Free Republic

VIDEOS AT LINK............. If you’re going to read the comments, might as well have some fun with them. The #1 rule of working on the internet is to never read the comments. Somebody could put the winning lottery numbers in our comments and I would still lose because I would never see them. It’s usually just a cesspool of trolls, so there’s not really any point in diving into the comments to deal with that mess. But one news anchor has a different way of dealing with the trolls. Carissa Codel, a morning news anchor from Missouri, has gone viral...

Reviewed by Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing =============================================================== Cheese consumption in this country has been climbing, reaching an all-time high of 42 pounds per person last year. Yet most cheese varieties contain a fair bit of saturated fat and sodium — two things people with heart disease are often urged to limit. Still, there's no need to banish cheese from your diet. In fact, a daily serving of this popular dairy product may be good for your heart. For a 2023 review in Advances in Nutrition, researchers pooled...

California officials are warning foragers after an outbreak of poisoning linked to wild mushrooms that has killed one adult and caused severe liver damage in several patients, including children. The state poison control system has identified 21 cases of amatoxin poisoning, likely caused by death cap mushrooms, the health department said Friday. The toxic wild mushrooms are often mistaken for edible ones because of their appearance and taste. “Death cap mushrooms contain potentially deadly toxins that can lead to liver failure," Erica Pan, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “Because the death cap can...

More than 1.5 million bags of shredded cheese sold at retailers including Walmart and Target have been recalled after the Ohio-based manufacturer warned the products may contain metal fragments. Great Lakes Cheese Co., the Hiram, Ohio-based firm, initiated the voluntary action affecting multiple brands sold at major retailers. The recall, which began on Oct. 3, stems from potential metal fragments in supplier raw material — prompting what regulators describe as a downstream recall across several product lines. The FDA classified the action on Dec. 1, and the recall remains active. The affected cheese — including mozzarella, Italian-style blends, pizza blends...

A remarkable resistance to venom has been discovered in a frog that feasts on hornets despite their deadly stingers. This frog could potentially serve as a model organism for studies on mechanisms underlying venom tolerance. Image: Kobe University ecologist SUGIURA Shinji discovered that the black-spotted pond frog seems to be unharmed and undaunted by venomous stings from hornets such as the Asian giant hornet, the largest in the world. ============================================================== While just the sight of a hornet’s stinger is enough to fill many of us with dread, some animals, such as some birds, spiders and frogs, are known to prey...

Dick Van Dyke revealed how he’s been able to live a long life. The “Mary Poppins” star, who’s set to turn 100 years old on Dec. 13, recently recalled giving up alcohol and smoking in his 50s. Van Dyke credited the choice for why he’s “still here.” The comments came when he spoke about working with Walt Disney, who died of lung cancer in 1966, at a Vandy High Tea event held at his home in Malibu, Calif., on Nov. 30. Van Dyke recalled that Disney “smoked too much,” per People.

Damage to the cornea from infections, injury, or genetic disorders can lead to blindness – and often requires a transplantArteum.ro / Unsplash View 2 Images In a major breakthrough in human tissue replication, for the first time ever a 3D-printed cornea has been transplanted onto a legally blind patient's eye, successfully restoring their sight. That's from Rambam Eye Institute in Haifa, Israel, which worked with a company called Precise Bio that specializes in regenerative tech and bio-fabricated tissues. This procedure, completed towards the end of October, involved a corneal implant grown entirely from cultured, living human corneal cells, rather than...

A norovirus outbreak has affected the German cruise ship AIDAdiva, with 95 passengers and 6 crew members reporting symptoms of the highly contagious gastrointestinal illness. The cases were first reported to health authorities on November 30, making this the eighth day of active infection on board as of December 7, and ruining a holiday of a lifetime for many. The ship, operated by AIDA Cruises (a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation), is carrying 2,007 passengers and approximately 640 crew members. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the infected individuals represent fewer than 6 per cent of...

Cooking Robots and the Loss of Human Skill Original Question In view of centuries of history of technological development in which increasing power and convenience of gadgetry have prompted the unintended consequence of the atrophy of first-person practice of human skills with self-reliance, what is the likelihood that the proliferation of cooking robots will result in people forgetting how to cook and feed themselves in the event of a technological contraction? Short Answer The risk is real but uneven. Widespread cooking robots would almost certainly erode everyday cooking skills in some parts of the population, especially among those who fully...

'My guy @drjoshredd is a magician. Had a great week of wellness starting with this awesome machine. More videos to come of other things as well.' It is as yet unclear which 'other things' Harper is referring to, but the Phillies will certainly be hoping the medical procedures can boost the health of its $330million superstar, who is contracted through 2031 - by which time he'll be 39. Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper has shocked fans by revealing that he has undergone a bizarre offseason procedure to remove a third of his blood from his body. Fear not, though, baseball...

Researchers have found that cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a vomiting condition tied to chronic cannabis use, rose sharply in US emergency departments between 2016 and 2022 and has stayed elevated. As of June 2025, nearly half of US residents live in states with legalized recreational cannabis, and policy shifts have expanded adult-use access through legalization, medical programs, and decriminalization. Among cannabis-related harms, cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) has been described as a growing concern in clinical and public health settings. CHS was first identified in 2004 in Australia and remains a syndrome with uncertain etiology. Proposed neurophysiological mechanisms include downregulation of cannabinoid...

It starts with a call. A sore knee, a lingering cough, a changing mole - nothing urgent - but not quite ignorable. The receptionist is polite, but the first available appointment is three weeks away.For millions of Americans, health care begins with a wait. For many, walk-in clinics have replaced family medicine.“People have started to accept that,” Dr. Dorothy Serna, a primary care physician who left traditional practice for a concierge model, told The Epoch Times. “They think, ‘I can’t get my doctor, so I won’t even try. I’ll just go to urgent care. I’ll wait. I’ll Google it.’”Such scenarios...

Pro-life advocates have released shocking video evidence of a woman in severe pain being ejected from a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Chicago after a botched abortion. The video, captured at the Downtown (Near North) Chicago Planned Parenthood, Elizabeth Cohn Morris Clinic shows the young woman collapsed in the doorway, pleading for help after undergoing an abortion. The footage released by Coalition Life, a pro-life sidewalk counseling organization, shows a counselor helping the woman and directing emergency responders to her when they arrive on the scene. In the video, the woman tells Jacob, the sidewalk counselor, “They just threw me...

My wife went in to AFIB Tuesday morning for the first time. She went to the ER and was later moved to Intensive Care. To make a long story short she has been put on a Butt Ton of drugs, one of which is Eliquis. This drug should have been on the Generic Market years ago but for some reason is not. The lowest price near us that I can find is about $550 for a 30 day supply. This is forcing me to consider getting it from Canada by mail. Looking briefly I see some pharmacies in Canada offering...

Drones are increasingly menacing the skies above, whether as buzzing nuisances destroying a scenic locale’s peaceful vibes or wielded as a kamikaze drone spreading terror. As such, world militaries are intensely interested in anti-drone weaponry right now. Take the latest demo from the British Armed Forces to take down these suckers: shooting them out of the blue with a powerful laser beam. The country’s Ministry of Defense recently tested the DragonFire laser at a facility in Scotland, according to a statement, where it was able to successfully shoot down high speed drones that “fly up to 650 km/h [404 miles...

The US military sank another suspected drug vessel in the Pacific Ocean Thursday, marking the 22nd strike under the Trump administration’s Operation Southern Spear and the first since War Secretary Pete Hegseth was accused of ordering survivors of a boat bombing be killed. The latest lethal strike killed “four male narco-terrorists” traveling on a vessel operated by a “Designated Terrorist Organization” in international waters, according to US Southern Command. “Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illicit narcotics and transiting along a known narco-trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific,” US Southern Command said. The strike is the first in more...

Key takeawaysNearly 2 in 5 (37%) Americans say they couldn’t afford an emergency expense over $400The median emergency savings for Americans is $60021% of people have no emergency savings at allMore than 3 in 5 (62%) Americans say that having dedicated emergency savings is a priority for them; yet 57% say high inflation and price increases have held them back from contributing this year1 in 4 (25%) people dipped into emergency savings to cover basic living expenses in the past yearPaying down debt is a higher priority than saving for an emergency for 57% of Americans34% believe they could handle...

Minnesota Democratic lawmakers, including the Attorney General, were handed over $53,000 in campaign contributions by fraudsters who ripped off taxpayer cash meant to feed children. AG Keith Ellison, his councilman son, mayor Jacob Frey, Representative Ilhan Omar and others received cash from the scammers who siphoned off some $250 million, largely through nonprofit Feeding Our Future. Many did so after meeting the crooks, raising questions about how much they knew. “I’m not here because I think it’s going to help my re-election,” Ellison said during an encounter with Somali business leaders, two of whom later became criminal defendants linked to...

Sen. Josh Hawley is pitching his colleagues — and President Donald Trump — on a new health care plan. The Missouri Republican’s proposal comes as his party is grappling separately over what its strategy on health care should be as the Senate stares down a floor vote next week onHawley believes his new bill, which would allow all tax payers to deduct up to $25,000 per person in medical expenses, would help offer Republicans an agenda to coalesce behind while boosting the GOP’s affordability message heading into an election year. The bill also allows out of pocket spending on premiums...

CLINTON, North Carolina; DUFUR, Oregon–– "Pit bull rescuer and longtime Village Dental Clinic dental assistant Barbara Hunter Brewington, 38, of Bonnetville, North Carolina, on November 23, 2025 became simultaneously the 75th person killed by dogs in the U.S. during 2025, tying the record 2024 toll, and the 58th U.S. pit bull fatality, breaking the 2023 U.S. record for deaths by pit bull..." " . . .As Kabir also mentioned, Brewington’s death was “the second fatal dog attack reported over five days in North Carolina,” following the unwitnessed November 18, 2025 pack attack death of Michael Bodenheimer outside his home in...