Free Republic

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned Sunday that the “next few weeks will be tough” as COVID-19 infections driven by the Omicron variant continue to surge. Murthy said that the country is still pushing around 800,000 new cases per day, though some regions, such as New York, have begun to see a plateau in infections.

He needs the elaborate mathematics because he is trying to make sense of a very complex world: the game of poker. “Even the smallest variant of poker has a billion billion decision points,” he told me. Their work hasn’t just been an academic exercise, however; it has transformed how poker professionals approach the game. In search of ways to improve their odds, pros began poaching Prof. Bowling’s talent. “I regularly get contacted by poker pros asking if I can help them with something. I would say every one of the top 10 pros in the world is paying a poker...

Diners are feeling a sense of déjà vu as restaurants are again selling food for takeout only, closing dining-room seating or shortening hours as the Omicron variant of Covid-19 spreads. Chains such as Starbucks Corp. and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. said they are temporarily limiting operations at individual stores or regions as they face labor shortages and a rise in Covid-19 cases. Other restaurant operators said more of their staff are testing positive for the coronavirus in the Omicron surge than during the growth of the earlier Delta variant and are voluntarily closing for stretches as a result. "It’s one...

Thursday wasn't a good day for President Joe Biden. First, the Supreme Court shouted "LET'S GO BRANDON" by killing his prized private-employer vaccine mandate. Then Democrat Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema destroyed his dreams of banning voter ID to ensure one party rule in America. After hearing all that bad news, I'm guessing Biden put a lid on it and headed for the White House basement where his wife prepared baby food, fed him milk from a bottle and then tucked him in with his favorite blankie. But we can't afford to rest because of two short-lived victories. We...

Atlanta public transit CEO Jeffrey Parker committed suicide on Friday night after stepping in front of a train in the outskirts of the city. Parker, 56, was struck at the East Lake station in Atlanta at 10.30pm, a Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority official told DailyMail.com. No motive for his suicide has been announced. He is survived by his wife Erin and his daughters. MARTA Board of Directors Chairwoman Rita Scott described him as 'an outstanding leader and steward of MARTA whose passing leaves us all heartbroken. 'We are devastated at this loss as we valued Jeff's leadership and looked...

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Sunday would not say if he plans to file to run for U.S. Senate by next month’s deadline, days after reports surfaced that GOP heavyweights are urging him to mount a bid. Asked by moderator Margaret Brennan on CBS’s “Face the Nation” if he is going to run for U.S. Senate, Hogan refused to answer directly, instead asserting that he is focused on combating COVID-19 and the current omicron wave in the Old Line State.

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Two days after the presidential election on Nov. 2, 2020, the Oath Keepers were already convinced that victory had been stolen from President Donald Trump and members of the far-right militia group were making plans to march on the U.S. Capitol. “We aren’t getting through this without a civil war,” the group’s leader, Stewart Rhodes, wrote fellow members, according to court documents. “Too late for that. Prepare your mind. body. spirit.” Five days after the election, when The Associated Press and other news outlets declared Democrat Joe Biden the winner, the documents say Rhodes told Oath...

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Senate Democrats had “a couple of different paths” to pass voting legislation without Republican support.

As the omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to surge onboard cruise ships, forcing several cruise lines to cancel and postpone voyages, Atlantis Events, a gay and lesbian tour operator, is preparing to launch one of its biggest events Sunday: a 4,700-person Caribbean cruise marking the company’s 30th anniversary. Even as the pandemic is raging around the world and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a stark warning telling Americans to avoid travel on cruise ships, regardless of their vaccination status, Atlantis insists that its vaccination mandate, testing requirements and health protocols are enough to provide a...

We can debate who was the perfect screwball comedy heroine until the end of time – Katharine Hepburn and Carole Lombard are the archetypes, and everyone from Myrna Loy to Jean Arthur to Claudette Colbert have their ardent followers. But it's nearly impossible to deny that Cary Grant has the clearest title to screwball's consummate hero, embodying every quality necessary to share the screen with the genre's defining heroines and reach the final credits with his skin intact, even if his dignity has been shed – sometimes happily – along the way. It has to be remembered, however, that he...

The Modern Survivalist With Fernando Aguierre.

If California is ever going to achieve true equity, the state must require parents to give away their children. Today’s Californians often hold up equity — the goal of a just society completely free from bias — as our greatest value. Gov. Gavin Newsom makes decisions through “an equity lens.” Institutions from dance ensembles to tech companies have publicly pledged themselves to equity. But their promises are no match for the power of parents.

With all of the other drama playing out between Russia, China and everywhere else, the media’s focus has once again largely shifted away from the unfolding disaster in Afghanistan. In addition to famine sweeping large parts of the country and western citizens and Afghan helpers still being trapped there, the women’s rights situation in the country has continued to deteriorate under the rule of the Taliban. Families are selling off their daughters just to survive, but even the girls who manage to remain with their families are largely not back to school. Despite the promises that the incoming terrorist government...

Did you see it? Like a bolt of lightning, some major changes occurred. The tale of two cities lives! It is the best of times, and worst of times. This weekend Glenn Youngkin was sworn in as The Commonwealth of Virginia’s 74th Governor since 1922. And before I could write these words he’s already done much to make his state one of the freest in the Union. Upon inauguration, he kept three campaign promises. He undid the mask mandates, he undid vaccine requirements, and he banned the teaching of racism in public schools—bringing to an end the teachers’ union’s unhealthy...

7 Reasons Not to Take Vitamin K with D If it isn’t clear from the title of my blog yet, I’ll make it clear. I don’t normally recommend combo supplements of vitamin D3 with vitamin K (either K1 or K2). I get asked all the time why my brand of D3 doesn’t have K in it, and it would have been cheap and easy to put it in there but I chose not to, because of SO many reasons which I’ll discuss today, but mainly because the combination can increase risk of kidney stones (within a few years) and may...

2 min video - POTUS arrives for Saturday rally.

The family of the British terrorist who was shot dead after taking four people hostage inside a Texas synagogue have tonight condemned his actions as they admitted to 'liasing' with the shooter during his 10-hour stand-off with police. Malik Faisal Akram, 44, was shot dead by the FBI after holding four hostages for more than 10 hours at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas on Saturday. His 'devastated' brother Gulbar Akram shared a message on social media in which he revealed he had been working with the FBI and 'liasing' with his sibling throughout the stand-off. He also apologised...

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla appeared in a video with Yahoo Finance's Anjalee Khemlani to discuss covid vaccines, boosters, and Omicron. During the discussion Bourla observed that "we know that the two doses of the vaccine offer very limited protection, if any." He went on to recommend that people take more doses. This nonsensical recommendation is made even more absurd by a leaked Pentagon document indicating that the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin as treatments for covid were known to government health officials in May of 2020. Khemlani asked Bourla for his reaction to this. "Yeah, we all knew the efficacy...

The man who took four hostages at a synagogue in Texas on Saturday is a 44 year-old British citizen, the FBI said Sunday. In a statement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation identified the man as Malik Faisal Akram. Mr. Akram died late Saturday after a standoff that lasted more than 10 hours in the Dallas suburb of Colleyville. Officials didn’t say how he died. An elite FBI rescue team that flew in from Quantico, Va., stormed the synagogue and freed three of the hostages, authorities said. One hostage was released earlier, and none were harmed. A law-enforcement official with knowledge...

President Joe Biden should remember he was elected to 'stop the crazy' of Donald Trump rather than 'transform America' through his progressive agenda, Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney suggested on Sunday. The moderate GOP legislator told NBC's Meet The Press there is 'no question that the nation is severely divided' and Biden's had a 'bad' first year in office. 'President Biden said he was going to try to unite the country,' Romney said, adding that 'his comments in Georgia did not suggest he's trying to pull us back together again.'