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The coronavirus has evolved into two major types, with differing transmission rates and geographical distribution, according to a study published in the National Science Review on Tuesday. A group of Chinese scientists analysed 103 coronavirus genomes and identified mutations in 149 sites across the strains. They found that one type, which they called the L type, was more prevalent than the other, the S type, meaning it was more infectious. They also found that the L type had evolved from the S type, and that the L type was far more widespread before January 7 and in Wuhan, ground zero...

American Alan Gross, a prisoner in Cuba for five years during the Obama administration, is accusing Sen. Bernie Sanders of commending the communist country when he came to visit him behind bars. Sanders visited Cuba as part of a congressional delegation in 2014, along with Sens. Heidi Heitkamp and Jon Tester. During the one-hour meeting, Sanders told the prisoner that he didn't understand why others criticized Cuba, Gross said in an interview with NPR. "He said, quote: 'I don't know what's so wrong with this country,' " Gross recalled. Sanders' campaign declined to comment about the meeting with Gross, and...

Will Turkish President Erdogan's Syrian refugee hardball game with the EU Produce a Change in Francis' Pro-Migrant Bias? Francis aspires to be the chaplain of the EU's secular City of the World. A change might be anticipated in Francis' unlimited pro-migrant policy if Erdogan is able to bring sufficient pressure to bear on EU planners that they have to modify their open borders policy to be more like Hungary while continuing to crow the open borders line. Francis has taken a long-term lease for Trump and conservative Americans to live rent-free in his head that can be expected to last...

Iowa Radio is reporting that the Iowa range protection and strengthened preemption bill has passed the Iowa House. The bill passed on a 52 to 44 vote, with 4 members not voting. There are 56 Republicans and 44 Democrats in the Iowa House. The bill was earlier reported on as HSB 615. Second Amendment supporters have been attempting to pass the bill for several years. From radioiowa.com: Supporters of the bill say Iowa gun owners should not have to navigate a labyrinth of different ordinances. The bill also forbids cities and counties from trying to ban gun modifications or from...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP/VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE and AMERICA: Healthcare, Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 JOHN 5:14 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

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Activist and Bernie Sanders supporter Shaun King has sparred with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, after claiming she reported that the DNC is angling to prevent the socialist senator from winning the Democratic nomination. King tweeted out to his more than 1 million followers that Maddow had disclosed that “senior officials” within the Democratic Party were pressuring billionaire-turned-presidential-candidate Michael Bloomberg to drop out so that “Biden would have an easier time against Bernie.” He made the provocative accusations that the Democrats were in fact “interfering with the primaries to stop” Sanders. The claim sent shockwaves through the social media platform, with...

President Trump ridiculed him on Twitter. 'The biggest loser tonight, by far, is Mini Mike Bloomberg. His “political” consultants took him for a ride. $700 million washed down the drain, and he got nothing for it but the nickname Mini Mike, and the complete destruction of his reputation. Way to go Mike!' Bloomberg's staff departed on two coach buses. Left behind were hundreds of pages of blank volunteer forms containing get-out-the-vote efforts in upcoming states. . . . 'Enthusiasm they don't lack,' he said of supporters who cheered him in a convention center, having snapped up free wine, beer, and...

Now, she's facing political and financial pressures to get out. Warren's campaign declined to comment on her next steps after her dismal Super Tuesday performance. But allies who speak regularly with the campaign say the mood was bleak. A small wave of last-minute endorsements from groups like EMILY’s List, along with late financial help from a super PAC, did not significantly move the needle.

Poor James Comey. The former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations has no friends. Republicans hate him as a Deep State ringleader who let Hillary Clinton slide over her unambiguously illegal email debacle. Democrats hate him because they blame his opening of an investigation into Clinton as a factor in her 2016 election loss. Since then, he’s tried to get back into the Democrats’ good graces by constantly bashing President Trump, but some wounds run too deep. In an effort to stay relevant in a world that wants to forget him, Comey decided to chime in and throw his...

I was thinking; If only 11 million people have Obama-Care, how will 24 million people die if it is repealed? Will an additional 13 million people be randomly shot? I was thinking; If Donald Trump deleted all of his emails, wiped his server with Bleachbit and destroyed all of his phones with a hammer, would the Mainstream Media suddenly lose all interest in the story and declare him innocent? I was thinking; If women do the same job for less money, why do companies hire men to do the same job for more money? I was thinking; Each ISIS attack...

After outscoring its opposition 25-0 at the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament and qualifying for the 2020 Olympics in Japan, the U.S. Women’s National Team now embarks on an ambitious pre-Olympic preparation schedule, beginning with the 2020 SheBelieves Cup, Presented by Visa. The USA has participated in all six Olympic Games in which women’s soccer has been contested, winning four gold medals (1996, 2004, 2008, 2012) and a silver (2000).

The U.S. military said early Wednesday it had conducted an airstrike against Taliban forces in Afghanistan, the first such attack since a historic peace deal was signed with the militant group Saturday. The Helmand Province strikes targeted fighters attacking an Afghan government checkpoint.

A resurgent Joe Biden scored victories from Texas to Massachusetts on Super Tuesday, revitalizing a presidential bid that was teetering on the edge of disaster just days earlier. But his rival, Bernie Sanders, seized the biggest prize with a win in California that ensured he — and his embrace of democratic socialism — would drive the Democrats’ nomination fight for the foreseeable future. The former vice president showed strength in the Northeast with a victory in Massachusetts. He won delegate-rich Texas in the Southwest, Minnesota in the upper Midwest and finished on top across the South in Virginia, Alabama, North...

Today is #SuperTuesday and we hope #TeamGraham can count on you! If you’re standing with Senator Lindsey Graham and @realDonaldTrump, will you pledge your support? https://t.co/ZfCIqqhETI— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 4, 2020

Democratic Assemblywoman Christy Smith of Santa Clarita and Republican former Navy pilot Mike Garcia were in a tight race Tuesday night to succeed Rep. Katie Hill in one of California’s most competitive congressional districts, in the northern suburbs of Los Angeles, according to early election returns. Former Rep. Steve Knight, the Republican who was ousted by Hill, a Democrat, in 2018, was close behind in an election that is likely to yield two runoffs - one in May to fill Hill’s seat for the rest of the year and another in November for the full two-year term that starts in...

RALEIGH, N.C. — A man who gave a fiery speech for gun rights two years ago in Greensboro won his party's primary in North Carolina's lieutenant governor's race Tuesday night. Mark Robinson, who was seeking his first elected office, topped eight other candidates, likely winning the primary without a runoff and shocking pundits. He spent less than other candidates – one a state senator who put half a million dollars into his own campaign – and he didn't have the statewide platform or political experience of others. He beat state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson. He bested former Congresswoman...

Gene drives use genetic engineering to create a desired mutation in a few individuals that then spreads via mating throughout a population in fewer than 10 generations. In theory, such a mechanism could be used to prevent malarial mosquitoes from transmitting disease, or possibly to wipe out an invasive species by disabling its ability to reproduce. Though scientists have had success proving the concept in the lab, they have found that wild populations invariably adapt and develop resistance to the scheme. And when gene drives work, they are all or nothing—without nuance—they spread to all individuals, which can be a...

Today’s poetic CG is from The Arkansas Gazette. PDJ FH PSID LXVJDN, CSN XJ XH JUD HENXVK SC KDVXFH. —EXDJNS GNDJXVS 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...