Free Republic

The Democratic National Committee on Friday released new guidelines for its debate scheduled for March 15th. The new threshold requires each candidate to have at least 20 percent of the delegates that have been awarded thus far. The move singles out Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), who received just two delegates up until now. Gabbard took to Twitter to urge her opponents, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), to oppose the DNC's sudden requirement changes. Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 ✔ @TulsiGabbard .@JoeBiden @BernieSanders I’m sure you would agree that our Democratic nominee should be a person who will...

The Illinois Supreme Court rejected former "Empire" star Jussie Smollett's request to throw out charges that accuse him of staging a racist, homophobic attack in Chicago. The ruling came Friday, along with the court's decision rejecting the actor's effort to remove the special prosecutor in the case. Smollett’s lawyers argued in an emergency petition that Cook County Circuit Judge Michael Toomin overstepped his authority and misinterpreted the law when he ordered the appointment of a special prosecutor. The court did not explain its decision to reject the arguments by Smollett’s lawyers. Smollett. 37, was initially accused by Cook County prosecutors...

... Interviews with a dozen laboratory experts and government health officials reveal a six-week-long series of glitches, missed opportunities and delays that contributed to the shortage. ...

Wynne Police Department school resource officer DeAndra Warren believes in the power of prayer. Warren, 40, is a beloved and trusted figure at two Wynne Public Schools in Arkansas, where he oversees roughly 1,200 students in kindergarten through 8th grade, according to ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Warren, in his seventh year with the Wynne Police Department, is committed to regular and faithful prayer for the students, families, and school district he has been assigned to serve and protect. The officer was recently recognized by his 21-year-old daughter De’Andria Warren, who posted a photo of her dad praying at the school...

Unfortunately, we’ve become a nation where apology is a sign of weakness, a piece of meat to a hungry pack. We’re a people hopelessly addicted to outrage and pearl clutching. And those who don’t scream loudly enough or clutch their pearls hard enough must worry about the Thought Police. We’ve become like North Koreans at a state funeral, terrified to be the first to stop wailing. In our angry public world of politics and media, the gravity sucks us down into the demon-infested Twitterverse, a universe of darkness and tribal screams. President Donald Trump drew condemnation when he asked Associate...

Metropolitan Klimis of Peristeri sent a clear message in every direction at the Church of the Annunciation of the Theotokos in Peristeri and called on the faithful to “receive Holy Communion without fear.” The Metropolitan of Peristeri, who presided over the Service of the Rejoicings to the Theotokos (Chairetismoi ) on the first Friday of Great Lent, stressed that the Holy Communion was the body and blood of Christ and, therefore, it could not contract any disease.

The U.S. government says it is sending 160 military police and engineers to two official border crossings to deal with asylum seekers in case a federal appeals court strikes down one of the Trump administration's key policies. Senior Customs and Border Protection officials said Friday that active duty personnel will be in place by Saturday at ports of entry in El Paso and San Diego, where a large caravan attempted to cross the border in 2018, resulting in chaos and the closure of the San Ysidro port, the nation's busiest land crossing. Officials say 80 service members will be sent...

Since Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) won a delegate from Samoa on Super Tuesday, she now meets the current requirements laid out by the Democratic National Committee for candidates to be included in the next debate. However, DNC communications director Xochitl Hinojosa announced Tuesday night that "we are upping the requirements going forward. The inclusion of Rep. Gabbard at this stage is not in the best interests of the Party. All the top people have determined that it is best that everyone get behind former Vice-President Joe Biden as our nominee. Allowing Gabbard back in at this late date is incompatible...

Actress and climate activist Jane Fonda endorsed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the upcoming election. While participating in a climate rally in San Pedro, California, Fonda endorsed Sanders as the best "climate candidate" to address global warming, an issue she views as an "existential threat that could determine the future of human life on the planet." "We have to get a climate president in office, and there’s only one right now, and that’s Bernie Sanders," she said to USA Today prior to the rally. "So, I’m indirectly saying I believe you have to support the climate candidate.” At the rally,...

The U.S. government has collected persuasive intelligence that the Taliban do not intend to honor the promises they have made in the recently signed deal with the United States, three American officials tell NBC News, undercutting what has been days of hopeful talk by President Donald Trump and his top aides.

Joe Biden released a three-page summary of his medical history in which his doctor declared he is a “healthy, vigorous” 77-year-old fully capable of taking on the role of president. “Vice President Biden is a healthy, vigorous, 77-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State, and Commander in Chief,” O’Connor wrote. Biden does not use any tobacco products, does not drink any alcohol, and works out at least five days per week, according to the summary. “The only test that hasn’t been done is the cognitive...

Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney is coming under scrutiny for a double standard with his apparent demand for closed-door witness testimony in a Senate investigation into Hunter Biden’s work for the Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings. Romney supported open witness testimony in the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump, when he was the sole Republican senator to vote for additional witnesses — with no stipulation that interviews be closed. Romney, a frequent foil to the president, now faces questions about whether he is inconsistent in his apparent demand for transparent government in the latter case but not the former. Romney...

The mother of Hunter Biden's child is seeking to have him held in contempt of court for failing to provide mandatory documentation. Lunden Alexis Roberts, 28, filed a paternity suit against Biden alleging he is the father of her infant child last May, and a subsequent DNA test proved “with scientific certainty” that he is the father. In court on Friday, Roberts's lawyers filed a renewed motion for contempt and for order to show cause because Biden has not supplied her with a copy of his 2017 and 2018 personal tax returns, along with a long list of other items

Six people were injured Friday evening when shooters entered a barbershop in northeastern Washington, D.C. According to D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham, ten people were in the Snap's Styles Unlimited barbershop when three suspects entered the shop and opened fire at approximately 6:15p.m. The victims included a 5-year-old boy, who suffered a minor gunshot wound to his hand, Newsham added. He and four others are in stable condition, while a fifth victim is in critical but stable condition and required surgery. All the victims have been taken to the hospital. According to Newsham, two of the suspects were wearing dark...

ORLANDO, Fla. - If your shopping trip to Costco includes stopping by all the free sample stations to fill up on goodies, it won't be happening for awhile. Costco stores, including those in Central Florida, are suspending free samples over safety concerns surrounding the coronavirus. It was not immediately known if all stores in the U.S. have pulled samples. No timeline was given as to when the suspension would end. An employee told FOX 35 that the ban is in effect "until further notice." With fears of the coronavirus heightening, some shoppers in recent weeks voiced concerns over whether the...

Joy Reid indulged in some particularly ugly scapegoating/scaremongering this morning. On her MSNBC show today, Reid twice depicted the children of Trump supporters as a coronavirus threat to "your kids." Reid's notion was that Trump supporters, "God love 'em," are gullible, credulous rubes who blindly believe anything the president says. And since President Trump has supposedly claimed that coronavirus is a "hoax," his supporters will ignore their children's symptoms, and send them off to school where they can infect "your kids."Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

Sen. Bernie Sanders has a long history of siding with America's enemies. From the very beginning of his political career, as mayor of Burlington, Vt., he fought to forge friendships with our foes.

Last week, the House Veterans and Emergency Preparedness Committee held hearings with the intent to cast climate change and global warming as threats to national security. The documents provided in the committee should not be taken at face value because they are from politically correct collaborators in the military industrial intelligence complex that failed in Iraq and Afghanistan after nearly two decades. It is about money and budgets, not real national security. Further, the military's climate change admirals, generals and contractors did nothing as Communist China built a world-class military and navy that can challenge anyone in the Pacific Ocean...

A Connecticut community physician has tested positive for coronavirus, marking the second case connected to the state within a day. The newest person who is infected is a community physician who made rounds at Bridgeport Hospital, according to Governor Ned Lamont. ...

Music legend Billy Joel has a message for burglars: Break into his house again, and he will take a big shot at them. The singer/songwriter’s house on Long Island was hit in January by intruders, who damaged a dozen motorcycles and trashed a home office. According to TMZ, the burglars got in by breaking a glass door. Nothing was stolen, but the possibilities of what could happen if he had been at home probably came to mind. Now, Joel is prepared. During a concert Feb. 20 in New York, he told the crowd, “Welcome, Madison Square Garden. Last time I...