Free Republic

In another world, she could have been in the White House on Friday 3 June, heading into the final third of a two-term presidency. Instead she was in Colmans, a chippy in South Shields on Ocean’s Road, a weathered North Sea boulevard half an hour east of Newcastle. Hillary Clinton – the first female senator for New York, and a former first lady, US secretary of state, and Democratic presidential nominee – is now a private citizen, but she keeps a retinue fit for the powerful: four bodyguards perched nearby as I approached her, seated for supper and surrounded by...

(I changed the picture, the original was a Getty which we can't post)Gigi Sohn, the Biden Administration’s nomination for FCC commissioner, has attended a partisan event touting an FCC-led breakup of Sinclair Broadcasting Group’s “right wing propaganda machine,” adding to mounting evidence that the nominee is hopelessly partisan. The appointee would break the current 2-2 FCC tie in favor of the Democrats While FCC commissioners have a party affiliation, with two Democrat commissioners, two Republican commissioners, and one chair position typically held by whichever party holds the White House, commissioners are expected to remain relatively non-partisan in their outlook on...

This cat has purr-sonality in the form of the mysterious masked crusader. One of Indraini Wahyudin Noor’s many cats — this one cryptically named “Boy” — is going viral for bearing an uncanny resemblance to Zorro. The nine-month-old Persian kitten has a distinct black patch surrounding both eyes that looks just like the iconic mask of the hero created by American “pulp” writer Johnston McCulley in 1919. He isn’t too different from a regular cat, as Noor says, “he always wants to be petted, cuddled and held. He likes to play a lot, but he hates being bathed each week.”...

Fox News host Geraldo Rivera said Tuesday on FNC’s “The Five” that former President Donald Trump “turned the knife in America’s back” on January 6, 2021 by attempting to interrupt the peaceful transition of power. Rivera said, “I find it ironic that Greg, for instance, prefers Trump to Biden when you look at President Trump in the light of the is January 6 hearings. When you see how absolutely crazy, he became after the election and how close he came to impeding and destroying the transition, peaceful transition of power for the first time in American history.”

My 85 year old uncle is in the hospital with pneumonia. Please keep him in your prayers. Thank you.

A rise in hate crimes and anti-Black vitriol sparked a 58 percent increase in Black people purchasing firearms in 2020. The spike seems to have continued. Philip Smith, founder and president of the National African American Gun Association. Two days after a white man shot and killed 10 Black people in Buffalo last month, Michael Moody reversed his thinking about possessing a firearm. He had watched the aftermath of the carnage on the news, the anguish of the victims’ families, and decided he “needed a gun. Needed, not wanted,” he said. After discussing it with his wife, Moody said he...

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said in an interview published on Tuesday that he told the leader of Germany’s Catholic bishops that the country already had “a very good Evangelical Church” and “we don’t need two.”The Pope recalled his remark to Bishop Georg Bätzing, chairman of the German bishops’ conference, during a conversation with the editors of Jesuit Magazine journals. The dialogue, which also touched on the war in Ukraine and opposition to Vatican II, was published in La Civiltà Cattolica on June 14 but was conducted on May 19.The Pope was asked what he thought of the German “Synodal...

COLUMBUS, Ind. — An energy grid operator has warned Indiana and other Midwestern states of the possibility of rolling blackouts this summer as extreme heat combines with a projected power capacity shortage and increased demand. Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), an independent, not-for-profit organization that delivers electric power across 15 U.S. states — including Indiana — and the Canadian province of Manitoba, is warning that power-generating capacity is struggling to keep up with demand, according to Bartholomew County REMC.

As the West endures another year of unrelenting drought worsened by climate change, the Colorado River’s reservoirs have declined so low that major water cuts will be necessary next year to reduce risks of supplies reaching perilously low levels, a top federal water official said Tuesday. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said during a Senate hearing in Washington that federal officials now believe protecting “critical levels” at the country’s largest reservoirs — Lake Mead and Lake Powell — will require much larger reductions in water deliveries. “A warmer, drier West is what we are seeing today,” Touton told...

Joe Biden’s Climate Envoy John Kerry hosted a discussion with the USC Center for Public Diplomacy over the weekend. John Kerry is the perfect person to be in charge of reducing carbon emissions since he owns several mansions, a mega yacht and flies in private jets. Joe Biden’s Climate Envoy John Kerry hosted a discussion with the USC Center for Public Diplomacy over the weekend. John Kerry is the perfect person to be in charge of reducing carbon emissions since he owns several mansions, a mega yacht and flies in private jets. John Kerry said “we absolutely don’t” need to...

Discussing speculation over whether President Biden would run for reelection in 2024, "The View" host Joy Behar said Tuesday that David Axelrod, a former adviser to Barack Obama, should "keep his mouth shut" about president's age. David Axelrod should keep his mouth shut. And you know what, Ronald Reagan's rule was thou shall not speak ill of a fellow Republican. And I say onto you, David Axelrod, do not speak ill of a fellow Democrat," Behar declared. Guest host Alyssa Farah brought up Axelrod's comments in a New York Times article from Saturday, headlined "Should Biden Run in 2024? Democratic...

New York’s highest court rejected former President Donald Trump’s last-ditch effort to avoid testifying in the state attorney general’s civil investigation into his business practices on Tuesday, clearing the way for his deposition next month. The state’s Court of Appeals said there was no “substantial constitutional question” that would warrant its intervention in the matter following an intermediate appellate court’s ruling last month enforcing a subpoena for Trump’s testimony. The court also dismissed a motion by Trump’s lawyers to stay the subpoenas, saying that doing so would be “academic,” since it wasn’t taking up the former president’s appeal in the...

Tom Hanks sparked concern among his fans earlier this month, as he appeared to be struggling to contain the shaking of his arm. The 65-year-old is in the midst of a promotional whirlwind for Baz Luhrmann's biopic of Elvis, in which Hanks stars as the singer's manager. Luhrmann, who was born in Sydney, arranged for an Australian premier to be held in the city of Gold Coast, 50 miles south of Brisbane, where the filming took place. Austin Butler, 30, who stars as The King, was at the June 4 event, along with Hanks. 'There is no better place in...

Floating solar had a moment in the spotlight over the weekend when the US Army unveiled a new solar plant sitting atop the Big Muddy Lake at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. It’s the first floating solar array deployed by the Department of Defense, and it’s part of a growing current of support in the US for “floatovoltaics.” The army says its goal is to boost clean energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and give the nearby training facility a source of backup energy during power outages. The panels will be able to generate about one megawatt of electricity, which can...

Tuesday, on FNC’s “Your Would,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), one of the Republican members selected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for a post on the House Select Committee on the January 6, 2021 riot, said he could not support former President Donald Trump, even if he were the eventual 2024 Republican presidential nominee. The Illinois lawmaker urged Republicans to look elsewhere in his interview with host Neil Cavuto.

The second public hearing of the House select committee investigating last year’s Capitol riot drew around 10 million total viewers Monday, less than half the audience that watched the committee’s primetime opening presentation last week.

Tanglewood says visitors to the famed Berkshire County concert grounds won’t be required to show proof of vaccination, a negative COVID test result, or wear masks this summer. Tanglewood is encouraging fans to hang on to their tickets until further information is available about a rescheduled performance after Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band cancelled their planned June 17th concert due to COVID-19. The cancellation comes as the famed Berkshire County venue says guests won't be required to show proof of vaccination, a negative COVID test result, or wear masks this summer. The Boston Symphony Orchestra says masks would only...

For those of you who haven't had time to watch the whole thing: unanimous vote to approve the Moderna vaccine EUA 6 to 11 and 12 - 17. Tomorrow is Moderna 6 month to 5 year; Pfizer 6 mo to 4 yrs.Steve Kirsch I used to watch the VRBPAC and ACIP meetings, but it was so depressing and I have more important things to do (you are going to really love the next poll coming up later today).The best link to watch the action is the annotated livestream where you can see Meryl Nass’s live commentary. It will be live...

One of Joe Biden’s senior advisors told a reporter this week that social media companies should be cracking down on and censoring anyone who speeds information critical of the administration’s so called ‘green energy transition’. National climate advisor Gina McCarthy made the comments in an interview with a reporter for Axios, stating “Now it’s not so much denying the problem. What the [fossil fuel] industry is now doing is seeding doubt about the costs associated with [green energy] and whether they work or not.” She continued, “We need the tech companies to really jump in,” on “disinformation,” noting that criticising...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis: There Are Many ‘Restorers’ in the US Who Do Not Accept Vatican IIPope Francis cited opposition to Vatican II when he issued the motu proprio Traditionis custodes in July 2021, limiting celebrations of the Traditional Latin Mass.VATICAN CITY — There are many “restorers” in the United States who do not accept the Second Vatican Council, Pope Francis said in an interview published on Tuesday. pSpeaking to the editors of Jesuit Magazine journals, he criticized what he called “restorationism” in the Church, which he defined as the failure to accept Vatican II, the ecumenical council held from...