Free Republic

A Republican has won a mayoral race in a South Texas Hispanic Democratic bastion, sparking celebration from the GOP nationwide and alarm from some Democrats. Why it matters: Javier Villalobos' victory Saturday in Mexican American-majority McAllen, Texas, comes as some Latino Democrats say their party has been ignoring Mexican Americans in Texas, New Mexico and California as the Republican Party makes dents in areas once solidly blue. Villalobos, an attorney and former chair of the Hidalgo County GOP, beat Veronica Whitacre by about 200 votes in a nonpartisan race where Democrats have dominated for years. His victory drew praise from...

The Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board announced Monday that it has authorized “joints for jabs” promotions, providing a temporary allowance dispensaries to give customers vaccinated on-site at in-store clinics. The ordinance will be in effect between June 7 and July 12, 2021. It will apply solely to cannabis dispensaries hosting an “active vaccine clinic event at the retail location,” and will be limited to one complimentary joint per customer

Former Kansas City Chiefs Assistant Coach Britt Reid pleaded not guilty on Monday to a charge that he drove drunk in a February crash that injured a 5-year-old girl. A judge OK’d driving privileges for Reid, son of head coach Andy Reid, on the condition he installs an ignition device on his car that only starts if he passes a BAC breath test, The Kansas City Star reported. An attorney for the family of the girl, Ariel Young, who reportedly suffered a brain injury in the crash of Feb. 4, told the Star they were disappointed with the judge’s decision.

Vice President Kamala Harris promoted the Biden administration’s "critical" coronavirus "American Rescue Plan" this week in a pair of interviews with local TV stations in West Virginia and Arizona. But U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he was surprised by the Harris interview in his state, claiming no one from the administration had called him to discuss the appearance, WSAZ-TV of Huntington, W.Va., reported. The communication gap was a departure from the national "unity" theme that Harris and President Biden have promoted, he suggested.

Join together with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Au-thority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media.I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

The Justice Department crafted red flag legislation for states to consider and issued a host of proposed changes to the classification of certain guns through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.On Monday, the DOJ published "model legislation and detailed commentary" on "extreme risk protection orders," also known as red flag laws, which allow local law enforcement to seize guns from those deemed a threat to themselves or others prior to an appearance before a judge. It also drew attention to a possible ATF rule change that would alter the definition of a rifle-style pistol "when individuals use accessories...

Early evidence about B.1.617 and a related variant, B.1.618 - which also emerged in India - also suggested that vaccines and other common COVID treatments may not work against these strains...The NYU researchers found that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines both neutralize spike proteins from B.1.617 and B.1.618. While these neutralizing responses are not as strong as they would be against older coronavirus strains, the vaccines still provide much more protection than a prior coronavirus infection would. The results show that the vaccines are 'well within the cushion effect of the capability to protect against infection...

Tests of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine started Monday in Louisiana have started for children ages 5 through 11 NEW ORLEANS -- Seven-year-old Russell Bright squeezed his dad’s hand tightly as tests of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine started Monday in Louisiana for children ages 5 through 11. Children held stuffed animals, played under chairs and a few cried at Ochsner Medical Center, just outside New Orleans. Their temperature and blood pressure were checked, their noses swabbed and their blood drawn for tests. Finally, they got a shot of either the vaccine or a placebo. Ochsner is among 98 facilities in 26 states, the...

Inflation is likely to persist and lead to a crisis in the years ahead, according to a warning from Deutsche Bank economists, reported CNBC. Deutsche issued a dire warning, that is well outside the consensus from policymakers and Wall Street, that focusing on stimulus while dismissing inflation fears will prove to be a mistake if not in the near term, then in 2023 and beyond. “The consequence of delay will be greater disruption of economic and financial activity than would otherwise be the case when the Fed does finally act,” Deutsche’s chief economist, David Folkerts-Landau, and others wrote. “In turn,...

U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks released video footage from a home security camera that appears to show a process server entering the garage at the congressman’s Huntsville residence to serve a lawsuit to his wife on Sunday. Meanwhile, Brooks said Monday night he had been served with the lawsuit while in Saks near Anniston while campaigning for U.S. Senate. Brooks and his wife, Martha, filed an incident report with Huntsville police for criminal trespassing following the Sunday incident.

A 41-year-old father of three children was shot twice by a man in Atlanta’s wealthiest neighborhood over the weekend. Police say the shooter “may have been suffering from some type of mental health crisis.” Andrew Worrell was shot in the leg and hip while jogging in Buckhead Saturday morning. Anne Worrell said in a Facebook post that her husband was about 1 mile into his 3 mile jog when a silver vehicle approached him. “He thought they may be asking for directions so he stopped,’ Anne Worrell wrote. “The very tinted window rolled down and the guy pointed a gun...

A 20-year-old Canadian man has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one of attempted murder after driving his pickup truck into a Muslim family in what police described as “a premeditated attack”. Two women, aged 74 and 44, a 46-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl – a grandmother, mother, father and their teenage daughter – were killed on Sunday night when Nathaniel Veltman ploughed his black pickup truck into a group of pedestrians in the city of London, Ontario, police said. The lone survivor, a nine-year-old boy, remains in hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The victims’...

Last week the United States donated nearly one million vaccines to Taiwan, the country that first warned the World Health Organization in December 2019 that Wuhan coronavirus was contagious from human-to-human. For the sake of protecting the Chinese Communist Party, the WHO ignored the warning and lied to the world for nearly two months about how the disease spreads. Thank you to the #US for supporting #Taiwan in our time of need. Your vaccine donation will go a long way toward the health of the Taiwanese people, & serves as yet another symbol of our strong bilateral ties. pic.twitter.com/1JQDXHN0R4— ???...

Vice President Kamala Harris claims the current crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border is largely the result of climate change and the economy. The president of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, disagrees.In April, U.S.-Mexico border detentions reached a 21-year monthly high when over 178,000 migrants illegally crossed the border. A number of these unaccompanied minors and families who cross the U.S.-Mexico border come from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.Giammattei argues that the region’s climate and economy aren’t the prime culprits for the unprecedented rise in illegal U.S.-Mexico border crossings, but that the Biden administration’s immigration policies are to blame.Despite the fact that Harris...

Texas Governor Pledges To Sign Law Prohibiting Businesses From Requiring Vaccine PassportsCarnival Cruise Line recently announced that it will resume cruising in Galveston, Texas beginning in July and will require passengers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is disputing Carnival’s vaccine mandate.Abbott announced Monday he would be signing a law that prevents “businesses operating in Texas from requiring vaccine passports any vaccine information.”“Texas is open 100% without any restrictions or limitations or requirements,” Abbott tweeted.I’m signing a law today that prohibits any business operating in Texas from requiring vaccine passports or any vaccine information.Texas is open...

The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center will lead implementation of responsible AI across the Defense Department, according to a new directive. In a departmentwide memo signed last week, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks enumerated foundational tenets for responsible AI, reaffirmed the ethical AI principles the department adopted last year, and mandated the JAIC director start work on four activities for developing a responsible AI ecosystem. “As the DoD embraces artificial intelligence (AI), it is imperative that we adopt responsible behavior, processes, and outcomes in a manner that reflects the Department's commitment to its ethical principles, including the protection of privacy and...

Picture: Joseph Mallord William Turner, Fishing Boats caught in a Storm.Today, COVID-19 cases in Canada are declining, from coast to coast, even if some lockdown restrictions remain in force. The summer is approaching and we are all eager to live a return to normality.After all, we got a break last summer from this virus, and we expect some seasonality. OK the virus may return, but in the fall and winter. Not in the summer, please. We need a break. We need a life. That’s the conventional thinking currently prevailing among many in the country.But, is the current situation, with declining...

IvermectinI've been watching Bret Weinstein's interview with Dr. Pierre Kory (M.D.) on the alleged suppression of Ivermectin as a therapeutic for COVID-19. The claim is that a meta-analysis of Ivermectin studies -- none of which are the highest quality study -- show an obvious and huge benefit to using the drug. Put another way, the "signal" that the drug works is so strong that it is obvious in any kind of study no matter the quality. And when you consider all the studies together (meta-analysis), the effectiveness of the drug is nearly beyond doubt. So why aren't we using it...

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Sunday warned in stark terms that the US power grid is vulnerable to attacks.Asked By CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” whether the nation’s adversaries have the capability of shutting it down, Granholm said: “Yeah, they do.”“There are thousands of attacks on all aspects of the energy sector and the private sector generally,” she said, adding, “It’s happening all the time. This is why the private sector and the public sector have to work together.”- https://youtu.be/spjaM1YVIuc

In Russia, it is illegal to show children content that promotes and propagandizes non-traditional sexual orientations. With this law, one Russian federal service recently sent a warning to Disney about some of its content. Russia’s Federal Service for the Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) sent a preventative letter to the Disney Channel, with an explanation of the norms of Russian legislation, Roskomnadzor reports. “Earlier it became known that Disney has released a short animated film called Out, in which the main character has a non-traditional sexual orientation,” the Service reports. “The letter notes that Russian legislation...