and...

Is Big Tech, once again, playing politics with the truth? In a move sparking widespread outrage and accusations of election-year manipulation, Google Maps has reportedly scrubbed satellite imagery of the devastating 2025 Palisades and Eaton wildfires, reverting affected Los Angeles neighborhoods to their pre-fire appearance. The timing, just weeks before key local elections, has California voices questioning whether Big Tech is once again playing politics with the truth. As reported by The New York Post, users searching streets like Homepark Avenue in Altadena, Iliff Street, and Radcliffe Avenue in Pacific Palisades now see lush, untouched landscapes instead of the charred...