Free Republic

Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz dubbed his Democratic opponent John Fetterman “the most pro-murderer candidate in America right now.” The former TV star laid into Fetterman during a Wednesday appearance on Newsmax’s Wake Up America, taking issue with the Democrat’s work advocating for the release of some convicted criminals through his past work on the state’s Board of Pardons. “He is the most pro-murderer candidate in America right now, and it’s stunning when you hear the specific cases. Times when he has actually lobbied to release first-degree murderers,” Oz said. He then mentioned a case involving a man...

Explanation: While drifting through the cosmos, a magnificent interstellar dust cloud became sculpted by stellar winds and radiation to assume a recognizable shape. Fittingly named the Horsehead Nebula, it is embedded in the vast and complex Orion Nebula (M42). A potentially rewarding but difficult object to view personally with a small telescope, the featured gorgeously detailed image was taken in infrared light by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. The dark molecular cloud, roughly 1,500 light years distant, is cataloged as Barnard 33 and is seen above primarily because it is backlit by the nearby massive star Sigma Orionis. The Horsehead...

"I’ve been warning that Chair Powell’s Fed would throw millions of Americans out of work — and I fear he’s already on the path to doing so,” Warren, a member of the Senate Committee on Finance, wrote on Twitter following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s announcement regarding the benchmark interest rate hike. Earlier Wednesday, Powell said he would boost the rate by 75 basis points for the third consecutive month as part of an effort to combat red-hot inflation... “We have both the tools we need and the resolve that it will take to restore price stability on behalf of...

When asked about woke teachers who are worried the measure will “lead to a whitewashing of teaching of slavery and other issues,” DeSantis told them to read Florida statues, as they are “required to teach slavery, the post reconstruction and segregation, [and] Civil Rights,” he said. “Those are core parts of American history that should be taught.” However, DeSantis emphasized that it should be “taught accurately.” “For example, the 1619 project is a CRT version of history. It’s supported by the New York Times. They want to teach our kids that the American revolution was fought to protect slavery, and...

The House pushed ahead Wednesday with legislation that would revamp the rules for certifying the results of a presidential election as lawmakers accelerate their response to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Donald Trump’s failed attempt to remain in power. The legislation would overhaul an arcane 1800s-era statute known as the Electoral Count Act that governs, along with the U.S. Constitution, how states and Congress certify electors and declare presidential election winners. The House planned a vote on the bill after afternoon debate. […] The legislation intends to ensure that future Jan. 6 sessions are “as the constitution envisioned, a...

Stocks fell in volatile trading Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised rates by three-quarters of a point and forecast more sizable rate hikes in its fight against inflation, actions widely expected by traders. With the S&P 500 down more than 8% in the past month and 18% for 2022 heading into Wednesday’s Fed actions, stocks were already pricing in an aggressive tightening campaign by the Fed that could push the economy into a recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average last traded 294 points lower, or 0.9%, after being up as much as 314 points. The S&P 500 dipped 0.7%, and...

Following Monday’s large anti-government protest in central Tehran, demonstrations expanded Tuesday to many Iranian cities and towns, with gunshots reported. So far large and small protests have been reported from many large cities and provincial capitals including the religious city of Mashhad, capital of Khorasan-e Razavi Province in northeast; Tabriz capital of East Azarbaijan Province in northwest; Rasht, capital of northern province of Gilan where at least a dozen were arrested in last night’s protests; the religious city of Qom, capital of a province of the same name where most Iranian religious seminaries are located; Ilam, capital of western province...

Russia has reportedly warned that those who protest Vladimir Putin's decision to call up reservists to fight in Ukraine will be drafted into the military. Protests are planned to take place across the country on Wednesday evening, opposing Putin's decree to partially mobilize Russia's armed forces. Russian media outlets have warned that anyone taking part in "illegal rallies" will be subject to military conscription, according to Samuel Ramani, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies. Top Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov shared a post on Telegram outlining the measures.

FEAST OF SAINT MATTHEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST MATTHEW 9:9–13 Friends, today we celebrate the feast of St. Matthew, and our Gospel tells of his conversion. Matthew’s laconic account details what the transition from spiritual death to spiritual life is like. First, we notice the look of Jesus. If there is one theme clearly stated in the New Testament it is that of the primacy of grace. Why? We don’t know.We just know that we will not lift ourselves to spiritual wholeness. A gaze has to come upon us from the outside—not so much finding God as allowing ourselves to be...

More than 1,000 people have been arrested at demonstrations across Russia against President Vladimir Putin's announcement of a partial mobilisation of civilians to fight in Ukraine, a police monitoring group said Wednesday. The OVD-Info monitoring group counted at least 1,054 people detained at rallies in 38 different cities across the country after Putin's morning address to the nation. The protests were the largest in Russia since demonstrations that broke out following the announcement of Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine in February. AFP journalists in the centre of the Russian capital Moscow said at least 50 people were detained by police...

The Louisiana State University senior who was fatally shot while sitting in her car Friday morning appears to be the victim of a random attack, police said Tuesday. Investigators have found no evidence indicating that 21-year-old Allison Rice was targeted by her killer, a Baton Rouge police spokesperson told WBRZ on Tuesday. The development came as authorities also revealed federal agents from the FBI, ATF and DEA have offered assistance in the case, District Attorney Hillar Moore told the outlet. Moore called the murder an “isolated and random act,” and said detectives have pursued every single tip and lead they...

Desperate Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to “recruit at least 50,000 convicts” to aid his escalated war — including serial killers and “at least one cannibal,” according to a leading expert. Olga Romanova, the head of Russia Behind Bars, told the Daily Beast that some of the inmates her organization has worked with have already been seen in videos from the Ukrainian battlefields. “Putin’s plan is to recruit at least 50,000 convicts,” she told the outlet, saying that Yevgeny Prigozhin — the head of Putin’s shadowy private army, the Wagner Group — has been touring prisons and promising inmates...

The New York attorney general, Letitia James, is seeking to bar the Trump family from ever operating in the state again.

A father and daughter were arrested after a family feud over take-out Chinese food. Wildwood police were called Friday night to the PepperTree Apartments after a woman dialed 911 to report a disturbance. The woman’s son claimed he had been attacked by his father, 51-year-old Bruce Barton Schell, and his sister, 25-year-old Atlantis Ann Schell, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. The family had ordered take-out Chinese food, but the containers were not properly labeled, leading to confusion about the order. The son “unknowingly” ate food that was not his own, prompting him to be put...

Researchers in China have discovered that inhibiting a protein called the GABAA receptor can protect intestinal stem cells from the toxic effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The study suggests that the FDA-approved anti-sedative flumazenil, which targets GABAA receptors, could alleviate some of the common gastrointestinal side effects, such as diarrhea and vomiting, induced by many cancer treatments. Because they have to continually proliferate and replace the cells lining the wall of the gut, intestinal stem cells are highly sensitive to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. These treatments damage the DNA of intestinal stem cells and cause them to die, leading to intestinal...

On Sunday evening, 18-year-old Cayler Ellingson was struck and killed by a vehicle driven by 41-year-old Shannon Brandt in a politically motivated murder in North Dakota. The teen was attending a street dance in McHenry, North Dakota. Brandt called 911 after fleeing the accident, telling the dispatcher that Ellingson was part of a “Republican extremist group.” According to an affidavit, Ellingson called his mom and said he was being chased by Brandt and needed help. Brandt confessed to killing 18-year-old Ellingson because of his politics.

On Saturday, Sept. 17, shots rang off inside Northpark Mall in Ridgeland, Mississippi, as 16-year-old Za’Lill D’Chelle Patterson attempted to steal from a popcorn store. As reported by CBS 42, the shooting occurred around 5:20 p.m., when Patterson pulled out a gun after she was caught trying to shoplift from the store by the owner. According to Ridgeland Police Chief Brian Myers, the threatened store owner shot Patterson in the leg in self-defense. Inside the mall, the gunshots caused major panic. In one documented moment, a father and his son were spending time together, enjoying the day while the child...

Former Attorney General Bill Barr said Wednesday on FNC’s “America Reports” that New York State Attorney General Letitia James’s lawsuit against former President Donald Trump and his adult children was a “political hit job.” Barr said, “It’s hard for me not to conclude it’s a political hit job. This is a woman who campaigned for office promising she was going to go after Trump, which I think is a tremendous abuse of office to go headhunting and targeting individuals. So I think she was targeting Trump.”

Scientists have shown that high-fat diets can cause rapid changes in the bone marrow of mice, driving the production of inflammatory immune cells. The results may help explain how high-fat diets trigger inflammation, which can contribute to the development of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and other complications in individuals with obesity. An invasion of inflammatory immune cells, called monocytes, into fat tissue is a hallmark of obesity. Many immune cells, including monocytes, are produced in the bone marrow, which is very sensitive to environmental changes. Scientists have already shown that fat cells in the bone marrow rapidly expand in...

Democrat Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman once again appeared incoherent after giving a five-minute speech in Indiana County. Similar to his previous mishaps, Fetterman again confused Washington D.C. with New Jersey as he concluded his speech with a call for the voters to send him to the nation’s capital. “Eliminate the filibuster, get things done,” he struggled to say. After an awkward pause in which he appeared slightly confused, Fetterman then said, “Send us back to New Jersey. Send me to D.C. for you.” Several members of the audience could be heard chuckling upon hearing him utter New Jersey.