Free Republic

RESIDENTS in Oxford were left shocked after a mystery fireball erupted in the sky after a massive bang. Numerous locals in the city have been reporting about the "fireball" with the sky "pulsating with flames and smoke" this evening. A number of concerned citizens took to X, formerly Twitter, to voice their concerns about the shock phenomenon. One shocking video showed the night sky illuminated by a massive ball of flames. The fire then billowed into the night, leaving locals stunned. While another wrote: "Anybody else in Oxford see that fireball?? "Loud explosion and then the sky just did this,...

1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature. 2. Guide reproduction wisely - improving fitness and diversity. 3. Unite humanity with a living new language. 4. Rule passion - faith - tradition - and all things with tempered reason. 5. Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts. 6. Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court. 7. Avoid petty laws and useless officials. 8. Balance personal rights with social duties. 9. Prize truth - beauty - love - seeking harmony with the infinite. 10. Be not a cancer on the earth...

Pope Benedict XVI's resignation came like a bolt from the blue overnight. And the weather around the Vatican was eerily appropriate, with lightning striking St Peter's Basilica, one of the holiest Catholic sites, on the same day that Pope Benedict announced he would be stepping down. Global news agency Agence France-Presse published an image of lightning striking the basilica's dome, which it said was taken "on the day the Pope" announced his resignation. AFP said the striking image was captured by photographer Filippo Monteforte, who works for Italian national news and photo agency ANSA. Monteforte's website shows that he has...

An incredible eight bolts struck the Bay Bridge in San Francisco last night which was captured in this incredible shot by photographer Phil McGrew, who took the photo through the rain-soaked window of his apartment.

CAMP SHELBY, Miss. — Hattiesburg hospitals say they are awaiting 77 soldiers who were near a lightning strike at Camp Shelby in southern Mississippi. Forrest County General Hospital officials did not have information about their conditions. A spokeswoman for the base says there were no fatalities and all personnel were responsive and stable after the strike on Wednesday. Maj. Deidre Musgrave said those hurt were Air Force cadets. They were being taken to the hospitals for examination after the lightning strike at about 2 p.m. Camp Shelby is a joint forces training base near Hattiesburg.

Reminders of last summer’s tornado are still evident at Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis. A red scaffolding setup stands next to one of the limestone walls of the historic, 82-year-old church at 333 S. 12th St. At the peak of the roof, still more scaffolding — complete with a Les Jones Roofing banner — surrounds the tornado-damaged steeple. A 176-foot crane towers over the house of worship, which stood in the path of the Aug. 19 twister as it swept through south Minneapolis. The tornado inflicted $300,000 worth of damage to the church, but repairs are going well and...

• Q2 jumps by 67 percent year over year • Buyers done in by ‘creative mortgages’ according to figures released Monday by Foreclosures.com, a Central Valley-based real estate investment advisory firm and publisher of foreclosure property information. "Year over year at the end of the second quarter of 2006, foreclosure activity in California has increased more than 67 percent," says Alexis McGee, president of Fair Oaks-based ForeclosureS.com. The once hot housing markets in Las Vegas and Phoenix are cooling off rapidly and defaults there are on the rise as well, she says. "Both Las Vegas and Phoenix were impacted by...

The newest threat to man is not terrorism, biological warfare, or lack of flu vaccine. It is the false assumption that men and women differ solely in their plumbing. Caused by workplace gender equilibrium a new “sensitive” man, a.k.a. the metro-sexual, has been born. While some may say that it’s good for men to show their more feminine side, a line must be drawn immediately as to how far our society pushes this ideal. A simple Google search for “male makeup” reveals that it may already be too late. That’s right, there are already people profiting on the sale and...

Fort McCoy Lightning Strike June 14, 2004 Mandy Grosser Link to story On Sunday Morning, lightning stuck a tent at the army's Fort McCoy, injuring 13 soldiers. Officials say two soldiers received medical treatment at the tent and the other eleven were taken to the hospital. Two soldiers remained in serious condition on Sunday night. Officials aren't sure how many soldiers were inside the tent when the lightning stuck. Ironically, more than 2,000 soldiers specializing in medical treatment are stationed at Fort McCoy right now. Some of them provided a helping hand to the lightning victims. Ch 18's story Link...

Former aerospace workers ensnared in Operation Lightning Strike are hoping that the U.S. District Court will clear their names with the deposition of an ex-literary agent. Former NASA contractor Dale Brown said he hopes to clear his name with the testimony of a former literary agent. In a deposition filed with a petition for review, John R. Craig testified that FBI operative James H. Francis manufactured evidence in an ongoing investigation to enhance his chances of securing a book deal. "He manipulated facts and actions to make them," said Craig in a sworn deposition taken on March 20. "He would...

An FBI agent fabricated evidence in a 1992 sting operation that led to charges against 18 NASA employees in order to promote a book, a document filed Friday in federal court alleges. The accusations in the document, made by an alleged former FBI operative, are part of an effort to overturn the convictions of 12 NASA employees who pleaded guilty to corruption charges in Operation Lightning Strike. The allegations against the lead FBI agent in the 20-month undercover operation are in the document filed by the NASA-13 Defense Committee, a group formed to defend the people accused in the investigation....

A group of people who were either acquitted of or pleaded guilty to bribery charges related to an FBI sting operation in the early 1990s aimed at NASA contractors have asked a federal judge to review their cases because they claim new evidence shows they were the victims of a flawed and corrupt investigation. The sting, dubbed "Operation Lightning Strike," started in December 1991 and ended in July 1993. Agents aimed to root out corrupt contractors and government workers willing to violate federal procurement laws. The sting involved an FBI agent posing as a corrupt businessman who wanted to get...

By BOB POCKRASS (bob.pockrass@news-jrnl.com) Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH -- A burst of lightning Thursday afternoon jolted several race fans at Daytona International Speedway. Speedway officials said eight people were treated for minor injuries suffered when lightning struck the vendor display area outside the Speedway grandstands around 3:45 p.m. Six people were treated at care centers at the Speedway and two were transported to Halifax Medical Center. All were released by 5 p.m., Speedway officials said. Treated and released from the Speedway care centers were fans Dwayne Decoux, 26, of Simpsonville, S.C., and his brother, Derek Decoux, 25, of Pace; Alfred...