Free Republic

According to the U.K.’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance, there are 23 changes in the virus’s genetic material, an unusually large number that appears to be helping it spread more quickly. British officials have now estimated that “VUI – 202012/01” is as much as 70 percent more transmissible — a number that is based on modeling, but not yet confirmed in lab experiments. Though there is no evidence to-date that the strain causes a more intense illness or leads to a higher fatality rate, faster transmission does mean more cases, which can lead to a higher hospitalization rate... ...Are new...

A former Bloomberg News reporter quit her job, divorced her husband, and froze her eggs for imprisoned former CEO Martin Shkreli Christie Smythe, 38, broke the news of Shkreli's arrest on fraud charges in December 2015 Shkreli, known as the 'Pharma Bro,' is apparently now refusing to talk to her Shkreli, 37, gained notoriety after his company raised the price of an anti-parasite drug from $13.50 to $750 Smythe claims she and Shkreli started dating after he was incarcerated in 2018 In a statement, Shkreli told Elle that 'Mr. Shkreli wishes Ms. Smythe the best of luck in her future...

Former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker and former National Security Adviser John Bolton have slammed the Trump administration’s decision to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara in return for a normalization deal with Israel. They have called on President-elect Joe Biden to reverse the move.

As we have witnessed in recent times, some groups have lawlessly removed from American streets and public buildings any vestiges of our history as well as religious symbols in general, Christianity in particular. The perpetrators hide behind masks and hide behind terms such as "social justice” and “diversity." They claim to be champions of protecting people of different minor faiths. As a non-religious person, I have lived in Christian America all my life. I have never felt anything less than welcomed from the time I could first formulate coherent and lasting thoughts to this day. Growing PainsI have visited 46...

This is a story Americans need to hear. Whether or not you have an adolescent daughter, whether or not your child has fallen for this transgender craze, America has become fertile ground for this mass enthusiasm for reasons that have everything to do with our cultural frailty: parents are undermined; experts are over-relied upon; dissenters in science and medicine are intimidated; free speech truckles under renewed attack; government healthcare laws harbor hidden consequences; and an intersectional era has arisen in which the desire to escape a dominant identity encourages individuals to take cover in victim groups. To tell the story...

The Swinging City has ground to a halt. Eery photos show London looking like a ghost town after the UK capital was forced into strict lockdown over the alarming spread of a new, highly contagious mutation of COVID-19. Streets usually buoyant with tourists and Christmas shoppers were instead empty, while the typical fight to get a seat on a London Underground train was replaced by a struggle to spot other commuters.

Around 9:30 p.m. HST - Officials report the start of the eruption at Halemaumau Crater.

Confession: since I dropped Fox News from my “favorites” channel guide on Dish I haven’t watched any news on the television platform other than one local morning broadcast, when I had to go somewhere, in order to catch the traffic and weather. It was so dreadful I haven’t returned to it since.But this morning for some reason when I returned to bed with my first cup of coffee at 5:07 I flipped through the channel selection and saw CBS Overnight News. I was curious as to how the other half lives so I tuned in. So here’s an exact rundown...

"I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition and about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton." Sherman had made good his promise to "make Georgia howl". The march to the sea is over.

"If the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Heb. 2:2-3). There is certain judgment for everyone who does not receive Christ as Savior and Lord. Today the majority believes that God is a God of love and grace, but not of justice. One brief look at Hebrews 2:2-3 ought to convince anyone otherwise. The writer's point is this: Since the Old Testament makes it clear that transgression and disobedience met with severe and just punishment, how much more so will...

Political atheism is spreading across California, and cynicism is taking hold. Reviling policymakers is not new, of course, but the current disdain is particularly intense. As elected officials’ disregard for constituents and the law becomes ever more evident, all but the most stalwart loyalists are turning against them. Mistrust is worsened by Covid restrictions “for thee, but not for me.” In September, the unmasked Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, visited a San Francisco hair salon closed under strict emergency pandemic orders. Business owners had been forced to cease operations and the public was restricted from getting haircuts, but Pelosi...

Sen. Rand Paul rejected the idea that courts have "decided the facts" on the integrity of November's presidential election. “The courts have not decided the facts,” Paul said Wednesday during a hearing on the integrity of the 2020 election. “The courts never looked at the facts. The courts don’t like elections, and they stayed out of it by finding an excuse.” Paul pointed out while speaking with former special counsel Ken Starr that 60 court cases involving voter fraud claims in the election were thrown out for procedural reasons, which Starr agreed with, saying that the “vast majority” were thrown...

Joe Biden is said to be considering cyber attacks on Russian infrastructure in retaliation for the hacks that breached 200 US federal agencies and firms. The president-elect's team will consider several options over the country's suspected role in the unprecedented hacking of US government agencies and companies, sources have told Reuters. The massive data breach enabled hackers believed to be from Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service to explore the networks of government agencies, private companies and think-tanks for months. Moscow has denied involvement.

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Governor Northam announced that Virginia’s statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee was removed from the U.S. Capitol overnight. A representative from the governor’s office was present for the removal along with United States Senator Tim Kaine and Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton. For 111 years, the Confederate statue has stood along with America’s first president George Washington as Virginia’s contributions. The two statues were added in 1909, which was 44 years after the Confederacy rebelled against the United States and was defeated.

On a 2018 visit to China, we were enjoying a cruise on the Yangtze River. The only English-speaking channel we could view from our cabin was CNN. When trying to catch up on happenings in America, a reporter transitioned from criticism of President Trump to a negative comment on China’s practices. The screen went blank. I checked the TV, but before I could even discern whether something was wrong with the TV, the coverage returned. China was no longer the focus. There is no freedom of information in China. We may still have freedom of speech in America, we just...

We’re told to stand strong, hold the line, and fight for Trump. And we want to. Desperately. But what does that mean in actuality? Many of us don’t know what to do. This isn’t about pre-Election Day rallies or volunteering for the Trump campaign. We’re in dark and dangerous waters barreling toward an illegitimate presidency littered with Marxists.

White House coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx traveled to her Delaware vacation home during the Thanksgiving weekend despite advising people to celebrate the holiday with only those in their immediate household. The Associated Press reported that Birx traveled with family members from two other households. Birx told the AP in a statement the purpose of the trip was to winterize the property before an upcoming sale. “I did not go to Delaware for the purpose of celebrating Thanksgiving,” Birx said, adding that her family shared a meal while in Delaware. Birx said that all of the gathered family members belonged...

Stock futures down a pretty good bit this morning. Haven't seen any significant news as to why (other than the usual lies). S&P -72 NASDAQ -151 DOW -507 Everything is corrupt. One of these days, we're going to see things implode because of it.

POTUS: Big news coming out of Pennsylvania. Very big illegal ballot drop that cannot be accounted for. Rigged Election!

Obviously, no amount of evidence, data, trends, facts, studies, or science will ever convince most ‘public health officials’ that masks aren’t doing squat to stop the spread of COVID-19. Cases and deaths continue to spike (yes, many of these are super-sensitive PCR test-driven numbers, but still) despite the fact that well over 90% of the country are complying with their absurd mandates. Yet, predictably, the virus keeps going right on virusing, as highly contagious respiratory viruses, unfortunately, tend to do, especially once cold weather hits. Nevertheless, those of us who are mask skeptics have a difficult chore in front of...