Free Republic

What’s next for Royal Caribbean (NYSE:RCL)? RCL stock has rebounded off last month’s lows as investors bet on a recovery post-novel coronavirus. Things may not be so dire for other hard-hit industries. But, for the cruise line industry, it’s a long road to recovery. Sure, you can make the argument that cruise ships aren’t toast. Once the pandemic subsides, cruise ships could make a comeback, as millions getting “cabin fever” right now decide to take long-overdue vacations. But this is assuming operations will resume within a few months. That’s the current projection, but with multiple stakeholders mulling when it’s safe...

The Facebook event page for an upcoming protest against extending Michigan’s state of emergency was deleted by Facebook’s staff for defying the government’s guidance on social distancing. Protesters plan to gather Thursday morning, April 30, outside the Michigan State Capitol building and call on legislators not to extend the state of emergency, which gives Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her administration additional executive authority to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. A Facebook event titled “Rally on the State Capitol Lawn" was created earlier this month to organize the April 30 protest, which is slated for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in...

Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer for Joe Biden, claimed in an interview last month that the former vice president had put his hand up her skirt and digitally penetrated her in 1993. Since the March 25 interview, new evidence has emerged that seems to corroborate Reade’s story: her mother called into Larry King’s radio show about the incident in 1993, and her brother, a friend, and a neighbor all recall being told the story by Reade. Nonetheless, despite making multiple media appearances in the month since the allegation, Biden has not addressed Reade’s claim directly, though his spokespeople have...

An estimated 50 workers at the Smithfield Foods pork plant in Crete briefly walked off the job Tuesday in protest after it was announced that the plant would reverse course and stay open. Local officials were told Monday that the plant would close to contain a growing coronavirus outbreak among workers. "Our Crete, Nebraska, facility remains operational," a company spokesman said Tuesday. "The company will make an announcement if there are material changes to its operations." The plant, roughly 25 miles southwest of Lincoln, employs about 2,000 people. At least 48 workers have tested positive for the coronavirus. Eric Reeder,...

Gov. Gavin Newsom is considering a strategy for slowly reopening business in a state divided between rural areas with small numbers of coronarivus cases and urban areas struggling with still-rising death tolls. Newsom on Tuesday planned to outline what it would take to ease California's stay-at-home order, which aimed to slow the spread of COVID-19 by keeping most people at home and closing all but essential businesses. Health officials have said the efforts have helped flatten the curve of the virus outbreak, but they also have caused massive unemployment and economic upheaval. On Monday, Newsom said the state is "a...

The federal judge presiding over retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn’s case issued a surprise order telling the former national security adviser’s previous attorneys to conduct another search of their entire case archive after it was revealed they failed to turn thousands of documents over to Flynn’s new defense team. The ruling by Judge Emmet Sullivan was made public Tuesday afternoon after Robert Kelner and Stephen Anthony, Flynn’s former lawyers at the powerhouse firm Covington & Burling, claimed there were 6,800 records they had only just now unearthed and turned over to Flynn’s current defense team, which has been led by...

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) - Three people were arrested as Tuesday’s ReOpen NC protest came to an end. The arrests happened outside of the North Carolina Executive Mansion in Raleigh. This was the third Tuesday people have gathered to protest the stay-at-home order in North Carolina. These have been heated protests with lots of emotions. Some of those in attendance were business owners impacted by the stay-at-home order and others who have come to the protests were health professionals on the front lines of the pandemic who wanted to make it known that protesters need to stay home.

The millionaire husband of a Norwegian woman thought to have been abducted and held for ransom in 2018 has been arrested on suspicion of her murder. Anne-Elisabeth Hagen, then 68, disappeared from the couple’s home in Loerenskog, east of Oslo in October 2018, authorities said. She had been married to the accused for 50 years. Her family said they received demands for ransom to secure her release — reported by local media to amount to some $15 million in a cryptocurrency known as Monero. Now, Norwegian police have arrested her husband, real estate investor and businessman Tom Hagen. "The case...

According to an exclusive report from the Daily Caller, lawyers representing the DNC and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign provided dossier author Christopher Steele with information about alleged secret communications between the Trump Organization and Russian Alfa Bank. Steele admitted to this undisclosed meeting in a British court during March 17 and 18 hearings. A lawyer for Perkins Coie, Michael Sussmann, made a since debunked tip to Steele, accusing the founders of Alfa Bank of having “illicit” ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. This chain of events created the September 14, 2016, memo which publicized the alleged ties. Steele was in...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending people follow the same social distancing guidelines with their pets as they would human family members after a small number of animals, including dogs and cats, were reportedly infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. CDC guidelines recommend people restrict their pets from interacting with other animals when outside their house and urge people to keep cats indoors when possible and to walk dogs on a leash while maintaining at least six feet from other people and animals. The CDC also calls for people to avoid dog parks or public...

"Stray Kitten Found Alone Was Tiny and Fragile Need Bottle Fed To Survive by Great Foster Momma" Meet Tris, a little dark tabby baby kitten being raised by a human mom. Video, 4 minutes, 14 seconds

Joe Biden accuser Tara Reade demands the former vice president release records related to his tenure as Delaware senator, during which time she alleges he sexually assaulted her at his office. Her call: “Joe Biden, I want you to release all the personnel records from 1973 to 2009 and be transparent about your office practices,” Reade told the Daily Caller on Tuesday. “I would like to hold you accountable for what happened to me, to how your staff protected you and enabled you, bullied me multiple times into silence.”

The House of Representatives will no longer come back in session on May 4, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday on a call with reporters. Hoyer instead said the Congressional session would resume 'very soon,' but he explained that the Attending Physician of the United States Congress, Dr. Brian Monahan, indicated it was too much of a health risk for members to come back to Washington, D.C., because coronavirus cases in the area hadn't decreased in number yet. 'There was a risk to members that he would not recommend taking,' Hoyer said. The No. 2 Democrat also said the...

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A woman who organized last weekend's protest in downtown San Diego opposing stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus is facing arrest and possible misdemeanor charges that could result in 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, the woman and her attorneys said Wednesday. Naomi Israel, 27, was one of hundreds who demonstratively opposed California's stay-at-home orders during a "Freedom Rally" Saturday afternoon in front of the Hall of Justice. Israel is being represented by the Center for American Liberty, a nonprofit organization that has also challenged the state's stay-at-home order on various fronts, including filing...

I am trying to set up a security camera for the front gate. I need to hard wire it because out net goes down often out here in the country. NO company I can find can reach over 70 ft hard wired and I need 700 ft. All I want is a camera with IR back to a monitor in the house. All aside fences are protected with a thick stand of blackberries. Does anyone have any ideas on how to do this?

If you’ve ever dreamed of having coffee with Hillary Clinton, recording a song with Sting, or attending an acting class from Sir Patrick Stewart, now you can—virtually—and for a good cause. Sotheby’s and Google have teamed up to offer unique virtual experiences with leading figures from all walks of life to raise money for the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Covid-19 relief efforts. These experiences will be auctioned online only, and without reserve, at Sotheby’s from May 1-8. The winning bidders will have the option to share their experience via Google Meet video calls with frontline workers and others who have...

Left-wing pop icon Cher pushed the conspiracy that President Donald Trump wants the U.S. Post Office to go bankrupt to stop Americans from voting by mail in NovemberÂ’s presidential election. Writing in her typically bizarre and incoherent manner, the 72-year-old signer argued that Trump, who long prided himself on the countryÂ’s economic successes before the impact of the coronavirus, wants to see businesses and states to declare bankruptcy to gain his own electoral advantage. A version of her tweet has been translated into legible English: DoesnÂ’t anyone care that people who have small businesses are going under because of him?...

On Tuesday afternoon, President Trump made a crucial move to protect the nation’s food supply chain. Faced with the closings of a number of food processing plants around the country – some of the largest of which, under the Smithfield name, are owned by Chinese interests – the President invoked the Defense Production Act to order food processing plants to remain up and running in order to ensure the nation’s supermarket shelves remain stocked with meats and other food. Jennifer Jacobs ✔ @JenniferJJacobs · 2h BREAKING: Trump plans to order meat processing plants to STAY OPEN, declaring them critical infrastructure...

Hillary Clinton endorsed Joe Biden’s bid for the White House on Tuesday, making her the latest party leader to throw her support behind the presumptive Democratic nominee.

The farcical New York Times dealt with the question of re-opening our coronavirus-devastated economy by stoking progressive alarmism about racial and economic “inequality.” The Times published a preposterous story headlined with a false equivalency, “Job or Health? Restarting the Economy Threatens to Worsen Economic Inequality.” Author Jim Tankersley grumbled in the sub-headline that “The coronavirus recession has exacerbated the racial and income divides in America.” Tankersley continued: “Lifting restrictions too soon will make them worse and leave workers with a bleak choice.” That logic taken out of the dustbin of progressive economics was plastered on the front page of The...