Free Republic

Finally, some good news for people who love protein powder.Key Points: -Consumer Reports released new findings after testing five reader-requested chocolate protein powders for lead and other heavy metals. -The nonprofit organization previously revealed in late 2025 that it had found surprisingly high levels of lead in the majority of 23 protein powders that it tested. -This time, Consumer Reports revealed that the protein powders it analyzed most recently contained acceptable levels of lead per serving, pointing to inconsistency across the industry. Consumer Reports made major waves in October when it revealed the results of its investigation into 23 protein...

Financed by JPMorgan, Jointly Owned by US DoD Under the plan, the U.S. Department of Defense will hold a 40% stake in the JPM Financed smelter joint-venture. GFN – WASHINGTON: Korea Zinc plans a $7.4 billion investment to construct a large-scale non-ferrous metals smelter in Clarksville, Tennessee, a project U.S. officials say will materially expand domestic critical minerals processing capacity and strengthen supply chain security.1 The project, known as the “U.S. Smelter,” is expected to require approximately $6.6 billion in capital expenditures, with total investment reaching $7.4 billion including financing costs. It is being developed in coordination with the U.S....

Certain brands of imported cookware are likely to leach “significant levels” of lead into food, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration said in a consumer warning Friday. Officials tested a number of cookware products made from aluminum, brass and aluminum alloys known as “Hindalium” and “Indalium” and determined that they may release lead into food during the cooking process, the FDA said. No level of lead is safe for human ingestion. Young children, women of childbearing age and mothers who are breastfeeding face the highest health risks in eating food tainted with the toxic metal, officials said. The FDA said...

It’s no secret that kids (and some of us adults) love fruit juice. Many of us grew up drinking fruit juice, and parents often think 100% fruit juice is healthy. But is it really? UC Davis Health pediatricians Lena Rothstein and Dean Blumberg tackled this juicy topic in their podcast Kids Considered: We often like the taste of fruit juice because it’s a sweet drink. But it’s no secret that sweet often means more sugar, even if it’s natural sugar. Think about whole fruits that are sweeter – they have more natural sugars that make them taste sweet. Same goes...

Come July, common keys for houses, cars, boats, and motorcycles will be illegal in Minnesota, save for uncertain intervention from the state Legislature. That's when the state's ban on the manufacture, sale, or import of keys, toys, dishes, and other common items containing more than a tiny percentage of lead or cadmium goes into effect. The purpose of that law was to remove dangerous heavy metals from products that come into contact with children. The trouble is that almost all keys sold today have more lead than the new law's 0.09 percent limit on lead content. Locksmiths have been warning...

Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is surging, cutting ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s frontrunner status in the Democratic primary to just a single digit lead, according to a new poll released Wednesday. The latest PIX 11/ Emerson College poll has the Queens state Assemblyman holding his own with Cuomo for 10 rounds of ranked-choice voting before being eliminated with a nine-point spread, 54.4% to 45.6%. But with less than a month to the June 24 Democratic mayoral primary, only a small fraction of voters appear to be up for grabs, with 3.5% of voters still undecided, according to the survey conducted...

Scientists at CERN have turned lead into gold during high-speed experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), achieving a phenomenon once confined to ancient legend. The findings, published by the ALICE collaboration in Physical Review Journals, confirm that gold atoms can form under extreme conditions created during heavy-ion collisions at the LHC. While the transformation is temporary and cannot be harnessed for practical use, it marks a major scientific milestone. For centuries, alchemists have attempted to turn common metals into gold. This concept, once dismissed as pseudoscience, has now gained experimental footing. Researchers achieved the result by accelerating lead nuclei...

A poll suggests that if Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) were to enter the race to be the next governor of New York, she would not only have a commanding lead in the Republican primary, but she would also close in on defeating Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY). The GrayHouse poll conducted between April 22-24, 2025, which surveyed 826 registered voters in New York, found that if the next Republican primary for governor of New York were held today, 44 percent of voters would support Stefanik, while seven percent would support Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY). Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman received five...

President Donald Trump told Time magazine in an interview published Friday that he will “very willingly” lead the U.S. into attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities if the regime does not make a deal to stop its program. Trump was, as usual, bullish about the prospects of making a deal and avoiding war, especially given the economic pressure he has restored on the regime. He added that he had not stopped Israel from attacking Iran on its own, but had not made it “comfortable” for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make that choice. Asked if Netanyahu would “drag” the U.S. into...

President Trump has appointed Fox News host Mark Levin and a host of others to lead his “revamped” Homeland Security Advisory Council. “I am proud to announce the formation of my revamped Homeland Security Advisory Council [HSAC], which is comprised of Top Experts in their field, who are highly respected by their peers,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Thursday. Levin, who is the host of Fox News’ “Life, Liberty & Levin”, will be joined by ex-NYPD detective Bo Dietl, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and Florida state Sen. Joseph Gruters. “It is a big honor to serve on...

Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo would prevail over socialist Zohran Mamdani in a ranked-choice voting Democratic primary for mayor, according to a new poll released Tuesday. Cuomo led Mamdani 34% to 16% when voters were asked about their first choice even as Mamdani chipped away at Cuomo’s dominance in early polling, the Siena College/AARP survey of 556 registered city Democrats found. Three other candidates in the crowded primary each got 6% support — city Comptroller Brad Lander, his predecessor Scott Stringer and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. State Sens. Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos received 4% apiece, according to the survey.

Scientists have discovered that lead-208, once thought to be spherical, is actually elongated. This challenges nuclear theory and sparks fresh questions about atomic structure and stability. Credit: SciTechDaily.com ==================================================================================== For decades, scientists believed that lead-208, a “doubly magic” and highly stable atomic nucleus, was perfectly spherical. However, groundbreaking new research has shattered this assumption, revealing that its nucleus is actually elongated, much like a rugby ball. By using an advanced gamma-ray spectrometer and high-speed particle collisions, researchers uncovered unexpected quantum behavior that contradicts long-standing nuclear theory. This revelation forces physicists to rethink fundamental principles of nuclear structure, potentially reshaping our...

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he believes someone other than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should lead his nation. Host Kristen Welker said, “Welker said, “Senator Lindsey Graham on Friday floated that President Volodymyr Zelensky may need to resign in order for there to be a peace agreement. Do you agree with that statement?” He added, “Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that,” I mean, it’s up to the Ukrainians to figure that...

In what must surely rank as a triumph of hope over experience, former Vice President Kamala Harris leads the Democratic field of contenders for governor of California if she entered the Golden State’s 2026 race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), polling shows. The Hill reports the failed 2024 White House contender snagged support for a hypothetical gubernatorial bid from nearly six in ten Democratic primary voters in California, 57 percent, according to a survey from Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics/The Hill. Former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), who left the House to mount an unsuccessful Senate bid last year, came...

It was one of the most technologically advanced empires in history...But the Romans may have been battling with cognitive decline due to pollution, according to a study...Researchers suggest that widespread lead pollution - caused by mining - lowered the IQ of essentially the entire European population at the time.

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday nominated former third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy to lead the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department. Trump announced in a written statement on social media: I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health. The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big...

The Republican brand is benefitting from a late surge on the generic congressional ballot. The GOP had been behind all summer, sometimes by as much as two points. Ten days ago, however, the Republican Party began to climb in the RealClearPolitics average poll of generic ballot polls. Today, the GOP leads by nearly a full point, 47.6 to 46.7 percent. This is no fluke, meaning it is not based on one outlier poll that can skew the entire field. Of the seven most recent polls, Republicans have led in five and two are tied. That shows real movement in the...

“You can’t lead America if you don’t love the American People,” former President Donald Trump responded in the uproar after President Joe Biden described millions of Republican supporters as “garbage.” Trump tweeted his response shortly after midnight: Trump tweeted his response shortly after midnight: While I am running a campaign of positive solutions to save America, Kamala Harris is running a campaign of hate. She has spent all week comparing her political opponents to the most evil mass murderers in history. Now, on top of everything, Joe Biden calls our supporters “garbage.” You can’t lead America if you don’t love...

The final Insider Advantage poll out of Wisconsin shows both Donald Trump and Republican U.S. Senate challenger Eric Hovde with a slim lead. The pollster surveyed 800 likely voters on October 26-27 and found former President Trump leading sitting Vice President Kamala Harris 49 to 48 percent. In the U.S. Senate Race, Hovde leads incumbent Democrat Tammy Baldwin by the exact same level of support and margin: 49 to 48 percent.

As the presidential election reaches its final days, Donald Trump maintains a wide lead over Kamala Harris on the key issues of the economy and inflation. Efforts by Harris and Democrats to cut into Trump’s advantage on the economy have largely failed, new polling from ABC News and Ipsos indicates. Forty-five percent of registered voters say they trust Trump more on the economy, including 33 percent who say they strongly trust Trump more. Just 37 percent say they trust Harris more, with only 21 percent saying they strongly trust Harris.