Free Republic

ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard has died at the age of 77. According to a press release, Beard "was in hospice care when he passed away at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with family members at his side" on Aug. 17. “Today, (bassist) Elwood (Francis) and I lost a great friend and collaborator," guitarist and singer Billy Gibbons wrote in a press release announcing the news. "And the world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas. His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top." In March 2025, it was...

WASHINGTON — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has demanded the Justice Department and Office of the Director of National Intelligence release a trove of documents that were apparently “misclassified” to “downgrade” alleged wrongdoing by former President Joe Biden’s family. In a Monday letter, Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) revealed that records obtained by Grassley’s office indicated the FBI “misclassified information” to obstruct congressional inquiries into Operation Round River, a bureau task force that compiled derogatory information on Joe and Hunter Biden in the lead-up to the 2020 election. “To-date, the available records cause serious concerns about how...

The 7-year-old German shepherd walked out of veterinary care under his own power to thunderous applause. Less than a week after being shot and losing a leg while protecting three deputies, heroic Florida K-9 Ace was back on his feet Tuesday for an emotional return to the sheriff's office. Ace, a 7-year-old German shepherd who has served with the Polk County Sheriff's Office since March 2020, was wounded as deputies attempted to arrest 27-year-old Angel Bowers. Authorities said Bowers allegedly fired at least four rounds at three deputies who were attempting to arrest him after he failed to appear in...

Explanation: This was a good year for the Perseids meteor shower. A key reason was the Moon was absent from lighting up Earth's night sky so that more meteors were visible than usual. Where was the Moon? It was busy visiting the Sun. Near the Perseids peak, the Moon moved directly in front of the Sun and created a total solar eclipse visible from Greenland and Spain. The Perseids occur when the Earth collides with a stream of Sun-orbiting debris cast off by Comet Swift-Tuttle. Perseid meteors, although typically only the size of a sand grain, tend to be fast...

Andrey Klepach, one of Russia’s top economists, has been replaced as chief economist of the country’s national development bank shortly after a speech was made public in which he reportedly said Russia’s economy was being damaged by the war in Ukraine. Russia’s state news agency TASS confirmed Sunday that Klepach “no longer holds the position of chief economist at VEB,” one of Russia’s largest banks, but did not give a reason for his departure. A new candidate has been selected and will be appointed soon, TASS added. VEB repeated the same statement to CNN. That announcement came two days after...

The San Diego Padres' minor league catching coordinator has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Oswaldo Pirela, 34, who is from Venezuela, was taken into custody early Sunday at El Paso (Texas) International Airport, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Tuesday. He was not carrying his work permit card at the time, his brother, Jorge Pirela, told The Athletic. According to a statement from DHS, Pirela entered the country legally in 2014, but that expired in 2018 and he "was not in possession of legal documentation granting him status in the country." It said Pirela would remain...

A man who was once honored as an "outstanding refugee" by the Minnesota Department of Human Services and has a startup with funding from a Shark Tank star is now facing Medicaid fraud charges in a case that has links to a sex trafficking case. Fraud charges filed What we know: Salman Ahmed Elmi was charged last week with three counts of aiding and abetting by swindle and five counts of aiding and abetting by false representation. He made his first court appearance on Monday. Authorities say some of Elmi's co-conspirators at Reva Health in Golden Valley have connections to...

President Donald Trump proclaimed on Tuesday that talks with Iran were not happening, a direct contradiction to his own son-in-law and top negotiator Jared Kushner, who said a day earlier that the negotiations were ongoing. “There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the president posted to Truth Social on Tuesday. “The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect. The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” But Trump’s post may have been news to Kushner,...

Britain’s new farming minister fainted at the sight of meat as he toured a food processing plant, a report claims, as the country’s new left-wing Prime Minister tries to win over farmers the previous government relentlessly attacked. Stephen Morgan, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs — otherwise known as the ‘farming minister’ — a junior minister in the new Andy Burnham government is reported to have taken a queer turn when touring agricultural sites to help him familiarise himself with his new job. Britain’s best-selling newspaper The Sun cites a farmer familiar with...

Michael Caruso, a former state legislator whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed as Palm Beach County’s clerk of courts, was arrested early Tuesday morning on allegations of kidnapping and molesting a child. The 67-year-old Republican is running to retain the top county post that DeSantis appointed him to last August. Officers from the Department of Law Enforcement arrested and booked Caruso, a former House member, into the Palm Beach County jail early Tuesday morning on suspicion of molestation, kidnapping, luring and enticing a child, lewd and lascivious exhibition and child abuse. Several sources with knowledge of the allegations spoke to the...

A poll released earlier this month claiming Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass had a wide lead over Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman in the city’s mayoral race was bogus, according to the company that released it. Median Strategies on Monday said in its announcement about the mayoral race poll that it has stopped its polling project. Its poll showed Bass ahead by nearly 12 points, citing the response of 560 Angelenos and with a 4.1 percent margin of error. “Median Strategies has concluded its polling project and will not publish additional polls,” the company’s website states. “All previously...

A Missouri judge has issued an arrest warrant for three-time presidential candidate Jill Stein after she skipped a scheduled Monday court appearance in connection with her alleged assault on a police officer at an April 2024 anti-Israel college protest. Stein — the Green Party nominee in 2012, 2016 and 2024 — had been charged with one count of first-degree trespassing and one count of fourth-degree assault following her apprehension during a chaotic demonstration at Washington University in St. Louis. Protesters, including the now-76-year-old, marched to the school’s Danforth Campus on April 27, 2024, and erected tents in the John M....

Hegseth traveled to Iowa in his "personal capacity," according to the Pentagon, appearing at a fundraiser for Republican Rep. Zach Nunn.

On Aug. 17, 2026, balch3 posted “What is Wrong with you People?”, saying, What has happened to FR? People are advocating for President Trump's removal, making sarcastic remarks, Saying the TRump era is over. President Trump has righted the economy, ended Iran's nuclear weapons threat and is the greatest President since Reagan. He deserves better than this. He already has the RINOS in Congress against him, he needs his base fired up and ready to vote! THe RATS are highly motivated to steal this election. Have some courage and get behind out President! Here is my answer: I love Trump...

Japanese scientists are readying a mission to Mars' moons to retrieve samples that may unlock the origins of the Solar System and life on Earth, although a rival Chinese mission aims to make it back first. The unmanned Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), set to blast off from Tanegashima Space Center in the coming months, could also lay the groundwork for humans visiting the red planet. The spacecraft, revealed to media last Thursday, will stay in Mars' orbit for around three years and will attempt to land on Phobos. It will collect at least 10 grams (0.35 ounces) of material from...

Around 8,500 years ago, Mesolithic hunter-gatherers were living on the tiny islands of Malta -- thousands of years after the islands had become separated from Sicily. The shortest sea crossing was around 80 kilometres. So how did these prehistoric seafarers get there, and how could such a small population survive on Malta for around a thousand years? The Forgotten Seafarers of the Ancient Mediterranean | 12:41 MegalithHunter | 24.7K subscribers | 267 views | August 18, 2026

From the article:Having spent over 55 years inside academe — earning Bachelor of Science (BS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees, then serving as a post-doctoral cancer researcher, faculty member, and research administrator, not retiring until almost 79 years of age — how the one-year title of Staff Sergeant (SSG) decades ago could mean more to me than my PhD might seem bizarre. Nonetheless, it’s true. Why? The 19-months in the U.S. Army, as a 24-year-old draftee, transformed my life. Essentially every significant civilian success thereafter can be attributed to that brief stint serving America, and two main factors...

California’s super-rich have plenty of luxury bunkers to choose from — but this one takes doomsday prepping to a whole new level. A massive network of underground vaults is being carved into the Swiss Alps, offering the ultra-wealthy a heavily fortified place to stash everything from priceless art and gold to vintage Ferraris and expensive wine. The complex will house about 20 private vaults buried under more than 100 meters of solid rock — a natural fortress designed to keep criminals out. Each underground cave is being sold on a 99-year lease, with prices starting at nearly 1 million Swiss...

The West’s selective hatred of Israel says less about Israel than it does about the values—and prejudices—of those who condemn it. Hamas or Israeli Values?Israel dominates the daily news in this 2026 midterm election year—almost always in a boring, fatiguing, negative light. Tens of thousands of innocents may be slaughtered, ethnically cleansed, butchered, and tortured by the world’s dictators, yet an overwhelming and obsessive abhorrence is reserved for tiny, democratic Israel. Such perverse asymmetry is strange, since, at least privately, most Americans would concede that of the 18 Middle Eastern nations, only Israel is a genuine consensual democracy. As far...

A 17 year old sociopath murdered his father in Oklahoma and claimed self-defense. The authorities could not prove otherwise. Six months later he murders his mother in Florida. A chilling tale of a family in crisis and a justice system that failed to protect them........... 19 Minute VIDEO..................