Free Republic

New documents bolster the theory that it not only escaped from a laboratory but was developed in one. In the four years since the SARS-CoV-2 virus was unleashed on the world, data have steadily accumulated supporting the hypothesis that it emerged from a laboratory. The latest information, released last month, makes a formidable case that the virus is the product of laboratory synthesis, not of nature. This startling fact will probably take some time to sink into the national consciousness, given the mainstream media’s sustained inability to report the issue objectively. Editors have failed to think beyond the extreme politicization...

Taylor Swift is telling me a story, and when Taylor Swift tells you a story, you listen, because you know it’s going to be good—not only because she’s had an extraordinary life, but because she’s an extraordinary storyteller. This one is about a time she got her heart broken, although not in the way you might expect. She was 17, she says, and she had booked the biggest opportunity of her life so far—a highly coveted slot opening for country superstar Kenny Chesney on tour. “This was going to change my career,” she remembers. “I was so excited.” But a...

The Seattle-based Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) removed all mention of JK Rowling from their “Harry Potter” exhibit after calling her a “cold, heartless, joy-sucking entity,” according to a blog post that was posted in May. Project manager Chris Moore, who is transgender, authored the piece and claimed that they would “love to go with the internet’s theory that these books were actually written without an author.” “But this certain person is a bit too vocal with her super hateful and divisive views to be ignored,” continued the post. “For the time being, the curators decided to remove any of...

Social media influencer Andrew Tate has been released from house arrest in Romania Friday as he awaits trial on rape and human trafficking charges. The Bucharest Court of Appeals in the eastern European country’s capital ruled that it "replaces the house arrest measure with that of judicial control for a period of 60 days from August 4 until October 2," according to Reuters. Under the new measures, Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian women who have been indicted on the charges can leave their homes, but not Bucharest and the surrounding Ilfov County, the news agency reports, adding that...

The United States Supreme Court, on a 6-3 vote, has adopted a compromise position on the meaning of the independent state legislature theory. The position of the Court, in a decision by Chief Justice Roberts, is one that rejects the argument that North Carolina offered: that a state supreme court could not even apply a state constitution’s protection for the right to vote when it comes to federal elections. Under this maximalist version, rejected by the Court today, state legislatures had a free-floating power to do whatever they wanted in federal elections, limited only by federal constitutional limits. BUT, the...

Queenslanders in home quarantine will need to answer a randomly-timed text message within 10 minutes or risk a visit by the cops, as part of strict new Covid compliance laws announced this morning. The new rules - enacted with immediate effect - are part of a real-time compliance push by the state government ahead of the school holidays that start next week. Health Minister Yvette D’Ath told parliament today residents in home quarantine will receive a random message at least once a day from Queensland Health.

The Justice Department is suing Texas over the state's new controversial restrictions on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Thursday. Garland called the Texas law "clearly unconstitutional," and said it included an "unprecedented scheme" to insulate the state of Texas from responsibility for the law. … "The United States has the authority and responsibility to ensure that Texas cannot evade its obligations under the Constitution and deprive individuals of their constitutional rights by adopting a statutory scheme designed specifically to evade traditional mechanisms of federal judicial review," the lawsuit reads. "The federal government therefore...

North Korea appears to have resumed operation of its plutonium-producing reactor at Yongbyon in a move that could enable the reclusive country to expand its nuclear weapons arsenal, the U.N. atomic agency said. The development, disclosed in the agency’s annual report on North Korea’s nuclear activities, adds a new challenge to President Biden’s foreign policy agenda, alongside the dangerous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and stalemated talks on restoring the 2015 deal on Iran’s nuclear program.

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian notified employees Wednesday that they will face $200 monthly increases on their health insurance premiums starting Nov. 1 if they aren't vaccinated against Covid-19, citing steep costs to cover employees who are hospitalized with the virus. Unvaccinated employees will face other restrictions, including indoor masking effective immediately and weekly Covid-19 tests starting Sept. 12 the Atlanta-based airline said in announcing new Covid policies for employees. The measures are the latest attempt by a U.S. corporation to drive up Covid vaccination rates. Delta stopped short of an outright mandate like rival United Airlines established earlier...

The city of Orlando and its water utility made an urgent appeal Friday afternoon for residents to cut back sharply on water usage for weeks because of a pandemic-triggered shortage of liquid oxygen used to purify water. If commercial and residential customers are unable to reduce water usage quickly and sufficiently, Orlando Utilities Commission may issue a system-wide alert for boiling water needed for drinking and cooking. Without reductions in water usage, a boil-water alert would come within a week, utility officials said. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer asked residents to immediately stop watering their lawns, washing their cars and using...

Military personnel fired tear gas to control the crowds of Afghans trying to gain access to Kabul airport Friday, a day after the Pentagon said that order was being restored at the site and evacuation flights from Afghanistan would be accelerating. Soldiers have also fired into the air to disperse the crowd, according to a senior Western official. It was unclear as to whether the soldiers were American; British, Afghan and other Western troops are also stationed at the airport. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. military. Soldiers are also going just outside the airport perimeter, which is...

Rep. Seth Moulton says he was convinced by President Joe Biden’s speech Monday defending the decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan, even as the Taliban surged back to take control of the country over the weekend. However, the Massachusetts Democrat took exception Tuesday to Biden’s argument that the chaotic evacuation of Afghan civilians fleeing their country this week was because some “did not want to leave earlier.” “That’s utter BS,” Moulton said Tuesday during a press conference in Salem. “I mean, don’t tell me that Afghans don’t want to leave when there’s been a backlog of Special Immigrant Visa...

An Alabama doctor is taking a bold stance in the efforts to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19. Dr. Jason Valentine, a physician at Mobile’s Diagnostic and Medical Clinic Infirmary Health, posted a photo on his Facebook page showing him posed next to a sign that says “effective Oct. 1, 2021, Dr. Valentine will no longer see patients that are not vaccinated against COVID-19.” Since posting the sign, Valentine wrote that three unvaccinated patients asked where they could get a vaccine. … Valentine said he is currently in the process of mailing a letter to patients about his decision. He...

Twenty miles south of Cairo, on the Nile's west bank, where riverfed crop fields give way to desert, the ancient site of Saqqara is marked by crumbling pyramids that emerge from the sand like dragon's teeth. Most striking is the famous Step Pyramid, built in the 27th century B.C. by Djoser, the Old Kingdom pharaoh who launched the tradition of constructing pyramids as monumental royal tombs. More than a dozen other pyramids are scattered along the five-mile strip of land, which is also dotted with the remains of temples, tombs and walkways that, together, span the entire history of ancient...

Highest-level rain warnings have been issued in a number of prefectures, including Fukuoka and Hiroshima. One woman has died and her husband and daughter are missing after a landslide destroyed two homes in Nagasaki prefecture. More than 150 troops, police and firefighters have been sent to help with rescue operations in the area. "They are carefully searching for the missing residents, while watching out for further mudslides as the heavy rain continues," a local official told the AFP news agency. The west of the country is worst affected but heavy downpours are expected across the country in coming days. In...

Shortly after they won yet another gold medal in Tokyo, Nike dropped a powerful new commercial paying respect to the dynasty that is the United States women’s basketball team. “The greatest dynasty ever.” … So, right on cue, Nike released a new ad that follows a student who is set to give a presentation on dynasties in school. Yet instead of talking about a more traditional, historic dynasty, the student opted to profile the women’s basketball team

TOKYO -- Stina Blackstenius scored a pair of goals and Sweden once again stunned the United States at the Olympics with a 3-0 victory Wednesday in the women's soccer tournament. The Americans, ranked No. 1 in the world and the favorites to win gold in Tokyo, were riding a 44-match unbeaten streak heading into the match. … Sweden now leads Group G heading into Saturday's game against Australia in Saitama, while the United States faces New Zealand. The top two teams in the group advance to the knockout round.

Elected Labour Party representatives have raced to put space between them and the ‘Rainbow Monkey Dildo Story Hour’ hosted at a London Library childrens’ reading event after intense backlash from the local Muslim community. On Sunday, Breitbart London was the first news outlet to reveal that the Labour-run Redbridge Council in London hosted a carnival troupe featuring a performer dressed as a naked rainbow monkey with a giant phallus dangling betwixt his legs during Redbridge Libraries’ Summer Reading Challenge for children. The event, which has since sparked international outrage, particularly angered local Muslim parents and school leaders, ultimately forcing the...

(Excerpt) Just as we got settled, our elementary-schooler pointed in the direction of oncoming floats, raising an eyebrow at a bare-chested man in dark sunglasses whose black suspenders clipped into a leather thong. The man paused to be spanked playfully by a partner with a flog. “What are they doing?” my curious kid asked as our toddler cheered them on.The pair was the first of a few dozen kinksters who danced down the street, laughing together as they twirled their whips and batons, some leading companions by leashes.At the time, my children were too young to understand the nuance of...

NEW YORK — A grand jury in Manhattan filed criminal indictments Wednesday against former President Trump’s company and its longtime chief financial officer, according to two people familiar with the indictments. The indictments against the Trump Organization and its CFO, Allen Weisselberg, will remain sealed until Thursday afternoon, leaving the specific charges against them unclear. Earlier Wednesday, people familiar with the case said the charges were related to allegations of unpaid taxes on benefits for Trump Organization executives. Weisselberg is expected to surrender Thursday morning at the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., a Democrat, two people...