Free Republic

For decades, people have fretted about the financial sustainability of America's bedrock retirement income program. Now, Social Security's precarious fiscal state is an issue for the here and now. * How to fix it is set to be a defining political fight of the next several years, with millions of Americans' benefits and the fiscal future of the United States at stake. Why it matters: There is a tug-of-war between the benefits future retirees receive and the taxes that working-age people pay. Something has to give, and surprisingly soon. The big picture: The Social Security retirement fund is set to...

Scans reveal a common brain pattern when people see red, green or yellow Is my red the same as your red? It’s a classic puzzler, one that’s fun to debate with your friends and family. Do colors look the same to you as they do to me? Now two neuroscientists weigh in — with a resounding maybe. There were two possibilities when it comes to how brains react to color, says Andreas Bartels. He works at the University of Tübingen and the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Germany. Perhaps everyone’s brain is unique. Each might have its own...

Harvard University’s Office of Undergraduate Education is raising concerns about mounting grade inflation, reporting that the school’s grading system is “damaging the academic culture of the College.” The office sent a 25-page report to faculty and students, stating that 60 percent of all undergraduate grades are now As. This is a 35 percent increase compared to 20 years ago, according to The Harvard Crimson. Veronica Bryant, academic affairs fellow at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, told The Fix that if Harvard allows grade inflation to skyrocket, the problem will worsen at other schools. “‘As goes Harvard, so goes...

An explosive Washington Post report, the subject of so much discussion the past two days, says that, in the first missile strike the Trump Defense Department carried out against operatives of a boat suspected of transporting narcotics on the high seas off Venezuela, two survivors were rendered shipwrecked. As they clung to the wreckage, the U.S. commander ordered a second strike, which killed them. If this happened as described in the Post report, it was, at best, a war crime under federal law. I say “at best” because, as regular readers know, I believe the attacks on these suspected drug...

October’s haul set a new monthly high as Treasury data showed soaring customs receipts under President Donald Trump’s tariff program.Tariff revenues surged to $31.4 billion in October, setting a new monthly record as the Trump administration’s trade policies continue to remake U.S. trade flows and reshape the federal government’s balance sheet, according to newly released Treasury Department data. The Monthly Treasury Statement for October, published on Nov. 25 , shows net customs duties totaling $31.4 billion, surpassing all prior monthly readings and marking the strongest single-month tariff haul since the modern reporting era began. Treasury records show gross customs receipts...

Almost 130 blades, consisting of spears, knives and swords, have been seized by police after they were all discovered at a single property in Warwickshire. Officers acted after concerns were raised about the horde. Police have warned that law changes mean collecting weapons of this nature could lead to a hefty fine or even a stint behind bars. A spokesman for Leamington Police said: "Now we can't claim to have seized all the knives pictured through proactive patrols during this #OpSceptre week however after concerns were raised to us earlier this week we have seized 129 bladed articles from a...

Excited lanyard guys at a trade show smile at a Unitree humanoid robot © davide bonaldo via Shutterstock Can everyone dial it down a little with the enthusiasm for humanoid robots that can’t even do anything useful yet? You’re scaring the Chinese economy. On Thursday, three Bloomberg reporters based in Beijing reported on an usual government announcement from China’s economic central planning department, the National Development and Reform Commission (it has no U.S. equivalent, so don’t even ask): the commission had noticed a pattern of dozens upon dozens of Chinese firms pushing out humanoid robots that do essentially nothing, and...

When the Department of Transportation's September 29, 2025 emergency rule exposed 200,000 fraudulently issued non-domiciled CDLs—many held by individuals with no legal work authorization—most of the trucking industry braced for a painful but necessary correction. The U.S. Postal Service did something far worse: it threw a tantrum and refused to comply.Our ongoing audit identified licenses issued illegally in states across the country. This is just the beginning. @SecDuffy and @FMCSA will continue to look into ANY state who is allowing dangerous foreign drivers to get behind a big rig. pic.twitter.com/6gkjjZdRjA— USDOT Rapid Response (@USDOTRapid) September 27, 2025USPS briefly tried following...

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece The Two Towers, he wrote a scene in which the tree-giant Ent named Treebeard prepared to battle against the evil wizard Saruman for his part in the wanton destruction of Fangorn Forest.“Wizards ought to know better: they do know better. There is no curse in Elvish, Entish, or the tongues of Men bad enough for such treachery.” This quote came to mind as I reflected on the shooting of two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C. For two weeks now, a growing number of congressional Democrats played the part of pawns in a well-funded, highly coordinated campaign...

Cladosporium sphaerospermum, cultured at the Coimbra University Hospital Centre in Portugal. (Rui Tomé/Atlas of Mycology, used with permission) The Chernobyl exclusion zone may be off-limits to humans, but ever since the Unit Four reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded nearly 40 years ago, other forms of life have not only moved in but survived, adapted, and appeared to thrive. Part of that may be the lack of humans… but for one organism, at least, the ionizing radiation lingering inside the reactor's surrounding structures may be an advantage. There, clinging to the interior walls of one of the most...

For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces. Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today! ~ Hall of Heroes ~ Archer T. Gammon Info from here. Archer T. Gammon (September 11, 1918 ~ January 11, 1945) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration the Medal of Honor for his actions in World War II. Gammon joined the Army from Roanoke, Virginia in March 1942, and by January 11, 1945 was serving as a Staff Sergeant in...

Disney's "Zootopia 2" tallied an estimated $156 million domestically over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Universal's "Wicked: For Good" added around $93 million to the domestic box office haul during the five-day frame. The total Thanksgiving box office is expected to post a top five performance of close to $300 million. Final results will be calculated Monday. "Zootopia 2" had the highest global opening of an animated movie of all time, with an estimated haul of $556 million. It is the fourth-highest global opening of all time, the company reported. "This holiday weekend now sets the stage for a solid final...

Soybean oil appears to cause obesity in mice by producing oxylipins that alter liver metabolism and fat processing. Only mice with altered enzymes avoided weight gain, suggesting genetics and modern diets play a major role. Credit: Shutterstock Soybean oil is the most commonly used cooking oil in the United States and appears in a wide range of processed foods. Research is now shedding light on how this highly consumed ingredient contributes to obesity in mice. In a University of California, Riverside experiment, most mice fed a high-fat diet rich in soybean oil put on substantial weight. A separate group of...

Gen Z is hopping on planes for more than adventure—they’re doing it to have babies. A growing number of young American parents are choosing to give birth outside the U.S., often in countries with better healthcare, more generous parental leave, and cheaper delivery costs. According to a new survey from Greenback Expat Tax Services, more than one in four Gen Z expats have already given birth abroad—and nearly two-thirds say they’re planning to. Among all U.S. expats surveyed, 54% had already had a child while living abroad. Millennials lead the charge with nearly 3 in 5 reporting overseas births, but...

A third shape hidden in the infamous Vitruvian Man drawing suggests an even deeper understanding of human anatomy than previously known. Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: * A London-based dentist spotted a “hidden in plain sight” third shape within Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Vitruvian Man drawing. * The 1490 illustration was originally created to demonstrate a principle theorized by the Roman architect Vitruvius—that the human body could proportionally fit within both a circle and a square. * The dentist noticed that a third shape in the drawing—a triangle between the figure’s legs—was reminiscent of a dental...

US President Donald Trump expressed optimism after a high-level meeting between US officials and a Ukrainian delegation in Miami on Sunday, suggesting there was a “good chance” of a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Talks were “going along, and they’re going along well,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “I think that there’s a good chance we can make a deal,” he added. His comments came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cast the peace talks as fragile, and underscored that Russia would have a central role to play in any deal.

A century after its discovery, asteroid 433 Eros is back—gliding past Earth this weekend in a rare, mesmerizing show! The legendary asteroid 433 Eros, a rocky world that once transformed our understanding of near-Earth space, is making its long-awaited return. This weekend, skywatchers will get a rare chance to glimpse this celestial traveler as it makes a close approach to our planet. The event will be live-streamed globally, allowing enthusiasts to witness history in real time through virtualtelescope.eu. For astronomers and casual stargazers alike, it’s a rendezvous with one of the most storied objects in the solar system. A Historic...

A long-dormant supervolcano on the Nevada-Oregon border is now at the center of a trillion-dollar energy battle. Beneath its surface lies a lithium discovery so massive it could redraw the global battery map. © The U.S. May Be Sitting On A Lithium Treasure Beneath A Supervolcano. Credit: Shutterstock ==================================================================================== In the high desert along the Nevada–Oregon border, a quiet basin formed by an ancient supervolcano is rapidly becoming a global focal point. Hidden beneath the McDermitt Caldera lies what scientists now believe is the world’s largest known deposit of lithium, the element driving the battery revolution behind electric vehicles, smartphones,...

I absolutely love seeing the left-wingers and corporate media squirm and whine about deportations, I really do. Every little story about how someone who “never did nothing to nobody” that ends with someone here unlawfully makes me smile. “No one is above the law,” Democrats routinely say without irony, which is fighting harder than they fight for anyone other than child genital mutilation to keep gang members, wife beaters and any other kind of illegal alien from being subjected to our laws. They hate you, they hate us, they hate everything and want to see whatever they can’t control be...

In a bizarre attempt at gaining online fame, 29-year-old Keith Castillo, who goes by the handle “povwolfy” on social media, has gone viral for distributing large machetes and bottles of alcohol to homeless individuals in Austin and New Orleans. The stunt, which Castillo claims is meant to “keep them safe,” has drawn sharp criticism from the public and law enforcement experts for its potential to incite danger and violence. Castillo, hailing from Corpus Christi, Texas, began his nationwide tour in October, traveling from city to city to film content for clicks and views. He currently has nearly 400,000 followers on...