Free Republic

From wrongful arrests to officers stalking exes, license plate cameras keep exposing police failures.On October 4, 2025, Joaquin Deno attended his granddaughter's birthday party in Sanford, Florida. At the end of the night, he headed to his daughter's house. Eight miles down Interstate 4, a speeding car swerved across multiple lanes at over 100 mph. It swiped Deno's motorcycle, then hit a Ford Focus, causing a pileup, before driving away. Deno died at the scene, as did a county official and his wife. Witnesses said the speeding car was a Dodge Durango. Police found that a Flock camera—a type of...

Ashley Callingbull, the Miss Universe Canada 2024 titleholder, stopped this year’s competition to call out two contestants for their costumes, which featured clothing elements traditionally worn by Indigenous peoples. The contestants have since apologized for their outfits. Callingbull, a Plains Cree woman from the Enoch Cree Nation who was the first First Nations Miss Universe Canada, interrupted the final portion of the pageant’s competition that she was hosting on Aug. 8, addressing the room before the top 20 contestants were announced, according to the CBC Indigenous.

... First Contact and Humanity’s Mental Health Another nonprofit organization has taken a different approach, focusing on the potential psychological and public-health implications of disclosure. The uNHIdden Foundation, whose mission is to support mental health related to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), recently released a preparedness framework addressing the societal impact of a paradigm-shifting discovery. ... Developed by healthcare practitioners, physicians, clinical psychologists, and public-health specialists, “Preparing for Disclosure: A Public Health Framework for Paradigm-Shifting Revelations” examines how society might reduce harm, build resilience, and support individuals processing a profound shift in humanity’s understanding of its place in the universe. ......

James Talarico is too radical for Texas.

McDonald’s compiled a 515-page dossier on one of its loyalty-program customers — using years of fast-food purchases to predict how often he would return, how much he would spend and even what he was likely to order. Reece Rogers, a journalist for Condé Nast-owned Wired magazine, discovered the extensive digital profile after requesting the personal data McDonald’s had stored about him. The file revealed a “Minority Report”-style trove of predictions about his future behavior, including that he would visit McDonald’s 2.16 times over the next six weeks and spend an average of $13.49 per order. The fast-food giant calculated Rogers...

Explanation: On August 12th, 2026, the Moon totally eclipsed the Sun and cast its shadow across Siberia, Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and Portugal. Today’s image features two total solar eclipses viewed from Zaragoza, Spain, one over the Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar and the other reflecting in the Ebro River. For a few moments, Spain saw its first major total solar eclipse since 1905. Those witnessing totality may experience a chill in the air, the quieting of birds, the confused chirps of insects, and the shared awe of many. It’s the corona’s time to shine as the Sun’s bright...

Archaeologists at Göbeklitepe in southeastern Turkey have uncovered rectangular buildings that may offer new evidence of everyday life and homes at the Neolithic settlement. The structures lie just below the modern surface in a newly opened excavation area. Researchers believe they belong to Göbeklitepe’s second phase of occupation. Unlike the site’s famous monumental enclosures, the buildings contain fewer large stone pillars and have interiors that may have supported domestic activities. Excavation director Prof. Dr. Necmi Karul said the team’s initial impression is that some may have been homes. Researchers, however, say more evidence is needed before they can determine how...

Early last month, as part of a year-long celebration of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s 270th birthday, his hometown of Salzburg, Austria, unveiled a sprawling public tribute to their beloved composer: 320 miniature golden statuettes featuring the musician and his favorite pup, Pimperl. Mozart, with his reputation for rebellious flair and distaste for authority, may have gotten a chuckle out of what happened next. Within hours of the installation’s debut, at least two statuettes were stolen. This number grew to roughly 80 over the next several weeks. On Wednesday morning, officials announced that 210 statuettes were missing. The installation, titled Mozart—The Untamable...

Abdul El-Sayed’s recent victory in Michigan should be a wake-up call for California. The political movement that helped propel El-Sayed to victory is already flourishing here, and its loudest obsession is a tiny country thousands of miles away. Israel. At a time when Californians are struggling with housing costs, homelessness, crime, failing schools and the basic affordability of raising a family, why are local politicians spending precious time turning city halls into debating chambers on the Middle East conflict?

When people think about rocket fuels, they don't think of water at the top of their list, but water has been a key material in many serious studies on exploring the solar system and refueling in space. And it turns out that water electrolysis propulsion makes engineering sense for many applications. Using Water As Rocket Fuel - Is This The Future of Space Exploration? | 20:13 Scott Manley | 1.87M subscribers | 24,669 views | August 13, 2026

The man convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering 5-year-old Kamarie Holland in Phenix City is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening in south Alabama. Jeremy Williams, 42, is set to be executed Aug. 13 at approximately 6 p.m. CT at William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. Williams was convicted in the December 2021 death of Kamarie Holland, whose disappearance sparked a large-scale search across the Chattahoochee Valley. According to court testimony, Kamarie was reported missing from her mother’s home on Dec. 13, 2021. Investigators reviewing phone records determined Williams and Kamarie’s mother, Kristy Siple, had been in contact the...

[Catholic Caucus] WATCH: Massive earthquake during Latin Mass right at consecration A 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Colombia shook a chapel in the middle of the consecration. But the celebrant and faithful continued to pray calmly.A viral video shows Catholics continuing to pray calmly as an earthquake shook the church during a Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) at the chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Help this week.During a daily TLM on August 10, a devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake, the strongest quake recorded in the country during the 21st century, shook the chapel in the middle of the consecration. Despite the circumstances, the celebrant...

Critics of the WNBA calling out its transgender policies – or lack therefore – were slammed Wednesday for their hurtful “bad faith” in criticizing men claiming to be women so they can play in the league. A league spokesperson said in a statement everything is fine at the WNBA and there is nothing for anyone to worry about, going public with a call for calm hours after an anti-hate task force met virtually and canvassed a variety of topics including social media vitriol and transgender athletes. Discussions, meetings, “hard conversations” and committees are working at the WNBA to determine what...

Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico now says he does not support gender mutilation surgery for minors—but when Texas lawmakers voted to prohibit the procedures, Talarico voted no.Talarico voted against Senate Bill 14, legislation prohibiting physicians from performing gender-mutilation surgeries on minors as well as prescribing sterilizing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for the purpose of changing a child’s biological sex. The measure was ultimately approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott.Talarico’s legislative record also includes another vote involving insurance coverage for gender-mutilation procedures and the consequences of those treatments. In 2025, Talarico voted against...

Those who fail to complete the Australian Census will be fined if they do not complete it.

[Catholic Caucus] Leo invokes 1970s talking points to defend Vatican II’s liturgical revolution'The liturgical assembly is in fact fulfilled through the active participation of brothers and sisters,' he said during an audience.A quick glance at Leo XIV’s August 12 audience on the liturgical year suggests it was a run-of-the-mill catechetical lesson.But a closer look reveals that his address on the Second Vatican Council’s document Sacrosanctum Concilium is cloaked in decades-old modernist talking points.Looking at the meat of Leo’s address, it becomes clear that his emphasis on the Eucharist, the Resurrection, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints, along with his...

History continues to resurface as unprecedented heatwaves and droughts in Europe push the Danube River to its lowest levels on record. In addition to the dozens of World War II Nazi naval vessels near the Serbian town of Prahavo, archaeologists in Hungary have located an extremely rare Wehrmacht military motorcycle, along with the bodies of its two potential crewmembers. Due to the area’s unique conditions, both the vehicle and the soldiers’ remains are remarkably well-preserved even after over 80 years underwater. The vehicle and possible remains were found in an exposed section of the Danube riverbed near the Hungarian Parliament...

PCU John F. Kennedy departs Newport News for acceptance trials. (Image credit: HII) The John F. Kennedy, the second Gerald R. Ford class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, left Newport News on Aug. 12 to commence acceptance trials before its handover to the U.S. Navy. Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) John F. Kennedy, soon to be the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) will now have its systems and equipment evaluated in these final manufacturer trials to prove it is up to specification before delivery. Previously scheduled for delivery in 2025, the 100,000 ton aircraft carrier was delayed by issues with the new Advanced...

Australian Golfer Jessica Bang died at the age of 18 after suffering a brain hemorrhage ahead of a qualifying event in Thailand, according to the WPGA Tour of Australasia. “The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the WPGA Tour of Australasia and the broader Australian golf community are with Jessica’s family, friends and all those who knew and loved her at this incredibly difficult time,” the organization said in a statement published by multiple outlets. Bang collapsed on Aug. 1 while preparing for the KLPGA Tour’s International Qualifying Tournament and underwent emergency brain surgery at Synphat Ramintra Hospital in Bangkok...She...

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department has pinpointed nearly $5 billion in bank or other transactions linked to suspected human smuggling between 2023 and 2025 — a staggering figure that the Trump administration is vowing to reduce, The Post can reveal. The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) found $4.9 billion in suspicious exchanges by combing through Bank Secrecy Act data between Jan. 1, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2025, according to a forthcoming Financial Trend Analysis report. Much of that amount included “excessive cash activity conducted along the southwest border of the United States,” as well as transfers along other “common...