Free Republic

Andreas Flaten’s former employer dumped at least 90,000 pennies on his driveway last month as a form of final payment for his work at an auto shop, he said. When Bellevue, Washington-based Coinstar heard about his predicament, they decided that change was needed. They picked up Flaten’s coins on Thursday and rounded up the amount to give him a $1,000 check. They also made donations to two charities of Flaten’s choosing: two animal shelters. Flaten said his former employer — A OK Walker Autoworks in Peachtree City — owed him $915 after he left his job there in November. He...

President Biden has requested information from Education Secretary Miguel Cardona regarding his legal authority to cancel student loan debt as progressives pressure him to take executive action on the issue.... Advocates of canceling student debt by executive action say that Biden has the authority to do so under the Higher Education Act of 1965, which allowed the secretary of Education to back student loans. They also note that using legislating to cut the debt would require Republican buy-in, which appears unlikely. More than 40 million Americans are believed to have student debt...

Five centuries ago in Rome “there were marriages between men,” during Holy WeekI read:“On my return from San Pietro I met someone who warned me, with great courtesy, of two things: that the Portuguese were doing their 'obedience' during the week of the Passion, and that since on this same day the visit was to San Giovanni a Porta Latina, in which church some years before certain Portuguese had formed a strange brotherhood. During the Mass there were marriages between men with the same ceremonies that we use for our weddings: they took communion together, they read the same nuptial...

J&J vaccine shipments on hold after 15 million doses contaminated at plant The ‘Squawk Box’ team discusses a contamination that was caught at an Emergent Biosolutions production plant where Johnson and Johnson vaccines are produced. Shares of Johnson and Johnson were lower after the news.

In this informative video, Reid Henrichs of Valor Ridge discusses the issues of gun control and firearm laws. The Brady Campaign is full of propaganda, deceit, and false benevolence. Rob Pincus is the latest dupe and/or partner in their lies and distortion of truth. Reid edifies Rob and also confronts the misinformation presented in the article.

The Taal Volcano is preparing its next big eruption, said the state-run Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Wednesday. Within the last 24 hours, the volcano in Batangas province registered 212 quakes, including 168 tremors with durations one to 20 minutes, and 44 low frequency volcanic earthquakes were recorded. The volcanic peak also emitted more gas over the past 24 hours – some 1,229 tons of sulfur dioxide. These are signs of a looming eruption: “The fact that we have volcanic tremors and prolonged background tremor recorded, higher than normal sulfur dioxide emission rate of 923 tons per...

It appears that some Republican lawmakers aren’t exactly exerting themselves to support Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) after the news broke that he is under investigation for allegedly sex trafficking and having inappropriate relations with a 17-year-old girl. Their reticence to speak on Gaetz’s behalf could indicate they are simply being cautious and waiting until all of the facts come out. But it seems more likely that their silence on the matter is motivated by the lawmaker’s staunch support for former President Donald Trump and his efforts against the GOP establishment.The Hill reported:Few of Gaetz’s GOP colleagues are coming to the...

The bill requires officers to take de-escalation training, defines a "chokehold" and classifies it as an act of deadly force.Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb on Thursday signed a bill into law that requires officers to undergo mandatory de-escalation training, creates a procedure to decertify officers who commit misconduct, and prohibits the chokehold under certain circumstances, among other things. Indiana House Bill 1006 was introduced following the death of George Floyd, which sparked a series of protests in cities all across the country. Protesters demanded police reform, for the chokehold to be banned, and some called for the police to be defunded....

One of three suspects sought in the death of a 31-year-old woman who was run over and killed while chasing after attempted robbery suspects is in custody, officials said Thursday. The suspect, Jajuan Termell Welch-Arroyo, turned himself in to the Los Angeles Police Department in North Hollywood Wednesday, and is being held on no bail, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

April 1 (UPI) -- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Ukraine's minister of defense on the phone Thursday to express "unwavering U.S. support for Ukraine's sovereignty" and to condemn Russian aggression in the country.According to a readout from the Pentagon, Austin spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Taran, to discuss the regional security situation and expressed his condolences on the deaths of four Ukrainian soldiers last week.Ukrainian officials say the soldiers were killed by Russian forces in Donbass, which the United States considers a violation of a ceasefire agreement."Russia's destabilizing actions undermine the de-escalation intentions that had been achieved through...

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama, March 31, 2021 (Operation Rescue) – A troubled Alabama abortion facility where a woman received a fatal abortion last year was cited for serious personnel and infection control violations during a four-visit inspection that took place four months after a patient died last year. April Lowery, 29, died as the result of an attempted abortion she received at Abortion center that killed woman had rusty surgical instruments the West Alabama Women’s Center (WAWC) in Tuscaloosa on May 7, 2020. During that abortion, she suffered a perforated uterus that caused internal injuries and hemorrhaging, according to her autopsy report....

FNC White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked the White House press secretary on Thursday about some details of the $2.6 trillion infrastructure spending bill proposed by the Biden administration. Q: And one of the most colorful examples that the President used yesterday -- he asked if people remembered a bridge going down. But only 5 percent of the spending in this package goes towards roads and bridges, and I'm curious why that number is so low in something that is being sold as an infrastructure package. MS. PSAKI: We're actually selling it as a once-in-a-century or once-in-a-generation investment in partly...

Click here to read the full articlePres­i­dent Biden holds a copy of his dai­ly sched­ule dur­ing his Pitts­burgh speech. 9:45 AM — Pro­ceed to Oval Office12:15 PM — Lunch12:45 PM — Cab­i­net meet­ing prep pic.twitter.com/c3A02JCLUy— Jor­dan Fabi­an (@Jordanfabian) March 31, 2021Here are some of the com­ments about Joe’s schedule:“name & address on his underwear?”“Noth­ing there about hav­ing impor­tant meet­ings or mak­ing many phone calls?”“they have to tell him to pro­ceed to Oval Office?”“Lol cute sched­ule for dement­ed Joe. Got­ta make sure he lines out each one, so he knows what’s next.”“How long are the Democ­rats going to ignore that Biden...

Yesterday, Katelyn Polantz and Evan Perez reported that investigators with Special Counsel John Durham’s office have used grand jury subpoenas “to gather documents in recent months” and “are now arranging witness interviews.” Of course, if you’ve been following along, this isn’t breaking news. There is months-old reporting on Durham’s use of grand juries and Durham isn’t just “now arranging witness interviews.” As then-U.S. Attorney Durham stated in a December 9, 2019 press release response disputing IG Horowitz’s opinions on the predication of Crossfire Hurricane, he had already developed “information from other persons and entities, both in the U.S. and outside...

The U.S. moved closer Thursday toward vaccinating 100 million Americans in a race against an uptick in COVID-19 cases that is fueling fears of another nationwide surge just as the major league baseball season starts and thousands of fans return to stadiums. More than 99 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and more than 56 million people — 17% of the nation’s population — have been fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A total of 154 million vaccines had been administered as of Thursday. President Joe Biden’s new...

A top U.S. general called his counterparts in Russia and Ukraine on March 31 amid reports of a buildup of Russian troops along Ukraine’s border and in Crimea, the Pentagon confirmed on March 31. Defense Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley called top military leaders in Russia and Ukraine and said the Pentagon is aware of Ukrainian military reports concerning Russian troop movements near Ukraine’s borders. “Russia’s destabilizing actions undermine the de-escalation intentions that had been achieved through an OSCE-brokered agreement back in July of last year,” Kirby told a...

A life-sized bronze statue of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg installed at a United Kingdom university has sparked a backlash among students and critics who argue the money could have been better spent. The sculpture -- with a price tag of £24,000 (roughly $33,000) -- was unveiled at the University of Winchester in southern England on Tuesday. The university, in a statement, noted it was a symbol of its "ongoing commitment to sustainability and social justice." The Winchester University and College Union (UCU) branch criticized the statute's high price tag during the coronavirus pandemic and described it as a "vanity...

Proclaiming "an end to a century's worth of frustration and a great day for the schoolchildren of Texas," Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law today (Thursday, April 1) Senate Bill 3236, authorizing the purchase of the entire city of Austin, excepting the Capitol Complex and University of Texas campus, by area Technoking Elon Musk, henceforth to also hold the title of "Iron Mayor." The surprise offer by Musk encountered little resistance from members of the Texas Legislature, which quickly approved the measure by voice vote in both chambers, with only Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, and five Austin-based members of the...

Last May, Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest nonprofit hospital system in Texas, laid off 1,200 employees and furloughed others as it braced for the then-novel coronavirus to spread. The cancellation of lucrative elective procedures as the hospital pivoted to treat a new and less profitable infectious disease presaged financial distress, if not ruin. The federal government rushed $454 million in relief funds to help shore up its operations. But Baylor not only weathered the crisis, it thrived. By the end of 2020, Baylor had accumulated an $815 million surplus, $20 million more than it had in 2019, creating...

A lawyer defending Jeffrey Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell is arguing that she should be treated as well as Harvey Weinstein and other wealthy men who were granted bail after being charged with sex crimes. “The truth is that wealthy men charged with similar or more serious offenses, many of whom have foreign ties, are routinely granted bail so that they can effectively prepare for trial,” lawyer David Oscar Markus said on Thursday in an appeal of US District Court Judge Alison Nathan's denial last month of the British socialite's latest bail request. Markus argued that the 59-year-old Maxwell, who is...