Free Republic

You can’t spell “graduation” without “gator.” A graduating McNeese State University student is shocking the internet with a senior photoshoot with a 14-foot alligator named Big Al — including one shot where she’s planting a smooch right on the gator’s snout, her face mere inches from its wide-open jaws. The photo is nuts — but not quite as nuts as it might seem. Kat Daley, 22, who helps run Gator Country in Beaumont, Texas, with her fiancé Eddie said she wasn’t frightened during the shoot — and that it wasn’t her first time being face-to-face with an alligator. “I really...

AKRON, Ohio (WJW) – Two people are dead after a small aircraft crashed into an Akron residence on Thursday afternoon. VIDEOS AT LINK..... The crash happened in the 2200 block of Canterbury Circle around 3:45 p.m. Crews responded to reports of heavy black smoke coming from the building. “We got a call that residents saw a plane going down into the house. We got more calls that people heard explosions and we arrived to heavy smoke coming out of the house,” District Chief Sierjie Lash said. The Ohio State Highway Patrol confirmed that the two people aboard the aircraft died...

Shedding pounds while building strength can feel like a delicate balancing act. Forget high-intensity training sessions that leave you drained for days (despite a high calorie burn). There’s a smarter approach: rucking. Walking with a weighted backpack burns calories, builds muscle, and boosts endurance all at once, bridging the gap between cardio and strength training. Low-impact and easy to scale, it’s an ideal way for men to stay lean and strong as they age. Rucking has long been a pillar of military training, moving heavy loads efficiently to build both physical and mental endurance. But you don’t have to be...

Bordeaux-no! A Michigan woman was arrested and then rushed to the hospital after she stole a bottle of wine and hid it inside a “body cavity,” cops said. The 48-year-old was allegedly caught by shopkeepers drinking a bottle of alcohol in a Traverse City liquor store without paying for it, and returned the next day to nab a bottle of Chardonnay. Employees attempted to stop her, but were unable to find the pilfered tipple. That is, until police arrested her and found it stashed inside an unnamed bodily orifice at the jail, at which point she was brought to Munson...

Now, he's back to rethink fast food entirelyWill Young wasn’t even sure his order was possible. He’d heard rumors, of course, but as a kid who’d grown up on the internet of the 1990s, he knew that website whispers didn’t always translate to the real world. He and his buddies, out for a meandering night in Las Vegas, would just have to ask. So, around dinner time on Halloween night in 2004, Young’s laid-back group, including the late Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, stepped up to the counter of a Nevada In-N-Out to test their fate. Would it be possible,...

Another of his timeless hits entered the Hot 100 in May 1960.Sam Cooke made so many outstanding contributions to music history that it’s impossible to choose just one song that defines him. His smooth, lyrical and expressive voice adorned countless gems, from “You Send Me” to “Chain Gang,” “Only Sixteen” to “Cupid,” and of course the immortal “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Another of his all-time greats, “Wonderful World,” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 9, 1960. The song was written chiefly by A&M Records co-founder and hitmaker Herb Alpert with Lou Adler, but Cooke himself is credited...

The award-winning actress, who has long been an LGBTQ+ ally, returns to her iconic role of Miranda Priestly in the upcoming 'The Devil Wears Prada 2'. Acting royalty Meryl Streep is returning as sharp-tongued fashion editor Miranda Priestly in the upcoming The Devil Wears Prada 2, which hits cinemas worldwide next week. During the press tour for the sequel to the 2006 film, Streep commented on the popularity of The Devil Wears Prada with the LGBTQ+ community. “It makes me so happy! Would we have fashion without gay people?” she told Out magazine. “Forgive me, would we have anything? I...

Shocking video footage captured the moment when a small plane smashed into a residential building in Brazil. The airplane, which had four occupants, crashed into a building on Monday in ​the city ​of Belo Horizonte, southeastern Brazil. Watch below: VIDEOS AT LINK............ Reuters confirmed: The ⁠pilot and co-pilot died, while the ​remaining passengers ​were ⁠in serious condition, ​the fire ​department ⁠added. “A single-engine EMB-721C aircraft (1979 model) crashes into a building in a residential area in the Northeast region of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, where four people were being transported on 04 May; according to a initial information,” aviation news page...

The MONTHLY Victory Garden Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

Popular Ford feature that has always been free now costs $455 Remember when buying a car meant paying once, grabbing the keys, and driving off into the sunset? That era may be fading fast. Automakers are quietly transforming the way drivers pay for their vehicles - and your next car could come with a growing list of monthly charges long after you've left General Motors is leading the charge, betting that subscriptions for features like navigation, safety systems, and hands-free driving will soon become a major profit engine - potentially generating billions of dollars a year and, in some cases,...

We all know that pop culture in the '70s and '80s was a little less... supervised. Kind of like our time outside. I mean, "It's 11 o'clock... do you know where your children are?" So with little parental controls, no "technology" filters, and if you think about it, very little stuff made exclusively for kids, if it was on TV or playing at the movies, you probably saw it. And this is exactly what makes this aspect of nostalgia so fun, and even surprising. When you revisit the things we loved as kids, you start to realize just how eyebrow-raising...

A pastor who runs a ministry in a rumored swingers community for Florida seniors — and ironically wrote a book on how to love your spouse — was arrested Wednesday following allegations that he married multiple women. Leslie Williams, 62, was taken into custody at the sprawling retirement center, The Villages, on an outstanding warrant out of Georgia tied to a bigamy charge, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office in Florida. He is currently being held without bond due to his status as an out-of-state fugitive, with legal holds stemming from Rockdale County, Georgia. "Florida marriage records were obtained...

'Silent assassin Residents in Ontario, Canada, are warned to watch out for the toxic hammerhead worm, a non-native species .. According to the Hamilton Conservation Authority, hammerhead worms are a toxic, non-native species that first appeared in Ontario in 2017. They are believed to have arrived in North America via the introduction of plants from Southeast Asia.The term hammerhead worm encompasses various species of flatworms, also known as shovel-headed garden worms, which is a fitting description of their shape. They can grow between 5 and 10 centimeters in length and may exhibit multiple colors.They are also toxic, releasing a neurotoxin...

A hot air balloon slammed into a Sacramento-area casino building Monday afternoon and stayed in the air after the chaotic tumble. Sister station KCRA's LiveCopter 3 captured the moment the balloon slammed into a building as Sky River Casino was celebrating a groundbreaking for a new hotel. The video showed the basket of the balloon hit the side of the building, at one point reaching a 90-degree angle, while there was someone still inside the basket. The balloon kept going, attempting to descend for a landing, then aborting the effort and climbing back into the sky. LiveCopter 3 observed the...

The annual festival of Songkran usually signifies a dazzling week-long celebration — but this year’s death toll paints a picture that’s anything but. While the Thai holiday is globally famous for being the “world’s largest water fight,” the reality on the ground is a horrific cycle of road accidents, drunk driving and reckless behavior. In the first three days of Songkran this year, more than 191 deaths have been recorded with 951 accidents and 911 injuries. According to the Road Accident Victims Protection Company, an average of 38 road deaths per day occur throughout the calendar year, indicating a large...

I tried to post this and it seems to have disappeared for no reason, nothing about it being deleted, etc., so, I'll try again! Here’s the mystery: I have tried asking web searches (Brave and Google) to identify a one piece fiberglass fishing rod I picked up at a yard sale a couple years ago. The model appears to be “151C”, followed by “5” and then illegible (likely refers to the rod’s length of 5’ 4-1/2”), then the brand (I assume) is “L” “illegible”, a tall letter, possibly a “d”, then(I think) an “e”, then “ll” (lower case “LL”), then...

A retired matador was killed by a bull on Friday as he prepared the animals for a bullfight at an arena in Málaga, in southern Spain, organizers said. Ricardo Ortiz was handling the bulls in their enclosures at La Malagueta, a historic bullring in Málaga, when one of the animals gored him, according to Lances de Futuro, the company organizing the bullfight. “We want to convey our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased, a much loved and respected person in the bullfighting world,” the company statement said. Ortiz’s death came a day before a Picasso-themed...

The MONTHLY Victory Garden Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

A woman detained by police in Michigan, USA, pulled off a Houdini-like escape, slipping out of a patrol car and vanishing from custody in an incident captured on video that has since spread widely online. The escape took place in Muskegon County, authorities said. Arrest during a routine check During a routine check police officers from the Muskegon Heights Police Department approached a vehicle parked outside an abandoned business at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Officers were initially unable to identify the woman, but a fingerprint scan confirmed her identity and revealed an active warrant for a parole violation. They arrested...

Learn about Pysanky - Amazing Ukrainian Eggs in this tutorial video. Hi I'm Donna Wolfe from Naztazia. I come from a family with Ukrainian heritage. Creating pysanky every spring is a part of our culture and traditional. This egg art from Ukraine goes back many generations. Beeswax, dyes, and a wax tool called a kistka are used to make these eggs. Watch as I show how to create a pysanka in this video!PYSANKY - Ukrainian Easter Egg Art [video]