Free Republic

Los Angeles City Hall looked less like the nerve center of America’s second-largest city Friday — and more like an abandoned office complex after a zombie apocalypse. Entire hallways with deserted offices. Corridors eerily silent. Parking garage empty besides the city hall guards. When the California Post visited City Hall Friday, the Office of Finance, a council liaison office, and the Los Angeles Housing Department were closed for business. Over the course of the day, about 50 Angelenos oblivious to the closure turned up to pay their bills or seek financial advice, only to find no staff to help them....

Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes was a feared Mexican drug lord and the leader of a ruthless cartel accused of masterminding efforts to push fentanyl into the United States. Once a police officer, Oseguera went on to become one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, with the United States alone offering a $15 million bounty for information leading to his arrest. Oseguera, who formed and led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was an elusive figure who had been considered Mexico’s most powerful cartel boss since Sinaloa kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was arrested last decade. Born in July 1966...

Californians have been trapped in Mexico as cartel violence engulfed a popular tourist city and spilled towards the US border. Americans in Puerto Vallarta were urged to stay indoors as narco gangs went on a bloody rampage after leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes was killed in a military raid on Sunday. Carnage spread up the west coast of the country through Sunday, with reports of attacks getting closer to the States in Baja California while gunfire erupted at Guadalajara International Airport. Cars and businesses were also set on fire further across the country...

Millions of acres of farmland across the country are privately owned, but a small share of it is foreign-owned land sitting idle in many areas. That’s according to new U.S. Department of Agriculture data which shows just how much of the nation’s agricultural land is owned by other countries. The USDA‘s online portal reveals that more than 45 million acres of land are owned by foreign countries, with an original purchase value of over $38 billion. Our neighbor to the north, Canada, has the most agricultural acreage in the United States, at 15.35 million acres. John Hewlett, a farm and...

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Archaeologists have excavated a tomb more than 1,000 years old containing human remains along with gold objects and ceramic vessels at El Caño in central Panama. The site sits in Natá district of Coclé province, about 200 kilometers southwest of Panama City. Excavations have taken place there for two decades. Julia Mayo, the archaeologist leading the project, talked today about the discovery. The remains are surrounded by gold objects and ceramic vessels decorated with traditional imagery. These indicate the buried people held high status. “The person with the gold is the highest-status person in the group,” Mayo said. The principal...

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A British expat has solved the mystery of a pirate ship that appeared off the Tokushima coast in forbidden Edo-era Japan (1603–1868) -- and reconnected the past to the present. Expat Brit solves pirate ship mystery -- NHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS | 4:33 NHK WORLD-JAPAN | 3.46M subscribers | 43,793 views | February 13, 2026

How's this for a somber retirement forecast: The typical American worker has less than $1,000 saved for retirement, according to a new report from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS). "The data are clear: Outside of high earners, Americans are choosing survival over savings and hoping to catch up later," NIRS executive director Dan Doonan told Yahoo Finance. "Even for those approaching retirement age — 55-to-64-year-olds — the median amount saved for retirement is only $30,000. We're looking at a looming crisis. These aren't just statistics — they represent millions of families who are doing everything right but still...

Tourists in the Mexican seaside city of Puerto Vallarta were told not to leave their resort on Sunday as a government official warned of "clashes" in the area following a federal operation. Photos and video shared with Fox News Digital capture billowing, dark smoke clouding the skyline of the city, which is located on Mexico’s Pacific Coast in the state of Jalisco. Tourists at a local resort told Fox News Digital that they were urged to stay put at the resort. They said no reason for exercising the caution was immediately given.

This 5 minute Disneyesque animated short is the saddest thing I've ever seen. The song and images tell the story of what it means to see a Country descend into an Islamic state. Beautifully done and so on the mark.

China’s humanoid robots were once a punchline. Now they are a warning shot. Just one year after drawing global skepticism for awkward stumbles and mechanical breakdowns, Chinese-made humanoid robots are performing backflips, executing kung fu routines and delivering synchronized gymnastics on the world’s biggest television stage. The dramatic turnaround has reignited debate about China’s manufacturing edge, the future of work and the accelerating U.S.–China technology race. Here is what investors need to know. A Public Debut That Turned Heads China’s annual Spring Festival Gala is widely regarded as the most-watched television program in the world. This year, humanoid robots from...

President Donald Trump phoned Team USA men's hockey stars after they beat rivals Canada to secure a first Winter Olympics gold medal in nearly half a century. Mike Sullivan's team came from behind to beat their bitter rivals 2-1 in overtime - just days after the US women's team won gold in exactly the same fashion. Sunday morning's clash with Canada in Milan captured the attention of fans on both sides of the border, including in the White House. And after landing a first gold in men's hockey since 1980, Team USA received a congratulatory call from the President, who...

WASHINGTON — Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fired back at critics of her recent gaffe-filled attempt to show off her foreign policy bona fides in Germany, contending it was proof she thinks before she speaks. Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was noticeably hoarse as she responded to the blowback she received after stammering over a question about how the US should respond to a hypothetical Chinese invasion of Taiwan is due to the public being conditioned to President Trump’s impulsiveness. “If you think I don’t understand foreign policy because out of hours of discourse about international affairs, I pause to think about one...

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has been epically trolled as she cruised through Chinatown in a convertible during Lunar New Year celebrations. The LA Mayor was perched atop the vehicle Saturday, smiling and waving while wishing spectators a happy New Year. “Today is the day we all contribute and show our support for Chinatown,” Bass says in one video. But the tone quickly turned sour. A man filming the mayor — who appeared to identify himself as a journalist — pressed her about city budget cuts and crumbling roads, accusing her of “defunding our city.” “Make sure you vote against...

There is a growing body of evidence that marijuana causes a number of health problems, but this study is especially sobering, as it encompassed 463,396 adolescents: Adolescents who use cannabis could face a significantly higher risk of developing serious psychiatric disorders by young adulthood, according to a large study published in JAMA Health Forum. The longitudinal study followed 463,396 adolescents ages 13 to 17 through age 26 and found that past-year cannabis use during adolescence was associated with a significantly higher risk of incident psychotic (doubled), bipolar (doubled), depressive and anxiety disorders.Good Lord. Cannabis use preceded psychiatric diagnoses by an...

An exploration of Rome's travels in the far east. Get "The Book: The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding Civilization" https://mdsh.io/invictahistory and use code "Invicta" for 10% off.In this history documentary we seek to answer how far to the east did the Romans go? In previous episodes we covered the preceding links between the east and west which had been formed. Now we follow Roman traders into India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, China, and beyond! How Far East Did the Romans Go? (India, Vietnam, China?) DOCUMENTARY | 29:11 Invicta | 1.66M subscribers | 131,135 views | February 1, 2026

The gold medal hopes of one pair of U.S. athletes were dashed this week, as the American women's bobsled team came in last place after stopping to ask for directions. Elana Meyers Taylor and Jadin O'Brien, competing in the 2-Woman Bobsled event, were considered strong contenders to reach the podium but suffered a shocking fall in the standings after briefly stopping during the middle of their run to ask for directions to the finish line. "They just wanted to make sure," one spectator said. "They were given clear directions before the competition… and a map… but they ended up not...

Explanation: What if you saw your shadow on Mars and it wasn't human? Then you might be the Opportunity rover exploring Mars. Opportunity explored the Red Planet from 2004 to 2018, finding evidence of ancient water, and sending breathtaking images across the inner Solar System. Pictured here in 2004, Opportunity looks opposite the Sun into Endurance Crater and sees its own shadow. Two wheels are visible on the lower left and right, while the floor and walls of the unusual crater are visible in the background. Caught in a dust storm in 2018, Opportunity stopped responding, and NASA stopped trying...

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Sunday said the Trump administration would need guidance from the courts on how to handle tariff refunds after the Supreme Court struck down duties authorized under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. “Well, we need the court to tell us what to do. They’ve created a situation where they struck down the tariffs and gave zero guidance on this,” Greer said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.” “Historically, you know, as a trade attorney, in my experience, courts will normally give you some instruction on what to do, when.” “The Court of International...