Free Republic

On Los Angeles streets, tents aren’t just signs of homelessness — they’re where gangs openly deal drugs and collecting rent. Whether its RV rows choking Compton Boulevard, Skid Row’s packed tent maze or the once-quiet pockets of the Westside, encampments have morphed into open-air drug markets. This isn’t chaos — it’s control. Gangs blend into the population, hiding in plain sight, running street commerce behind tarps and inside RVs while City Hall looks the other way. Nowhere is it clearer than Compton Boulevard, where more than 100 RVs sit bumper-to-bumper, windows blacked out. Outreach workers and residents say many are...

New York University Abu Dhabi creates oral LED alternative designed to regulate appetiteAn enterprising team of scientists in Abu Dhabi have harnessed cutting-edge technology in a long-term quest to provide patients with a "holy grail" alternative to hugely popular weight-loss drugs. The researchers from New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) have developed a tiny ingestible device that emits light and, in doing so, could stimulate nerve cells or neurons in the gut, potentially altering which nutrients are absorbed or affecting whether a person feels hungry. Dr Khalil Ramadi, an assistant professor of bioengineering at NYUAD, who heads the team...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Albuquerque Police Department’s Impact Task Force seized five guns and a variety of drugs following a reported road rage incident involving a white Ford F150. Officers responded Tuesday when a victim reported a man threatened him with a handgun. Police say the suspect, Francisco Solis, was identified through APD’s Real Time Crime Center. Police say Solis admitted involvement but claimed he pointed pliers, not a gun. He was arrested and charged aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Detectives searched Solis’ residence, and say they seized the following items: 5 handguns, to include one matching the description...

Yunqing Jian, 33, first entered the country on a fraudulently obtained F1 student visa, the FBI says Fusarium graminearum creates "head blight," a disease of wheat, barley, maize and rice, and "is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year," according to the Department of Justice. It is also toxic to humans, and can cause vomiting, liver damage and "reproductive defects in humans and livestock." The affidavit, which said Jian has been attempting to smuggle the pathogen into the U.S. since she began post-doctoral studies funded by China in 2022, also accuses Jian of asking a third...

An alleged Sinaloa Cartel leader has been charged with narcoterrorism and drug trafficking, and a reward of up to $5 million each is being offered for information leading to his capture, as well as the arrest of his brother, federal prosecutors in San Diego said Thursday. Narcoterrorism is a new charge and term that stems from the Trump administration's designation of some cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel. Mexico has also worked with this administration to send some people to the U.S. for prosecution. Rene Arzate-Garcia, also known as "La Rana," is described by prosecutors in court...

Drug lords have been killed or captured, and cartels have splintered or collapsed, only to see more violent ones replace them and the illicit trade expand. So, 60years of war on drugs, what has actually worked? ...The Sinaloa Cartel, after all, did not go away after its chief, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the notorious drug lord known as El Chapo, was captured and extradited to the United States. ...Rather than simply going after kingpins like Mr. Oseguera, the authorities need to take a holistic approach to dismantle these groups more completely, analysts say. The Mexican government has to use a combination...

TAPALPA, Mexico (AP) — A day after the Mexican army killed the country’s most powerful drug lord, the picturesque town where it happened was a study in contrasts. Children whose classes had been suspended by the outbreak of violence played in cobblestone streets and tourist shops were open on Tapalpa’s main plaza Monday. But gunshots also rang out, and just outside the town a dead man lay on the road next to a Jeep sprayed with bullets. Meanwhile, heavily armed Mexican security forces kept up their battle with cartel gunmen following the killing that sparked a surge in violence and...

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...

Three elderly men, including two military veterans, were found apparently beaten to death with hammers in the basement of a suspected Detroit drug den, police said. The bodies of US Marine Corps vets Mark Barnett, 65, and Norman Hamlin, 66, were recovered along with the body of William Barrett 72, in the basement of Hamlin’s home on Edsel Street, Detroit police said. Although Assistant Police Chief Charles Fitzgerald refused to divulge specifics about the grisly scene, he said that all three men were killed by “blunt force trauma,” with at least one of them sustaining additional stab wounds, WDIV Local...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WKRC) - A Kentucky woman was arrested after federal agents intercepted a package from Poland containing what investigators said were OxyContin pills hidden inside Lego pieces. Agents with the Department of Homeland Security contacted local police Feb. 5 after seizing a package at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, per WLKY. Court records state the package, addressed to Amber Back, 41, contained 100 OxyContin pills concealed inside Lego pieces, reports WAVE. That package was destined for her home in Mount Sterling. Police said an officer delivered the package to Back’s address Feb. 6 before detaining her and taking...

The Trump administration has officially rolled out TrumpRx, a new government-backed online platform designed to spotlight lower cash prices for prescription medications and expand access to direct-purchase drug options. The initiative is part of a broader push by President Trump to tackle one of the most politically sensitive and financially burdensome issues facing Americans today: the rising cost of prescription drugs.The website does not sell medications itself. Instead, it functions as a searchable pricing hub that shows discounted cash prices for certain brand-name drugs and directs patients to approved partners where those medications can be purchased. While supporters say TrumpRx...

President Donald Trump has pardoned five former NFL players convicted of various offenses ranging from counterfeiting to drug trafficking*** Johnson revealed on social media Thursday that Trump has granted clemency to former New York Jets defensive lineman Joe Klecko, former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Nate Newton, former Baltimore Ravens running back Jamal Lewis, former Buffalo Bills running back Travis Henry and the late Billy Cannon. “As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again,” she wrote and added, “So is our nation.” Johnson also credited Cowboys owner Jerry Jones with relaying the news...

Deranged trans gunman Jesse Van Rootselaar’s alarming social media footprint paints a portrait of a deeply disturbed young man with a fixation on hallucinogenic drugs and guns — dating back years before he murdered eight people in one of the worst massacres in Canadian history. He was a regular contributor on Reddit, and many of his archived posts viewed by The Post, and first confirmed by the Telegraph, include questions — and disturbing revelations — about his extensive drug use. “Yo what’s the danger in using 5-MeO-DMT alone?” he asked in a November 2023 thread, referring to a potent hallucinogen...

The New York Times recently came clean, saying it was wrong about the effects of legalizing marijuana. The paper had once argued that weed was mostly harmless and not truly addictive, but now admits those old claims don’t hold up today. Back in 2014, an editorial writer claimed marijuana wasn’t addictive like heroin, while also noting that users might still crave it and struggle to quit. The NY Times even admitted that heavy users needed more of the drug over time and some got withdrawal symptoms. This week, the Times’ editorial board finally said, “It is now clear that many...

WASHINGTON — The sudden and surprising airspace closure over El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday stemmed from the Pentagon's plans to test a laser for use in shooting down drones used by Mexican drug cartels, according to three people familiar with the situation who were granted anonymity to share sensitive details. That caused friction with the Federal Aviation Administration, which wanted to ensure commercial air safety and the two agencies sought to coordinate, according to two of the people. Despite a meeting scheduled later this month to discuss the issue, the Pentagon wanted to go ahead and test the laser, prompting...

Even after legalization, illicit cannabis grows continue to pollute California’s public lands. And the contamination, new research shows, lingers.

Five men were arrested in Miami last week after allegedly attempting to bring drugs aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise marketed towards gay people. The men are facing a variety of possession and trafficking charges after trained dogs alerted to their bags as they tried to board the Symphony of the Seas for what Royal Caribbean touts as 'The World’s Biggest Gay Festival at Sea.' After the dogs alerted, US Customs and Border Patrol officers searched the men's bags and persons. They found containers of pills and clear liquids that tested positive for methamphetamine, ketamine, MDMA and GBL. The names of...

Study of nearly 6,000 children shows Ritalin and Adderall activate the brain’s reward centers rather than attention networks, challenging long-held beliefs.For decades, doctors believed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications like Ritalin and Adderall worked by sharpening a person’s focus. They may have been wrong. A study suggests these drugs actually work by making tasks feel more rewarding—basically tricking the brain into caring about homework, chores, and other mundane activities. “Essentially, we found that stimulants pre-reward our brains and allow us to keep working at things that wouldn’t normally hold our interest—like our least favorite class in school,” Dr. Nico Dosenbach, senior...

(DCNF)—President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the price of Ozempic will fall from more than $1,000 to $199, a dramatic reduction for one of the most expensive and widely used prescription drugs in the country. Pharmacy “cash price” for a single Ozempic pen can exceed $1,300 at some U.S. outlets, according to pricing data. During the launch of Trump RX, Trump said manufacturers agreed to slash prices for popular GLP-1 weight-loss medications, insulin, asthma inhalers, and fertility drugs after sustained pressure from his administration.

A popular honeymoon destination is the site of the Pacific’s fastest-growing HIV epidemic, with officials pointing to rising meth use as a key driver. In Fiji, HIV/AIDS cases are projected to double this year to more than 3,000, according to UNAIDS and Fiji’s Ministry of Health. Officials say drug use is fueling the surge across the Pacific island nation. In December, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a rapid assessment detecting unsafe injecting practices.