Free Republic

As Democrats’ prospects for the midterms have improved — they’re now up to a 71 percent chance of keeping the Senate and a 29 percent chance of retaining the House, according to the 2022 FiveThirtyEight midterm election forecast1 — I’ve observed a corresponding increase in concern among liberals that the polls might overestimate Democrats’ position again, as they did in 2016 and 2020. Even among commenters who are analyzing the race from an arm’s-length distance, there sometimes seems to be a presumption that the polls will be biased toward Democrats.

What are your chances of catching monkeypox? It's a question that many people are asking. A global outbreak of this infectious disease began in May of this year and has spread to 50 countries – along with some inflammatory headlines and misinformation. While previous cases of monkeypox were typically transmitted from animals (mainly rodents) to people, it is clear now that most cases are the result of human-to-human transmission. The concerns about catching monkeypox come at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is still in force, with over 300,000 cases reported daily across the globe and over 10,000 deaths per...

Carina Lau has become the latest Hong Kong celebrity to be criticised by Chinese netizens for her tribute to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. The monarch died at the age of 96 on Sept 8 after 70 years on the throne. Lau, 56, shared a photo of the Queen on Instagram on Sept 9, writing in Chinese: “A tribute to Queen Elizabeth. This outstanding woman presided over a long and stable reign in a rapidly changing society. Her passing is an irreplaceable loss in our era.” Lau, who played former Chinese empress Wu Zetian in the Detective Dee movie trilogy (2010...

On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “America Reports,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said that government spending is a cause of inflation, but it was needed to avoid a recession and that while the Inflation Reduction Act will bring inflation “down a bit,” in the immediate term, “I don’t think that the ultimate source of inflation is going to be this act that will bring it down. I think it’s going to be Fed policy.” Khanna said, “Obviously, inflation is an issue, people are still paying too much for food, for basic products, for their needs. But how do...

Twenty-one-year incumbent and pro-impeachment Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has decided before the midterm election to defend President Joe Biden’s massive spending spree that has fueled soaring inflation. When questioned by KHNS radio Friday about why she voted for the $1.2 trillion “infrastructure” bill that fueled inflation, Murkowski said she was “purposeful” that the spending would not contribute to inflation.

The accused madman who flew into an ax-wielding rampage at a Lower East Side McDonald’s told The Post on Monday that he’s “not unhinged” — and just did what anyone would do in his situation. Michael Palacios, a 31-year-old Manhattan messenger, said his ax-capades were all about trying to scare the McDonald’s patrons who punched him during a beef early Friday — as he also shared his philosophy on why he prefers his “tomahawk” to a gun. “Think about it. If you only think that the thing you can protect yourself with is a gun, we’re all going to go...

Adnan Syed — the subject of the hit crime podcast “Serial” — was released from prison on Monday, following a court decision to vacate his conviction for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. The conviction was thrown out by Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn, who ruled the state had failed to share evidence with Syed’s attorneys that could have helped his defense. The now-41-year-old Syed — who was arrested at 17 and has spent more than two decades behind bars — was calm and stoic as Phinn made her ruling, the Baltimore Sun reported. His family...

A top executive at plant-based food company Beyond Meat was arrested after he allegedly chomped down on a man’s nose during a fight outside Razorback Stadium in Arkansas Saturday. Chief Operating Officer Doug Ramsey faces charges connected to the unusual incident that was sparked from an altercation inside a parking garage following the University of Arkansas football team’s win over Missouri State. Ramsey, 53, was attempting to leave in his Bronco when a driver in a Subaru nudged his way in front of him and made contact with his front passenger side tire, KNWA-TV reported, citing a preliminary police report.

Sharply rising cases of some sexually transmitted diseases — including a 26% rise in new syphilis infections reported last year — are prompting U.S. health officials to call for new prevention and treatment efforts. “It is imperative that we … work to rebuild, innovate, and expand (STD) prevention in the U.S.,” said Dr. Leandro Mena of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a speech Monday at a medical conference on sexually transmitted diseases. Infections rates for some STDs, including gonorrhea and syphilis, have been rising for years. Last year the rate of syphilis cases reached its highest...

President Joe Biden has flown across the Atlantic Ocean to pay his final respects to Queen Elizabeth the II and give her one last good sniff. According to sources, with hundreds of world leaders and dignitaries gathered around for the Queen's grand state funeral, President Joe Biden got up unannounced and made his way straight for the Queen's casket. "Goodbye, Queen Elizabeth. I'll never forget you or your royal scent," said President Joe Biden with a great, and powerful sniff while leaning down into the Queen's casket. "Ahhh, even better than ol' Joey remembered."

Performing proactive surgery to adjust the foot appears to be effective to treat diabetic foot ulcers, without the potential complications and at significantly lower cost compared to conservative management. The study describes how these procedures in 19 patients successfully resolved all foot ulcers, prevented diabetic foot sepsis, and reduced recurrence and amputation rates compared to 15 patients treated conservatively. Researchers describe how a day-case procedure list within diabetes teams has affected outcomes by performing proactive simple surgical procedures. 19 patients with diabetic foot ulcers (without associated abscesses) were offered a percutaneous procedure performed under local anaesthetic by an orthopedic surgeon,...

Sherri Papini disappeared from her Northern California neighborhood in November 2016, but she made it home in time for Thanksgiving. Missing for 22 days, Papini reappeared bruised, branded and emaciated. Her blond hair was sloppily cut. She claimed two Latinas had kidnapped her at gunpoint and held her captive before having a sudden change of heart and releasing her. Papini could not immediately recall many details from the ordeal and initially refused to talk with police. But less than a year after his wife returned home, Keith Papini contacted a federal agent. It was March 2017. His wife had had...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is set to fundraise for Arizona’s Republican U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters on Wednesday. Teddy Schleifer with Puck News tweeted an invitation to a Blake Masters for U.S. Senate fundraiser with McConnell listed as a “Special Guest.” The event is set for 5:00 p.m. Wednesday and Schleifer noted it will be hosted in Washington, DC.

The Vatican Philately has made a few strange choices and omissions by recalling Charlie Chaplin and the Protestant Reformation, yet stepping over the 450th anniversary (2021 edition) of the battle of Lepanto, which marked the end of the Islamic threat in Europe, and (2022 edition) of the death of Pope St. Pius V: a holy and courageous pontiff, perhaps too far from current "standards".As an independent state the Vatican issues its own stamps, about 15-20 per year, and through the Economic Directorate offers a philatelic (and also numismatic) selection to clients worldwide. Vatican stamps are prized by collectors everywhere. As...

Billboards slated to go up in Mississippi and Oklahoma inform women that ‘California is ready to help’ if they ‘need an abortion.' The signs quote Mark 12:31, which reads: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these.’SACRAMENTO (LifeSiteNews) — California’s radically pro-abortion Gov. Gavin Newsom is continuing to make the Golden State a “sanctuary” for abortion, opting to put up billboards in pro-life states promoting the ease with which women can kill their babies in California. Critics have blasted the effort as “evil” and “shameful,” particularly as some signs quote Scripture to justify the murder of...

"Real Time" host Bill Maher had a tense exchange with Puck News correspondent Julia Ioffe after she claimed that Trump supporters "have a lot to repent for." During the "Overtime" segment where viewer questions are answered after the show on YouTube, Maher complained about the political polarization that has taken place across the country in recent years and how he doesn't want to be forced to "choose sides" since he finds things disagreeable with both parties. Presidential historian and Biden speechwriter Jon Meacham spoke about how he's "friends" with many Republicans in his home state of Tennessee who don't like...

An Egyptian archaeological mission working in Giza’s prominent Saqqara necropolis has unearthed several blocks of white cheese dating back to the 26th dynasty of ancient Egypt (664–525 BC).A statement from the country’s antiquities ministry said the find was accomplished during the first round of excavations of the mission’s sixth season, which kicked off on Saturday.According to the statement, the mission unearthed a number of clay receptacles containing the cheese, inscribed with Demotic script — ancient Egyptian writing also found on the Rosetta Stone royal decree.The mission reportedly found a number of other containers that are expected to be opened in...

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (CNS) — As war, violence and extremism in countries around the world threaten the lives of countless men, women and children, religions must rise above differences and be examples of peace and harmony, Pope Francis said. “It is time to realize that fundamentalism defiles and corrupts every creed; time for open and compassionate hearts,” the pope said Sept. 14 at the plenary session of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. “We need religion in order to respond to the thirst for world peace and the thirst for the infinite that dwells in the heart of...

Beer has stood the test of time as one of the world's favorite social lubricants.However, much of the history of the drink, and the corresponding histories of the cultures it has been associated with, are often ignored.To resolve that gap, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor and a Wauwatosa home brewer have spent the last three years combining forces to restore old recipes and spark interest in the underlying history of Milwaukee’s favorite drink.A Wauwatosa home brewer and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor are working to revive ancient beer recipes as a way to encourage people to embrace the history of the...

In an effort to distract attention from its losses in Ukraine and obfuscate its war on Ukrainian civilians, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations accused the United States, the United Kingdom and unnamed other Western countries of launching “the largest in history war by proxy with Russia using Ukrainians and ready to go “until the last Ukrainian”. He then claimed that it was Ukraine and its Western supporters, not Russia, who started the war. It’s time to set the record straight. Leading up to Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, Russia fervently insisted that it had no plans to...