Free Republic

COVID-19 was the best thing that could have happened to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, according to one of his closest advisers. A new book revealed that Anita Dunn made the comment in private to “an associate,” according to the Guardian, which obtained a copy, at a time when the United States was struggling with rising death tolls, a shattered economy, and a health system close to breaking.

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Department of Transportation is studying use of remote technology to help manage highway traffic that needs to merge when approaching a highway work zone involving at least one lane closure. ADOT says it has set up a “smart work zone" with a remotely controlled system using computers, portable message boards and sensors to provide drivers with real-time instructions based on changing circumstances. The study is being conducted at two bridge rehabilitation sites on Interstate 40 between Flagstaff and Winslow in northern Arizona. The remote system directs westbound traffic to merge into one lane well ahead...

The Great Bend-Hallstead exit (230) off Interstate 81 in Susquehanna County is due for repair in the next few years and PennDOT has proposed installing an electronic toll, that would use E-ZPass or pay-by-plate collection for drivers who pass through the area. The funds collected would be used to pay for the construction, maintenance, and operation of that bridge. We spoke with several people who use this section of highway about the proposed idea. "I guess to raise taxes to everybody is really hard, so I guess for the people using the road, then maybe that's a good idea," said...

Kaye Watson is not a demanding parent intent of strictly imposing her will on her children. Instead, she tries to gently nudge them in the right direction. Watson comes from a family of music lovers. Not professional musicians, these are folks that just love listening to all kinds of music (though predominately traditional country) and singing along, sometimes to the top of their lungs. As she was home-schooling her two youngest boys a few years ago while living in Marissa, she wondered if the siblings would be interested in taking their musical intrigue to the next level, causing her to...

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The past two weeks have been restless for Raleigh resident Sandra Taylor, she says construction has been keeping both her and her husband up during the night. "For the past two weeks it's like a large jackhammer, like a massive jackhammer, sort of like blasting, in a way, but it's so extremely loud and it also kind of rattles the house a little bit as well, because it's so loud," Taylor said. She said it usually starts around midnight and can go until 4 am. "We work so to have to go to work the next day,...

GameStop shares surge 100% despite trading halts as Warren Buffett's right-hand man Charlie Munger calls day traders 'gamblers with a racetrack mindset' and warns they will go bust GameStop shares jumped 100% on Wednesday despite two NYSE trading halts It followed the ouster of the struggling retailer's CFO Jim Bell on Tuesday But even fans of the stock on Reddit expressed confusion about the surge Meanwhile Warren Buffett's right-hand man Charlie Munger scolded day traders GameStop shares surged again on Wednesday, as investors piled back into the 'meme stock' in a frenzy that triggered two trading halts late in the...

The “Frasier” revival has officially been ordered at Paramount Plus. Original series star Kelsey Grammer will return in the title role in addition to executive producing. Chris Harris and Joe Cristalli will serve as writers and executive producers, with Grammnet Productions’ Tom Russo and Jordan McMahon also executive producing. The series will be produced by CBS Studios in association with Grammnet Productions, exclusively for Paramount+. The announcement was made as part of ViacomCBS’ investor day presentation on Wednesday. “Having spent over 20 years of my creative life on the Paramount lot, both producing shows and performing in several, I’d like...

The New York Times has laid out a plan to build a “more diverse, equitable and inclusive” business after the paper released the results of an eight-month internal review of its workplace culture and diversity on Wednesday. The report based on interviews with more than 400 employees said that while the paper has made strides in diversity in recent years, “The Times is a difficult environment for many of our colleagues, from a wide range of backgrounds.” The investigation, which was commissioned in June as protests against racial inequality swept the nation, found that Black and Latino people were underrepresented...

These demands obviously violate the First Amendment.All of Tennessee's Republican state senators have signed a letter to the state's university presidents and chancellors asking them to prevent student-athletes from kneeling during the national anthem.[snip]The inspiration for this letter was an (incident) at the University of Tennessee at Chatanooga last week, when the visiting men's basketball team from East Tennessee State University decided to kneel during the "Star-Spangled Banner." The players claimed they were trying to call attention to racial inequality.

During the whole month of February, starting this Monday, the people of Brussels are called upon to choose the new name of the longest tunnel in the country, Leopold II, from among 15 names of famous women, Brussels Mobility said in a press release. The renaming procedure “to symbolically reinforce the place of women in the public space” began last year with a call for ideas to citizens and the reflection of a committee of experts. Currently, 43% of the streets in Brussels bear the name of a person. Of these, only 6.1% of the streets are named after a...

The serious lower leg injuries Tiger Woods sustained in a car crash on Tuesday typically lead to a long and perilous recovery, calling into question his ability to play professional golf again, according to medical experts who have treated similar injuries.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is a “criminal sexual predator” who “must immediately resign” over a former aide’s detailed sexual-harassment allegations, a member of Congress from upstate New York said Wednesday. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Glens Falls) also said that “any elected official who does not immediately call for his resignation is complicit in allowing a sexual predator to continue leading the great state of New York.”

WASHINGTON, DC – Gladys Sicknick, the mother of the New Jersey native and U.S. Capitol Police Officer who died during the January 6th incursion of the U.S. Capitol was not killed by an angry mob of Trump supporters or beaten by a fire extinguisher. Instead, Mrs. Sicknick said she believes her son died instead of a stroke. Over one month later, his family still has few answers about his death. Mrs. Sicknick told the Daily Mail on Tuesday that she believes her son suffered a fatal stroke and discounted mainstream media accounts that claimed he was beaten to death with...

James Burke, whose shared lead vocals helped make “O-o-h Child” into a smash for his group the Five Stairsteps in 1970, has died at age 70. Word of Burke’s death first began to circulate on Saturday and was confirmed to Rolling Stone on Tuesday by brother and bandmate Dennis Burke, who said the cause of death was pneumonia. The Five Stairsteps are often thought of as a one-hit-wonder band because of the outsize popularity of “O-o-h Child,” which continues to rack up cover versions today, including one that was released just last month by KISS member Paul Stanley. But the...

Many will not want to hear this, but it’s a message that needs to be said.As we watch the way the Democrats attack every good thing, while upholding and rewarding all evil, it is natural to desire the day they fall. Yet when that day comes, and it surely will, remember not to celebrate nor rejoice. Instead consider what Solomon wrote in Proverb 24:17-18; Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the LORD see it, and it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from himProverbs 24:17-18...

Brent Crude prices could hit $70 a barrel in the second quarter of 2021, while they are set to average $60 this year, Bank of America said this week, raising its average price outlook by $10 a barrel from its previous projection. Echoing Bank of America, Morgan Stanley also sees Brent touching the $70 mark this year, but a bit later - in the third quarter, expecting “a much-improved market,” including on the demand side. On Sunday, Goldman Sachs started the investment banks’ upgrades of oil price forecasts, expecting Brent Crude prices to hit $75 a barrel in the third...

Explanation: It’s always nice to get a new view of an old friend. This stunning Hubble Space Telescope image of nearby spiral galaxy M66 is just that. A spiral galaxy with a small central bar, M66 is a member of the Leo Galaxy Triplet, a group of three galaxies about 30 million light years from us. The Leo Triplet is a popular target for relatively small telescopes, in part because M66 and its galactic companions M65 and NGC 3628 all appear separated by about the angular width of a full moon. The featured image of M66 was taken by Hubble...

Back at school | Pandemic continues, but life goes on at Wenatchee and Eastmont highsAs students have returned to high school, they have had to adapt to changes to continue their activities. Wenatchee High School sophomore Alison Chamberlain and the rest of the band practice in small COVID-19 enclosures around the school's auditorium on Tuesday. Half of the band practices at a time. Juan Cruz fits into a small enclosure with his sousaphone during band practice at Wenatchee High School Tuesday.

It’s too soon to declare victory over the coronavirus. But there’s a good chance that V-C Day is coming very quickly. Christmas? Nonsense. Fourth of July? Almost certainly. Memorial Day? Maybe. Rates of infection have retreated before, but this time will be different, because a colossal number of Americans (perhaps 120 million) have already been infected, because a very large number of Americans (65 million) have received a vaccine, and, crucially, because a major chunk of the people we would most like to get vaccinated (due to age or because they interact with lots of others) already have had their...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom may be recalled out of office as support for effort continues to grow, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said Wednesday“I believe that [California Gov. Gavin Newsom] will be successfully recalled. However, do not for a moment think that it's going to be this summer,” Issa told FOX Business’ “Mornings with Maria,” adding that Democrats will stall the effort.Issa’s comments came after Recall Gavin Newsom 2020 senior adviser Randy Economy said that he feels "pretty darn confident" that the measure against the California governor will make it onto the ballot this summer."I think we’re on target. We’re ecstatic,"...