Free Republic

In a major milestone, the first train carrying goods from Turkey to China reached its destination Saturday, Turkey's transport and infrastructure minister said. "Announcing Turkey's power in logistics to the world from every city it passed through, the China Export Train is our victory in rail transport," Adil Karaismailoğlu wrote on Twitter. "We are preparing our new export trains," Karaismailoğlu said. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also lauded the development during an inauguration ceremony Saturday, saying this is a major success for Turkey. The train set off from Istanbul on Dec. 4 and covered a distance of 8,693 kilometers (over 5,400...

A Texas A&M Transportation Institute report recently ranked the segment of Interstate 35 that goes through Austin the most congested roadway in the state. This congestion is one of the reasons behind the I-35 Capital Express Project, a multiyear, multibillion-dollar transportation initiative that will add two non-tolled managed lanes in each direction along I-35 from U.S. Highway 290 East to State Highway 71/Ben White Boulevard. The project will also add flyovers at I-35 and U.S. 290. Discussions about the plan were central to last week’s Urban Transportation Commission meeting, which kicked off with a presentation by Austin Transportation Director Robert...

Suspected serial killer David Misch was charged Monday with the abduction slaying of Michaela Garecht, a nine-year-old who vanished from a Hayward street corner in November 1988 and has been one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most high-profile missing children’s cases, authorities said. Misch has been incarcerated at the state prison medical facility in Stockton for the December 1989 stabbing death of 36-year-old Margaret Ball at her home in unincorporated Hayward. He has also been charged with the 1986 cold case murders of two young Fremont women whose bodies were found alongside Mill Creek Rd. “Today is about family,...

Cincinnati Bengals v Pittsburgh Steelers Getty Images The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the death of Kevin Greene on Monday afternoon. Greene, who was 58, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016 after starring as a pass rusher over a 15-year NFL career. The road to Canton started when Greene walked onto the Auburn football team and was drafted by the Rams in the fifth round of the 1985 draft. He had seven sacks in his second season, became a starter in his fourth season, and went on to compile 72.5 sacks while playing for the team...

@Newsmax @RandPaul on news outlets gathering together to 'negotiate' with 'Big Tech' companies to protect our content use Video...

The COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on Asian restaurants. This holiday season, why not adopt a Jewish tradition by eating Chinese food? Here’s a very modest proposal for the holidays: On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, don’t toil over the stove and prepare your usual massive feast for the family. Instead, use the pandemic as an excuse to take a page from Jewish Americans and order some damn good Chinese takeout. Your local mom-and-pop purveyor of kung pao chicken and sticky rice could probably use the business: Though all restaurants across the U.S. have suffered due to coronavirus shutdowns and...

​Millions of Americans who qualify for coronavirus relief funds could see payments as soon as next week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday. “The good news is this is a very, very fast way of getting money into the economy. Let me emphasize: People are going to see this money at the beginning of next week,” he said on CNBC. Mnuchin encouraged people who receive the payments — which could be as much as $600 — to spend the money and give the economy a much-needed boost.

THE GREAT CONJUNCTION OF JUPITER AND SATURN: Want to see something that astronomers have been waiting 800 years to witness? Just step outside at sunset and look southwest. Jupiter and Saturn are having their finest conjunction since the Middle Ages--and they're bright. Bertrand Kulik sends this picture from Paris:"On Dec. 20th, the planets were visible right beside the Eiffel Tower," says Kulik. "It was a magical view!" At closest approach on Dec. 21st, the two planets will lie just 0.1 degrees apart. That’s so close, some people will perceive them as a single brilliant star. Viewed through binoculars or a...

An agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has filed a federal lawsuit accusing two Columbus police officers of using excessive force against him while he was working in his official capacity. Agent James Burk, a 16-year veteran of the ATF, said in the lawsuit he was working a "routine" assignment on July 7. That afternoon, he went to a home on the 3300 block of Edgebrook Drive near Dublin to retrieve a shotgun from someone who was not permitted to have a firearm.

The House is preparing to return for a rare session between Christmas and New Year’s to override President Trump’s threatened veto of a must-pass defense bill if necessary. If Trump follows through on his threat to the veto the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the House would vote Dec. 28 on overriding him. The House set the date Monday as part of a rule governing floor debate of a separate unrelated bill. Trump has until Wednesday to veto the NDAA, which he has repeatedly threatened to do because it does not include a repeal of an unrelated tech law, among...

December's Ratings Collapse for Fox News continues to be a disaster for the Murdochs and the Fox News Crown Loyalists. Going from record ratings in November, to a massive ratings collapse by Friday 12/18. Here are the current Fox News ratings losses as of Friday 12/18 according to Nielsen: Ingraham -61% Hannity -57% Bream -56% MacCallum -54% Baier -51% Carlson -50% Sandra Smith -49% Outnumbered -48% Fox and Friendless -47% Cavuto -46% Hemmer -43% The Five -40% Perino -41%

WASHINGTON — New York is expected to receive $54 billion in emergency coronavirus relief to help its staggering economy once Congress passes a long-awaited $900 billion aid package later Monday, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer told The Post. The deal will include $20 billion in small business loans, $9 billion in $600 direct cash payments, $6.4 billion for enhanced unemployment benefits, $4.2 billion for the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transit Authority, $4 billion for the state’s public schools and $1.3 for emergency rental assistance, his office said. While the package will be an urgently needed shot in the arm for the state...

The facts are stark – age, according to the CDC, is the most determinant factor in death from Covid-19. So why is California ignoring much of this population in its distribution plan of Covid-19 vaccines? Dr Erica Pan, Acting State Health Officer, leads the vaccine distribution efforts for the State of California. To date the state has announced the first 2 phases of vaccine distribution. The state has prioritized vaccinations of nursing home residents but as yet has failed to address the balance and majority of the state’s elderly who are NOT in nursing homes.

Go to War Room Pandemic RIGHT NOW! Hear how Loeffler went to Kemp's fundraiser like they're old buddies, and she seems like she's not gonna lift a manicured finger on behalf of Trump. John Fredericks says someone named "Ralston" (I forget what they said his position was) and some other guy need to be contacted en masse to pressure them to get the GA legislature to do the right thing.

For those who are looking to get away from the cares of the World, you will find these cabins and houses very alluring. They all give you the feeling they would be a great place to get away from the crazy cities, and even from some small towns where too many people know too much about everyones business. Some just homes nestled a perfect out of the way place, some are elaborate cabins, and some are no bigger than a one room cabin. There is one or two old run down shacks no one lives in any more. But who...

Video at the link. 2020 has been a year like no other. Everything we know, everything we trust, and everything we have come to rely on has changed. So why should we expect the US election to be any different? Mainstream media are telling us the race is over, Biden won, time to move on, nothing to see here folks. But in your gut, you know something's just not right. From the strange patterns on election night, to the weeks of suspense, to the reports of fraud that evaporate faster than Biden's memory. It just doesn't add up. In this...

Lorry drivers stranded in Kent are being slapped with parking tickets as the M20 closes overnight with nearly 1,000 trucks parked along it. France's decision to close its border with Britain led to a day of chaos on Kent's roads, as lorry drivers were filmed blasting their horns at the Port of Dover in frustration - and another crashed into a car as it made a desperate bid to get into a lorry park. There is no end in sight either, with France not expected to announce a decision until tomorrow, despite ongoing talks with Britain. At 8pm tonight Highways...

A woman now faces arson charges after a Northeast Portland restaurant was set on fire last month. The fire at Reo's Ribs on 42nd and Sandy left the eatery heavily damaged. Earlier this week, police released an image of a suspect taken from surveillance video and asked the public for help in identifying that person. On Saturday, Portland Fire and Rescue said a citizen had called police with a tip after recognizing the suspect in the news. Portland Police said the suspect, now identified as Jennifer Lynn Cole, was arrested Friday night without incident. Cole now faces second-degree arson charges.

Former national security adviser Gen. Michael Flynn said foreign partners can provide evidence that will show there was foreign influence at work in the Nov. 3 election. Flynn, speaking to Lou Dobbs Friday on Fox Business, said that interference with elections was linked to the recent extensive infiltration of federal government systems through software made by a company called Solar Winds that was hacked. “When we talk about our election security, Lou, I think this is all part of it because there’s a relationship between this Solar Winds attack which has basically penetrated our entire critical infrastructure, as well as...

Gov. Chris Sununu said it was "outrageous" and "insulting" that members of Congress such as U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., were "cutting the line" to get the coronavirus vaccine ahead of more needy New Hampshire residents.Sununu, 45, took to social media over the weekend to criticize Congress after several confirmed they had gotten a shot, including Kuster and 2020 presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. “Congress has literally done nothing these last eight months. Now they are cutting the line and getting the vaccine ahead of residents in long-term care, nurses and essential workers who stock our shelves,” Sununu...