Free Republic

If you’ve ever wondered who would come out on top in a bird battle between a great blue heron and a red-tailed hawk (honestly, who hasn’t?), this short clip should put any doubts to rest. Mike Benard @BenardMF Bird battle today (watch to end): heron hunting gophers in field. Catches a gopher with a powerful strike. A hawk screams. Heron drops gopher, flies into air pooping and screaming. Hawk lands, steals gopher, flies away. #MerryChristmas #TeamBird Santa Cruz County, CA. 1,183 7:34 PM - Dec 21, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 328 people are talking about this Mike Benard,...

Dozens of scientists have endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) sweeping plan to combat global climate change after fellow Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden declared that “not a single solitary scientist thinks it can work.” The former vice president derided Sanders’ proposed $16.3 trillion Green New Deal during a campaign stop last week in New Hampshire, adding that “you can not get to zero emissions by 2030. It’s impossible.” Sanders swung back over the weekend, telling a crowd in Iowa that he would soon unveil “a long list of scientists” who back his plan. The Sanders campaign delivered on Tuesday, releasing...

Sad news for salad fans who enjoy the peppery bite of arugula over other lettuces: there's a national shortage. The shortfall is due to the "unexpectedly cold and wet winter weather facing growers throughout the Southwest," according to the New Food Economy. Those harsh conditions "paved the way for the spread of a fungal disease called downy mildew," which has made it difficult to produce healthy crops, the article further explained. The shortage has already been felt by shoppers, purveyors and and diners across the country. In New York, the fast casual Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava posted signs Monday saying...

SHOT 2020 is over and our numbers are improving, this time only 4/5ths of the team are sick! Between playing Frogger with people and their carts and being offered stickers and patches like they were going out of style, we found some awesome new products for 2020. It’s safe to say that SHOT 2020 had a lot more new stuff than in 2019 and while we each had a list of things we’re looking forward to, these are what made the top of the list! Oh…and some cringey stuff.

The Legend of Bigfoot has resurfaced in the news this week after the Washington State Department of Transportation posted two apparent sightings on social media. WSDOT East tweeted about a possible Sasquatch Sherman Pass sighting Wednesday afternoon. "Have you noticed something strange on our Sherman Pass/SR 20 webcam before?" WSDOT said. "If you look closely by the tree on the left there looks to be something... might be Sasquatch... We will leave that up to you!" The photos gained viral attention, with thousands retweeting, sharing and chiming in on what they thought it might be -- or just having plain...

Here is a story that shows progressive policies to be not only destructive, but also depressingly stupid. New York State recently passed a law requiring citizens to obtain a permit if they wish to gaze at the stars in public parks. No, really. You read that right. In New York, you must pay for a license to look at the freaking stars. The Free Thought Project first reported on the story, explaining that “If citizens of the state wish to look up at the sky and view the stars at one of New York’s public parks, they will first have...

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials confirmed at least six wolves were spotted in Moffat County, the northwestern most corner of the state. The pack was found about two miles from a trail of wolf tracks they discovered earlier this month. The discovery is notable: It's the first pack spotted in Colorado for nearly 100 years. Colorado Governor Jared Polis said he's honored to welcome the animals back to the state after "their long absence." "While lone wolves have visited our state periodically including last fall, this is very likely the first pack to call our state home since the 1930s,"...

The co-owners of DC Solar Solutions, Inc. plead guilty on Friday to charges associated with running a one billion dollar Ponzi scheme. Jeff and Paulette Carpoff (along with five others who have/will plead guilty) acknowledged that between 2011 and 2018 they sold investors mobile solar generator units (MSGs) that did not exist and manipulated documentation (think: financial statements, lease contracts) to make it appear as if the units had been leased out and were in use. New funds were used to pay the scam’s earliest investors and to make several sports related purchases including; NASCAR sponsorships, an independent league baseball...

An Australian runner found an unpleasant surprise while running on Monday near his home in New South Wales. Paul Roberts, 42, was doing run-walk intervals at Lake Macquarie State Conservation Park. when he saw what looked like a man-made pile of leaves along the trail. Though not heavily populated, the trail does get foot and bike traffic, which is why Roberts was shocked when he kicked off the top of the leaves and found wine corks with nails through them. These are similar to historic weapons known as caltrops. At first, Roberts said he didn’t think much of his initial...

ITHACA, N.Y.(WENY) - The City of Ithaca is now looking for a Director of Sustainability to help launch the city into a organizational transformation initiative. This position was created to help meet the goals of the city's Green New Deal. WENY News Spoke with Ithaca City Mayor, Svante Myrick, to find out what he is looking for. "So we're looking for somebody with a particular set of skills, somebody who understands both environmental justice, as well as racial and social justice. Somebody who is capable of leading a broad community conversation around those issues, and somebody who's willing to work...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly 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 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 the...

SNIP A road-tripping German woman was rescued from the treacherous Norwegian wilderness when she set up a Tinder account — and enlisted help from one of her matches, according to a report Friday. Lonia Haeger, a pro kite surfer and self-styled “adventurer,” was traveling through the remote Nordkapp region in a camper van with two friends when they became stranded on the side of a mountain by a deluge of freezing rain, according to Central European News. SNIP She soon learned emergency responders were too far away to help them quickly, so she set up the location-based dating app to...

Former US vice-president Al Gore has tried to mobilise the global elite to fight the climate crisis by comparing it to some of history’s greatest battles, from Agincourt to Dunkirk. Gore told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the scale of the climate emergency was much worse than people recognise, and getting worse much faster than people recognise. “The burden to act on the shoulders of the generation of the people alive today is a challenge to our moral imagination,” said Gore, during a session on protecting the Amazon and developing sustainable markets. “This is Thermopylae. This...

Amazing video shows one of China's most beautiful and reclusive birds, the Golden Pheasant. The birds were spotted foraging in central China's Ganshan National Forest Park. The brightly colored birds are native to forests in mountainous areas. They are a protected species in China, as their population numbers are decreasing. They were recently named, along with the white swan, as the city birds of Sanmenxia. Take a look at the video above to see the birds in action. Take a look at the video above to see the birds in action.

A structure not even big enough to be called a bridge on a road that supporters attending President Donald Trump’s Jan. 28 rally in Wildwood might use was closed by state Department of Transportation officials because it could collapse. **SNIP** State officials, however, said they had to close a less-than-a-mile portion of Route 47 “due to numerous sinkholes that have compromised the roadway,” including a three-foot sinkhole that developed this week, said Stephen Schapiro, a DOT spokesman. The DOT sent out press advisories on Jan. 17. Route 47 is a mostly two-lane state highway - also known as Delsea Drive...

More than 65,000 people gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada this week for the nation’s largest annual gun industry convention, SHOT Show 2020. Organized by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), SHOT Show brings together the world’s best in shooting sports, law enforcement, hunting, and armed forces to share their products and businesses, but more importantly, to shoot the globe’s latest and greatest firearms in the Nevada desert. With more than 2,000 exhibiting manufacturers and companies crammed into the 13-acre Sands Convention Center, it’s physically impossible for a single visitor to see everything. But after just two days of being tightly...

DAVOS, Switzerland - Youth climate delegates from around the world are taking part in a "collaborative protest" against the rich and powerful by camping in subzero temperatures at the World Economic Forum. The annual January get-together - which is often criticized for being out of touch with the real world - is set to welcome more than 3,000 participants this week, with those in attendance poised to focus on the intensifying climate crisis. **SNIP** "We are just trying to show them that we are doing the right thing despite the fact that we are not sleeping or staying in the...

Ian O’Reilly was walking with his wife and three kids on a trail near Judes Pond in Kensington around 11 a.m. when the wild animal jumped out of the woods and grabbed the 2-year-old child by the jacket, cops said. That’s when “the dad went into protection mode,” kicking the coyote before choking it, said Kensington Police Chief Scott Cain. The dad was bitten in the arm and chest and is being treated for rabies as a precaution. The animal didn’t break the toddler’s skin thanks to his heavy-duty snowsuit.

The World Economic Forum said on Monday, one day before the event kicks off in Davos, Switzerland, that: "The climate crisis is going to be one of the dominant themes this week." **SNIP** But as the world's financial elite, political leaders, and celebrities descend on the small town, the question is whether their transport choices can at all work with what the event - and many of those leaders - say they want to achieve for the planet. The World Economic Forum recorded more than 600 plane journeys that can be attributed to Davos in 2019 - a figure that...

To close out her 2019, Lupita Hernandez stopped after every mile to plant a small flag along Interstate-10 between Houston and San Antonio. Each pause in her 200-mile run was to honor a fellow veteran battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), something she has dealt with since she retired from the Marines in 2004. PTSD still affects her life each day, whether personally or in Hernandez’s work in the Veteran Treatment Court in Harris County, Texas. On average, 22 veterans commit suicide everyday, and that’s a statistic that is always on her mind. “I wanted to bring awareness to the stigma...