Free Republic

A Florida man turned lizard smuggler pleaded guilty this week in federal court to trafficking live water monitor lizards from the Philippines. Akbar Akram, of Holiday, Florida, near Tampa, admitted to illegally importing more than 20 live water monitor lizards in 2016, according to the plea documents. The documents say Akram stuffed the lizards into socks and sealed them with tape, before hiding them inside electronic equipment which was shipped under a false label.

For almost a week, 21-year-old American-born college student Nicholas Schneider has been trying and failing to find a way out of Wuhan, China, the quarantined city at the heart of a fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. An eerie calm has descended on the normally bustling streets of the city of 11 million people, where Schneider has been studying geodesy - a branch of applied mathematics - at Wuhan University, about 16km from where experts believe the new coronavirus originated in a market illegally trading in wildlife. "It's like a ghost town, barely any people and cars. It's a weird feeling. I feel...

LAS VEGAS — After a little over one week on the run, two Seattle deadly shooting suspects were caught in Las Vegas. Twenty-four year olds William Toliver and Marquise Latrelle Tolbert were booked into jail in Clark County, Nevada Saturday, according to Lt. Ken Nogle, Days Watch Commander with Las Vegas Metro Police. They were arrested near the 3700 block of West Flamingo Blvd in Las Vegas. The details as to what led up to their arrest has not been made clear yet. The two men are suspects in the shootout that left one woman dead and injured seven other...

The first death outside China connected to the novel coronavirus respiratory illness was announced Saturday by the World Health Organization. The president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, responded by banning travel from the island nation to China. The deceased was described as a 44-year-old resident of Wuhan, China, the epicenter of coronavirus outbreak, who had traveled to the Philippines, WHO Philippines officials said in a news conference. A second person in the Philippines was confirmed to have the virus but has so far survived, they said. The 44-year-old, who experienced fever, coughing and a sore throat before he was hospitalized,...

A Billings Republican legislator said Saturday he believes the U.S. Constitution calls for the shooting or jailing of those who identify as socialists. State Rep. Rodney Garcia, from House District 52 on the South Side, first made a statement in the form of an unprompted question at a state party gathering in Helena Friday meant to kick off election season and offer training for party members and candidates. In his question after a speech by former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, who was Montana’s representative in the U.S. House for two years, Garcia said he was concerned about socialists...

When Bill Kristol swore he would never vote for President Donald Trump, he meant it. The longtime conservative commentator took to Facebook today to admit that he is a Democrat—for now. In a tweet, the former editor-at-large of the now-defunct Weekly Standard, declared: "Not presumably forever; not perhaps for a day after Nov. 3, 2020; not on every issue or in every way until then. But for the time being one has to say: We are all Democrats now."

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus police say officers fatally shot a 15-year-old suspect who was armed with a gun Thursday evening following a robbery at a pharmacy store. Two officers fired at 15-year-old Abdirahman Salad during the confrontation in the CVS Pharmacy on East Broad Street, police said. He later died at a hospital. No officers were hurt. Police said they had received multiple calls about the alleged robbery, reporting that people were running out of the store and that an armed suspect was involved. They didn’t release further details about the confrontation, except to say the shooting is being investigated...

Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg plans five town halls in New Hampshire on Tuesday as he returns to the state following Monday’s Iowa caucus. Also, as the New Hampshire primary campaign heads into its final week, Buttigieg has picked up five new high-profile supporters. After arriving from Iowa, Buttigieg has an aggressive schedule on his first day back on Tuesday. He will hold five town halls: at the Rex Theater in Manchester at 9:30 a.m.; at the Community Oven in Hampton at 12 p.m.; at 3S Artspace in Portsmouth at 1:30 p.m.; at the Laconia Middle School at 5 p.m.; and...

“The Purification of Mary, the Presentation of Our Lord, and the Consolation of God’s People” (Luke 2:22-40) For most Americans, today is being called either “Groundhog Day” or “Super Bowl Sunday.” But for us in the church, we observe this day, February 2, for two events that are much more significant, namely, “The Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord.” And that in turn will lead us to celebrate something that results from this day, and that is, the consolation of God’s people. Thus our theme this morning: “The Purification of Mary, the Presentation of Our Lord, and...

The Senate is expected to hold an acquittal vote in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump next week, Republican senators told reporters on Friday evening. Following a closed-door Senate Republican conference meeting, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Sen. Mike Braun (R-ID) said the upper chamber will vote on an organizing resolution to establish the procedures for next week’s votes. Lawmakers are expected to deliver their closing arguments on Monday and hold open deliberations Tuesday. A vote on the articles of impeachment — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — will occur Wednesday. “There was some feverish discussion,” Braun...

SNIP Those champion Sawx remain under investigation by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred for illegal sign-stealing — the very crime of which their immediate predecessors, the 2017 Astros, have been convicted. Alex Cora, the manager of the former team and the bench coach of the latter, stands as the common thread. Manfred identified him as a mastermind of the ’17 Astros’ scheme, and a suspension of at least one year appears quite likely. Cora and the Red Sox parted ways the day after Manfred released his report on those Astros. The Red Sox owners and All-Star J.D. Martinez have intimated that...

Great music from Gordon Lightfoot about the "Rainy Day People" who help us instead of hurting us. On Canada's CTV Lloyd Robertson had a conversation with Gordon Lightfoot broadcast in December 2017.... Where do we go after impeachment? In 1998 Bill Clinton opted for military action in Kosovo and Serbia siding with its Muslim population against the Serbs. What will the Trump post-impeachment policy be?.... And back here in the USA Kelli Stewart, John Lamb and other activists taking a stand for the rights of parents in the Kylee Dixon Case in Oregon..... The Middle Finger In The Middle East,...

It’s been 50 years since cleaning up the air in the United States began in earnest. Skies are much clearer now than in the mid-20th century. Leaded gasoline is gone, power plants have been abandoning coal and sulfur dioxide has dropped by 91%. Despite these growing improvements, why have epidemiologists been unable to show the demonstrable public health benefits that their computer models predict?

February 2, 2020   Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Reading 1 Mal 3:1-4 Thus says the Lord GOD: Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek, And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye. He will sit refining and purifying silver, and...

Vice President Biden Eulogizes Senator Byrd

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP/VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE and AMERICA: Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, Farmers, Sanctity of Life, Health Care, and the Media Religion Forum threads labeled “Prayer” are closed to debate of any kind. But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

If you’ve never seen the Sergio Leone film “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly,” one of the characters admonishes a would-be assassin “When you have to shoot, shoot; don’t talk” after having dispatched him. Something like that exact sentiment is why warning shots, verbal warnings and other attempts to dissuade a violent attacker are a bad idea. If the threat is real, draw from your concealed carry holster and fire – and stop the threat.Warning Shots Will Only Land You In JailWarning shots sound great on paper. The gunshot will frighten the bad person enough so they give up...

If Biden has a miserable showing Monday in Iowa, how many current Demoncrat office holders will come out Tuesday and say it was due to Trump falsely accusing him of malarkey in Ukraine? And who are the likely suspects to do this?

Democratic insiders are warning that party voters could cast their 2020 vote for President Donald Trump if Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic nomination. . . . 'I think that there is a very real 'Never Bernie' sentiment amongst both the donor class and moderate, centrist Democrats, or what I would call regular Democrats,' the insider said. . . . Politico reports that half a dozen members have discussed a policy reversal that would see super delegates, now called automatic delegates, be able to vote on the first ballot at the party's national convention, increasing the influence of DNC...

A senior leader of one of the Dominican Republic’s most prominent conservative political parties told Breitbart News he is concerned the island nation, just a little over 200 miles from the United States, could become a “hostage” in China’s growing bid for hegemony... Chinese Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Zhang Run...is openly advocating for the country to open a public bidding war for the development of the Manzanillo Port, rather than sign an agreement with U.S. developers that would keep China’s “Belt and Road” workers out of the area... Zhang also said that China had offered Santo Domingo a $600...