Free Republic

President Xi Jinping on Sunday kicked-off the 20th congress of China's ruling Communist Party with warnings that he may use force to retake Taiwan as he slammed foreign interference in its reunification efforts. The gathering of roughly 2,300 delegates from around the country began in the vast Great Hall of the People on the west side of Tiananmen Square amid tight security and under blue skies after several smoggy days in the Chinese capital. Xi began a speech that touted the party's safeguarding of national security, maintaining social stability, protecting people's lives and taking control of the situation in Hong...

Things have gotten so bad in New York City that drug dealers are brazenly selling what appears to be cocaine — sometimes neatly assembled on sidewalk tables — on Broadway in trendy NoMad and farther north in Times Square. Some of the drug-slingers openly solicit, saying, “Weed, coke. Weed, coke” as pedestrians walk by, a disgusted local restaurateur said. The Post observed two different buyers approach dealers on the corner of West 27th Street and Broadway earlier this month and hand over cash in exchange for plastic baggies containing a mysterious white substance.

Scammers are duping small business owners into sending the password reset link to their Instagram page under the guise of confirming their identity.Small business owner Dayana Rizal, 27, is no stranger to dealing with online buyers, but the one she encountered on Oct 3 seemed particularly - in her words - "harmless". Ms Dayana, who sold clay mugs on her now-defunct Instagram page potekceramics, said the buyer was a sweet talker who seemed clueless about how to purchase her mugs online. The buyer, using a private Instagram account with a few hundred followers, sent Ms Dayana a direct message with...

Here are is all the information you need to quickly look up the current “Toss Up” races, to get involved or to donate, to help push each over the edge. State: Incumbent Candidate - Rep. Website AZ: Open (R) Kari Lake https://www.karilake.com/ KS: Kelly (D) Derek Schmidt https://schmidtforkansas.com/ ME: Mills (D) Paul LePage https://govlepage.com/ MI: Whitmer (D) Tudor Dixon https://www.tudordixon.com/ MN: Walz (D) Dr. Scott Jensen https://drscottjensen.com/ NM: Lujan Grisham (D) Mark Ronchetti https://markronchetti.com/ NV: Sisolak (D) Joe Lombardo https://www.joelombardofornv.com NY: Hochul (D) Lee Zeldin https://zeldinfornewyork.com/ OR: Open (D) Christine Drazan https://www.christinefororegon.com/about/ PA: Open (D) Doug Mastriano https://doug4gov.com/ WI: Evers...

NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, one of the best defenders in the league's history, is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor, the league announced Saturday (Oct 15). Mutombo, 56, hails from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and has been a global ambassador for the National Basketball Association for years. He played for several teams throughout his long career, including the Denver Nuggets, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Atlanta Hawks and the then New Jersey Nets.

...eight months after Russia invaded Ukraine, Lukashenko’s Russian-enabled grip on power risks slipping as Moscow pressures him to get more involved in the faltering military campaign next door in Ukraine. Artyom Shraibman, a Belarusian political analyst who fled to Poland after a brutal crackdown on postelection protests in 2020, cautioned that it was unclear exactly what Putin had asked of the Belarusian leader in St. Petersburg but, he added: “it is very clear that Lukashenko is not yet willing to join the war” because of the immense political risks that would bring. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a Belarusian opposition leader and a...

Here are is all the information you need to quickly look up the current “Toss Up” races, to get involved or to donate, to help push each over the edge. State: Incumbent Candidate - Rep. Website AZ: Open (R) Kari Lake https://www.karilake.com/ KS: Kelly (D) Derek Schmidt https://schmidtforkansas.com/ ME: Mills (D) Paul LePage https://govlepage.com/ MI: Whitmer (D) Tudor Dixon https://www.tudordixon.com/ MN: Walz (D) Dr. Scott Jensen https://drscottjensen.com/ NM: Lujan Grisham (D) Mark Ronchetti https://markronchetti.com/ NV: Sisolak (D) Joe Lombardo https://www.joelombardofornv.com NY: Hochul (D) Lee Zeldin https://zeldinfornewyork.com/ OR: Open (D) Christine Drazan https://www.christinefororegon.com/about/ PA: Open (D) Doug Mastriano https://senatormastriano.com/ WI: Evers...

Bill Walton is challenging San Diego city hall to get a grip on its homeless crisis. Walton, a progressive Grateful Dead enthusiast who is hardly a Rush Limbaugh acolyte, has called out San Diego mayor Todd Gloria in multiple forums. The website Voice of San Diego documented several letters that Walton wrote to Mayor Gloria on the issue, including one where the NBA and broadcasting legend said he was assaulted. “Once again, while peacefully riding my bike early this Sunday morning in Balboa Park, I was threatened, chased, and assaulted by the homeless population, in our Park,” Walton wrote Aug....

Given the persisting waves of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among Americans, it is recommended that children take the COVID-19 vaccines to reduce its transmission. However...uptake... among children continues to be low. A new study published in Preventive Medicine reports the results of a survey among parents in this country aimed at identifying the primary risk factors for parental vaccine hesitancy.... Female parents were more likely to refuse to vaccinate their children, especially if they were Black – possibly due to a lack of trust in the political and medical system. Those who favored Republican ideology were also six times more...

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Last week, Bill Walton partnered with The Lucky Duck Foundation to deliver a powerful and emotional speech about his personal experiences dealing with San Diego’s now out-of-control homeless crisis. Walton detailed how Mayor Gloria’s failed leadership has resulted in the destruction of “our once great city,” as he called on Todd Gloria to resign. Walton shared personal experiences of being assaulted by the homeless while riding his bike in Balboa Park, and even getting his property stolen from his house. Walton emotionally said he’s brokenhearted to “no longer say that my hometown of San Diego, is...

Plastic produce bags will soon be a thing of the past for California grocery shoppers. The state will effectively ban plastic produce bags from supermarkets after a new bill, SB 1046, was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on Sept. 30 Alternatively, stores must replace the bags with either paper bags or compostable bags, according to the bill. California will be the first state in the nation to outlaw the produce bags after banning single-use checkout bags from supermarkets, pharmacies and convenience stores back in 2016. The ban will take effect starting January 1, 2025.

Crews have extinguished a fire that destroyed more than 70 vehicles outside Temple at a popular family attraction. "It looked like something out of a war zone," said John Bessick, a veteran who came to the pumpkin patch earlier and helped evacuate families. "Since I have PTSD, it's kind nerve-racking." Bessick said he and a friend were in their vehicle about to leave when they first noticed the fire — then vehicles started to explode. "We had a few babies and a few strollers trying to get out," Bessick said as he and his friend helped evacuate people trying to...

Usually we think of men of prayer and men of war as complete opposites. A monk in a habit—such as St. Francis—is a man dedicated to peace, a total contrast to one clad in armor brandishing weapons. Yet the Readings for this Sunday combine the imagery of war and prayer in interesting ways that provoke our thoughts about the nature and reality of supplicating God. 1. Our First Reading is Exodus 17:8-13: In those days, Amalek came and waged war against Israel. Moses, therefore, said to Joshua, "Pick out certain men, and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle....

An unexpected alliance has formed between conservative parents and Arab-Americans in Dearborn, Michigan, after a school meeting turned to chaos. The groups have come together to stand up against the public school boards that are supplying their children with 'explicit' LGBTQ reading material. A school board meeting was disrupted this week when hundreds of protestors denouncing books with LGBTQ content poured into the Dearborn Public Schools administration building. Concerned parents from both camps were filmed chanting and holding signs against the decision to keep the books in school libraries. Some of the titles concerned parents are coming together to object...

On Newsdump Friday Night in France the government of President Emmanuel Macron brought in opposition politicians for consultations on "Pension Reform" Emmanuel Macron's plan to raise the retirement age in France in the coming years. The National Rally leader in France's legislature Marine Le Pen spoke to reporters outside her meeting at Hotel Matignon the home of French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. Le Pen telling the media "Wanting to implement pension reform at all costs seems unreasonable to me." The Government lacking a majority in the National Assembly holding out the notion of President Emmanuel Macron implementing Article 49.3 of...

On this date in 1942, three captured American airmen who had bombed Japan in the Doolittle Raid were shot in Tokyo. The Doolittle Raid — named for its commander, Jimmy Doolittle — was America’s April 1942 retaliation for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor a few months before. The mission: bomb the Japanese homeland. Later in the war, American advances in the Pacific would enable the Yankee to do this regularly. In 1942, it was all but a suicide mission. The plan involved launching 16 B-25s from an aircraft carrier — an unprecedented feat in itself — to fly light...

Dr Jane Kershaw from Oxford University, who is leading the dig, said it may have been used by the famous commander Halfdan to launch attacks on the Picts.A number of objects have been found there over the years, using metal detectors, such as lead gaming pieces and copper coins known as stycas.'Incredible finds'Volunteers are also working at the field, which Dr Kershaw believes could have been home to a "town of tents" in the 9th Century."They found some incredible finds that can really only belong to the Viking Great Army and their activities in the 870s ," Dr Kershaw told...

Praying daily since 2015:Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

Ontario’s top doctor fears rising COVID-19 cases and the approach of winter could further jeopardize the province’s struggling health-care system, forcing the Ford government to potentially re-implement a mandatory masking policy if the situation worsens. In an interview with Global News, Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s medical officer of health, urged people to get vaccines, boosters and wear a mask to avoid an unmanageable surge in hospital admissions. He said the rate of uptake for fourth doses by Ontarians aged 70 and older — around 16 per cent — was “not acceptable” and said public health measures like mandatory masking could...

“The Inflation Reduction Act has to do with your ability to get tax credits for buying — if you need a new coffee machine, a new washer, a new refrigerator,” Biden said. “And you buy an efficient refrigerator, efficient coffee machine, you get a tax credit for it.” Earlier in the speech, Biden appeared to blank on the name of Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden — calling him “THAT OTHER GUY I just talked about in the Senate” — just moments after warmly thanking the Democrat for helping to get the bill passed.