Free Republic

The state of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on Thursday in an attempt to block the enforcement of its vaccine mandate for federal employees. Why it matters: The move comes one day after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin denied Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's (R) request to exempt the state's National Guard from the mandate. It's the latest escalation in Stitt's scuffle with the Pentagon over the mandate, which requires the Air National Guard and Army National Guard to get vaccinated by Thursday and June 30, respectively. Those who fail to comply will be barred from drills and other...

The highly transmissible Omicron COVID-19 variant has now been detected in the country’s second-largest city, in addition to New York. A person who traveled to LAX from South Africa before Thanksgiving tested positive for the new mutation, Los Angeles County officials announced Thursday. The adult’s symptoms are improving in self-isolation without medical care, officials announced. The California patient’s plight mirrors that of a 67-year-old Long Island woman, who had recently returned from South Africa before testing positive for the variant earlier this week, New York officials said Thursday.

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — On Jan. 28, tens of thousands of Central Coast residents could lose easy health care access if the Watsonville Community Hospital closes. If the hospital closes it would create all kinds of problems with patient care, jobs and emergency care.

JAMES TISSOT'S VISIONS OF CHRIST. Primary Source: The Life of Our Lord Jesus ChristAs Depicted by Jacques Tissot By SHANE JENKINS121 "The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes"John 6 122 "The People Seek Jesus to Make Him King"John 6 123 "The Bad Rich Man in Hell"Luke 16 124 "Jesus Goes Up Alone onto a Mountain to Pray"Matthew 14 125 "Jesus Walks on the Sea"Matthew 14 126 "The Son of the Vineyard"Matthew 21 127 "Saint Peter Walks on the Sea"Matthew 14 128 "You Follow Me for the Miracles"John 6 129 "Curses Against the Pharisees"Luke 11 130 "The Pharisees and the...

Blunt Burr Capito Cassidy Collins Cornyn Graham Hyde-Smith Kennedy McConnell Moran Murkowski Portman Rounds Rubio Shelby Tillis Wicker Young

New COVID-19 cases in South Africa have tripled in three days, according to new figures released by the country's health ministry on Thursday, sparking concerns over the spread of the new omicron variant. South Africa is entering its fourth wave of COVID-19 infections due to the omicron variant, Phaahla added at a media briefing on Friday. He said that the infections with the new variant have been detected in seven out of the country's nine provinces. Since omicron was first detected in the country eight days ago, cases have risen steadily, he said on Friday.

Republican Lynda Blanchard plans to end her Alabama US Senate bid and instead run for governor, according to three people familiar with the matter. She is expected to announce her campaign against GOP Gov. Kay Ivey next week. Blanchard served as then-President Donald Trump's US ambassador to Slovenia, former first lady Melania Trump's native country. She was a major donor to Trump and loaned her Senate campaign over $5 million. The Blanchard campaign declined requests for comment. CNN reported last week that Trump has met with Blanchard and has been receptive to the prospect of her running for governor. Trump...

-snip- "There are some who say you're never supposed to point a gun on anyone on a set no matter what," Stephanopoulos said. "Unless the person is the cinematographer who's directing me at where to point the gun for her camera angle," Baldwin said. "That's exactly what happened." Criticism of Baldwin has come from fellow actors, some of whom shared their own protocol using weapons while filming. George Clooney said recently that, "Every single time I'm handed a gun on a set -- every time they had me a gun -- I look at it, I open it, I show...

Officials in Los Angeles announced Thursday with great fanfare that they had made 14 arrests in connection with recent “mass looting” events in the city — but all fourteen have since been released from jail, either with or without posting bail. The Los Angeles Times reported: After a spate of brazen smash-and-grab robberies left Los Angeles-area retailers and shoppers on edge last month, officials announced Thursday that they had arrested 14 suspects in connection with the crimes. Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore, joined by other officials and members of the business community at LAPD headquarters,...

Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said Thursday on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” that, unlike former President Donald Trump, she did not challenge the results of the 2018 election, which she lost to Republican Brian Kemp and refused to concede amid allegations of voter suppression. Maddow said, “When you ran in 2018, part of the reason we covered the race so intently is because the candidates are both very interesting people, present company included. But also because there was a disturbing dynamic in that race which was that your Republican opponent who went on to win the race was...

Anthony Fauci on Thursday blasted Fox News and said he was "astounded" that the network did not discipline host Lara Logan for comparing him to the infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, who worked at Auschwitz during the Holocaust. "What I find striking is how she gets no discipline whatsoever from the Fox network. How they can let her say that with no comment and no disciplinary action. I’m astounded by that," the chief White House medical adviser said in an appearance on MSNBC. He said it was an insult to all of the people who suffered and died under the...

The majority of Republicans in Washington are thoroughly confused about their own party and their own voters. Some have lost faith in Republican voters completely and written them off as racists or crazies. Others don't know what to think. They are essentially biding time and hoping things go back to the way they were. They won't, of course. America is changing quickly. Voting patterns and the two-party norm that lasted for decades are under strain. Amazingly, Democrats are on the verge of handing back power to a Republican Party that's in a state of total chaos. All Republicans need to...

CEOs and corporate insiders have sold a record $69 billion in stock in 2021, as looming tax hikes and lofty share prices encourage many to take profits. From Satya Nadella at Microsoft to Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, CEOs, founders and insiders have been cashing in their stock at the highest pace on record. As of Monday, sales by insiders are up 30% from 2020 to $69 billion, and up 79% versus a 10-year average, according to InsiderScore/Verity, which excludes sales by large institutional holders. The selling is likely to increase even more as December is often an active month...

December 3, 2021 Saint Francis Xavier, Priest on Friday of the 1st week of Advent The Altar of St Francis Xavier in Rome Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White.Readings for the feriaReadings for the memorialThese are the readings for the feriaFirst readingIsaiah 29:17-24 ©In a very short time, the deaf will hear and the eyes of the blind will seeThe Lord says this:In a short time, a very short time,shall not Lebanon become fertile landand fertile land turn into forest?The deaf, that day,will hear the words of a bookand, after shadow and darkness,the eyes of the blind will see.But the lowly...

December 3, 2021 Saint Francis Xavier, Priest on Friday of the 1st week of Advent The Altar of St Francis Xavier in Rome Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White.Readings for the feriaReadings for the memorialThese are the readings for the feriaFirst readingIsaiah 29:17-24 ©In a very short time, the deaf will hear and the eyes of the blind will seeThe Lord says this:In a short time, a very short time,shall not Lebanon become fertile landand fertile land turn into forest?The deaf, that day,will hear the words of a bookand, after shadow and darkness,the eyes of the blind will see.But the lowly...

BERLIN—German Health Minister Jens Spahn has announced his aggressive plan to fight COVID, which will include gathering all the unvaccinated people and putting them in special secured areas where they won't bother anyone. "Ze key to fighting ze COVID iz very simple," said Spahn. "Ve must concentrate all ze filthy undesirables into special camps with very tall barbed-wire fences all around, where they will not infect us with their filthy anti-vaxx presence anymore." Unvaccinated Germans will also be required to wear highly-visible markings on their clothing, so everyone will know to stay away from them, or turn them in if...

In his first sit-down interview since the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of his film Rust, an emotional Alec Baldwin gave a detailed timeline of exactly what happened that day, and broke down in tears while remembering Hutchins. -snip- “She was standing next to the camera, looking at a monitor … guiding me for how to hold the gun for this angle,” Baldwin said. “The gun wasn’t meant to be fired in that angle. I am holding the gun where I was told to hold it, which was right below her armpit. An angle...

Donald Trump’s niece asked a state court on Thursday to throw out the former president’s $100 million lawsuit against her and the New York Times. Mary Trump’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss Trump’s lawsuit that stemmed from explosive news articles about his taxes and finances. “This baseless case should be dismissed because it is a frivolous attempt to punish Mary Trump and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists for publishing truthful information of great public concern about former President Trump,” Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., a partner with law firm Gibson Dunn, said. “Mr. Trump has a long history of filing lawsuits simply...

A gang of masked goons smashed up and robbed a San Jose jewelry store Thursday afternoon, the latest smash-and-grab raid to hit a business in California. Four suspects entered the Quick Service Jewelry Design in the Eastridge Mall and used hammers to bash display cases before fleeing with jewels, according to police. The thieves eluded authorities, and the incident did not cause any injuries, cops said. Two weeks ago, a flash mob raided a San Francisco-area Nordstrom, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars of goods. Days later, up to 40 thieves stormed into a Louis Vuitton store across from San...

-snip- Baldwin said that Hutchins had been guiding him during the rehearsal on the set on October 21, as she was “marking” a scene for shooting angles. He said that he advised Hutchins, “Now, in this scene, I am going to cock the gun.” “So I take the gun and I start to cock the gun. I’m not going to pull the trigger. I said, ‘Did you see that?’ [She said] ‘Well, just cheat it down and tilt it down a little bit like that.'” Baldwin said that the gun “ended up being aimed right below her armpit.” “And I...