Free Republic

The World Health Organization announced on Monday that it is renaming monkeypox as mpox due to concerns that the original name could be perceived as racist or stigmatizing. Driving the news: Both the monkeypox and mpox names will be used by WHO over the next year as the term "monkeypox" is gradually phased out, WHO said in a press release. "When the outbreak of monkeypox expanded earlier this year, racist and stigmatizing language online, in other settings and in some communities was observed and reported to WHO," the press release stated. WHO began consulting with experts about potentially renaming the...

Matthew Hubbard, a math professor at Laney College in Oakland, Calif., was placed on leave after he reportedly asked a student to Anglicize her name because it “sounds like an insult in English”: We are aware of the allegations of racist and xenophobic messages from a faculty member at our college with a student about the pronunciation of their name. Click here to read President Gilkerson's full statement: https://t.co/MBDl9mA7Kr pic.twitter.com/ATYyfLWIEO — Laney College

In his prime-time speech to the nation on the eve of the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, President Obama vowed to “degrade and destroy” the Islamic State insurgency in Iraq and Syria with airstrikes and 475 U.S. boots on the ground – but he also made a particular point of declaring that the Islamic State terrorists “are not Islamic.” “Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not Islamic,” Obama said, speaking from the state floor of the White House residence. “No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been...

A central Ohio woman who loathed being named Sheila and wanted a moniker that reflected her personality has legally changed her first name to Sexy. A judge approved the request Tuesday from the 41-year-old Pataskala woman, formerly named Sheila Ranea Crabtree. …

In most polls, a majority of Americans say they oppose “Obamacare.” But a number of recent polls suggest that many of those same people are more supportive of the Affordable Care Act. There’s just one problem: They’re the same thing. A recent CNBC poll found 46 percent of respondents said they are opposed to Obamacare. But only 37 percent of the same people taking part in the poll say they oppose the Affordable Care Act. So, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel decided to take the seeming contradiction to the next level by filming a video in which he asked people to...

One deputy was hospitalized and another injured after a woman who refused to move her car at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport got violent Sunday, authorities said. Omolola Modupeola Dawodu, 36, was arrested on charges of battery on an officer, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting an officer with violence and resisting an officer without violence, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.

The inlaws would like a word to help us define our relationships. Is there a name for the relationship the parents have to each other? We are more like sisters than inlaws. Explaining the marriages makes your brain explode so we'd like to find a short name to tell the story more succinctly. My daughter is her brother's cousin in-law. My son is his sister's cousin in-law. My daughter's mother in law is her brother's aunt. My son's mother in-law is his sister's aunt.

NORFOLK Public radio is taking on Christian radio in a lawsuit over who has the right to use the name, The Current. Minnesota Public Radio, which runs a progressive music station called The Current, filed a federal lawsuit against a Virginia Beach Christian radio station that operates Positive Hit Radio, The Current. The public radio station says the Beach station is trying to "mislead and confuse" listeners and has asked the court to issue an injunction stopping Positive Hit Radio from promoting itself as The Current. MPR says listeners could be led to believe that the two stations are affiliated.The...

“You don’t roll out a new product in August,” said President Bush’s aide, Andrew Card, apropos Iraq in the summer of 2002. But in this seventh September of a no longer new war a somewhat battered product is in need of a rebranding. It was launched in the days after 9/11 as a “war on terror,” an artful evasion deemed necessary on the grounds that a war on any enemy beginning with “Islamist,” “Islamo-,” or “Islamic” might give the impression we had some, ah, issues with Islam itself and only complicate things further with various “friends” like Mubarak and the...

ROSEVILLE, Mich. - A woman identified by authorities as Denise Coke was arrested after a drug-sniffing dog discovered 33 pounds of cocaine in her vehicle. Roseville police acting on a tip gave Michigan State Police the description of a vehicle allegedly containing drugs. Coke, 25, of Detroit was arrested after being pulled over for speeding Tuesday night on Interstate 696. Coke was arraigned Wednesday on a charge of possession with intent to deliver more than 1,000 grams of cocaine, punishable by up to life in prison upon conviction. A judge set her bond at $1 million. Roseville Police Chief Richard...

KerryEdwards.com is getting a lot of attention, but you won't find any pictures of the Democratic presidential candidate and his running mate. The online address belongs to Kerry Edwards, a bail bondsman from Indianapolis, Indiana. He joined CNN's Carol Lin to discuss the coincidence and the Web site. (snip) LIN: Now, you voted for President Clinton. Why not help out the party again? EDWARDS: How do you mean? LIN: Sell it to the Kerry people for whatever they're willing to pay for it. EDWARDS: For whatever they're willing to pay for it? LIN: Yeah. EDWARDS: I don't think they're willing...