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Just a few months ago when the battle for Warner Bros. Discovery was raging, Brian Roberts was considered an also-ran.

Padmanee Sharma's family "were refugees running away from a terrible situation" in Guyana when they came to the US. Today, she's a top medical researcher.

Lady Liberty is visual shorthand for our dynamic country and its promise of freedom. She isn't merely a stodgy statue mired in another era — she is timeless.

However distant the American Revolution may seem, we still relish the idea of being a “Liberty People.”

New users can get in on the World Cup action with the Fanatics promo code NYPOST26 to get up to $1000 matched in FanCash.

The Knicks’ run to their first championship in 53 years has led to many changes at the top of the Eastern Conference.

Cops probing this week's Monaco bomb attack which injured a sanctioned Ukrainian oligarch suspect the explosive device was planted by a woman who disguised her appearance and she may have fled to Italy, according to reports.

The plummeting Mets face some hard decisions about a veteran-laden roster that could be dismantled by the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

America's 250th Birthday? Celebrate in your new sheets.

"I was farting like a grown man," 51-year-old Cristy Cooper told The Post from her hospital bed. "I mean, like you could hear it probably three doors down." And that was far from the worst of it.

Costco's chicken also landed among the publication's top picks, though reviewers found the seasoning to be less consistent between samples.

The bad news is that Aaron Judge’s return is nowhere in sight, so aside from beating up on the Twins, they are going to have to find a way to dig themselves out of this without him.

These Are The World's Most & Least Free Countries

Global freedom declined for the 20th consecutive year in 2025, according to Freedom House. More than 50 countries saw political rights and civil liberties deteriorate, including the United States.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Gabriel Cohen, ranks the world’s most and least free countries using Freedom House’s 2026 Freedom in the World report, which evaluates political rights and civil liberties across 195 countries and territories.

Finland topped the rankings with a perfect score of 100, followed by New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden at 99. Meanwhile, South Sudan scored 0, the lowest possible rating, highlighting the widening divide between the world’s strongest democracies and most repressive regimes.

Why Europe Dominates the Freedom Rankings

Europe accounts for most of the world’s highest-scoring countries, led by the Nordics and Western Europe. Strong electoral systems, independent courts, press freedom, and protections for civil liberties helped countries like Finland, Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands rank near the top globally.

There are two European outliers with low scores out of 100: Belarus (7) and Russia (12). Both are run by repressive autocratic regimes that have been in power for over two decades. The two Eastern European countries feature neither press independence nor free and fair elections, and rank among the least free countries worldwide.

The below data table shows the countries with the highest freedom scores in 2025:

Outside of Europe, the world’s freest countries include New Zealand (99), Canada and Uruguay (97), and Japan (96).

Within each of these countries, robust civil society and independent journalism help keep elected officials accountable, while political transitions are handled without fear of violence.

The Decline of the U.S.

Alongside Bulgaria and Italy, the United States had one of the steepest declines in its score in 2025 among countries classified as Free. The world’s leading superpower fell to a score of 81, its lowest on record, tying South Africa and falling behind Panama (82).

Over the past two decades, the U.S. score has slipped by 12 points, driven by rising polarization and political violence. The 2025 decline was caused in part by government efforts to crack down on nonviolent expression by citizens and noncitizens alike.

The weakening of anticorruption safeguards and enforcement practices by the new U.S. presidential administration was also cited as contributing to the lower score compared to previous years.

The World’s Least Free Countries

While the U.S. remains firmly classified as “Free,” the gap between democratic and authoritarian countries remains stark. The lowest-ranked countries were concentrated across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, where elections are restricted, opposition movements are suppressed, and civil liberties remain severely limited.

South Sudan, one of the world’s youngest countries, obtained the worst possible score of 0, followed by a tie between Sudan and Turkmenistan (both 1). In each of these countries, minority rights are under assault and political freedoms are nonexistent.

Larger countries across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East also rank poorly. Vietnam scored 20, while Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates tied at 18.

Three regimes in the Americas also appear within this bottom tier of Not Free countries: Cuba (9), Nicaragua (14), and Venezuela (13).

Curious to see how other countries have changed their fortunes since last year? Check out The State of Freedom Around the World on Voronoi.

Tyler Durden Fri, 07/03/2026 - 06:15

Federal lawmakers could receive thousands in back pay -- and a substantial salary increase -- if a long-running lawsuit is decided in their favor, putting taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars.

What England Can Teach Us About 'Democratic Socialism'

Authored by Stephen Moore via The Epoch Times,

If you want to see modern-day socialism in action, look no further than to the other side of the pond at not-so-jolly old England. The story of Britain’s decline is a warning signal to those here in the States who are thrilled by the warm embrace of socialism.

Right now, the Brits are having the same debate about the merits of socialism as we are in our major cities and blue states. In England, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the Labour Party is out. But instead of turning to the right, it appears the UK will swerve further to the collective ownership of the left. Andy Burnham—the former socialist mayor of Manchester—is next in line. God save the queen.

As Greg Ip of The Wall Street Journal reports, “Burnham’s socialism is the real deal. He wants the state to control more of the means of production. ... (H)e advocates public ownership of water, housing, energy and transportation.”

Burnham calls it “business-friendly socialism.”

Sure.

That will make the trains run on time.

What short memories.

After World War II, the Brits experimented with creeping socialism for more than three decades. The Labour Party handed over to public bureaucrats and unions the means of production: the Bank of England, the coal mines, the airlines, iron, steel, and phone service, to name a few. Prices soared, nothing worked, unemployment lines lengthened, and the Brits got a lot poorer.

Britain’s share of world output fell by half, from more than 10 percent to less than 5 percent. About the only thing Britain had going for it was four lads from Liverpool called the Beatles, who singlehandedly brought deep pride back and caused a mini-stimulus. But in the 1970s, the downturn worsened.

We interrupt this story with the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979. She saved the kingdom by slashing taxes and privatizing everything she could get her hands on. It was the precursor to Reaganomics.

That didn’t last long. Now it’s Thatcherism in reverse—just as the left in America wants to reverse the Reagan and Trump legacies of deregulation, lower taxes, and sound money.

What seems to be driving this leap toward “democratic socialism” on both sides of the Atlantic is a middle-class fury over inflation. The idea of free food, housing, child care, and health care is alluring.

But prices have risen not because of a failure of capitalism. It was mostly caused by massive money printing, widespread shutdowns of private industry, retail businesses and schools, and stay-at-home orders during COVID-19. Government became the provider, and the leap forward in state expenditures was never entirely extinguished.

In both the United States and in England, the “affordability crisis” is mostly in government-owned, government-operated, or heavily regulated businesses. In the U.S., that’s health care, education, and college tuition. In Britain, it’s those industries plus energy, housing, and child care.

There is an infestation of socialism in Britain that has sucked the dynamic and wealth-producing spirit out of the UK.

We need a socialism vaccine in America.

Tyler Durden Fri, 07/03/2026 - 05:30

Armed with a weed whacker and the vision of a proud American, one Alabama resident transformed his front lawn into what may be the most patriotic yard in America.

There was a time, not too long ago, when Hubert Hurkacz looked like a potential Wimbledon winner.

Ukraine Plans To Hyper-Innovate Humanoid Robot Soldiers

At the start of February, we pointed out that "humanoid warfare nears" and suspected these war bots were headed for Ukraine for testing. 

That hunch was confirmed by early March, after a TIME Magazine article reported that Foundation Robotics, a U.S.-based startup developing humanoid robots for industrial and military applications, had recently sent two Phantom MK1 robots to Ukraine for testing. 

Mike LeBlanc, co-founder of Foundation... 

The modern battlefield across western Eurasia has become the world's AI weapons lab, where drones, autonomous systems, electronic warfare, and ground bots are being stress-tested in real time. 

For any 'war unicorn' startup trying to validate AI-enabled killing machines, Ukraine has become the proving ground, and soldiers on the front lines will quickly tell these startups whether their products work or not - that's the part of hyperinnovation that people aren't seeing yet, but it is becoming visible as low-cost AI killing systems begin to spread across the world. 

Last month, we were the first to debut a new video showing the Phantom MK1 robot operating a mobile light mortar system during a live-fire training exercise in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Now several Ukrainian news outlets, including United24 Media, say that Ukraine plans to launch a grant competition to develop humanoid robots for military use, part of a broader push to automate the front line and reduce battlefield risk for its troops.

Here's more from the report:

Ukraine will launch a grant competition focused on developing humanoid robots for the needs of the Defense Forces, Brave1 head Andrii Hrytseniuk said during the Brave1 Advantage event, attended by a Militarnyi correspondent on July 2.

The main goal of the initiative is to robotize as much of the first line of contact as possible and reduce risks for Ukrainian service members.

According to Hrytseniuk, the project follows a wider global trend, as humanoid robotics is rapidly developing in the United States and China.

At the initial stage, Ukrainian developers are expected to focus on simpler platforms that can gradually receive more advanced functions.

Unlike the global civilian humanoid robot market, Ukraine's program will focus strictly on defense needs and military use cases.

Meanwhile, CNBC finally caught up in the reporting ... 

With Phantom MK1 robots reportedly making their debut in Ukraine earlier this year, Foundation could be emerging as one of the leading humanoid robotics players for the modern battlefield among Western militaries.

Tyler Durden Fri, 07/03/2026 - 04:45

'He is a wanted man. He's a guy to be reckoned with.'

In the bodycam video, it is apparent that the boat movers had no idea they were sailing a large possible piece of evidence.