Free Republic

Democrats say the map will cut the number of Black Representations in Florida in half. The Legislature has approved a controversial congressional map from Gov. Ron DeSantis, set to take effect ahead of the 2022 midterms unless a court quickly decides otherwise. The cartography (P 0109), which creates 20 Republican-leaning seats and eight Democratic seats, will next head to the Governor for his signature. Once he approves the map, Florida comes off a list of just three states that have yet to complete their redistricting process. The House on Thursday picked up the reapportionment bill passed the prior day by...

The U.S. Army has selected Sig Sauer to build the service’s Next-Generation Squad Weapon Rifle and Automatic Rifle. This is the first time in 55 years that the Army has broken away from the M16 series of weapons. The new rifles are designed to be more lethal and accurate than previous infantry weapons. On Tuesday, the U.S. Army officially selected a new rifle and infantry rifle for frontline troops. The guns, developed by small arms manufacturer Sig Sauer, have been officially designated the XM5 Rifle and XM250 Automatic Rifle (pictured above). The XM5 Rifle will represent a major departure from...

Screaming’ Florida Democrat lawmakers on Tuesday shut down the state House in protest of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) redistricting map. The radical and rowdy lawmakers stood in the middle of the House floor and sang, “We shall overcome.” They also chanted slogans like “we will occupy this floor” and “black votes are under attack” to prevent the maps from passing the House. The map passed the Senate on Wednesday. If the map passes the House on Thursday, DeSantis will sign it into law.

A Taiwanese news channel has broadcast "by mistake" a fictional news alert that said Chinese armed forces had launched an invasion, firing missiles at cities and ports surrounding the capital, Taipei.

A middle school teacher in San Leandro has been removed from the classroom after allegedly directing threatening remarks at his students. The Bancroft Middle School teacher's comments in the class were apparently all recorded and posted to social media. In one of the recordings, which the district is investigating, the teacher appears to go on a rant in front of his class about a student who he claims was misbehaving. The teacher is then heard referencing his prior military career and telling the class that in the past he'd shot kids younger than that student. "I’ve been through three tours...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida utilities would gradually increase their electricity to 100% renewable by 2050 under a proposed rule unveiled Thursday by the state’s agriculture commissioner. The proposed rule is an outgrowth of a lengthy court battle involving dozens of young people who claim Florida is violating their constitutional rights by continuing to promote use of fossil fuels that drive climate change. Similar lawsuits have been filed in other states. The rule announced by Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democratic candidate for governor this year, came following pressure from young people represented by the nonprofit Our Children’s Trust...

Radical Gender Lessons for Young ChildrenEvanston–Skokie’s school district adopts a curriculum that teaches pre-K through third-grade students to “break the binary” of gender.Evanston–Skokie School District 65 has adopted a radical gender curriculum that teaches pre-kindergarten through third-grade students to celebrate the transgender flag, break the “gender binary” established by white “colonizers,” and experiment with neo-pronouns such as “ze,” “zir,” and “tree.”I have obtained the full curriculum documents, which are part of the Chicago-area district’s “LGBTQ+ Equity Week,” which administrators adopted last year. The curriculum begins in pre-kindergarten, with a series of lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity. The lesson...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida House of Representatives on Thursday gave final passage to a bill that would dissolve Walt Disney World’s private government, handing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis a victory in his feud with the entertainment giant over its opposition to a measure that critics have dubbed the “ Don’t Say Gay ” law. The move could have huge tax implications for Disney, whose series of theme parks have transformed Orlando into one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, and serves to further sour the relationship between the Republican-led government and a major political player in the...

ATLANTA, GA—Streaming service CNN+ blew away all expectations by lasting nearly three weeks before its demise was announced by Warner Bros. Discovery this morning. Analysts had expected the service to last no longer than about thirteen hours, so CNN is calling the full three-week lifespan of the paid streaming platform "performance beyond our wildest dreams." Some more optimistic projections had expected the service to last through its first weekend, but regardless, no one thought the service would last as long as it did. Primary among the factors that led analysts to this conclusion is that people won't even watch regular...

The Tennessee legislature passed a bill Wednesday that would require drunk drivers to pay child support if they kill a parent and are convicted of vehicular homicide due to intoxication. The legislation passed through the Tennessee Senate on Wednesday following an amendment to rename the bill after the two daughters of state police officer Nicholas Galinger, who was killed in a hit-and-run by a drunk driver in 2019, according to CBS 46. PA WOMAN CHARGED IN DUI DEATHS OF 2 STATE TROOPERS, CIVILIAN BRAGGED SHE WAS ‘BEST DRUNK DRIVER’ WEEKS BEFORE A DUI check point in Anaheim, CA. A DUI...

SpaceX is targeting Thursday, April 21 for a Falcon 9 launch of 53 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous launch window is at 1:51 p.m. ET, or 17:51 UTC, and a backup opportunity is available on Friday, April 22. The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched GPS III-3, Turksat-5A, Transporter 2, and eight Starlink missions. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth and land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs blasted far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar’s visit to Pakistan this week, calling her trip to the disputed region of Kashmir “condemnable.” “We have noted that she has visited a part of Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir that is currently illegally occupied by Pakistan,” ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said of the Minnesota Democrat during a Wednesday press conference. “Let me just say that if such a politician wishes to practice her narrow-minded politics at home … that may be her business.” “But violating our territorial integrity and sovereignty in its pursuit makes it ours,” he...

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation will, for the first time ever, honor a total of 5 individuals with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award this year, including Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, The Washington Post reports. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D), Arizona House Speaker Russell "Rusty" Bowers (R), and Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, who works for the Fulton Country election department in Georgia, will also receive the award. "These honorees have placed their careers and lives on the line to protect democratic principles and free and fair elections," the foundation said in...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called off an operation to storm the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariuol, where over 2,000 Ukrainian militants remain entrenched, according to the Russian military. At a meeting with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, the head of state demanded that the plant be blocked so that "even a fly can’t get in or out," and another offer to surrender be made to those holed up at the facility. TASS has put together vital information on decisions made by the commander-in-chief.Russian troops and the forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) have taken control...

As the Alaska Republican Party holds its state convention this month, attention will naturally focus on the 2022 elections, most notably the selection of our next U.S. Senator. I’ve been running against incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski for over a year, and it’s clear that voters agree that it’s time for a change. Because of a new election law, approved narrowly through a referendum crafted and promoted by Murkowski’s political allies, we no longer hold party primaries in Alaska. All candidates from all parties will run in a “jungle” primary on August 16 with the top four advancing to the general...

Following a tour of Conway Medical Center’s flagship hospital on Thursday, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie stood side-by-side with U.S. Rep. Tom Rice and said the congressman had earned his support, friendship and endorsement. “Congressman Rice has an extraordinary conservative record that Republicans all over the country should be proud of,” Christie told reporters. The former Republican governor of a reliably blue state praised Rice for helping to create jobs in Horry County and across South Carolina’s 7th congressional district. Christie said such work has “been incredibly helpful to lift people out of poverty and give their families a...

The Mask Studies You Should KnowFirst, a primer on the levels of the different levels of quality of research and the “Hierarchy of evidence.” Not all studies are equal in their level of certainty or quality, but the absolute most reliable and most certainty we can get usually comes from Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Control Trials. See the chart below from the Center for Evidence Based Medicine:Luckily we have the highest possible evidence we can get on the effectiveness of masks. A Systematic Review of Randomized Control Trials. Cochrane Library (widely considered a gold standard in evidence based...

CNN political analyst Chris Cillizza can normally be considered a reasonably reliable toe-tapper of the liberal media line. We've found Cillizza tends to dunk on Republicans and uplift Democrats. So it was an eye-opener this morning when, appearing on New Day, Cillizza tagged Biden for going off-script on masks, contradicting his administration's official policy on the matter. COVID policy looks "directionless," and "the Biden administration looks listless right now."Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

LONDON (REUTERS) -The Kremlin said on Thursday (April 21) that Moscow was still waiting for Ukraine's response to Russia's latest written proposal in peace talks between the two sides, and questioned why Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky was unaware of the document. Mr Zelensky said on Wednesday that he had not seen or heard about the text the Kremlin said it had sent. "I repeat once again, as I said yesterday, our formulations, in fact the latest version, were handed to our opponents, to the Ukrainian negotiating delegation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Mr Peskov said the Kremlin was aware...

As drama, gossip, and industry chatter has swirled around the 9 pm hour in cable news — with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow now scaling back her time on air, while CNN has yet to settle on a permanent replacement following Chris Cuomo’s ouster — the anchor in that time slot over at Fox News has just broken a record. As of Thursday, April 21, Fox host Sean Hannity is now the longest-running primetime cable news host in TV history, surpassing the record previously held by the late Larry King. For more than 25 years, Hannity has been a mainstay of the...