Free Republic

The new film suggests that collectivism works well enough until capitalism gets its hands on it. Viewers reacting to the trailer on social media noticed this immediately, with one post summarizing the film’s apparent message with withering accuracy: “It’s 2025. And Animal Farm is a movie about communism working, and being ruined by capitalism.”

A female wolf (black, and very beautiful) brings, and drops off, her cub to the door of a human, which baffles the owner of the house.. until a bit later, she runs to the porch with a bear chasing her, where it attacks her. The owner runs out of the house attempting to scare off the bear, firing a gun in the process (can hear it in the video). The black wolf is laying on the porch... The owner of the house takes her in, gives her medical care until she is fit, then releases her and her cub. (Curiously,...

Taylor Momsen required medical assistance after being bitten by a "massive" spider prior to her band opening up for AC/DC in Mexico City Tuesday night. It marked the second time the Pretty Reckless singer (and former Cindy Lou Who) was bitten by a wild animal while performing on AC/DC's Power Up tour, after having been attacked by a bat onstage in May 2024. "It wouldn't be an AC/DC tour if I didn't get bit," Momsen wrote on social media while sharing a video of her getting a shot to counteract the effects of Tuesday night's spider bite. "Its venom did...

This Florida man is giving social media something to taco ’bout. TikTok creator Gray Davis has gone viral with a series of videos documenting the “raining iguanas” phenomenon in Florida — and then eating them. When the Sunshine State experiences unusually cold weather, the cold-blooded reptiles can wind down their systems to conserve energy, and almost literally freeze up in the process. As they stiffen, the iguana popsciles will topple from their perch onto the ground. While they may look dead, the iguanas are technically alive and will literally thaw back to normal once the weather warms.

It all started next to a field of grazing sheep in Greece, where an unidentified 58-year-old was working outdoors in the dry September heat. She “noticed numerous flies swarming around her face,” according to a new medical report, and about a week later, she began experiencing pain in her sinuses. The next few weeks brought “severe coughing,” but no other symptoms. Until one day, Oct. 15 to be exact, she sneezed out a “worm.” Soon after, an ear, nose and throat doctor got to work surgically removing 10 larvae and a pupa — a teenage insect between the larval and...

A Pennsylvania Uber driver woke up to a slithery surprise after picking up two passengers who attended a reptile show. Officers from the Exeter Township Police Department in Berks County were called out Saturday after a local Uber driver found something unexpected in his car: a live ball python. The driver said he picked up two passengers Friday night at a reptile show in Philadelphia. During the ride, a passenger told the driver the contents of their bag had fallen out, and they wanted to look for it, but the driver had to keep moving. He later came home to...

PITTSBURG COUNTY, Okla. — A McAlester mother is clinging to life at a Tulsa hospital following a brutal attack by an unidentified animal that investigators said is unlike anything they've seen in over 30 years. Alicia Maxey was found severely injured on Sunday morning in a remote yard near Blanco. While the family initially believed a dog was responsible, the sheer scale of the injuries has prompted the Pittsburg County Sheriff's Office to bring in wildlife experts to solve the mystery of what kind of animal attacked Alicia. According to investigators, Alicia had pulled into a nearby driveway. She was...

Sightings of pink, horned creature began in 1953 on Lake DexterDecades ago, a 35-foot-long creature was allegedly seen along the St. Johns River in Astor, sparking rumors of a mysterious beast lurking in the waters nearby. Boaters who saw the so-called “St. Johns River Monster” described it as grey, horned, four-legged, and with an appetite for hyacinths. Strangely, witness accounts reported seeing it either in the river or on land. According to newspaper articles from 1953, the beast — theorized by some to be a prehistoric creature that had survived to modern times — had been reported by witnesses ranging...

Anthony Buhl, March Wallin Chadwick, accused of illegal gator possessionwo tourists are facing felony charges after Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers said they strapped a dead alligator to the roof of their vehicle and drove it across Central Florida. Anthony Buhl, 56, of New York City, and March Wallin Chadwick, 57, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, were arrested Saturday on U.S. Highway 192 near St. Johns Heritage Parkway in Melbourne. According to FWC arrest reports, the pair was first spotted driving through Celebration with the alligator — described as roadkill — strapped to the roof of their vehicle. License plate...

He snatched the youngster while delivering a Barbie to her home that was to be one of her main festive gifts. Horner told investigators that he accidentally hit the girl with his truck, 'panicked,' grabbed her, and put her in his vehicle. Fearing what would happen if he told Strand's parents, he said strangled her inside the truck and dumped her body seven miles from her home, beside a country road. Her body was found two days later.

A famous mine-clearing rat, who was awarded a gold medal for his heroism, has been commemorated with the world's first statue dedicated to a landmine-detecting rat. Magawa, who lived to eight years old, sniffed out over 100 landmines and other explosives in Cambodia during his five-year career that started in 2016. Magawa, an African giant pouched rat, was trained by the Belgian charity Apopo before moving to Cambodia to begin his bomb-sniffing career in 2016. Using his acute sense of smell and training to detect a chemical compound within explosives, Magawa would then alert human handlers of mines that could...

The world's oldest land animal, Jonathan the tortoise, is still alive after a viral hoax falsely claimed he'd died. The confusion began after a post on X falsely claimed the giant tortoise had died at age 193. The account, which impersonated Jonathan’s veterinarian, Joe Hollins, quickly gained traction and sparked concern among fans around the world. That claim, however, was not true. "Yes, he's still alive," the X user wrote hours later. "This was just an April Fools' prank." **SNIP** Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise, continues to live on the island of St. Helena, a remote British territory in the...

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...

It varies a lot by nutrient, form, dose, and whether the person is deficient, but the short answer is: some synthetic vitamins/minerals are absorbed about as well as natural ones, while others are less well utilized unless the form is chosen carefully.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+2General ruleWater-soluble vitamins like vitamin C and many B vitamins are often absorbed well in synthetic form, and in human studies synthetic vitamin C has shown no meaningful difference from natural vitamin C at steady state.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nihMinerals can be absorbed anywhere from about 25% to 90%+, depending on the mineral and the chemical form; for example, calcium is often around...

A northern New Mexico family is thanking their 12-year-old half-blind dog for fighting off a bear and protecting dozens of animals including 60 chickens. The Martinez family said their dog Honey got hurt on the night of March 3 while tracking something on their family land in Cordova, where they raise chickens, horses and dogs. “She was tracking something at the time. We didn’t know what, but we knew she was tracking something,” said Denise Martinez. The family said they found Honey in the driveway the next morning with major injuries. They said they saw scratches on fences and trees,...

Wild video shows the moment the windsurfer crashes right into a gray whale as it surfaces directly into his path. The man topples off the board, and the sail collapses into the water, while the whale disappears back into the bay. The windsurfer appears stunned but unharmed by the incident.

NECEDAH, Wis. — A kangaroo who escaped from a Necedah farm earlier this week has been found. The Sunshine Farm announced on Saturday that Chesney the kangaroo was located after being reported missing. On Saturday morning, the farm's Facebook page shared that Chesney was spotted near the power lines on the north side of the street. He was last seen in the area of 23rd and 9th. The Juneau County Sheriff's Office previously stated on Thursday that Chesney's owners were using a drone to search for him. The sheriff's office also said the following: "Apparently his dramatic ‘I’m running away...

The surfer who had a frightening run-in with a great white shark at Newport Beach said she didn’t realize it was the feared predator circling her surfboard until it was too late. “Went to this beach my whole life with my friends,” Vivian Phongngo told KTLA. “I’ve never seen anything bigger than a stingray.” She at first thought the beast was “a really nice fish” before believing it was actually a dolphin.“And then like after three seconds, I was like no, that’s a shark,” she told the outlet.

An adorable owl was rescued late Thursday evening by the California Highway Patrol after crashing onto a busy Southern California roadway. The injured owl was found on a busy three-lane road in Stevenson Ranch at about 10:14 p.m., officer Luis Quintero from the California Highway Patrol told the California Post. Officers spotted the beige, wide-eyed owl stranded along The Old Road, just north of Stevenson Ranch Parkway in Santa Clarita. Lying helpless in the left lane, the owl struggled on its back, wings fluttering against the pavement.

“ Today at the Board of Supervisors, we recognized for the first time, Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Fitr known as the Festival of Breaking the Fast, marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan—a time observed by Muslims around the world through fasting, prayer, reflection, and acts of charity. It is a time that emphasizes compassion, gratitude, and a deep sense of community....”