Free Republic

A day before the House Judiciary Committee took its biggest step yet toward impeachment last week, moderate Democratic Rep. Anthony Brindisi voiced his frustrations directly to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The battleground freshman told Pelosi and other leaders at a closed-door meeting that he and other centrists feared that talk of impeaching President Donald Trump was threatening to swamp the Democratic agenda, according to multiple people in the room. “It’s very frustrating for me - someone coming from a district that was one of the districts that helped get us into the majority - having so much focus on things like...

Apprente, based in Silicon Valley, has developed a tech to automate voice orders supporting many languages and accents McDonald’s Corporation has entered an agreement to buy Israeli-founded, Silicon Valley based startup Apprente, “a leader in the field of conversational voice-based technology,” the fast food giant said in a statement Tuesday. The technology will allow for “faster and simpler and more accurate ordering” through speech at McDonald’s drive-thru stations, the statement said. According to the deal, Apprente’s employees will become part of the US firm’s global technology team. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Apprente team – made up of workers...

Joao Teixeira de Faria – known as John of God – achieved international fame after being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and having a list of famous clients, including Bill Clinton. Two months ago, his world crumbled after police discovered evidence that he was a mass murderer, baby trafficker, and sex slave ringleader. Mirror.co.uk reports: The 77-year-old was arrested a week later in what prosecutors say could be the worst serial crimes case in the country’s history. Faria’s own daughter, Dalva Teixeira, has also spoken out, called him a “monster” and claiming he molested her as a child. The case has...

As NASA makes a big push to land humans on the moon's surface by 2024, the European Space Agency (ESA) wants to learn more about the lunar caves that lie beneath. "Exploring and mapping these tubes could provide new information about the moon's geology, but they could also be an interesting option as long-term shelter for future human visitors to the moon," Franceso Sauro, director of ESA's Pangaea planetary geology astronaut training, said in a statement. "They would shield astronauts from cosmic radiation and micrometeorites and possibly provide access to icy water and other resources trapped underground." The missions have...

Crude prices surged Sunday evening following an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure and announcement from President Trump that he has authorized the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. U.S. oil futures advanced about 12% to $61.60 a barrel shortly after trading opened at 6 p.m. ET. Brent crude, the global gauge of oil prices, soared 13% to nearly $69 a barrel. If those moves held, they would mark some of the biggest intraday for crude in years. ...

The medical school at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center will stop considering race as a factor in admissions, per an agreement sought by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to resolve a 2004 complaint. In the resolution agreement — which was signed in February and first reported by the Wall Street Journal this week — the medical school agreed to “discontinue all consideration of an applicant’s race and/or national origin” in the admissions process. Eric Bentley, vice chancellor and general counsel of the Texas Tech University System, said in an agreement letter that the medical school...

This is funny in so many ways; especially for CTH readers who have a far better-than-ordinary understanding of the big picture Trump goals around China.(1) CNBC tweeted this story last night (note the date/time). (2) It is written exclusively from the perspective of the Goldman Sachs analysts who represent the U.S. multinational position. (3) However, the article was actually written on May 12, 13, 2019.What is funny about CNBC pushing this story, NOW, is how the claims within the CNBC story can be fact checked; and their predictions are, well, absurd (especially in hindsight).   Keep in mind this was written...

Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer warned President Donald Trump on Sunday that any firearm legislation that falls short of universal background checks for gun sales “will not get the job done,” complicating delicate negotiations between the president and a group of senators. Trump has been discussing potential legislation with senators in both parties that would expand background checks but would not go as far as House-passed legislation that would apply them to all gun sales with limited exceptions. Trump issued a veto threat on the House’s background-checks bill earlier this year, and few Republicans in Congress support it....

A leader of an Evangelical Christian movement in the US blasted Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar Sunday, attacking the Democratic lawmaker's failure to condemn the apparent arson which destroyed a century-old synagogue in her state. Laurie Cardoza-Moore, president of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN) and show host of the popular Christian television program “Focus on Israel” which reaches a global weekly audience of over 2 billion, blasted rookie Congresswoman Ilhan Omar for her silence after the Adas Israel synagogue in Duluth burned down last Monday in an apparent arson. “The historic Adas Israel Congregation in Minnesota was burnt to the...

South Tel Aviv activist Sheffi Paz and bereaved mother Meirav Hajaj carried out the vandalism of the entrance of the office of the European Union delegation to Israel in Ramat Gan...

Europe is aging. Its fertility and mortality rates are decreasing as its life expectancies increase. In Germany, the median age is almost 47; in Italy, 45; in Austria and Greece, 44. By 2030, it is predicted that the share of Germans in the labor force will drop seven percentage points. By 2050, only 11.5 percent of Portugal’s population is projected to be under the age of 15, while 18.8 percent of Italy’s is to be older than 65. It doesn’t take much number crunching to realize that these trends pose a very serious challenge to European society. As Europe ages,...

During last night's Democratic presidential debate, former Vice President Joe Biden admonished Sen. Kamala Harris (D–Calif.) for promising to impose new gun controls by executive fiat if Congress fails to pass the laws she thinks it should. That gave Harris a perfect opportunity to explain how her 100-day plan for gun control can be reconciled with constitutional restrictions on presidential power. The former prosecutor not only conspicuously failed to do so but literally laughed at the question. The senator's campaign website promises that "if Congress fails to send comprehensive gun safety legislation to Harris' desk within her first 100 days...

Friends it's Sunday night again and time to relax. Warm up the tubes for another 4 hours of classic radio Americana. Listen Live Info *tonight's show will be available at the "Info" link starting tomorrow. Official OTR Blog of "The Big Broadcast" thread: http://kallmansalley.com/

One of the best things about the otherwise tedious Super Bowl broadcast earlier this year was the debut of a mildly amusing, medieval-themed Bud Light beer commercial that attacked rivals Miller Lite and Coors Light over the latter two's use of corn syrup as an ingredient in their respective brewing processes. "Bud Light," one such ad closes. "Brewed with no corn syrup." That is, by all accounts, a true statement. But it's also one that helped spur MillerCoors, which brews (as its name implies) Miller Lite and Coors Light, to file a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin against Bud Light brewer...

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Today is the thirteenth Sunday of Pentecost, and on this day during the Divine Liturgy we read the Savior’s wonderful parable about the wicked vinedressers (Mt. 21:33-42), well-known to Church people, but not only. Even those who have read this very vivid narrative only once will undoubtedly remember it. The Lord speaks of those sons of the house of Israel who did not accept the prophets sent to them, and in the same way did not receive the Son of God sent to them. The...

On Aug. 30 some cheerleaders at North Stanly High School in New London, N.C., posted for a pre-game photo of themselves holding a banner that read, “Trump 2020 Make America Great Again.” The Stanly News & Press reported that it was “American Night” at the football game and students were encouraged to wear red, white and blue. The newspaper reports that the photo was posted on social media and “caused people to feel uncomfortable.” Apparently, there are some perpetually offended snowflakes who live in that part of North Carolina. It’s not quite clear who complained about that banner, but all you-know-what...

A weekend drone attack on Saudi Arabia that cut into global energy supplies and halved the kingdom’s oil production threatened Sunday to fuel a regional crisis, as the U.S. released new evidence to back up its allegation that Iran was responsible for the assault amid heightened tensions over Tehran’s collapsing nuclear deal. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blamed Iran for the attack Saturday on key Saudi oil infrastructure. On Sunday, senior U.S. officials again said the American government believes there is no doubt Iran was responsible, saying satellite imagery and other intelligence, show the strike was inconsistent with...

A Brooklyn lawmaker is accusing Major League Baseball of disrespecting 9/11 first responders by refusing to allow the Mets to wear caps honoring the heroes on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks. City Councilman Justin Brannan fired off a scathing letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred last week demanding the league let the Mets wear caps emblazoned with “NYPD,” “FDNY” and other first-responder agencies for the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Any other teams wishing to do so should be allowed also, Brannan wrote. The Bay Ridge-based Democrat made the plea after MLB rejected the team’s latest request...

DUBAI (Reuters) - The attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities on Saturday that has threatened global oil supplies came from the direction of Iran, and cruise missiles may have been used, according to a senior U.S. official.

After being presented with the Mariners Franchise Achievement Award -- the first player to receive the honor -- Ichiro talked for five minutes [without his interpreter] about his appreciation for the support he received in Seattle and across the Major Leagues after coming to the U.S. to pursue his baseball dreams. “This is a happy occasion...When I came to Seattle in 2001, no position player had ever come from Japan before. The one you got was 27 years old, small and skinny. “And I know, you had every reason not to accept me. However, you welcomed me with open arms...