Free Republic

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign is planning a rollout for Michelle Obama’s endorsement, although there are questions around just how public a role the enormously popular former first lady will play in his campaign. Sources tell The Hill that the Biden campaign’s early plans include a focus on remote fundraising and voter registration efforts. The trick for Michelle Obama and the Biden campaign is finding the right balance for the pop culture icon, who could be a massive asset for the campaign but has never shown much enthusiasm for campaign politics. A source close to Michelle Obama said the...

Coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments Thursday related to the global economy SEATBELTS FASTENED: The U.S. is offering airlines a $25 billion aid package, but damage to the sector will be extensive and long-lasting. Industry analysts say it could be five years before the industry fully recovers. — United Airlines’ flight schedule will be cut to 10% in May and it expects more of the same in June. In a letter to employees, CEO Oscar Munoz wrote that travel demand is “essentially zero and shows no sign of improving in the...

In the past 12 months, the administration opened 41 cases in federal court to seize land to build a wall along the southern border of Texas. Nearly half of those cases – 16, or 39 percent - were filed in the past two months. The bulk of the new filings came in March, when the administration opened 12 cases, the most in any month under Trump, a Reuters review of federal filings found. The administration wants immediate possession, bypassing traditional procedural steps and forcing landowners to move more swiftly, records show.

Prior to the economic downturn—or collapse—that we’re now experiencing, the trust fund was projected to run out of money by 2035. This has, practically overnight, gotten worse. Why? Because some 16 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last three weeks. This means there are a lot fewer—millions fewer—people paying those payroll taxes into the Social Security system. And on top of a lot less money coming in, a lot more will soon be going out. That’s because people who are now out of work and eligible to draw benefits may soon do so, out of sheer economic need....

I'm considering doing something I said I would never do. Indirectly/directly buy an Alexa or Google device. I've said multiple times that I think Google is the 3rd most evil entity on the planet behind North Korea and Iran so maybe I'm just looking at Alexa. For the wife I'm thinking about getting one for her to change the TV channel, audio and stuff. I looked at a Samsung device but you have to push a button so I was thinking about the 'special' word command used for Alexa and the like. And I'm here to ask if anybody has...

Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus, who wrote a book about sexual assault accusations made against now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and defended Dr. Christine Blasey Ford in the pages of her newspaper, now says the “#BelieveAllWomen” and “#MeToo” movement are “dumb” — because a similar, but credible sexual assault allegation has been leveled against the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden. In a shocking editorial for the Washington Post, Marcus lashes out not just at Biden’s alleged accuser, Tara Reade — who has now filed a criminal complaint against Biden and who has a record of contemporaneous...

Petition to have Tedros resign, Almost at goal of one million signatures. Please sign petition https://www.change.org/p/united-nations-call-for-the-resignation-of-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus-who-director-general?recruiter=1043481144&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_abi&recruited_by_id=18e33070-51ee-11ea-ba92-a9c2dee67bb1

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s staff has been in talks with Biden’s team over the past few days, she admitted in a new interview. Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) revealed in an interview with Politico Wednesday that her aides were “having conversations with Biden’s team,” in order to “figure out what some of these policy conversations will [be] looking like” as the general election takes shape. The comments come two days after she took part in an interview with The New York Times, in which she said she had not yet heard from the Biden campaign since Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) dropped out of the race. The New York...

The voluntary plan, published by the Calvert County Health Department on Wednesday, would limit trips to once in every five days for individuals, with A-C last names shopping on dates ending with 0 and 5, D-G names shopping on dates ending with 1 and 6, H-L names shopping on dates ending with 2 and 7, M-R names shopping on dates ending with 3 and 8, and last names starting with S-Z shopping on dates ending with 4 and 9. “We all want to get back to our normal lives as soon as possible. Our actions make a difference. Sustaining those...

Police said a man is claiming self-defense after shooting three teens while riding on a SEPTA bus in Northeast Philadelphia Thursday. Investigators said the three teenagers were in a physical altercation with the shooter while riding on the Route 58 SEPTA bus around 1 a.m. Police are still working to determine what led to the altercation and shooting. Investigators said the three teens approached a 24-year-old man who was sitting in the back of the bus. For some reason, they got into a physical altercation, and during that time police said the victim ended up shooting each of the teens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asQ8KFrZY84 Former Guardian writer Melanie Phillips describes her journey from "fantasy to reality" on why she left the political left. Phillips is interviewed by The Sun's Steven Edginton for the weekly series of 'Burning Questions'. Phillips describes her experiences as a British jew, dealing with antisemitism and where the problems of the left come from. ________ https://www.melaniephillips.com/ From wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanie_Phillips Melanie Phillips (born 4 June 1951) is a British journalist, author, and public commentator. She began her career writing for The Guardian and New Statesman. During the 1990s, she came to identify with ideas more associated with the right and...

I own a grocery store in Northern Michigan. Or I did until today. 80% of my staff just quit because the CARES Act pays them more for sitting at home than to come into work. I pay them on average $600-700 per week. The CARES ACT will give them 80% of that (regular Michigan unemployment 480-560) plus an additional $600 through the cares act. So $1100 to sit at home or $600 to come to work. But if they quit they don't get unemployment right? Wrong the CARES ACT says if the employee is uncomfortable working because of the Covid-virus...

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer lashed out at the freedom protesters who surrounded the capitol on Wednesday, telling reporters they were “endangering people’s lives.” Breitbart News reported live from the scene, which featured hundreds of people on the capitol lawn and thousands more in their cars, honking horns, blasting patriotic music, and waving American flags. Whitmer, whom Joe Biden has said is on his short list for the vice presidential nomination, denounced the protesters, who were calling on her to rescind the onerous restrictions she had placed on the state’s citizens and let them go back to work. “We know that...

Former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson -- who has quickly become of one of the key figures in a growing movement questioning the strategy to lock down large sections of the country in response to the coronavirus crisis -- is warning of a “big pivot” in rhetoric from politicians and health officials pushing the strategy. “Yep, the public health folks, after a month of promising that within two weeks we'd be near collapse, are now making the big pivot to the ‘second wave,’” Berenson tweeted, referring to a new talking point he argues will be used to justify continued...

Major News Conference tonight, the White House at 6:00 P.M. (Eastern), to explain Guidelines for OPENING UP AMERICA AGAIN! Trump Tweet at 2:29PM

ROME — Rome mayor Virginia Raggi boasted on social media this week that she used a drone to track down and eventually fine a jogger who violated the coronavirus lockdown. On Easter Monday in Rome, local police carried out more than 14,000 checks and issued 162 sanctions, Ms. Raggi has tweeted, adding that a runner on Rome’s Appian Way tried to evade police but was tracked down with a drone and fined. Raggi has also urged citizens to report on each other’s failure to comply with regulations and set up a special website where people can file their reports anonymously....

April 16, 2020 (CNS News) – The McHenry County, Illinois, Health Department (MCHD) had refused to provide the names of all coronavirus (COVID-19) patients to police – but, on Friday, Judge Michael Chmiel ruled the MCHD must do so. The McHenry County state’s attorney’s office had sued MCHD to force it to begin supplying patients’ names to local law enforcement, prompting the judge’s ruling, The Chicago Tribune reports: “On Friday, McHenry County Judge Michael Chmiel entered a temporary restraining order mandating that the Health Department disclose to police the names of those actively infected with COVID-19.” … “The Health Department...

Dubai-based airline Emirates has begun carrying out Covid-19 blood tests on passengers at the airport prior to flights. According to a statement released by the airline, the first rapid Covid-19 blood tests took place on Wednesday at Dubai International Airport, with passengers on a flight to Tunisia all reportedly tested before departure. The tests were conducted by the Dubai Health Authority at the Group Check-in area of Terminal 3 and results were available within 10 minutes. Emirates claims to be the world's first airline to conduct such tests. "We are working on plans to scale up testing capabilities in the...

GREENVILLE, Mississippi, April 16, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) ― After a warning from the Department of Justice, the mayor who fined Christians $500 for attending drive-in church services has reversed his ban on the practice. Mayor Errick D. Simmons of Greenville, Mississippi attracted sharp criticism, lawsuits, and national notoriety after members of Temple Baptist Church were given citations for attending a worship service from the safety of their cars last Wednesday. In the wake of the controversy, Simmons first waived the $500 fine on Easter Monday. Now he has also rescinded his April 7 order banning any kind of church service, including...

MADISON, Wis. Governor Tony Evers is extending the “Safer at Home” order until at least May 26. The original order was supposed to expire on Friday, April 24.