Free Republic

There are reports up to a dozen people have been injured in a shooting at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. Police have confirmed they are responding to a "critical incident". All Christchurch schools are in lockdown and witnesses have reported multiple injuries. The mosque was reportedly busy due to Friday prayers. Witness Len Peneha said he saw a man dressed in black enter the Masjid Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch about 1:45pm and then heard dozens of shots, followed by people running from the mosque in terror. Mr Peneha, who has lived next door to the...

California is free of drought for the first time in more than seven years and only a small amount of its territory remains abnormally dry as a very wet winter winds down, experts said Thursday. More than 93 percent of the state is free of drought or dryness, and areas of abnormal dryness along the Oregon border and in parts of four southern counties amount to less than 7 percent of the state, the U.S. Drought Monitor said in its weekly update. The conditions in the far south are because of very dry prior years, the monitor said, noting reservoirs...

The Southern Poverty Law Center said Thursday that it had fired its co-founder and chief trial lawyer, Morris Dees, after nearly a half-century, during which he helped build the organization into a fearsome powerhouse that focused on hate crimes and with an endowment that approached half a billion dollars. The group’s president, Richard Cohen, did not give a specific reason for the dismissal of Mr. Dees, 82, on Wednesday. But Mr. Cohen said in a statement that as a civil-rights group, the S.P.L.C. was “committed to ensuring that the conduct of our staff reflects the mission of the organization and...

Warning: Hypocritical hit piece The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, who is gay, brought his partner to a meeting on Thursday with the US vice-president, Mike Pence, a conservative Christian once dubbed “the face of anti-LGBTQ hate in America”. Varadkar, who is in Washington this week to reaffirm the longstanding shared history between the two countries, brought his partner, Matt Barrett, to a St Patrick’s Day breakfast at the vice-presidential residence at the Naval Observatory. Varadkar tweeted that he and Barrett had received a “warm reception” at Pence’s home, but in pointed remarks to Pence and gathered media, he also...

The Japanese auto maker said the spending would go toward adding production of two new hybrid vehicles in the U.S. and expanding plants that build engines, axles and other vehicle components. The additional investment is projected to create 600 new jobs. President Trump praised Toyota’s plans in a tweet—“BIG NEWS for U.S. Auto Workers!”—and said the investment was evidence that a trade agreement hammered out last year between the U.S., Canada and Mexico is fixing what he described as a “broken NAFTA deal.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) voiced her support on Thursday for lowering the federal voting age to 16, telling reporters during a press conference that doing so would be a boon to voter engagement in the U.S. Pelosi said Thursday that lowering the voting age would drive interest in politics among younger Americans who are learning about the subject in high school. The Speaker said that changing the voting age to 16 would help drive a higher level of voter awareness and turnout. "I myself have always been for lowering the voting age to 16," Pelosi said. "I think it's...

FULL TITLE: PIERS MORGAN: Beto O’Rourke is a deluded loser running on a ticket of lies, hypocrisy and the vote-destroying message that all Americans are about to die Beto O’Rourke is a loser. In 2016, he ran against Ted Cruz in the Texas Senate race, and lost. He didn’t lose by much, just 2.6% of the vote in fact. But he still lost, and in the brutal world of US politics that usually means the last anyone hears from you for the rest of your natural life. (One of the few exceptions to this rule is Hillary Clinton, who was...

Jewish activists critical of the Democratic response to the anti-Semitism roiling the party organized a sit-in at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office Thursday.Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar was accused recently of espousing anti-Semitic views while trying to criticize Israel. In particular, she questioned if some members of Congress have a “dual loyalty” to the United States and Israel. (RELATED: Omar’s Experiences Are ‘More Personal’ Than Children Of Holocaust Survivors) The House decided to vote on a resolution last week to condemn anti-Semitism in response to Omar’s comments.After deliberation, the text of the resolution was expanded to condemn bigotry against “African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans and...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) released the following statement after voting to disapprove of the national emergency declaration regarding the border: “I stand with President Trump on the need for a border wall and stronger border security, but the Constitution clearly states that money cannot be spent unless Congress has passed a law to do so.”

Stem cell-based therapies are becoming increasingly common, especially in the treatment of blood cancers like lymphoma and leukemia. In these cases, the patient's cancerous blood stem cells are removed and replaced with new, healthy ones. However, up to a quarter of cases end in death because replenishing of blood cells is too slow. Scientists already know that stress causes HSCs to slow down—reconstituting the entire blood-cell supply system can be overwhelming. In terms of biology, this stress causes increased activity in mitochondria, the energy-producing organelles of the cell. To meet the high demands of rebuilding blood cells, the mitochondria of...

For starters, we have John McCain, John Kerry, Robert “Gigolo” O’Rourke, and Paul Ryan. Any others you can think of to add to the list?

Nicholas Sandmann's attorney release a very short video on their new major lawsuits against CNN and the Washington Post. Video at link

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said Thursday that there should be a federal moratorium on executions. The senator from California discussed the matter on National Public Radio, a day after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California granted reprieves to 737 death row inmates and signed an executive order placing a moratorium on executions. Harris was asked if there should be “a federal equivalent” to Newsom’s order. She said, “Yes, I think that there should be.” […] She noted that black and Latino defendants were more likely to be executed than white defendants, as were poor defendants with poor legal representation...

BREAKING Police are responding to a critical incident in Christchurch, New Zealand after dozens of shots were heard being fired inside a mosque. Ten emergency service vehicles are at the scene and police said it is an “evolving situation”. An eyewitness told Stuff NZ he had seen at least four people lying on the ground and “blood everywhere”. The photographer working for the publication also said he had seen three seriously injured people lying on the steps of the mosque. Eyewitnesses said they’ve seen about six people taken into Christchurch Hospital, two with serious injuries.

Researchers at UC San Francisco announced this week that age-damaged skin in older adults may be contributing to a wide range of chronic, age-related conditions that include heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Here’s what the dermatological researchers said they learned from their work with the San Francisco Veterans Administration Health System: As aging skin begins to break down, the immune system releases small proteins known as cytokines to signal that there’s inflammation in damaged areas of the skin. These tiny inflammatory cytokines can leak into the body’s circulation system, and if there are enough of them, they trigger body-wide inflammation....

AOC Gets Philosophical at SXSW: Like, You Know, Like, Whatever, You Know? [Mongage] The rising Democrat star is proving she has a unique way with words.

Antifa is planning to hold a “Halloween party” themed protest at the home of Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Friday evening, The Gateway Pundit has learned. The group is calling for people to meet at a church near Carlson’s home at 6 p.m. in Halloween costumes. The group will then walk together to his home.Far-left groups previously protested outside Carlson’s family home in November. The television personality was not home at the time, but his wife was.The group threatened Carlson and demanded that he leave town, saying that “tonight, we remind you that you are not safe either.” They...

Lori Loughlin‘s daughters are dropping out of the University of Southern California — because they’re afraid of being bullied over the massive college admissions scam that has left them feeling like “a mess,” a report said Thursday. Olivia Jade, 19, and her sister, 20-year-old Isabella Rose, have decided to withdraw from USC days after their parents, “Fuller House” star Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were charged for allegedly paying the girls’ way into the school, TMZ reported. One source told the gossip website the girls worry they’ll be “viciously bullied” if they return to school.

Students around the world are walking out of class in protest Friday as part of a concerted effort to demand action on climate change.

Full Title: Soldier, 30, awaiting trial for taking a military vehicle on a joyride was able to fly to IRAQ while wearing an ankle monitor, researched bombs online and posted about Al Qaeda on Twitter A U.S. Army National Guard officer was able to travel to Iraq for two days while wearing an ankle monitor after he was arrested for hijacking an armored car last year. Joshua Yabut broke the terms of his bond agreement by traveling on commercial flights to the Middle East. The 30-year-old soldier was also caught researching bombs online and posting about Al Qaeda on Twitter,...