Free Republic

With some Bay Area school districts requiring students to get COVID-19 shots to return to class, Black students are being vaccinated at rates far below their peers, exacerbating long-standing racial disparities laid bare by the pandemic and raising fears that Black students could be disproportionately shut out of public school.

A Texas mother collected child support for the dead son found rotting in her apartment with her three other abandoned children, according to prosecutors. Gloria Williams is accused of leaving her three sons in a Houston apartment with the remains of their eight-year-old dead brother, Kendrick Lee. Prosectors allege that Ms Williams, 35, was also claiming government aid for two of her children, including Kendrick. Officials say that she also received additional assistance for the older daughter, for a total of around $2,000 per month in aid.

Mexico is planning to open a new consulate in Oklahoma City, the capital of Oklahoma. Oklahoma’s Republican Governor Kevin Stitt just returned from a trip to Mexico, where he discussed the proposed consulate with Mexican officials. But the installation of a Mexican consulate in Oklahoma is a very bad idea, and Oklahomans should oppose it.

“Saturday Night Live” returned with its second batch of all-new episodes on Nov. 6 and once again, COVID-19 was the hot topic for the cold open sketch. Specifically this time, the NBC late-night sketch comedy series parodied NFL player Aaron Rodgers’ controversial comments and anti-vaccination stance and also included new cast member James Austin Johnson’s impression of Donald Trump.

Brianne Dressen thought she was doing the right thing when she signed up for the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine trial in 2020. She now joins the growing number of severely vaccine-injured at a press conference in Washington D.C., and shares her heartfelt story in-studio on The HighWire.

The manure is brought to the local temple on tractor trolleys, before a priest performs a 'blessing ritual'........ . After that, the dung is dumped in an open area -- with men and boys wading in to prepare their weapons for the battle ahead. People flock to Gumatapura from far-flung cities each year, and for those in attendance, the messy battle is as much about fun as it is about the perceived health benefits. “If they have a disease, it will get cured,” said Mahesh, a farmer at Saturday’s festival......Members of Modi’s party have touted the use of cow urine...

Is there a glitch in the Matrix? And if there is can someone explain what House Speaker and California Rep. Nancy Pelosi is saying? The House Speaker gave her weekly press conference this week, which started as normal, but by the end she was stammering and making no sense. As she was speaking on passing President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda the press conference delved into an incoherent mess.

[Catholic Caucus] ASK FATHER: Not one word about Card. Cupich’s “The Gift of Traditionis Custodes”?QUAERITUR:Card. Cupich, who is a trusted advisor of Pope Francis, issued a document the other day called “The Gift of Traditionis Custodes”. I take it you don’t see it as a gift, but I notice that you didn’t react to it. Not even a word?Here’s one word:Contempt.Eccles did a good job for us all. HEREAt Rorate, Fr. Richard Cipolla had posted a public response to that decidedly deficient essay.Before making other observations, let’s review to get some context. He was rector at the Josephinum, which was...

A campaigner credited with helping found the modern gun control movement has killed himself in jail while being held on a DUI charge. Mark Glaze died last month while being held at Lackawanna County Prison in Pennsylvania, with the 51 year-old's death announced in a New York Times story published Sunday. Glaze, a father-of-one, is said to have been suffering from addiction and severe depression in the period leading up to his arrest and death. 'As we celebrate the life of our beloved Mark, we would be remiss not to mention his harrowing struggle with alcohol, depression, and anxiety,' 'In...

The regional interest in rehabilitating Syria is largely a counter to Iranian influence in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and other parts of the Arab world The Turkish government has been accused of seeking to change the demographic reality on the ground in the northern Kurdish-inhabited Syria by resettling tens of thousands of Arab Syrians in the region. ...... also....Threatened by Iranian-led forces on its northern borders, Israel shares the Arab world’s desire to push Iran out of Syria. A key goal for the Israeli government has been to prevent Iran from transferring game-changing weapons to the powerful terrorist proxy Hezbollah that...

Cheese -- what's not to love? Its popularity is indisputable. Americans consumed over 38 pounds of cheese per capita in 2020 alone, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture. Whether eating cheese is healthy -- that's a little less clear. High in protein, calcium, vitamins and essential amino acids, cheese is also a calorie-dense food, and can be high in fats and sodium. "If you enjoy cheese and you like it, it could be a good source of protein. It could be a good source of calcium. You just want to eat it where you're not overindulging too...

Life At Sea In The Merchant Marine Aboard A Cargo ShipOver 90% of the world's trade is carried by sea. Come tour one of the many cargo ships essential to our global economy.Welcome aboard the Maersk Ohio, a 958 foot containership built in 2006, as it sails across the North Atlantic Ocean from the East Coast of the United States to Northern Europe. Experience both first person and aerial perspectives of almost every part of this massive machine.

Why aren’t the continents of North and South America called “Columbusia” after Christopher Columbus? The word America comes from a lesser-known navigator and explorer, Amerigo Vespucci. Who made the decision? A cartographer. Like Columbus, Vespucci traveled to the New World (first in 1499 and again in 1502). Unlike Columbus, Vespucci wrote about it. Vespucci’s accounts of his travels were published between 1502 and 1504 and were widely read in Europe. Columbus was also hindered because he thought he had discovered another route to Asia; he didn’t realize America was a whole new continent. Vespucci, however, realized that America was not...

A witness in the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse told the court that Gaige Grosskreutz, one of the men who Rittenhouse shot, had a round chambered in a handgun at the time of the shooting. The Daily Wire reports that Jason Lackowski is the seventh witness called in the Rittenhouse trial. Lackowski came to the aid of Grosskreutz, the third individual whom Rittenhouse allegedly shot in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on August 25, 2020. Rittenhouse allegedly shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, then shot Grosskreutz while allegedly being chased by protesters. Lackowski also testified that he heard the crowd yelling...

The Democratic Governors Association will not prioritize efforts to unseat Florida governor Ron DeSantis (R.) in light of the hefty costs of boosting a challenger and the slim odds of a Democratic win in the race, according to a Politico report. The DGA, a political organization "dedicated to electing Democratic governors and candidates," has spent more than $15 million on the last two Florida gubernatorial elections, according to Politico. But Florida Democratic consultants in contact with the association told the outlet that the DGA is standing down ahead of the state's 2022 gubernatorial election, essentially surrendering the race to DeSantis....

Español spoken in different accents:

erry Bradshaw slams Aaron Rodgers: “I understand ‘immunized.’ What you were doing was taking stuff that would keep you from getting COVID-19. You got COVID-19. Ivermectin is a cattle dewormer. Sorry, folks, that’s what it is. We are a divided nation...”

The Bush campaign style is making a comeback. Democrats should be afraid. Very afraid. Among the messages emerging from Glenn Youngkin’s victory in the Virginia governor’s race last week is this: The era of angry, fire-breathing GOP candidates may be over, replaced by a campaign approach Democrats rarely seem to beat. Instead of a raging Donald Trump, Jim Jordan, or Marjorie Taylor Greene, there is the shrewd candidate with a keen eye for wedge issues, camouflaged by khakis and a calm demeanor. Think George Bush — senior and junior.

“‘“The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom”’” (Job 28:28). Being wise begins with knowing God. The fear of the Lord is the most basic idea related to wisdom and is the key to understanding it. The Book of Proverbs especially teaches us that the fear of the Lord is inextricably linked to wisdom: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1:7). Knowledge, wisdom, instruction, and understanding are often used as synonyms in Proverbs. The link between fear of the Lord and wisdom is also evident in Proverbs 9:10: “The fear...

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) on Sunday said congressional Democrats “blew the timing” on passing the bipartisan infrastructure bill and social spending package, suggesting that the timeline could have contributed to the party’s loss in Tuesday’s Virginia gubernatorial race. Kaine, who represents Virginia and previously served as governor of the Old Dominion, said Democrats on Capitol Hill should have passed the two bills in October instead of letting internal party disagreements delay the vote.