Free Republic

Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena (L) and Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry Jr., son of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, shake hands in front of the starship Enterprise model used in the original series' opening credits. Photo by Josh David/Heritage Auctions April 18 (UPI) -- The original model of the starship Enterprise has returned to the family of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Heritage Auctions last week returned the long-lost model, featured in the original Star Trek series' opening credits, to Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry Jr., CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment and son of the late Gene Roddenberry, the company announced...

A man with a needle in his arm. Streets littered with trash. Constant retail theft. Cars with broken windows from smash-and-grab auto burglaries. These are some of the images that have been used recently to describe San Francisco. But even if that narrative may have been accurate a year ago, it is now contrary to what we generally see in San Francisco today. In the San Francisco of spring 2024, you instead find commuters grabbing coffees and heading in to their offices; tourists admiring the streets comprised of unique Edwardian and Victorian architecture; friends enjoying the fresh fish at outdoor...

A former model-turned-pilot who was allegedly an accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein pleaded the fifth 42 times when she was questioned about former President Bill Clinton and other associates of the late financier. Nadia Marcinkova repeatedly invoked her right to protect herself from self-incrimination in a 2010 deposition in a case against the convicted sex offender, court documents unsealed on Friday revealed. “Have you witnessed improper sexual activity between Jeffrey Epstein and minors, while he was in the presence of Bill Clinton?” attorneys asked Marcinkova in the deposition. “Fifth,” she bluntly responded. She was also asked whether she knew Bill Clinton,...

You love to see it. The Washington Post editorial board published a piece today arguing that the world she be paying close attention to the failure of Chinese communism:The East is ascendant. The West is in irreversible decline. And China is proving that its centralized, state-led authoritarian system is superior at delivering high economic growth and rapid development, in contrast to messy and fractious democracies.For years, and particularly since Chinese President Xi Jinping cemented his power, this has been the official message underpinning Mr. Xi’s “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” Rejuvenation — also called revival — has been repeated...

A biologically male transgender model was crowned as ‘Miss Netherlands’ and will compete for the title of Miss Universe later this year in El Salvador. Rikkie Kolle, a 22-year-old model, has been selected as Miss Netherlands 2023, the first biological male to win the historically female competition.

Yes, it has come to this. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) tweeted Wednesday: “I’m old enough to remember when women actually modeled women’s bathing suits, not men.” Alas, we’re way past that now in our enlightened age. If men can become top female admirals and champion female swimmers, why can’t they model the latest in women’s bathing suits? Mace was responding to a new ad campaign from Adidas, featuring a male model wearing their new women’s swimwear line.I'm old enough to remember when women actually modeled women's bathing suits, not men. 🙃 https://t.co/kOvXvmDzHt— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) May 17, 2023Adidas’ website...

Ekaterina Lisina has the longest legs among women in the world. She is the world’s tallest model, and as far as anyone can tell, she has the biggest female feet in Russia. Ekaterina Lisina holds the Guinness World Record for having the longest legs among women. Her left leg measures 52.3 inches while the right one is an even 52 inches long. The model stands 6’9″ tall, and realised rather early that her height would be one of her biggest assets. With a successful career in basketball where height is of the essence, the young Russian’s foresight allowed her to...

Tatjana Patitz, a Vogue model who appeared on dozens of fashion magazine covers in her 40-year career after skyrocketing to fame in the ’80s and ’90s, has died. She was 56. While the cause of death has not been revealed, Vogue confirmed that the model died recently. The iconic supermodel was most known for her work in Vogue and also starred in George Michael’s “Freedom! ’90” music video alongside fellow models Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, and Linda Evangelista.

Charlbi Dean, the South African actor and model who had a breakout role in “Triangle of Sadness,” which won this year's top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, has died at age 32. Dean died Monday at a hospital in New York from a sudden unexpected illness, her representatives said Tuesday. Dean also had a recurring role as the assassin Syonide on the DC Comics television series “Black Lightning,” which aired on the CW from 2018 to 2021. She was born Charlbi Dean Kriek in Cape Town, where she was also raised.

Noaa model GPS predicts Cat 5 hurricane in the upper GOM by Labor Day weekend. Storm building now east west of African coast.

California’s natural beauty and balmy climate are the envy of every state. Yet a strange thing has happened over the last two years: for the first time in state history, California has begun to shrink.You wouldn’t know it from Governor Gavin Newsom’s air of public confidence. In the last few weeks, Newsom accepted a national award for education transformation and ran political ads to warn Floridians that their freedom is under attack. In both cases, he offered California’s progressive model as the right fit to reform the rest of America.But his proud rhetoric doesn’t match California’s declining reality. Americans are...

Newly-appointed Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) Jeff Olivet visited Houston on April 28 to tout the Bayou City’s “success” in reducing homelessness by 62 percent. On the eve of his trip, he emailed homeless advocates about the city’s efforts, “Houston’s great. We’re not sure if it’s replicable.” The question should be, is it sustainable? Since the Obama administration, the federal government’s approach to reduce homelessness has been based on a simple concept: The homeless are homeless because they don’t have homes. Give them a home and — regardless of underlying addiction or mental illness —...

Is Joe Biden, or whoever is handling him today, aware of his latest "optics"? Get a load of what he's been up to:President Joe Biden stopped in Portland for a few hours Thursday afternoon to drum up excitement for his administration's trillion-dollar effort to revamp the nation's roads, bridges, airports and railways.Biden's speech was part pep talk, part explainer."Oregon and America have gone from being on the mend to being on the move," Biden said. "We just gotta get the hell out of our own way."Oregon? Portland? Seriously? That's like touting Flint, or Detroit as the great model upon which...

Scientists admit they did not model clouds accurately and that they need a supercomputer 1000 times more powerful to accurately do that.Scientists admit they did not model clouds accurately and that they need a supercomputer 1000 times more powerful to accurately do that...Climate Change Modeling Meets Limits of Science The Wall Street Journal reports Climate Scientists Encounter Limits of Computer Models, Bedeviling Policy.That is a non-paywalled, free-to-read link courtesy of the WSJ.It's lengthy but an excellent read. I encourage everyone to take a look.The dire predictions went out the window, seemingly unanimously. But there is plenty in the article for...

A previously healthy model from Florida has been in hospital fighting for her life after suffering a heart attack earlier this month. Claire Bridges, 20-years-old, was admitted to Tampa General Hospital on January 16th with severe leg pain and was diagnosed with myocarditis, rhabdomyolysis, mild pneumonia, cyanotic and acidosis. A few hours after being admitted, her heart stopped. ... Two weeks ago, Claire’s health rapidly deteriorated when her heart and other organs were impacted. She was quickly put in ICU on life support. Her father, Wayne, said about the ordeal: “She has been through so much with this. The last...

A German model was mauled by a leopard during a photoshoot — leaving her unconscious and with large gashes on her face and head, according to reports Thursday. Jessica Leidolph, 36, was posing for shots inside an animal enclosure at a center for retired showbiz animals in Nebra Tuesday when the 16-year-old leopard, Troja, sunk its teeth into her head, according to the German newspaper Bild. “It repeatedly kept biting my cheek, ear and head,” she told the outlet, according to the UK Sun.

I'm looking to repaint a small steel toy. It's nearly 50 years old, and some of the paint separated while in storage and fell off. I'd like to repaint it, and thought of brushed-on model paint as the best solution. However, model paint is usually sold near plastic models. So, the question for model builders: can these paints (like Testor enamel) be used for steel parts, or is there something more suited? Thanks :)

On Wednesday, two-time losing Democrat candidate for president Hillary Clinton jumped to her Facebook account to praise USA Gymnast Simone Biles on the heels of her decision to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics. On Wednesday, Biles announced that she was pulling out from the all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympics. Her decision caused a storm of criticism that sparked many of the gymnast’s supporters to defend her defense.

According to The Daily Star, Florida model Whitney Paige Venable, 26, said she felt “discriminated against” for being beautiful following the unexpected Twitter ban. “The ban came as a complete shock to me as I’d never used Twitter other than to write a few comments about TV shows I was watching or share photos from my Instagram account,” she said. The beauty boasts a staggering 1.6 million followers on her Instagram page, which remains active.

One girl from Spain is proving that anyone can make their dreams come true, even people like her who were born with Down syndrome. Marian Avila has made a successful career as a model, despite how difficult it can be for people with Down syndrome to find a job. She is leveraging the media attention she’s received to bring awareness to the chromosomal disorder and encourage people to pursue their dreams no matter what. As a child, Marian always dreamed of becoming a model. Not only was she born with Down syndrome, she is only 5-foot-3. Her height alone would...