Free Republic

MINNEAPOLIS — Gov. Tim Walz confirmed the Minnesota National Guard will deploy to support local authorities after Hennepin Co. Sheriff Dawanna Witt formally requested the assistance of the National Guard. Later Saturday afternoon, the city of Minneapolis also requested support from the Minnesota National Guard to "help local police and emergency personnel protect community safety" in the area around Saturday's fatal shooting "and at other posts as needed."

Researchers have identified a metabolically sensitive cell subtype in the eye's drainage system which shows early signs of dysfunction in a genetic mouse model of glaucoma. The study provides a potential therapeutic strategy for preventing or slowing the development of glaucoma. Glaucoma, a group of eye diseases that damage the optic nerve. The main risk factors is high intraocular pressure, which results from dysfunction in the trabecular meshwork—a porous tissue that helps maintain normal eye pressure. Tolman used single-cell RNA sequencing to profile nearly 18,000 cells. They identified six major cell types, with further analysis revealing three subtypes of trabecular...

Vitamin B12 is long understood as a vital nutrient required for red blood cell formation and nerve function, but a new study suggests its role in human biology is far more intricate, with implications for aging, metabolism and disease prevention. The research reports previously unrecognized pathways by which B12 influences cellular metabolism and uncovers biomarkers that may identify early nutritional stress far before classic deficiency symptoms appear. "This is the first study that shows B12 deficiency affects skeletal muscle mitochondrial energy production," said Martha Field, Ph.D. "It's highly relevant because muscles have high energy demands. More importantly, my co-author, Anna...

A gun rights advocate says he has major concerns about the legality of the shooting Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti after watching footage of his killing. Rob Doar, senior vice president of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, analyzed one of the several videos taken of the shooting of Pretti on Saturday and shared his damming opinion that the killing was unwarranted on social media. Pretti, who was a US and an intensive care nurse who treated critically ill military veterans, was killed shortly after 9am on January 24, after an altercation involving multiple federal officers. Video footage showed he was wrestled...

BOCA RATON, Fla. (CBS12) — A labor and delivery nurse at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital is no longer employed after a TikTok video surfaced that appears to show her making graphic and violent comments about White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who recently announced she is pregnant. The video was posted by a woman identified as Alexis “Lexie” Lawler. In the video, Lawler says it “gives [her] great joy” to wish Leavitt would suffer a fourth-degree tear during childbirth — the most severe type of obstetric tear — using explicit and profane language. Fourth-degree tears extend through muscle...

A team of scientists has uncovered a new way to slow the growth of glioblastoma, the most aggressive and currently incurable form of brain cancer—and identified an existing medication that could treat it. The research shows that certain brain cells—once thought to simply support healthy nerve function—actually help glioblastoma grow and spread. The researchers discovered that these cells send signals that strengthen the tumor, but when they blocked this harmful communication in lab models, the cancer slowed its growth significantly. Even more promising, the study suggests that an existing HIV medication could be repurposed to target this process and offer...

Saturday on CNN’s “Newsroom Live,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis was an “execution” by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Ocasio-Cortez said, “There’s a second angle that appears to be circulating much closer to the incident where you see the victim, I believe his name is Alex Pretti and immediately preceding that incident in ICE officer had pushed violently a woman to the ground and he had come over to help get her up. And that is what precipitated this incident. That very quickly led to an execution, a deadly shooting in the...

The parents of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, the 37-year-old shot by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, had urged him to “not do anything stupid” while protesting. Pretti, an intensive care unit (ICU) nurse at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis, had no prior criminal record before he decided to confront the Border Patrol agents. The incident occurred one day after a massive protest where tens of thousands marched through downtown Minneapolis to oppose ICE’s operations in the city. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Pretti approached Border Patrol officers while carrying a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and began forcefully resisting...

A new video from a Walmart in Minneapolis exposes the Minnesota Somali community’s incompatibility with America by showing that they can’t understand or speak English and are unable to provide services to contribute to the economy. Conservative content creator Kevin Posobiec and Quincy Franklin, aka the Black Conservative Preacher, made a stop at Walmart to find some hand warmers, and their encounters with the non-assimilated Somali workers were hilarious. When they asked one woman for hand warmers, she responded with inaudible nonsense, adding, “I don’t know hand, hand– chicken?” The next woman they asked was visibly confused, then began shouting...

Bowel habits aren't exactly dinner-table talk. But they reflect how quickly the gut moves things along, and when that goes wrong, people can experience constipation, diarrhea, or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A study reports DNA clues to intestinal motility and spotlights vitamin B1 (thiamine) biology as an unexpected pathway for follow-up research. A team coordinated by Mauro D'Amato used a large-scale genetics approach to search for common DNA differences associated with stool frequency. They studied questionnaire and genetic data from 268,606 people of European and East Asian ancestry and used computational analyses to pinpoint which genes and mechanisms are most...

In a disturbing incident amid ongoing anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officer had his finger bitten off by a rioter, according to a post from Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security. McLaughlin shared graphic photos on X, showing the injured officer sitting in a vehicle, his uniform caked in mud, as a gloved hand tends to his mangled finger. One image shows the severed fingertip, bloodied and raw, and another shows it preserved in a small plastic container, presumably for medical evaluation. McLaughlin confirmed that the officer will lose the finger. Additional...

Abnormal clumps of proteins like α-synuclein, amyloid beta and tau are associated with neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, but a waste removal mechanism called the glymphatic pathway can clear these proteins and other metabolic byproducts from the brain. Now, a team is exploring whether intentionally raising and lowering blood levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) through rhythmic CO2 exposure or controlled breathing might boost the glymphatic system's effectiveness and improve brain health. Sephira Ryman, Ph.D. led studies to evaluate how intermittent breathing of CO2 could be used to dilate and constrict brain arteries and drive the movement of cerebrospinal...

Overuse of antibiotics has accelerated the development of bacterial resistance to conventional drugs, a global health crisis projected to result in more than 10 million deaths annually by 2050. The multidrug-resistant bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa accounts for approximately one-fifth of hospital-acquired pneumonia cases and is associated with severe illness and increased mortality. Nitric oxide is a therapeutic gas that researchers helped establish as a life-saving therapy for hundreds of thousands of newborns with congenital heart disease. Nearly 30 years later, investigators report that high-dose inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) demonstrates potential antimicrobial activity in preclinical models and is safe and feasible in...

Nutrition experts are calling for dietary fiber to be officially recognized internationally as an essential nutrient—the first "new" essential nutrient in more than 50 years. Andrew Reynolds says increasing our dietary fiber intakes would deliver greater health benefits than increasing any other essential nutrient, given that our current fiber intakes are below World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. "The disease burden associated with diabetes, heart disease and colorectal cancer would be expected to be appreciably reduced by such a dietary change." Their argument is supported by more than 100 years of research into its chemistry, physical properties, physiology, and metabolic effects...

Gov. Tim Walz is akin to the leader of a “drug cartel,” according to a Minnesota state lawmaker who filed articles of impeachment against the embattled Democrat — and warns other pols in the scandal state could be next. Republican state Rep. Mike Wiener drafted the paperwork to boot lefty Walz in November and filed the docs on Jan. 12, alleging the former vice presidential candidate failed in his fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers as a $9 billion Somali social services scandal unfolded under his nose. “This is almost like a drug cartel. You’ve got various levels that are all taking...

🚨BOMBSHELL HOLLYWOOD SHAKEUP: Jennifer Lawrence just got her ass FIRED and booted from Mel Gibson's new movie after throwing a full-blown, screaming anti-Trump meltdown on set! 🔗 t.me/+PrBHPIUGPXs3M… She couldn't keep her woke mouth shut, ranting and crying about politics like a deranged Karen while everyone else tried to actually work. Gibson didn't hold back: "I like Jen, but we're here to make a damn film, not to cry about social issues and politics." No mercy, no second chances — Gibson's strict no-woke rule means even massive A-list star power gets you instantly replaced when you start the drama. Lawrence...

Politics Strange Bedfellows: Meet the PAC Working to Reelect Thomas Massie—And Partnering With the DSA to Fight ICE The embattled Kentucky congressman traveled to Pennsylvania to meet with IPAC around the time its founder wrote his campaign a check Thomas Massie poses with IPAC chairman Rafed Aljoboury (IPAC7_ORG/X) Collin Anderson October 16, 2025 Earlier this year, in June, Integrity Political Action Committee (IPAC) announced a "new coalition" with the Democratic Socialists of America aimed at fighting ICE's "crackdown on immigration violations." Two months later, an unlikely figure traveled to the area to meet with IPAC's leaders: Rep. Thomas Massie, the...

Summary of the conversation between Dave Rubin and Ayaan Hirsi AliAyaan Hirsi Ali discusses her Somali background, born in 1969 shortly after independence, highlighting how clan bloodlines remain the core identity and social welfare system in Somali society, supplemented by Islam. She describes the persistence of clan dynamics even in diaspora communities, such as the 70,000–80,000 Somalis in Minnesota, where clan loyalties shape behavior, voting, and resource allocation.She explains that clan orientation views taking from external systems (e.g., welfare fraud) not as theft but as helping the in-group, contrasting this with modern nation-state principles. She frames the Minnesota situation as...

The man shot dead during a struggle with federal agents in Minneapolis has been identified as an intensive care nurse who treated critically ill military veterans. Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, was killed shortly after 9am Saturday after an altercation involving multiple federal officers. Minneapolis police confirmed the deceased was a white, 37‑year‑old Minnesota resident and US citizen. Pretti's friends have since confirmed his identity to the Daily Mail as they paid tribute to the 'good, kind' who they say was 'executed' by a Border Patrol agent. The University of Minnesota alumnus most recently listed himself as a ‘junior scientist’ on...

Summary Largest regional grid sees electricity prices spike MISO imports power from another grid to meet demand amid gas supply constraints Texas grid faces winter storm test, but improvements reduce blackout risk BOSTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - U.S. electric grid operators on Saturday stepped up precautions to avoid rotating blackouts, as frigid weather hitting half of the country's population stressed their operations. The PJM Interconnection - the largest U.S. regional grid that serves 67 million people in the East and Mid-Atlantic - reported temporary spikes in spot wholesale electricity prices that soared above $3,000 per megawatt hour on Saturday morning...