Free Republic

A first-of-its-kind AI-driven application developed at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) is now available to provide immediate... intervention for shock and anxiety victims in the field. Developed at the university’s AI for Resilience and Social Welfare Lab, the AI-psychological first aid (AI-PFA) app provides a digital “bridge” between the moment of trauma – such as a missile attack, an accident, or a natural disaster – and professional medical care. “The best time to use the app is immediately after the event, but the intervention remains highly effective within the first 48 hours,” said Dr. Talia Meital Schwartz Tayri. The...

A Florida mayor jailed nearly two years ago for a drunk-driving crash is reportedly back behind bars after allegedly flunking a drug test while on probation. Teresa Heitmann, the mayor of Naples, was arrested Monday night for violating her probation after testing positive for cannabinoids, the main compound found in marijuana, during a court-mandated drug test on March 26, according to police records obtained by Gulf Coast News and WINK. The 62-year-old – on probation for an August 2024 DUI bust – was hit with unlawful possession or use of cannabinoids. “We are aware of the situation involving Mayor Teresa...

The parents of a girl with 'childhood dementia' have revealed why they felt they had no choice but to terminate their much-wanted second pregnancy after discovering their unborn child also has the disease. Leni Forrester, now two, was born seemingly healthy to parents Emily, 33, and Angus, 35, from London. But when a close family member underwent genetic testing six months ago, their lives changed forever when results showed the family carried a recessive gene which can cause Sanfilippo syndrome, a rare genetic disorder dubbed childhood dementia. The degenerative disease causes children to gradually lose all the motor skills they've...

A Pennsylvania man accused of stealing more than 100 sets of human remains from a historic cemetery appeared in court Friday, where he reportedly waived his right to an evidentiary hearing. Jonathan Gerlach, 34, appeared in Delaware County court wearing a lime green prison jumpsuit. Clean-shaven with his hair tied back in a bun, he looked noticeably different from his booking photo. He spoke little during the brief proceeding, according to FOX 29 Philadelphia. Gerlach is facing nearly 500 charges — including burglary, abuse of a corpse and desecration of monuments — tied to a disturbing investigation at Mount Moriah...

Two U.S. Embassy personnel were killed in what officials described as an "accident" in Mexico, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson announced Sunday. "We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of two U.S. Embassy personnel, the Director of Chihuahua’s State Investigation Agency (AEI), and an AEI officer in this accident. We honor their dedication and tireless efforts to confront one of the greatest challenges of our time. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their loved ones," Johnson said in a post on X. The ambassador also said that the tragedy underscores the risks officials face while carrying...

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has cheated death so many times he’s like a cat with nine lives, only in his case, it’s probably ninety-nine. A show in Sacramento in December 1965 proved almost fatal for Richards. While he was singing, Richards, 82, didn’t realize his mic was ungrounded. “The strings of his guitar touching the metal stand shorted out the amp and sent a strong surge of electricity” through his body, writes Bob Spitz in the upcoming book “The Rolling Stones: The Biography.” A photographer who was there remembers that Richards was “unconscious for a long time,” and when...

Being told you have high cholesterol can feel like a verdict: start taking a statin or risk a heart attack or stroke. Recent studies, however, suggest that high cholesterol is not as uniformly harmful as once thought. However, the message has swung hard in the other direction on social media, where claims range from “high cholesterol might save your life” to “high cholesterol is the secret to living to 100-plus.” So, is high cholesterol really “good” or “bad”? The reality is more nuanced than either extreme suggests. The more useful question may not be whether high cholesterol is harmful, but...

Two men were found dead this week after a minivan carrying nearly 500 pounds of liquid meth — which authorities said had a street value of up to $3 million — crashed in a Texas neighborhood, prompting a federal drug probe and a hazmat response. Cops and firefighters responded to the crash on Delga Street in Fort Wayne around 11:30 am Thursday and found the vehicle had slammed into a parked car before rolling into a nearby fence, CBS News reported. The vehicle allegedly contained 10 buckets of the addictive drug, authorities said. The man in the passenger seat was...

A new observational study of 197 cancer patients taking a combined ivermectin + mebendazole protocol is going viral on social media — and for understandable reasons. At six-month follow-up, 84.4% of respondents reported clinical benefit (no evidence of disease, regression, or stable disease), and nearly half (48.4%) reported either tumor regression or no current evidence of disease. The combination was well tolerated, with only mild, mostly gastrointestinal side effects. The paper, posted on Zenodo about a week and a half ago, is the largest structured real-world look at this specific repurposed-drug pairing published to date.This post is a summary. The...

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent is facing felony charges in Minnesota after prosecutors said he pointed a gun at two people during a highway confrontation. This comes as no charges have been filed in the separate attack on Turning Point USA reporter Savanah Hernandez. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced charges Thursday against ICE agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. tied to a Feb. 5 incident on Highway 62 in Minneapolis as part of the broader "Operation Metro Surge" federal immigration crackdown that drew protests and scrutiny in the Twin Cities. Morgan "sped up, pulled alongside the vehicle,...

Jill Biden bid a whopping $35,000 for a cameo in Season 2 of “Heated Rivalry,” but was outbid by some more diehard fans of the show. The former first lady tried her luck at securing a walk-on role on the HBO Max sports romance during the NYC LGBT Center’s annual Center Dinner gala Thursday night. “Dr Jill Biden was a surprise guest tonight – and just bid $35k for a walk on [sic] role in Heated Rivalry season 2!” former Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Versha Sharma tweeted after the event. However, the 74-year-old educator was ultimately outbid by $90,000. “Final winners...

A Chinese researcher was sentenced to more than four months in prison after pleading guilty to smuggling Escherichia coli (E. coli) into the United States, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday. Youhuang Xiang, 32, a former Indiana University postdoctoral researcher and Chinese national, admitted to concealing E. coli DNA in a shipment from China that was falsely labeled as women’s underwear, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana. Prosecutors said the FBI also uncovered evidence that Xiang was a member of the Chinese Communist Party and had lied about that affiliation to immigration authorities. Authorities said the...

WASHINGTON - California Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell has formally resigned from Congress as new accusers allege that he raped and sexually assaulted them. Now, D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told FOX 5 in an exclusive interview that she wants to hear from any potential victims in the District. Big picture view What many may not know about D.C. and Pirro's office, in particular, is that she serves as both the federal prosecutor and the equivalent of a local district attorney. She's concerned, given the recent victims who continue to come forward accusing Swalwell of rape and sexual misconduct, that there...

WASHINGTON — Mercy for me, but not for thee. Former first son Hunter Biden trashed President Trump’s use of the clemency power while acknowledging the hypocrisy of him doing so after his father Joe gave him an “unconditional” pardon shortly before leaving office. “I’m completely biased as it relates to what my dad did for me. I fully understand how uniquely situated I am in being privileged enough to have received a pardon from my father,” the Biden scion said when asked by MeidasTouch if the pardon power needs reform. “I don’t think that the founders ever imagined Donald Trump....

SummarySterile fly release The U.S. Department of Agriculture unveiled a new facility at an old Air Force base near Edinburg, Texas, that will disperse sterile screwworm flies into the community. Sterile insect technique Scientists breed sterile male flies using gamma or X-ray radiation, then release them into the wild. These males mate with female screwworm flies, preventing the females from producing offspring. Screwworm threat Screwworm larvae infest open wounds on animals, like livestock and pets, and can kill the animal within 10 days if left untreated. These pests can be devastating to the cattle industry, which has already faced shortages....

Argentina President Javier Milei recently had some sharp words for the political left. But his observation is backed by more than his experience. Research makes it clear that the various strains of leftism, from today’s American Democratic Party to Democratic Socialists to green radicals to the tens of millions of voters who are attracted to progressive candidates and policies, are fueled by an emotional crisis. We beg our brothers and sisters on the left to consider why they do what they do. Milei, a defender of laissez-faire economic policy, said he once “thought being on the left was a...

A Department of Homeland Security employee was murdered by a convicted felon immigrant who was naturalized under the Biden administration during a bloody killing spree in Georgia early this week, officials said Wednesday. Lauren Bullis, who worked as an auditor at the federal agency, was shot and stabbed in Atlanta when 26-year-old Olaolukitan Adon-Abel allegedly went on his deadly rampage on Monday morning. Bullis, a 40-year-old auditor for the DHS, had taken her dog out for a stroll when she was targeted as part of three random attacks allegedly carried out by the madman across the city. Adon-Abel’s alleged rampage...

Close, but no Obama. Former President Joe Biden spotted a familiar face on stage during his portrait unveiling at Syracuse University School of Law Tuesday and demanded the man join him at the podium in an awkward exchange. “I always want to turn around to one guy and say … ‘Barack, what are you doing?’” Biden joked during the event at his alma mater. The 83-year-old former president was referring to Jeffrey Scruggs, who is black and the chairman of the school’s Board of Trustees, and apparently reminds Biden of the 44th president, Barack Obama. Biden awkwardly put the spotlight...

The woman famously known as “Baby Jessica” over her dramatic miracle rescue from a Texas well as a tot in 1987 has just been busted for alleged domestic assault, authorities said. Jessica McClure Morales, now 40, was arrested Saturday night over a disturbance at her home in Midland County, Texas, where she is believed to live with her husband, Daniel Morales, and their two kids, KXAN reported. Authorities have not released details about the incident, but McClure Morales was charged with assault causing bodily injury involving family violence. Her arrest comes decades after the now-married mom of two made global...

Dr Thomas Shaknovsky indicted for second-degree manslaughter after prosecutors allege he removed a patient's liver instead of his spleen SNIP The Office of the State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit in Florida announced in a release Monday that Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky was charged with second-degree manslaughter after he allegedly removed the liver from 70-year-old Bill Bryan of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in 2024 during a procedure at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Miramar Beach, Florida. Prosecutors allege the surgery was scheduled to be a laparoscopic splenectomy, a minimally invasive procedure used to remove the spleen, but the removal...