Free Republic

Are cruise ships prepared for the threat of terrorism? As I have contended for a long time, in my opinion no. Cruise lines are still calling on dangerous ports. They are still sending passengers on unescorted shore excursions in buses without armed security personnel. Cruise ships can't prevent terrorists from overpowering their unarmed security guards on most cruise ships and running up the gangways. (Some European cruise lines, like Costa, have weapons). Few lines are conducting anti-terrorist drills. The rare anti-terrorism training drill conducted by local and federal agencies are not even conducted on cruise ships. Few lines have installed...

Just as construction crews were putting the finishing touches on Interstate 22 this week, rumors began to circulate that the road's completion may set off a chain of events that could destroy humanity and bring civilization to it's knees. According to a Wikipedia article created last night, Interstate 22, formerly known as "Corridor X" and "Ye Olden Highway," is considered to be North America's very first construction project. Native American documents dating back to 800 AD show plans to clear a path from Memphis to Birmingham, giving Midwestern tribes of 19-22 year-olds the quickest route to destroying Alabama's pristine beaches...

Two Australian rowing coaches were robbed at knifepoint by two teenage boys in Rio in the latest security failure at the Games. The coaches were wearing their team uniforms and were walking a short distance back to their hotel near Ipanema Beach after the opening ceremony on Friday, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The coaches were reportedly violently assaulted during the incident after being approached by two teenage boys, including one who pulled out a knife and demanded money.

BRUSSELS bureaucrats are forcing Britain to cough up a staggering £20BILLION before the country unshackles itself from the beleaguered bloc, it has emerged.

U.S. railroad traffic in July fell 7.9 percent to 2,027,768, carloads and intermodal units, compared with traffic volume in July 2015, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) announced this week. Total carloads in the month declined 8.8 percent to 1,025,367 units, compared with the same period last year. Railroads also transported 1,002,401 containers and trailers last month, down 6.9 percent compared with a year ago. Four of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by AAR posted increases during the month. They included grain, up 15.3 percent or 12,641 carloads; waste and nonferrous scrap, up 25.9 percent or 3,400 carloads; and...

<p>TEB-1 has a spacious passenger compartment measuring 72 feet long by 26 feet wide.</p> <p>Every urban commuter laments the twice-a-day headache of traffic congestion and the often disappointing alternatives that mass transit offers.</p> <p>A Chinese company has officially rolled out one potential solution: the TEB-1, or Transit Elevated Bus. The giant "flying" bus, as some have called it, straddles two lanes of traffic and stands nearly 16 feet tall so that it can pass over cars on the roadway below. While still a long way from mass production, the TEB-1 could one day alleviate major traffic woes in China and other countries with crowded metropolitan areas.</p>

LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) - A quiet summer night in Laurel County got shaken up by a loud crash, and a swarm of bees. Neighbors say they could hear the screaming all the way up the hills. People on Patton Spur Road don't see many cars come down the dead-end street. But last night, Gary Anderson watched from his porch as a purple Tracker veered on and off the pavement. "Then he passed probably going about 35-40 miles an hour, pretty fast really. And all the sudden, I heard a big boom," said Anderson. He says the driver, Noah...

An 80-room Italian castle owned by the same family since the fourteenth century is set to change hands for the first time in nearly 650 years. Castel Valer, located in the foothills of the Dolomites, was constructed over half a millennium from 1200-1700 and was acquired by the Spaur family in 1368. The estate, which combines architecture from the Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque eras, has previously been valued at over 31 million euros (£26m). "The home holds a lot of history for both my family and my country. I especially love the details in the Gothic Chapel and have a...

There’s nothing worse than hopping on a flight to take a long-awaited summer vacation — only to land in paradise with a nasty cold or stomach bug. Airplane germs are unavoidable, but experts say there are ways to protect yourself. It all comes down to knowing what you’re fighting against and how to protect yourself. Around your seat, you’re likely to pick up germs that cause the common cold, flu, staph infections, or norovirus — many of which can live for days, weeks or months on a surface. In the bathroom, you should be on high alert for E. coli...

On July 27, 1949, the world quite abruptly became a very small place. The new scale, which drew together cities and coastlines that had for millennia existed on basically separate planets, came courtesy of the de Havilland Comet, the first commercial jet aircraft to enter production. With its pressurized cabin, it could travel as high as 42,000 feet and, courtesy of four turbojet engines offering 22,000 Newtons of thrust each, it cruised at 460 miles per hour. The Comet was, well, a comet.

Mr Vance was formerly investigator-in-charge for the Canadian Aviation Safety Board and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, and has led more than 200 air crash investigations. He was the chief author of a report into the 1998 SwissAir Flight 111 crash off Nova Scotia, Canada which killed 229 people. The force of that crash broke the plane into more than two million pieces. He told 60 Minutes that an absence of such wreckage was one factor suggesting MH370 landed in controlled circumstances. "Somebody was flying the airplane at the end of its flight," he said. "Somebody was flying the...

Shocking new pictures of the filthy waters in Rio have revealed yet more concerns for Olympic athletes in Brazil who have been told not to put their heads under water. Ganabara Bay will host the triathlon, sailing and some swimming events at the Games and last week a floating corpse and a severed arm were found floating in the water. A study has shown viral levels in the bay is up to 1.7 million times what would be considered worrisome in the United States or Europe.

A Hawaiian volcano was ready for its close-up. A smiley face was spotted in the Kilauea volcano's crater during an eruption.

Brazilian firemen stole Zika-protective shirts from Australia's residence during an evacuation, when a laptop was also pinched and other computer equipment rifled through. Australian team boss Kitty Chiller says she crossed paths with the thieves at the height of Friday's fire drama at the Olympic athletes' village. At the time, Chiller's initial thought was the shirts may have been given to the firemen by Australian team members as thanks for helping them evacuate.

About a week after the Rindone family returned from their tropical summer vacation, 7-year-old Andrew started complaining about a bump on his head. "It did hurt a little," Andrew said. "And, it did itch." The boy's pediatrician thought he had an infection and prescribed antibiotics. But the bump just kept getting bigger, and a small pinhole began to appear. Then one day, Andrew was on the couch when his mother saw something that horrified her. "We kind of noticed something peek out of the hole," Jennifer Rindone said. The small opening was apparently a breathing hole for the larvae growing...

Authorities Confirm Syrian Jhiad Diyab Has Resurfaced at Uruguayan Consulate in Venezuela After a month after disappearing from Uruguay, former Syrian Guantanamo prisoner Jhiad Diyab has resurfaced in Venezuela, according to Russian news agency Sputnik and Uruguayan chancellor Rodolfo Nin Novoa. According to Sputnik, Diyab presented himself in the Uruguayan consulate in Venezuela with the intention to travel to Turkey where a part of his family resides. The Syrian said he came to Venezuela through Brazil by bus. Diyab obtained refugee status in Uruguay after coming to the country in December 2014. This was achieved after an agreement by former...

Because of a derailment at the East Falls Church Metro station portions of the Orange and Silver lines will remain closed for the rest of the day. WASHINGTON — Service on parts of the Orange and Silver Lines will remain suspended through at least Saturday, following an early-morning derailment near the East Falls Church station that damaged two train cars, sent one rider to the hospital and scrambled passengers’ Friday morning commutes. Service on the Silver Line between the McLean and Ballston stations and on the Orange Line between West Falls Church and Ballston will remain suspended through the end...

The ex-wife of a man who died while searching for a cache of gold and jewels says she believe he lost his life chasing a hoax. Linda Bilyeu told The Albuquerque Journal she's disappointed that Randy Bilyeu, the father of her two daughters, died while searching for treasure Santa Fe author Forrest Fenn says he's hidden in the Rocky Mountain region. Although 54-year-old Bilyeu was reported missing in January, his remains weren't found until July. Bilyeu was visiting Santa Fe from Broomfield, Colorado, to search for Fenn's antique treasure chest. It's said to contain more than $1 million worth of...

Olympic athletes competing in the waters off Rio’s shore dodge human feces, the invisible rotavirus, and dead bodies in pursuit of gold. This game ranks not as an official Olympic sport but as a necessity for athletes competing on the open waters during the August event in Rio.

A team led by Eric Jansen, from the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change in Italy, is the latest to try its hand at using modelling to identify the impact site. The approach relies on two years of high-resolution data that describe the currents and wind conditions across the Indian and Southern oceans. Multiple simulations were used to predict where objects might drift given different starting points. These forecasts were then analysed and the greatest weight given to those tracks that best matched the locations of known MH370 debris items. These are the parts of the Boeing 777, such as an...