Free Republic

Only a few months ago, the Biden administration argued that Nord Stream 2, a proposed natural-gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany, was "a bad deal" that "exposes Ukraine and Central Europe." White House press secretary Jen Psaki had noted at the time that any new pipeline carrying the fossil fuel on the continent "goes against Europe's own stated energy and security goals." This week, Axios reports that President Joe Biden is set to waive sanctions against a major company building the pipeline -- as well as its CEO, Matthias Warnig, a former Stasi agent and a Putin, er, associate....

President Biden opened up about his conflict with the more progressive side of the Democratic Party, arguing in a recent interview that he encounters criticism for not embracing a socialist agenda. "The progressives don’t like me because I’m not prepared to take on what I would say and they would say is a socialist agenda," Biden told The New York Times this week.

These levitating spheres may appear red, purple or green at first glance, but in actuality, all 12 orbs are the same bland shade of beige. Shrinking the image exaggerates this illusion, while zooming in minimizes the effect, according to David Novick, the creator of the image and a professor of engineering education and leadership at the University of Texas at El Paso. But why do we perceive the spheres as anything but their true color, beige? This skewed perception stems from a phenomenon known as the Munker-White illusion, Novick told Live Science. Related: The most amazing optical illusions (and how...

This week's Democratic primary election for Philadelphia district attorney could presage outcomes in the 2022 and 2024 elections, but not in the way the winner would like. Foreigners are often surprised that Americans elect most of their local prosecutors -- and that these prosecutors can become major forces in public force. But we do and they can. Thomas Dewey, as a 38-year-old Manhattan district attorney, was a major presidential candidate in 1940 and was the Republican nominee in the following two elections. Pat Brown got his political start as San Francisco DA, and he and his son, Jerry, were governors...

During a hearing on the pandemic, Joe Biden’s CDC Director Rochelle Walensky acknowledged that there is a “possibility” that the COVID-19 virus was leaked from the Wuhan lab. After asserting that most coronaviruses have an “animal origin,” Walensky was pressed by Senator John Kennedy into addressing “other possibilities.” “Certainly a lab-based origin is one possibility,” said Walensky. Last week, we highlighted an open letter signed by a group of the world’s leading scientists urging further investigation into the Wuhan Institute of Virology. As we previously noted, after spending months trying to negotiate a visit, WHO officials largely absolved China of...

During the interview, Trump discussed election fraud in the 2020 election. Trump touched on the importance of the audits taking place. He mentioned that everyone is watching Arizona because the result could lead to audits in other states. Trump pointed out that if the irregularities that have been found so far hold true then he won Arizona by a lot of votes. Trump was also asked about what happens if fraud is found. Trump responded by saying if fraud is found “it will be a very interesting time for our country”. Trump then asked an important question. He asked, “How...

The Biden administration is proposing a global minimum tax of at least 15% as it looks to level the playing field and stop what Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has called the "race to the bottom." However, the Treasury Department said that 15% is just the starting point and they will push for that rate to be higher. The initial proposal comes as officials with the Treasury's Office of Tax Policy participated in meetings with officials from 24 nations over the last two days as part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's international tax negotiations. Treasury Department officials said...

BOSTON (AP) — A highly contagious disease originating far from America’s shores triggers deadly outbreaks that spread rapidly, infecting the masses. Shots are available, but a divided public agonizes over getting jabbed. Sound familiar? Newly digitized records — including a minister’s diary scanned and posted online by Boston’s Congregational Library and Archives — are shedding fresh light on devastating outbreaks of smallpox that hit the city in the 1700s.

A top Netflix executive funneled millions to a fund aimed at opposing the recall effort of California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to financial disclosures reported to the California Secretary of State Thursday. Reed Hastings, co-CEO of the multi-billion dollar streaming service, sent $3 million to the Newsom fund. The longtime Democrat previously donated $7 million to the California Charter Schools Association’s 2018 initiative to get Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa elected in the gubernatorial primary. The CEO’s contribution is the largest sum donated to stop the recall. There is no limit to how much the governor can raise. Unions...

Some Dems slam Israel in aftermath of cease-fire, Republicans largely silent early Friday Rep. Ilhan Omar said Thursday she is happy a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was agreed to after a week-and-a-half of fighting, but insisted there needs to be "accountability for every war crime committed." She also accused the U.S. of tacitly supporting those alleged crimes with its support for Israel. "We should all be grateful that a ceasefire will prevent more civilians and children from being killed," Omar, D-Minn., tweeted. "But now what? We need accountability for every war crime committed. And we need to stop underwriting...

-The FDA warned Wednesday that relying on antibodies for protection from COVID-19 may leave people vulnerable -A vaccine is still needed to confirm immunity from the effects of the virus -Positive antibody tests also won't work as a substitute for proof of vaccination because the blood screening looks for different proteins than shots trigger -Brief comes as vaccine progress in the United States slows down Testing positive for COVID-19 antibodies is not sufficient replacement for receiving the vaccine, according to a briefing released by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday.

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R) will headline a fundraiser for Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) on Monday, Politico reports. The big picture: "It’s a decisive move against ex-President Donald Trump, who has set his sights on Republicans who voted to impeach him," Politico writes. Kinzinger was one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection, and has been one of the GOP's most prominent critics of the ex-president. Ryan in November called on Trump to accept the presidential election results and "embrace the transfer of power." The former speaker also told Republicans in...

The Texas Senate on Thursday approved a bill to ban homeless encampments throughout Texas — a response to the city of Austin lifting a similar local ban two years ago that was recently reinstated by voters. House Bill 1925 would make camping in an unapproved public place a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500. The bill calls for law enforcement officers to redirect homeless people to available local resources — such as a shelter or nonprofit group — “before or at the time” they issue a citation. The House approved the bill earlier this month....

CNN and many other mainstream media outlets are taking a statement by Ben Cotton, one of the people tasked with the Arizona Audit, out of context to claim that conservatives have been lying about the coverup. The fact that they cannot be honest gives even more credibility to the belief that the 2020 Election was, in fact, stolen from President Donald Trump.For many of us that have been closely following what happened the night of November 3rd, otherwise known as Election Day, we’ve known that the narrative we were told by the Mainstream Media is different than reality. Every time...

Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul unmasked and undressed Dr. Anthony Fauci at a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday about the National Institute of Health’s funding of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, from where the Wuhan coronavirus that has killed hundreds of thousands likely escaped Despite the feckless Fauci song-and-dance on funding the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s (WIV) deadly gain-of-function research, the fact is that Fauci fostered and funded such research here and illegally offshored it to Chinese researchers in Wuhan when the U.S. banned such funding here. As National Review reported: Paul asked Dr. Fauci if he still supports National...

It keeps coming back to the surface. It’s something that pushed black and Hispanic voters to Republicans in 2020. It’s something that was dug up again during the 2020 autopsy. What the hell happened? DC should have a resounding Democratic majority government. Both Houses should be partying like it’s 2009 when Obama was ushered in with an unprecedented 60 seats in the Senate and a solid majority in the House. That didn’t happen. The Senate is a 50-50 split, with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) or Joe Manchin (D-WV) not gung-ho about going ‘woke’ on the agenda. In the House, Nancy...

The Arizona Department of Public Safety was called to investigate a suspicious package sent to the office of Arizona Senate Leader Karen Fann. An aide to the senator opened a letter with an unidentified white powder inside on Wednesday when authorities were called. This took place as the Senate’s audit of the 2020 election continues. Vote counting and inspections will continue next week.

When he took the floor of the Senate to reject the Democrats' Jan. 6 Commission, Mitch McConnell may have salvaged his party's chances to recapture the House in 2022. For that commission, being spun as a "bipartisan" effort to learn what "really happened" in the Capitol that fateful day, is a Democratic scheme to have the left's version of events on Jan. 6 enshrined as the official history of the United States. And what is the left's version? It is that the forced entry and five-hour occupation of the Capitol by hundreds of Trumpists was "an attempted coup d'etat," an...

The Netflix CEO who promoted the pedophilic film Cuties has reportedly given millions of dollars to help far-left California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) stave off recall efforts. Newsom’s anti-recall campaign received a $3 million donation “from Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings,” according to Fox News. The contribution was reportedly “the Stop The Republican Recall committee’s largest donation to date, according to Politico.” In addition, Fox News reported: “A February filing showed Hastings also donated $32,400 and $29,600 to Newsom’s campaign. Hastings’ wife donated identical amounts.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested that unvaccinated Republicans who defy her mask mandate could be barred from the House of Representatives. Pelosi's remarks came in response to the mask rebellion by some House Republican who said they would follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidance instead of her rules,