Free Republic

With shark sightings on the rise along much of the Northeast coast this summer, the New York Police Department (NYPD) is using drones to patrol city beaches, giving lifeguards an aerial view to spot sharks before they get too close to swimmers. The NYPD’s Technical Assistance Response Unit (TARU) uses drones for a wide range of public safety missions — from rescuing distressed swimmers and assisting search-and-rescue operations to monitoring crowded beaches and tracking sharks offshore. Working alongside lifeguards, officers in the specialized, high-tech unit patrol the skies above city beaches, providing a precautionary aerial line of defense against the...

Just wondering why more people are not noticing or pointing out the following: NAZI translates to National Socialist German Workers' Party. Seems a lot like Democrat Socialists of America.

Divided panel deepens nationwide circuit split and sets up another potential Supreme Court immigration showdown. The notoriously liberal Ninth Circuit handed the Trump administration a major setback Thursday, ruling 2–1 that illegal aliens apprehended inside the United States generally cannot be subjected to mandatory detention without access to a bond hearing while they fight deportation. In Rodriguez Vazquez v. Bostock, the divided panel affirmed a lower court ruling in favor of a class of illegal aliens detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. The majority, led by Trump-appointed Judge Daniel Bress and joined by Clinton-appointed Judge Margaret...

Todays Topic: Vlad the Impaler. If you go off point though, that's OK.

Most humanoid robots share a single design assumption: that the human body is the template worth copying. Two legs, two arms, upright posture. The logic is intuitive. Factories, vehicles, and buildings were built for people, so machines that fit through the same doors and operate the same tools should slot right in. But the human body is not optimized for dangerous work. Bipedal robots are inherently unstable, requiring constant active computation just to remain upright. Lose power on a two-legged system and it topples. Put one on uneven terrain and the control problem multiplies. The robotics industry has responded with...

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) made some of his first public comments this week about the ongoing scandal rocking the Republican Party in his state: the domestic violence allegations against Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) brought by his ex-wife, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH). Miller is in a tough reelection fight as Democrats in the state are calling for his resignation following allegations made in divorce documents from Emily Moreno, who accused Miller of physical and emotional abuse. Emily Moreno has accused Miller of having “scalded her chest and stomach by throwing hot water from a skillet at her...

President Donald Trump is back flying on the traditional blue-and-white Air Force One, while his plane gifted from the Qatari royal family is in the shop. It's easy to forget that two other planes are still on the way. Boeing announced in its Q2 financial statement on Tuesday that the Air Force One program will cost an additional $280 million. The program is now $3.1 billion over budget. Unlike the Qatari jet, Boeing is footing the bill for cost overruns, not the taxpayer. The first VC-25B was initially slated for delivery in 2024, the final year of Trump's second term...

The difference between liberals and conservatives. "Liberals want free stuff". "Conservatives want FREEDOM.

Democratic Wisconsin gubernatorial front-runner Francesca Hong is facing fresh scrutiny after a years-old social media post calling to “Abolish the Senate” resurfaced, even as her campaign now insists she never took that position. “Abolish the Senate,” Hong, a self-described socialist, wrote in February 2021 while replying to a post from human rights lawyer Qasim Rashid. The post remained live on X as of Wednesday afternoon. Despite the public post, a spokesperson for Hong’s campaign pushed back on the claim in comments to Fox News, arguing that Hong has never advocated eliminating the U.S. Senate. The dispute erupted after Republican Rep....

THE ORIGIN “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2” publication — which was used repeatedly by public health officials and the media to discredit the lab leak theory — was prompted by Dr. Fauci to push the preferred narrative that COVID-19 originated naturally. 1. The virus possesses a biological characteristic that is not found in nature. 2. Data shows that all COVID-19 cases stem from a single introduction into humans. This runs contrary to previous pandemics where there were multiple spillover events. 3. Wuhan is home to China’s foremost SARS research lab, which has a history of conducting gain-of-function research (gene altering...

We went undercover inside smoke shops and bodegas across New York City to answer a simple question: Would retailers accept taxpayer-funded EBT benefits to pay for alcohol or drugs? Store after store attempted to process EBT cards for kratom, a psychoactive substance that is not eligible for purchase with SNAP or EBT benefits. One clerk attempted to process the purchase as “EBT Cash.” Another processed it as “EBT Food”, treating kratom as if it were groceries. Federal law 7 CFR 278 and 7 U.S.C 2012 prohibits retailers from accepting SNAP or EBT benefits for non-food items, including drugs, alcohol, and...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Science has declined to answer any questions to avoid incriminating itself for crimes it may have committed. Upon being brought in for a Congressional hearing over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Science stated that it was advised by its attorneys to not answer questions so as to not to provide damaging witness against itself. "Science has elected to exercise its fifth amendment right to not provide testimony that may be used against it in criminal proceedings," said Science's attorney Jay Varner. "This decision should in no way be taken as an admission of guilt by Science....

The idea of the commencement speaker always seemed silly to me. They wait till the last moments of your education to bring in someone to inspire you. I would think it would be better to bring in someone on the FIRST day of school to get your head straight and on the path to success. What would you tell a student on the first day of school?

President Donald Trump raged to Fox News’s Trey Yingst about Tuesday night’s surprise attack by Iran on U.S. troops in Jordan, telling him “we are going to beat the ------- ---- out of them.” Yingst, Fox’s chief foreign correspondent, reported on Trump’s comments while joining Fox & Friends on Wednesday morning and noted that Trump added, “We’ll be hitting them hard.” “Yeah, guys, good morning. President Trump reacting to that Iranian attack on U.S. forces overnight in Jordan. President Trump tells Fox News about Iran: ‘We are going to beat the ------- ---- out of them.’ He went on to...

My moment of awakening, to the fact that the government lies to us and covers stuff up happened in the Flight 800 crash over Long Island Sound. It was July 17, 1996, and I took a Mental Health day from work. I was tuned to MSNBC. Back in those days, MSNBC had not yet become an asylum for the politically insane, and actually had decent coverage about Clinton's many foibles, to eventually cover his scandals and subsequent impeachment. Suddenly, Norah O'Donnell, who was working there at the time (and actually was a pretty decent journalist back then) cut into the...

The Democratic National Committee is a mess. They're so broke that they recently put their headquarters building up as collateral in order to get access to cash. States are openly threatening to defy their new primary schedule. The organization desperately needs new leadership. Enter longtime Democrat strategist James Carville. He recently named the person he wants to take over the DNC and his choice will blow your mind. It's David Hogg. Yes, really. The Hill reports: Carville: Hogg should take over ‘dysfunctional’ DNC Democratic political strategist James Carville on Sunday said David Hogg, former Democratic National Committee (DNC) vice chair,...

Conservative leader Keiko Fujimori was sworn in as Peru's president on Tuesday after winning the June presidential runoff by a margin of fewer than 50,000 votes, a victory that confirmed a regional shift in South America toward the conservative wing. With the ceremony, Fujimori, a four-time presidential candidate and leader of Peru's largest political party, officially takes office as the country's ninth president in a decade. The 51-year-old is hoping to stabilize Peru's turbulent politics, reduce crime and boost economic growth. ... Fujimori's Popular Force party and its main ally, Popular Renovation, will hold half the senate seats once the...

AUSTIN, TX — Over the course of a ninety-minute transaction, Elon Musk became the sole and absolute owner of The Economist. Though Musk had no reported prior interest in the aging magazine, Musk acquired total ownership of the company during a sit-down with The Economist's Zanny Beddoes. "Well, that didn't quite go as planned," sighed Beddoes, handing over her employee badge to Musk. "Here you go, Elon. I'll, uh, just see myself out." Musk, for his part, offered Beddoes the option to stay on with the company, on the condition that she do actual journalism. Beddoes made several loud screeching...

M y first car was a 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit. It was a hand-me-down from my mom, manual transmission. You never forget popping clutches, stalling left and right. The car was, let’s say, semi-end-of-life when I got it. It was a classic Volkswagen that, mechanically, ran forever. But it had roll-up windows and the handles had popped off. God knows where the real handles were. We had these vise grips I would use to roll down my window, then hand it to my high school buddies in the back so they could do the same. I’ve got 4,000 memories from inside...

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) hit ailing Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) with an ultimatum in his latest demand for transparency about the current state of his health. In a new letter sent to McConnell on Tuesday, Beshear’s ultimatum is simple: Speak up, or resign. The letter comes a day after McConnell’s office released a new proof-of-life photo of the senator alongside his wife, Elaine Chao, and a vague update. “It has now been 43 days since news of your hospitalization, ” Beshear writes. “During that time you have cast zero votes, engaged in no official activities, and aside from two...