Free Republic

In this age of technology, it's not uncommon to come across at least one AI-generated video with every scroll on social media. But recently, a particular trope of short-form videos took the internet by storm - in the form of snowy mountains, a wood-chopping man, braised duck and a mystical woman draped in white. "Did you save a fox on a snowy mountain?" is a question that has made its rounds with the release of a Chinese AI-generated microdrama. Created to appear like a period drama made in the 1970s, it follows a traveller on a snowy mountain who saves...

ANYONE WHO has stood in a long queue at border control, or bypassed one, knows that not all passports are created equal. Citizens of some countries can speed through the gates; citizens of others must submit to interrogation and delay. Henley & Partners, a consultancy that helps rich people acquire citizenship in attractive countries, ranks passports by the number of countries their holders can enter without a visa. Its latest assessment of passport power shows that America is sliding down the table. Our map below shows how countries compare this year. Asian countries dominate the top of the table. Singapore...

Miners in Myanmar have discovered a rare ruby of enormous size, considered to be the second-largest by weight ever found in the conflict-battered Southeast Asian nation, state media reported Friday. The ruby, measuring 11,000 carats (2.2 kilograms, or 4.8 pounds), was unearthed near the town of Mogok, in the upper Mandalay region, the heartland of the lucrative gem-mining industry that has recently experienced intense fighting in the country’s wide-ranging civil war. According to a report from the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, the newly found rough ruby was discovered in mid-April, just after the traditional New Year festival. While...

New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Mike Flynn today unveiled design concepts to put the ‘park’ back in Park Avenue... The proposed redesign would expand the avenue’s median, add pedestrian enhancements, seating and landscaping, and explore potential bike lanes and innovative streetscape amenities. The project area sits directly above the Grand Central Terminal train shed, which is undergoing a major capital rehabilitation by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)’s Metro-North Railroad. As the MTA replaces and waterproofs the structure below, the City is advancing a parallel effort to transform the...

Another of his timeless hits entered the Hot 100 in May 1960.Sam Cooke made so many outstanding contributions to music history that it’s impossible to choose just one song that defines him. His smooth, lyrical and expressive voice adorned countless gems, from “You Send Me” to “Chain Gang,” “Only Sixteen” to “Cupid,” and of course the immortal “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Another of his all-time greats, “Wonderful World,” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 9, 1960. The song was written chiefly by A&M Records co-founder and hitmaker Herb Alpert with Lou Adler, but Cooke himself is credited...

The Los Angeles City Council voted 14-0 to advance restrictions on police traffic stops rooted in one dangerous idea: That cops enforcing traffic laws are somehow the real threat on the streets of LA. Not the drunk driver. Not the gang member carrying an illegal gun. Not the reckless driver blowing through intersections at 90 miles per hour. The cops. Only in LA could elected officials look at street disorder and decide the problem is still too much policing. Read the motion that passed and the message is obvious: Los Angeles is now governed by people who start with suspicion...

The tree, known as Prometheus, was cut down to study, with permission from the US Forest Service. The stump of Prometheus in the Wheeler Bristlecone Pine Grove at Great Basin National Park, Nevada. Image credit: James R Bouldin via Wikimedia Commons (public domain) Science isn't always perfect; mistakes are made, occasionally to the detriment of one's subject. But what about inadvertently chopping down what would later turn out to be the world's oldest non-clonal tree? That’s exactly what happened to an unfortunate graduate student named Donald R. Currey back in the summer of 1964, who ended up responsible for the...

Creatine is often linked to gym performance, but its real impact goes much deeper. Creatine is widely recognized as a supplement used by athletes and fitness enthusiasts to improve performance. But its effects extend beyond the gym. Scientists have been studying how this naturally occurring compound influences both physical and mental function, revealing a more complex picture than many people expect. From supporting energy production to its possible role in future medical treatments, creatine continues to attract attention from researchers. Dr. Mehdi Boroujerdi, a pharmaceutical researcher and former professor, conducted a detailed review of creatine in the Handbook of Creatine...

A wearable gas sensor called “Smart Underwear” attached to the inside of people’s underwear monitors hydrogen gas emissions to track digestive health in real time. Image credit:© iStock.com, Nadezhda Kurbatova Just one bite of ice cream or a sip of a milkshake can’t hurt too much, right? Anyone with lactose intolerance knows that this bargaining usually results in some uncomfortable gut sensations and stinky side effects about 30 minutes to a couple of hours later. People with lactose intolerance cannot breakdown lactose, the natural sugar in dairy products. When gut microbes encounter this unabsorbed lactose, they ferment it and release...

As if humanity needed another reason to embrace its early morning (or evening) espresso, scientists have just discovered a way that coffee potentially boosts health and longevity – and caffeine only plays a minor role. Instead, coffee seems to exert its purported anti-aging properties primarily through plant-derived compounds found in fruits, vegetables, and herbs. After all, the coffee bean from which all macchiatos manifest is itself from a fruit. Accordingly, it has been observed that coffee drinkers live longer and exhibit lower incidences of chronic and age-related disorders, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and dementia. But many past studies have been...

If you've found yourself lingering over egg cartons at the grocery store, wondering about the difference between brown and white eggs, you are not alone. Despite the conventional wisdom about brown eggs being healthier or somehow more "natural" than white ones, the truth is simple. The difference between brown and white eggs comes down to one thing — the breed of chicken that lays the egg. Brown eggs are laid by chicken breeds such as Rhode Island Red, Speckled Sussex, Black Australorp, Buff Orpington, and Cuckoo Maran, to name a few. These chickens lay eggs in varying shades of brown,...

A fireworks explosion inside a $1.3 million home in south Los Angeles forced police to call in a bomb squad to clean up the area Saturday as fire officials battled an ensuing blaze with fireworks still exploding. Officials told The California Post that one person was found dead at the Jefferson Park home, and two others were injured. Video from the scene showed an energetic blaze with colorful fireworks dangerously going off. They appeared to be mortar-style fireworks. Firefighters extinguished the fire by 5:52 a.m. Cadaver dogs were called for a possible missing person at one point, LAFD said. Police...

Another cruise ship nightmare is making headlines and this time, more than 100 passengers and crew members reportedly fell ill aboard the Caribbean Princess during a norovirus outbreak. Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that causes acute gastroenteritis, the inflammation of the stomach and intestines. Often called the “stomach flu” or “stomach bug,” it is unrelated to influenza. It causes sudden, severe vomiting and diarrhea, with symptoms typically lasting 1 to 3 days. It spreads rapidly via contaminated food, water, or surfaces. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vessel Sanitation Program, 102 of 3,116 passengers (3.3%) and...

A Minnesota state lawmaker is asking a powerful House committee to subpoena US Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into her possible ties to Somali fraudsters who bilked Twin Cities taxpayers out of $250 million. State Rep. Kristin Robbins (R-Maple Grove), who is chairing a fraud oversight investigation in Minnesota’s legislature, wrote to US House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) on Thursday requesting that his panel compel Omar to hand over “her staff’s communications with defendants” implicated in the fraud. “As you may be aware, Rep. Ilhan Omar has documented ties to criminals convicted...

MIDDLE EAST — An oil tanker has managed to slip through the Strait of Hormuz completely undetected after donning a giant fake nose and mustache. The tanker, known as the Delta Magnus, nonchalantly floated in disguise past both the Iranian and American blockades, leaving both sides none the wiser.

Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika called on the next generation of Christian scholars to follow in her husband’s footsteps and pursue truth and “defend liberty” during her commencement speech at Hillsdale College Saturday. Kirk kicked off her speech with a story about her and Charlie Kirk’s honeymoon, which they both agreed would be a “disconnected” vacation, meaning no computers or cell phones. Charlie Kirk, however, used the emergency phone to keep up with the free, online courses he was taking at Hillsdale College, a breach of the newlywed’s agreement that Kirk said she was more than happy to allow. “He really...

MS NOW should be known as your channel if you're looking for overwrought racism metaphors. In a stunning segment on Saturday's The Weekend, Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY) unleashed an unhinged attack on the Supreme Court and its recent Voting Rights Act decision — comparing it to the Taney Court’s infamous 1857 Dred Scott ruling and declaring the Roberts Court “one of the most racist courts in American history.” Here was Morelle to co-host Eugene Daniels: “Jose [sic!], we’re fighting back . . . Eugene, the Supreme Court, which by the way made the worst decision since the Taney Court came...

Garlic has been praised for centuries as one of those humble kitchen staples that seems to do more than simply flavor food. It shows up in family recipes, old home remedies, and now, increasingly, scientific studies looking at how natural compounds may affect the body as it ages. A new study suggests one particular compound found in aged garlic extract may have a surprising relationship with muscle health — and the path may run through fat cells. The research, summarized by StudyFinds and published in Cell Metabolism, focuses on a sulfur-containing compound called S-1-propenyl-L-cysteine, or S1PC. In laboratory and animal...

A reported boat explosion in Miami sent 15 people to the hospital Saturday afternoon, as over 25 fire rescue units were dispatched to the scene. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to calls about a reported explosion around 12:50 p.m. at Haulover Sandbar near North Miami, The Miami Herald reported.

The U.S. media has tabled a question that warrants examining two 20th-century historical events. The question asked is whether U.S. credibility in deterring Iran’s mullahs and getting them to toe the line has been weakened by critics such as comedian Jimmy Kimmel and politicians who mock or otherwise criticize President Donald Trump’s actions against Tehran. The first historical event involves a battle of the Cold War, fought against the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980. While this battle resulted in American blood being shed, it was not due to a military conflict but to an athletic one. It was fought...