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The strikes come one day after the US assessed an Iranian-backed group was responsible for a rocket attack on a base where coalition forces are located, killing two American service members and one British service member. The Defense Department on Friday identified the two US service members killed in the attack as Army Specialist Juan Miguel Mendez Covarrubias, 27, of Hanford, California and Air Force Staff Sgt. Marshal D. Roberts, 28, of Owasso, Oklahoma. The UK Ministry of Defense had earlier identified the slain UK service member as Lance Corporal Brodie Gillon. The UK government expressed support for the US...

The Walking Dead fans have spotted a strange coincidence to the comics after a coronavirus patient was diagnosed in the same hospital where Rick Grimes woke up to the apocalypse. While the TV series is set in Atlanta, the original comic books saw the hero awake in Kentucky’s Harrison Memorial Hospital. If you cast your minds back, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) was struck down while out on duty with Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal) and was taken to the facility where he was put into a medically induced coma. It’s unsure how long he was asleep, however, the star of the show...

The story so far: On March 8, India’s Health Ministry said the total number of the highly contagious coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country had risen to 34. In December 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared an outbreak of the febrile respiratory illness of unknown etiology from Wuhan, Hubei Province of China. The outbreak was epidemiologically linked to the Wuhan Seafood Wholesale Market involving the sale of seafood and live animals. Later named COVID-19, it has now spread to more than 90 countries apart from China, — there are 101,923 confirmed cases and 3,486 deaths from 94...

The coronavirus pandemic has stoked concerns of a global economic recession as it spreads across the world, igniting one of the sharpest oil price plummets in the last 30 years and causing the biggest stock plunge on Wall Street since the stock market crash in 1987. While the crisis has led to a temporary decline in global carbon dioxide emissions, experts are warning it poses a serious threat to long-term climate change action by compromising global investments in clean energy and weakening industry environmental goals to reduce emissions. The International Energy Agency, or IEA, has warned the virus outbreak will...

LEBANON, Ohio — UPDATE: 3/13 9:38 a.m. John Austin Hopkins's trial resumed Friday morning with both sides presenting closing arguments. Before court let out Thursday, jurors heard from Dr. Fred Peterson, Ph.D. “[Hopkins] acknowledges some type of sexual behavior occurred," Peterson's written report said. "His results suggest he has numerous sexual 'thinking errors' which he uses to help him explain the sexual behavior that occurred.” Peterson's report also said Hopkins's mental behavior does not allow him to accept responsibility for his actions, which could hinder any treatment which might be suggested. Once both sides present closing arguments Friday, the jurors...

There were bound to be plenty of unpredictable consequences as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, but a gang war between rival packs of monkeys in the streets of Thailand? Sasaluk Rattanachai, a local shopkeeper who was credited by the Daily Mail for capturing the footage, claimed that this is the first time she's ever seen such a clash between the temple monkeys and the city monkeys, two different groups separated by a train track. Of course, you'll recall that the original novel of THE PLANET OF THE APES begins with a pandemic virus.

...Dr. Roth has chosen to assume that there are discoverable psychological reasons why Donald Trump beat all rivals to become a disruptive president. Trump's personal psychology, Roth shows, met the psychological needs of a country that had lost its confident stance toward the future. It's why his slogan, "Make America Great Again" (MAGA), worked. His flawed humanity possessed skills that met the historical moment...

President Trump announced Friday he'll waive interest on federally held student loans as part of his emergency coronavirus response. In a Rose Garden announcement, Trump said he'll take "emergency executive actions" to offer relief to students, many of whom are dealing with shuttered college campuses because of the global pandemic.

In 1781, an oboe player discovered the first new planet since antiquity. The History Guy recalls a solar system shattering event that represented an era of scientific inquiry. It is history that deserves to be remembered.

Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.

Fox Business Network said it would scrap most of its primetime schedule by putting two of its programs on hiatus “until further notice” in order to staff coverage of the coronavirus crisis elsewhere within Fox News Media. The network said in a statement that its 8 p.m. hour, “Trish Regan Primetime,” and 9 p.m. hour, “Kennedy,” would be replaced by long form programming. “Due to the demands of the evolving pandemic crisis coverage, we are deploying all resources from both shows for staffing needs during critical market hours,” the network’s statement said.

Virus Outbreak: China meddles with evacuation flights UNNECESSARY? Chinese officials said passengers on the first flight did not need protective gear, but crew on a later flight on a Chinese airline were properly equipped By Yang Chun-hui and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer A China Airlines (中華航空) charter flight to evacuate Taiwanese stranded in China on Tuesday was delayed by Chinese authorities, who unilaterally attempted to make last-minute changes to the passenger manifest, an anonymous source said yesterday. Just before the flight was scheduled to depart Hubei Province at 5pm, Chinese authorities attempted to add 30 passengers...

en. Ted Cruz (R-TX) announced on Friday that he is extending his self-quarantine after learning of contact with another individual who tested positive for the novel coronavirus. [cut] “My self-quarantine ended yesterday afternoon. I still have no symptoms and feel fine, and I was looking forward to taking my family out to dinner tonight,” he said in a statement. He continued: 'Unfortunately, last night I was informed I had a second interaction with an individual who yesterday tested positive for COVID-19. On March 3, I met in my D.C. office with Santiago Abascal, the leader of the Vox Party in...

The FReeper Canteen presents...    ***** Tunes For Our Troops ~ Happy St Patrick's Day!! (Tuesday) ~ ***** ~ Support The Artists You See Throughout The Canteen ~   ***** Warning: Not all music may be appropriate for children! Please click with caution. Thank you! Tunes For The Troops     This music is provided for the entertainment of our Troops, Veterans, Allies & their families! Enjoy the variety of musical selections that the Canteen DJs provide throughout the thread. Please ping any DJ with your requests for the Troops! All music is removed on Monday.Thanks to all the...

1) The Democrats’ effort to blame coronavirus on Trump is doomed to fail. Most people simply aren’t that dumb. The virus came from China 2) On the contrary, the pandemic shows that Trump was right all along about China. While low wages are superficially attractive, there are many disadvantages to doing business there. In the medium and long terms, coronavirus will boost the American economy. 3) So far, voters are entirely indifferent to the Democrats’ attempts to gain political advantage from coronavirus. The Rasmussen Survey hasn’t budged, one way or the other. Today Trump stands at 49%/50% in the rolling...

St. Louis, MO – The head of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri has told NPR that women are opting to have their abortions in Illinois rather than scheduling them at the last abortion facility in Missouri, located in St. Louis. She blamed the Missouri laws for influencing women’s decisions to voluntarily travel to Illinois for abortions. But is that conclusion really the truth? Abortions have dramatically decreased in Missouri. Gov. Mike Parson stated on February 21, 2020, that at that time there had been only seven abortions in Missouri this year. The NPR report noted...

China’s religious groups are happy to help when disasters strike. But much of their efforts, and collected donations, are exploited by the government.According to reports in China’s state-run media, as of February 7, the country’s five authorized religious organizations had collected 300 million RMB (about $ 43 million) to help deal with the coronavirus outbreak. In the face of disaster, China’s religious believers are eager to assist, but not all their efforts are welcome. The New York Times reported in a February 23 article that when some places of worship, not recognized by the state, sent in the money collected...

Archbishop of Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley said all daily, Sunday Masses and religious services are suspended in the Archdiocese of Boston until further notice amid concerns about COVID-19. The suspension begins at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Baptism, confirmations, weddings and funerals may proceed, but attendance should be limited to only immediate family, the Archdiocese said in a statement.

The far-left Antifa group is clearly the enemy of this constitutional republic. They thrive on violence and hatred, destruction. They are not American’s. The bottom line is- No civilized nation on earth should have to put up with terror groups like “Antifa.” Unfortunately, the Dems don’t want to label Antifa as terrorists. As WASHINGTONEXAMINER.COM: reported The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill on Wednesday that would establish offices in the Justice and Homeland Security Departments dedicated to rooting out domestic terrorist threats but rejected a Republican amendment that would have added language about Antifa. The Dems want to target far-right-wing...

Rome flip-flops on decree as Catholics lampoon 'Roman pantomime' ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) - The cardinal vicar of Rome is blaming the pontiff for the diktat to shut churches in Rome while proceeding to explain that a "further confrontation with Pope Francis this morning," compelled him to reverse his decision. On Thursday, Cdl. Angelo De Donatis issued a decree to barricade the faithful from churches "not because the state requires it, but out of a sense of belonging to the human family, exposed to a virus whose nature and propagation we do not yet know." The prohibition ordered that "access to the...