Free Republic

Ketanji Brown Jackson

DONALD Trump has admitted what the world has known for 17 months - that he didn’t win the 2020 US election. While the 45th president still publicly challenges the result, he privately accepted it last July. Talking to a panel of historians, Mr Trump said: ‘I didn’t win the election.’ The conversation was revealed by Julian Zelizer, Princeton professor and editor of the forthcoming book, The Presidency of Donald J Trump: A First Historical Assessment. He wrote in The Atlantic magazine: ‘Even in his attempt to correct the record, Trump mostly didn’t acknowledge or engage with informed outside criticisms of...

This optical illusion can reveal if you have a female or male brain depending on what you see first. The riveting image of the running man claims it can decipher what kind of thought process people have – and what you see first may mean you struggle to multitask. The simplistic picture shows a dark figure posied in a sprinting pose – but do you see him running towards or away from you

Pro wrestling Hall of Fame member Tamara Lynn “Sunny” Sytch was involved in a fatal, three-car crash in Florida and police are investigating her for possible "impairment," authorities said. Sytch, 49, was behind the wheel of a 2012 Mercedes-Benz when she rear-ended a Kia that was stopped at a traffic signal, police said in a statement on Tuesday. The incident happened on North Yonge Street in the city of Ormond Beach, just north of Daytona Beach, at 8:28 p.m. on March 25. The Kia's driver, Julian Lafrancis Lasseter, 75, died from his injuries, authorities said. The impact caused Lasseter's car...

Pilots nearly lost control of their Boeing 777 during an Air France flight from New York to Paris in what French aviation investigators on Wednesday labeled a “serious incident.” “Arrrgh — yes — stop, stop” one of the pilots was heard saying on Air France Flight 011, which departed Kennedy Airport on Monday night and was about to land at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on Tuesday morning when the near-disaster struck. The jet aborted its landing and embarked on a “go around,” in which pilots circle back to an airport for another landing attempt. Pilots could not talk...

The Medina County Elections Department is urging registered, qualified voters who vote absentee to take great care in filling out the required mail-in ballot carrier envelope. In the March 1 Primary Election, 14 voters committed errors in filling out the carrier envelope, according to Medina County Elections Administrator Lupe Torres. To help voters avoid the same mistakes that could result in their ballots not being counted, Torres provided instructions for correctly filling out the required information (see examples for correct ways to enter information). This information will be contained in the absentee packet mailed by the elections office to qualified,...

Some corners of social media are in an uproar over the U.S. Peace Corps guidance on handling racism in Ukraine. Peace Corps positions in Ukraine are currently not open, but Black Peace Corps volunteers who applied were warned to be prepared to be called the N-word and face other racist behavior while in Ukraine, according guidance on the Peace Corps website that is currently being discussed on social media. The warning, which includes personal accounts from volunteers, calls for having thick skin and an understanding that the racial discrimination comes from Ukrainians’ lack of exposure to Black people. “It is...

The White House held a classified briefing on Wednesday with some U.S. lawmakers on the dire risks to the American economy from semiconductor supply chain issues as it pushes Congress for $52 billion in funding to subsidize production. White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese told reporters "the best estimates are the lack of available semiconductors probably took a full percentage point off of GDP in 2021." The briefing included Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to "discuss the urgent need to invest in made-in-America semiconductors as well as research and...

Democrat President Joe Biden’s BROTHER- James- is now fully being dragged into the Chinese payments scandal which has engulfed other members of the Biden family. Joe Biden’s brother James has been linked to first son Hunter’s shady dealings after it emerged both men were paid huge retainers by a Chinese firm. Along with the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop being revealed to the public, we are finding out from Bank Records, obtained by a US Senate Committee- that more than 150 transactions made by James and Hunter were flagged as ‘concerning’ by US banks. The new bank documents, obtained by...

UK researchers have developed a VR experience called gameChange that takes patients on virtual visits in everyday settings, guided by a virtual coach. It allows them to virtually take part in day-to-day scenarios such as buying a coffee, waiting at a bus stop or visiting a doctor. In trials, the technology proved beneficial even for patients who have experienced the most challenging psychological problems due to psychosis. It could soon be offered as a form of therapy on the NHS, replacing the need for a real-life therapist. gameChange targets a problem that is common in people diagnosed with psychosis –...

Former President Donald Trump should be held in contempt for failing to respond to a subpoena as instructed, the New York Attorney General’s office said Thursday in a new court filing. New York Attorney General Letitia James also asked the judge to impose a daily $10,000 fine until Trump complies.

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Republicans are registering formerly Democratic voters at four times the rate that Democrats are making the reverse conversion in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, a warning sign for Democrats as they try to keep control of the U.S. Congress. The Republican gains in Pennsylvania, home to a critical U.S. Senate race, follow a pattern seen in other states that could have competitive contests in November's elections, as high levels of disapproval with President Joe Biden's handling of his job are helping narrow the long-held advantage held by Democrats in numbers of registered voters. Reuters examined registration data...

TWO men posing as federal agents showered US Secret Service agents with gifts including a rent-free penthouse worth over $40,000 a year, high-end electronics, and various weapons, federal prosecutors say. Four Secret Service agents have been put on leave as the investigation continues, including one member of first lady Jill Biden's Secret Service detail.

After four months of competing proposals, vacuous debate and skyrocketing infections across the already widely jabbed German population, the German vaccine mandate has gone down in flames. In a stinging defeat for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition, 378 MPs voted against the bill, while 296 voted in favour. The plans had faced fierce opposition during a debate in the Bundestag on Thursday morning, with politicians from the AfD, Left Party and CDU/CSU lining up to criticise the bill. CONTINUE READING

These wax cylinders were game-changers in the later nineteenth century. People could slide a blank cylinder onto their Edison phonographs and record themselves and their surroundings. However, because they are incredibly fragile, these cylinder recordings were considered unplayable by those living in the modern age – at least until now. These recordings will not remain a mystery for much longer. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, which has a collection of these wax cylinders, recently acquired an Endpoint Cylinder and Dictabelt Machine. This modern machine, invented by Nicholas Bergh, can digitize wax cylinders thanks to a laser...

(Reuters) - The Solar Star project in California is among the largest solar energy facilities in the world, boasting 1.7 million panels spread over 3,000 acres north of Los Angeles. Its gargantuan scale points to an uncomfortable fact for the industry: a natural gas power plant 100 miles south produces the same amount of energy on just 122 acres. The dynamic encapsulates the industry’s biggest obstacle to growth: Solar farms require huge amounts of land, and there’s a fast-growing movement, fueled by politicized social-media campaigns, to prevent solar developers from permitting new sites in rural America. That’s a major problem...

Talk of an upcoming recession is raising angst after a closely watched indicator flashed a warning sign, but experts say it could be a needed spark for investors to take a more active look at their portfolios. Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management, says investors should be ready, not complacent or passive, heading into an economic downturn. “It’s a little bit more of an active market for investors right now. It’s the kind of time where you need to be paying attention and it’s not necessarily good to just sit back and just pretend everything is fine.”...

(Reuters) -News of Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk taking a board seat at Twitter has some Twitter employees panicking over the future of the social media firm's ability to moderate content, company insiders told Reuters. Despite Twitter's reiteration this week that the board does not make policy decisions, four Twitter employees who spoke with Reuters said they were concerned about Musk's ability to influence the company's policies on abusive users and harmful content. With Musk on the board, the employees said his views on moderation could weaken years-long efforts to make Twitter a place of healthy discourse, and might allow...

Athens (AFP) – Greece's government said Thursday it plans to double production of lignite, or brown coal, in the coming two years despite the pollution it causes as Athens aims to reduce its dependence upon Russian gas. Greece depends upon Russia for 40 percent of its natural gas and since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February it has been searching for alternatives to ensure normal supplies. "Lignite is polluting and in normal circumstances, natural gas is cheaper," government spokesman Giannis Ekonomou said. But given the conflict in Ukraine and the needed to diversify energy supplies, Ekonomou said increased brown coal production...

What the Vanity Fair Article on the COVID-19 Lab Leak Theory Proved—and Didn’t ProveVanity Fair may not have proved where COVID-19 came from, but they did a smashing job of exposing the rotten core of DC power politics.I finally got around to reading that (long) Vanity Fair article on the origins of COVID-19 and DC corruption—and it's a doozy.Katherine Eban’s deep dive into the non-profit EcoHealth Alliance and its ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology is a masterpiece of investigative journalism and reveals several bombshells about the risky research on coronaviruses the federal government was funding.Eban’s reporting draws on...