Free Republic

Augustus, ancient Rome's first emperor, placed a gilded monument called the Milliarium Aureum, or Golden Milestone, in the Roman Forum in 20 BC to mark the symbolic starting point for all roads in the sprawling empire. These roads indeed were the backbone of the world's first continental-scale transportation system. Now, researchers ‌have conducted a detailed structural analysis of the empire's road network, spanning roughly 190,000 miles (300,000 km) of routes crisscrossing Europe, the Middle East and North Africa... The researchers also documented a correlation in many regions between the old Roman roads and modern highways... Some roads were very ⁠durable,...

True Food Kitchen, the health-focused restaurant chain backed by Oprah Winfrey, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after closing a dozen restaurants across the United States. The company, which promotes healthy eating and was once seen as a fast-growing player in the restaurant industry, now has 34 locations open in 14 states as it searches for a buyer. True Food Kitchen faced management changes and struggled with an ambitious expansion plan that did not succeed. The chain was founded in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2008 by restaurateur Sam Fox and wellness doctor Andrew Weil, and attracted attention for its menu...

Fox News anchor Sean Hannity said he was “pressured” to push Covid-19 vaccines on his viewers, even though he was uncomfortable doing so. The cable news star vented about how he was compelled to peddle vaccines during the Tuesday episode of his Hang Out podcast, where Hannity and Dr. Drew Pinsky talked about the pandemic — and their issues with how it was handled. “I was being pressured — pressured — to tell my audience to take the jab,” Hannity said. “And I’m like, ‘I’m not a doctor. I’m just not. I don’t know anything about your health, I don’t...

— Eva Marie Saint, the pale, willowy actor who won an Academy Award for her first movie, “On the Waterfront,” and starred opposite Cary Grant in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller “North by Northwest,” has died. She was 102. Saint, whose acting work lasted well into her 90s, died at her home in Los Angeles on Tuesday, confirmed family representative Jeff Sanderson. Saint had one of the most spectacular debuts in Hollywood history, as the love interest of Marlon Brando’s tormented Terry Malloy in “On the Waterfront,” and her first trip to the Academy Awards was memorable too. Pregnant with her...

A newly unearthed video shows Michigan Democratic Party nominee for the U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed claiming he is a dual citizen, which his campaign now denies. “I carry dual citizenship, and I grew up spending most of my summers in another country where I understood what it meant not to have the right to self-govern,” El-Sayed told a Detroit GlobeMed conference in 2016. The Washington Free Beacon’s Chuck Ross first reported on the comments this week and added: El-Sayed went on to tell a story, one he still tells on the campaign trail a decade later, that he was questioned...

Keith Ellison has had a rough few days.The Minnesota attorney general, who never seems to miss an opportunity to lecture other people about ethics, morals, rules, and accountability is now facing some really uncomfortable questions about what he’s been up to.And judging by his reaction, he really doesn’t like accountability when it comes to his own actions.CNN, of all people, confronted Ellison over lavish international trips reportedly paid for by corporate lobbyists, including first-class travel, five-star hotels, and even some grand safari tours.According to the viral post, some of the corporate interests helping pay for Ellison’s lavish travel are tied...

We got along without it all this time, so let's put it to good use!

Christa Pike, a Tennessee inmate who survived Tennessee’s attempt to execute her, is conscious and speaking as she continues to receive medical care at a hospital, according to a statement from her attorneys. “Against all odds, Christa Pike is conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care. Despite the severe damage she endured to her arms, she is still handcuffed and shackled to the bed. Her recovery is medically unprecedented. Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery,” her attorneys said in a statement. Pike survived two ostensibly lethal doses of pentobarbital last week...

Retired NFL icon Jason Kelce found himself in an embarrassing situation in the broadcast booth during Sunday's matchup between the Washington Commanders and the Indianapolis Colts, prompting an on-air apology to viewers at home. Kelce joined Dave Pasch and Kurt Warner in the booth for the international fixture, with the Commanders and Colts squaring off in London. It proved to be a rough day for Washington, who lost wide receiver Jaylin Lane and quarterback Marcus Mariota to injury. Matters deteriorated further when Kelce inadvertently referred to the team as the Redskins, a moniker the organization has been actively distancing itself...

I was -1. I wonder what it was like to see live. It likely cost him the Election and led to President Reagan.

NASHVILLE, TN — Prison officials admitted they were unsure how to go about executing a woman who was currently being kept alive by a ventilator that is plugged into a power outlet in the wall. After surviving two botched lethal injections, convicted murderer Christa Pike is now in critical condition and is solely being kept alive by a machine that breathes for her, which is powered by a standard 120-volt power outlet in the wall. Prison officials, who ordered the medical interventions that are keeping her alive, are baffled as to how they could execute the vulnerable death row inmate...

With just 28 days remaining until he faces off against Republican candidate Ken Paxton, Democrat James Talarico is nowhere to be found. Talarico has not been seen publicly in Texas in over a week, with his last appearance occurring on Saturday, September 26, before he took a fundraising trip to New York City.

When a federal appeals court known for its rock-bottom track record in Supreme Court reviews reinstated California's so-called gender secrecy policies in schools, parents and teachers ran to SCOTUS for an emergency injunction. The gambit worked, prompting a broadside by six justices against lower courts for ignoring a century of precedents. Now a mother and daughter in Washington state are seeking the same shortcut around the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which rejected their plea to force a school district and state athletic association to warn them before the girl unwittingly competes against another male in girls' wrestling, as...

Video of the violence with communist and palestinian flags flying from the Red-Green alliance. French police unable to control the mobs.

Explanation: Have you ever seen a complete auroral oval? You can't see one from the ground because it makes too large a circle around one of Earth's magnetic poles. But spacecraft high above the Earth can see them. The featured video from ESA and CAS's robotic SMILE spacecraft shows not only a full auroral oval, but using ultraviolet light, one that occurred during the day. The time-lapse covers about an hour in late July and shows visually how variable and turbulent auroras really are. The points of light on the sides are distant stars that appear to move only because...

PepsiCo just made a huge recall of its popular sports drink Gatorade. The FDA announced PepsiCo recalled nearly 122,000 cases of Gatorade over “undeclared dyes.” The FDA further noted that the exposure to the recalled drinks could result in “temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences.” CBS News reported more on the recall and revealed what states have been impacted: PepsiCo has recalled roughly 122,000 cases of Gatorade sold across the U.S. because the product contains undeclared dyes, the Food and Drug Administration said in a notice. The recall affects cases with 28-ounce bottles of Gatorade Lemon Lime, Gatorade Lemon...

The brand might be decades old, but Aunt Bessie has never looked more youthful thanks to a 'glow-up' that has seen the traditional logo replaced with a younger woman. Gone are Aunt Bessie's apple cheeks and the large bowl of batter she is holding in favour of a 'more contemporary' and 'welcoming' character with open arms.Aunt Bessie's, originally operating under the William Jackson Group brand, rose to prominence in the 1970s with its frozen Yorkshire puddings produced for Butlins Holiday Camps. In 1995, the company began producing the puddings for supermarket chains under the Aunt Bessie's label, before expanding into...

The top Republican super PAC involved in Senate races is planning to spend $5 million in South Carolina, a source familiar with the spending confirmed to NBC News on Tuesday. The injection of funds from the Senate Leadership Fund, a group aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is the latest sign that the race between GOP Sen. Darline Graham and Democratic pediatrician Annie Andrews is competitive. The outlay was first reported by Axios. It comes as the Senate map is shifting further in Democrats’ favor, putting Republican-leaning states increasingly in play with less than a month remaining until...

This is long, but I think it is important. We are fighting Leftists in the government and media who exclaim the virtues of Socialism, but we forget that there are legions of young people that the Left has been mercilessly (and without consequence to them) indoctrinating young people for decades without any countervailing information. This encounter I detail in this thread shows just how much and how prevalent this is. It was (for me) my first chance to drill down on young people to see just how deep and fervent their indoctrinated beliefs are. Last Saturday we had a festival...

For centuries, whisky makers have relied on time, patience and oak casks to craft the perfect dram. Now scientists want to speed things up by doing something no distiller has ever attempted before – ageing Scotch in space. Scotland’s national drink will be matured in orbit for the first time as part of an experiment which will also measure how the spirit develops in the harsh environment beyond the Earth's atmosphere. Engineers in Scotland and Japan are planning to put Scotch on a rocket in 2028, sending a satellite containing samples of whisky and its base ingredients on a five-year...