Free Republic

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said Tuesday that the state is prepared for the possibility of declaring martial law in an effort to combat the spread of the Chinese coronavirus. “[W]e have the ability to do martial law … if we feel the necessity,” Newsom said during a press conference on California’s ongoing response to the deadly illness. In what would be an extraordinary measure, martial law is the suspension of ordinary law and the imposition of direct military control of a population. The governor has already placed the California National Guard on alert for humanitarian duties, including food distribution...

Delta Air Lines on Wednesday said it plans to cut its flying by an unprecedented 70%, on a year-over-year basis, after March revenue fell nearly $2 billion short of the same month last year as coronavirus devastates demand. The cuts to its flights will last “until demand starts to recover,” CEO Ed Bastian told employees. “Our international operation will take the largest reduction, with over 80% of flying reduced over the next two to three months,” he said.

Seriously, how long does this stupidity continue? Charges of racism and xenophobia continue as the press objects to the Trump Administration referring to the COVID-19 virus by its place or origin.

We find ourselves at a fascinating—and perhaps terrifying, moment in history in which so much of the past seems irrelevant to answering the questions about our future. How to define misinformation from information. How to allocate accountability for guarding against harmful materials. How to balance individual freedom with responsibility. How to safeguard and promote the creation of original materials in an environment celebrated for disruption and the idea it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. It is no fluke that it is within this broader set of entanglements that the Supreme Court is set to take up arguments in...

MILAN (Reuters) - As the official death toll from Italy’s coronavirus outbreak passes 2,500, a silent surge in fatalities in nursing homes, where dozens of patients a day are dying untested for the virus, suggests the real total may be higher.

Stocks tumbled on Wednesday as the markets remained highly volatile with the government response to the coronavirus fallout still unfolding. A violent reversal in Treasury yields in response to a potential $1 trillion stimulus package helped to unnerve investors. The S&P 500 fell 7% around 1 p.m. ET, triggering a marketwide “circuit breaker” trading halt while the Nasdaq Composite slid 6.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,660 points, or more than 7%. The circuit breaker halts trading across the U.S. exchanges for 15 minutes and is meant to ensure orderly market behavior. Wednesday market the fourth time in a...

In announcing the new warning, Iranian state TV journalist Dr. Afruz Eslami warned that if people fail to follow any guidance, it could collapse Iran's already-strained medical system. If the "medical facilities are not sufficient, there will be 4 million cases, and 3.5 million people will die," she said. . . Late Monday night, angry crowds stormed the courtyards of the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad and the Fatima Masumeh shrine in Qom. Many people visit the shrine in Qom 24 hours a day, seven days a week, touching and kissing the shrine.

Detroit (AP) — A person briefed on the matter says Detroit’s three automakers have agreed to close all of their factories due to worker fears about the coronavirus. Automakers are expected to release details of the closure later today. The United Auto Workers union has been pushing for factories to close because workers are fearful of coming into contact with the virus

MSNBC’s on-air talent just can not seem to help themselves. MSNBC host of All In Chris Hayes sent out a flippant tweet in response to reports that the Trump administration will be asking Congress for “more than $800 billion in economic stimulus: $500 bil in payroll tax cut, $250 bil in Small Business Association loans, $58 billion for the airlines, and a smattering of other items." Hayes tweeted, “BREAKING: We can, of course, afford a Green New Deal. That’s been true all along.” He must have forgotten how much that monstrosity of an idea cost, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX),...

TONTITOWN, AR—The Duggar family has been cited by law enforcement officials for violating a local ban on large gatherings in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The family gathered for their usual evening meal, having also been visited by several of the grown children in the family and their spouses, when a police officer knocked on the door. "The CDC recommends no more than ten people gather at a time and you're well above that limit, folks," the police officer said after Jim Bob Duggar warmly invited him into the home. "Sorry, but you're going to have to choose a...

The Trump Administration has done a very good job of responding to the Wuhan coronavirus with daily press briefings and significant policy changes. We live in dangerous times and the government response has to be quick, substantial, and effective. Congress is actually working together to craft multiple pieces of legislation to respond to the crisis proving that partisanship can be slowed during a national crisis. Despite the progress, some mistakes are being made. Mistakes are expected in a time of crisis, but if they are wholly avoidable – they should be avoided. One avoidable mistake that will both slow the...

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A biological engineer with four degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology believes the coronavirus pandemic is being used by "Deep State" bureaucrats to further their agenda. Shiva Ayyadurai, a candidate for a U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts, warned on Twitter that the crisis is being manipulated, the Western Journal reported "As an MIT PhD in Biological Engineering who studies & does research nearly every day on the Immune System, the #coronavirus fear mongering by the Deep State will go down in history as one of the biggest fraud to manipulate economies, suppress dissent, & push MANDATED Medicine!" he wrote...

For years, Chicago attorney Jill Rose Quinn has wanted to be a judge. But for the longest time, Quinn said, she didn’t think she could land a seat on the bench. “I didn’t think the people would accept a transgender judge,” Quinn told the Tribune. But on Tuesday night, with most precincts reporting, Quinn declared victory after taking a large lead in her bid to become the Democratic nominee for a Cook County judicial vacancy. If she holds on, that likely would make her the fourth openly transgender judge across the country and the first transgender candidate in Illinois voted...

The coronavirus pandemic has spread to the upper echelons of Hollywood and professional sports, with icons Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson among those infected by the disease. The virus, COVID-19, has infected more than 180,000 worldwide and has killed more than 7,000, according to recent media reports. In the US, more than 4,400 Americans have contracted the virus and 77 have died.

PARIS -- Greetings, fellow quarantined, from the exclusion zone previously known as France! It would be interesting to hear governments explain why the flu has never justified the kind of freedom-killing measures that are taking hold around the world. The coronavirus has killed far fewer people than the conventional flu kills each year. The World Health Organization estimates that the flu is responsible for 290,000 to 650,000 deaths a year. As of Tuesday morning, there had been 185,067 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide and 7,330 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Center. A week ago, there were 1,412...

After using my heavy .44-77 at the 1,000-yard match down by Bend, Oregon, with bullets weighing about 405 grains and not doing quite as well as I had hoped, a new heavier bullet was seriously contemplated. Actually, such a bullet had been on my mind for several months, but it was that 1,000-yard match a while back that told me I had better do more than just think about it. My thoughts included how a heavier bullet, heavier than the 405-grain original Postell style, should be more consistent at the longer ranges. But at the same time, I didn’t want...

Plans to open a takeaway pizza shop in Whiston have been rejected after concern was raised about childhood obesity in the area. Knowsley councillors decided that allowing the takeaway to open in the former Bargain Carpets shop in Greenes Road would mean there were too many takeaways in an area, citing public health concerns for the town’s children. The council’s planning committee heard that obesity in Whiston and Cronton is “already above average”, with 38.6% of Year 6 pupils classed as overweight or obese. The applicants, Mr Tuba and Mr Bizan, had argued that a pizza takeaway was “something that...

As primaries proceed — or are pushed back — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is no doubt weighing his options. It may well be time for the senator, whose formative political experience came in the 1960s, to follow the advice of Timothy Leary: turn on, tune in, drop out.

Thousands of British holidaymakers fear being stranded in Morocco after the country imposed a travel ban to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The Moroccan tourist board said it had authorised 100 “rescue” flights, but Britons told of chaos at Marrakech and Agadir airports caused by a lack of information from airlines and the Foreign Office struggling to cope with the scale of repatriation. The British ambassador in Rabat, Thomas Reilly, has been scrambling to try to help those stranded, and some described his efforts as “nothing short of incredible”, but others said the support on offer was...