Free Republic

IOWA CITY, Iowa — In a room 12 stories above the emergency department where he has been caring for COVID-19 patients over the last nine months, David Conway, 39, Monday morning became the first person in Iowa to receive a vaccine for the novel coronavirus since its emergency authorization Friday. Conway, a University of Iowa Health Care emergency department nurse for four years, said he didn’t hesitate when asked if he’d be willing to get the vaccine on day one on the UI’s medical campus. “Of course I am,” Conway said, seconds before choosing his left arm and holding still...

Gascón was sworn in earlier this month, and immediately vowed to stop the use of cash bail, to bar prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, and to end sentencing “enhancements,” such as additional penalties for using a gun in committing a crime, or belonging to a criminal gang.

Two elderly men who were beheaded by Azerbaijani forces in videos widely shared on messaging apps have been identified, confirming two of the bloodiest atrocities of the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh. The ethnic Armenian men were non-combatants, people in their respective villages said. Both were beheaded by men in the uniforms of the Azerbaijani armed forces. The short, gruesome videos of the killings are among the worst of a torrent of footage portraying abuse, torture and murder that has continued to emerge more than a month after a Russian-brokered ceasefire came into force. The villagers’ testimony in interviews with the...

With President-elect Joe Biden being voted the winner of the 2020 election by the Electoral College and President Donald Trump seemingly on the way out of the White House in January, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) predicted Tuesday that the president’s “substantial influence” will remain in the GOP. Romney told “CNN Newsroom” that looking ahead to the 2024 presidential election, he did not think “Trumpism is going away” because the people rumored to run then are also “trying to appeal to kind of a populist approach.”

A Michigan judge ordered the release Monday of an independent forensic audit report of the Dominion Voting Systems machines used in Antrim County, which flipped from a win for Democrat Joe Biden to President Donald Trump after a glitch was discovered and corrected. The audit, which was led by Russell Ramsland of the Dallas-based Allied Security Operations Group, revealed over a 68 percent ballot error rate — at least 85,000 times higher than the Federal Election Commission guidelines allow. Additionally, Ramsland’s team reported the “extremely suspicious” absence of logs regarding the abnormally high number of digitally adjudicated ballots. Antrim County...

The NRA just one-upped Santa — lock, stock and barrel. The gun rights group delivered Nerf guns to a 4-year-old Illinois boy who burst into tears when a politically correct mall Santa told him he couldn’t have one earlier this month. “Mean Santa didn’t want to give me a Nerf gun for Christmas,‘’ said little Michael DeCarlo, dressed in Army camouflage, in a video posted on the National Rifle Association’s website over the weekend.

A Minnesota Department of Corrections employee told Alpha News this week that staff wellness areas were shut down in early November and remain closed, yet indoor exercise areas for inmates were reopened earlier this month. Meanwhile, public gyms across the state were ordered to close by Gov. Tim Walz. “The decision regarding staff wellness rooms was made in consultation with the Minnesota Department of Health through a process of questions and answers, and evaluating the potential risk for infection spread. The people who are incarcerated do not have the same options as our staff who can move around and exercise...

Kano, Nigeria — Boko Haram on Tuesday claimed it was behind the abduction of hundreds of students in northwestern Nigeria, in what appears to be a major expansion of the jihadist group's activities into new areas. At least 333 students are still missing since the attack late Friday on the all-boys Government Science Secondary School in Katsina state — hundreds of miles from Boko Haram's stronghold in northeast Nigeria. "I am Abubakar Shekau and our brothers are behind the kidnapping in Katsina," the leader of Boko Haram said in a voice message. More than 100 gunmen on motorcycles stormed the...

Peter Nygard has been under investigation for allegations of sexual assault in Winnipeg, the U.S. and the Bahamas. (Annie I. Bang/The Associated Press) ===================================================================== Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard is in custody in Winnipeg and is facing a nine-count indictment in the United States on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and related crimes. The 79-year-old was taken into custody Monday in Winnipeg by RCMP and city police after the United States asked Canada to issue a warrant under the two countries' extradition treaty. The charges relate to "a decades-long pattern of criminal conduct involving at least dozens of victims in...

CHICAGO, IL – The American Medical Association (AMA), in a surprising move, has officially rescinded a previous statement against the use of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, giving physicians the okay to return to utilizing the medication at their discretion. Previously, the AMA had issued a statement in March that was highly critical of HCQ in regards to its use as a proposed treatment by some physicians in the early stages of COVID-19. In addition to discouraging doctors from ordering the medication in bulk for “off-label” use – HCQ is typically used to treat diseases such as...

William Dalton Milam, 62, was arrested Monday on two counts of promoting sexual performance of a child and 25 counts of possession of child pornography. MILTON — A Florida pastor who crusaded against alcohol sales on Sundays is now facing child pornography charges, state investigators say. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported William Dalton Milam, 62, was arrested Monday on two counts of promoting sexual performance of a child and 25 counts of possession of child pornography. It was not immediately clear Tuesday if Milam has a lawyer. The Pensacola News Journal reports Milam is pastor at the Olivet...

The mass exodus from New York City amid the COVID-19 crisis has cost $34 billion in lost income, according to a new study released Tuesday. About 3.57 million people fled New York City between Jan. 1 and Dec. 7 this year — and they were replaced by some 3.5 million people earning lower average incomes, the findings from Unacast said. That means the Big Apple lost a net 70,000 people during the pandemic. ... Tribeca, population 20,000, took the biggest hit out of the three — with a net loss of 3,500 residents — equaling a net income loss of...

(h/t foldspace) Q is the result of the sacrifices and commitment of countless patriots to win back our captured country from the Deep State and achieve the transformation President Trump promised in this campaign video. President Trump has said the awakening of the public is key to this transformation.Q describes this awakening as follows: "The Great Awakening ('Freedom of Thought’), was designed and created not only as a backchannel to the public (away from the longstanding 'mind’ control of the corrupt & heavily biased media) to endure future events through transparency and regeneration of individual thought (breaking the chains of...

Are you going to pay my rent ? says owner Anton Van Happen of 'Nick The Greek' to public health inspectors issuing him a citation for staying open after being issued a closure order.

In the middle of a conflict with China, India has taken a significant step by authorising the defence forces to enhance their stocking of weapons and ammunition for a 15-day intense war now. Making use of the extended stocking requirements and the emergency financial powers in the ongoing conflict with China in Eastern Ladakh, the defence forces are expected to spend over Rs 50,000 crore for acquisition of equipment and ammunition from both local and foreign sources. The authorisation to increase the weapon and ammunition reserves to minimum 15-I levels from the earlier existing 10-day stocking is to prepare the...

This is the current COVID-9 situation in a nutshell. The guy has HIS mask on wrong with his nose showing, he won't maintain 6 feet, and he's cursing at a woman because he's 'concerned' about the virus.

"Boys Over Flowers" is a wonderful Korean drama about the effects on the lives of four rich heirs when a poor girl gets a scholarship to their high school. This shows the conflict between the first and second male leads over the girl. One of my VERY favorite Peter, Paul and Mary songs. Also throwing in a Christmas song, Dr Who – Angels in the Snow – Annie Lennox

Hundreds of people have attended a 'Freedom Rally' in a small town in Washington on Saturday after its mayor refused to enforce the state's COVID restrictions on businesses, citing 'the Constitutional rights of small town America'. Large crowds joined the Patriot Prayer-organized rally in Mossyrock, a rural community in Lewis County between Seattle and Portland, with maskless protesters waving flags and chanting against 'government oppression'. It came after the town unexpectedly voted last month to ignore Washington Governor Jay Inslee's state-wide business restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus. He told DailyMail.com: 'The governor has over-stepped his powers and...

BREAKING: Biden has chosen Pete Buttigieg to lead the U.S. Transportation Department - Reuters

Because what could be a more unifying message than telling your political opponents that their "garbage stinks so bad?" Yet that was the way that CNN's John Harwood interpreted the speech that Joe Biden made yesterday after the Electoral College vote. Appearing on Tuesday's New Day, Harwood said: "What I heard from Joe Biden was twofold. One, a bit of the same message that he'd been communicating for several weeks, which is one of unity, and trying to calm the passions of the election. "But also a bit of impatience creeping in. You know, we're now well over a month...