Free Republic

Steak ‘n Shake has rolled out its new tater tots cooked in beef tallow, expanding the fast-food chain’s push toward traditional frying methods. The announcement drew attention on social media after the Indianapolis-based company highlighted the ingredient Monday morning in an X post, with commenters praising the move, while others debated whether beef tallow is healthier than vegetable oils. Steak ‘n Shake previously made headlines last year when it announced that its fries would be cooked in beef tallow instead of vegetable oil — part of what the company described as a return to the “authentic way” of frying potatoes....

Seventeen alleged drug traffickers are facing charges after authorities say they ran a sprawling methamphetamine pipeline that pumped hundreds of pounds of the drug every month across Northern California. Prosecutors in Placer County announced Thursday that the suspects were charged with crimes including conspiracy and transporting large quantities of methamphetamine for sale after an eight-month undercover probe dubbed “Operation Meltdown.” The investigation began in July 2025 when an undercover detective bought several pounds of meth from a suspected dealer in North Auburn, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office. What started as a single case quickly snowballed into what investigators...

President Trump has just announced that White House chief of staff Susie Wiles has been diagnosed with “early stage breast cancer.” “She has a fantastic medical team, and her prognosis is excellent!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “During the treatment period, she will be spending virtually full time at the White House, which makes me, as President, very happy! “Her Strength and her Commitment to continue doing the job she loves, and does so well, while undergoing treatment, tells you everything you need to know about her. “Susie, as one of my closest and most important advisors, is tough and...

Millions of Americans depend on medical devices — pacemakers, infusion pumps and patient monitors — to stay alive. But some of that equipment is made in China and it may be spying on us – or worse. In January 2025, the Food and Drug Administration and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a stark joint warning: patient monitors made by Contec Medical Systems, a Chinese company based in Qinhuangdao, contain a hidden backdoor. These devices, used in hospitals across the United States, can transmit sensitive patient data to a hard-coded IP address in China. Even more troubling, the backdoor...

Research suggests compounds in foods like blackberries and kale can influence brain chemistry tied to motivation and activity — another reminder that what we eat affects more than we realize.Key Takeaways: -A 2025 study suggests that astringent, flavanol-rich foods like berries and red wine may stimulate the nervous system through their puckering taste, potentially triggering physiological responses similar to moderate exercise. -In the study, mice given oral doses of flavanols exhibited increased physical activity, greater exploration, and improved learning and memory compared to a control group. -Researchers also observed elevated levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, and related compounds associated with motivation,...

Iranian officials threatened to “pursue and kill” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel unleashed a round of extensive missiles towards western Iran Sunday morning. “If this child-killing criminal is alive, we will continue to pursue and kill him with full force,” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps wrote online about Netanyahu, according to the Associated Press, citing the state-run IRNA news agency. The threatening pledge was made days after the 76-year-old Israeli leader declared that the US and Israel were destroying Iran and reshaping the Middle East. “We are in historic days, days that will be recorded in the annals...

The maker of Ozempic, Novo Nordisk, has been hit with a lawsuit over allegations of wrongful death after a woman using the drug died from gastroparesis, a condition also known as stomach paralysis. Novo Nordisk denied the allegations. Marsha Ettinghoff, 76, who had been taking the weight loss drug for six months, died from stomach paralysis, a condition where food passes through the stomach slower than it should, in August 2024 after feeling ill on holiday, attorneys representing her husband, Tracy Ettinghoff said. The attorneys, from the law firm Motley Rice, said the couple believed she had food poisoning after...

New Yorkers who are used to getting what they want are languishing on private school waitlists or having to make due with their bottom choice kindergartens and preschools — and they’re not happy about it. A pandemic-era baby bump coupled with concerns about public schools made for a boom in applications for the limited number of slots at private kindergartens and preschools. When decision letters went out last month it was, according to some, a bloodbath. Moms are “losing their minds,” right now, education consultant Sharon Decker told The Post. Another admissions consultant, Alina Adams, notes that so-called “top tier”...

Iran’s new Supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei released his first statement Thursday vowing to use the “lever” of closing the Strait of Hormuz to international energy shipping — after reports circulated that he was in a coma and had his leg amputated after being severely injured in the US-Israeli strikes that killed his father and other family members. The lengthy message was read out on Iranian state TV by an anchor as an image of Khamenei was displayed on screen, a break from tradition. No explanation was given for why the 56-year-old did not appear in the flesh, with experts suggesting...

Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was a no-show at his own succession rally in Tehran — and observers speculate that he’s either wounded or hiding out in fear. As thousands gathered on Monday to celebrate Khamenei’s appointment as the country’s new supreme leader, the nepo-baby mullah was represented by a mere portrait — one that was half the size of dad Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s. The portrait of the dead leader took up the center of the stage, according to state media footage of the event. “It’s either he’s out cold in a hospital, or he’s scared and hiding...

Isaac’s energy level, enthusiasm, and talkativeness were too much—at least for a traditional classroom.He had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); one psychologist explained that he had a high IQ but low maturity.Illustration by Lumi LiuIt wasn’t until Heather Rodden began homeschooling him in fifth grade that she realized what years of frustrated teachers couldn’t put their fingers on—what looked like a liability in one setting can flourish in another.Like Rodden, other parents, researchers, and professionals are moving away from treating ADHD purely as a disorder that 1 in 10 kids have.The word “deficit” in ADHD, they argue,...

Wall Street Apes@WallStreetApes·4hI verified this and it’s true“This is a class Group 1 carcinogen. The new study warns there's NO SAFE amount of ham, bacon, or even pepperoni for human consumption”Processed meats including ham, bacon, pepperoni are now definitively linked to cancer (Group 1), and newer 2025–2026 studies reinforce thee is no “safe” level that exists for regular consumption“One flimsy cut is lubricated with over 28 bio stabilizers. It's an ammonia-washed paste glued together with synthetic hydrocolloids. That color is then artificially enforced with a corrosive rust inhibitor called sodium nitrite. Group 1 carcinogen that ranks on the same pedestal...

As wellness conversations broaden beyond abstinence, new research explores cannabis through a harm-reduction lens and what it could mean for moderating alcohol consumption.-A 2025 Brown University study found that inhaling cannabis with active THC reduced short-term alcohol consumption and delayed drinking among heavy drinkers in a lab setting. Participants also reported a decreased urge to drink compared to a placebo. -The study used cannabis containing 7.2% THC and does not address long-term drinking habits or effects in people who don’t already use marijuana. -Experts warn that replacing alcohol with cannabis poses risks, including dependency and psychiatric side effects, especially with...

A daily cup of coffee or tea may do more than wake you up—it could also help keep your brain sharp as you age. New research tracking hundreds of thousands of people over decades suggests that moderate caffeine consumption is linked to a lower risk of developing dementia.“Caffeine increases the brain’s activity and can accelerate the speed of messages between the brain and the body,” Jolene Knight, psychiatric nurse practitioner at Stony Brook Medicine’s Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s disease, and not involved in the study, told The Epoch Times. Caffeine Linked to 20 Percent Risk ReductionThe study, recently published...

Sports pundit Michelle Beadle ripped into San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet over his blog post calling for the Atlanta Hawks to end their "Magic City Night" promotion, touting the famed strip club Magic City. Kornet urged the Hawks to cancel the promotion and suggested NBA players and officials "promote an atmosphere that is protective and respectful of the daughters, wives, sisters, mothers, and partners that we know and love." Beadle said on her podcast, "Beadle & Decker," that Kornet should "take a seat." "Luke Kornet, I need you to take a seat," she said. "I love you, the man,...

A commercial oil tanker was set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz after it was struck by an Iranian suicide drone, the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Saturday, with a US Navy mission to safeguard ships through the region possibly still weeks away. The IRGC claimed the tanker — the Prima, sailing under a Maltese flag — had ignored repeated warnings not to enter the strait, according to Tasnim News Agency, Iran’s state media. The flow of oil through the strait — one of the world’s most vital energy arteries connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman...

Stay up to date with the latest news Saturday on the US and Israel’s war with Iran, as four people were killed when the Israel Defense Forces launched a strike targeting Iranian commanders who were hatching deadly strikes out of a Beirut hotel early Sunday, Israeli military officials announced. Israeli forces said they targeted high-ranking officials from the Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who were plotting attacks on the Jewish state from Lebanese soil, but did not confirm whether they were killed. Israel, who said it killed Iranian Quds Force Lebanon Corps commander Daoud Ali...

Mojtaba Khamenei — the expected next supreme leader — was reportedly wounded in an Israeli air strike. The son of Iran’s slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei survived an assassination attempt made by Israel during the devastating launch of Lion’s Roar military operation Feb. 28, which occurred in tandem with the US’s Operation Epic Fury, Times of Israel reported on Saturday. Other strikes in the joint military attack killed his father and roughly 40 other high-ranking Islamic Republic leaders. Also killed was Mojtaba’s wife, Zahra Haddad Adel, who came from a family long associated with the country’s theocracy. It’s not clear if...

Wastewater SCAN data show that human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, is rampant in Northern California — specifically San Francisco, Marin, Vallejo, Napa, Novato, Santa Rosa, Sacramento and Davis, per reports. The virus peaked sharply in January and remains elevated in early March, although the seasonal winter wave is now tapering. “It is a single-stranded RNA virus, like flu and COVID,” Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, told Fox News Digital. “The virus is increasing not only in the west, but also around the country.” The wastewater data also show that HMPV is rising sharply in the Midwest and Northeast.

Americans who belong to Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) are far more likely to say they were lonely growing up. A majority (56 percent) of Gen Zers report they felt lonely at least once or twice a month during their childhood. In contrast, only about one in four (24 percent) Baby Boomers say they felt lonely this often as children. ... Americans who had a lonely childhood are much more likely to report feeling lonely or isolated as adults. Two-thirds (66 percent) of Americans who felt lonely every day during childhood say that today they feel lonely or...