Free Republic

“The statistical probability that organic structures and the most precisely harmonized reactions that typify living organisms would be generated by accident, is zero.”- Ilya Prigogine (Chemist-Physicist) Recipient of two Nobel Prizes in chemistryI. Prigogine, N. Gregair, A. Babbyabtz, Physics Today 25, pp. 23-28“The really amazing thing is not that life on Earth is balanced on a knife-edge, but that the entire universe is balanced on a knife-edge, and would be total chaos if any of the natural ‘constants’ were off even slightly. You see,” Davies adds, “even if you dismiss man as a chance happening, the fact remains that the...

CBN.com – Spud Alford’s life always revolved around athletics. In high school, he excelled in track, football and baseball and went on to play at the University of Southern Mississippi. Then, one day in 1976, he saw something on TV that would change his life. .... “I had never watched the Olympic Games before. I had never heard the word ‘decathlon’, but I fell in love with what I saw as he carried the American flag around the track that particular day.” He began training immediately for the 1980 Olympics and spent the next four years preparing for Moscow. While...

The Universe is electrically neutral, with one electron to cancel out the charge of every proton in the Universe, and the nuclear forces are extremely short-range, failing to extend beyond the scale of an atomic nucleus. When it comes to the Universe as a whole, only gravitation matters. The Universe expands at the rate it does throughout its history — and not at a different one — for two reasons alone: our laws of gravity and all the forms of energy that exist in the Universe. If things were slightly different from how they actually are, we wouldn't exist. Here's...

Certain F-1 students who receive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees may apply for a 24-month extension of their post-completion optional practical training (OPT). If you are an employer who wants to provide a practical training opportunity to a STEM OPT student during their extension, you must: Be enrolled in E-Verify, as evidenced by either a valid E-Verify company identification number or, if the employer is using an employer agent to create its E-Verify cases, a valid E-Verify client company identification number. Remain a participant in good standing with E-Verify, as determined by USCIS. Have a valid Employer Identification...

Did you know Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to have an armored limousine? At the height of World War II, the Secret Service decided that the president needed a safer means of transportation. And that tradition still stands today. Getting your hands on a presidential limo, though, is no easy feat—they don't just hand them out to civilians. But, if you head to the Mecum Kissimmee auction on January 18, 2025, you might be able to drive home in a rare armored Cadillac originally built for President Bill Clinton. This fully armored 1996 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham was one...

Subpart A—Nonrefundable Personal Credits Sec. 21.Expenses for household and dependent care services necessary for gainful employment. 22.Credit for the elderly and the permanently and totally disabled. 23.Adoption expenses. 24.Child tax credit. 25.Interest on certain home mortgages. 25A.American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning credits. 25B.Elective deferrals and IRA contributions by certain individuals. 25C.Energy efficient home improvement credit. 25D.Residential clean energy credit. 25E.Previously-owned clean vehicles. 26.Limitation based on tax liability; definition of tax liability. Subpart C—Refundable Credits Sec. 31.Tax withheld on wages. 32.Earned income. 33.Tax withheld at source on nonresident aliens and foreign corporations. 34.Certain uses of gasoline and special fuels. 35.Health insurance...

Two men were stabbed within the city’s subway in separate Wednesday morning attacks as transit violence spilled over into the new year, cops said. A 30-year-old man got into an argument with another commuter on the No. 1 train platform at 110th Street-Cathedral Parkway around 9:30 a.m., when his rival knifed him once in the arm, authorities and sources said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside, where he was listed in stable condition. It’s unclear whether the two men knew each other. The attacker took off and no arrests have been made.

Jocelyn Wildenstein, the New York socialite nicknamed “The Catwoman,” has died. She was 84. Her partner, Lloyd Klein, reportedly told AFP that Wildenstein died of a pulmonary embolism in a Parisian palace on Tuesday, per Daily Mail. A pulmonary embolism is a blood clot that blocks and stops blood flow to an artery in a lung, according to the Mayo Clinic. The blood clot typically forms in a deep vein in a person’s leg and then travels to the lung. In rare cases, the clot can form in a vein in another part of the body. Wildenstein, known for her...

Well, this is the watch on that special night, When the OD writes poetry by gangway light Tis the 1st of January, 1968 And I've the watch that runs quite late. USS Agerholm (DD 826) The naval service, by its very nature, thrives on rules and regulations. Above all else, a ship and her crew must promote self-reliance, discipline, and teamwork to maintain effectiveness and ensure mission accomplishment in the unforgiving and uncertain environments of both ocean and fog of battle. This truism of rules and regulation is particularly reflected in the official record maintained by all commissioned U.S. Navy...

We’re taught in grade school to use “a” before words beginning with consonants and “an” before words that start with vowels. But this simple grammar rule is more complex than it seems.Some grammar rules are as straightforward as can be — at first glance, at least. We’re taught in grade school to use “a” before words beginning with consonants and “an” before words that start with vowels. That means you could plant “a herb garden,” right? Then why does “an herb garden” sound slightly better to our American ears? It’s because this simple grade-school grammar rule is more complex than...

<p>The story of one of the most effective and brutal spymasters in U.S. history & beginning of an infamous love affair with napalm.</p><p>It was long past time for Donald Nichols to go home. He had been spying in Korea for five years, rarely taking a day off, never returning stateside to see his family. His bosses in the U.S. Air Force had not seen an agent work so hard for so long. They called him a “one man war” & the “best intelligence operator” in the Far East. He “performed the impossible,” his commanding general said. Still, air force rules were clear: He must rotate back to United States.</p>

Someone in California has a winning Mega Millions ticket worth about $1.22 billion, which was drawn on Friday. The ticket with the numbers 3, 7, 37, 49, 55, and gold Mega Ball 6 was sold at Sunshine Food and Gas on Rhonda Road in Cottonwood, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Saturday: However, the identity of the winner or winners of the lottery remain a mystery. The AP article continued: The total amount of the Mega Millions jackpot would only be distributed to a winner who chooses an annuity paid over 29 years. Nearly all grand prize winners opt to...

Pro-Luigi Mangione vandals defaced the exterior of pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s former Upper East Side mansion this week with the three words the accused United Healthcare CEO murderer scratched on to the bullets he used to kill his target: “Deny, defend, depose.” Red spray paint was used to deface the East 71st Street home’s gilded façade with the phrases “Free Luigi” and “They Fear The People.” A photo showing the graffiti Friday on Jeffrey Epstein's former NYC townhouse. Across the front door, the goons scribbled the three words now synonymous with Mangione’s name: “Deny, defend, depose.” The graffiti did not last...

Greg Gumbel, a longtime sportscaster who called the NFL for CBS for decades and served as the network’s host during the NCAA Tournament, has died “after a courageous battle with cancer,” his family announced Friday. He was 78 years old. “It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of our beloved husband and father, Greg Gumbel,” his wife Marcy and daughter Michelle wrote in a statement released by CBS. “He passed away peacefully surrounded by much love after a courageous battle with cancer. Greg approached his illness like one would expect he would, with stoicism, grace, and positivity....

A mammoth sinkhole opened along a major New Jersey interstate Thursday morning, closing several lanes and pushing motorists onto local roads to avoid the pit. The sinkhole — which appeared large enough to swallow several cars — opened on the shoulder of Interstate 80 in Wharton sometime around 7:45 a.m., according to NJ.com. Construction crews swarmed the area around Exit 34 as they tried to work out a solution to the post-Christmas surprise. Meanwhile, the state’s Department of Transportation closed the eastbound lanes — leading to a lengthy backup that clogged the highway. “Motorists should expect delays or plan an...

We may need some divine intervention below ground. New York City transit riders say are fearing for their lives and even “asking God” for help after a number of disturbing, violent incidents in subways and train stations that have left people on edge. Philomena Ofosu, a 24-year-old nurse’s aide from the Bronx said she prays for her safety every time she gets on the train. “I am a Christian and I ask God to bring me safe to where I’m supposed to be and back,” she told The Post at Grand Central Terminal on Wednesday — hours after a two...

An investigation is underway after a body was discovered in the wheel well of an airplane that landed in Maui after taking off from Chicago. A statement from United Airlines to WGN News confirmed the body was located in the wheel well of the main landing gears of Flight 202. According to United’s website, flight 202 departed O’Hare Airport at 9:30 a.m. on Dec 24 and landing at Maui’s Kahului airport at 2:12 p.m. local time. “The wheel well was only accessible from outside of the aircraft. At this time, it is not clear how or when the person accessed...

It has been seven years since Sam Francis died. But the years since his death merely show the accuracy of his insights. Francis’s writing was marked not only by loyalty to the people from whom he came but by an unswerving devotion to telling the truth about the way the world really is, not the way he wished it to be. Francis knew that it was not “morning again in America” but far closer to midnight. Conservatives could not hope to achieve anything by defending elites, as conservatives have done since the French Revolution, since today’s elites are implacably hostile...

If It Burns, It Can Fuel the M1 Abrams - When President Joe Biden announced earlier this year that the United States would provide Ukraine with a number of M1 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs), some critics suggested the tank was not well-suited to the task – despite the tank literally being designed to confront Soviet armor in Europe. At issue was that the M1 Abrams is powered by a gas-turbine engine, which was designed to burn jet fuel; something it doesn't do especially efficiently. That does make for a speedy tank, but almost every other armored vehicle – including...

On this day in 1970, Presley formally met Nixon at the White House. The famous photo of the two shaking hands struck a nerve with a number of Presley’s fans at the time, as well as supporters of Nixon. The photo was a pretty big jolt to fans who knew Presley best for his countercultural approach to getting attention: Shaking his hips indecently and performing rock and roll tunes. He had been called everything from “unfit for television” to “a danger to the security of the United States.” He was a countercultural icon for a minute. Nixon, on the other...