Free Republic

China has refused repeated requests by the World Health Organisation to take part in investigations into the origins of COVID-19, the WHO representative in China has told Sky News. "We know that some national investigation is happening but at this stage we have not been invited to join," Dr Gauden Galea said. "WHO is making requests of the health commission and of the authorities," he said. "The origins of virus are very important, the animal-human interface is extremely important and needs to be studied. "The priority is we need to know as much as possible to prevent the reoccurrence." Asked...

The briefs are in for the Wisconsin Supreme Court showdown over the state’s “Safer at Home” order. FOX6's Jason Calvi summarizes the arguments.

The HMCS Fredericton, participating in NATO’s Operation Reassurance meant to bolster security in Central and Eastern Europe, lost contact with a CH-148 Cyclone helicopter during a training exercise. “The cause of this accident is unknown at this time,” Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said. The aircraft’s data and voice recorders have been recovered, he said. General Jonathan Vance, Chief of the Defence Staff, said there was a “very sizable debris field” in an area of the Ionian Sea where the aircraft crashed. The crew of a C-148 Cyclone helicopter, attached to Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Fredricton, which crashed in the...

There’s a lot more voter excitement about a Trump-Biden matchup compared to the last two presidential elections, especially among Republicans. Sixty percent (60%) of Likely U.S. Voters say a choice this November between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden is one they are excited about. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 34% will simply be voting for the lesser of two evils instead. (To see survey question wording, click here.) By comparison, however, just 41% were excited by a choice between Trump and Hillary Clinton in March 2016. Only 44% were excited about a...

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. (KTXL) — The family of 14-year-old Jah gathered in the spot outside a 7-Eleven demanding responsibility from the Rancho Cordova police department after their officer, Brian Fowell, is captured on video pinning Jah to the ground and punching him, after busting the teen for having tobacco. The family is asking for accountability for the officer’s actions. “Accountability for using excessive force on a person that’s less than half your size. Accountability for repeatedly throwing punches at him when he’s yelling he’s 14 years old,” said Jah’s mother. New Rancho Cordova Police Chief Kate Adams addressed the video...

Sometimes, humanity gets me down. But then I watch a video like the one below about a Maine woman who makes art from moose poop and I cheer right up. Because when it comes to genuinely fresh ideas these days, there don't seem to be that many. But a clock made from cervid scat? A (very) real Poo Poo Platter? Now that's a new one. The idea is the brainchild of artist Mary Winchenbach, who finds the moose leavings in the woods around her house in Maine. So yes, this is a very local product.

Q. “Have you seen anything at this point that gives you a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the origin of this virus?” A. “Yes I have. Yes I have.”

The longtime CNN host announced the birth of baby son Wyatt Morgan Cooper via surrogate on Thursday night as he posted a photo on Instagram: “As a gay kid, I never thought it would be possible to have a child, and I’m grateful for all those who have paved the way, and for the doctors and nurses and everyone involved in my son’s birth.”

Chinese health officials were drawing up plans to combat the CCP virus, which they knew to be infectious, days before they informed the public about its potential to spread, according to internal government documents obtained by The Epoch Times. The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. The virus has since spread to more than 200 countries and territories, causing more than 61,000 deaths in the United States alone. China officially confirmed that the virus could be transmitted between humans on Jan. 20, when top...

Pope Francis financially bails out transsexual prostitutes struggling with no street ‘customers’ The Pope's response was 'immediate' when the group of transsexuals reached out to him through the Papal Almoner TORVAIANICA, Italy, April 30, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Pope Francis has allegedly provided “immediate” financial help to a group of transsexuals who were no longer able to support themselves from “customers on the street” amid the coronavirus lockdown in Italy.  “At the height of the coronavirus emergency, a group of transsexuals, almost all Latin Americans, arrived in the church with amazement and wonder,” Don Andrea Conocchia, the parish priest of Torvaianica, not...

The Hartford Courant editorial board wrote Wednesday Connecticut citizens should be “frightened” that Democrat Gov. Ned Lamont is planning the state’s reopening from the coronavirus lockdown “in secret.” The newspaper asserted Lamont, “in what appears to becoming a pattern in his administration,” is developing plans to reopen the state with a group of people who are not accountable to Connecticut taxpayers. The editors stated about the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group: The 43-member panel was created as part of AdvanceCT, a reboot of the former Connecticut Economic Resource Center. It’s described on its website as a “nonprofit organization that works to...

The Department of Homeland Security is reviewing the nation’s many visa worker programs to ensure Americans get American jobs during the economic recovery, the agency chief told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade. One option is a curb on Chinese students’ use of the huge Optional Practical Training program, acting secretary Chad Wolf told Kilmeade: “We’re certainly very concerned regarding a number of these visa programs that Chinese students can use to come into the country and study and stay, and eventually work, we see some of these programs have potentially been abused in the past. So this is work that’s been...

Rock shelter No. 6, where the unfortunate ungulate and its innards were depicted, was the richest in art of the sites newly explored. It had 76 paintings, many of animals and people, as well as a flower and some sort of bird. "The bird figure found at Maser is similar to a crane or a saurus, but it is faded and difficult to identify," Shaik says. There are other images too eroded to identify at all. The deer with legs akimbo and stylized innards was painted together with one human figure bearing a bow and arrows walking toward it, and...

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits has soared to more than 30 million in just six weeks of the coronavirus crisis, the Labor Department said Thursday, while President Trump blamed the economic misery on China and predicted a “very strong comeback” by the time he faces re-election in November. More than 3.8 million people filed claims for jobless benefits last week, down slightly from the previous week but still a staggering number that had officials predicting April’s unemployment rate will climb to nearly 20%. In February, before the pandemic forced business closings and stay-at-home orders, the jobless rate...

MSNBC’s “The Beat,” Steve Schmidt, John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign manager, compared the lockdown protestors in Michigan to the Nazi Party’s original wing...Melber said, “You have Michigan state Senator Dayna Polehanki, ‘Directly above me, men with rifles yelling at us. Some of my colleagues who own bulletproof vests are wearing them. I have never appreciated our Sergeants-at-Arms more than today.’ Your view of this, Steve?”Schmidt said, “This is appalling. Someone needs to explain to me what the difference is between those guys and a bunch of brown-shirted Stormtroopers in 1925 is. I’m very serious about this. This is about the...

Bruce Springsteen has said that the coronavirus pandemic has laid bare the inequalities in wealth and health of America. Speaking during his DJ set on Sirus XM’s E Street Radio, Springsteen reflected on the human cost of the pandemic. “Franklin Delano Roosevelt said liberty requires opportunity to make a living, a decent living according to the standard of the time. A living which gives a man or a woman not only enough to live by, but something to live for.” The 70-year-old continued: “Now the current pandemic has laid bare the inequalities in wealth and in health that plague our...

The United States has been a strong Nation for more than two centuries not only because of the ideals that we share as a people, but also because of the love we have for our home and the loyalty we have for each other. From the beginning of our history and through trials of war and peace, Americans have always been filled with a devotion to freedom, a fierce spirit of independence, a courageous dedication to the cause of self-government, and a sacred commitment to our shared and glorious destiny. Together, we honor the wisdom of our Founders. We revere...

Chicago Catholics launch initiative to re-open churches after Cupich refuses to meet with them There will be prayer vigils outside Holy Name Cathedral every Friday at noon until churches are once again open, the group says. Chicago Catholics praying outside Holy Name Cathedral, April 24. CHICAGO, Illinois, April 30, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Catholics in the city of Chicago have formed an organziation called the St. Charles Borromeo Society for the purpose of getting churches in their archdiocese to re-open their doors. They have also launched a website called OpenOurChurches.org. Today’s announcement is the culmination of several weeks of prayerful, peaceful activism by lay...

Finally, the evening newscasts of ABC and CBS broke their silence on the rape accusation against Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. While their respective morning newscasts had already covered the topic, Thursday night was the first time NBC News had dared to give it airtime. The contrast was stark in how they covered the accusations of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, where their mission was to sink his nomination. This time, they were walking on eggshells as they gingerly came to Biden’s aid. Their sudden discovery of Reade’s allegations came over a month after she first went public. It also came after...

Citing conditions that amount to ”cruel and unusual punishment,” a Miami federal judge ordered U.S. immigration authorities Thursday night to release most detainees held at three South Florida detention centers. In a 12-page order filed late Thursday, U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement must report to her within three days how it plans to cut its non-criminal and medically vulnerable populations by the hundreds. The judge also ordered the agency to submit weekly reports for accountability. After 10 days, ICE is to begin filing twice-weekly reports. Within two days, she ordered, ICE shall also...