Free Republic

So-called Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney both announced their intentions to support Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. This makes three Republican turncoats who are supporting the nomination of the notoriously weak-on-crime Jackson, whose shameful record of leniency in sentencing child pornographers, apparently didn’t faze them. “After multiple in-depth conversations with Judge Jackson and deliberative review of her record and recent hearings, I will support her historic nomination to be an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court,” Murkowski said in a statement. Romney called Jackson “a well-qualified jurist and a person of honor.” “While...

NEW YORK (AP) — Most U.S. gun owners say they own firearms to protect themselves and their loved ones, surveys show. But a study published Monday suggests people who live with handgun owners are shot to death at a higher rate than those who don’t have such weapons at home. “We found zero evidence of any kind of protective effects” from living in a home with a handgun, said David Studdert, a Stanford University researcher who was the lead author of the Annals of Internal Medicine study. The study has several shortcomings. For example, the researchers said they could not...

Nearly one-third of patients with a stroke of unknown cause have a heart rhythm disorder that can be treated to prevent another stroke. "More than 90% of stroke patients found to have atrial fibrillation had no symptoms of heart rhythm disorder," said Dr. Barbara Ratajczak-Tretel. Most strokes are ischaemic, meaning a blockage stops blood flow to the brain. In one in four ischaemic strokes the cause is undetermined. "The best therapy to prevent another stroke depends on the underlying cause," said Dr. Ratajczak-Tretel. "Those with atrial fibrillation should receive oral anticoagulants but a definitive diagnosis is needed before drugs can...

As local authorities expand what was supposed to be a staggered, nine-day lockdown in Shanghai (China’s most populous city and also its financial hub), the CCP has decided to send in the military as the backlash worsens in a city that has become a critical battleground in the government’s fight to legitimize its “Zero COVID” policy. After the city reported a record 9,000 COVID cases, the CCP announced the deployment of thousands of soldiers and military personnel to Shanghai in order for them to assist in the mandatory screening of all 25 million inhabitants (the latest in a seemingly interminable...

Rental prices for single-family homes have skyrocketed to record levels across the U.S., increasing to an average of 7.8 percent in 2021. Apartment rents are up too. “Of the markets in our analysis, 97.7 percent recorded price increases for one-bedrooms and all markets saw increases for two-bedrooms [100 percent],” the report, issued last month, said. “Nationwide rent prices have increased significantly year-over-year. One- and two-bedroom rents were up 24.4 percent and 21.8 percent, respectively.”

Senate Democrats, backed by three GOP senators, voted on Monday night to break a deadlock on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination, paving the way for her to be confirmed by the end of the week. Senators voted 53-47 to formally discharge Jackson’s nomination to the full Senate. It’s the first time the Senate has had to take the procedural step for a Supreme Court nominee since 1853. GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Mitt Romney (Utah) voted with Democrats to make Jackson’s nomination available for a full Senate vote.

The Kremlin will publish a list of goods that can be imported despite the prohibitions of the West A Zara store in Moscow, which left Russia as a result of the war in Ukraine. The Russian authorities will look the other way when some foreign products are sold in the country without the consent of their manufacturers. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has signed the law that legalizes what his government has called "parallel imports" into Russia. That is, de facto smuggling. The Russian authorities will look the other way when some foreign products are sold in the country without the...

Two women who were dumped unconscious at different Los Angeles hospitals late last year by masked men died of multiple drug intoxication, the Los Angeles coroner has ruled. Christy Giles, a 24-year-old model, and her friend Hilda Marcela Cabrales Arzola, 26, were dropped off at the hospitals on Nov. 13 by the men in a black Toyota without license plates, Los Angeles police said at the time. Giles, 24, died the same days she was dropped at the hospital of multiple drug intoxication, with cocaine, fentanyl, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) — a date rape drug — and ketamine in her system,...

The Supreme Court ruled on Monday in favor of a Brooklyn man who said he had been falsely accused by police officers of resisting arrest, saying he could sue for malicious prosecution under a federal civil rights law.The vote was 6 to 3, with the majority deciding only the narrow question of what the man, Larry Thompson, had to show to meet a requirement that there was a favorable termination of the prosecution against him. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, said it was enough that prosecutors had dropped the charges, rejecting the view that Mr. Thompson had...

One of the questions we see commonly debated in Dissident Right circles is just how long can the Global American Empire (GAE) really last as a hegemonic force in international politics. Some, like Curtin Yarvin/Mencius Moldbug, speculate that the Regime could last for another century or more. Others believe its demise will be within ten years or less. Both sides are likely overstating their cases, but I do tend to believe that the truth of the matter is much closer to the latter than the former. However one lands on this, it must surely be accepted that the answer will...

DirecTV will drop far-right cable news outlet One America News Network on Tuesday, April 4, according to Bloomberg’s Gerry Smith. The satellite TV cable behemoth said earlier this year that it planned to no longer carry OAN, which was criticized for spreading false information about the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 presidential election, and its general spread of conspiracy theories, once its contract expires. OAN began airing on DirecTV in April 2017. DirecTV is going through with the move despite Herring Networks Inc., which owns and operates OANN, having sued parent company AT&T on March 7, seeking $1 billion in damages,...

Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) said Monday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that she believed Attorney General Merrick Garland had enough evidence to prosecute former President Donald Trump and was moving too slowly. Anchor Nicolle Wallace said, “To be fair, what it sounds like President Biden is concerned about is whether or not the former president is held accountable for subverting our democracy. My understanding is that he sees the ex-president as a threat to democracy.”

A North Miami Beach condominium building was being evacuated Monday after it was deemed to be structurally unsafe, city officials said. The owners of Bayview 60 Homes at 3800 Northeast 168th Street requested the city order an immediate evacuation of residents from the five-story building, the city said in a statement. Footage showed residents leaving the building with suitcases and a police command center on the street outside the building.

Ukraine must be sent more heavy weapons to help kick Russian soldiers out of the country, Liz Truss said today amid a row between allies over whether to supply tanks. The Foreign Secretary used a Warsaw press conference alongside her Ukrainian counterpart to say Kyiv should be given even more weapons of the type' demanded by President Volodymyr Zelensky. He has made no secret of his desire for Nato nations and others to supply heavy armour in the wake of civilian massacres in places like Bucha. Boris Johnson and others are understood to be discussing whether tanks can be supplied...

A federal judge in Cincinnati granted a temporary order this week blocking Air Force action against 18 service members including 11 who currently or recently served at Wright-Patterson in Dayton who are fighting the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. A federal judge in Cincinnati is stopping Air Force action against 18 servicemembers fighting the COVID-19 vaccine including 11 who currently or recently served at Wright-Patterson in Dayton. The servicemembers sued earlier this year over the denial of religious accommodations for refusing shots. The First Amendment and Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) does, in fact, apply to the military, contrary to...

Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney Monday said they will vote for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be confirmed to the Supreme Court, bringing the total expected GGOP votes for Jackson's confirmation up to three. "After reviewing Judge Jackson’s record and testimony, I have concluded that she is a well-qualified jurist and a person of honor," Romney, R-Utah, said. "While I do not expect to agree with every decision she may make on the Court, I believe that she more than meets the standard of excellence and integrity."

Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) announced Monday night that they will vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making them the second and third Republicans to confirm their vote for President Joe Biden’s court pick. “After multiple in-depth conversations with Judge Jackson and deliberative review of her record and recent hearings, I will support her historic nomination to be an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court,” Murkowski said in a statement. Romney soon followed in a tweet:

Referendum officially invalid after fewer than 50 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots After weeks of talk about a tight electoral race in Hungary's general election, voters delivered a two-thirds parliamentary majority to incumbent Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party on Sunday. But a separate referendum held on LGBTQ and transgender issues was declared invalid after a campaign by groups to spoil ballots. Orbán's government said the referendum was a vote on child protection laws, but critics say the questions amounted to discrimination against the LGBTQ community and an attempt to whip up fear over what children are taught...

Oil prices shot up Monday despite President Joe Biden’s plan to curb gasoline prices by releasing a million barrels of emergency oil reserves daily. The Brent crude index, the global oil benchmark, increased to $108.07 per barrel Monday morning, surging more than 3.1% overnight. The U.S. WTI index skyrocketed more than 3.4% past $103 per barrel Monday.

Airlines have canceled more than 3,500 U.S. flights this weekend and delayed thousands more, citing weather in Florida and other issues. FlightAware, a website that tracks flights, noted major disruptions at several Florida airports, including in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando, as well as Baltimore, New York and other airports around the country. JetBlue, Southwest, Alaska Airlines, Frontier, Spirit and American Airlines were most affected, according to FlightAware, with JetBlue and Spirit canceling one-third of Sunday’s scheduled flights. Local news reported storms in Florida on Saturday. Several airlines said Sunday that operations are returning to normal.