Free Republic

China is facing an economic crisis after a real estate boom ended with a bang last year, according to investor George Soros. The billionaire said in a speech at Stanford University's Hoover Institution Monday that President Xi Jinping may not be able to restore confidence in the troubled industry, which has been hit by a series of defaults by developers and falling prices for land and apartments. China's real estate boom was based on an "unsustainable" model that benefited local governments and encouraged people to invest the bulk of their savings in property, Soros said. Government policies designed to curb...

Explanation: The Great Carina Nebula is home to strange stars and iconic nebulas. Named for its home constellation, the huge star-forming region is larger and brighter than the Great Orion Nebula but less well known because it is so far south -- and because so much of humanity lives so far north. The featured image shows in great detail the northern-most part of the Carina Nebula. Visible nebulas include the semi-circular filaments surrounding the active star Wolf-Rayet 23 (WR23) on the far left. Just left of center is the Gabriela Mistral Nebula consisting of an emission nebula of glowing gas...

Captain Max Fortuna, 47, leaves behind a wife and two children A firefighter was shot and killed in Stockton, California, on Monday morning while battling a dumpster fire, officials announced. Captain Max Fortuna, 47, was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased. He leaves behind a wife and two grown children. The Stockton Fire Department responded to a call of a dumpster fire at 4:45 a.m. on Monday morning and shots rang out as they worked to extinguish the blaze, striking Fortuna.

gotta admit up front: The title of this article is somewhat misleading. Yes, we will discuss chili, and yes, it's the best chili I personally have ever made. But! To call something "the best chili ever" implies that the recipe is perfect, and perfection implies that there is no room for improvement. I can only hope that others will continue perfecting the chili work that began on the Tex-Mex border, and that I continue testing, well after the last rich and spicy remnant is licked clean off the bottom of the bowl. With that disclaimer out of the way, let's...

In January, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation that decriminalizes sexual activity by people living with HIV or a sexually transmitted infection (STI) in specific instances. What’s more, the law tackles HIV stigma because it requires that whenever a person is prosecuted under appropriate circumstances, the names of both the accused and the accuser be kept confidential. The summary of the legislation—S3707/A5673—reads: “Repeals statute criminalizing sexual penetration while infected with venereal disease or HIV under certain circumstances; requires that in prosecutions for endangering another by creating substantial risk of transmitting infectious disease, name of defendant and other person be...

A 20-year-old man was charged Monday with attempted first-degree murder in the death of an off-duty Vancouver police officer who was shot by a Clark County sheriff’s deputy during a confrontation at the officer’s home. [snip] Deputies with an aerial view of the home from an unmanned drone said the man, later identified as Segura, and the officer, later identified as Sahota, were physically fighting in front of the home, documents say. A pistol was seen falling to the ground, court documents said. Numerous deputies arrived at the home, according to documents. Segura fled into the home, followed by Sahota,...

A message to Premiers Jason Kenney, Scott Moe and Doug Ford, and Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition Erin O'Toole: What are you waiting for? This is your moment. Seize the day.

This TV ad from TurboTax is the most racist TV ad I've ever seen. It has a black man repeatedly and intentionally spitting on a white man. Unless you're an anti-white racist, don't use TurboTax or other products from Intuit. If you want to help do something about ads like this: - like this video. A like doesn't mean you support the ad, it means you oppose it. If this video gets enough likes, Youtube won't be able to bury it. - send this video to reporters & urge them to call Turbo Tax on it. You can email them...

In a recent paper, the researchers—who hail from universities in Israel, Australia, and France—unveiled a unique device “fingerprinting” strategy that uses the properties of each user’s GPU stack to create distinct, trackable profiles. For those who don’t know, fingerprinting is a form of web tracking—the ubiquitous practice whereby companies and third-parties monitor consumers in an effort to mitigate fraud, improve “customer experience,” and, oh yeah, sell you stuff. Historically speaking, most companies have used cookies—which are tiny, identifying text files stored in your browser. But cookies have fallen on hard times lately, as recent privacy regulations—such as California’s CCPA or...

“Stay warm. It’s a cold one out there today.” – Congressman Murray from Parks & Recreation. Yes, its a cold one out there. But the Biden Administration is engaging in reducing fossil fuel supply and pushing towards “green” energy such as inefficient solar panels, eagle-killing wind turbines, and ocean turbines. As a consequence, natural gas futures are up 93% from January 1, 2021 while coal futures are up 133% and WTI Crude spot price is up 82%. Any wonder why food prices up 40%? Stay warm. It’s a cold one out there today. And The Federal government doesn’t care.

A federal judge rejected a plea deal Monday afternoon that would have allowed one of the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery to avoid a federal hate crime trial. U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood heard arguments Monday from Arbery’s family and prosecutors after the Department of Justice struck a plea deal with Arbery’s killers Gregory and Travis McMichael over the weekend. Travis McMichael, the man who fatally shot Arbery, had his plea deal tossed out by Wood. A decision was not yet made on Gregory McMichael’s plea deal. Arbery’s family was outraged that the plea would allow the McMichaels to...

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis encouraged tax collectors on Monday to keep working to redistribute wealth and fund social services that help the poor, saying their efforts are a “guarantee of equality” that helps the common good. Francis met with members of Italy’s tax collection agency and recalled that the taxes they gather pay for Italy’s public health care system. Francis urged them to defend that, “because we shouldn’t fall into a health care system that you pay for, where the poor don’t have a right to anything.”

House Republicans are challenging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s COVID-19 guidelines for children, including mask requirements in school. Led by House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), the lawmakers penned a letter to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky calling on her to roll back recommendations that children wear masks, citing the harms to mental health. Their letter asks Walensky to hold a briefing with Republicans on the House Oversight Committee by Feb. 7 to explain why the CDC continues to recommend mask-wearing in schools. “There is no question, as we enter the third year of this pandemic, CDC’s guidelines...

ATikTok video has gone viral after an antique store was caught selling a brass swan trio for $220 that had a Goodwill tag on it for $8.99. The viral video has garnered over 2 million views in just four days. TikToker @angelmunoz90, or Angel Munoz, posted the video to the social media platform with the caption, "#brass #thiftshop #thriftstore #thriftstorefinds #bruh #pricegouging #swan." The short 20-second clip began with the TikToker walking down a checkered path, revealing he was walking around in a thrift store. Then he walked up to a trio of brass swans on the ground. "Oh look,...

It’s a tight race among “defund the police” Democrats in this year’s chutzpah Olympics, but New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other House members of “the Squad” are well-positioned to take home the gold. Fully embracing the politics of “good for thee, but not for me,” AOC, Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar, Massachusetts’s Ayanna Pressley, and the newest Squad member, Missouri’s Cori Bush, are among the most vocal advocates for defunding — while also being, according to Federal Election Commission reports, among the biggest spenders on personal security. All these legislators support the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which passed the...

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Community activists and people of color are denouncing a state lawmaker they once considered an ally but who now stands accused of intimidating a young Black man and endangering his life. Rep. Nicole Klein-Knight, D-Manchester, was removed from the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Monday at the request of Democratic leaders after a dozen Black, brown and Indigenous community organizers issued a letter condemning her. The group said that Klein-Knight had worked with many of the signers in the past, but that her behavior in recent months has become alarming and “increasingly dangerous,”...

<p>PITTSFIELD – A Massachusetts man severely injured in a 2019 crash in New Hampshire that killed seven members of his motorcycle club has sued the Massachusetts Registrar of Motor Vehicles for allegedly failing to suspend the driver's license of the man charged in connection with the crash.</p>

I can already anticipate how many of you are going to be completely shocked and surprised by this report. (For anyone qualifying for that category, welcome to the internet!) California is a place where COVID mandates flow like water, with vaccination and mask mandates showing up at the state and municipal levels up and down the coast. But as we’ve already learned plenty of times in the past, the officials issuing these mandates don’t always wind up obeying them themselves. This weekend during the big NFL playoff game in Los Angeles, another such instance was recorded for posterity. The game...

Six months after the second Covaxin dose, a study using the vaccine as a booster dose has detected neutralising, T and B cell responses. This suggests good immune memory responses and long-term protection from severe disease, an official statement from Bharat Biotech said. The booster dose of whole-virus inactivated Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin (BBV152) may give long-term immunity against Sars-CoV-2 infection, its manufacturer Bharat Biotech announced on Saturday. A phase 2, double-blind, randomised controlled trial demonstrated long-term safety of Covaxin vaccine with no serious adverse events, the company said. Six months after the second Covaxin dose, a study using the vaccine...

BACK IN 1997, when I was in my second year with the Cubs, I vividly recall watching batting practice when Mark McGwire stepped in the cage for the Cardinals. It was awesome. I saw how far the ball flew, and, like so many of us, I suspended disbelief. It was like watching a good horror movie, before we knew how wrong things could go. Over time, a cloud of doubt seeped into clubhouses. Suspicion about whether that teammate beating you out is playing fair. Records became mere placeholders. Every home run hit a little too far brought a hitter's integrity...