Free Republic

Exactly 234 years ago this week, two of America’s founding fathers documented their first exposure to Islamic jihad in a letter to Congress; like many Americans today, they too were shocked at what they learned. Context: in 1785, Muslim pirates from North Africa, or “Barbary,” had captured two American ships, the Maria and Dauphin, and enslaved their crews. In an effort to ransom the enslaved Americans and establish peaceful relations, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams—then ambassadors to France and Britain respectively—met with Tripoli’s ambassador to Britain, Abdul Rahman Adja. Following this diplomatic exchange, the Americans laid out the source of...

Podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan predicted President Trump will have no trouble defeating Joe Biden in the general election if Democrats pick the former vice president as their nominee. “You have to be able to call out shit that’s wrong on your side,” Rogan said on a recent episode of his podcast. "And this is one of the problems that the Democratic Party is having right now with this Joe Biden guy." Democrats, Rogan said, "got to be able to call it out." "You can’t let this slide, because everybody else sees it and Trump is going to eat him...

A little-remembered film of great warmth and humor; pro-life, and pro-religion. The 'grandpa' character is a treasure. Writer Nick and his wife Emily are expecting their first child. When a necessary home repair proves too costly to afford, Nick must swallow his pride and visit his father, a proud immigrant stonemason with whom he has a difficult relationship, and ask him to do the work. Confronting the issues of religion and family tradition which have separated father and son causes Nick and Emily to reevaluate their lives and the things they value most.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says that if he were treating a patient with coronavirus, he would prescribe hydroxychloroquine. On Tuesday, Gov. Steve Sisolak made it illegal for your personal doctor to do just that. The move could have deadly consequences for Nevadans battling the virus. There is no cure for coronavirus, but there is anecdotal evidence that hydroxychloroquine can help those who are sick. The medication has been in use for decades to treat lupus and malaria. Doctors around the world have noticed that coronavirus patients taking hydroxychloroquine have done significantly better. Studies from France and China have shown promising results....

The World Health Organization’s assistant director-general Bruce Aylward ended a video call with an RTHK journalist after she asked him about Taiwan’s status. At first, the epidemiologist appeared to pretend not to hear producer Yvonne Tong’s question about whether the UN body would reconsider Taiwan’s membership. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear your question, Yvonne… let’s move to another one then,” he said. When Tong called him back to ask again about Taiwan and its coronavirus measures, Aylward said: “Well, we’ve already talked about China.”

Germany is not planning to relax current restrictions on public life before April 20, Helge Braun, the head of Angela Merkel’s Chancellery, has told a national newspaper. Braun made the comments just days after the country introduced sweeping nationwide measures in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19. This week, most food and entertainment outlets shut down, along with schools, universities and non-essential shops. “We will not discuss any relaxing [of restrictions] until April 20, and until then, all measures will remain in place,” Braun told Der Tagesspiegel, adding that it should be clear after Easter whether the restrictions...

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The number of deaths caused by influenza in the Chinese mainland in January was nearly the same as the total flu deaths for all of 2018, and exceeded the combined flu deaths for 2016 and 2017, according to latest figures released by National Health Commission. More than 608,000 flu cases were reported in the mainland in January, including 143 deaths, while the total of reported flu cases in January of last year was about 274,000, including 56 deaths, the commission said. The total number of flu deaths last year was 144, compared with 56 in 2016 and 41 in 2017.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is requiring travelers from Louisiana to self-isolate for 14 days and said the Florida Highway Patrol will install checkpoints on major roads to screen travelers from that area, he announced on Friday. DeSantis is imposing restrictions on travelers fleeing to Florida from Louisiana — particularly New Orleans, which is emerging as one of the hotspots of the coronavirus outbreak. “New Orleans is having a lot of problems — they may not be quite as widespread as New York City. There was a concern from the Panhandle that this could impact them,” DeSantis said during a...

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts informed members of the National Symphony Orchestra that they would no longer be paid just hours after President Trump signed a $25 million taxpayer bailout for the cultural center, according to an email obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. Nearly 100 musicians will no longer receive paychecks after April 3, according to an email from the orchestra's Covid-19 Advisory Committee. "The Covid-19 Advisory Committee was broadsided today during our conversation with [Kennedy Center President] Deborah Rutter," the email says. "Ms. Rutter abruptly informed us today that the last paycheck for all...

"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. . . . For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions" (Matt. 6:12, 14-15). An unforgiving Christian is a contradiction in terms. It's possible to confess your sins and still not know the joy of forgiveness. How? Failure to forgive others! Christian educator J. Oswald Sanders observed that Jesus measures us by the yardstick we use on others. He didn't say, "Forgive us because we forgive others,"...

A baby owl is sitting on my car. A juvenile horned owl I believe. We’re all sitting here wondering if to leave it alone or not. I live on a busy street on the North Shore in MA. What do you think?

The Abbott ID NOW™ COVID-19 test brings rapid testing to the front lines - Test to run on Abbott's point-of-care ID NOW platform - a portable instrument that can be deployed where testing is needed most - ID NOW has the largest molecular point-of-care installed base in the U.S. and is available in a wide range of healthcare settings - Abbott will be making ID NOW COVID-19 tests available next week and expects to ramp up manufacturing to deliver 50,000 tests per day - This is the company's second test to receive Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA for COVID-19...

Protesters on the Mexican side of the border blocked the Mexico-bound lanes in the twin border cities of Ambos Nogales for several hours Wednesday to express their displeasure with the Mexican government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The protesters demanded greater controls and screenings on southbound traffic at the U.S.-Mexico border out of concern that travelers from the U.S. could import new cases of the coronavirus into Mexico.

KOKOMO, Ind. (WISH) — The Howard County commissioners on Friday approved a ban on the sale of nonessential goods from stores remaining open because they were deemed essential during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. The commissioners’ order says the sale of nonessential goods at essential stores was “not fair” to the businesses selling only nonessential goods that have closed in compliance with the county’s public health emergency ordinance. The ban will begin at noon Saturday, the order says. Signs in the stores must notify shoppers of the ban. The nonessential goods include jewelry, furniture, home and lawn decor, toys/games, carpet/rugs/flooring, nonemergency...

A global shortage of condoms is looming, the world’s biggest producer said, after a coronavirus lockdown forced it to shut down production. Malaysia’s Karex Bhd makes one in every five condoms globally. It has not produced a single condom from its three Malaysian factories for more than a week due to a lockdown imposed by the government to halt the spread of the virus.

President Trump offered rare praise for MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow after she highlighted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers's effort to respond to the outbreak of the coronavirus. "Thank you to Rachel @Maddow for putting our Military on full display, and showing how GREAT a job the Federal Government is doing," Trump tweeted Friday. "Also, a special thanks to General Semonite, a Patriot of the highest order and a truly talented engineer and builder!" Maddow brought Gen. Todd Semonite, commanding general for the corps, on her show Thursday to discuss how the federal government is creating makeshift hospitals in key...

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. — Every day, the number of people with coronavirus grows, but how can we know exactly how many people have the virus if people are still being turned away for testing? A KATU viewer says they have been refused a test three different times even though they are displaying symptoms and their doctor believes they have the virus. Instead, they have been told to quarantine and take care of themselves. We asked health care professionals about why people aren't being tested even though more tests are available. They say just because they have more tests, they don't...

President Donald Trump’s deputies announced Friday that they had begun the process of importing 85,000 H-1B gig workers to take white-collar jobs that will be needed after October by the millions of American graduates who are now losing jobs in the coronavirus crash. “This is just an unspeakable action,” said Marie Larson, a co-founder of the American Workers Coalition, which opposes the many visa worker programs that have transferred at least one million white-collar jobs to foreign workers. “I don’t believe President Trump ordered this — the swamp went ahead with this,” she said. “If the H-1B program is just...

Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie punched back at critics who took issue with his attempts to force a quorum vote on the recently passed $2 trillion coronavirus package. The Kentucky congressman was hit from all sides of the political spectrum for his stand Friday, from President Donald Trump, who called him a “third rate grandstander,” to former Secretary of State John Kerry, who joked that Massie was an “a***ole” who “must be quarantined to prevent the spread of his massive stupidity.” “I guess I was able to force them to come to work but I couldn’t force them to work,”...