Free Republic

The last time Brood XIX and Brood XIII emerged from underground at the same time, Thomas Jefferson was president.

President Biden’s reelection campaign has placed a large ad buy on the Fox News website ahead of Wednesday night’s first GOP primary debate, using the event to promote abortion rights messaging while making use of a popular meme relating to the president. The “Dark Brandon” ads will be displayed on FoxNews.com beginning midnight Tuesday running through Thursday morning “highlighting President Biden’s commitment to fighting a national abortion ban and codify Roe,” the campaign said. Get real, Jack. I’m bringing Roe back,” the ad reads. Fox News is set to air Wednesday night’s first 2024 GOP debate and make it available...

Several border cities have declared states of emergency as the migrant invasion of the United States escalates. However, it’s not just border states; many of these illegal aliens are traveling to metropolitan areas leading to New York and Chicago declaring a state of emergency.[….] “Thursday night marked the end of Title 42, after more than three years of the public health order enabling the rapid expulsion of hundreds of thousands of migrants without a chance at asylum. Just before the policy ended, a Florida court temporarily blocked border officials from releasing migrants from custody without court dates. Government attorneys have...

An oil depot in Russia exploded in a towering inferno this morning after a drone attack thought to have been orchestrated by Ukraine. Three tanks containing thousands of tonnes of diesel fuel caught fire around 6am local time at a site in Bryansk, a Russian region that borders Ukraine to the north. The fire began after a drone dropped explosives into one of the fuel tanks, according to Russian media. Nobody was injured in the attack. Videos taken shortly after the strike showed two fuel tanks spewing smoke and flame with at least one showing signs of blast damage, with...

technology has completely changed how countries fight wars: precision airstrikes, drones and now… militarized robot dogs. Jim Lewis, @Galactic_Trader on Twitter, shared a video early Monday that showed a Chinese robot dog (with machine gun)(added) dropped off by a drone.

President Joe Biden found himself relegated to the sidelines on Tuesday as his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama stole the limelight during his first visit to the White House in five years.

Cops in New York City were called to a Brooklyn corner after a mob swarmed a spot where the city was giving out free at-home COVID-19 tests. According to the New York Post, on Friday, "tempers flared as the larger-than-expected crowd descended on Flatbush and Church avenues, one of five spots in the Big Apple where city health officials were doling out tests amid a surge in demand over the holidays and lack of supply." "We've opened new city-run testing sites in all five boroughs and have been handing out at-home #COVID19 tests to those waiting in line," Mayor Bill...

A NEW volcano may be forming beneath Mexico after hundreds of small tremors occurred in the west of the country, experts have revealed. Between May 1 and June 8 of this year, 242 microseisms shook Michoacán. Most of the earthquakes were not noticeable to humans, but the increased activity has led scientists to believe something larger is happening. A similar phenomenon occurred in the same place, which is known as a volcanic hotspot, 1997, 1999, and 2006. Researchers from the Institute of Geophysics at the National Autonomous University (UNAM) also said there were more than 300 micro-quakes in the same...

So you believe in science, eh? Excellent! So do I! Well, let me clarify. I don’t “believe” in science; I accept there is reality and this “science-way” of thinking has proven itself the best method for discovering this reality. What you or I believe has no impact on this reality. And what of this reality? How can we discover it to ensure our continued success and even our continued survival?

In one of nature’s mysteries, 15 states will soon witness the reemergence of Brood X — or the Great Eastern Brood — of periodical cicadas. These “large, winged, kind of scary-looking but mostly harmless flying insects known for their almost deafening buzz” emerge in-unison every 17 years. Periodical cicadas have “black bodies and bold red eyes,” and spend 17 years lying underground in “wingless nymph form,” feeding on sap. While most cicadas travel as individuals or in small groups after reaching adulthood, periodical cicadas follow a strict schedule... “The end of May through June, it can get pretty loud —...

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran launched exercises featuring a wide array of domestically produced drones on Tuesday, Iranian media reported, days after the anniversary of the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general by a drone strike in Iraq. Iran and the regional forces it backs have increasingly relied in recent years on drones in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf. Iran’s armed forces are to test combat drones used as bombers, interceptors and in reconnaissance missions in the two-day exercises in central Semnan province, the semi-official Fars news agency said.

The Air Force's flight test center at the Nevada Test and Training Range continues to grow...the facility has grown dramatically since 2000, including the addition of a massive and mysterious hangar built at the base's southern end...an even larger extension to an existing hangar facility that is quite peculiar in nature points to the possibility that the age of large swarms of unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) has finally arrived. For a year, construction has been underway in a section of the southern ramp area at the base, near where the original A-12 Oxcart hangars still stand. Four more modern...

The number of earthquakes detected in Iceland has already increased to 9,000. The series of earthquakes began as scientists in the country reported signs of activity from Iceland’s most active volcano. In its latest report, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) noted that it had detected a total of 9,000 earthquakes as of June 29. According to the agency, the earthquake swarm began on June 19 in areas northeast of Siglufjörður, which is a fishing town located on the northern coast of Iceland. Three of the earthquakes detected by the agency had magnitudes of over five. “The earthquake swarm began on...

PORT HARDY, B.C. - Four earthquakes measuring between 5 and 6 in magnitude struck Monday off the coast of Vancouver Island, the U.S. Geological Survey reports. The first quake registered 5.2 in magnitude and struck at 8:44 a.m. PST. The second quake, which measured 5.7 in magnitude, hit at 11:13 a.m. A third quake measuring 6.0 was recorded at 11:49 a.m. The fourth quake, also 6.0 in magnitude, struck at 12:56 p.m. All four quakes were centered about 100 miles west of Port Hardy, on the northern tip of Vancouver Island, and all were measured at a depth of about...

A county in central Kansas experienced a pretty shocking uptick in seismic activity last week — 11 earthquakes in five days. It started with a magnitude-2.4 earthquake Wednesday morning just 2 1/2 miles southwest of Hutchinson, Kansas, in Reno County, according to the United States Geological Survey. There would be 10 more before the week was out.

Thousands of Palestinians protested Friday at the fence dividing the Gaza Strip and Israel in a repeat of major demonstrations last week that turned deadly, as some burned tires that sent up massive plumes of smoke amid Israeli military gunfire. Three Gazans died from live fire, including a 16-year-old, and dozens were injured by late afternoon, Palestinian health authorities and local media said. The Israel military said the army responded with gunfire and water cannons as Palestinians hurled firebombs at soldiers and attempted to infiltrate Israeli territory. The demonstrations, which organizers say will continue for weeks, have presented Israel with...

The Israel Defense Forces estimated that 17,000 Palestinians were taking part in “March of Return” demonstrations along the Gaza border, focused at five main protest sites where rioters threw petrol bombs and stones at troops, and burned tires.

A series of mysterious attacks against the main Russian military base in Syria, including one conducted by a swarm of armed miniature drones, has exposed Russia’s continued vulnerability in the country despite recent claims of victory by President Vladimir Putin. The attacks have also spurred a flurry of questions over who may be responsible for what amounts to the biggest military challenge yet to Russia’s role in Syria, just when Moscow is seeking to wind its presence down. In the most recent and unusual of the attacks, more than a dozen armed drones descended from an unknown location onto Russia’s...

37 quakes -one was 5.3 on the Richter scale- NE of Soda Springs, Idaho (southwest of Yellowstone) in the past 7 hours. Close enough to be of possible concern?) Suspicious action from a fairly quiet area.

US Army Seeks Internet-of-Battlefield-Things, Distributed Bot Swarms After nearly two decades of war against technologically unsophisticated foes, the Army Research Lab is reorienting to counter China and Russia. The Army Research Lab is turning more of its attention to fighting land wars against far more technologically sophisticated adversaries than it has in the past several decades. In the coming months, the Lab will fund new programs related to highly (but not fully) autonomous drones and robots that can withstand adversary electronic warfare operations. The Lab will also fund new efforts to develop battlefield communications and sensing networks that perform well...