Free Republic

Now that the race for U.S. Senate in Texas is solidified between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, there are photos emerging of Talarico, who had famously declared his campaign to be "non-meat," now packing all kinds of meat into his mouth. End Wokeness is highlighting some of the images on X, stating: "James Talarico's team is now forcing him to eat meat in front of reporters "proving he's Texas tough." "He looks like he wants to puke."

Australian wildlife officers have busted a single breeder holding more than 100,000 banned live cockroaches, the largest grab of exotic invertebrates the nation has ever recorded. Madagascar hissing cockroach DUBIA The operator, who ran a commercial outfit in Bathurst, New South Wales, had been raising more than 100,000 banned cockroaches, a stockpile officials valued at 200,000 Australian dollars ($142,000), according to The Associated Press. A government spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that prosecutors did not file any charges against the breeder. The insects will be destroyed. What landed the breeder in regulators’ sights were two foreign species, the Madagascar hissing...

A dog famous in China for traveling around with its owner was reportedly stolen, sold for less than $30 and eaten, according to media reports from Asia. The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that the dog’s name was Chutou and that he was an eight-year-old border collie who gained over a million followers on China’s version of TikTok, Douyin, for accompanying his owner, identified by multiple outlets simply as “Guo,” on journeys across China over many years. Guo, according to SCMP, took a solo trip to Georgia last month and left Chutou behind in the care of his father...

Families in a New Jersey school district were left outraged after a cafeteria menu distributed for June displayed a watermelon graphic on Juneteenth — prompting school officials to condemn the image as racially offensive and demand immediate action from the district’s food-service contractor. Montclair Public Schools said the image appeared on a June cafeteria menu prepared by food-service provider Sodexo and sparked complaints from students, families, staff and community members. Superintendent Ruth Turner said those who saw the menu were “hurt, disappointed, and offended” by the graphic’s appearance alongside the June 19 holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the...

Three-and-a-half-thousand hungry Alsatians wolf down platters of charcuterie and periodically burst into noisy chorus....the latest iteration of a feasting phenomenon that is sweeping provincial France. The Alsace town of Colmar – famous for its half-timbered medieval centre – was the scene last weekend of one of the banquets géants – huge banquets whose popularity in the country has suddenly become a hot political issue. Run by a company called Le Canon Français (The French Cannon), the banquets are massively attended – €81 (£70) buying you four courses of local gastronomy, all the wine you can drink, and several hours of...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed a second case of a flesh-eating screwworm parasite in Texas on Friday, as it races to contain and eradicate the outbreak before it severely impacts the cattle population. A New World screwworm was detected in a one-month-old calf in Zavala County after testing a “number of suspected cases,” according to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). It was found less than six miles away from the ranch where the pest was reported in another young calf earlier this week. ( Snip ) The New World screwworm is a species of parasitic...

Wendy's announced that it will be testing something calling "dynamic pricing." Will you pay more for the same product? Dynamic pricing at fast food restaurants means your favorite sandwich or chicken nuggets could cost more -- or less -- depending on what time of day you go. The busier the restaurant is, the more it'll cost you. Dynamic pricing is similar to the surge pricing model used on apps like Uber or Lyft, waltham forest where prices go up and down based on customer demand. Food industry experts say dynamic pricing could soon take over the entire industry in the...

Consumers are being encouraged to check their freezers for a product that might contain harmful or potentially deadly bacteria. In the latest recall linked to salmonella risks associated with powdered milk, a popular frozen food sold by Costco and Walmart has been pulled from shelves. The Hill provided these details: The most recent recall was shared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday. Select batches of Motor City Pizza Co. 5 Cheese Bread were recalled because the dry milk powder was used in the five-cheese sauce blend. Other recalls linked to the powder impact frozen pizzas, pork rinds,...

It seems like, without fail, the activist Left seeks out ways of using the legal system to get whatever radical policy they want retained via a judge's ruling, or stop some Conservative policy that half of the American people overwhelmingly voted for during a recent presidential election. Such might be tha case in this new story, where an environmental group has filed suit in my state of Arizona against the Trump administration ... over the habitat of a rare species of desert spring snail. But the fact that this snail can only live where President Trump is planning on building...

This is a slightly different kind of post — one grounded in science, but powered by hope.It’s about a breakthrough in the treatment of one of the deadliest cancers we know.Instead of blasting cancer with drugs that make people sick and still don’t improve survival rates, we’re talking about a simple, low-dose treatment approach that researchers believe could help push a deadly brain cancer toward healing rather than destructionResveratrol and copper make brain tumors less aggressiveResearchers studied 20 people with glioblastoma. Ten took a low-dose resveratrol-copper tablet four times a day for about 11 days before brain surgery, while 10...

In A Nutshell A major review found no link between naturally occurring dairy trans fats and higher risk of heart disease or type 2 diabetes. Unlike artificial trans fats in processed foods, dairy trans fats appear to behave differently in the body. Some studies found that people with higher blood levels of a dairy-specific trans fat were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, though the evidence is not conclusive. Several of the study’s authors have ties to the dairy industry, a conflict of interest the researchers disclosed and that independent replication would help address. ============================================================================ For decades, “trans fat”...

The MONTHLY Victory Garden Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

Sam Altman, the co-founder of OpenAI, which launched ChatGPT, is not overweight. Gay tech billionaires rarely are. Even so, as he explained in a recent interview, he was keen to try a GLP-1, one of those drugs that have revolutionised weight loss in the past five years. You can understand why he was curious. Ozempic or Mounjaro might appear to have nothing in common with artificial intelligence, but both phenomena have created a sensation that we’re entering an era of accelerating and uncontrollable change. Alas, he screwed it up. He had someone inject him with a megadose, puked all night...

More than 1,100 people were suspected of having contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring Uganda, the head of the African Union's health agency said on Sunday in a commentary for the Financial Times. Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention director general Jean Kaseya said there were 263 confirmed cases in both countries as of Saturday, with 43 confirmed deaths. More than 1,100 suspected cases were still being investigated, he wrote in the editorial. On Thursday, the Africa CDC said there had been 246 suspected deaths from the virus. "We must move at the speed of...

In A Nutshell Researchers found bacteria with probiotic potential in three British artisan cheeses. The hay-aged cheese had the biggest increase in bacterial diversity as it matured. Lactose was largely gone by maturity, which may matter for lactose-sensitive readers. The study is promising, but it does not prove these cheeses improve gut health in people. ========================================================================== For most people, cheese is a guilty pleasure: something delicious but probably not great for you. That assumption may be worth revisiting. A recent study took a close look at three traditional British artisan cheeses and tracked how their bacterial communities and chemical profiles...

Where’s the beef? Not in Texas — at least, not as much as it used to be. Texas barbecue joints are shutting their doors across the Lone Star State as sky-high beef prices turn brisket — once the centerpiece of a blue-collar meal — into a luxury item that many customers can no longer afford. From Houston suburbs to rural smokehouses, pitmasters say soaring wholesale beef costs, inflation and shrinking customer traffic are crushing margins and forcing some of the state’s most celebrated BBQ institutions out of business. SNIP “When brisket costs $36 a pound for the consumer and then...

The stereotype here is so on the nose that The Babylon Bee couldn't have written it better 😂 VIDEO AT LINK............... As they say in Dearborn, Alhamdulillah! People had thoughts on a local news account: This week is the Islamic slaughter day of Eid al-Adha, where a goat is killed to cover their sins. They connect this to the biblical story in Genesis 22 where Abraham is asked by God to offer his son as a sacrifice. Muslims, however, believe God offered up a ram to replace Ishmael, ignoring the fact that God's provision and promises were made through Isaac....

In many US cities tips of 20% are now expected at restaurants The debate about tipping culture in the US has reignited in recent years, with social media posts about waiting staff angry that they haven't been left enough money going viral. Is this increased pressure to tip, and to do so generously, now spreading around the world? Lillian Price thinks that tipping in the US is "out of control". "It's too much," she says. "You might just be grabbing something to go, and you are expected to tip," says the animal care worker who lives in Philadelphia. Price, who...

A cheap, vitamin-packed fruit juice could become a surprising new weapon against anemia.Researchers found that drinking guava juice may significantly improve anemia by helping the body absorb iron more efficiently. In a review of 17 studies, women and teenage girls who consumed guava juice — especially with iron supplements — experienced noticeable increases in hemoglobin levels. Since guava contains far more vitamin C than oranges, scientists believe it could become a simple, affordable nutrition tool in regions where anemia is widespread. Guava Juice May Help Fight Anemia Guava juice may do far more than refresh on a hot day —...

Napa Valley stands as a crown jewel of American agriculture, its sun-drenched hills and meticulously tended vines producing some of the world’s most celebrated wines. Yet beneath this prestige lies a growing crisis: the region is pumping groundwater at unsustainable levels, even as regulators pile on costs that make viability increasingly difficult. Experts warn that without meaningful change, Napa’s wine industry risks a slow wither, not from some abstract climate apocalypse, but from a toxic mix of poor resource management and self-defeating government intervention. This overpumping is no temporary hiccup. For years, Napa County has missed its own groundwater sustainability...