Free Republic

Russian scientist Dr. Dmitry Fedyanin seemed to die doing what he loved. German officials say the 34-year-old expert in ultra-violet light and a senior research fellow at the Nanooptics Department of Siegen University in Germany fell to his death Berchtesgadener Alps National Park after following his hiking app over a cliff. Fedyanin’s body was found at the bottom of Hoher Laafeld peak, which sits at about 7,000 feet. Fedyanin was using his hiking app to make his way down the mountain but the route he was taking didn’t have paths and the app “sent him over mountain precipice.” “Our investigators...

Lawmakers from both parties fell asleep during an all-night hearing as Republicans successfully moved Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill to cut taxes and secure the border through its initial House committee. The House Ways and Means Committee held a 17-hour long hearing to discuss the merits of the “big, beautiful” bill that will extend the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, secure the border, rein in wasteful spending, and more. Although Republicans successfully advanced the bill out of committee, it did leave a toll on some lawmakers. Videos have emerged of Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) falling asleep.

Former MSNBC host Joy Reid recently delivered a peculiar history lesson to her social media audience. In her mind a reproach to Donald Trump, Reid warned that the Roman Empire “died because it wasn’t diverse enough,” implying that sticking with “just white folks” leads to inevitable civilizational decline. If history were written by cable news soundbites, we might soon learn that Napoleon lost Waterloo because he lacked a DEI department.In reality, Rome didn’t fall because of a lack of diversity. Nor is Europe today crumbling because of too many white people. Societies fail for many…Former MSNBC host Joy Reid recently...

US stocks fell on Friday as China struck back at President Trump’s latest tariff with a total 125% tax — further escalating trade tensions between the two nations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 254 points, or 0.6%, after plummeting 1,014.79 the day before. The index has been on a wild ride over the past week as markets struggle to absorb back-and-forth trade war news, plunging more than 4,000 points after Trump revealed his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs last Wednesday, then recovering more than 1,500 points this week after he announced a 90-day pause on most of his harsher tariffs. The...

New York City has broken a 30-year record for the fewest number of shootings in the first two months of the year, police revealed Monday. The city saw 93 incidents of gun violence between January and February, the fewest for those months since 1993, officials said. Newly released NYPD statistics for February not only showed that dramatic drop in shootings, but also a 14.5% decline in overall serious crimes compared to the same month last year. “In the first two months of 2025, New York City experienced the fewest number of shooting incidents in the past 30 years, and the...

The risk of a dangerous fall is rising for Americans over 65. Distraction, lack of physical activity and ill-fitting shoes can all be part of the problem.

A Russian ballet dancer who was an outspoken critic of Russia’s war in Ukraine has mysteriously plunged to his death from the fifth floor of a building. Vladimir Shklyarov, a married father of two, plummeted around 60 feet to the ground from a building on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, where the 39-year-old was the highest-ranking dancer, told Fontanka. Russian authorities initially labeled the fall an accident, blaming the painkillers he was taking before a complex spinal surgery. However, he joins numerous other critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin who have met untimely ends —...

They discovered that the Romans miscalculated their Persian-Sassanian opponents which caused their downward spiral, leaving them weak and allowing Islam to rise in a manner that essentially wiped out the once-powerful civilization.The two groups were at war from 54 BC to 628 for control of territories, but the Persians and Sassanians took over Roman trade routes that were critical to their victory.Without access to trade, the economy quickly collapsed and forced people in the Roman Empire to flee to other regions like Constantinople, the researchers discovered...The team analyzed shipwrecks throughout the Mediterranean from multiple sites, such as Marseille, Naples, Carthage,...

In the past year, several high-profile Texas megachurch pastors have either stepped down or been dismissed due to what's been labeled as “immoral behavior” or “conduct unbecoming of a pastor.” These terms may sound vague, but they point to a troubling pattern of persistent wrongdoing, ranging from sexual misconduct to financial dishonesty and abuses of power.Tony Evans resigned from his pastoral duties at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, in June 2024 due to “past sins.” While he clarified that he had not committed a crime, he admitted to a failure to exercise righteous judgment. The specifics of the...

The International Guild of Realism Fall online show. The paintings are some of the best out there. My painting, Golden Cholla, is in the show.

Autumn is prime time for enjoying ales and lagers, and there's no shortage of fall beers waiting to be tapped—be it while watching a football game, reading up on IPA beer history, or raking leaves (we'd also recommend hoisting lager steins at your local Oktoberfest bash). Fall’s cooler weather welcomes a bounty of fall beers. There are plenty of heartier styles suited for taking off the chill and pairing with that bubbling pot of chili. Stouts, porters, and nitro beers are once again fair game, and coolers swell with fleeting releases such as fresh-hopped pale ales and pumpkin everything. We...

It is a common historical myth that Rome fell in 476 A.D. after Odoacer, King of the Goths, sacked the capital city and forced Romulus Augustus to abdicate his throne.The historical reality is rather different. Over the course of nearly a century, Germanic tribes – fleeing everything from war, famine and tribal politics – moved, unimpeded, into Roman territory. And the Empire died not by traditional invasion but by unchecked mass migration.During this period, Rome was ruled by a disaffected elite. Rather than send out a legion or two to kick some culus and take nomen, they decided it would...

Former First Lady Michelle Obama, who delivered an impassioned speech backing Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, in August, will not be hitting the campaign trail to back up Harris in the fall, CNN reported. “Former first lady Michelle Obama, who delivered a rallying cry speech in Chicago, is not expected to campaign, instead sticking with her officially non-partisan voter registration efforts,” CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere wrote on Friday. The revelation is yet another setback for Harris, who has been desperately trying to keep her surge of summer energy riding high into the fall...

To see the forecast click on the source. Some beautiful photos of the past.CLICK

WASHINGTON -- America's employers posted fewer job openings in July than they had the previous month, a sign that hiring could further cool in the coming months. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that there were 7.7 million open jobs in July, down from 7.9 million in June and the fewest since January 2021. Openings have fallen steadily this year, from nearly 8.8 million in January. Layoffs rose from 1.56 million to 1.76 million, the most since March 2023, though that level of job cuts is roughly consistent with pre-pandemic levels, when the unemployment rate was historically low. Layoffs have been...

All Americans ages 6 months and older should receive one of the new Covid-19 vaccines when they become available this fall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. The recommendation comes as the nation faces a summer wave of Covid, with the number of infections rising in at least 39 states and territories. Most Americans have acquired immunity against the coronavirus from repeat infections or vaccine doses, or both. The vaccines now offer an incremental boost, remaining effective for only a few months as immunity wanes and the virus continues to evolve. Still, across every age group,...

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said on Friday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that if the Supreme Court can overturn Roe v. Wade, then “democracy can fall.” Jeffries said, “It’s important for the American people to understand that if Roe v. Wade can fall, anything can fall. Social Security itself can fall. Medicare can fall. The Affordable Care Act can fall. Democracy can fall. Brown v. Board of Education can fall, as Justice Thomas made clear in his concurring observation and opinion yesterday. So, everything we care about is going to be on the ballot in November. Including getting the federal...

During an interview with CNBC released on Monday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen responded to a question on whether she is confident that inflation will hit the target rate of 2% by stating that she expects that inflation “will continue to come down over time.” And “we can certainly get into the twos.” Yellen also stated that “we’ve had generally good news on inflation.” CNBC host Sara Eisen asked, “You’re still confident we can get to 2% this year? We’ve seen a little bit of a flare-up so far this year.”

Wednesday on FNC’s “Hannity,” former 2024 Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy declared former President Donald Trump was on “the path to mop the floor” with incumbent President Joe Biden in November’s election. Ramaswamy said he believed there were those in the Democratic Party plotting to replace Biden as the party’s nominee. “On one hand, you have a president who they say is too senile to stand trial,” Ramaswamy said of Biden. “Well, on the other hand, they say he’s perfectly fine to run the United States of America. Those two things can’t make sense at the same time. But I...

Mortgage rates fell for the ninth week in a row amid signs that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates next year. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate fell to 6.61 percent as of Dec. 28, down from 6.67 percent the previous week, according to new data released Thursday by Freddie Mac. Mortgage rates dipped below 7 percent in mid-December for the first time since August after the Federal Reserve forecasted rate cuts next year. “The rapid descent of mortgage rates over the last two months stabilized a bit this week, but rates continue to trend down,” said Sam Khater,...