Free Republic

The last time Alabama hosted a U.S. Senate and governor’s primary runoff on the same day, Jimmy Carter was president and the Democratic Party ruled Alabama. It was in September 1978, slightly less than 44 years ago when two Senate runoff contests – a regularly-scheduled Democratic race won by Howell Heflin, and Democratic special election runoff won by Donald Stewart to fill a vacant seat – coincided with a lively governor’s race that also went to a runoff. The winner of the governor’s runoff on September 26, 1978? Fob James, father of Tim James who is attempting to push incumbent...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating an outbreak of salmonella infections that is possibly linked to Jif peanut butter products. The J.M. Smucker Company issued a voluntary recall for its creamy, crunchy, natural and reduced fat peanut butter products that were distributed nationwide, with lot code numbers 1274425 to 2140425, the FDA announced Friday. There have been at least 14 illnesses reported, including two hospitalizations, according to the FDA. The 12 states that have reported salmonella cases are Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina,...

A leading adviser to the World Health Organization described the unprecedented outbreak of the rare disease monkeypox in developed countries as “a random event” that might be explained by risky sexual behavior at two recent mass events in Europe. In an interview with The Associated Press, Dr. David Heymann, who formerly headed WHO’s emergencies department, said the leading theory to explain the spread of the disease was sexual transmission among gay and bisexual men at two raves held in Spain and Belgium. Monkeypox has not previously triggered widespread outbreaks beyond Africa, where it is endemic in animals.

Two months ago, former President Donald Trump rescinded his endorsement of conservative Rep. Mo Brooks' Senate bid, claiming that the longtime political ally went "woke" in saying that the party needed to look to the future. At the time, Brooks was lagging in fundraising and his polling numbers had stalled in the Republican primary against former Business Council of Alabama president and CEO Katie Britt — who was endorsed by retiring GOP Sen. Richard Shelby — and former US Army pilot Michael Durant. But Brooks has made a major rebound — a development that might have seemed improbable after Trump...

Rep. Mo Brooks is regaining ground in Alabama’s expensive Senate race, and a grassroots immigration reform group has endorsed him shortly before the May 24 ballot. “Americans for Legal Immigration PAC [ALIPAC] is launching online ads and sending in donors and volunteers to inform Alabama voters about Rep. Mo Brooks’ proven record as a national leader against Biden’s Border Disaster and AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty,” said a statement from the grassroots group. “The most important issues in the 2022 elections are our sabotaged borders and immigration laws and reversing illegal immigration,” said ALIPAC founder William Gheen. “Mo Brooks is...

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Kash Patel, a former top House Intelligence Committee aide, said he believes special counsel John Durham has figured out the "insurance policy" discussed by leading FBI officials in the heat of the 2016 presidential election. A text message sent by FBI agent Peter Strzok to then-FBI lawyer Lisa Page in August 2016 mentioning an "insurance policy" is integral to what Republican investigators have long suspected to be part of a so-called plot to undermine then-candidate Donald Trump — a view rejected by ex-top FBI brass involved in the matter. Strzok and Page, who were romantically linked, have filed separate lawsuits...

-Trump re-posted a comment on Truth Social that suggested or predicted civil war in America. -The post shared by Trump included the El Salvadoran president's remarks on inflation in the US. -Trump's re-post was swiftly rebuked by his critics, like GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger.Former President Donald Trump this weekend re-shared a comment on Truth Social that appeared to predict or suggest a civil war in America in response to inflation. Trump re-posted a suggestion from a Truth Social user called "MAGA King Thanos," who commented on a screenshot of a tweet from El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele. In the...

In long-awaited data, Pfizer said its 3-dose vaccine was 80% effective against symptomatic omicron COVID-19 infection among children 6 months to under 5 years old. The company cautioned that estimate was preliminary and could be adjusted as more data is collected. The trial wasn't big enough to estimate protection against severe disease, which experts expect to be higher. The news doesn’t change the overall timeline for when vaccines for this age group could be available. For the youngest Americans, vaccines from both Pfizer and Moderna are expected to be authorized in June or July, likely as a three-dose vaccine for...

As of July 8, 2003, a total of 71 cases of monkeypox have been reported to CDC from Wisconsin (39), Indiana (16), Illinois (12), Missouri (two), Kansas (one), and Ohio (one); these include 35 (49%) cases laboratory-confirmed at CDC and 36 (51%) suspect and probable cases under investigation by state and local health departments (Figure 1). Eleven cases were excluded from those reported previously because they met the exclusion criteria outlined in the updated national case definition, and one new case was added (1). The number of cases increased from May 15 through the week ending June 8 and declined...

Three weeks: That's how long it took for the Department of Homeland Security to go from announcing a board intended to combat disinformation to suspending it. In those three weeks, both the Disinformation Governance Board and its leader, Nina Jankowicz, came under relentless and sometimes vicious attack from right-wing media and Republican lawmakers. DHS initially shared few details about the board's function and purview, leading to speculation and fears it would police online speech. As the board's public face, Jankowicz became a lighting rod. A well-regarded authority in online disinformation, who has studied Russian information operations and advised governments including...

The Los Angeles man accused of attacking Dave Chappelle said he was “triggered” by the comedian’s jokes about the LGBTQ community and homelessness — as he insisted he never wanted to harm the funnyman. In an exclusive jailhouse interview, Isaiah Lee told The Post that Chappelle should be more “sensitive” when it comes to the jokes he cracks. “I identify as bisexual … and I wanted him to know what he said was triggering,” Lee said Saturday at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles, dressed in brown jail garb and sporting a sling on his broken right arm....

The Bible In Paintings 2 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE 1st SAMUEL CHAPTER 31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically. Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.” But his armor-bearer was terrified and...

The monumental incompetence of everyone in the Biden administration is truly unprecedented. The two people at the top couldn’t figure out how to open a jar of spaghetti sauce without burning down a house and it just gets worse from there. Again, how this country makes it to 2024 with this drunken clown car running roughshod over it is a mystery.This baby formula crisis that Let’s Go Brandon created because he’s a bumbling fool with the IQ of paint is the lowest point since he got American troops killed in Afghanistan. It’s a safe bet to say that these idiots...

Vladimir Putin underwent 'successful' cancer surgery last week and is recovering, it has been claimed in just the latest rumour about the Russian leader's health. The 69-year-old underwent an unknown procedure late last Monday following advice from medics that treatment was 'essential', according to Telegram channel General SVR which claims to be getting information from inside the Kremlin. Putin's condition was said to have worsened briefly on Friday night before improving, the social media account said, while adding that doctors have advised he avoid taking part in meetings for several more days while he recovers. General SVR said last week...

BERLIN (AP) — The COVID-19 pandemic is “most certainly not over,” the head of the World Health Organization warned Sunday, despite a decline in reported cases since the peak of the omicron wave. He told governments that “we lower our guard at our peril.” The U.N. health agency’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told officials gathered in Geneva for opening of the WHO’s annual meeting that “declining testing and sequencing means we are blinding ourselves to the evolution of the virus.” He also noted that almost 1 billion people in lower-income countries still haven’t been vaccinated. In a weekly report Thursday...

Joe Biden ‘dazed and confused’ but Kamala Harris ‘ready and capable’

“For us [Russia], the war in Ukraine … is a rehearsal for a possibly larger conflict in the future,” a top Russian political scientist warned on the Russian-state TV talk show “60 Minutes.” Alexei Fenenko, a research fellow at the Institute of International Security Studies, told Olga Skabeyeva, the show’s host, that the invasion of Ukraine was a testing ground of military tactics and equipment for a much broader conflict, one that could potentially involve NATO. “And that is why we’ll test and go up against NATO weapons, and will see on the battlefield how much stronger our weapons really...

MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - For thousands of migrants who have waited for months in northern Mexico, Monday was supposed to mark the moment when the U.S. government finally dropped a pandemic-era policy that has largely prevented them from seeking asylum in the United States. Instead, May 23 marked the latest setback for many migrants, after a federal judge in Louisiana blocked U.S. authorities from lifting the sweeping policy, known as Title 42, which since March 2020 has empowered U.S. agents to quickly turn back over a million migrants to Mexico and other countries. “First they said they were going to...

Chicago police are investigating after a 36-year-old woman was reportedly found handcuffed and chained to a wall inside an abandoned home Saturday evening in West Pullman. Police found her around 5:30 p.m. on the 11900 block of South Eggleston. Antione “D-ice” Dobine said during a livestream of the initial police response that he heard the woman knocking on a window of the home, and called police to investigate. In Dobine’s video, a police officer walks to the rear of the abandoned home with a large set of bolt cutters in his hand. “She’s handcuffed and chained to a wall,” the...