Free Republic

A bill that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to Virginia's nondiscrimination law cleared committees in the House of Delegates and Senate this week and appears to be on its way to becoming law in the Old Dominion. A version of the bill known as the Virginia Values Act was shepherded through the Senate committee by Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria). In the House, it was sponsored by Mark Sickles (D-Franconia), where it passed by a 16-6 vote, with all Democrats and three Republicans voting in favor. The mood among activists was celebratory. Democrats hold a 55-45 majority in the...

MOSCOW — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for his speedy decision to pardon and release Israeli-American backpacker Naama Issachar, who had been held in a Russian prison for some 10 months on drug charges. “I want to thank you in the name of the entire Israeli people for your quick decision to grant a pardon to Naama Issachar. This moves all of us and our gratitude is on behalf of all Israeli citizens, from the heart,” Netanyahu said at the beginning of their meeting in the Kremlin. During a whirlwind visit to the snowy...

Video at link.

Abstract We are currently witnessing a major epidemic caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019- nCoV). The evolution of 2019-nCoV remains elusive. We found 4 insertions in the spike glycoprotein (S) which are unique to the 2019-nCoV and are not present in other coronaviruses. Importantly, amino acid residues in all the 4 inserts have identity or similarity to those in the HIV-1 gp120 or HIV-1 Gag. Interestingly, despite the inserts being discontinuous on the primary amino acid sequence, 3D-modelling of the 2019-nCoV suggests that they converge to constitute the receptor binding site. The finding of 4 unique inserts in the...

VIDEO Since the Democrats' attempt to avoid facing President Trump at the ballot box via impeachment appears to have failed, the media is now experiencing meltdowns over his impending acquittal. Of course, their BIG meltdown will be coming on November 3.

WASHINGTON -- House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler, one of the lead architects of Democrats’ impeachment case against the president, announced Friday that he would not be present for the final phase of Trump’s Senate trial. “I am sorry to not be able to stay in Washington for the conclusion of the Senate impeachment trial but I need to be home with my wife at this time,” Nadler wrote in a tweet Friday. “We have many decisions to make as a family. I have every faith in my colleagues and hope the Senate will do what is right.” Earlier...

Getty Images The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down more than 500 points as investors finally decide to start worrying about the spread of China’s coronavirus and the implications for the global economy. The Dow has dropped 511.80 points, or 1.8%, to 28,347.64, while the S&P 500 has fallen 1.4% to 3239.05. The Nasdaq Composite is off 1.3% at 9175.40. The coronavirus is spreading. According to Johns Hopkins, which has a website dedicate to the virus, 9,776 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed, with 213 total deaths. Most of the cases are still in China, but it has spread...

BREAKING: Senate impeachment trial extended to WEDNESDAY

Just reported

Russian scientists have published a concept for a new kind of nuclear reactor. It’s a hybrid reactor, meaning it includes both fusion and fission, and it runs almost exclusively on thorium instead of more volatile uranium. In computer simulations, the research team found its novel design of an “energy-generating blanket” could still produce high power with a relatively small footprint and not much radioactive waste. There’s a lot to like about this design, including how it offers interesting middle-ground solutions in terms of fuel, reactor configuration, and safety. Thorium is one of the most abundant elements of its kind—more abundant...

Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney announced Friday that he will vote to hear from additional witnesses in the senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Romney had previously indicated that he wanted to hear from witnesses, including former National Security Adviser John Bolton, and his communications director Liz Johnson officially confirmed the senator’s intentions in a tweet Friday

BSO said a driver in an SUV breached two security points outside President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago, and law-enforcement officers fired their weapons at the vehicle. PALM BEACH — Two people are in custody after law enforcement opened fire near President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate following a car chase, according to the sheriff’s office. An SUV breached two security points outside Trump’s Palm Beach home, and law enforcement fired their weapons at the vehicle, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said. It was not immediately known which agency those law-enforcement officers worked for. The Florida Highway Patrol and a PBSO helicopter...

A car chase ended in shots being fired near President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort Friday in Florida, police said. Florida Highway Patrol had been in pursuit of a black SUV that headed towards two security check points at Mar-a-Lago, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida mother and her 15-year-old son are both facing charges after he robbed a convenience store at gunpoint while she acted as the lookout and getaway driver, according to a Seminole County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. Amanda Meador is being charged with robbery with a firearm and neglect of a child in connection to the robbery, which happened Halloween night at a Circle K at the intersection of Red Bug Lake Road and Tuskawilla Road. Meador drove her son and two others to the store, the arrest report states. It goes on to say that...

Democrats signaled in the runup to the looming conclusion of President Trump's impeachment proceedings that they'll simply refuse to accept his all-but-certain acquittal because his "sham" trial lacked proper witnesses and evidence. Signaling how they will message the saga in the coming months on the campaign trail, top Democratic leaders in the House and Senate argued Trump can never erase the stain of impeachment because the trial wasn’t legitimate. "The president's acquittal will be meaningless," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., declared Friday, "because it will be the result of a sham trial. If there are no witnesses, no documents in this...

Communities around China have ordered their residents to stop keeping pets - or risk getting them culled - amid fears that animals could also catch the new coronavirus that has killed 213 in less than three weeks, MailOnline can reveal. Residential committees, village officials and companies from various provinces and municipalities issued the strict order to locals after receiving instructions from their superiors to tackle the epidemic, it has emerged. One village in Hebei urged all households to 'deal with' their pets within five days, otherwise officials would 'handle' them altogether; while another residential committee in Shaanxi instructed people to...

I didn't see an "Official" BREXIT Thread, so here it is...

What’s really interesting is that Shea will be responsible for handling “highly politically charged cases.” Things that make you go “hmmm,” right? Attorney General William Barr on Thursday named Timothy Shea, one of his closest advisers, to be the next top prosecutor in the nation’s capital. Shea will lead the largest U.S. attorney’s office in the country, which has been historically responsible for some of the most significant and politically sensitive cases the Justice Department brings in the U.S. He is a senior counselor to the attorney general and was Barr’s right-hand man helping institute reforms at the federal Bureau...

A miraculous story of life-saving intervention is breaking from Northern Nigeria. According to Barnabas Aid, a group of 500 Nigerian Christians who converted from Islam gathered. The terrorist group Boko Harem descended and captured 76 members of the group as converts from Islam were highly targeted in their attacks. The group included men, women and children.

[Catholic Caucus] Fresh Scandal Prompts Questions About Vatican Sex Abuse Response Case highlights inconsistencies in handling predators VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - Former members of a disbanded public association of the faithful in Tuscany, Italy are being investigated for sexual abuse, leaving some Catholics wondering why a different Verona religious institute — notorious for a scandal involving priests raping deaf children — remains open. Nine former members of the defunct Disciples of the Annunciation (DA), five of whom are priests, are being investigated for the sexual abuse of two brothers.  Among those being investigated is DA's founder, Fr. Giglio Gilioli.  "I do...