Free Republic

Manhattan's newly elected District Attorney Alvin Bragg has an innovative plan to abolish crime in the city. In Bragg's view "there are just too many things that are illegal. This turns desperate people into criminals. Suppose a guy has an urgent need for money—there are drugs he needs to buy or stuff he wants to have but he can't earn enough through honest work to get them. This forces him to rob someone to get the money he needs. The conventional opinion is that he ought to go to prison for doing this. I think we should be more lenient....

A British woman with Down Syndrome was refused life-saving emergency medical treatment by the NHS due to her disability, a report has claimed. Britain’s socialised National Health Service refused to provide treatment to Susan Sullivan, 56, who had Down syndrome, citing her disability as grounds to deny her the medical treatment she needed, which resulted in her subsequent death, it is claimed in a Sky News report.

President Joe Biden said he was “insulted” after a reporter asked him if he was insulted that Stacey Abrams was skipping his voting rights speech in Georgia on Tuesday. “I’m insulted that you asked the question,” Biden replied.

The NCAA on Thursday released its new COVID-19 (WuFlu) guidance for winter sports, and the guidance contains some important news. As ESPN reports, the NCAA’s COVID-19 (WuFlu) Medical Advisory Group updated its definition of “fully vaccinated” to account for various new vaccinations, boosters, and immunity factors. “Fully vaccinated individuals now include those within two months of receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, five months of receiving the Pfizer vaccine series or six months of receiving the Moderna vaccine series;” reports ESPN staff writer Jeff Borzello, “and individuals who are beyond the aforementioned timeline and have received the booster vaccine.” But...

The White House is currently limiting gatherings at the complex to under 30 people amid the surge in COVID-19 cases due to the wave of the omicron coronavirus variant, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One that the policy has been put in place “over the last several weeks” and will remain "for this period of time."

Starbucks (SBUX) is expanding diversity and inclusion efforts that the coffee giant broadened back in October in 2020, which include a big financial commitment to diverse suppliers. The Seattle-based company aims to achieve Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) representation of at least 30% at all corporate levels, and at least 40% of all retail and manufacturing roles in the U.S. by 2025. The new plans include Starbucks boosting annual spending with diverse suppliers to $1.5 billion dollars by 2030. It will also launch a second cohort of its mentorship program for U.S. partners, and will reinstate its commitment...

The United States broke a new record for COVID-19 hospitalizations on Sunday with 132,646 patients currently being treated for the virus as cases of the fast-spreading Omicron variant surge across the country. However, despite the record hospitalizations, fewer Americans are dying from the virus and most that do appear to be those with multiple comorbidities, according to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.

I had a follow-up visit with one of my docs today. He - for second time - argued with me about getting vaxxed.

California Governor Gavin Newsom reported Monday in his annual state budget proposal that the state expects a $45.7 billion surplus — thanks partly to $26 billion received from President Joe Biden’s so-called coronavirus “relief” bill. Newsom announced the surplus Monday in a $286.4 billion budget, including spending that “will make California the first state in the nation to offer universal access to healthcare coverage for all state residents, regardless of immigration status.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reportedly ordered a full ground stop at airports in the western U.S. on Monday around the same time that North Korea was believed to have launched a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan. It was not immediately clear whether both incidents were related. Flights at California’s Burbank Airport were halted for about 15 minutes after the FAA ordered a temporary ground stop around 2:30 p.m., airport spokeswoman Nerissa Sugars told Fox News Digital. Flights were also halted from taking off for about 5 to 7 minutes at San Diego International Airport after air control...

The surge has also been contributing to increasing hospitalizations, with the number of coronavirus-positive patients at L.A. County hospitals topping 3,400 — the highest level since February last year. About 14% of the patients with COVID-19 were in the ICU, and 7% were on a ventilator. “The good news is that while hospitalizations continue to climb, Public Health data shows that many positive cases are admitted for reasons other than COVID but, are identified with COVID when tested for COVID upon hospital admission,”

The Biden administration is taking seriously a string of recent threats and sanctions from Iran against Trump administration officials around the two-year anniversary of the Jan. 3, 2020 strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Iran’s actions may indicate Iran is plotting to assassinate the officials. On Saturday, Iran announced sanctions against 51 Americans, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley as well as several individuals who worked with the Trump administration, like former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and private military contractor Erik Prince. While sanctions typically yield economic punishment, current and former U.S. officials...

Since being released from the hospital, Williams has been seen out in public in a wheelchair. While the star has not addressed the wheelchair usage herself, The Ricky Smiley Morning Show’s Toine The Don, also known as Antoine Edwards, alleges that the reasoning is due to her blood circulation. “It is being reported that the 57-year-old talk show host has completely lost all blood circulation in her legs and in her feet," Edwards said. At this time, it remains unclear if that is the true reason behind her wheelchair usage.

Pastor Aaron Musser of St. Luke's Lutheran Church of Logan Square in Chicago recently dressed in full drag for the Sunday service, wearing a long white dress emblazoned with a golden cross on its chest, a long blonde wig, and full makeup in order to lead the children's message. The pastor began the message by calling the children up to the front to sit with him and asked if they'd ever seen a drag queen before. The kids responded in the negative. "I have an awesome story to share with you today," Musser said. "I am also a boy most...

Israeli mentalist intends to reveal the location of the Ark of the Covenant, Britain's Daily Star tabloid reports. The Star ran the latest Geller intrigue as its Sunday cover story under the headline "Uri Geller and the Temple of Spoons." According to the Star, Geller posted on Twitter that he knew where the Ark was and when he released the information, it would be "an earth shattering historical tsunami and an archeological and a theological earthquake."

Bolivia's vice president David Choquehuanca, who touts indigenous treatments for Covid-19, has contracted the virus for a third time, the government said Tuesday, with six government ministers also testing positive. All are self-isolating and working from home, with no major symptoms, the president's office said in a statement. All had been vaccinated against the coronavirus, although Choquehuanca -- a member of the Aymara indigenous group -- has had only one jab (China's Sinopharm, on 3 January)... Last month, he revealed he had contracted Covid-19 twice, and recovered after taking what he called traditional medicine. Choquehuanca said he had consumed a...

Hankook showed the latest iteration of its i-Flex airless tire at CES 2022Hankook VIEW 3 IMAGES Anyone who has had to change a tire on the side of a busy road, possibly in the sweltering heat or pouring rain, will be longing for the day when flats are a thing of the past. Hankook has been working to make such a future a reality for over a decade now, and has used CES 2022 to show the latest version of its airless i-Flex concept tire. To showcase the tire at CES, Hankook teamed up with fellow countryman Hyundai, fitting them...

Magawa, the famous mine-clearing rat who was awarded a gold medal for his heroism, has died at the age of eight. In a five-year career, the rodent sniffed out over 100 landmines and other explosives in Cambodia. Magawa was the most successful rat trained by the Belgian charity Apopo to alert human handlers about the mines so they can be safely removed. The charity said the African giant pouch rat "passed away peacefully" at the weekend. It said Magawa was in good health and "spent most of last week playing with his usual enthusiasm". But by the weekend "he started...

What can we expect in 2022? Personally, I would very much like to experience the fulfillment of Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. I know it will happen soon, but who can say if this will be the year when Jesus takes us to the place that He’s preparing for us (John 14:1-3)? The only safe prediction I can make for the upcoming year is that the “perilous times” (2 Timothy 3:1-5) of the past few years will continue unabated. The word translated “perilous,” or “difficult” in some translations, is chalepos. This term denotes the last days as “dangerous” and...

"We write to request a transcribed interview of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Excerpts of emails we are making public today (see enclosed Appendix I) reveal that Dr. Fauci was warned of two things: (1) the potential that COVID-19 leaked from the Wuhan Institute Virology (WIV) and (2) the possibility that the virus was intentionally genetically manipulated. It is imperative we investigate if this information was conveyed to the rest of the government and whether this information would have changed the U.S. response to the pandemic," reads the letter from Reps. James...