Free Republic

Bloomberg News seems unaware that a principal underlying cause for both bumper crops and crop failures resides way out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Climatologists and meteorologists point to a natural phenomenon known as “ENSO,” the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, while farmers around the Great Plains anxiously await tardy rains. What does ENSO mean in layman’s terms? Many have heard that El Niño (Spanish for “the boy”) weather events bring above-average moisture to the US grain belt. When that happens, certain other weather features naturally fall into place. Surface waters off the Pacific coast produce substantially more moisture from...

[Catholic Caucus] URGENT: The Abolition of Summorum Pontificum could come within days or weeks — declarations from Bishops and CardinalsAfter faithful of the abolished FSSP mission in Dijon came to complain in front of the Archdiocesan office building, on June 26, Abp. Roland Minnerath came to talk to them and had ominous menacing words.From Paix Liturgique:"You will have a new motu proprio in the upcoming days or weeks," Abp. Minnerath, Archbishop of Dijon, told on June 26 to the faithful of the Traditional Mass who came to display their discontent before the archdiocesan building. [Rorate: this declaration is on video]But...

Following in the footsteps of California, the U.K., and Japan.The government of Canada has announced its intention to ban the sale of any and all fuel-burning new cars and light-duty trucks from the year 2035, according to Reuters. This would outlaw hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and, of course, regular gas-only cars. It's all part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's goal to get the entire country to net-zero emissions by 2050.If an EV-only future really does happen for Canada by 2035, it won't be an overnight transition which is why the government is also proposing yet-to-be-disclosed interim targets for 2025 and 2030....

Last week, Canada’s Liberal Party headed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proposed new legislation to criminalize “hate speech” online, punishable by a $50,000 fine (roughly $40,000 U.S.D.), paid to the government. Government officials, including the attorney general and the minister of public safety, announced the new bill on Wednesday. “Canadians expect their government to take action against hate speech and hate crimes. These legislative changes would improve the remedies available to victims of hate speech and hate crimes, and would hold individuals accountable. The actions we are taking today will help protect the vulnerable, empower those who are victimized and...

The Trump Organization and CFO Allen Weisselberg are expected to be charged on Thursday “with tax-related crimes stemming from a New York investigation into the former president’s business dealings,” sources tell the Associated Press. The pending charges reportedly involve “non-monetary benefits the company gave to top executives.” Trump’s tax records have been scrutinized for years by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., a Democrat. Former Trump advisor Jason Miller responded to the story on Twitter. “This is politically terrible for the Democrats,” Miller said. “They told their crazies and their supplicants in the mainstream media this was about President Trump....

Uh, say again? Fully autonomous cars are not here yet but they're coming. Vehicles like the Tesla Model S have helped pave the way forward with its Autopilot system. But different automakers have been offering different timelines as to when this will ultimately happen, and there's still a lot more R&D that needs to happen, as well as safety assurances and government approval. As this technology is being developed, new issues are being discovered that require solutions, and one of the latest discoveries is a bit controversial, to say the least. According to a new study from the Georgia Institute...

Republican leadership said Monday that fewer than 10 House GOP lawmakers would vote to support a bipartisan Senate infrastructure deal. House Republican leadership sources told Punchbowl News that fewer than 10 House GOP lawmakers would vote for the bipartisan infrastructure deal if it were to come up for a vote. Although there tentatively remains support from Republicans and Democrats in the Senate for a bipartisan infrastructure deal, it remains unclear how many Republicans could back such a bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has a historically slim majority, and the bipartisan deal could fail to get support from far-left lawmakers...

The supply of cars for sale is likely to be restricted later this year as a result of the global shortage of semiconductor chips, a leading motor dealership has warned. Pendragon, which trades under brands including Evans Halshaw and Stratstone, is the latest to highlight how the shortage could soon filter through to consumer-facing businesses. It adds to similar warnings from rivals Inchcape and Vertu Motors. In a trading update - in which it highlighted strong sales in May and June - Pendragon said that "the extent of the impact of the well-publicised semi-conductor chip shortage is not yet clear"....

His conviction was overturned. Bill Cosby is to be released from prison Wednesday after his conviction was overturned. Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison over a felony sexual assault charge in September 2018.

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Former President Donald Trump will be holding a rally at the Sarasota Fairgrounds on July 3. The event is free, but you must reserve tickets via his website.The rally is co-sponsored by the Republican Party of Florida and Save America. The event will take place at 8 p.m., but doors open at 2 p.m.You must register for tickets via this website. You may only register up to two tickets per mobile number per event. All tickets are subject to first-come, first-served basis. The fairgrounds are located at 3000 Ringling Blvd.State Sen. Joe Gruters, who is also...

CHATHAM — The annual summer preview, with shark researchers debriefing the media of the prior year and a look ahead to research being conducted this year, didn’t have many surprises. It’s become a fact of life for residents and visitors that hundreds, if not more, great white sharks will be hunting seals along Cape beaches in close proximity to humans. What the briefing Tuesday morning at the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Chatham Shark Center did reveal was a tantalizing look at the potential of various research projects to peer into the daily life of these apex predators — and how...

WALTHAM, Massachusetts, June 30, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — A medical journal discovered that 82% of women who took an mRNA vaccine in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy had a miscarriage — and then it then buried the data. In mid-June the New England Journal of Medicine published a study called “Preliminary FIndings of mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine Safety in Pregnant Persons” by Tom T. Shimabukuro and others from the Center of Disease Control’s “v-safe COVID-10 Pregnancy Registry Team.” The team wrote that there were “no obvious safety signals among pregnant [women] who received Covid-19 vaccines” even though it published a table...

PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned Bill Cosby’s sex assault conviction Wednesday after finding an agreement with a previous prosecutor prevented him from being charged in the case.Cosby has served more than two years of a three- to 10-year sentence at a state prison near Philadelphia.

The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed its first suicide attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a jihadist monitoring site said. IS claimed responsibility for a suicide blast in Beni in North Kivu province by a man named as "Abu Khadijah" who targeted "Christian disbelievers at a liquor bar", according to the US-based SITE intelligence Group, which monitors extremist groups. IS also claimed responsibility for an explosion at a church in the same town on Sunday, as well as three other attacks on security forces in Ituri province to the north, SITE said late Tuesday. Two women in the...

On Tuesday, California moved another step closer to decriminalizing psychedelic drugs amid a debate over whether their prohibition is an outdated remnant of the “War on Drugs.” The bill cleared the Assembly Public Safety Committee 5-3, with proponents touting the benefits to military veterans and others they say can benefit from the use of psychedelics to treat trauma. The measure already passed the state Senate on a 21-16 vote and now heads to the health committee before it can go to the full Assembly, NBC Bay Area reports. If passed, Senate Bill 519 would allow those 21 and older to...

Gas prices across the United States are at their highest level since late 2014 with shortages predicted in the run up to the Fourth of July holiday weekend. According to AAA, the national average on Tuesday is about $3.11 per gallon and by this weekend, that figure may rise another nickel. UPI reports further strains will come when as many as 43.6 million Americans hit the road for Independence Day weekend, which runs from Thursday to Monday, extending a trend that became evident earlier this month as prices ticked upwards. The Biden gas crisis continues to rock working class Americans...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance last week for patients and medical professionals about how to handle Covid-19 vaccinations in light of concerns about cardiac inflammation... The guidance does not, however, advise against vaccination or even recommend that individuals who have experienced myocarditis — either from non-Covid-19 causes, from Covid-19 itself, or even from vaccination — discuss vaccination with their health care providers. Widely circulated slides from a recent meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices offered even more surprising recommendations. First, they recommended individuals receive “any FDA-authorized Covid-19 vaccine if heart has recovered” in...

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) on Wednesday vetoed an election integrity bill that would have implemented a number of election safeguards, such as voter ID, in the Keystone State. Wolf rejected the measure, HB 1300, contending it advances forms of voter suppression. “This bill is ultimately not about improving access to voting or election security but about restricting the freedom to vote,” Wolf asserted in a memo detailing his rejection.

Geneva (AP) —Swiss government agency has announced a proposal to purchase 30 advanced fighters from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin. It defeated three rivals to sign more than CHF 15.5 billion ($ 16.75 billion) in 30 years. Seven Swiss executives, the Federal Council, told Congress on Wednesday 36 F-35A fighters from Lockheed Martin and five Patriot ground-based air defense system units from US contractor Raytheon for an additional $ 3.6 billion. Decided to advise to buy. Fran, over 30 years. In a statement, the Pentagon said the purchase was part of a multi-year fleet refurbishment called “Air 2030” by the Swiss...

White students and teachers in Northeastern Illinois are being illegally discriminated against for the color of their skin and forced to accept that “white identity is inherently racist.” Drama teacher Stacy Deemar, who has been with the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 for almost 20 years, is fighting back. On Tuesday, the Southeastern Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit against the District for mandating this segregation and racial division in schools. “By vowing to define its teachers and students solely by their race, District 65 promotes and reinforces a view of race essentialism that divides Americans into groups based solely on their...