Free Republic

The Romans may have loved their pets just as much as we do, yet with no internet on which to upload photos of their furry companions, the ancients had to make do with mosaic portraits of their beloved animals laid into their villa floors. An extraordinary example of one such pet-themed artwork has recently been discovered in what was an affluent household in Adramytteion, located beneath the modern settlement of Ören in Türkiye. Dated to the late second or early third century CE, the Roman-era residence consists of three mosaic-paved halls set around a central atrium. Within the north hall...

Energy groups are pushing Gov. Kathy Hochul to restart Indian Point’s dormant nuclear reactors as part of a new ad blitz for “Climate Week.” The Democratic governor’s face will appear on a billboard on a truck alongside the message “open up Indian Point, or the heat goes out and the light goes out.” Westchester County’s Indian Point was closed in 2021 under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo after years of pressure from anti-nuke activists and politicians who worried that its location just 40 miles out of Midtown would mean disaster in the case of a meltdown. But Hochul is leading an...

A Georgia city’s youngest-ever mayor lashed out at officials as he broke his silence after being ousted from his role in light of the sexting and spending scandals that had recently engulfed him. Jayden Williams – who served as mayor of Stockbridge for 10 months before being impeached — was removed from office earlier this month after being found to have sent suggestive messages to an 18-year-old male high school student on his mentoring scheme as well as spending $4,000 on a city credit card. Some of the expenses Williams, 23, racked up included a $200 purchase at an Academy...

The tomb in which Tutankhamun's mummy was discovered in 1922 may originally have been built for a different ruler, before being adapted to house the remains of the Boy King following his untimely death... in 2015 British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves proposed that she may be lurking in a concealed room beyond the walls of Tut's tomb... Previously, a number of experts -- including Howard Carter, who first uncovered KV 62 -- had noted that it seems rather small for a royal burial chamber. Reeves then pointed out that the structure is a "left-turning monument", and therefore conforms to the architectural...

WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance will make an announcement on Obamacare fraud Tuesday morning at the White House, The Post has learned — after launching crackdowns that restricted funding for other federal healthcare programs. Vance has focused heavily on alleged theft of taxpayer money in multibillion-dollar medical programs in his role as Trump’s fraud czar — generally coupling allegations with action to block the distribution of funds deemed at-risk for misappropriation. The announcement comes as the Trump administration turns up the heat on President Barack Obama’s namesake health insurance overhaul, with President Trump vowing earlier this month to “stop...

President Trump unveiled his new granite helipad on Monday, but none of the major TV networks carried the event as tensions between the media and the White House escalated. Trump used a pair of golden scissors to cut the red, white and blue ribbon on the project he dubbed “a work of art” while surrounded by construction workers who built the White House pad, which features the seal of the United States and is estimated to cost $6 million. The White House aired the event on its social media channels, but Marine One, sitting on the helipad behind the president...

Wealthy Chinese couples are implanting their embryos into American women so their children can be born as US citizens, The Post has learned. The service is provided by a surrogacy agency, Patriot Conceptions, which operates between China and the US and has been accused of hiding details of who the biological parents are from surrogates. Women who carry babies for the agency are recruited informally through social media and collect between $60,000 and $120,000 dollars for their services. The children are then swept off by their parents to be raised in China, where it is seen as a status symbol...

Solomon’s Stables is an underground structure located beneath the southeastern corner of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Despite its traditional name, there is no historical or archaeological evidence linking it directly to King Solomon (reigned circa 970–931 BCE). The name originates from medieval Crusader traditions, as they believed the vast underground halls were once used to house the horses of King Solomon. The structure consists of a series of vaulted halls supported by massive stone pillars, showcasing a sophisticated architectural style that dates back to the Herodian period (circa 37 BCE–70 CE). The stables were historically part of the Temple...

A load of copper worth nearly $600,000 was recovered on Sept. 11 after investigators followed a trail from Illinois to Kentucky and Ohio, wrapping up the initial search only about eight hours after the theft was reported, according to Yahoo News. The case began when a shipment scheduled to travel from DeKalb, Illinois, to Rock Hill, South Carolina, never made it toward its intended destination. Authorities believe whoever collected the freight had presented themselves as an established trucking company, using genuine business information to make the pickup appear legitimate. The breakthrough came from location data tied to Schneider National equipment...

One of my favorite stock market phenomena happens every four years, and it’s scheduled once again for this fall: midterm elections and the gridlock – sweet gridlock – that can spark a nice bull run afterwards. Yes, the congressional midterms routinely create an increasingly gridlocked legislature that accomplishes relatively little. This may not be welcome for whoever’s running Washington, but historically, it has proven to spark the most consistently positive nine-month cycle for US and foreign stocks. It all starts in October, so don’t let all of the noise over inflation, oil and war distract you from missing out on...

High-rolling Brooklyn Democratic Party bigwigs raked in nearly $200,000 in campaign donations from judges and judicial candidates in a move critics called a pay-to-play “shakedown” in exchange for nominations. Former Brooklyn party chairman Frank Seddio, current chair Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn and their allies have collected $190,000 in contributions and payments from more than 90 judges and judicial candidates since 2012, when Seddio took control of the local committee, according to records. Insiders claim sitting judges have bypassed rules that are supposed to keep them outside of the partisan campaign process, while others said candidates are pressured to attend party events and...

Maine Senate hopeful Troy Jackson is seeking to downplay his ties to the far left, rejecting the socialist moniker despite previously receiving the backing of radical streamer Hasan Piker and the Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. “I don’t really consider myself anything. I’m upset a lot at the Democratic Party. What I know is I fight for working-class people,” Jackson told CNN’s Manu Raju when asked if he sees himself as a socialist. Jackson quickly emerged as the grassroots’ favorite pick to replace scandal-scarred oyster farmer Graham Platner, who dropped his bid after facing a rape accusation...

Former Trump staffer Michael Caputo endured a decade of lawfare that he says forced him out of his home and gave him cancer from all the stress. But just when he thought the Russiagate nightmare was over, he was slapped in the face this month with a lawsuit cooked up by a former DOJ lawyer from the “national security” unit that hounded him and other Trump associates over alleged foreign agent violations without laying a single charge. It’s a simple $100,000 contract dispute case, but Jack Korba, formerly a prosecutor in the small national security section of the District of...

Is hijab really forced on Iranian women? Is it oppression, or liberation? In this video, I break down the history of covering in Iran—from pre-Islamic Persia to Reza Shah’s forced unveiling, including the Goharshad Mosque massacre, to the democratic process that restored hijab after the 1979 revolution. I also compare the psychological effects of hijab versus Western beauty standards, and I address Western women directly with a question that might change their perspective. If you want to understand the real story behind hijab, this video is for you.

Under the watch of interim manager Chad Tracy, the Red Sox secured a 2026 MLB playoff berth. At 85-72, they're on track to finish in one of the American League's three wild-card positions.

While digging in their backyard, an accidental archaeologist in Denmark unearthed 18.5 kilograms (40.7 pounds) of silver treasure. The chance discovery is the largest known silver hoard from the Viking Age in the country and could prove invaluable in understanding this chapter of history. The treasure trove consists of 700 silver objects, including silver bars, bracelets, dozens of coins, a small Thor's hammer, and various cut objects. These kinds of silver artifacts were often used as a means of payment and a store of value... Around 320 of the objects were found within the original clay vessel, while the rest...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was spotted rubbing elbows with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars in Malibu Friday night as the drama over Paramount’s merger battle dragged on. Newsom was seen leaving the hot spot restaurant Nobu along along with actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Tobey Maguire. De Niro co-owns the iconic Japanese spot, where the actors sat down for dinner with the governor, according to TMZ. De Niro has been one of President Trump’s fiercest celebrity critics, urging Americans to “resist, resist, resist” during a podcast interview in February. He has also praised Newsom for his confrontational approach...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against 16 people in multiple states in connection with alleged illegal voting, voter registration and other election-related crimes, including cases involving noncitizens accused of casting ballots in federal elections. DOJ followed the announcement with a warning on social media, saying some of those charged allegedly voted in the 2022 and 2024 elections, and warning others against attempting to illegally participate in US elections. “Let this be a warning to ANYONE trying to cheat and undermine our elections,” the DOJ wrote. “Spread the word!” According to DOJ, eight non-citizens residing in Texas were charged,...

It’s not the end of the world and they know it. Anthropic has helped seed a growing AI panic in Congress through an aggressive influence campaign, as the company and its rivals pour tens of millions into a spending war that’s just getting started — and some lawmakers say it’s a disguised power grab using safety concerns to freeze out the competition. The company, which is pushing Congress to impose new regulatory “guardrails” on the AI industry, has poured $40 million through two donations to the super PAC Public First Action, with a $20 million check arriving in late July....

The end of World War Two didn't mean the end of movies about the war. Far from it – the next decade or so would see what began as propaganda films transform into their own subgenre. First of all, though, American audiences – which included returning veterans – had to find a way to deal with the return to civilian life and peacetime. They had a film like The Best Years of Our Lives to cloak the immediate challenges with the appropriate amount of grit and optimism (along with lesser-known pictures like Edward Dmytryk's Till the End of Time, also...