Free Republic

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) meteoric rise in Republican politics is putting him on track for a possible clash with former President Trump, who is dangling the prospect of a third White House campaign. DeSantis’s popularity among the GOP faithful has mushroomed over his handling of the coronavirus, and he’s found himself at the center of several news cycles, including over his signing of a controversial voting restriction bill and the collapse of a south Florida condominium building. That support and attention, combined with his reelection fight next year, are fueling speculation that DeSantis is gearing up for a 2024...

A satellite experiment has revealed that the heaviest known neutron star is unexpectedly large, which suggests that the matter in the star’s inner core is less “squeezable” than some models predict. NICER measures the size of a neutron star by tracking the x-ray emission from “hot spots” on the surface as the star rotates. These spots occur at the magnetic poles of the star, where the field slams particles onto the star surface. Neutron stars are “cosmic zombies”­—corpses of massive stars that collapsed in violent explosions after running out of fuel. By studying these ultradense objects, researchers hope to understand...

The Star Trek franchise is heading in a new direction on the big screen, with Star Trek: Discovery writer Kalinda Vasquez set to write a new, original Star Trek movie. Paramount Pictures has set up a blind script deal for Vasquez for her to write an original movie based on an idea she hatched, according to Deadline. J.J. Abrams will produce the movie through his Bad Robot Productions company, though it's unclear if he'll come aboard to direct as well.

The great convergence of Jupiter and Saturn for the first time in 800 years to form the Christmas Star also happened to converge with the date of this year’s Winter Solstice. And I missed it.We were under heavy cloud cover with rain so there was no way to catch even a glint of the Christmas Star, which I can’t help but feel is a bit like a bad omen. Anyway, as I missed the Christmas Star I’m left with only the Winter Solstice, Druids and 90 freezing, cold, gray days that will be followed by another 60 days of moderately...

There’s nothing like a little Christmas miracle to inspire cheer after the chaos of 2020.On Dec. 21, people will have the opportunity to experience the same awe as the three wise men when they looked to the sky and saw the “Christmas Star,” or the “Star of Bethlehem,” shining brightly.In an event that has not occurred in almost 800 years, Jupiter and Saturn will appear to almost collide in a phenomenon scientists refer to as a “conjunction,” making them look like an incredibly bright “double planet,”according to a report from Forbes Media.Rice University astronomer Patrick Hartigan explained that lesser alignments...

The first day of winter will bring a celestial delight. According to Rice University astronomer Patrick Hartigan, Jupiter and Saturn will appear closer than they’ve been since the Middle Ages. The effect will create a “Christmas Star,” or “Star of Bethlehem.” 2020 can sure use it.Just after the sun sets on December 21, the winter solstice, the two planets will look like a double planet, or large star.“Alignments between these two planets are rather rare, occurring once every 20 years or so, but this conjunction is exceptionally rare because of how close the planets will appear to one another,” said...

Donald Trump's star on Hollywood's iconic Walk of Fame was once again vandalized early Friday morning, the Los Angeles Police Department said. A man in an Incredible Hulk costume demolished Trump's star with a pickax around 5 a.m., TMZ reported. The LAPD said their officers responded to a report of vandalism at the site at 5:55 a.m.

John Boyega has slammed Disney for 'sidelining' his Star Wars character and giving 'all the nuance' to his white co-stars Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley. The actor, 28, portrayed the franchise's first black Stormtrooper, in The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker and told how he thinks Disney marketed his character as being 'much more important' than he actually was. Speaking in an interview with the October issue of British GQ magazine, he said: 'You get yourself involved in projects and you're not necessarily going to like everything.

The U.S. Space Force revealed its new logo and motto as the service seeks to build branding and cultural identity. The black-and-silver service logo unveiled July 22 has the delta wing as its central element that is also found in the Space Force seal and flag. There is a “Space Force” horizontally shaped logo and a USSF vertical logo.

Astronomers have finally found something they have spent decades searching for: a teardrop-shaped star that pulsates on only one side. Citizen scientists helped the discovery team find the strangely lopsided star, which is known as HD74423, in data gathered by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The star is about 1.7 times the mass of Earth's sun, and scientists determined that HD74423's weird pulsing is caused by a second, smaller star. "I've been looking for a star like this for nearly 40 years, and now we have finally found one," study co-author Don Kurtz, an astronomer at the University of...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez faces the risk of being “Crowleyed” in June, as one of her primary challengers accuses the democratic socialist millennial of gallivanting across the U.S. instead of tending to her constituents in New York’s 14th Congressional District. Just like Joe Crowley, the district’s former representative who served for two-decades and became part of leadership in Washington, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez runs the risk of her voters growing increasingly frustrated with her lack of presence - and disconnect - at home, said Democratic primary challenger Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, a former business reporter and CNBC contributor. “I want to be a representative to...

Gravitational waves are caused by calamitous events in the Universe. Neutron stars that finally merge after circling each other for a long time can create them, and so can two black holes that collide with each other. But sometimes there's a burst of gravitational waves that doesn't have a clear cause. One such burst was detected by LIGO/VIRGO on January 14, and it came from the same region of sky that hosts the star Betelgeuse. Yeah, Betelgeuse, aka Alpha Orionis. The star that has been exhibiting some dimming behaviour recently, and is expected to go supernova at some point in...

“Star Wars” is shrinking at the box office. “The Rise of Skywalker” is nearing $1 billion worldwide, but it’s way behind the previous installments. “The Force Awakens” finished its theatrical run with $2 billion worldwide. That was an enormous hit. But the next chapter, “The Last Jedi,” ended up with $1.3 billion, a significant fall off. “Skywalker” shows “Star Wars” fatigue. It’s not quite at $1 billion, and it’s getting ready to say goodbye. Disney will keep it in movie theaters for a while but the big push is over.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker debuts on Rotten Tomatoes with a score lower than Attack of the Clones. Since Disney relaunched the franchise with The Force Awakens in 2015, the series has enjoyed a largely positive reception. Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and Rogue One are all Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes (despite being divisive amongst fans for various reasons), and even box office bomb Solo received generally good reviews. With Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams back at the helm for The Rise of Skywalker, there were high hopes the blockbuster would be a rousing finale that concluded the...

The Disney trilogy comes to a close, and the Skywalker saga comes to an end. Here's my review of STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER!

It's the final film in the Skywalker saga that concludes the nine-film epic space opera. And critics were full of praise for Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker as they revealed their initial reactions to seeing the film at the Los Angeles premiere on Monday night. While Disney has embargoed full reviews until Wednesday, those inside the three cinemas screening the film were so delighted they took to Twitter to give their spoiler-free thoughts on the film on Tuesday.

Porsche has teamed up with Star Wars to create a fantasy spaceship called the Tri-Wing S-91x Pegasus Starfighter to celebrate the latest movie in the George Lucas franchise. The 5ft model, which took two months to create, is to be presented at the Los Angeles premier of 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' next month. The designers say it is a fusion of Porsche and Star Wars DNA, with the curvature of the cockpit inspired by the 911 and Taycan car models. The spacecraft is fitted with air intakes and lights which are taken from the Taycan's design, while the...

Obsessed Star Wars fans with sleeping bags and a portable movie projector have started camping outside Hollywood's Chinese Theatre, more than a week before the blockbuster begins playing. Roughly 20 sci-fi lovers were in place Thursday, seven days before doors swing open for the first preview screening of the much-hyped, saga-concluding "The Rise of Skywalker." Organizers expect that number to swell to 150 in the coming days, with fans of all ages traveling from as far as the United Kingdom and Japan to see the movie first at the iconic venue where the original "Star Wars" premiered in 1977.

The Fellowship is the British Academy's highest honor, and will be presented at the upcoming BAFTA film awards. Kathleen Kennedy is to receive the BAFTA Fellowship at the BAFTA film awards. The British Academy's highest honor, the Fellowship is given to individuals in "recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, games or television," and will be presented to the Lucasfilm president and Amblin co-founder on Feb. 2.

The current impeachment investigation by Congressman Adam Schiff is being conducted in a Star Chamber, according to Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, speaking Saturday on her Justice With Judge Jeanine program. The Star Chamber was an English court that was active from the late 15th century to the mid-17th century. It was originally established to ensure the fair enforcement of laws against socially and politically prominent people. But it became synonymous with social and political oppression through the arbitrary use and abuse of the power it wielded. That, Pirro said, is the situation that’s currently underway in this country. The...