Free Republic

As nearly half of U.S. adults say they’re actively trying to drink less, the non-alcoholic aisle has become crowded with options that promise ritual without consequence. The problem is that many of them taste like cough syrup or some other kind of compromise. Wine, in particular, has historically struggled in this category. As a professional product tester, I can attest to my own disenchantment with non-alcoholic wine, to the point that I’ve covered it maybe once before. You can remove the alcohol, but can you preserve structure, aroma and the layered character that makes wine worth pouring in the first...

A Maryland squatter posed online as a financial adviser, but was actually living off food stamps and sending her 16-year-old daughter out to work instead of school, while hiding out in a $2.3 million mansion, according to a report. Tameika Goode, 40, who recently returned to the ritzy, 7,500-square-foot home in the suburbs of Washington, DC, presented herself as a bankruptcy expert, flogging $800 courses online and sharing social media posts of her Porsche. In reality, however, she was a squatter, living on a total monthly income of $946, which included $538 in child support and $408 in food stamps,...

Former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland was reportedly hospitalized last week following a suicide attempt, days after he was charged with gross corruption linked to his relationship with late convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a media report Tuesday. The news was first broken by iNyheter which cited a “rock-solid source” confirming that Jagland’s condition remains serious. The specific medical facility treating the 75-year-old statesman has not been disclosed. The former Nobel Peace Prize Chairman is in critical condition after facing “gross corruption” charges linked to the Epstein case, according to iNyheter.

The furious NYPD on Tuesday released photos of a pair of miscreants it says are wanted for pounding two on-duty cops with snow and ice as the officers responded to a snowball-slinging mob in a Manhattan park. The department is investigating whether there are more suspects in Washington Square Park attack, as well, law-enforcement sources said. One of the suspects in the photos released Tuesday is shown hauling a massive snowball the size of a boulder over his head. The other alleged cop-attacker can be seen packing a smaller handful of snow while standing face-to-face with a uniformed officer. The...

Your iPhone calendar used to remind you about dentist appointments and dinner reservations. Now? It might be screaming that you’ve “won a prize” — or worse, that your device is infected and your bank account is toast. Welcome to the latest digital headache: a calendar con that’s turning Apple users’ schedules into spam central, per Newsweek. Cybercrooks have figured out a sneaky way to blast iPhones and iPads with bogus alerts — no shady app download required. Instead of slipping malware onto your device, scammers trick users into unknowingly subscribing to rogue calendars. Once you’re in, they’ve got a direct...

Zohran Mamdani’s socialist pals wrap their proposals in the most innocuous language possible. So when activists rally in Albany on Wednesday to pressure lawmakers to raise taxes, the Democratic Socialists of America claim the bill it backs would “create new brackets starting at $1 million” so that “they pay a slightly higher share in taxes.” Sounds fair. It’s also a lie. Sponsored by Assemblyman Demond Meeks and State Sen. Robert Jackson, the tax increases actually start at half that. For individual incomes over $450,000, and joint incomes over $500,000, the state tax rate would be raised by a point to...

Lauren Chapin, who portrayed the precocious Kathy “Kitten” Anderson on the iconic 1950s TV series Father Knows Best, has died. She was 80. Chapin, who said she was molested as a child before dealing with drug abuse, jail sentences, several miscarriages and divorce after her show ended, died Tuesday after a battle with cancer, her son, Matthew, reported on Facebook. Following appearances on a 1952 episode of CBS’ Lux Video Theatre and in the Judy Garland-starring A Star Is Born (1954), Chapin was hired for Father Knows Best when she was 9. She said she got the job in part...

President Donald Trump hit it out of the park (again) with his 2026 State of the Union address, perhaps his most remarkable speech yet. The frame was an unabashed celebration of America in its 250th year, hailing heroes from the Olympic hockey champions to 100-year-old veterans — and with a close reiterating why the nation’s best days are yet to come. He was the happy warrior we’d asked him to be, with a strong clear message untainted by grievance — even as he expressed his disappointment with last week’s Supreme Court ruling on tariffs and drew clear distinctions between his...

A software engineer in Spain, used an AI assistant to reverse engineer how a robot vacuum cleaner communicated with DJI cloud servers so he could control his vacuum using the joystick on his game controller and inadvertently took control of over 7000 remote vacuum cleaners which allowed him full control over devices in 24 countries, he had full access to the audio and video coming from the devices, he could control the movement of the devices and was able to produce a detailed map of where the devices were located. Fortunately, the individual reported the security flaw to the company...

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi was caught on camera playing with her dentures on Tuesday after President Trump called her out for insider trading during his SOTU Address. Nancy Pelosi and another woman sitting together, displaying emotional expressions during a significant event in the U.S. Congress. Pelosi chomps her gums after Trump calls her out at SOTU Address. Nancy had a rough night. President Trump roasted Democrats during his State of the Union Address for standing up against insider trading. Trump called out crooked Nancy Pelosi: “Did Nancy Pelosi stand up for this? Pelosi has done very well gaming the system.

Muslima Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) shouted at President Trump during his State of the Union Address on Tuesday evening. The camera panned over to Ilhan Omar as President Trump called out Somali pirates and fraud rings in Minnesota. Omar was on the verge of tears as President Trump called out Somalia for its corruption. “If you agree with this statement, stand up to show your support: The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens,” Trump said. Republicans stood up and cheered while many Democrats remained seated. President Trump lambasted the Democrats for refusing...

A Texas kindergarten teacher was arrested after allegedly twisting a five-year-old boy’s arm and forcing him into a corner for breaking a pencil, authorities say. Pamela Mitchell, 64, was taken into custody Thursday, more than a month after police say she attacked a young boy in her Waco classroom at J.H. Hines Elementary for snapping a pencil, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by KWTX News. Court documents revealed that Mitchell grabbed the child, twisted his arm behind his back and dragged him out of his seat. 'She used her knee and placed it in the center of the child's...

President Trump congratulates the men's and women's Olympic hockey teams, adding the women's team will "soon be coming to the White House." The U.S. women's team said it would decline President Trump's invitation to attend his State of the Union address a day after the president jokingly told the men's team that he would be impeached if he didn't also invite the women's team.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris left the door open Monday when asked if she’s considering another run at the White House. “Everybody here wants to know the answer. Will you run again?” podcast host and author Sharon McMahon asked the failed 2024 Democratic nominee for president. To which Harris responded, “I haven’t decided.

U.K. self-driving technology provider Wayve raised $1.2 billion in a series D investment round, as it seeks to scale the commercial deployment of its driving tech. The round, led by venture capital firms Eclipse Capital, Balderton Capital and a SoftBank Group fund, pushes Wayve's post-money valuation to $8.6 billion, the car startup said Wednesday. Other investors in the fundraising round included tech giants Microsoft and Nvidia, ride-hailing platform Uber Technologies, as well as automakers Mercedes-Benz, Nissan Motor and Stellantis. Uber also plans to invest additional milestone-based capital to scale Wayve-powered robotaxi deployments globally, Wayve said. Wayve develops AI autonomous-driving software....

The 40-year-old man was stabbed by his wife after a misunderstanding while watching a Napoli game at their home, according to Italian media. A Napoli supporter was allegedly stabbed by his wife at their home after an argument broke out when he lost his temper while watching a match on TV, Italian media reported. The 40-year-old became frustrated as his side lost 2-1 to Atalanta in Serie A on Sunday, according to L'Unione Sarda daily newspaper. He reportedly shouted insults at the TV after a controversial VAR decision overturned a penalty that had been awarded to Napoli. The man's 35-year-old...

Bar and restaurant staff across Kansas City are receiving training on how to identify and interrupt sexual harassment and assault as the city prepares for an influx of World Cup visitors. The Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault, known as MOCSA, is leading the effort through a program called SAFE Training — short for Sexual Assault-Free Environment. The free training covers what sexual violence is, what consent means, and how to recognize harassment before it escalates. “Ultimately, our hope is that if someone is noticing the sexual harassment, it can be stopped before it becomes sexual abuse,” said MOCSA Education...

Live commentary of Steven Crowder and Josh Firestine.

RT 28 m 30 Mondo Gonzales and Billy Crone examine the idea that political leadership can appear positive on the surface while still advancing systems described in Revelation 13 and 17. From the rise of AI and global surveillance, to the concept of a ten-region world government, to the return of conditions like the days of Noah and Lot, this episode connects today’s headlines with the prophetic timeline of Scripture.

A convicted felon from Watts has been sentenced to 45 days in jail and 12 months of probation for posting video of himself pouring alcohol into a hawk’s mouth, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Tuesday. CDFW officers began investigating after a YouTube video surfaced showing 25-year-old Cesar Gustavo Diaz feeding a BuzzBallz mixed cocktail to the bird. Investigators later determined that Diaz captured the young Cooper’s hawk at Amelia Mayberry Park in Whittier in June 2025. “Hanging out with the homie,” read one still image from the video, according to the CDFW. “Hawk loves him some buzz...