Free Republic

As if residents of the Golden State did not have enough to make them miserable with wildfires, mudslides, mounting crime, high prices, energy shortages, and homeless people leaving various substances on city streets. Now the California Air Resources Board, or CARB (good grief, even the acronyms are ridiculous), is gearing up to rid the state of natural gas heaters and furnaces. According to The Hill, last week, the board passed a proposal that will lay the groundwork to phase out space heaters and water appliances by 2030. The Hill notes that the move is part of an effort to meet...

CNN — There are signs that the United Kingdom could be heading into a fall Covid-19 wave, and experts say the United States may not be far behind. A recent increase in Covid-19 cases in England doesn’t seem to be driven by a new coronavirus variant, at least for now, although several are gaining strength in the US and across the pond. “Generally, what happens in the UK is reflected about a month later in the US. I think this is what I’ve sort of been seeing,” said Dr. Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at Kings College London. Spector...

Armed activists with a coalition of black self-defense groups marched in Austin, Texas over the weekend calling for an end to illegal immigration and demanding that President Biden close the borders. Some of the activists chanted 'close the borders' and 'take your a** home' as they marched toward the Texas Capitol in the 'Second Amendment Unity Walk' on Saturday. The march was led by The Elmer 'Geronimo' Pratt Pistol & Rifle Gun Club. Their demands also included reparations for descendants of enslaved people and a hate crime bill protecting Black Americans. The group faced opposition from a handful of Trump...

Russian men drafted by President Vladimir Putin's recent mobilization announcement are using a Ukrainian hotline to ask how they can give themselves up. The "I Want to Live" hotline was announced by Ukraine's MOD on September 19, two days before Russian President Putin announced the mobilization to the battlefield. Yusov said the hotline has received "a lot of calls" from recently drafted Russians, and even some who haven't yet been mobilized: "They're calling and asking 'What should I do if I get called up? What do I have to do, what's the right way to surrender?'" Putin's announcement sparked protests...

Slovakia's parliament on Tuesday ratified the entry of Finland and Sweden to NATO, becoming one of the last countries to back the military alliance's expansion... NATO's 30 members have been ratifying their entry since accession protocols were signed in July. With Slovakia's vote, only Hungary and Turkey remain to approve the expansion... Hungary's parliament has the motion on Finland and Sweden's NATO membership on its agenda, but no date is set as lawmakers return after a summer recess.

Popular Mexican TikToker Karla Pardini, 21, was gunned down near her home last week after receiving an ominous late-night phone call. “According to information provided by her mother, she received a call, went outside and that’s when the attack occurred,” Sinaloa prosecutor Sara Bruna Quiñonez told Jam Press of the murder, which occurred Sept. 20 in Culiacán, Sinaloa. Pardini had reportedly received a suspicious call at 10:30 p.m. telling her to go outside, whereupon she left her house and never returned, Quiñonez said. The next day, authorities found the influencer’s bullet-riddled body outside her home at the intersection of the...

In recent weeks, it seems like every time I go to the supermarket during the day, there is a small group of Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts conducting a fundraiser. The Girl Scouts have cookies, the boy scouts have—whatever is they’re pushing. Today was no different, some local Boy Scout troop was selling something for a fundraiser, and when approached on my way out, I politely declined to buy whatever it was they were selling.And I will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.This isn’t something I’m happy about. I know these kids are putting in some effort to...

Pride Youth Day in Chattanooga, TN. (a red state) kicked off on Saturday with a speaker and discussion (we have no idea which topics they covered—perhaps the best sex toys for toddlers?). Drag Queen story time for kids began at 2:30, followed by a Princess Meet & Greet at 3:00 and a “Family friendly” drag show at 4 pm.The drag queen event for small children took place at the Wanderlinger Brewing Company.Conservative activist Robby Starbuck shared a compilation of shocking video footage from the Chattanooga Pride Youth Day event at the Wanderlinger Brewing Company. The video includes a little girl...

Americans once believed that the FBI was an incorruptible agency, untainted by local or, indeed any politics. From 1965-1975, The F.B.I. showed TV viewers a successful, honest FBI. Not only was the FBI never that good, today’s news stories signal that it’s completely awful. Here’s more information about the Philadelphia raid, along with other negative FBI news: 1. Jack Cashill wrote about the FBI’s over-the-top arrest of Mark Houck, a pro-life activist, who pushed an abortion activist last year because the man was aggressive around Houck’s 12-year-old son. The man filed a now-dismissed civil suit, but that wasn’t enough for...

On Friday, as half of America now knows, two-dozen FBI agents stormed the home of pro-life activist Mark Houck and arrested him in front of his horrified wife and seven children. The charge against him was shoving a man in front of a Planned Parenthood abortion mill nearly a year ago. In the indictment handed down by the grand jury, the man allegedly assaulted is known simply as B.L. Although I know his name, and others have reported it, I will leave it at B.L. for now lest two-dozen FBI agents show up at my door. As it turns out,...

Over the weekend, the Canadian government said it is dropping all COVID-19 measures at borders from next month. This means, as of October 1, travelers won’t need to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination when entering Canada or wear masks on planes and trains. They will also not have to undergo any testing before and after arrival. There will also be no mandatory isolation and quarantine. The ArriveCan app - used to upload health documents when entering Canada - will now become optional. In Canada, 82% of the population has taken both doses of the vaccine. Despite that, the BBC reports...

Mehmet Oz, the Trump-endorsed Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, is in a statistical tie with Democrat John Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, according to a poll. Oz earned the support of 42 percent of likely Pennsylvania voters in the most recent Insider Advantage poll. On the other hand, Fetterman finished just above Oz, coming in at 45 percent. However, the race is in a statistical deadlock because Fetterman’s narrow advantage is within the poll’s ±4.2 percent margin of error. Oz’s stride in the polls is significant because he was previously down by as much as 11 points in...

The media and other Democrats come up with all sorts of ways to reduce inflation, but they ignore the elephant in the room. First, they have a slush fund where they raise taxes, hand out mass subsidies to their political contributors and they falsely call it the Inflation Reduction Act. The only potential to reduce one component of inflation is down the road on prescription drug prices, which haven't been rising very fast compared to other necessities like food, gas, utilities, and housing. Most of the poor already get their drugs for free so it doesn't help them, now or...

A new study published Monday revealed trace amounts of COVID vaccine mRNAs were found in the breast milk of some lactating women. The Journal of the American Medical Association, an international peer-reviewed general medical journal published since 1993, released the study to the public and has now issued a warning for women breastfeeding infants younger than six months. “Caution is warranted regarding breastfeeding infants younger than six months in the first two days after maternal COVID-19 vaccination,” the journal said in a tweet. .... Trace amounts of #COVID19 vaccine mRNAs were detected in the breast milk of some lactating women....

Mayor Eric Adams left a political storm at home over everything from border migrants to rising crime to spend his Sunday helping what he calls New York’s “sixth borough,” hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. “Puerto Rico is our sixth borough of New York. We’re tied at the hip,” Hizzoner said during in a video shot Sunday morning alongside San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero. “We’re going to… identify exactly what’s needed,” the mayor said. “We want to pinpoint what the needs are.”

South Australia's Naracoorte Caves is one of the world's best fossil sites, containing a record spanning more than half a million years. Among the remains preserved in layers of sand are the bones of many iconic Australian megafauna species that became extinct between 48,000 and 37,000 years ago.The reasons for the demise of these megafauna species are intensely debated. But the older the fossils we can find, the better we can understand the species' evolution and extinction.To date, determining the precise age of the caves has been difficult. However our research demonstrates, for the first time, how old Naracoorte's caves...

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., suggested on Tuesday that voting for Democrats in November and winning the midterms would help them with hurricanes and climate change. "We just did something about climate change for the first time in decades. That’s why we've got to win this as that hurricane bears down on Florida. We've got to win in the midterms. We understand that," Klobuchar said after listing several legislative wins during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." Floridians have been preparing for Hurricane Ian for the past two days as residents of the Key West are already experiencing strong winds and...

Though the 50 illegal aliens flown to Martha's Vineyard by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spent less than two days on the island, residents profess themselves "amazingly enriched by the experience." Resident Richard Mann confessed "while we all have cared about the welfare of these unfortunate people from afar, seeing them up close was simultaneously a frightening and exhilarating experience. These Venezuelans fled from a dictatorship that voters freely elected. I thought, in a way, this is like Americans fleeing to Florida from the rotten governments of New York and Massachusetts. It makes you think." Resident Shirley Hugest observed "they were...

It is human nature to want stability, but what happens when those needs are not met in childhood? Our experiences as children are monumentally important regarding our outcomes in later life. Early-life is an especially formative time due to the brain’s rapid development. Many factors can adversely affect brain development, including poverty, abuse, trauma, malnutrition, neglect, and more. These conditions are risk factors not only for stunted brain development, but also for negative mental health outcomes in adulthood... Another key factor to consider is fragmentation or unpredictability. This has been shown to have adverse outcomes, even when there is no...

New York State Supreme Court Judge Lyle Frank ruled that it was unconstitutional to fire police officers for refusing the COVID vaccine. The Police Benevolent Association (PBA) sued the state of New York and won – all police officers who were fired for refusing the vaccine will be rehired.