Free Republic

The space between stars just got a little sweeter. Astronomers have detected a type of sugar in space that's also found in raspberries and self-tanners. The sugar, called erythrulose, lurks in what's called the interstellar medium: thin clouds of gas and dust littered between stars. Sugar does more than sweeten tea and powder doughnuts. Different varieties fuel our cells and even make up DNA. Scientists are itching to know how sugars form because they're a key ingredient for life as we know it. Using two dish-shaped radio telescopes in Spain, researchers collected data from a large gas cloud near the...

President Donald Trump took back his 20% fee on all cargo transported through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, some twenty-four hours after first making the surprise announcement. In yet another yo-yo move of his tariff and trade policy, Trump claimed that he will replace the transit fee on the Strait with “trade and investment deals” for individual countries using the key energy hub. “Oil is flowing like never before, thanks to the awesome Power of the United States Military. A special salute to Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, and Commander...

Missouri-based AR-15 manufacturer CMMG put law enforcement on notice in states that ban guns, making clear the company will only sell to them if they make “public and written statements” refusing to enforce “unconstitutional restrictions.”

I haven't been here in a long time because something changed with the front resolution or whatever and now it's super tiny and even though I have my settings on maximum font and display there is no way to comfortably browse this site anymore but I miss it so I'm reaching out to find out if anything can be done.

Tennessee has the worst quality of life in the country, according to CNBC, which gave the Volunteer State an F for quality of life in its annual ranking of the best states for businesses. Why it matters: State leaders often pride themselves on making Tennessee as business-friendly as possible, but CNBC's closely watched rankings highlight some reasons businesses might stay away. How it works: Multiple variables were considered when scoring states on their quality of life, including crime rates, the availability of affordable child care and paid leave policies. CNBC also considered "inclusiveness in state laws, including protections against discrimination...

Just one of many JD Vance memes making the rounds. AI generated but pretty funny.

Updates from Iran

Roger Stone repostedVoices of WW2@VoicesofWW2·Jul 12On this day in 1944, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. died in his sleep in a stone farmhouse in Normandy. He was 56 years old, and he had spent almost his entire adult life trying to be worthy of a famous last name.He was the eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt. In the First World War he went to France and was gassed and badly wounded at Soissons leading his men. That same summer his younger brother Quentin, a pilot, was shot down and killed over France. Ted came home with lungs and a leg that never...

CNBC’s ranking of the 10 worst states to live in 2026—all of them Republican-led—has drawn criticism from conservatives. The broadcaster gave each state a Quality of Life score based on factors including crime rates, air quality, healthcare access, worker protections and civil rights laws. The Quality of Life category was one of 10 in the outlet’s annual America’s Top States for Business study. Tennessee was ranked the worst state to live in after receiving a score of just 64 out of 290. CNBC noted that Tennessee had one of the highest violent-crime rates in the nation, citing FBI statistics, as...

I clicked on my bookmark for Free Republic. The splash page came up. And then in dawned on me: Free Republic is 30 years old this year!

U.S. Navy reposted U.S. Central Command @CENTCOM·3h Yesterday, using multiple one-way attack surface drones, CENTCOM forces successfully struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Iran. Three Corsair unmanned surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base, marking the first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations. Last night’s strikes degraded Iran’s ability to continue attacking commercial shipping. July 13, 2026

Stand-up comedian Margaret Cho posted a video on her Instagram mocking the death of South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and expressing her hope that another prominent Republican will die next. The 57-year-old celeb said in the video, “Bye, Lindsey Graham … bye, Lindsey! From the closet to the coffin, real seamless,” referencing rumors that the senator was secretly gay. “Um, also, yeah Mitch McConnell,” she went on. “So, it’s Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham … it does happen in threes. Hope!” Cho is believed to be indicating that the third “death” would be President Trump. ... Even people who commented...

A naked man was arrested over the weekend in Portland, Oregon, after he attempted to kidnap a 7-year-old girl from her mother at a waterfront park, according to police. Shortly before 7 p.m. on Saturday, Portland Police received reports of a naked man running around Tom McCall Waterfront Park, with one of the callers saying the man had attempted to punch them in the head. But police said all officers were busy responding to other calls and were not available at the time. About 12 minutes later, another caller reported that the suspect had grabbed a young girl and attempted...

Again. And I think you nailed it. They are looking to find Platner wannabes, cookie cutters, rather than the Democratic establishment. The moderate stepping in and saying the leftward drift is going to take us nowhere. Good. The moderates in the party are stepping back because they're scared of the socialist wing. But this socialist wing is basically, as I say, they're cookie cutters, they're boring people. They're very boring. Most of them have never had jobs. They repeat Marxist and socialist clichés. They align themselves with racist Middle East Nazi movements. They sell the voters a con job because...

WASHINGTON – The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement confirming that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested and deported an illegal alien from Laos who had been pardoned by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and his fellow sanctuary politicians despite a prior conviction for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl. Tou Lue Vang, an illegal alien from Laos, had been convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct after he repeatedly assaulted a girl between 2002 and 2004, starting when she was just 10 years old. He once offered his victim $10 to keep...

During the heated exchange, Behar insisted she was simply focused on “winning” in what she called an “emergency” situation under President Donald Trump. There is something hilarious about women who spent years demonizing white men suddenly treating them as saviors and their only path to victory. Behar began by floating a list of white male candidates she believes could actually win, naming Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. She framed the suggestion as cold political reality, telling her co-hosts they needed to face facts after watching the country...

QUESTION: WHEN MUSLIM HORDES TAKE OVER ENTIRE THOROUGHFARES, IN CITIES LIKE CHICAGO, NYC, AND ELSEWHERE, CLOSING VEHICLE LANES, ETC., DO THEY FIRST OBTAIN PERMITS FROM POLICE AGENCIES, DOT, OR OTHERWISE ACCORDING TO LAW? OR DO THEY JUST TAKE OVER AND THE POLICE FIND A WAY TO COPE?

Tis the time to be silly!

U.S. — According to sources, the Democrat Party quietly revised their process for vetting prospective candidates by first asking them if they've ever raped anyone. Following the surprise implosion of would-be senator Graham Platner, Democrats reportedly added a new question to the typical questionnaire they give every prospective candidate: Have you ever raped anyone? "Forgetting to ask about the rape thing is really coming back to bite us," said Ken Martin, head of the Democratic National Committee. "It always catches us off guard. I really think adding a brief screening to see if potential candidates have committed felonious sexual assault...

Jasmine Crockett, the race-hustling Congresswoman who lost her Texas Senate bid to Democrat James Talarico, revealed the real reason she lost the race during a black culture festival over the weekend. At a panel discussion during the Essence Festival in New Orleans on the Fourth of July, Crockett appeared alongside Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10) and Louisiana State Senator Royce Duplessis. At one point, Crockett went off on her own party and "racist" Republicans for ignoring black people, saying, "I believe that we need to make demands." "It is not enough just to be that you're not the racist Republican but...