Free Republic

Ignoring this illness is not sustainableIconic singer Naomi Judd died at age 76, one day before she was to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Her daughters, Wynonna and Ashley Judd, shared a statement confirming her death: "Today [April 30, 2022] we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness." An exact cause of death was not disclosed, and no additional information was forthcoming. However, the late Grammy-winning legend had been open about her mental health struggles and descent into debilitating depression and suicidal ideation. It was the focus of...

The rackin' frackin' sassafrassin' salty language on hundreds of Maine license plates is one step closer to being removed from the road. Maine's secretary of state released draft rules Thursday that would eliminate references to genitalia, sex acts and profanities that proliferated after the state severely loosened language restrictions on so-called vanity license plates in 2015. The rough and foul language on the plates led to a steady stream of complaints.

In one of the more bizarre scientific encounters ever, two male dolphins have been seen playing with an anaconda while sexually aroused. Researchers photographed the Bolivian river dolphins holding the unfortunate anaconda in their mouths as they swam in Bolivia's Tijamuchi River. But what was especially odd was that the dolphins had erect penises as they were carrying the snake, scientists reveal in a new study 'It could have been sexually stimulating for them,' said Diana Reiss, a marine mammal scientist at Hunter College in New York told the New York Times. Reiss, who was not involved with the study,...

A court in western Germany found a woman guilty of sexual assault and handed her a six-month suspended sentence for purposefully damaging her partner's condoms, German media reported. In handing down the ruling, the judge said the unusual case was one for Germany's legal history books — representing an instance of criminal "stealthing," but this time carried out by a woman. What happened in the case? The ruling was handed down at a regional court in the western German city of Bielefeld, local newspaper Neue Westfälische and the mass-circulation Bild newspaper reported on Wednesday. The case concerned a 39-year-old woman...

Jen Psaki admitted she was struggling to fight back tears as she introduced her 'partner in truth' Karine Jean-Pierre as President Joe Biden's new press secretary. 'I'm going to cry', an emotional Psaki said at the start of her briefing on Thursday as she brought her successor up to the podium and hugged her. 'I just want to take the opportunity to celebrate and congratulate my friend, my colleague, my partner in truth Karine Jean-Pierre, the next White House Press Secretary,' Psaki said. Fox News' Peter Doocy then said he will miss his favorite sparring partner Psaki in the briefing...

However, the anti-monopoly activist group Open Markets Initiative, where Democratic FTC Chair Lina Khan used to work, has urged the agency to block the deal, saying that it 'poses immediate and direct threats to American democracy and free speech.' The group argued that Musk's ownership of the Starlink satellite internet service already gives him control over a key communication platform, and that his purchase of Twitter would be a dangerous concentration of power Representative Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, on Wednesday issued a letter raising concerns about the FTC antitrust probe and suggesting he planned...

Emma Califf, lifts up a rock in a plastic box. “This is one of our desert hairies,” she said, exposing a three-inch-long scorpion, its tail arced over its back. “The largest scorpion in North America.” This captive hairy, along with a swarm of inch-long bark scorpions in another box, and two dozen rattlesnakes of varying species and sub- species across the hall, are kept here for the coin of the realm: their venom. The techniques used to process venom compounds have become so powerful that they are creating new opportunities. “We can do assays nowadays using only a couple of...

An anti-abortion activist, who describes himself as the 'pro-life Spiderman', has been arrested after being spotted climbing the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco without a harness. Police said witnesses alerted officers at around 9:21 a.m. on Tuesday to notify them that Madison DesChamps was gradually making his way up the the city's tallest tower. Officers placed DesChamps in custody once he climbed 61 floors and reached the tower's roof. He appeared to only be wearing a hoodie, as several office workers inside the tower recorded footage of the climber reaching their floors without any climbing gear. Multiple sources claim that...

A man’s failed marriage proposal in the middle of a McDonald’s in South Africa has social media reeling after going horribly awry. He was brutally rejected in the middle of the chain fast food restaurant by an unnamed woman, who appeared stunned by his question. She shared a look of shock with employees behind the counter while fellow customers can be heard attempting to sway her decision to say yes — before ultimately shaking her head at the man on one knee.

The Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California is paying one woman $100,000 to settle her lawsuit claiming that she was bitten by bed bugs during her stay and suffered a serious rash as a result. Dr. Ivy Eldridge claimed in her 2018 lawsuit that she suffered physical and emotional damage after waking up with bedbug bites during her stay at the Disneyland Hotel in April of that year. She accused the hotel staff of knowing that it had a bedbug issue and failing to notify her about the infestation prior to her stay, according to the suit filed in Los Angeles...

A Ford GT owner in Boca Raton, Florida crashed his recently purchased supercar into a tree Friday evening because he was "unfamiliar with how to drive stick shift," police say. The driver, 50-year-old Robert J. Guarini, told cops he lost control after downshifting while leaving his housing development at around 6 p.m, a police report says. This led to a head-on collision with a palm tree. Guarini then told a nearby security worker that he did not have his phone and needed a ride back to his house, where he spoke to authorities via landline after leaving the vehicle unattended,...

The idea of marrying a hologram may sound like the plot of the latest episode of Black Mirror. But it became a reality in 2018, when a 'fictosexual' man married a virtual reality hologram during a ceremony in Tokyo. Akihiko Kondo, 35, spent ¥2 million (£12,222) on a formal ceremony at a Tokyo hall to Hatsune Miku, an animated 16-year-old hologram with saucer eyes and lengthy aquamarine pigtails. But despite thinking he could 'be with her forever', Mr Kondo has been left devastated, after the expiration of her software meant he could no longer speak to his wife. What has...

During a 2020 protest over the murder of George Floyd, the Los Angeles police had fired projectiles at the crowd and one of the shots caused a man to lose part of his testicle. On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council approved paying the $300,000 lawsuit settlement, according to the Los Angeles Times. David Bond filed a federal lawsuit last year, claiming that the LAPD used "excessive and unreasonable force" when he was peacefully protesting and was then shot. He originally asked for $2 million in damages and claimed that he has "permanent disfigurement" after being shot by the projectile....

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday pledged the White House's new Disinformation Governance Board will not be used to monitor American citizens, despite mounting Republican concerns that it will be a tool for censorship and surveillance. 'There are people in the department who have a diverse range of views, and they’re incredibly dedicated to the mission,' he said when pledging the board will not step on free speech. Mayorkas also defended the board's new head Nina Jankowicz, a Russian disinformation expert who previously advised the Ukrainian government, from a slew of Republican accusations of hyperpartisanship. He lauded her as...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Fifty years after his Apollo 16 mission to the moon, retired NASA astronaut Charlie Duke says he’s ready for the U.S. to get back to lunar exploration. Part of that effort, Duke said Friday, will come in the form of the Artemis program, which includes NASA’s upcoming flight to the moon using its new Space Launch System rocket. The first of the huge rockets is supposed to blast off without crew later this year, with crewed flights planned subsequently. “With Artemis, NASA is going to be focused on deep space, to the moon and beyond, and...

When I first started looking for a place to rent in Boston, I quickly gave up on the idea of getting my own apartment, since every listing seemed to go something like this: Great deal!!! $2,200/month, studio, no windows, *HAUNTED.* Since then, I’ve been trawling Craigslist for shared houses, and finding it to be an unexpected exercise in close reading. In addition to the familiar realtorese (cozy = tiny, open concept = toilet in kitchen), I’ve been developing a specialized private dictionary for the houses I’ve been looking at around Cambridge, Somerville, and Allston: Chill means stoned people with sticky...

An American family set off a bomb scare at Ben-Gurion Airport on Thursday when they brought to security inspectors an unexploded shell that they found while visiting the Golan Heights and had packed for their return trip. Video circulated on social media showed panicked passengers scattering at Ben Gurion Airport's departure hall. The Israel Airports Authority said a man was hospitalized with injuries sustained as he tried to flee over a baggage carousel. תיעוד: בהלה בנתב"ג בעקבות חשש מחפץ חשוד. לאחר בדיקות הוכרז על חזרה לשגרה@sharonidan pic.twitter.com/pOMLp3oaeC — כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 28, 2022 Israel Airports Authority said the family...

ISSAQUAH, Wash — A paraglider got caught about 30 feet up a tree at Poo Poo Point Friday afternoon. Eastside Fire & Rescue reported the person was removed from the tree before units arrived and there were no injuries. However, a person could still be seen up in the tree around 4 p.m. It's unclear if it's the same person that was stuck Video at link

Omani Police and ambulances arrive at the accident site. In a tragic incident, an Omani young man died and another sustained injuries after being struck by a lightning bolt on Wednesday evening. The duo were struck while they were in a park in the state of Sohar before Iftar (breaking of fast). The injured youth was taken to the hospital and his condition is stable. According to Times of Oman, the incident took place near Sohar Secondary School in the Wilayat of Sohar in North Al Batinah around 4pm. The newspaper interviewed the injured youth’s father who said that he...

Where does infidelity begin? For some, infidelity starts long before a kiss or a more intimate relationship. It can start with a look, a text message, a coffee date… These actions may seem insignificant or minor, but when put together, they can be the first signs of infidelity. Hence, the term micro-cheating. This could be described as gentle flirting with someone who is not your partner. Micro-cheating does not involve physical contact. With micro-cheating, it’s more a question of emotional infidelity. This betrayal could even be more complicated to manage for the person who has been “cheated on.” In fact,...