Free Republic

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham had a recent victory against the Mexican cartels after the Lone Star state seized control of Fronton Island, a prominent area for illegal activity. "This island before it was claimed, was literally a law enforcement free zone for the cartels to do whatever they wanted," Buckingham said on the John Solomon Reports podcast. "American law enforcement couldn't step on it. Mexican law enforcement couldn't step on it. It was a safe haven for the cartels to stash all kinds of weapons, all kinds of drugs, and run untold numbers of people across. It's also at...

A wooden tablet discovered on Easter Island may pre-date European colonization of the region, researchers revealed in early February. Less than 30 wooden tablets containing an undeciphered script called “Rongorongo” were found on the island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), four of which were removed in 1869 by Catholic Missionaries, according to a study published in the journal Nature. Those wooden tablets were analyzed using radiocarbon dating, and one of them was found to pre-date European settlement on the island, the study said. Easter Island was “discovered” by Europeans in the 1720s, and absolutely decimated in the years following, the...

New Mexico Rep. Stefani Lord has proposed a bill suggesting pedophiles should face the death penalty. Rep. Lord says she was inspired to put forward the bill after the release of hundreds of Jeffrey Epstein documents that revealed the extent to which he abused girls on his Caribbean island, his ranch in her state and around the world. 'When I got elected, I was horrified that every time the legislature tried to pass a soft on crime bill, I would say, ‘Well, can we exempt pedophiles and rapists?’ And every time the Democrats said no,' Lord told Fox News. 'I...

Migrants booted from Big Apple shelters have been setting up an illegal mini-tent city outside Randall’s Island’s housing site — despite the Adams administration’s best efforts to thwart them. “For the past month or so, we will come here, and there’ll be one or two tents set up, and we’ll ask them to take them down,” a city Parks Department enforcement officer told The Post at the site on Sunday. “But every day when we come back, there’s more.”

Exclusive new pictures of Jeffrey Epstein’s notorious private island taken by The Post show major changes as it undergoes transformation into a luxury resort. The images of Little St. James in the US Virgin Islands — where Epstein is said to have sex trafficked scores of women and which was raided by the FBI in 2019 — reveal a complete remodel of the late financier’s unique waterfront ‘temple’, with its distinctive blue stripes erased and a new coat of white paint applied. The cryptic patterns which adorned the front and sides of the structure have also been whitewashed into memory,...

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/island-canaries-attempts-100-renewable-grid-doesnt-meet-it-more-25-year Since January 2022, Francis Menton has proposed on his “Manhattan Contrarian” blog an interesting idea regarding the concept of transitioning the electric grid to run entirely without fossil fuels: It might be a good idea that if nations across the world are committing so much money on this transition, it might be a good idea to demonstrate with a pilot project somewhere on Earth that it will actually work. The International Energy Agency, a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organisation, estimates that global spending on clean energy transition away from fossil fuels to be $1.2 trillion since the start of the...

A woman said she was shocked to discover that Alaska is not an island and that it's possible to drive to it during a conversation with her Canadian boyfriend. z,pz. In the video posted on October 26, TikToker Sabriena Abrre asked people not to call her a "stupid American" as she admitted her mistake. "Everybody knows that Alaska is cold," she said. "But did I know that it was connected by land? No. I did not know that."

Chinese scientists working on tropical Hainan Island off China's southern coast have discovered eight new viruses in that island's rodent population, and have not ruled out the capability of those viruses to species-jump to humans. One of the viruses has been confirmed to have been a coronavirus; the COVID-19 virus was also a coronavirus, as are several of the viruses that can cause the syndrome we call "the common cold," although rhinoviruses are more common in those cases.Researchers tasked with preparing the world for future pandemic took almost 700 samples from rodents living in Hainan, just off China's southern coast.Eight...

In the early dawn's orange glow, a Texas Rangers commander briefs a heavily armed invasion force. They're preparing to seize a remote, 170-acre Mexican cartel-controlled island in the middle of the Rio Grande River overlooked by sniper nests and potentially booby-trapped. Some of the dozens of assembled men shift from one foot to another or reposition their M-4 rifles as they listen to their commanders' instructions. 'Keep a close eye on those structures up there that have height advantage on us,' he warns. 'In case we do get engaged and someone is shot' medical evacuation plans are in place and...

The strapped city has already expanded its controversial migrant complex on Randall’s Island’s youth soccer fields to house 3,000 people — 50% more than expected — before asylum seekers even moved in Sunday. The site, which will now consist of five dormitory-style tents, began housing the first wave of migrants there in the afternoon, with about 150 single men expected before the end of the day, city officials said. “This isn’t the solution for the next two, three, four months — this is giving us a little breathing room for the next few days, really,” warned Christina Farrell, the city’s...

Recent reports from The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, as well as new court filings in U.S. Virgin Islands civil suit, have revealed a number of additional prominent people who were associates of Jeffrey Epstein’s. Their ties to the notorious sex trafficker and longtime high-society hobnobber were not previously known, having not appeared in Epstein’s infamous black book or in the public flight logs of passengers who traveled aboard his private jet before his jailhouse death in 2019 while awaiting trial. The new reports also deepen public understanding of the ties between Epstein and some boldfaced names...

There was a time not more than a decade ago when we could expect disasters and potential disasters in America to be televised. In 2023, the most reliable sources for information are from our peers through social media and other channels. That’s why it’s unfortunate that the best coverage I could get on the fire that’s currently raging in Wahiawa near Honolulu in Hawaii is on Twitter: 🚨BREAKING – Another fire has started in Wahiawa, Honolulu, Hawaii 🔥😨

A 30-foot humpback whale was found dead on the shores of Fire Island on Friday morning — at least the 18th doomed humpback discovered on the East Coast this year. The tragic majestic mammal was found belly-up on the eastern side of Smith Point County Park in Shirley, Long Island, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. The animal’s body has been collected for a necropsy, NOAA told Patch in a statement. The cause of death is unknown.

Officials have confirmed a migrant shelter will be built for 2,000 men on Randall’s Island’s kiddie soccer fields, with construction starting as early as Monday. The influx of migrants to New York City — including hundreds arriving daily — is “stretching our system to its breaking point and beyond,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. “It has become more and more of a Herculean effort to find enough beds every night,” he said. Hizzoner said the state would be “covering the costs” of the shelter’s construction, maintenance and staffing, although officials have yet to say how much that will...

The tiny Greek island of Lipsi that banned the creation of swimming pools due to their environmental impact, is expected to reach 100 percent occupancy in August. Loyal to the mission of offering an unspoiled natural paradise to its visitors, Lipsi recently made headlines for making the case against artificial swimming pools, whose construction on the island is rejected and discouraged by the local authorities and tourism professionals, in favor of a more environmentally-aware approach to sea and sun vacations. And holiday-goers seem to be appreciating the effort, judging by the latest data. “The response of tourists to our call...

If you’ve ever dreamed of leaving everything behind and living on a remote island, now might be your chance. Ireland will give you a grant of up to 84,000 euros ($92,297) if you settle one of the country’s coastal islands. But there are conditions attached to the deal, as well as a few factors that may deter people from making the move. The islands in question are cut off from the mainland by the tide on a daily basis, and aren’t connected to it by bridges or causeways, according to the Irish government. Around 300,000 visitors come to these islands...

George Maharis, known best for portraying Buz Murdock in the first three seasons of “Route 66” before quitting the 1960s drama after contracting hepatitis, has died. He was 94. The Emmy-nominated actor died Wednesday at his Beverly Hills home, his longtime friend and caregiver Marc Bahan told The Hollywood Reporter.

Sex offender Jeffrey Epstein paid school tuition for the children of then-governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, whose wife made efforts to secure student visas and a work license for young women connected to Epstein, according to an updated court filing Thursday by JPMorgan Chase. Those tuition payments, whose duration and amounts were not revealed, allowed then-Gov. John de Jongh Jr. “to funnel additional money to his political campaigns,” JPMorgan said in the filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Epstein also “offered to fund Governor de Jongh’s defense in the Governor’s criminal case,” where the then-governor was charged in...

The nation’s spy chief, a longtime college president and top women in finance. The circle of people who associated with Jeffrey Epstein years after he was a convicted sex offender is wider than previously reported, according to a trove of documents that include his schedules. William Burns, director of the Central Intelligence Agency since 2021, had three meetings scheduled with Epstein in 2014, when he was deputy secretary of state, the documents show. They first met in Washington and then Mr. Burns visited Epstein’s townhouse in Manhattan. Kathryn Ruemmler, a White House counsel under President Barack Obama, had dozens of...

On Friday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) stated that new Minnesota law on abortion will make the state an “island” on the issue and “will strain” healthcare resources as more people come into the state to seek abortions, but “reproductive healthcare is something that is absolutely critical.” And “we’ll continue to put more resources into that.” Co-host Boris Sanchez asked, “Governor, you describe your decision and this new law as making Minnesota an ‘island of decency.’ Several states around you have placed very severe restrictions on abortion. So, you’re seeing an influx of patients in...