Free Republic

In the next few weeks, a company called Kernel will start sending a helmet worth about $ 50,000 that can read the minds of dozens of customers in the United States. Helmets, each weighing a few pounds, have sensors and other electronic devices that measure and analyze the brain’s electrical impulses and blood flow at the speed of thought, and provide a window on how the body responds to the world. The core technology has been around for years, but is often found in room-sized machines that can cost millions of dollars and require patients to sit in a clinical...

Pelosi rejects gas tax to cover infrastructure costs © Greg Nash Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that she opposes an increase in the gas tax as a way to pay for new infrastructure projects, joining other liberals in her caucus in rejecting a potential provision of a nascent public works package being negotiated in the Senate. "I'm not even sure if it's in, but one thing they were going to do was expand the gas tax. I would not be for that," Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol. Among the offset provisions floated by a group of bipartisan senators...

An Arizona State University policy requiring students to be vaccinated before taking on-campus classes is now in shreds. Arizona's Republican Gov. Doug Ducey posted a series of tweets saying that the state university is not going to be allowed to issue stricter policies than he would approve of. He followed that up with an executive order shutting down the policy.

New shark center exhibit looks at ‘villain’ portrayal Explores ‘Jaws’ effect A new exhibit at the Cape Cod shark center explores how great white sharks are portrayed in the media and movies, as the apex predators have been painted as “villains” for decades. The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy recently unveiled the “White Sharks in the Media and Public Perception” exhibit at the Chatham Shark Center. “We want people to take a moment and reflect on how books and movies have portrayed sharks as villains in our oceans. The ‘Jaws’ effect,” said Marianne Long, education director at the Atlantic White Shark...

In the past few months, several Catholic bishops have issued statements on the question of whether to publicly deny pro-abortion politicians the Eucharist. I am grateful to all my brother bishops who have courageously spoken out on this thorny subject. When bishops share according to their conscience and listen to others' points of view, they foster genuine dialogue—a necessary step on the path to unity. I would therefore like to respond to Bishop Robert McElroy’s recent essay, “The Eucharist is being weaponized for political ends. This must not happen.” His title suggests that political motives are driving the bishops' current...

A group of Florida parents concerned about the potential harm of wearing masks during the school day sent their children's face coverings to a lab for analysis. "We need to know what we are putting on the faces of our children each day. Masks provide a warm, moist environment for bacteria to grow," said a parent who participated in the analysis, Amanda Donoho. Of the six masks that were examined, five were contaminated with bacteria, parasites and fungi, noted Scott Morefield of Townhall.com. Three of the masks had dangerous pathogenic and pneumonia-causing bacteria. No viruses were detected on the masks,...

<p>A stunning, official election document has revealed major technical, mechanical, and human errors in Democratic-run Fulton County, Georgia, per a Freedom of Information Act request by John Solomon’s Just The News website. The document, entitled “Unabridged Notes Detailing Everything Witnessed Nov 2-Nov 7, 2020” was put together by Seven Hill Strategies on behalf of the Georgia Secretary of State and represents an official accounting of major errors conducted in the state ostensibly “won” by Joe Biden by fewer than 12,000 votes.</p>

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on today’s ruling by the Supreme Court on a seminal religious liberty case: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that Catholic foster care agencies can reject gay couples from adopting children. This is a huge victory for religious liberty and a resounding defeat for LGBTQ activists. It was these activists who launched a contrived assault on the rights of Catholic social service agencies—no gay or transgender couple had ever complained that they were discriminated against by these Catholic entities—and now their effort to impose their secular beliefs on Catholics has been rejected. Chief Justice...

Today @POTUS will sign the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing June 19th as a federal holiday. As the 19th falls on a Saturday, most federal employees will observe the holiday tomorrow, June 18th.

Good morning Joe Biden warned that the US would retaliate if Russia continued with cyber-attacks on American targets after “good and positive” talks in Geneva with Vladimir Putin. After three hours of talks in their first in-person summit, the US president said he told his Russian counterpart that they needed to have “some basic rules of the road that we can all abide by” – or face consequences. But, he added, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”. Putin, meanwhile, said the discussions were run without “hostility” and that he and Biden “spoke the same language”.

The View’s Meghan McCain, who fashions herself as a political and foreign policy expert, called for Russia to be booted from the G7 over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s imprisonment of a political dissident on Wednesday. There’s only one problem: the group of influential nations kicked Russia out seven years ago.

KEY POINTS President Joe Biden is set to sign a bill establishing Juneteenth, the date marking the end of slavery in the United States, as a federal holiday. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are slated to deliver remarks in the East Room, according to the White House. Juneteenth National Independence Day will become the 12th legal public holiday, and the first new one since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was signed into law in 1983 by then-President Ronald Reagan. ========================================================================== President Joe Biden is set to sign on Thursday a bill establishing Juneteenth, the date marking the end of...

At a press conference following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva , President Biden disputed a journalist’s characterization of Chinese President Xi Jinping as an “old friend” who might be persuaded to allow an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. “Let’s get something straight — we know each other well, we’re not old friends,” Biden said. “It’s just pure business.” Fox News reporter Peter Doocy pressed Biden on whether his long-standing relationship with the Chinese leader could help the United States and other nations try to find out how, as researchers believe, the pandemic...

I called trying to get some answers for the horrible service the USPS is still giving ( missing checks/packages, etc). Local post office is frustrated and said consumer affairs knows the situation. They acted like it was a waste of time to call. I called one of my senatorial swamp creatures office (D) and got a peon. They still are playing politics. They were talking about adding sorting machines and overtime. Covid and union crap. I don't see it getting better.

The United States Supreme Court issued their ruling today in a major lawsuit from 18 states that challenged the Affordable Care Act put in place by former President Barack Obama. This might come to a devastating blow to a vast number of Americans paying higher than normal premiums and/deductibles, but the Supreme Court ruled in a decision, 7-2, that Texas and the 17 other states “lacked standing to challenge its constitutionality.” The lawsuit also included two individuals who stood against the healthcare program that many Americans sometimes stated was overpriced and under-performing compared to their previous health insurances. In other...

First-time unemployment claims surprisingly rose to a month-long high as the U.S. economy faces an ongoing labor shortage under the Biden administration. According to the Department of Labor, 412,000 Americans filed for initial jobless benefits last week, marking the highest level in a month. Economists expected just 360,000 new claims. The rise in claims comes days after a Labor Department report showed that U.S. job openings reached a record high 9.3 million in April. Employers hired just 6.1 million people during the same period, meaning one in three postings went unfilled. Jobless claims particularly grew in California and Pennsylvania, two...

RIO GRANDE CITY, TX—Trump flew to America's southern border this week to announce a brand-new Trump hotel unlike anything the world has ever seen. The planned hotel will be almost 2,000 miles long and will be situated right on the southern border. "Yes folks, I'm proud to announce we are building a big, beautiful, golden Trump hotel on the southern border," said Trump to reporters. "Land just happens to be really cheap down here, what can I say? The border just looks terrible ever since Sleepy Joe 'Loserface' Biden stole the presidency from me. Just a disgrace. I'll bet he...

The websites of several US airlines, including American, Southwest, United and Delta — along with those of other companies and financial institutions — went down Thursday, hours after the summit between President Biden and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, where the two discussed ending cyberattacks. In the second global internet outage in as many weeks, more than 1,000 user reports indicated problems at Southwest, with over 400 reports indicating the same for Delta, Reuters reported, citing website tracker Downdetector.com. That number was about 300 for the other two US carriers.

Victoria's Secret has done away with their world-famous Angels supermodels. The lingerie and comfort wear company has said goodbye to the models, who have for years, famously strutted down the runway wearing over-the-top ensembles featuring feathers and rhinestones that weighed in at nearly 30 pounds, the New York Times reports. In their place, Victoria's Secret has launched a campaign with high-profile women known for their accomplishments rather than their figures. Soccer star Megan Rapinoe, freestyle skier Eileen Gu, model and advocate Paloma Essler, actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, transgender model Valentina Sampaio, model and South Sudanese refugee Adut Akech and photographer...

In a resounding bipartisan vote, the House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday making Juneteenth, the day commemorating the official end of slavery in the United States, a federal holiday. The final vote on the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was 415-14, and the bill now heads to President Biden’s desk for signature into law. “We cannot change the future if we do not recognize the past,” Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus said on the House Floor ahead of the vote. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., said passage of the holiday was “long overdue.” “This comes...