Free Republic

Face masks for students and staff will be required indoors in the Central Dauphin School District at the start of the new school year. The decision came Monday night after more than two hours of parents -- both for and against their child being required to wear a mask -- shared their comments with the school board on the often-controversial subject. About 50 people attended the meeting, which was generally calm, though several shouted at school board members after they cast the 7-2 vote in favor of changing the district’s health and safety plan to require masking indoors. And among...

Torrance police are investigating the discovery of hundreds of recall election ballots in a vehicle where a felon was found passed out with drugs, a loaded firearm and multiple driver’s licenses one week ago, authorities said Monday. Approximately 300 ballots were recovered from the vehicle, which was parked in the lot of a 7-Eleven convenience store on the night of Aug. 16, according to the Torrance Police Department. Officers also discovered a loaded firearm, methamphetamine, thousands of pieces of mail, a scale, and multiple California drivers licenses and credit cards that were in other people’s names, a police news release...

On July 13, 2021, the Museum of Russian icons Mikhail Abramov held a ceremony of donating an 18th-century icon of Saint Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky to the crew of the nuclear submarine Alexander Nevsky.The transfer of the image from the collection of philanthropist Mikhail Abramov, who tragically died in August 2019, was timed to the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the birth of the prince, which is celebrated this year, according to the museum's press service. The icon "Saint Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky" was painted in the late 18th century in Russia in a mixed technique. St. Alexander Nevsky...

Aug 18 (Reuters) - The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld on Wednesday a Texas law effectively banning the most common abortion procedure for terminating second-trimester pregnancies, reversing a ruling last year by a three-judge panel of the same court. Wednesday's decision marks the first time a U.S. federal court has upheld a prohibition on the standard abortion method used after 15 weeks of pregnancy - dilation and evacuation, or D&E - though some other states have acted to outlaw it. Last October, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit had sided with abortion rights activists in affirming a...

Virtual idols are the future of false religion. With 3 billion users and zero sense of sacred boundaries, Facebook is poised to lead this revolution.The Church of Facebook is set to capture the human soul in silicon. On July 25, the New York Times reported that since 2017 the social media giant has quietly cultivated exclusive partnerships with select religious communities. As always, money is involved. While Facebook’s ultimate goals remain sealed behind non-disclosure agreements, the Times article does hint at things to come: “The company aims to become the virtual home for religious community, and wants churches, mosques, synagogues...

Where did the 15 million ballots go? PJ Media shared moments ago:

Bishop Xavier Novell Gomà had linked homosexuality to lack of a father figure and refused to retract his comments after intense pressure from LGBT activists.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the Spanish Bishop of Solsona, known for his previous stand against homosexuality and his support of Catalonian independence. On August 23, Pope Francis publicly accepted the resignation of the 52-year-old Bishop of Solsona diocese, Bishop Xavier Novell Gomà, after the bishop had reportedly spent a “period of reflection, discernment and prayer” regarding his future and then “spontaneously” offered his resignation to the Pope. With the...

Rodney Scott, chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, retired on August 14. Before handing over command of the federal law enforcement agency that serves as the country’s first line of defense against the unlawful entrance, he reminded the agency’s 19,000 members that terrorists are entering America at an unprecedented rate.

More than 42,000 Californians have been forced to flee their homes as nine large wildfires continue to burn out of control in the northern part of the state, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to request a major disaster declaration from President Biden. The Caldor Fire, which has scorched 106,562 acres, is the top firefighting priority in the nation, according to Chief Thom Porter of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (Cal Fire). Officials fear the fire, which is just 5% contained, may push its way into the populated Lake Tahoe Basin, and they warned all Californians to be ready...

Free letter to use to object to any vaccine mandate. This applies even to the FDA approved vaccine. Your rights don't go away that easy. - Robert Barnes https://vivabarneslaw.locals.com/post/987884/employer-letter-example-vaccine-mandate-objection

Today the Pfizer COVID shot received FDA approval. The FDA has used Pfizer’s data from the Israeli population to support the safety and efficacy of the COVID shot, but as for reports made about thousands of Israelis who either died or were permanently disabled in association with the jab, the FDA has buried this data in a mass grave. A group of Israeli and U.S. friends helped Israelis to report adverse events on VAERS, by promoting the public link where U.S. and non-U.S. people report these. Israelis living under their “Green Mark” vaccine passport system have perhaps experienced more coercion...

Here is my message to Ben Sasse and other establishment Republicans who seem to care more about bringing 30,000 unvetted Afghan refugees into our country than getting our own people out safely. pic.twitter.com/PSfoc2swdC— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) August 23, 2021

On Tuesday, San José's City Council will hear Mayor Sam Liccardo's proposal to require proof of vaccination prior to entry of any event of 50 or more people at city facilities. This would include events at the Convention Center, San José’s historic theaters, Center of the Performing Arts, and SAP Center, among others.

A driving school approached us and thought it would be funny to prank their new instructors on the first day at the job. We agreed...

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia police have released video of a group of teenagers wanted in the brutal assault of a deliveryman last week in the city's Queen Village section. It happened on August 17 around 10:18 p.m. when police say 38-year-old Zach Lean was attacked by a group of teens on bikes on the 300 block of Christian Street.

Update (1410ET): Joe Biden kept it relatively short Monday, refusing to take questions, but still somehow remembering to urge American parents to make sure their kids are masked-up whenever they leave the house...President Biden: "Make sure your child is masked when they leave home." pic.twitter.com/VpgnjTGzD7 — The Hill (@thehill) August 23, 2021...and to warn American adults who have so far refused to get the vaccine: if you were waiting for full FDA approval, that time has come.He added: "The moment you've been waiting for is here. It's time for you to go get your vaccination. And get it today. Today."Let...

Is Jen Psaki lying or is the Biden administration in denial about Americans who are stranded in Afghanistan, unable to safely travel to the airport? During Psaki’s Monday press briefing, Fox News’ Peter Doocy made the distinction that Americans are by and large not criticizing Biden’s decision to leave Afghanistan, but the “way he has ordered it to happen by pulling troops before getting these Americans who are now stranded.” “Does [Biden] have a sense of that?” Doocy asked. Psaki, in her best Ministry of Truth voice, denied that Americans are currently stranded in Afghanistan, which has descended into chaos...

Since the beginning of the pandemic, researchers worldwide have been looking for ways to treat COVID-19. And while the COVID-19 vaccines represent the best measure to prevent the disease, therapies for those who do get infected remain in short supply. A new groundbreaking study from U-M reveals several drug contenders already in use for other purposes -- including one dietary supplement -- that have been shown to block or reduce SARS-CoV2 infection in cells. The study uses artificial intelligence-powered image analysis of human cell lines during infection with the novel coronavirus. The cells were treated with more than 1,400 individual...

Editor’s Commentary: Why? That’s the question that nobody seems to be asking. Perhaps the answer is just that obvious, but it needs to be asked anyway. Why did the FDA rush to “approve” a drug that was already given Emergency Use Authorization? The “approval” does literally nothing from a practical perspective. No additional American is eligible to get the shots who wasn’t eligible before the “approval.” The answer is obvious, but it’s deeper than what we see on the surface. The Biden regime wanted to take down one of the roadblocks keeping businesses and agencies from mandating the vaccines for...

The state of Oregon is forcing me to contradict what I think is best for myself and my baby or face losing my job and health coverage when I need it most.I am an Oregon state employee, but from the looks of things, I won’t be for too long. Kate Brown, the governor of Oregon, has announced a mandate for all state executive agency employees to have full COVID-19 vaccination by October 18 or six weeks after full approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), whichever is later.I am currently five months pregnant. Under this mandate, I stand...