Free Republic

According to a statement released by the University of South Florida, a mass grave containing the remains of victims of the Plague of Justinian (A.D. 541–750) has been identified at the site of Jerash in northern Jordan by a team of researchers led by Rays H.Y. Jiang of the University of South Florida. Hundreds of people were buried within several days in this mass grave dug in the city's hippodrome. "By linking biological evidence from the bodies to the archaeological setting, we can see how disease affected real people within their social and environmental context," Jiang said. Examination of the...

The X-59 soared over California’s Mojave desert as it prepares for quiet supersonic flight. NASA’s X-59 performs a bank-to-bank auto roll maneuver during a test flight over California’s Mojave desert. NASA / Lori Losey NASA pilots recently put the X-59 supersonic aircraft through the wringer—performing roller-coaster-style climbs and descents, among other actions, as part of its ongoing test campaign. The space agency released a video of its experimental aircraft performing a series of maneuvers as it soared over California’s Mojave desert. The X-59, built by aerospace contractor Lockheed Martin, is designed to break the sound barrier without the explosive, thunder-like...

The Columbia-class submarine program encountered early setbacks. The United States Navy’s effort to build its newest class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines is now expected to reach a key milestone in 2028, according to General Dynamics. The lead vessel, currently under construction, has faced schedule adjustments but is showing signs of steady progress as production challenges are gradually resolved. First submarine was planned for delivery earlier Reports revealed that the first submarine in this class was initially planned for delivery earlier, but complications during construction led to a revised target. Issues involving the supply of critical components, along with delays...

According to a statement released by the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, an international team of researchers compared models for the distribution of three major mosquito complexes, paleoclimate models, and places where early humans lived in sub-Saharan Africa between 5,000 and 74,000 years ago. The resulting map indicates that people avoided or died out in areas where Plasmodium falciparum-induced malaria, a disease transmitted by mosquitoes, was likely prevalent. "The effects of these choices shaped human demography for the last 74,000 years, and likely much earlier," said Andrea Manica of the University of Cambridge. "By fragmenting human societies across the landscape,...

According to a statement released by Antiquity, analysis of skeletal remains recovered from a seventeenth-century hospital cemetery in Basel, Switzerland, suggests that young laborers were the people most likely to die during an outbreak of plague. As a trade center that drew people in from abroad, the city of Basel was vulnerable to the spread of Yersinia pestis bacteria and outbreaks of plague. The last recorded outbreak of the disease in Basel occurred between 1665 and 1670. Researchers led by osteoarchaeologist Laura Rindlisbacher of the University of Basel examined skeletal remains recovered from the hospital cemetery dated to this period,...

According to a statement released by the University of Copenhagen, analysis of the remains of 132 individuals unearthed near a megalithic tomb in northern France suggests that the site was initially used by one group of people, but that population declined around 3000 B.C. and was eventually replaced by another group. "We see a clear genetic break between the two periods," said Frederik Valeur Seersholm of the University of Copenhagen. Genetic testing revealed that the earlier group was composed of early farmers from northern France and Germany, while the later group was linked to people in southern France and the...

Horrors! The latest atrocity in Gaza, reports Al Jazeera, is a wave of “luxurious” cafes and restaurants that have sprung up, “revealing a new genocidal reality.” That’s right: Israel-haters have yet another new definition of “genocide,” wherein “fancy” restaurants “built with expensive materials, carefully painted, furnished with tables, sofas, and elegant chairs, with glass facades and shining lights,” giving off a “luxury feel” are fresh proof of the “genocidal abnormality” that Israel has inflicted on the people of Gaza. It’s genocidal, you see, because not everyone in Gaza can afford to go there: “The expensive new establishments reflect the deeply...

Live Science reports that Joachim Burger of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and his colleagues examined more than 250 sets of human remains of people who lived in what is now southern Germany, on what was the frontier of the Roman Empire, between A.D. 400 and 700. The researchers analyzed DNA samples from the bones, performed strontium isotope analysis to look for chemical signatures in the bones, and compared the results of the tests with 2,500 ancient and 379 modern genomes. The study suggests that many people engaged in monogamy, and nearly one-quarter of the children lost at least one parent...

Pervy ex-congressman Eric Swalwell sent nude photos and videos of himself masturbating through Snapchat — all while he was married — as lurid details of his alleged creepy conduct continue to spill out. Swalwell, who was once crowned the “Snapchat King of Congress,” regularly slid into women’s DMs and shared unsolicited nudes with several — exchanges that initially seemed innocent but quickly veered into explicit territory. Swalwell’s attempted sexual conquests even included a 19-year-old waitress in Los Angeles who was “stunned” to receive a LinkedIn message from the powerful Democratic lawmakers, according to CNN. Another young congressional staffer said Swalwell...

They could have done more with the premise.

A cargo ship was struck by multiple small craft while sailing near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, UK military officials said. The ship, which was not immediately identified, was hit right off the coast of Sirik, Iran, just east of the strait, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre. All crew members were reported safe, with no group immediately claiming responsibility for the attack. Iran’s military, however, has repeatedly warned any ship that tries to navigate the strait would be attacked unless they pay a toll and prove they are not affiliated with the US...

I still remember fondly the time I got an A- on my 8th grade earth science paper. It was one of my proudest moments as a student. Meanwhile, as MIT boasts, some folks are, well, a bit beyond that. Physics is riddled with paradoxes: Think of how information leaks from supposedly inescapable black holes or how the conventional laws of physics break down at the quantum scale. Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski '13 believes that within these apparent contradictions, new discoveries await. Ah yes, "how the conventional laws of physics break down at the quantum scale." I think about that often! Well,...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s June 2 primary election is approaching, with ballots set to begin arriving for registered voters Monday. In the weeks leading up to Election Day, voters will receive four key pieces of mail: a state voter information guide, a county voter information guide, a sample ballot and an official ballot. “Democracy is a messy business, and it can take some work,” political analyst Steve Swatt said. “And it’s incumbent on us as voters to do our homework.” At the top of the ticket is the race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, a contest that analysts say remains...

Archaeologists in Egypt recently uncovered a massive statue believed to depict King Ramses II, the pharoah believed to be a major character in the Old Testament. The statue was found at the Tel Pharaoh site in Husseiniya Center, Sharqia Governorate, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said on April 22. The site is in Egypt's Nile Delta, northeast of Cairo. Officials also described the statue as "remarkable" in size, weighing between 5 and 6 tons and measuring over 7 feet long. In a translated statement, the ministry described the statue as being in a "relatively poor condition of preservation,"...

Compilation of television appearances by Orange Man Great.

The Times of India reports that researchers led by epigrapher K. Muniratnam Reddy from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have decoded a Sanskrit inscription written in Brahmi characters on a seal discovered in what is now Pakistan. The translation reads, "Devadaruvane Svami Kotesvarah," indicating that the fifth-century a.d. seal belonged to a temple dedicated to Shiva, a principal Hindu deity. Reddy and his colleagues explained that the inscription refers to a pivotal story about Shiva set in the Devandaru forest that is recorded in a sacred text called the Skanda Purana. The seal is thought to be the oldest...

“Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar’s name appears at least six times in recently resurfaced court documents from the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud case, fueling speculation about whether the Minnesota socialist had a hand in the widespread scam in her district. The documents were part of the 2025 federal trial of Aimee Bock, the founder of the Feeding our Future nonprofit who was convicted of wire fraud, conspiracy, and bribery for masterminding the scheme that falsely claimed to serve millions of meals to children while pocketing federal funds through bogus food sites and shell companies. Bock is in custody awaiting...

Rattled supporters of Jimmy Kimmel are planning to roll out billboards near his network’s corporate headquarters after President Trump demanded that ABC ax the late-night host over his “hateful” joke aimed at the president and first lady. Lefty advocacy group MoveOn is targeting Disney and ABC offices in the Los Angeles area with the mobile billboards, urging new Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro to “protect free speech” and “stand firm against FCC Censorship.” MoveOn said the billboards will “circulate around Disney Headquarters, Disney-ABC Television Group, ABC 7, and Disney’s corporate office in Burbank, CA,” WDWNT reported. The campaign comes after Trump...

Dirty Harry was released near the end of 1971 and became an immediate hit, and just as immediately began a feud between its star, Clint Eastwood, and Pauline Kael, one of the most influential movie critics in America. In her review, published in the New Yorker on January 15, 1972, and titled "Dirty Harry: Saint Cop", Kael called the film "a kind of hardhat The Fountainhead" and "an almost perfect piece of propaganda for para-legal police power." "When you're making a picture with Clint Eastwood, you naturally want things to be simple, and the basic contest between good and evil...

Take a look back at Secretariat earning the first jewel of his Triple Crown run with a still-standing track record time of his historic Kentucky Derby win. https://youtu.be/LV4drumXbA4?si=WYW54bcTugE92Xqs