Free Republic

Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the origin of the virus tormenting the world remains shrouded in mystery. Most scientists believe it emerged in the wild and jumped from bats to humans, either directly or through another animal. Others theorize it escaped from a Chinese lab. Now, with the global COVID-19 death toll surpassing 5.2 million on the second anniversary of the earliest human cases, a growing chorus of scientists is trying to keep the focus on what they regard as the more plausible “zoonotic,” or animal-to-human, theory, in the hope that what’s learned will help humankind fend off...

The cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus have increased by 60 percent in a single day in Denmark, where 1,280 positives have already been confirmed in connection with this new SARS-CoV-2 mutation, which was first detected in South Africa. Denmark, which is characterized by a higher level of sample sequencing than other countries, had only 18 cases of this new variant a week ago and on Thursday the preliminary balance was 796, according to statistics from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases. The director of this body, Henrik Ullum, recognized that the variant was already spreading “very quickly”...

President Joe Biden now has lower approval ratings on several key issues than former President Donald Trump had in January 2021, a Harvard/Harris Poll released this week found. Overall, the survey found just 32 percent of voters expressing the belief that the economy is on the “right track,” compared to 58 percent who now say it is on the “wrong track.” Biden’s overall approval stands at 45 percent, down 12 points from the 57 percent approval he saw in March 2021.

I Have Been Through This BeforeDon’t wear a mask; you must wear a mask. Buy a pulse oximeter. Stock up on Tylenol, vitamin D, Pepcid. Whisper so you don’t spit. Stand six feet from others—no, 10. Wear gloves. Wear two masks! Open the windows. Close the schools. The dizzying madness of COVID, and the reliance on gurulike experts, has been eerily familiar.In April 1939—as the result of a backdoor bribe—a 35-year-old lumber baron named Bruno Bettelheim was released from the Buchenwald concentration camp on the condition that he leave Germany and never return.In addition to running his family’s sawmills, Bettelheim...

NEWSRAEL: The "obvious" assumption is: If Israel attacks Iran, Hezbollah will attack Israel with its 150,000 missiles. The writer here says that that this is not so obvious and could very well not happen. As tensions between Israel and Iran rise, against the backdrop of a round of nuclear talks with the superpowers and the possibility that the talks will fail, opinions in the media are growing as to how Israel should respond if it turns out that the Iranian nuclear threat is taking shape? Should Israel first deal militarily with the threat that Hezbollah poses to Israel on the...

President Biden brushed off government data showing the highest inflation in 39 years Friday, arguing that the declining value of the US dollar means that Congress should pass his $2 trillion social and environmental spending bill. “For anyone who, like me, is concerned about costs facing American families, passing [the Build Back Better Act] is the most immediate and direct step we can take to deliver,” Biden said in a statement.

Actor Jussie Smollett, the one-time star of the TV drama “Empire,” was found guilty on Thursday of staging a hate crime against himself in what prosecutors said was a bid to gain sympathy and bolster his career. Prosecutors said Smollett, who is Black and openly gay, lied to police when he told them that he was accosted on a dark Chicago street by two masked strangers in January 2019. Smollett said the men threw a noose around his neck and poured chemicals on him while yelling racist and homophobic slurs and expressions of support for former President Donald Trump.

Monkees singer and guitarist Michael Nesmith, a pop visionary who penned many of the group’s most enduring songs before laying the groundwork for country-rock with the First National Band in the early Seventies, died Friday from natural causes. He was 78.

The Supreme Court has left the historic Texas “heartbeat” abortion law in effect. The majority opinion was signed by Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett. John Roberts sided with the Liberal Justices in dissent. In the ruling, the Supreme Court is allowing Texas abortion providers to sue over the Texas heartbeat law. CNBC reported: The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that a federal lawsuit by abortion providers challenging the legality of Texas’ new abortion ban can proceed before the law is enforced against anyone, at least against some currently named defendants. However, the Supreme Court allowed the Texas law...

Another Democrat has decided to abandon his own party by listing his party affiliation as “decline to state.” State Senator Jacob Candelaria of New Mexico says he’s tired of partisan politics, adding that Democrats are fueled by the mere prospect of gaining more control and power instead of what’s actually most helpful to working Americans. Attacking Democrats, Candelaria said bluntly, “Partisanship is a virus that’s ripping our country apart.” “I’ll no longer be a part of it,” he added. His decision comes as Democrats have pushed for a controversial new map of redistricting in the state. Candelaria explained, “You would...

Joe Biden has vowed to fund and support free press worldwide. Biden, alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken, hosted the first virtual “Summit for Democracy” on Thursday and spoke with more than 100 leaders worldwide in efforts to support independent media. Despite reports revealing the current administration was found lobbying mainstream media outlets, Biden insisted the First Amendment is “the bedrock of democracy.” This comes after White House officials reportedly said they were unhappy in regards to the media’s coverage of the country’s supply chain crisis.

As noted earlier, consumer inflation stayed red hot in November as core CPI rose a robust 0.53% mom, which boosted the yoy rate to 4.93% from 4.56% yoy—the highest since 1991. Headline CPI jumped 0.78% mom as energy prices spiked 3.5% mom and food rose 0.7% mom. Headline % yoy similarly soared to 6.81% yoy from 6.22%—the highest since 1982.In its post-mortem breakdown of today’s CPI print, BofA’s Alexander Lin notes that in core goods, new cars picked up 1.1% mom and used cars surged 2.5% mom – just as the Manheim Used Vehicle Index had predicted – as the...

A liberal arts college in Vermont announced on Thursday that it will be switching to virtual learning after the school learned of several dozen confirmed COVID-19 cases on campus. Officials from Middlebury College said in a letter posted Thursday that they had learned of 34 confirmed COVID-19 cases early that morning. They said that a total of 49 students had confirmed COVID-19 cases in addition to one confirmed case among employees. As a result, classes will be remote for the remainder of the semester, and final exams will also be administered remotely. Students were also urged to leave campus if...

The broad scope of the racist text conversations, which prosecutors said went on for years, has created a crisis for the Torrance Police Department and could jeopardize hundreds of criminal cases in which the officers either testified or made arrests.

During the election, I wrote a column warning voters that Kamala Harris isn’t ready to be president should she be needed to replace Joe Biden in the big chair if elected. A year into her tenure as vice president, her disastrous poll numbers and staff bolting for the door speak for themselves. In recent weeks, four prominent staffers have announced their departures, including Ashley Etienne, the veep’s communications director, and Symone Sanders, a top aide serving as senior adviser and chief spokesperson. More staff are reportedly eyeing exits. What on earth is going on? The Washington Post recently spoke with...

U.S. inflation hit a 40 year high in November, cementing high and rising inflation as the hallmark of the first year of Joe Biden’s presidency.The Labor Department said the consumer-price index—which tracks what consumers pay for goods and services—rose in November by 6.8 percent from a year ago. That was the fastest 12-month pace since 1982 and the sixth straight month of inflation above 5 percent.The core price index, which excludes the often-volatile categories of food and energy, increased 4.9 percent in November from a year earlier, a faster pace of price hikes than October’s 4.6 percent.On a monthly basis,...

U.S. defense leaders have allowed China’s military might to grow unchecked while they prattle on about critical race theory and climate change. That increases the risk of war over Taiwan.The Chinese Communist Party is open about its imperial ambitions. Chinese leader Xi Jinping calls explicitly for “the transformation of the global governance system”—which means China in charge of the Asian Pacific and, ultimately, the world. America must act now to stop it. Our economic prosperity, no less than our national security, depends on it. A China that bestrides the Pacific would make today’s supply chain woes look pleasant. A China...

New York Citymayor-elect issued a stern warning Thursday night to those expecting to continue the riots and looting the nation’s largest city has seen over the past two years. "Not my city," Eric Adams, a former police captain who was elected in November to succeed termed-out Mayor Bill de Blasio, said at a Police Athletic League event at the Harvard Club, according to the New York Post. "We’re not going to surrender to those who are saying ‘We’re going to burn down New York’," Adams said. The message seemed squarely aimed at Hawk Newsome, a local leader of the Black...

Known as “Big Al” once his own son made a name for himself in racing, Unser is part of an elite club of four-time winners of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Unser won the Indy 500 in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987, and is the only driver in history to have both a sibling and a child also win one of the biggest races in the world. His final victory at age 47 made him the oldest winner in Indy 500 history. He dominated in his first Indy win in 1970 by starting from the pole and leading all but...

California Representative Adam Schiff chairs the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. His position on Jesse Smollett being a victim prove his bias and utter lack of intelligence. The great actor James Woods shared an observation on Adam Shiff months ago. Schiff stood by Jussie Smollett when he claimed he was assaulted on a cold Chicago night in a hate crime. Woods didn’t think Schiff was too intelligent.