Free Republic

A SpaceNews report published yesterday tells us what Larry Connor, Mark Pathy, Michael López-Alegría and Eytan Stibbe thought about their trip to the ISS, because the team attended a press conference to answer media questions. The trip was initially supposed to take eight days but was extended to 15 because of weather conditions on Earth. The extra time was helpful, Axiom’s paying customers said, but the crew still felt rushed. Although the private astronauts paid more than $50 million each for the trip, it was definitely a working vacation. Some of the crew’s experiments included testing self-assembling robot tech, working...

MELBOURNE, Australia — If the United States had the same COVID death rate as Australia, about 900,000 lives would have been saved. The Texas grandmother who made the perfect pumpkin pie might still be baking. The Red Sox-loving husband who ran marathons before COVID might still be cheering at Fenway Park. For many Americans, imagining what might have been will be painful. But especially now, at the milestone of 1 million deaths in the United States, the nations that did a better job of keeping people alive show what Americans could have done differently and what might still need to...

@ggreenwald WashPost: "Flood of weapons to Ukraine raises fear of arms smuggling" "Shoulder-fired Stinger missiles, capable of downing commercial airliners, are just one of the weapon systems experts worry could slip into the possession of terrorist groups."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law No. 7172-1 that will ban opposition parties and seize their property on Saturday. The law targets opposition parties if they deny the armed aggression against Ukraine. The law includes actions that support the Russian Federation and Republic of Belarus, the two invading countries. The news was reported the same day GOP Senators paid him a visit in Kyiv. ..... Snip..... The legislation expands the list of grounds for banning a political party through the courts. Relevant grounds are justifying, recognizing as lawful or denying armed aggression against Ukraine, including by presenting armed aggression...

Biden’s attempted insult fell flat, and was quickly co-opted by Trump and his supporters45th President Donald J. Trump thanked Joe Biden for crowning him the “Great MAGA King” in a post he made to his Truth Social platform after Biden’s attempt to use the moniker as an insult fell flat.Joe Biden’s “Great MAGA King” remark came as he spoke to an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) conference in Chicago this week. Like many labor unions, those at the top of the IBEW have continued supporting Biden and other Democrats, while the skilled tradesmen and others within the union’s ranks...

Across the country, the LGBT movement is pushing aggressive homosexual propaganda and transgender “counseling” in elementary schools, graphic sexual children’s books in libraries, and militant “gay pride” policies in businesses and government. Families are frightened and distraught, and looking to their political leaders for help. In Florida, the Republican Governor is confronting that agenda. But in Massachusetts, the leading Republican Governor hopeful is doing the opposite – he’s arrogantly made it clear that he supports it. Former State Rep. Geoff Diehl is the leading GOP candidate for Governor in the fall elections. He has successfully courted conservative GOP activists to...

@mtracey Meritocracy update: the son of Bob Menendez, Rob, has already been pre-anointed as the next Congressman from this part of northern New Jersey, taking his dad’s old seat in the House. They’ll be the only father-son duo in Congress

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) on Sunday warned Native American tribes not to create abortion safe havens if Roe v. Wade is overturned and his state enacts a near-total ban on abortions. Stitt told “Fox News Sunday” there was a “possibility” tribes could establish abortion havens if his state makes most abortions illegal. “Oklahomans will not think very well of that if tribes try to set up abortion clinics,” Stitt said, warning he is monitoring the situation. Stitt appeared on “Fox News Sunday” after the Supreme Court leak of a draft opinion showing the court was preparing to overturn the...

The sinkhole is 630 feet (192 meters) deep, according to the Xinhua news agency, deep enough to just swallow St. Louis' Gateway Arch. A team of speleologists and spelunkers rappelled into the sinkhole on Friday (May 6), discovering that there are three cave entrances in the chasm, as well as ancient trees 131 feet (40 m) tall, stretching their branches toward the sunlight that filters through the sinkhole entrance. The discovery is no surprise, Veni told Live Science, because southern China is home to karst topography, a landscape prone to dramatic sinkholes and otherworldly caves. Karst landscapes are formed primarily...

Gas prices in Massachusetts reached a new record high for the sixth day in a row Friday, according to AAA. The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the state is now $4.53. That’s up six cents from Thursday and 23 cents in the last week. A year ago at this time it was $1.64 lower at $2.89 a gallon. The national average is now $4.45 a gallon, also a new record AAA said Saturday. Diesel prices have also hit a new high in Massachusetts, now averaging $6.36 as of Saturday.

Doctors would be forced to address patients in French With limited exceptions, Bill 96 requires doctors to address their patients in French, even in situations where both doctor and patient would better understand each other in another language. Certain bilingual institutions, such as the Jewish General Hospital, are exempt. As are patients who can prove that they’ve attended an English-language school in Canada, or immigrants who have arrived in Quebec within the last six months. But for everyone else, everything from cancer diagnoses to Alzheimer’s treatment must be performed in French.

2022 PA Senate GOP Primary (with leaners) Oz 32% (+11) Barnette 27% (+12) McCormick 26% (-1) Sands 7% (-4) Bartos 6% (-11) 2022 PA Governor GOP Primary Mastriano 42% (+23) Barletta 24% (+4) McSwain 13% (+5) White 10% (-2) +- changes from April 3 poll May 14-15 / N=1,000 LV

Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs on Sunday endorsed former U.S. Congressman Lou Barletta for governor. “It’s become abundantly clear in recent days that nominating Lou Barletta for governor is Republicans’ best chance to defeat Josh Shapiro in November,” Commonwealth Partners President and CEO Matt Brouillette said in a press release. The organization on its website calls itself a membership association representing employers and employees across Pennsylvania. “Months ago, Commonwealth Partners began cautioning of the dangers of nominating Doug Mastriano, as he would not be able to win the swing voters necessary to win in November,” Brouillette said. “No other organization...

Elon Musk warned Twitter users that they are “being manipulated” and told them to turn off the platform’s algorithmic newsfeed, coming as the firm’s legal department apparently said he committed a violation of a non-disclosure agreement. “You are being manipulated by the algorithm in ways you do not realize … Easy to switch back and forth to see the difference,” Musk wrote on Twitter. The Tesla CEO advised other users to switch to seeing the latest Twitter posts immediately by tapping the Twitter home button, tapping the stars button on the upper right of the screen, and selecting “latest tweets.”...

White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that, should former President Donald Trump win the presidential election in 2024, he would not work in the White House again. "No" was the answer Fauci gave to CNN host Jim Acosta, adding, "If you look at the history of what the response was during the administration, I think, you know, at best, you can say it wasn't optimal. History will speak for itself about that." Fauci has continued his work into the Biden administration, saying in January 2021 that it was "liberating" to work with President Joe Biden.

TOMS RIVER – Some people enjoy literally wearing their politics on their sleeve, and a Toms River store has made that just a little bit easier. The Let’s Go Brandon store located at 1405 Route 37 East opened recently and its owners, Vinny Scuzzese and Greg Dooner, both of Toms River have made a big splash with national coverage on a Fox News show as well as with local media. The store features a full line of Trump paraphernalia ranging from hoodies, T-shirts and a number of items that would recall memories of the 2020 campaign season. This wasn’t the...

President Joe Biden has advised his White House aides to shift into campaign mode for the midterm elections, according to a report. The president privately asked his aides to start highlighting differences between his policies and those of the Republican Party, according to Axios, citing “people familiar with the conversations.” Biden himself has ratcheted up the political rhetoric, accusing Republicans of having a radical agenda that is out of touch with the middle class. Biden has focused his political attacks on Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, painting him as the leader of the...

As President Biden arrived in Washington state on Friday, he was greeted with chants of "Let's go Brandon." As the motorcade made its way to Green River College near Seattle, protestors lined the street waving Trump signs and cheering "Let's go Brandon" at the President. Biden was in the Pacific Northwest this week in advance of Earth Day, and to give remarks on his green agenda. The White House noted that his visit was to make a case for "his bold agenda to tackle the climate crisis," as well as forestry issues. Footage was captured by Katie Daviscourt of The...

A Colorado Republican state lawmaker and House candidate filed a lawsuit this week to have the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon” included as part of his name on a Republican primary ballot. State Rep. Dave Williams (R) filed a lawsuit on Monday against Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D), alleging that Griswold would not include his name with the phrase included on the ballot, despite him submitting his name as Dave “Let’s Go Brandon” Williams. The lawsuit said Williams has been using “Let’s Go Brandon” as a nickname since December. The court filing claims that Griswold’s justification for excluding the...

The Andromeda Strain in entirety on odysee. One of my favorite movies, science fiction/drama, great acting throughout! https://odysee.com/$/download/the-andromeda-strain1971/92c38cba7fabc02d6414fa98a71f1b915ef44cc9