Free Republic

Other recent polling has supported “toss-up” ratings for the race from election handicappers, like the Cook Political Report. Another survey, released last week by Fox News, showed the two candidates tied in their support from likely voters in the state, while a Suffolk University poll conducted earlier this month similarly found the Democrat with a 2-point advantage. Collins is running for a sixth term in Congress. If she is successful in the general election, she will become the longest-serving senator in the state’s history. Despite Jackson’s lead in the Marist poll, 58 percent of respondents said they believe the Republican...

Explanation: Sometimes it's night on the ground but day in the air. As the Earth rotates to eclipse the Sun, sunset rises up from the ground. Therefore, at sunset on the ground, sunlight still shines on clouds above. Under usual circumstances, a pretty sunset might be visible, but unusual noctilucent clouds float so high up they can be seen well after dark. Normally too dim to be seen, they may become visible just after sunset during the summer when illuminated by sunlight from below the horizon. Noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds and are known more technically as polar mesospheric...

Booster 22 fired up on Pad 2, and SpaceX wants to catch both halves of Starship on Flight 15. But to reach the tower, the ship has to fly home over land, something no Starship has ever done. Also: where Flight 16 really launches from, Ship 43 at Massey's, Starbase's 456-launch plan and the Louisiana spaceport, NASA's Artemis Acceleration briefing, and Blue Origin's New Glenn date. Booster 22 Just Fired! SpaceX Goes for a Double Catch | 23:36 What about it!? | 674K subscribers | 138,119 views | October 27, 2026

A Post analysis found thousands of messages from right-wing influencers pushing new theories for why, if Democrats win, the elections can’t be trusted. President Donald Trump and his allies have spent the final weeks before the midterms showering his supporters with a relentless stream of doubt about the legitimacy of the election, priming them to question results if Republicans lose. In court, the administration is telegraphing its readiness to challenge results based on alleged fraud. In podcasts and social media posts that are delivered nonstop to Trump’s core backers, right-wing influencers are telling supporters to expect cheating. Nearly 600 high-profile,...

Recently, I visited a university in the UK and struck up a conversation with a woman whose story has stayed with me. She has a PhD; her thesis was on Chinese interference in Britain, and she is now studying for a law degree. When I asked why someone with her qualifications would go back to the start in a different field, she told me that academia had canceled her because of her work on China. She is not famous, which left me wondering why anyone would bother to cancel her at all. If a researcher with no public profile can...

Two violent attacks by armed individuals — one on October 20 and another on October 24 — left 60 Christians dead and 20 homes burned to the ground in Ethiopia. The Independent reported, “14 people were killed in Merti district” on the 20th and another “46… [were killed] in Shirka district four days later.” Moreover, over 20 people were injured “and 20 homes destroyed.” The BBC noted, “A church official described the attacks on three areas in the Shirka district as a ‘massacre,’ saying security forces arrived at the scene but were unable to stop the assault.” Concerns about the...

A new poll from Gallup shows the stark contrast between Republicans and Democrats, and how vastly different their priorities are. When asked what values America needs most today, Republicans listed their top choices as "patriotism." Democrats, on the other hand, ranked patriotism dead last and said the most important thing for America right now is "equality." By "equality," of course, Democrats mean they pick the winners and losers. They don't actually want equality, after all. Just power and control. And it's not quality — that's "equity."

Fool's Ball, Week Ate, Pigskin Pickem ThreadYour home for all things Fool's Ball! In Memoriam Danny Lee (BENDER2)

Wes Streeting’s remarks were made following the launch of a government campaign urging Brits to stock up with emergency supplies. British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting has said the country must be ready for war in 1,000 days, after the government advised citizens to stock up on essential supplies. Writing in the Telegraph over the weekend, Streeting warned that the UK’s enemies could be ready to launch an attack on the UK by 2030. He wrote: “Our adversaries’ willingness to harm us is not new. What has changed is their capacity. By 2030, their force strength and war economy could put...

Texas Children’s Hospital has opened the nation’s first detransition clinic as required by its settlement with Attorney General Ken Paxton.Vanessa Sivadge, a nurse and whistleblower in the case, announced on X that the detransition clinic is now open. Under the settlement, finalized in July, the hospital was required to open the clinic before the end of October. “I think of all the detransitioners who have suffered in silence, been dismissed, and fought desperately to have their voices heard,” posted Sivadge. “This win is for them.” “In accordance with my settlement with Texas Children’s Hospital, the nation’s first-ever Detransition Clinic is...

The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index rose to 91.7 in October 2026, up from a revised 84.2 in September 2026, according to The Conference Board. October 2026 Index Breakdown Headline Index: 91.7 (an increase of 7.5 points from September). Present Situation Index: Increased to 120.4, reflecting stronger consumer assessments of current business and labor-market conditions. Expectations Index: Increased by 6.9 points to 72.6, driven by reduced pessimism regarding short-term business, income, and job outlooks. Key Drivers: Easing retail gasoline prices helped lift consumer sentiment after three consecutive monthly declines. 

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the US, but its target population is changing. While rates have steadily decreased for more than a decade in adults over 65, cases among another population are suddenly exploding. Now, scientists are racing to understand why this shift is happening — and why these new cases are so aggressive. You may have seen that colorectal cancer is rising among people younger than 50. However, new research reveals that this increase is most dramatic among a younger population within that group: kids aged 10 to young adults in their early...

Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro has left the country for the United States after losing Sunday's presidential election and refusing ‌to comply with a Supreme Court order to hand over his passports, two sources said. The U.S. Embassy in Brazil did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bolsonaro's lawyer also declined to comment. Flávio's departure for the United States threatens ​to deepen a rift between the two most populous nations in the Americas. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has accused Washington of colluding with the Bolsonaros to put them ​back in power, and Reuters reported ahead of...

“We are also starting to consult federal workers on how to do some blocking inside the govt agencies during emergency situations — but please do not put that on the form.” —Eric Manton, of the DRG They put it on the form, though, cuz somebody screwed up. Oopsie. . . . Get this: the reason that a color revolution is underway at all in America is not really political anymore — if it ever even was. It’s because a whole lot of people have committed crimes against this country. And with each wave of attempted sedition, they have compounded their...

Leo XIV omits mention of Christ at Assisi, says ‘peace’ must be man’s ‘guiding star’ The Pontiff spoke as though all world religions are equally legitimate while not once mentioning the name of Jesus Christ, the Trinity, or the Blessed Virgin Mary.In recorded remarks to the international ecumenical gathering in Assisi, Pope Leo XIV proclaimed that “peace” must be man’s “guiding star” while not once mentioning the name of Jesus Christ, the Trinity, or the Blessed Virgin Mary.“Peace must once again become the common ideal of all peoples, the guiding star for all our choices, the standard that exposes injustice,...

Prediction markets like Kalshi are fundamentally different from sportsbooks and offer public benefits. Betting and trading look alike. What sets them apart is who’s on the other side. What’s the difference between a sportsbook customer gambling on the Milwaukee Brewers and a Kalshi trader buying a contract on the same result? Both get money if the Brewers win and lose it if they lose. It walks like a bet and quacks like a bet. But we at Kalshi operate a market, not a casino. A century ago, all derivatives trading was derided as “gambling.” What matters is the structure, not...

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz got into a shouting match Tuesday with Cuba’s foreign minister on the floor of the UN’s General Assembly hall while detailing the communist regime’s ill-gotten wealth. The ambassador was calling attention to the “corrupt Cuban elites,” at one point displaying a photo of late dictator Fidel Castro wearing two Rolex watches worth around $40,000 in today’s money. “According to the regime’s own statistics, that would pay for 55 years of an average Cuban wage,” Waltz noted, before showing a photo of Miguel Díaz-Canel and saying, “It didn’t just start with Castro. This...

Benjamin Netanyahu has requested an extension to voting hours as millions of Israelis head to the polls in the country’s first elections since Oct 7. The prime minister’s Likud party petitioned to extend voting beyond 10pm owing to fears of low turnout among his supporters. It follows Mr Netanyahu’s earlier claim that Arab parties were trying to steal the election by bribing voters with envelopes of cash. Mr Netanyahu’s main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot and his Yashar party, opposed the extension request. “The request is intended to lay the groundwork for claims challenging the integrity of the election,...

[Catholic Caucus] The Slippery Tales of Fr. James Martin S.J. Fr. James Martin wants you to believe homosexuals hear relentless condemnation from the pulpit. His stories are what Mark Twain would call “stretchers” and I would call, well, lies.In a recent interview with JD Flynn at The Pillar, Martin offers several anecdotes along these lines, that homosexuals hear relentless condemnation from the pulpit. Does this claim strike you as even remotely true? The Crisis audience is fairly conservative, probably attending conservative parishes, so if anyone has heard this kind of relentless anti-gay thundering from the pulpit, you have. But I...

Lack of profits and the threat posed by western countries are raising concern about the sustainability of Beijing’s AI boomTrillions of dollars have been wiped from China’s stock markets in recent months amid increasing anxiety about the future of artificial intelligence, as Beijing races against the United States for dominance in the sector.The STAR 50 Index, which tracks technology and innovation companies on the Shanghai stock exchange, has plunged 40% since June. Other indexes of major companies dropped by about 20% over the same time period. The precipitous drop has wiped out $2.4tn from the Chinese stock market since May,...