Free Republic

Otter 841 is known as the elusive-surfboard stealing otter and she’s back to her old tricks, making her latest appearance in Santa Cruz, California during a surf contest Saturday. According to The Mercury News, Otter 841 is notorious among surfers after last summer’s wave-riding rampage, going after surfers and biting their surf boards. Surfer Karl Anderle says he was sitting on his board at the surfing contest as a volunteer, keeping non-competitors out of the competition zone. He says he tipped his board up, hoping she would hop off, but she scooted up and clung on so he decided he...

Some people living near Jack's Peak Park are on edge after a reported bear sighting. Officials say it is rare in the area and only happens every few years. Neighbors say this is something they never thought they'd see in their community. Images show the bear casually strolling through the La Mesa neighborhood in Monterey just before 3 a.m. on Sunday. The bear was described as having long, shaggy brown fur and standing about three feet tall and four feet wide. "I kind of freaked out because I lived out here my whole life, and I've never even heard of...

A Kentucky family’s $15,000 Carnival Cruise vacation they had been planning for a year was canceled just two days before the ship was set to sail after they accidentally shared their booking number online in a case of identity theft. Tiffany Banks was devastated to learn that her trip aboard the Carnival Celebration ship with her husband and their four kids was canceled without her knowledge the day before the family was going to fly to Florida to leave on the boat. Banks said in a series of TikTok videos that she had no idea their vacation, for which they...

They'll probably look more impressive when they're clean. Image credit: ARCHEOLOGICKÝ ÚSTAV AV ČR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you’ve been trying to convince yourself to exercise more lately, consider the recent case of a woman in the Czech Republic who went out for a walk one day and accidentally found a treasure trove of more than 2,150 silver coins dating from more than 900 years ago. It’s a discovery that “can be compared to winning a million in the jackpot,” said Filip Velímský, an archaeologist from the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague, in a statement translated from the...

Citizen Free Press @CitizenFreePres I've played and watched a lot of golf in my life. Never seen this before. From Collin Rugg VIDEO AT LINK..................

This orca gave a team competing in The Ocean Race a scare The Ocean Race VIEW 2 IMAGES For four years now, orcas have been ramming and sinking luxury yachts in European waters, and scientists have struggled to work out just why these smart, social animals had learnt this destructive new trick. But it's not due to some anticapitalist 'eat the rich' agenda, nor is it to do with territory and aggression. The truth is, well, it's child's play. Following years of research, a team of biologists, government officials and marine industry representatives have released their findings on just why...

On September 7, 1936, the last known thylacine, often referred to as the Tasmanian tiger, is believed to have died in captivity in Hobart, Tasmania. Since then, the species, long presumed extinct, has taken on a near-mythical status. The thylacine still captures the public’s imagination, having earned its place as a modern symbol of both loss, and also possibilities. The creature’s unmistakable striped appearance has also helped propel it to its current position as a pop cultural icon and a constant reminder of humanity’s more destructive side. Yet what is perhaps the most intriguing about the thylacine is that, for...

Authorities in Texas are investigating after human remains were found in the jaws of an alligator while officers were searching the area for a missing woman. The gruesome discovery in Houston comes less than a year after the body of a woman was found in the mouth of a gator in Florida. "Patrol officers located the remains of a woman in the jaws of an alligator in the Horsepen Bayou … while searching the area for a woman reported missing," Houston police said in a statement Wednesday. A sergeant shot and killed the alligator "to prevent it from doing more...

Lexi Thompson’s history with the U.S. Women’s Open began as a prodigious 12-year-old when she became the youngest to ever compete in the championship in 2007. Though she’s never won this event, it seems fitting that she makes a big life announcement at this event. In the lead-up to the 79th U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club, Thompson announced her retirement on the USGA’s website. The 29-year-old plans to play out the rest of the 2024 season. Thompson, who has battled a hand injury for some time, has won 11 times on the LPGA, including the 2014 Chevron Championship,...

A strange-looking object recently discovered in the mountains of Western North Carolina by an area maintenance worker is believed to be debris that fell from space earlier this week. The object, discovered by Haywood County resident Justin Clontz, was found along a scenic hiking trail on property owned by The Glamping Collective, a vacation home rental company. The unusual discovery, first reported by WLOS News, was so large that Clontz reportedly had to use a lawn mower to help remove it. Images of the object were made available on the news outlet’s website and can be seen below. “We don’t...

Six people who shared a meal involving black bear meat kebabs have been diagnosed with trichinellosis, a parasitic zoonotic disease. In a new report released this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that in July 2022, a 29-year old hospitalized patient with suspected trichinellosis was reported to the Minnesota health department. His symptoms included fever, severe muscle aches, periorbital edema or eye swelling, and eosinophilia or the condition of elevated levels of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell. According to the report, a week prior to the symptoms appearing, the patient and eight other people...

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has found that pedestrians are twice as likely to be hit by an electric or hybrid car than by a gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicle. The scientists have hypothesized that the relatively quiet operations of an electric vehicle as well as high pedestrian density in noisy urban areas could be major reasons. The study uncovered a pedestrian casualty rate of 5.16 per 100 million miles driven for electric and hybrid vehicles, more than double the 2.4 per 100 million miles recorded for traditional gasoline-powered cars.

A “General Hospital” actor was identified Sunday as a man shot and killed during an attempted catalytic converter theft in downtown Los Angles. Johnny Wactor, 37, was shot Saturday, his mother, Scarlett, told TMZ Sunday. He appeared as Brando Corbin in 164 episodes of the long-running soap opera between 2020 and 2022, KTLA reported. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Your Memorial Day barbecue will cost upward of 10 percent more than it did this time last year according to Datasembly. Datasembly follows the cost of groceries across the country every week. Its recently released data points to this year's Memorial Day festivities costing the average American family about $30.18 or 10.19% more than 2023. Here is a breakdown of Memorial Day cookout costs, according to Datasembly: Burgers jumped from $7.04 in 2023 to $8.07 in 2024, or a change of 14.63% in cost. Hamburger buns cost two cents more, from $3.04 on average to $3.06. Ketchup costs 10 cents...

The final resting place of an iconic U.S. Navy submarine that was sunk 80 years ago during World War II was located 3,000 feet below the ocean's surface, the Naval History and Heritage Command said Thursday. The USS Harder – which earned the nickname "Hit 'em HARDER" – was found off the Philippine island of Luzon, sitting upright and "relatively intact" except for damage behind its conning tower from a Japanese depth charge, the command said. The sub was discovered using data collected by Tim Taylor, CEO of the Lost 52 Project, which works to locate the 52 submarines sunk...

A video that was recently published online shows a herd of bison charge at a group of tourists in Yellowstone National Park, according to an article from USA Today. In the video, captured by Adella Gonzalez last Wednesday, a herd of bison walks across a pathway and back into the grass. A group of people then move closer to the bison and cross "mere feet in front of the herd." The bison herd then charges the tourists, who notice and manage to move out of the way in time, allowing the bison to continue running their intended path. According to...

The man attacked and mauled by a grizzly in Grand Teton National Park on Sunday was amazingly lucky During the attack, the grizzly chomped down on his can of bear spray, which exploded it into her face and immediately ended the ordeal The out-of-state man who was mauled by a mother grizzly in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park on Sunday apparently had a phenomenal stroke of luck when the apex predator essentially bear-sprayed itself. The attack on a 35-year-old Massachusetts man ended when the grizzly bit into his can of bear spray, bursting it into her own face, according to...

States are seeking out ways to recoup losses from lost gas tax revenue. California, which relies on gas tax and other fuel tax revenues to support its roadway maintenance, is piloting the idea of a "road charge," which would charge drivers based on the number of miles they drive rather than how much gas they purchase. The pilot program was initiated due to the fact that the collection of gas tax revenue is estimated to decrease in the coming years, according to the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). CalSTA officials told FOX Business that a bill, signed in 2021, established...

An alligator was spotted in the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass on Monday, May 20. Eagle Pass Fire Department ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another alligator was spotted along the Rio Grande River. This time, Texas officials encountered the 7 to 8-foot alligator during a training session on the river in Eagle Pass on Monday, May 20, according to a Facebook post from the Eagle Pass Fire Department. The fire department stated the large alligator serves as a friendly reminder that the local wildlife isn't as friendly as the fire team.The department wrote, "Be cautious around the river banks." VIDEO AT LINK.................. During...

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. - A 10-foot alligator was caught making himself at home inside the pool of a home in New Smyrna Beach, according to police. The alligator was spotted overnight Tuesday in the Venetian Bay neighborhood, according to the New Smyrna Beach Police Department. Police said the gator broke through the screen to get inside the pool area. Two officers with the New Smyrna Beach Police Department snapped a selfie with the big fella before contacting a trapper with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who safely removed the gator from the pool. An alligator was removed...