Free Republic

As many as 170 countries are expected to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change Friday in a symbolic triumph for a landmark deal that once seemed unlikely but now appears on track to enter into force years ahead of schedule. U.N. officials say the signing ceremony Friday will set a record for international diplomacy: Never before have so many countries inked an agreement on the first day of the signing period. That could help pave the way for the pact to become effective long before the original 2020 deadline — possibly this year— though countries must first formally approve...

If you were at Sleep Train Arena about 90 minutes before tipoff Monday night, you would have thought the Kings were handling major laundry duty. Before fans entered for the game against the Milwaukee Bucks, T-shirts that were placed on every seat to celebrate the Lunar New Year were being collected and put in large piles. The shirts had a monkey on the front because this is the year of the monkey. The shirts became an issue because they were to be distributed on the first day of Black History Month, when NBA players and coaches wear commemorative shirts.

The group of 17 detainees expected to be transferred out of Guantanamo Bay as early as this week includes “multiple bad guys” and “Al Qaeda followers,” a source who has reviewed the list told Fox News. Little is known publicly about which prisoners are being prepared for transfer, but the Obama administration has notified Congress it plans to ship out 17 detainees – some of whom could be transferred within days. While the identities of the men are closely held, the source who spoke with Fox News said it includes “multiple bad guys … not taxi drivers and cooks.” This...

He is an award-winning combat photographer who stands accused of trying to pick up women in the public affairs office at MinotAir Force Base in North Dakota, and for that prosecutors wanted to put him in prison for 130 years. The prosecutorial zeal was so great that an Air Force officer appointed to investigate the case said the piled-up charges were combined to “artificially exaggerate the criminality of the accused,” who often was simply “socially maladroit and crass.”

Who would have felt comfortable in these circumstances? A Massachusetts man was driving in the town of Medford last Saturday night. He admits he took a wrong turn and ended up going the wrong way down a traffic circle. However, how wrong a turn might his life have taken if the events that followed had taken a slightly different turn. In dashcam video posted to YouTube by a driver who only gave his name as Michael, he is confronted by an angry man in a white tank top and shorts. The angry man steps out of a truck and approaches...

A SMALL private firm in the US has developed a surveillance system of Orwellian proportions that could very well be the future of big brother. Thirty kilometres above a chosen city, a plane hangs out of sight of the thousands of people scurrying below — continuously circling the metropolis underneath. Every second, the plane takes a photo of the entire city and all the happenings within a 64sq km radius. The images are beamed down to a control centre where they create what is akin to a real-time Google map of everything taking place. When a crime occurs, teams of...

Crime stats published by the FBI and relied upon by the media distort the gun violence and leave the public with the impression "mass shooting" incidents are a much bigger threat than they really are, according to a criminologist and Second Amendment scholar. The bureau's annual reports tabulating and classifying a wide range of crime throughout the nation have been historically free of politics, but John Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, said the latest statistics contain numbers that are misleading at best and deliberately fudged at worst. Lott believes the numbers may have been presented to overstate...

Hundreds of police officers outside the Queens, N.Y. church Saturday where the funeral of Officer Rafael Ramos was being held turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio as he eulogized the fallen officer who was ambushed last week along with his partner. De Blasio's remarks were being shown on large TV monitors outside the Christ Tabernacle Church. Police union officials have accused the mayor of fostering a climate of mistrust that contributed to the killings of Officer Ramos and his partner. More than 25,000 police officers from across the country assembled in winter sunshine to pay final respects to...

The link has a map which shows support for gun control with a map. Small box in upper right for your zip code.

President Obama has come out in support of reclassifying internet service as a utility, a move that would allow the Federal Communications Commission to enforce more robust regulations and protect net neutrality. "To put these protections in place, I'm asking the FCC to reclassifying internet service under Title II of a law known as the Telecommunications Act," Obama says in a statement this morning. "In plain English, I'm asking [the FCC] to recognize that for most Americans, the internet has become an essential part of everyday communication and everyday life." "The decision is still up to the FCC" There's been...

A destructive “Trojan Horse” malware program has penetrated the software that runs much of the nation’s critical infrastructure and is poised to cause an economic catastrophe, according to the Department of Homeland Security. National Security sources told ABC News there is evidence that the malware was inserted by hackers believed to be sponsored by the Russian government, and is a very serious threat. The hacked software is used to control complex industrial operations like oil and gas pipelines, power transmission grids, water distribution and filtration systems, wind turbines and even some nuclear plants. Shutting down or damaging any of these...

The number of confirmed Ebola cases passed the 10,000 mark over the weekend, despite efforts to curb its spread. And while the disease typically dies on surfaces within hours, research has discovered it can survive for more than seven weeks under certain conditions. During tests, the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) found that the Zaire strain will live on samples stored on glass at low temperatures for as long as 50 days.

(CNN) -- The U.S. military is forming a 30-person "quick strike team" equipped to provide direct treatment to Ebola patients inside the United States, a Defense Department official told CNN's Barbara Starr on Sunday. A Pentagon spokesman later confirmed portions of the official's information. The team will be under orders to deploy within 72 hours at any time over the next month, the official said. The Department of Health and Human Services requested the military team, and the Pentagon has given verbal approval, the official said. The team will include five doctors, 20 nurses and five trainers, Pentagon press secretary...

Oct 10 (Reuters) - Regulators from the United States and the United Kingdom will get together in a war room next week to see if they can cope with any possible fall-out when the next big bank topples over, the two countries said on Friday. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, on Monday will run a joint exercise simulating how they would prop up a large bank with operations in both countries that has landed in trouble. Also taking part are Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney,...

Spiders have claimed ownership of one home in Missouri and turned it into a real-life house of horrors. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that in 2007, Brian and Susan Trost bought a 2,400-square-foot ranch home in Weldon Spring. The home, built in 1988, has golf course views and was purchased for $450,000. Shortly after taking ownership of the home, the Trosts began to see the spiders. Everywhere. In civil trial testimony, Susan claims to have seen live spiders on light fixtures, window blinds, air registers, behind loose wallpaper in the kitchen and in the basement’s bar area. Spider skeletons fell...

Former “Sons of Guns” star Stephanie Hayden Ford made some horrific accusations against her father Will Hayden on a pre-taped episode of “Dr. Phil” that aired on Thursday. Ford sat down with Dr. Phil McGraw and stated that her father acted inappropriately with her when she was 12 years old. Hayden is currently in jail in East Baton Rouge, La., after being charged with forcible rape and aggravated rape of a juvenile. ADVERTISEMENT It has been widely reported that the charges stem from accusations made by Hayden’s younger daughter. As Ford shared her story with Dr. Phil she spoke openly...

“Sons of Guns” star Will Hayden has been arrested again, this time for aggravated rape, according to documents sent to FOX411 by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. Hayden is accused of raping a minor “almost daily” since March 2013 and taking her virginity when she was 11 years old. TMZ reports the girl is Hayden’s daughter. During an interview with detectives, the alleged victim said she did not report the sexual abuse because she was afraid Hayden would hurt her. The most recent abuse of the now-12-year-old girl occurred during July 2014, according to the documents. According to police...

Things are going well for NASCAR's top team, Hendrick Motorsports, which includes some of the sport's top drivers, including Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. But a closer look at the value and profit of the other top teams reveals a sport that is trending in the wrong direction. According to Forbes.com and its valuations of NASCAR's top nine teams, the current value of Hendrick Motorsports ($348 million) is relatively unchanged since 2010 ($350 million). However, the average team has seen a 31.1% drop in profit since 2010 which has translated into an average team value...

McDonald’s Corp. and Yum Brands Inc. are facing a new food safety scare in China, denting the fast food giants’ efforts to shore up reputations and businesses that were hurt by a 2012 safety scandal in one of their biggest markets. McDonald’s and KFC-parent Yum apologized to customers on Monday after Chinese regulators shut a local meat supplier following a TV report that showed workers picking up meat from a factory floor, as well as mixing meat beyond its expiration date with fresh meat. The firms said they’ll stop using the supplier. The report, which focused on McDonald’s and Yum,...

The bad news first. The People's Republic of China now believes it can successfully prevent the United States from intervening in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan or some other military assault by Beijing. Now the good news. China is wrong — and for one major reason. It apparently disregards the decisive power of America's nuclear-powered submarines. Moreover, for economic and demographic reasons Beijing has a narrow historical window in which to use its military to alter the world's power structure. ......... The U.S. Navy's submarines — the unsung main defenders of the current world order — must...