Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in history who maintained his power in the face of dramatic convulsions in the Republican Party for almost two decades, will step down from that position in November.McConnell, who turned 82 last week, was set to announce his decision Wednesday in the well of the Senate, a place where he looked in awe from its back benches in 1985 when he arrived and where he grew increasingly comfortable in the front row seat afforded the party leaders.“One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on...

A new report reveals that more than 10,000 noncommissioned officers (NCOs) in the United States Army who were promoted under a COVID-19 era policy still have not completed the schooling requirements for that promotion. According to Military.com, 52,000 NCOs were promoted under the supposedly temporary policy which waived the requirement to attend leadership academies before promotion eligibility. 20 percent had still not attended the required training. The Select, Train, Educate, and Promote Policy (STEP) was adopted in 2016 and required all NCOs to attend schools before being eligible for promotion. Before that the Army allowed "conditional promotions." The new policy...

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev denounced Donald Trump In the first direct American raid on Bashar al Assad’s forces, US President authorised the firing of 59 cruise missiles at military airfield Officials said it was retaliation for Assad’s use of chemical weapons US ambassador to UN: ‘We are prepared to do more but we hope that will not be necessary’ Vladimir Putin has now diverted warship the Admiral Grigorovich to protect the Syrian coast Syrian aircraft took off from al-Shayrat airfield on Friday in apparent act of defiance The Kremlin has warned the US it is ‘one step from war'...

Chatter is growing louder on Capitol Hill that Paul Ryan’s days as Speaker are numbered. Four House Republicans, including a senior lawmaker close to leadership, told The Hill they expect Ryan to step down after Tuesday’s elections, arguing that he faces a daunting path to the 218 votes he needs to win a full two-year term leading the House GOP.

Harvard scientists have developed a new bioprinting method that can create intricately patterned 3-D tissue constructs with multiple types of cells and tiny blood vessels. The work is a major step toward creating human tissue constructs realistic enough to test drug safety and effectiveness, researchers said. The method will also help bring closer the building of fully functional replacements for injured or diseased tissue that can be designed from CAT scan data using computer-aided design (CAD), printed in 3D at the push of a button. "This is the foundational step toward creating 3D living tissue," said Jennifer Lewis, senior author...

In each trial, 192 laser beams briefly fired into a half-inch-long gold cylinder. The cylinder held a tiny ball that contained the fuel, which was a mix of two kinds of hydrogen, called deuterium and tritium. The energy from the lasers kicked off a process that compressed the ball by an amount akin to squeezing a basketball down to the size of a pea, said Debbie Callahan, an author of the paper. That created the extremely high pressure and temperatures needed to get the hydrogen atoms to fuse. It was all over in the blink of an eye, with the...

Much has justly been written about the Obama administration’s mishandling of Israeli-Palestinian talks. But it’s important to remember that the real barrier to an agreement isn’t flawed American diplomacy but rather the Palestinians’ refusal to accept Israel’s right to exist. Nothing better illustrates this fact than a stunning new poll by The Israel Project. Like every other poll in recent years, TIP found that a strong majority of Palestinians (60 percent) accept a two-state solution. This unvarying finding is often cited as proof that Palestinians do, in fact, accept Israel’s existence. But unlike any other poll I’ve ever seen, TIP...

A new material that could be used to create a real-life Harry Potter-style "invisibility cloak" has been designed by British scientists. The material, called "Metaflex", may in future provide a way of manufacturing fabrics that manipulate light. Metamaterials have already been developed that bend and channel light to render objects invisible at longer wavelengths. Visible light poses a greater challenge because its short wavelength means the metamaterial atoms have to be very small. So far such small light-bending atoms have only been produced on flat, hard surfaces unsuitable for use in clothing.

CLEVELAND In his last act as a Los Angeles Dodger, Manny Ramirez lived down to his reputation for disrespectful, immature behavior. On Sunday, he was ejected after arguing a called strike on the lone pitch of his only at-bat. Within hours of Ramirez’s all-too-predictable exit, the baseball world learned that he was bound for the Chicago White Sox. Great news for Manny, right? Here was his latest — maybe final — chance at reputation salvation. Hop on the next flight, say how excited you are to play in Chicago, get in the lineup as quickly as possible and gap a...

What Is Your Next Step? The news saddens me as I peruse the different articles people have selected to post on Free Republic each day. I see fraud and lies exposed in the controversy of climate change. I see references to fraud in what Congress calls health care reform. I see constant evidence that the President lies, constantly. I see deficits that will result in a terrible burden on the nation’s children. I see news of more recession and possible depression. I see that the government has provided government employees with immunity from any recession. I see more news of...

1. Divert critical CIA resources and spy satellites away from hunting terrorists to track global warming. 2. Release captured al Qaida terrorists from Gitmo (most of whom were caught on the battlefield in Afghanistan) and send them through America's criminal court system. Liberals pretend this is about fearlessly defending constitutional rights, but the Constitution doesn't apply to non-citizens. Hence, as usual, they are just treasonously aiding our enemies in a time of war. For the record, we have repeatedly discovered released Gitmo detainees recruiting for and plotting attacks with al Qaida. 3. Rather than aggressively interrogating captured al Qaida operatives...

A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has developed a method that dramatically improves the efficiency of creating stem cells from human adult tissue, without the use of embryonic cells. The research makes great strides in addressing a major practical challenge in the development of stem-cell-based medicine. The findings were published in an advance, online issue of the journal Nature Methods on October 18, 2009. The new technique, which uses three small drug-like chemicals, is 200 times more efficient and twice as fast as conventional methods for transforming adult human cells into stem cells (in this case...

It's been one of the most persistent rumors on the internet since John McCain smartly snuffed Barack Obama's convention afterglow by doing what the Democrat considered and rejected: naming a woman as his vice presidential partner. Within 10 hours of Obama's Greek-columned stadium speech in Denver, McCain shocked most of the political world by naming Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, as his vice presidential running matThe current 2008 Democratic ticket of Delaware Senator Joe Biden and Illinois Senator Barack Obamae.

In a stunning admission, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Ensign (Nev.) on Friday morning blasted his GOP colleagues for not doing enough to help the committee financially, and he said he would have to scale back the NRSC’s independent expenditure budget as a result.

Live Blogging the Opening Ceremonies Mark Starr 12:03--Well they can't keep a secret in this town any better than anywhere else. Li Ning gets the honor. He takes a giant leap--and the final lap around the highest wall inside the stadium to light the cauldron. Fireworks ensue. Good job, China. Let the Games begin! 11:54--The torch is in the building! 11:53--I should have said "doves" with quotation marks. Ever since there was an accidental holocaust of the "peace" birds at one ceremony, the dovishness is strictly symbolic. 100 young women in white gesticulating gently did their dovish best.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2007 – In a joint statement issued Dec. 16, 2007, U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, Multinational Force Iraq commander, and Patricia A. Butenis, chargé d'affaires, said "the United States and Multinational Force Iraq welcome the transfer of security responsibility in Basra Province to Iraqi responsibility as a positive step on the path to Iraq's self-reliance. "Basra is the ninth province to be transferred to Iraqi security responsibility as the government of Iraq and its security forces continue to develop and assume greater responsibility for governing and providing security for the citizens of Iraq. The first province...

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2007 – Americans still face a tough fight inside Baghdad, but the trend lines are improving, the commander of Multinational Division Baghdad said today. Army Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., speaking from Iraq, told Pentagon reporters that the overall trend lines in the city are positive. “The number of attacks, first of all, has come down,” he said. “The effect of those attacks has come down significantly.” One example is in car bombs. While the number of car bomb attacks has remained relatively constant since November 2006, the effects of those attacks have dropped. “That's...

He's really done it this time. It's no secret that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's conservative base has grown increasingly disenchanted with his job performance in recent months. But his signing last week of SB 1441 -- a bill that will penalize state-funded businesses and organizations that fail to endorse homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality -- has scores of conservatives swearing off the governor for good. Conservative Republicans up and down the state are seething over the bill, which they correctly see as an all-out assault on religious freedom in California. Local radio host Inga Barks, who recently announced on her show she...

SACRAMENTO When Maria Elena Hernandez left Honduras for California, she didn't speak English, didn't have work papers, and her fear of being caught by Immigration tied her stomach in knots. Eight months later, she was marching up the steps of the Capitol to ask some of the state's top elected officials for better working conditions. Energized by the recent marches for immigration reform and supported by growing participation in a network of civic organizations, immigrants are increasingly emerging as actors in America's civic and political life. "It makes me feel like this is my country, like I don't have to...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq, Aug. 13, 2006 – The Iraqi people must step forward and accept their freely elected government if there is to be peace in the country’s troubled Anbar province, the coalition’s commander in the region said here today. Marine Maj. Gen. Richard C. Zilmer met with reporters traveling with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Marine Gen. Peter Pace. Zilmer said relations between the coalition and the province’s population, as well as the security climate in former hot spots such as Fallujah and Qaim, have improved. But though these “atmospherics” have changed for the better, big problems do remain,...