Free Republic

In a recent interview on Fox News, Republican Senate candidate Hung Cao of Virginia revealed while serving in a U.S. Navy’s Special Operations unit, he helped retrieve the body of John F. Kennedy Jr.’s body and plane. Cao, in an interview with Fox News’s Laura Ingraham, shared, “As a Navy diver, I recovered John F. Kenendy Jr. and his plane.” In an interview with the National Review in 2022, Cao gave more details on the mission. Cao stated, “John F. Kennedy Jr. crashed in July of 1999, and we were at my commanding officer’s house that night. People had been...

Before you put a food item into your cart or basket at the grocery store, you likely look for a “best by” date (or something of the like) to make sure you’ll be able to use it before it goes bad. But did you know that an expiration date and other food date labels are not the same? Here’s what you need to know — from what each label means to which foods to avoid after their expiration date. Expiration date vs. date labels: What’s the difference? According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), an expiration date is typically only...

The number of counties dependent on government aid has surged over time. The lead chart shows political party affiliation.The Wall Street Journal has a great article on the Growing Reliance of Americans Are Dependence on Government Aid over time. That is a free link.Americans’ reliance on government support is soaring, driven by programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.That support is especially critical in economically stressed communities throughout the U.S., many of which lean Republican and are concentrated in swing states crucial in deciding the presidential election. Neither party has much incentive to dial back the spending.The big reasons...

If you're aiming to retire at the standard age of 65, buckle up because you're going to want to hear this one. According to a simulated model that factors in things like changes in health, nursing home costs, and demographics, about 45% of Americans who leave the workforce at 65 are likely to run out of money during retirement. The model, run by Morningstar's Center for Retirement and Policy Studies, showed that the risk is higher for single women, who had a 55% chance of running out of money versus 40% for single men and 41% for couples. The group...

Many plan to work well into their 60s or even 70s, thinking they can compensate for years of undersaving. But according to recent surveys, retirement may come earlier than expected for many Americans – whether they're ready for it or not. The average retirement age in the U.S. is about 62 years old, even though most workers expect to retire around 67. In fact, more than 56% of retirees left the workforce earlier than they planned, according to a Transamerica survey. So, what's causing this gap between expectations and reality?

Saving for retirement is a huge challenge. Knowing where you stand in comparison to peers can help to gauge whether your efforts are on track, or whether tweaking your approach is in order. Recently, Vanguard looked at 2023 account balances by age in its defined contribution plans. Vanguard then calculated both the average balance and the median balance for each age cohort. The average balance can be skewed by those with higher levels of wealth. So, in some ways, the median balance — the number midway between the high and the low — can be a more accurate measure of...

Over the past several years, scientists have repeatedly demonstrated that the cells of various organisms can be repurposed into biological robots, representing stunning advancements in the field of synthetic biology.Some types, like anthrobots, used human cells that could self-assemble into small, hairy structures capable of moving by themselves. Others, like xenobots, are a bit freakier: scientists created these from the cells of already dead frogs, which seemingly cheated death by remaining capable of performing simple tasks and even self-replication.Now, in a new review published in the journal Physiology, researchers are contemplating the implications of taking cells — from organisms dead...

Image by SerenityArt from Pixabay ======================================================================== Researchers from the Nanjing Agricultural University (NJAU) Academy of Science say they have found a crucial gene that directly impacts the number of flowering sites on a Cannabis sativa plant. Dubbed CsMIKC1, the gene was found to drive inflorescence development when overexpressed and hinder development when overexpressed. The team also found that adding ethylene increased the gene’s expression. Together, the discoveries could directly impact the commercial Cannabis industry. “Through gene editing and functional analysis, the researchers demonstrated the gene’s impact on flower production, highlighting its potential to transform agricultural practices,” explains the NJAU press...

The breakthrough hit catapulted the trio to stardom and, much to Kurt Cobain’s despair, into the mainstream.The story of Nirvana‘s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is one full of contradictions. Indeed, its very inception attested to the fervent dualities that tormented its author. In early 1991, as Nirvana prepared to work on their second album, Nevermind, guitarist and singer Kurt Cobain composed the song’s recurring riff, recognizing immediately its infectious qualities as befitting his intentions for this new batch of material. Listen to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as part of the 30th anniversary editions of Nevermind here. Displeased with the...

Slim CD, a credit card processing service company popular in the United States and Canada, recently revealed that a hack, which took place last year, exposed personal information of almost 1.7 million customers. “On or about June 15, 2024, Slim CD became aware of suspicious activity in its computer environment,” said a Sept. 6 customer notification letter from the company. The Florida-based company said unauthorized system access occurred between Aug. 17, 2023, and June 15, 2024. “That access may have enabled an unauthorized actor to view or obtain certain credit card information,” Slim CD said. The company said customer names,...

9:56 PM PST (Updated every minute) Kamala - 51.7% Trump - 46.7%

While $100 may seem like it holds the same value across the U.S., that’s far from the reality. The purchasing power of a dollar can vary significantly from state to state, influenced by factors such as the cost of food, utilities, taxes, housing, and transportation.This map, via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti, illustrates the purchasing power of $100 by state, using data from GOBankingRates compiled as of February 19, 2024.MethodologyGOBankingRates compiled data from the 2022 Regional Price Parities reoporting by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Affairs. It then used factors such as median household income, sourced from the 2022 American Community...

“We proved that the Einstein field equation from general relativity is actually a relativistic quantum mechanical equation,” the researchers note in their study. In simple words, this new framework connects the science that governs the macroscopic world with that of the microscopic world. Therefore, it has the potential to explain every physical phenomenon known to humanity ranging from the mysterious dark matter in space to the photons emitted by your phone’s flashlight. “To date, no globally accepted theory has been proposed to explain all physical observations,” the researchers added. They claim that their theory can challenge the foundations of physics...

Chronicling the changes in the Titanic has shown a 15-foot-long section of the port side of the bow's railing has fallen to the seafloor.Researchers have uncovered the bronze "Diana of Versailles" statuette, once a centerpiece in the doomed Titanic's first class lounge, and now mired in oceanic muck. It marks the first sighting of the Roman goddess Diana statue since 1986 and highlights the sunken ship's ongoing decay.The Georgia-based RMS Titanic, Inc. has the only legal salvage claim to the Titanic, the famous British passenger liner that struck an iceberg and tragically sank on April 14, 1912. A 2024 expedition...

Tesla CEO compared incoming Recall feature to an episode of Black MirrorNew Recall feature will be coming to Copilot+ PCs from JuneIt takes screenshots of everything you do on-screenSnapshots are analysed by AI on-device so they can be searchedElon Musk has announced plans to disable the feature on his PCPrivacy campaigners have also flagged concernsUK privacy watchdog has launched an investigation into RecallElon Musk has criticised a controversial new AI feature coming to Windows 11 devices this summer. Known as Recall, it takes screenshots of everything on-screen so you can scroll back in time and resume work on anything from...

As weed has become easier to obtain, it has become harder to smoke.A strange thing has happened on the path to marijuana legalization. Users across all ages and experience levels are noticing that a drug they once turned to for fun and relaxation now triggers existential dread and paranoia. “The density of the nugs is crazy, they’re so sticky,” a friend from college texted me recently. “I solo’d a joint from the dispensary recently and was tweaking just walking around.” (Translation for the non-pot-savvy: This strain of marijuana is not for amateurs.)

(Zero Hedge)—Two years ago Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted to Joe Rogan that the FBI pressured Facebook into censoring the Hunter Biden laptop story. Now he’s participating in a Congressional investigation. In a stunning Monday evening letter to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, Zuckerberg admitted that senior Biden administration officials “repeatedly pressured” Facebook teams to suppress information related to COVID-19 that the platform would not have otherwise censored – and the administration ‘expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree.’ Zuck now says that Facebook should not have compromised its standards “due to pressure from any...

The world of Southern barbecue may move slowly, but it moves forward nonetheless. Far from a hidebound tradition, it’s constantly being reshaped and reinvigorated by new generations of ambitious pitmasters, as our latest list of the Best New Barbecue Joints in the South reveals. First, some definitions. What do we mean by a “new” joint? That can be a relative term in a region with iconic restaurants dating back a century or more. For our purposes, a new restaurant is one that opened since Southern Living published the last version of this list in September 2021. It needs to be...

No matter if the market is hot or cold, they still pop up: For Sale by Owner listings, otherwise known to Realtors as "FSBOs." These are houses put up for sale by the people who own them - without the help of a real estate agent. Homeowners who eschew professional assistance can start the home-selling adventure on their own, but are often unaware of the DIY pitfalls. Here are the pros, cons, and everything else you need to know about these kinds of properties. What to Know About FSBO Listings As a Realtor, I'm very aware of those DIY pitfalls....