Free Republic

President Joe Biden was seen waving to Russian President Vladimir Putin and chucking during what was supposed to be a tense video call on Tuesday morning. Russian news agencies released video of the first few minutes of the call. Biden experienced some technical difficulties on the call, apparently forgetting to switch his microphone on.

An Illinois Democrat who claims the unvaccinated are "clogging up the health care system" has proposed a bill that would force them to pay all of their medical expenses out of pocket if they become hospitalized with the coronavirus. The measure, set forth by State Rep. Jonathan Carroll, comes alongside news that the average coronavirus hospitalization cost is now $24,033, according to data from the government-run Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. "The vaccine is proven to be the one thing that is stopping the severity of COVID-19, and we are seeing more variants popping up," Carroll told WCIA. "The...

A federal judge on Wednesday said the speakers at the "Stop the Steal" rally that preceded the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol attack, including former President Trump, "stoked" the crowd and possibly "inspired" what went down that day, according to a CNN report. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson made the remarks while sentencing defendant Russell Peterson, who reportedly sat in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) chair after storming the Capitol on Jan. 6. He was arrested on Feb. 12 and entered a plea agreement in September. Jackson, without saying the former president's name directly, said that Trump and the other speakers...

Apple's success in China is allegedly down to an agreement with the country's government to help develop its economy, with a report claiming CEO Tim Cook personally lobbied officials to get the best deal for the company.

A main instigator for the attack has been named as Farhan Adrees a worker at the factory who it is said played the central role in instigating and gathering the mob. Rather alarmingly, the gathered mob can be heard chanting slogans such as ‘Labaik Ya Rasool Allah’ (Here I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah), they can be seen revelling while beating the alleged blasphemer.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk assailed a $2 trillion social and climate spending bill, saying he's in favor of scrapping the entire package. "Honestly, I would just can this whole bill. Don't pass it," Musk said at the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council, which he appeared at virtually. "That's my recommendation." He swung at a specific provision within the legislation that would authorize a tax credit up to $12,500 for Americans if they bought an electric vehicle assembled by unionized workers with batteries constructed in the US. "I am literally saying get rid of all subsidies," he said. Musk, who said...

CAR-BUYERS are getting behind the wheel of an electric vehicle (EV) in ever greater numbers. No wonder, for they are exciting and easy to drive, compared with internal combustion engine (ICE) equivalents. As battery costs tumble, prices are falling. But the shift to EVs means much more than driving pleasure. Transport is responsible for around a quarter of the world’s carbon emissions and road vehicles account for around three-quarters of that share. If there is to be any chance of reaching net-zero by 2050, EVs will need to take over, and soon.

Each year in the United States, National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day honors all those who lost their lives when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. More than 3,500 Americans lost their lives or were wounded on that solemn day....

Cook 3rd Class Doris Miller is an American hero, the first Black sailor to earn the Navy Cross. On Dec. 7, 1941, under fire, he helped move the mortally wounded commander of the battleship West Virginia to safety and then manned a machine gun -- a weapon he was barred from training with because of his race -- to fire at attacking aircraft. A sign at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial visitors center says Miller died on the USS Liscombe Bay in 1944 at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Miller actually died the year before, 1943, on the USS Liscome...

A black man in Tennessee will get a new trial after being convicted by an all-white jury who deliberated in a room adorned with Confederate symbols. Tim Gilbert, who was sentenced to six years in prison in 2020 for aggravated assault and other charges stemming from a December 2018 dispute, was granted a new trial Friday by the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. An attorney for Gilbert argued his right to a fair trial was violated because the jury deliberated in a room at the Giles County courthouse with an antique Confederate flag and a portrait of Confederate President Jefferson...

(CNN)As former President Donald Trump prepares for a potential comeback bid in 2024, his allies are flocking to election jobs all the way down to the local level in key battleground states, raising new concerns that the election officials who blocked Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election won't be there the next time around. Trump himself has endorsed candidates for secretary of state and attorney general -- statewide races that play a crucial role in administering elections -- who have spread his lies about 2020. But in addition to statewide roles, Trump's acolytes are pursuing local election posts, even...

In brief: When Apple launched the AirTags earlier this year, they seemed like a helpful tool to avoid losing valuable items like laptops, phones, tablets, or anything else. However, car thieves are now using them to track high-end vehicles, showing them the location of their target in real-time. From September 2021 until now, the York Regional Police have already encountered five cases where suspects used Apple AirTags to track vehicles they were allegedly planning to steal. Thieves put the trackers on publically parked cars and situate the device in out-of-sight places, including trailer hitches, bumpers, and gas cap area. Thieves...

Authorities in Washington, DC, have provided a list of tips for residents as carjackings rise in the city, urging people to “drive in the center lane to make it harder for potential carjackers to approach the car” and to “GIVE UP YOUR CAR” without argument in the event of a criminal issuing a threat with a weapon. “Unfortunately, we have been seeing a rash of these recently in the D.C. area,” 7News reported on Monday, referencing “violent” carjackings last week that resulted one man shot and another held at gunpoint.

AWS seems to be not working. anyone else see or hearing anything? note: Amazon.com is working fine.

The name alone would strike terror into the hart of even the most battle-hardened German soldier: The Night Witches. Although these women were not Americans, we decided that since they fought as allies against Nazi soldiers and their story is not commonly known, we would give them an honorable mention in our Forgotten Americans section. Named for the sound of their rudimentary, plywood biplanes as they cruised slowly overhead at low altitude dropping bombs, the Night Witches were the all-volunteer, all-female air raid squad that the Soviets deployed against the Third Reich. The spooky “whoosh” as they circled overhead reminded...

https://twitter.com/G_P_L_MTwitter user retweeted by Lara Logan. His twitter feed is loaded with videos and images from around the world showing covid unrest, vaxxed vs unvaxxed rules, protests, people forcing their way into markets and malls to shop. Brussels is especially bad.

Jimmy Fallon is giving a boost to COVID-19 vaccine boosters, teaming up with Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion for an offbeat, Christmas-themed music video encouraging Americans to get "in line" for the shots. "It was a masked Christmas, we stayed in the house. We covered our nose, and covered our mouth," the NBC "Tonight Show" host croons in "It Was a (Masked Christmas)," which he debuted on Monday. "But it's Christmas time, we’ll be in line for a booster." Other lines in the tune include: "This Christmas Imma make it count, no more quarantine on the couch. This year...

Getting more bang for your buck used to be the mantra of dollar store shoppers everywhere, but times are changing - and prices are rising. As consumers continue to contend with escalating prices for food, clothing and other items thanks to inflation, discount retail chains like dollar stores are rethinking their pricing strategies. Dollar Tree announced last month that it will be boosting prices to $1.25 for most of its products. And now Dollar General is looking to roll out more of its Popshelf stores, where most items cost $5 or less. Dollar General said Thursday that it anticipates nearly...

After a thorough investigation, the sleuths in the Biden administration have identified a suspect in the smash-and-grab shoplifting spree that has besieged California retailers and terrorized residents of late. The likely villain is two years old, travels at will across the country, and has a vicious spike protein that has caused pain and suffering to millions of people. That’s right. It’s the coronavirus. Asked last week at a press briefing whether the pandemic was to blame for the surge in crime, as President Biden has suggested, the White House press secretary Jen Psaki declared that, yes, the virus is “a...

The police found a family of five in a house in Königs Wusterhausen in Brandenburg - all of them were dead. A farewell letter from the father is now said to contain references to a harrowing motive.In the case of the five dead in Königs Wusterhausen (Brandenburg), details from the family father's farewell letter have become known - and they indicate the man's worries about being arrested because of a forged vaccination certificate. According to the judiciary on Tuesday, this resulted in the 40-year-old's fear that the children would be taken away from him and his wife.The husband killed his...