Free Republic

A Public Utility Commission order stated that ERCOT should correct any past prices to reflect the current shortage of energy... TEXAS, USA — With nearly 4 million Texans in need of power amid the winter storm that struck the state, demand for energy is exceptionally high. The demand has exceeded the supply that the state has to offer. As a result, the Public Utility Commission of Texas held an emergency meeting on Monday where officials introduced an order that would adjust energy prices. The order said in part, "Energy prices should reflect scarcity of the supply. If customer load is...

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough dismissed comparisons between the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters and protests for racial justice last summer. "I know there are idiots on other cable news channels that will say, 'Well, this mom-and-pop store that was vandalized during the summer riots and that's just as bad as the United States Capitol being vandalized,'" Scarborough said on his morning program Tuesday. "No. No, actually jackass, it's not. The Capitol of the United States of America is the center of American democracy." Scarborough said he remains a "fierce believer" in "people's right to defend...

Watch - eerie baby dolls found nailed to trees on Cannock Chase The dolls were found at the Ministry Pensions Hospital site A spooked walker has made a very unsettling discovery while exploring Cannock Chase. The trekker, who is a theatre practitioner at Walsall Manor Hospital, uncovered an assortment of creepy baby dolls when she was walking over the Chase last Thursday (January 28). The 64-year-old waded her way through the undergrowth and discovered a clearing where a number of trees stood with the dolls 'nailed' and 'tied' to them. Speaking to Black Country Live, the mum-of-two said: "I've had...

A few seconds into John & Mercedes Condon’s latest YouTube video, this famous RV couple states the cold, hard truth. Known as the RV Odd Couple, the Condons are known for telling it like it is. In the recent video, Mercedes starts by saying, “I bet you can’t wait to go camping this year.” John’s direct realization follows, “Good luck, guys! ‘Cause America’s pretty much sold out already.” Is this true? Are most of the campgrounds in America sold out? Well, while we know there’s still availability (in Kansas, maybe), the tourist hot spots are booking quicker than ever this...

In the name of environmentalism, many on the left have proposed switching the nation’s energy from reliable fossil fuels to new green energy sources that rely on the good fortune of clear skies and proper wind velocity to power America. As if that weren’t enough cause to hesitate to indulge in such wishful thinking, another vulnerability has become painfully apparent as a third of the contiguous U.S. was plunged into subzero temperatures Monday due to a polar vortex weather pattern, according to CNN. Not only have freezing temperatures created an excessive draw on the power grid as residents struggle to...

Heavy snowfall blanketed the Acropolis and other ancient monuments in Athens, caused power cuts and halted COVID-19 vaccinations in the Greek capital on Tuesday as the weather brought many services across the country to a standstill. Greek media reported that three deaths in separate parts of the country were linked with the bad weather. State ERT TV said two elderly men with breathing problems died after their mechanical respiratory aids stopped working due to power cuts, and a farmer on the island of Crete was found dead in a snow-covered area near his sheepfold. While western Europe got some respite...

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that although President Joe Biden was “monitoring” states drastically affected by winter storms, he had not yet personally reached out to their governors. “The president has been kept abreast as I noted of the events and been provided regular updates on the storm and the progress,” Psaki said during the White House press briefing Tuesday afternoon.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) defended her decision to convict former President Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection during an appearance Tuesday on WLOB radio with host Ray Richardson, explaining that she voted to convict Trump not just based on his January 6 speech alone but his “culmination of actions which started even before the election occurred.”

A Yellowstone tourist group came within feet of a bison herd, video shows. SCREENGRAB FROM STORYFUL A group of Yellowstone tourists came nearly face-to-face with a herd of huge bison, video showed. Tourists were lined up to get a view of the national park during the winter. The tour group encountered a herd of bison surrounding them, video showed. The huge animals were on both sides of the group. They were running across the line of tourists to get to the other side, video showed. Some bison charged near the group and many were within feet of tourists, the video...

(CNSNews.com) - Coincidentally, but right on cue, the generator-supplied power went out in the home of former Texas Governor and former Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry Monday night, just as Perry began his interview with Fox News's Tucker Carlson. Carlson said the power outage was "proving the point that we're making" -- that it's the government's responsibility to provide reliable power during life-threatening cold snaps, and green energy is not up to the job. "So the point is, you need to have a diversity of energy sources, no matter where you are, and it couldn't be a greater example of...

People run away as Kurdish animal rights activists release a bear into the wild after rescuing bears from captivity in people's homes in Duhok, Iraq. Ari Jalal/Reuters Six Syrian brown bears ran amok in the mountains of Duhok, Iraq, after Kurdish animal rights activists released them from their cages, Reuters reported. The bears were released into the wild as part of a special ceremony organized by the Kurdish American Cooperation Organization, a local charity that has set rescued bears free on two other occasions, the news agency said. Moments after the activists unlocked the cages, the ceremony descended into chaos....

Total Doses Delivered: 71,657,975 Number of People Receiving 1 or More Doses: 39,670,551 Number of People Receiving 2 Doses: 15,015,434

President Biden is unlikely to meet in-person with a foreign leader for "a couple of months," press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday. "I would anticipate for all of you that it will be a couple of months before the president invites a foreign leader to meet in person here at the White House," Psaki said at a news briefing. The comments are the first glimpse of a timeline the White House has given of when Biden might resume in-person meetings with foreign leaders as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. Biden has held calls with numerous foreign leaders since taking...

Fifty years ago today, one of the most significant occurrences in the modern presidency took place. No one was impeached, there was no scandal, and no one stormed the U.S. Capitol. No newspapers covered the event contemporaneously, and children do not learn about it in school today. February 16, 1971 is not one that would ever be worth remembering – except that it was the date the Nixon White House taping system began operating. With a simple flip of a switch, Richard Nixon unwittingly changed how we think about the U.S. presidency. As fellow stakeholders in our democratic system of...

A report that Los Angeles police officers circulated a photo of George Floyd with the words “you take my breath away” in a Valentine-like format has prompted an internal investigation and drawn blistering condemnation from Floyd’s family, the district attorney and the police union. Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Saturday that investigators will try to determine how the image may have come into the workplace....

George Conway, who co-founded The Lincoln Project, is calling for an investigation into the anti-Trump group following a series of reports regarding allegations that another organization co-founder, John Weaver, sent unsolicited sexual messages to young men as well as a 14-year-old boy. Conway, a conservative attorney and husband of former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, tweeted Tuesday that "THE LYING HAS TO STOP" and demanded that the group waive nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) to allow for all current and former employees to reveal any knowledge they have about the claims. "An investigation is necessary. But it has to be thorough, and...

President Joe Biden put out a statement no Saturday in response to the conclusion the second Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, which resulted in a 57-to-43 vote to convict—or ten short of the 67 votes needed to confirm a guilty verdict. “While the final vote did not lead to a conviction, the substance of the charge is not in dispute,” said Biden. “Even those opposed to the conviction, like Senate Minority Leader McConnell, believe Donald Trump was guilty of a ‘disgraceful dereliction of duty’ and ‘practically and morally responsible for provoking’ the violence unleashed on the Capitol,”...

The daughter of Dubai's ruler who tried to flee the country in 2018 later sent secret video messages to friends accusing her father of holding her "hostage" as she feared for her life. In footage shared with BBC Panorama, Princess Latifa Al Maktoum says commandos drugged her as she fled by boat and flew her back to detention. The secret messages have stopped - and friends are urging the UN to step in. Dubai and the UAE have previously said she is safe in the care of family. Ex-UN rights envoy Mary Robinson, who had described Latifa as a "troubled...

Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse (R), who voted to convict former President Trump earlier this month in the Senate impeachment trial, warned that the Republican Party is in an internal battle between "conservatism and short-term-ism." Sasse noted in an interview with NPR released Tuesday that “obviously there are a lot of people frustrated with me in Nebraska,” but he added that “a lot of them also have the six-and-a-half year history with me where they know that though I'm a very conservative guy, I'm pretty independent-minded." "I don't think they're very surprised, but obviously there is a move at county and...

Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, they won widespread praise. But the political fortunes of governors Andrew Cuomo of New York and Gavin Newsom of California have sharply reversed. Cuomo, who literally wrote the book on his virus success, faces growing scrutiny of his handling of nursing-home deaths in his state. Newsom, elected with 62% of the vote two years ago, is under threat of a recall. Both have seen approval ratings retreat from mid-pandemic highs as many businesses and schools remain shut and the vaccine rollout keeps sputtering. the criticism of how the Democratic leaders handled it -- have hammered...