Free Republic

SEATTLE - On Thursday, voters against the recall of Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant took the lead with 50.29% (20,415) of the votes. The recall campaign has 49.71% (20,183) of the votes. King County Elections says there are still 591 signature challenges in this race. On Election Night, the recall effort was ahead by close to 2,000 votes. In recent Seattle elections, the later-arriving votes have typically favored progressive candidates.

Scotland’s national public health body is “strongly urging” people to cancel Christmas parties after a number of Omicron outbreaks linked to festive get-togethers. Dr Nick Phin, the director of public health science and medical director at Public Health Scotland (PHS), said: “There is much that we still need to learn about Omicron, but early evidence suggests that this new Covid variant is much more transmissible. The impact of this transmissibility has been seen in recent weeks, with a number of Omicron outbreaks linked to parties. “We still need to learn more about the severity of disease caused by Omicron and...

Eating at night may increase a person's risk for glucose intolerance, or prediabetes, a study published Friday by the journal Science Advances found. Confining meals to daytime can help maintain healthy blood glucose levels, allowing the body to more effectively process sugars, the researchers said. After assessing the effects of nighttime eating on night shift workers, it appears that food consumption during the overnight hours causes a misalignment between the body's central and peripheral circadian "clocks," they said. Circadian clocks are the body's natural timekeepers that regulate physical, mental and behavioral changes throughout the day. In addition to applying to...

And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. And when they urged him till he was...

Can the time of day you get your COVID-19 vaccine affect how many antibodies you'll make? A new study suggests that it can. Researchers found higher antibody levels in health care workers who received their vaccines in the afternoon, and they suggest that response to the vaccine may be affected by circadian rhythms. "Our observational study provides proof of concept that time of day affects immune response to [COVID-19] vaccination, findings that may be relevant for optimizing the vaccine's efficacy," said co-senior study author Dr. Elizabeth Klerman. Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine booster shot ramps up protection against Omicron She's a...

From the Diocese of Marquette: "A person who publicly identifies as a different gender than his or her biological sex or has attempted 'gender transitioning' may not be Baptized, Confirmed, or received into full communion in the Church, unless the person has repented...,” ’ James Martin shared in a post. Martin followed up by arguing that transgender worshippers are not sinful because of their identity and should be embraced by the church. ‘It is not a sin to be transgender. Transgender people are beloved children of God struggling to understand their identity. They need to be accepted with "respect, compassion...

VIDEOIt is not so much that they dislike each other. It is more like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris absolutely HATE each other as you can see in this video which shows their mutual HATRED breaking out at the Bob Dole memorial in the Capitol building.

For hospital workers across the state, the scenes are becoming more familiar. After weeks of surging COVID numbers, many hospitals have reconfigured rooms, reassigned staff and done everything possible to cope with a fourth surge of COVID-19 in Michigan. On Wednesday, the state of Michigan reported this surge has now hit hospitals harder than any of the previous surges. The number of confirmed COVID cases in Michigan hospitals now stands at 4,419, according to data published by the state on Wednesday. That’s a new record high.

CORTE MADERA, Calif. - Marin County prosecutors are reviewing the case brought to them by county offials against the parents who knowingly sent their COVID-infected child to school, the Marin County Independent Journal first reported. The child attends Neil Cummins Elementary in Corte Madera and went to school during the week of Nov. 8 after testing positive for COVID.

A woman in San Francisco, who was arrested for 120 alleged shoplifting incidents and released on zero bail, is back behind bars after allegedly stealing again. Police apprehended Aziza Graves, 41, on Dec. 4 at the Westfield San Francisco Centre mall and was charged with one count of petty theft. There were also three local warrants for her arrest and one warrant in El Dorado County, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Graves was previously arrested in November following an investigation by the District Attorney’s office and the police for thefts at a Target at the Stonestown Galleria totaling more than...

Guilty

President Joe Biden’s administration reportedly plans to push the Ukrainian government to appease Russian President Vladimir Putin by ceding territory, The Associated Press reported Thursday

You can’t have a quid pro quo without the other party being aware there’s a quid and reports indicated the Ukrainian government was unaware that aid was allegedly being withheld to pressure them to dig up dirt on Trump opponent Joe Biden. And the aid wasn’t really aid, but was additional Javelin anti-tank missiles bought and paid for by Ukraine with its own money. But as long as we are on the subject of whether or not President Trump was jeopardizing U.S. national security by withholding military aid for political purposes, consider that almost as soon as Trump took office...

Hours after philanthropist Jacqueline Avant was shot to death during a Beverly Hills home invasion robbery, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon distributed a fundraising letter seeking to overturn a law that would keep her killer in prison. Avant, 81, was the mother-in-law of Netflix’s CEO, and her Dec. 1 murder shocked the entertainment world and beyond. Oprah Winfrey, Magic Johnson, and President Bill Clinton tweeted about their devastation over her death. Gascon surfaced on that day as well, but rather than decry this violence or the smash-and-grab robberies that have blighted California in recent weeks, he sent a...

"When the Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments last week in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, it kicked off the most important abortion case since Roe v. Wade—indeed, the court’s decision may even overturn Roe altogether. Pro-abortion advocates are now attempting to protect abortion through the legislative branch should Roe v. Wade be overturned. ..."

Explanation: Few were able to stand in the Moon's shadow and watch the December 4 total eclipse of the Sun. Determined by celestial mechanics and not geographical boundaries, the narrow path of totality tracked across planet Earth's relatively inaccessible southernmost continent. Still, some enthusiastic and well-insulated eclipse chasers were rewarded with the dazzling spectacle in Antarctica's cold but clear skies. Taken just before the brief totality began, this image from a ground-based telescope inside the edge of the shadow path at Union Glacier catches a glimmer of sunlight near the top of the silhouetted lunar disk. Look closely for the...

"I wonder what is causing this? When Canada's top health official was asked for evidence, she said to trust the authorities. This is a story we hear nowadays from everywhere, especially from morticians who've been horrified by the huge increase in deaths of these babies in vaccinated mothers. ..."

A coming winter surge and the spread of Omicron have made it clear that COVID is everyone’s problem. By Rachel Gutman Even before the arrival of Omicron, the winter months were going to be tough for parts of the United States. While COVID transmission rates in the South caught fire over the summer, the Northeast and Great Plains states were largely spared thanks to cyclical factors and high vaccination rates. But weather and the patterns of human life were bound to shift the disease burden northward for the holidays—and that was just with Delta. Enter a new variant that appears...

My wife and I are scrambling to find daycare for our 16-month-old son. We’ve had a “nanny share” up until now, which means we and another couple employ a nanny for both couples’ kids and split the cost. Our nanny is wonderful, and she lives just a few blocks from us. But a few weeks ago, someone walked up her street spraying bullets into random houses. One of the bullets found its way into her living room, as she and her family ducked for cover. At that moment, she and her husband decided they were moving their family out of...

Her prepared 'victory' speech began, "My fellow Americans, today you sent a message to the whole world."