Free Republic

A California man faces four years in prison for attacking a bar patron who was wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat in a restroom last year, officials said Wednesday. David Delgado, 32, pleaded no contest to one count of felony assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. The attack happened on Sept. 2, 2019, at a restaurant in downtown Hermosa Beach. The victim was wearing a red hat with white lettering written in Russian that translated to “Make America Great Again,” a prosecutor said. Delgado...

US president Donald Trump is planning to boycott the annual St Patrick’s Day Speakers’ lunch in Washington next week the Irish Times has learned, amid ongoing tensions between the president and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The president traditionally attends the lunch on Capitol Hill which is hosted by the House Speaker – one of the rare times in the year that the president visits congress. But it is understood that Mr Trump and vice president Mike Pence have indicated they will not attend next Thursday, though the Oval Office meeting between the Taoiseach and the president will proceed as planned...

“We think democracy is better,” said the jet-fuel salesperson. “But is it? In terms of outcomes?” In a conference room overlooking the gray Thames, a group of young corporate types tried to imagine how the world could save itself, how the international community could balance the need for growth with our precarious ecological situation. For the purposes of our speculative scenarios, everything except for carbon was supposed to be up in the air, and democracy’s track record is mixed. A graph from Chinese social media showing how many trees the country is planting — a patriotic retort to the Swedish...

MILAN—The Italian government is planning to lock down 16 million people—more than a quarter of its population, including the region around Milan and 11 provinces in nearby regions—in the most sweeping steps any European country has prepared to take against the coronavirus epidemic.. More at link.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is taking on a familiar role as a thorn in the side of leadership as Congress barrels toward a surveillance deadline with no deal in sight. Paul, a libertarian-minded Republican, is pushing for broader surveillance court reforms to be included as part of any bill that reauthorizes or extends the expiring provisions of the USA Freedom Act, a 2015 law that overhauled the country’s intelligence programs. "The time is ripe now. It’s an inflection point. You’ve got Republicans coming around to this," Paul said. "I think even the powers that be in the Senate, the Republicans...

CPAC attendee tests positive for coronavirus © Greg Nash The American Conservative Union (ACU) announced Saturday that an attendee at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). ACU Tweet https://twitter.com/ACUConservative/status/1236415113265102852

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...