Free Republic

A North Hollywood couple’s routine walk around their neighborhood quickly turned into a nightmare after they discovered their dog had accidentally ingested meth. Nikolas and Jenifer Dorhoutmees enjoy regular walks through their neighborhood with their 3-year-old Australian cattle mix named Uni. While visiting North Hollywood Park, Uni began sniffing around. Soon after, they noticed the dog’s condition had changed drastically. “Drooling, diarrhea, all of it,” Jenifer told KTLA’s Chris Wolfe. “We checked her gums, they were white.” Unsure what was happening, the couple rushed Uni to the veterinarian. Then, Jenifer said she remembered KTLA covering a similar story in November...

Once the epicenter of a catastrophic nuclear disaster, Chernobyl in Ukraine was left uninhabitable for humans. But in the silence that followed evacuation, nature began to reclaim the land. Przewalski's horses, once nearly extinct, now roam freely, grazing among overgrown buildings as forests reclaim old roads. Wolves, lynx, moose, and red deer have also returned, along with free-roaming dogs and even brown bears, a species absent from the region for more than a century. Still, the recovery is not without complications. Radiation remains an invisible presence, and scientists continue to observe its subtle but lasting effects, such as birds developing...

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) said on Thursday that he was appalled by a report about the death of 31 slots who died under the care of Sloth World, a tourist attraction in Orlando that wasn’t yet opened to the public. The slots were from South American rainforests, and perished in storage warehouses between December 2024 and February 2025, according to an incident report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “These sloths — naturally solitary animals — were put in the worst conditions possible,” Frost said in a Thursday post on X. “They were taken from their natural habitats...

A mother whose teenage son was jailed for assault after he was filmed slamming a classmate to the ground and stomping on her face claims her boy is the victim. The mother alleged her son did not instigate the incident, but said that he will 'lash out' if he is provoked. She further denied the suggestion that he was upset the victim refused to give him her number, claiming the pair are friends and text frequently

On April 18, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department was alerted to a family who was searching for a 49-year-old woman. The woman, who had a traumatic brain injury, was reported missing after she failed to return home from a walk. Authorities searched for hours but had no luck tracking the woman down. That’s when deputies decided to call in Keva and Naji, two bloodhounds they hoped could help lead them to the woman. Working off a scent from the woman’s pillow, Naji and Keva set off quickly, hot on the trail. “She’s on a 15-foot leash attached to her...

On April 26, 1986, Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat, Ukraine, exploded—a combination of poor reactor design and serious mismanagement had caused the worst nuclear disaster in human history. Fast forward 40 years, and things have changed. While the horrific death, illness, and environmental degradation caused by the meltdown will never be completely forgotten, the area surrounding Chernobyl has come to provide a rare scientific opportunity. Today, it is a living laboratory for scientists exploring questions (many of them genetic) regarding long-term exposure to high levels of radiation. Frogs, for example, have adapted darker skin colors to protect against radiation....

Multiple oil spills are visible from space after Iranian and US-Israeli strikes hit oil facilities and ships in the region, with experts warning of an impending environmental catastrophe. Satellite images are giving an insight into destruction in the region, including to the fragile biodiversity of the Persian Gulf. Oil spilt there has the potential to affect the lives and livelihoods of people along the Gulf coastlines, as well as the region’s rich marine life...such as turtles, dolphins and whales that might ingest or become trapped in the oil. They could also potentially affect the filtering systems of desalination plants, on...

COLORADO, USA — A "mega den" of rattlesnakes in Colorado is becoming active after the winter.Thanks to a livestream that launched Monday, scientists studying the den on a craggy hillside in Colorado are learning more about these enigmatic — and often misunderstood — reptiles.The public can also watch on the Project RattleCam website. The project is a collaboration between California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, snake removal company Central Coast Snake Services and Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.As the camera launched Monday, snake researchers said it is still a bit cold at the den, so you can expect...

Carson Bender was set up at the base of a tree while hunting on private land near Nekoosa — about 100 miles north of Madison — when he turned around to find the fierce predator stalking him. The 19-year-old hunter quickly whipped out his phone to record the encounter as the bobcat slowly inched closer to him, video posted on his Instagram page shows. “I pan over with the phone, and the bobcat is just staring at me,” he told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “I was like, uh-oh.” The cat locked in on Bender for a few tense moments — then,...

More than 15 million people compete for space in Turkey's largest city, which straddles Europe and Asia on either side of the Bosphorus, much like a house cat perched half on the sofa, half on the coffee table. That's the appropriate visual, because there are an estimated quarter of a million stray kitties living here, too. Cats are woven into the very fabric and history of the city, as ubiquitous as the rugs for sale on every corner. This is a city shared; a city that purrs incessantly with love and life. "Istanbul cats are, on the whole, neither pets...

As herds of elk have overtaken a beach in a small Oregon coastal town, tourists have tried to put their children on them to ride and others attempt to feed them carrots. “We have visitors who don't know elk are wild animals,” said the local chamber. It’s a sight most in Wyoming would consider extremely odd: herds of elk lounging around the beach. That’s what’s happening in the small Oregon coastal town of Cannon Beach, where elk are taking over the beaches, looking completely out of context in the sand and surf. And as in Yellowstone National Park, Estes Park,...

California's blustery San Francisco Bay is home to the Golden Gate Bridge, commercial ports, public marinas and ferry boats. But more recently, a new sight is attracting locals' attention: Eastern North Pacific gray whales.The whales have brought wonder, as residents and researchers now get to closely observe how they feed, breed and socially engage. They've also brought growing unease: why are so many of them undernourished and dying?In 2025, a record number of 21 dead gray whales were found in the broader San Francisco Bay. So far this year, seven have died due to a combination of dwindling prey availability,...

The gang kidnapped and tied up the victim in a Chicago apartment as they physically tortured and racially abused him on the livestream. They could be heard shouting 'f*** white people' and 'f*** Trump' during the ordeal. During the days-long torture campaign, Hill also called the victim's mother and demanded $300 in ransom for his return. The victim was kidnapped on New Year's Eve after telling his parents he was meeting Hill at a McDonald's and staying at his home. Instead, Hill drove the victim around in a stolen van for a couple of days, ending up at a home...

SummarySterile fly release The U.S. Department of Agriculture unveiled a new facility at an old Air Force base near Edinburg, Texas, that will disperse sterile screwworm flies into the community. Sterile insect technique Scientists breed sterile male flies using gamma or X-ray radiation, then release them into the wild. These males mate with female screwworm flies, preventing the females from producing offspring. Screwworm threat Screwworm larvae infest open wounds on animals, like livestock and pets, and can kill the animal within 10 days if left untreated. These pests can be devastating to the cattle industry, which has already faced shortages....

A 19-year-old Afghan national is due to appear in court today in Bouches-du-Rhône after being arrested for repeatedly breaking into farms and sexually assaulting goats and sheep, causing serious injuries to the animals. According to local farmers and police reports, the suspect carried out the attacks over roughly two months in the Les Pennes-Mirabeau area near Marseille. He would enter the farms at night, tie up the animals (sometimes by the legs), and rape them. At least six animals were victimized, some on multiple occasions. The assaults caused visible injuries, including bloody vulvas, vaginal and anal lacerations. One young lamb...

"Unfortunately, this young man is going to learn a very expensive lesson," Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said,NEED TO KNOW -A 14-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly swinging and kicking a baby alligator at the Stetson Aquatic Center in Florida -The teen was booked into the Volusia Sheriff’s Office Juvenile Resource Center and faces a felony charge for harming wildlife -Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said, "Abusing wildlife is not a way to spend your downtime" -Volusia Sheriff’s Office (VSO) deputies allegedly found a 14-year-old boy abusing a baby alligator in DeLand, Fla. on Friday, April 3. The teen was with a...

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.