Free Republic

Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, January 31, 2020 Hybrid Tech Holdings LLC, Hybrid Technology LLC, and Ace Strength International LTD, have agreed to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by colluding to rig the bidding of an auction to purchase the United States Department of Energy’s non-performing loan to Fisker Automotive Inc. and Fisker Automotive Holdings Inc, the Department of Justice announced today. “The department is committed to ensuring a level playing field for those who seek to do business with the government,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the...

Former Vice President Joe Biden began 2020 with less cash on hand than his fellow top-tier Democratic presidential contenders, according to Federal Election Commission filings for the fourth quarter. Biden ended the fourth quarter with $8.9 million cash on hand, the same amount he rounded out the third quarter with. The amount is considerably less than the cash on hand of the three other top-polling candidates. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) rounded out the fourth quarter with $18.2 million cash on hand, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) ended the same period with around $13.7 million cash on hand. Former South Bend,...

Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, January 31, 2020 A Phoenix-area resident, who is alleged to have been the leader of a group of Al-Qaeda terrorists in Al-Fallujah, Iraq, appeared today before a federal magistrate judge in Phoenix, Arizona in connection with proceedings to extradite him to the Republic of Iraq.  He is wanted to stand trial in Iraq for two charges of premeditated murder committed in 2006 in Al-Fallujah.The arrest was announced by Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Michael Bailey for the District...

We think we know the story: florist Barronelle Stutzman declined a request to design the floral artwork for a gay so-called wedding. Her position, grounded on the First Amendment, landed her in hot water with the Washington State Supreme Court. She appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which remanded the case back to Washington. The state Supreme Court sustained the ruling that Stutzman broke the law. The unfortunate game of hot potato between the courts has left Stutzman no option but to re-appeal to the highest court in the land, as she contends that no creative professional should be required...

East Room 12:21 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. Please. Thank you. (Applause.) And I want to thank you all for being here as we mark the 20th anniversary of Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Very important. Twenty years ago, this nation took a historic step to protect the victims of this form of modern-day slavery here in the United States and all around the world. My administration is 100 percent committed to eradicating human trafficking from the Earth. I am pleased to be joined this afternoon by Vice President Mike Pence and the members of my Cabinet:...

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room 3:42 P.M. EST SECRETARY AZAR: Well, good afternoon, everyone. I’m Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Chairman of the President’s Task Force on the Novel Coronavirus. I’m going to start by turning things over to Dr. Robert Redfield, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to discuss the current situation on the novel coronavirus. Dr. Redfield. DR. REDFIELD: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Let me give you an update on the current situation of the novel coronavirus. First though, I want to emphasize that this is a serious health...

The United States has confirmed cases of individuals who have a severe acute respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus (“2019-nCoV”) (“the virus”) first detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province, People’s Republic of China (“China”). The virus was discovered in China in December 2019. As of January 31, 2020, Chinese health officials have reported approximately 10,000 confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV in China, more than the number of confirmed cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) during its 2003 outbreak. An additional 114 cases have been confirmed across 22 other countries; in several of these cases, the infected individuals had not...

Today’s CG is from the Arkansas Gazette EVGIHK IVG TAACKBVIBTSOK QVSH BJG RSSN ZSCV KSCA TK XVTBTOP IRSCB ZSC. ---HIVKJI OSVHIO You can find this little fun word game, to combat early dementia and senility in us baby boomers, in several daily publications. The way it works is a letter stands for another letter. For example: AXYDLBAAXR is LONGFELLOW (does not apply to today's cryptogram). Beware, the game is very addictive. If this is your first time, don't be intimidated. PLEASE DO NOT post the answer in general comments, but DO post your time and any tips you might give...

This video is so important, IMHO, posted separate from this thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3812646/posts President Trump continues to do wonderful amazing things for the people of this country - especially for those who are among the least fortunate among us - the victims of Human Trafficking.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 KJV America has heard Alexander Hamilton and the Constitution mentioned so many times in the last two weeks you would have thought you were at an award-winning Broadway Play. The same people who are enemies of the Second and First Mendments want to beat you over the head with the Peach Fo T Fi Mendment to remove an elected president they cannot beat. They are not...

Impeachment will backfire because the D.C. Leviathan still does not understand why Donald Trump was elected. After all this time, the Democrats, the NeverTrump Rump, and permanent bureaucratic power-grabbers still believe that the 2016 election was about a cult of personality. To them, President Trump is a mere carnival barker, some unholy mixture of P.T. Barnum, Franz Mesmer, and Huey Long. They have therefore spent the last three years trying to convince his supporters that he is a pretender, a Republican interloper, an emperor with no clothes. They have been convinced that if they can only expose Mr. Trump as...

This, essentially, was where Sofia Kenin was going to win or lose the Australian Open final: Down love-40 while serving at 2-all in the third set against two-time major champion Garbiñe Muguruza. Kenin came through in spectacular fashion. She won the next five points, each with a winner -- one an ace, the others clean groundstrokes to cap exchanges of 11 shots or more. The American wouldn't lose another game on her way to earning a Grand Slam title at age 21.

Many major U.S. cities run by liberal Democrats are in rough shape. They are afflicted by the problems of homelessness, violent crime, gangs, and unemployment to a far greater degree than the country as a whole. Consider the following: Chicago's violence and gang-related drug problems are well-known. What’s less well-known is that the city hasn’t had a Republican mayor since 1927. The city’s finances -- like most Democratically-run major cities -- are in shambles. At the end of 2015, according to a 2017 report by the Fiscal Times, Chicago had assets of just $4.7 billion against liabilities of more than...

She was standing on a rental car doing a little dance outside The Breakers when the state trooper rolled up. The 30-year-old opera singer from Connecticut jumped down and got into the black Jeep and ignored the Florida Highway Patrol officer’s motions to roll down her window. Minutes later, Secret Service agent and Palm Beach County deputies opened fire on Hannah Roemhild after she plowed through two security barricades near President Trump’s Mar-a-Largo estate. Authorities said Friday they had no reason to believe the chase through Palm Beach was an act of terrorism, but perhaps a case of impairment before...

[This study is 4 months old, but still very timely] A study published today in JAMA compared the ubiquitous surgical (or medical) mask, which costs about a dime, to a less commonly used respirator called an N95, which costs around $1. The study reported "no significant difference in the effectiveness" of medical masks vs. N95 respirators for prevention of influenza or other viral respiratory illness.

The United Nations special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, has called for immediate de-escalation as a drastic surge in fighting threatens to exacerbate the country's long-running war and further complicate a fragile peace process. Some say it might jeopardise two years of efforts by the UN negotiators to secure peace between Houthi rebels and the UN-recognised government. The government has been fighting the rebels since 2014, when they overran the capital Sanaa. The conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead and triggered what the UN says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Al Jazeera's Mohammed al-Attab reports.

Barbra Streisand has her eyes on one man to lead the nation in a post-President Trump world: Adam Schiff. The liberal activist told fans Friday that the California Democrat has proven himself worthy to lead the nation during impeachment proceedings against Mr. Trump. “Adam Schiff is so impressive,” she tweeted. “His knowledge of the law… his passion… his articulateness. His sincerity! He speaks the truth and would make a great president.”

Supposedly in the new four-hour (yikes!) documentary Hillary the subject says of Bernie Sanders “Nobody likes him.” As with most of Hillary’s judgments, especially when it comes to gauging human desires, she is way off the mark. In fact, Sanders appears to be a reasonably likable guy, which accounts in part for his spike in the Democrat polls. There is a strong possibility he’ll end up the party’s nominee, a frightening prospect for the Democrat establishment and the country as a whole. Current polling suggests Sanders might win the Iowa primary. He’s polling just below Biden (23-21%) within the margin...

Muslims around the world are thrilled at the recent news: "Harvard University ranks the Koran as the best book on justice" is the January 20, 2020 headline of a report published by Youm7, a popular Egyptian news site visited by millions of Arabic-readers. It writes: The official website of the World Muslim Communities Council said on social media that, after lengthy, scientific studies that closely examined the rules of justice contained in the Noble Koran, the American university of Harvard has ranked the Noble Koran as the best book on justice[.] ... In its final evaluation, Harvard University's Classification Committee...

A Russian 'inspector' spacecraft has changed its orbit to closely follow a secret American spy satellite. On January 20, Cosmos 2542 maneuvered so it was behind USA 245, a satellite that gathers images for military and intelligence purposes for the $4billion KH-11 photo reconnaissance project. The Russian craft is a 'space apparatus inspector,' meaning it's designed to monitor other satellites in space - and the US government has warned that it can use cameras and sensors to gather information about other satellites or even use high-power microwaves, lasers or radio frequency jammers to launch an attack.