Free Republic

Federal prosecutors have charged former United Auto Workers President Gary Jones with conspiracy to embezzle union funds, making him the highest-ranking ex-union official to be ensnared in the Justice Department’s yearslong corruption probe. Mr. Jones, who led the UAW through contract negotiations late last year with the Detroit car makers and a 40-day strike at General Motors Co., is alleged to have been a part of a group of senior UAW leaders who embezzled more than $1 million to pay for private villas, liquor, golf and other luxuries, according to charging documents filed with a Michigan federal court and made...

Although it was black voters in South Carolina who probably saved Biden’s bacon by giving him a much-needed bounce, it might be black voters who give Trump help in retaining the White House. In 2016, Trump was able to win the White House with only 8% of the black vote. Although that meant 92% of blacks who voted went for Hillary, the problem was with the number of blacks who stayed home: Of the black voters who turned out for Obama in 2012, 7% stayed home for Hillary in 2016. If Democrats are to have a prayer of retaking the White...

In his recent book, “Immigration Reform,” Mr. Kamasaki, who has worked for migrant rights for nearly 40 years, advises other progressives to moderate their tone — to seek bipartisan compromise, avoid assuming all opponents are racist, and question whether “unfettered immigration is necessarily in their community’s interest.”

If there’s a silver lining to the novel coronavirus, it’s that our dependence on China for medication and medical devices has been brought to the fore (at least to those paying attention). Our dependence on China for these vital supplies is insane for all the obvious reasons, none-the-least of which is how quickly we could be brought to our knees. We must act now to break this dependence and start manufacturing medication here at home. India, which manufactures most of the world’s generic drugs, is already taking steps to reduce their reliance on ingredients from China (here). This point...

Allies of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are in unity talks as they seek to rally around one agenda following poor Super Tuesday performances, it has been reported. Two sources familiar with the discussions also told the Post that Warren allies and members of the Joe Biden camp had talked about an endorsement from the Massachusetts senator, should she decide to exit the primary race.

President Donald Trump confessed Wednesday that for the last few weeks he's been missing something: touching his face. "I haven't touched my face in weeks,” Trump said during a meeting about coronavirus with airline executives. "I miss it." He's not alone. The emergence of a new coronavirus around the world has triggered widespread warnings about personal hygiene and habits in an effort to limit its spread: wash your hands, limit unnecessary travel and don't touch your face. It's that last piece of advice that's a challenge for many people. "Realizing basically all I do is touch my face,” tweeted actor...

Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden is taking heat on Twitter after a video of a confrontation between him and members of the group Iraq Veterans Against the War during a campaign stopover in Oakland, Calif., went viral. Biden had just spoken to a crowd at the Buttercup Diner when Air Force veteran Michael Thurman confronted the former vice president

The event turned controversial when a question from the audience started a discussion about how different marginalized groups should work together

A place to consolidate CoronaVirus Stories

Following increased interest in expanding access to paid family and medical leave, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D–Conn.) joined forces with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D­–N.Y.) to promote the Family and Medical Insurance Leave, or FAMILY, Act. If we believe the act's supporters, it would cost close to nothing and provide essential benefits to employees who don't currently receive them. Unfortunately, these claims are bogus. Under the FAMILY Act, the federal government would offer 12 weeks of paid time off to enable workers to care for infants, recover from major illnesses, and care for severely ill relatives. During that time, employees would receive...

A California stay-at-home mom was devastated to learn that a succulent she has taken care of for two years is made out of plastic. Caelie Wilkes said in a Facebook post that she received the plant as a gift and worked hard to nurture and protect it, making sure it received enough water and plenty sunshine. She even washed the spongy leaves.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) attacked Chief Justice John Roberts and issued a warning to the Court in a statement released by his spokesman Justin Goodman Wednesday afternoon in response to Roberts rebuking Schumer for threatening Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh at a pro-choice protest rally in front of the Supreme Court building Wednesday morning while inside the justices heard arguments on a Louisiana abortion law case, June Medical Services LLC v. Russo. Schumer had screamed his threat, “I want to tell you, Gorsuch! And I want to tell you, Kavanaugh! You have released the whirlwind, and you...

(Reuters) - Wall Street was set for strong declines at the open on Thursday as the fast-spreading coronavirus led California to declare an emergency, while airline stocks were hammered by crippled travel demand. The S&P 500 had ended 4% higher on Wednesday, as Joe Biden’s surprising lead in the Democratic primaries distracted traders from the widening spread of the pathogen in the United States. The benchmark index has recouped nearly half of its losses from its worst week since the 2008 financial crisis, but is still about 7.5% below its record close on Feb. 19. Fears about economic growth resurfaced...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) attacked Chief Justice John Roberts and issued a warning to the Court in a statement released by his spokesman Justin Goodman Wednesday afternoon in response to Roberts rebuking Schumer for threatening Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh at a pro-choice protest rally in front of the Supreme Court building Wednesday morning while inside the justices heard arguments on a Louisiana abortion law case, June Medical Services LLC v. Russo. Schumer had screamed his threat, “I want to tell you, Gorsuch! And I want to tell you, Kavanaugh! You have released the whirlwind, and you...

HSBC has evacuated parts of its Canary Wharf headquarters after a worker tested positive for coronavirus. The bank's research department was cleared this morning and will now undergo a deep clean as staff work from home. The employee is believed to have fallen ill at the weekend after returning from an affected area overseas before receiving the positive test. It is the first case of COVID-19 in one of London's major financial institutions. The banking giant employs around 10,000 people at its Canary Wharf headquarters and 40,000 people across the UK. An HSBC spokesperson said: "We have been informed that...

TRIPOLI - Three thousand camels have been walked out of Libya’s capital Tripoli in an overnight evacuation after the port where they arrived came under artillery fire. The camels left Tripoli’s port shortly after midnight on Wednesday, and were herded along a highway leading west to the city of Zawiya, some 45 km (30 miles) away, where they arrived on Thursday morning, according to a local merchant. A Reuters reporter saw about 20 camel herders whipping the camels into line as they left central Tripoli, with some camels trying to search for food along the side of the road. Security...

A new California law intended to force employers to hire workers as employees rather than treat them as contractors is killing freelance jobs across the Golden State and leaving those contractors in limbo. Assembly Bill 5 (A.B. 5), which took effect January 1, was drafted in response to Dynamex Operations West Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, a landmark court case that established a three-pronged test to determine whether companies are correctly classifying employees and contractors. That test says that contractors must control their workload, not perform work within the business's primary scope of operations, and be "customarily engaged"...

In this episode, we interview the writer and director Matthew Rosen to learn to riveting, but little known story of Philippine president Manuel Quezon attempting to save 10,000 Jews from Hitler's slaughter.

“Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel” (Proverbs 5:8-9 KJV).

At least some journalists and scientists appear finally to be admitting that many people promoting the theory that humans are causing a climate crisis have been wildly exaggerating the likelihood the most extreme climate harms will occur. Prior to the of the release of the Fifth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the purported human causes of climate change, researchers developed four different scenarios, referred to as, “Representative Concentration Pathways” (RCPs), to describe how carbon emissions might change through 2100. The most extreme of these scenarios, RCP8.5, projected a 500 percent increase in the use...