Free Republic

A U.S. Census Bureau advisory committee made up of scientific experts that was axed by the Trump administration earlier this year is resurrecting itself and meeting Thursday with no official blessing or formal ties to the statistical agency. The reconstitution of the Census Scientific Advisory Committee, rechristened with an “Independent” in front of its name, is a defiant gesture by the research community against the Trump administration’s elimination last winter of three advisory committees made up of outside experts from private industry and academia. The decision to get the committee members back together is the latest effort by statisticians, demographers...

The folks at EnergySage took some time to debunk several major myths about going solar. The scoop One of the big myths they addressed was that solar panels don't work in the winter. "Despite the snowstorms and shorter days, solar panels will still generate enough power in the winter to provide savings on your electricity bill," according to an article published on EnergySage's website. "And if your panels do get covered in snow, they won't be for long. The smooth surface and angled orientation means any accumulated snow typically slides off once the sun comes out." .....

A cyber group known as “Purgatory” is behind a terrifying spree of AI-enhanced swatting calls on college campuses — and experts urge authorities to catch up to “internet speed” to stop it. Between Aug. 21 and Aug. 25, at least 10 universities across the US were thrown into chaos after fake active shooter calls sent armed federal and local law enforcement agencies to lockdown campuses, launching students into full-blown panic. The calls have since been linked to Purgatory, a group of cybercriminals who use AI tools to replicate sounds of screaming and gunfire while on the phone with local authorities,...

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and Harvard Scientist Avi Loeb are calling for NASA to monitor the Manhattan-sized interstellar object 3I/ATLAS as it passes the sun on Halloween Eve to ensure it does not drop off “mini probes” that could invade Earth. Luna (R-Fla.) and the Ivy league astrophysicist appeared together on a podcast and called for both the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Jupiter’s Juno probe to adjust their current courses and monitor the object that NASA has deemed a comet. “If we are visited by a technological object like 3I/ATLAS — it could either visit us or release some mini-probes...

The winds of change could soon blow on Iran, according to a new report. The Islamic Republic is facing collapse, indicates the report, issued by UK-based Henry Jackson Society this week, as the UN accuses Tehran of executing nearly 900 people already this year “as a tool of intimidation.” If the Islamic Republic falls, “there is a danger that regime collapse could lead to a vacuum of governance that is accompanied by civil war,” according to the findings. “This is an outcome that must be avoided at all costs for the Iranian people, and every step must therefore be made...

President Trump plans to build a $200 million ballroom off the East Wing “long before” the end of his term in 2029.Experts on historic preservation are raising concerns over the feasibility of President Trump’s plans to complete large-scale renovations to the White House by the end of his term, and whether the project can be done while respecting the historic nature of the building.Mr. Trump unveiled plans on Thursday to construct a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot state ballroom off the East Wing to be completed “long before” the end of his term in 2029. The project would be one of the...

The University of Michigan's Survey of Consumers for July showed overall sentiment rose 1.8% from June to 61.8, exactly in line with the estimate and at the highest since February. On inflation, the outlook at both the one- and five-year horizons both tumbled, falling to their lowest levels since February. Consumers' worst fears about tariff-induced inflation have receded, though they are still wary of price increases to come, according to a University of Michigan survey Friday. The university's closely watched Survey of Consumers for July showed overall sentiment increased slightly, rising 1.8% from June to 61.8, exactly in line with...

A comprehensive carcinogenicity study on the world's most used herbicide, glyphosate, involving scientists from Europe and the U.S., has found that low doses of the controversial weed killer cause multiple types of cancer in rats. In this long-term study, glyphosate alone and two commercial glyphosate-based formulations, Roundup BioFlow used in the EU and Ranger Pro used in the U.S., were administered to rats via drinking water beginning in prenatal life, at doses of 0.5, 5, and 50 mg/kg body weight/day for 2 years. These doses are currently considered safe by regulatory agencies and correspond to the EU Acceptable Daily Intake...

At a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing Secretary of Health & Human Services Robert F Kennedy jr and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) locked horns over the issue of vaccine safety. It started with Pallone impugning Kennedy's approach to vaccines, saying "you've fired the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) without input from the dedicated medical experts who support the work that this committee has done to try to keep Americans healthy. You yourself have consistently sided with the conspiracy nuts who oppose the vaccines this committee has mandated every child be given before being allowed to...

<p>The first six months of the Trump administration have not been kind to the experts and the degree-holding classes.</p><p>Almost daily during the tariff hysterias of March, we were told by university economists and most of the PhDs employed in investment and finance that the U.S. was headed toward a downward, if not recessionary, spiral.</p>

A prominent Wall Street economist who had slammed President Trump’s tariffs earlier this year now says that the president may have “outsmarted all of us” with his controversial trade policies. Torsten Sløk, chief economist at investment giant Apollo Global Management, said that while the uncertainty surrounding trade policy has already started to weigh on the economy, Trump could lower tariffs on most of the US trading partners while using the levies to boost federal revenue. Sløk suggested in a recently posted analysis that the administration’s approach may be more strategic than previously thought. The optimistic outlook stands in stark contrast...

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas has never been shy about telling it like it is in his Supreme Court opinions. So, it came as little surprise when he demolished the so-called “expert class” in the high court’s Wednesday opinion in U.S. v. Skrmetti. In a 6-3 ruling, SCOTUS deemed a Tennessee law prohibiting the surgical and chemical castration of minors does not violate the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. The decision came along ideological lines, with all six Republican appointees voting in the affirmative and all three Democrat appointees dissenting.While signing onto Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion in the case,...

Experts have issued a warning about a potential “mega tsunami” that could sweep away entire communities with its massive waves. Alaska, Hawaii and the West Coast of the mainland US face an ongoing threat due to how close they are to disaster zones — and the West Coast just received a renewed warning. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that an earthquake could erupt along the Cascadia subduction zone, a fault that stretches from Northern Vancouver Island to Cape Mendocino, California. Researchers from Virginia Tech found that a potential powerful earthquake combined...

People are swapping Botox for hemorrhoid cream — and experts are begging them to stop. TikTok’s latest wave of unhinged beauty hacks comes with concern: dabbing hemorrhoid cream on under-eye bags to supposedly smooth and de-puff without ever stepping into a derm’s office. On the social media platform, women are claiming that Preparation H is a miracle fix for puffy eyes, saying that it supposedly tightens skin and mimics the effect of under-eye filler — an expensive non-surgical treatment used to reduce dark circles and hollowness by adding volume. But dermatologists are popping the puff-reducing bubble. New York City-based dermatologist...

WASHINGTON — Russia could be forced to end the war in Ukraine because it will run out of money to pay its troops, according to experts at the DC-based Institute for the Study of War. The country has burned through roughly half of its $106 billion liquid sovereign-wealth fund, which is used to pay troops’ salaries and new recruits bonuses, experts said. Moscow can likely only afford another 12 to 16 months of fighting at its current pace, with about 30,000 to 45,000 Russian troops killed or injured in Ukraine each month since its 2022 invasion began, ISW’s Russia team...

For one Colorado father, something felt off with the family investigator working on his case case. He filed a complaint with the state.

As the Pentagon and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency set their sights on climate-related programs at the Defense Department, officials and experts are warning that slashing them could put US troops and military operations at risk, both in the near and long term. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and other senior Pentagon officials have pointed to climate programs as a prime example of wasteful spending in the military. Hegseth told reporters in Germany in February that the Pentagon is “not in the business of climate change.” Acting Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Salesses also made it clear that funding would...

A popular and controversial drug used for weight loss is among others that could potentially have extremely serious side effects. According to multiple studies, patients taking drugs such as Ozempic may experience conditions that cause inflammation and the blockage of blood flow to their eyes. That could result in severe and possibly irreversible vision loss, the Daily Mail reported Monday. “Now, researchers have detailed nine new reports of US patients who went blind after taking semaglutide or tirzepatide, the active ingredients in Ozempic and Mounjaro, respectively,” the article continued: The researchers wrote in JAMA Ophthalmology last month that it’s not...

TikTok junkies are in for a painful biology lesson. The controversial app’s imminent removal over Chinese spying concerns — possibly as soon as 12:01 a.m. Sunday — could spark serious physical and psychological withdrawal among serial scrollers, doctors told The Post. “The universal symptoms of withdrawal from any addictive substance are extreme anxiety, irritability, insomnia, depression and cravings – and people who are addicted to TikTok, if they stop using it abruptly, may experience any or all of these symptoms,” said Stanford psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke. Lembke, who specializes in addiction medicine, also warned of mood swings, panic attacks and...

Israel announced Wednesday that it is sending a team of firefighting experts to Los Angeles, following an inquiry on Tuesday by Breitbart News during a press briefing by the Office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Los Angeles area has been devastated over the past week by the intense destruction of the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, among other, smaller blazes. Tens of thousands of homes have been lost, and many families displaced. The Times of Israel reported: The Fire and Rescue Authority will send a team of five fire protection experts to the United States this evening, to...