Free Republic

We’ve discussed many times the fact that humans and Neanderthals are so similar that Neanderthals provide no evidence we are closely related to some type of primitive non-human hominid. Now, a new pre-publication paper reviewed by New Scientist provides more evidence for this, proposing the radical hypothesis that Neanderthals are not only closely related to humans — they are descended from us!Michael Marshall asks, “Are Neanderthals descendants of modern humans?” He writes:Among the many other human species that once inhabited Earth, the Neanderthals are the most famous. They lived until relatively recently and in many ways, they were like us.Just...

WASHINGTON — Far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar blew up at a reporter this week for asking questions about accounting “discrepancies” the Democrat blamed for overstating her net worth by millions of dollars on financial disclosure forms. In May last year, Omar (D-Minn.) claimed she and her husband, Tim Mynett, held assets worth between $6 million and $30 million. However, an amended filing reported by the Wall Street Journal last week put the couple’s wealth at between $18,004 and $95,000. The lawmaker claimed the initial filing was riddled with accounting errors. “Congresswoman Omar, the last time I spoke to you, you said...

Türkiye Today reports that a 1,500-year-old set of four iron knives of varying sizes and a whetstone were discovered at the site of Hadrianopolis in Turkey's Black Sea region. Ersin Çelikbaş of Karabük University said that the knives and the sharpener were uncovered in the kitchen section of an area of the city known as the Bath Structure Complex. Although the knives were recovered in pieces, they have been restored and reassembled. The knives were likely used to process locally raised animals, Çelikbaş explained. Analysis of the whetstone revealed that it was sourced from a nearby quarry and shows that...

Analysis of charcoal found at the site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov in northern Israel shows that early hominins used readily available tree species for firewood, according to a statement released by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. For tens of thousands of years, hunter-gatherers repeatedly returned to Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, which was situated near a lake. Ethel Allué of the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution, Naama Goren-Inbar of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and an international team of scientists examined more than 250 pieces of charcoal from an occupation layer at the site dated to some 780,000 years...

Paging Indiana Jones! An American archeologist thinks he may know where the lost Ark of the Covenant is hidden, and is hoping to mount a search to find it. Dr. Jones — err, Professor Chris McKinny — believes the Lost Ark may be waiting beneath the City of David, an archeological site just south of the Dome of the Rock which is considered to be one of the oldest sections of Jerusalem, the Daily Mail reported. McKinny — an associate professor of biblical archeology at Lipscomb University in Tennessee — drew on biblical and historical texts to zero in on...

According to an Ahram Online report, a Roman-era tomb has been discovered in Upper Egypt at the site of Al-Bahnasa -- the ancient city of Oxyrhynchus -- by a team of Egyptian and Spanish researchers including Maite Mascort and Esther Pons of the University of Barcelona. Several decorated, linen-wrapped mummies were found in the tomb in addition to wooden coffins. Three golden tongues, one copper tongue, and gold leaf were also uncovered alongside some of the mummified bodies. A papyrus buried with one of the individuals contains a passage from book 2 of Homer’s Iliad known as the Catalogue of...

Ancient Egyptian mummified remains in the collection of the MNMKK Semmelweis Museum of Medical History were examined with a CT scanner equipped with a photon-counting detector, according to a statement released by Semmelweis University. The remains in the study include two heads, two left lower limbs, a mummy bundle containing a foot, and a hand. The oldest artifacts in the collection are some 2,300 years old. The resulting images revealed the internal structure of the body parts, said team physician Ibolyka Dudás, providing a highly detailed view of abnormalities and preservation techniques used in antiquity. The new images of the...

Long ago in a land now lost to the sea, and event happened that changed how those that lived there, saw their landscape forever. This is Doggerland, the land bridge that once connected Britain with mainland Europe. It would take an eventual slow and long sea rise to remove this world, but.. something else happened. Something that changed the landscape in one instant. More devasting than we ever could image. Paul Whitewick examines how the 6,200 BC Storegga Slide tsunami dramatically altered the landscape of Doggerland. By analyzing geological cores and ancient artifacts, they explore how this catastrophic event fundamentally...

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...

It’s time again to dig up the story about Al Capone’s vault. Forty years ago this Tuesday (April 21), a live syndicated television special drew a record 30 million viewers with a tantalizing premise: Crews were going to blast their way into a mysterious sealed chamber in the basement of Al Capone’s onetime crime headquarters, the Lexington Hotel, in Chicago’s South Loop. Would they uncover riches? Bodies of Capone rivals? IRS agents and a medical examiner would be standing by. Prohibition-era gun discovered in walls of distillery linked to Al Capone Alas, the final moments of “The Mystery of Al...

Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf sent a direct warning to President Donald Trump Monday on X, saying that Iran will not accept negotiations with the U.S. while under threat. "Trump, by imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire, seeks, in his view, to turn the negotiating table into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering," he said. "We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threat, and over the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield," Ghalibaf added. Ghalibaf led the Iranian delegation in talks with Vice President J.D. Vance...

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced a resolution on Monday to expel Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) from the House of Representatives over allegations of domestic violence, sexual misconduct, stolen valor and profiteering from federal contracts as a member of Congress. Mills has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee since November, when an effort by Mace to censure the congressman failed, and the slew of allegations against the Florida Republican were referred to the panel. “The swamp has protected Cory Mills for far too long and we are done letting it slide,” Mace said in a statement. “We tried to...

WASHINGTON — Forget covering protests — some reporters think they should be the ones making the ruckus. A group of over 250 journalists implored members of the Beltway press corps to “forcefully demonstrate opposition” to President Trump at the ritzy White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday. Trump, 79, is set to attend the swanky dinner for the first time in his presidency. But the group of 250 reporters is demanding that the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) ensure he doesn’t feel welcome. “We believe the White House Correspondents Association should take stronger action by issuing — from the podium —...

We were newlyweds. We still walked around holding hands, even if we were just going to the store. I would say to him, "I love you." But I didn't know then how much. I had no idea… We lived in the dormitory of the fire station where he worked. There were three other young couples; we all shared a kitchen. On the ground floor they kept the trucks, the red fire trucks. That was his job. One night I heard a noise. I looked out the window. He saw me. "Close the window and go back to sleep. There's a...

According to a Phys.org report, Weronika Tomczyk of Dartmouth College and her colleagues examined more than 300 dog bones recovered from the site of El Castillo de Huarmey in northern Peru, where a royal tomb of the Wari Empire was uncovered. "Only some remains were found in undisturbed contexts, while most came from the fill disturbed by the looters' activity in the 1980s," Tomczyk said. She and her colleagues focused their study on mandibles or tibias in an effort to avoid sampling the same dog more than once, resulting in a group of at least 20 individuals of various ages,...

According to a Mexico News Daily report, 16 paintings and petroglyphs have been discovered on cliffs near the Tula River and the La Requena Dam, at central Mexico's El Venado site, which is named for the depictions of deer on rock faces there. Archaeologists from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History investigated the area prior to construction of a passenger train route. The oldest of the newly found artworks has been dated to 4,000 years ago, while the later images were made between about A.D. 900 and the arrival of the Spanish in the early sixteenth century. The rock...

Powerhouse attorney Lisa Bloom has claimed she has more evidence tied to a rape allegation against Eric Swalwell—and said more alleged victims have come forward to her. Bloom, who represents Lonna Drewes, spoke to Ashley Zavala on California Politics 360 where she discussed her client’s allegation that Swalwell drugged and raped her in 2018. Last week, Drewes stepped forward with her accusations against Swalwell during an emotional press conference. “I’m very proud to represent the brave Lonna Drewes,” Bloom said. Bloom said Drewes’ case has since been escalated to the special victims unit and the district attorney’s office. She emphasized...

One of the great strengths of Abraham Lincoln was his ability to take complicated concepts and boil them down into an easily digestible argument that even his most basic audience could understand. This was an invaluable resource for Lincoln whether addressing a jury or a gathering of potential voters and he used it frequently throughout his life. One of the best examples of this unique talent in his own handwriting comes to us from a document entitled “Pro-slavery Theology” here in the collections of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Undated, though likely written in October of 1858 during...

No, this isn’t fake news. No, the evidence wasn’t AI-generated. No, there are no exaggerations here. No, it’s not a translation issue. Yes, it really was Robert Francis Prevost (the one who now claims to be ‘Pope Leo XIV’). Yes, it really was the Andean earth goddess Pachamama (aka Gaia or Mother Earth). And no, there’s no misunderstanding here. John-Henry Westen of Life Site News just released a big article: “UNEARTHED: 1995 photo shows Pope Leo XIV participating in Pachamama ritual” Westen writes in a tagline: “Exclusive to LifeSiteNews, this explosive revelation will feature prominently in Fr. Charles Murr’s forthcoming...

Michigan is among states doubling down on rejecting Trump administration investigations and oversight into elections, claiming protection of the right to vote, potentially setting up a battle that could escalate to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Justice Department is demanding roughly 865,000 ballots and hundreds of thousands of related election records from the Detroit area’s 2024 election, threatening to seek a court order if the materials are not turned over within 14 days. In an April 14 letter to Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon asked for "all ballots (including absentee and provisional), ballot receipts,...