Free Republic

Sam Bankman-Fried said he did not steal money and blamed the collapse of his now-bankrupt FTX exchange on a broad crash in cryptocurrency markets, in a highly unusual blog post on Thursday (Jan 12), a month after his arrest on United States fraud charges. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan last month said Bankman-Fried stole billions of dollars from FTX customers to pay debts for his crypto-focused hedge fund, Alameda Research, purchase lavish real estate, and donate to US political campaigns. SNIP "I didn't steal funds, and I certainly didn't stash billions away," Bankman-Fried wrote in the blog published on Substack, in...

Jenna Bush Hager wanted to “hide” when her grandma Barbara Bush body-shamed her as a teenager. The former first daughter was wearing a yellow bikini when her grandparent stated she was “looking chubby,” Bush Hager recently told “Today” show viewers. The journalist clarified last week that she “adored” her family member, who died in 2018, despite her “biting personality.” The former first lady apologized to her granddaughter years after the comment, explaining to Bush Hager that she had been “talking to [herself]” since her own mother, Pauline Pierce, “said those types of things” to her growing up.

Was Benghazi Clinton wrongly accused of selling out the 30 Chinese spies working for the CIA? As Secretary of State during the Obamanation of Desolation at the White House, many including me, thought that Benghazi had sold out the spies. Benghazi had SCIF information on her private server which had been accessed by many foreign entities. Past disclosures of her Pay-to-Play operations noted that payments were made through her Clinton Global Crime Initiative Foundation; however, bribes or payments could have been through the traditional political payment laundry schemes of book or Hollywood movie advances. (Note: at this time the Clinton...

"The View" co-host Joy Behar said Thursday that she didn't know a luckier person than former President Donald Trump and said President Biden's classified documents appeared just as "we were this close" to getting Trump. "I've never seen a luckier person than Donald Trump," Behar declared. "Just as we're this close to getting him, somehow these documents appear," appearing to suggest they were planted. Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin argued that Biden was "building" Trump's defense for him and added that he was "wrong to have done this." "He is wrong," co-host Sunny Hostin agreed. Co-host Whoopi Goldberg emphasized waiting to...

TikTok Star Waffler69 Dead At 33, Known For Eating Wild Foods TikTok star Waffler69, known for eating tons of fast food and other bizarre items, has died ... TMZ has learned. The food influencer, whose real name is Taylor, passed away Wednesday according to his brother Clayton, who believes Taylor suffered a heart attack. Clayton tells TMZ ... Taylor was experiencing some discomfort and had called his mother, but things got worse, so he called for an ambulance to rush him to a hospital from his house in Louisiana. Taylor died at the hospital. Clayton says Taylor's dad and grandfather...

I want to thank you all for your prayers. My dear brother has improved substantially and is on chemo. He was at deaths door. Our collective prayers have had such an impact. May I ask you add Andrea's Dad to your prayers. Cancer is a terrible thing for both my brother an her father. God is good. Life is hard. We are insignificant on his scale. He gives us strength. The infinite universes that are him leave me boggled and introspecting much.

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) suggested Thursday that someone might have planted caches of classified documents at President Joe Biden’s private residence and former academic office in an effort to frame him. Fox News’ Hillary Vaughn (via Chad Pergram) reported: From colleague Hillary Vaughn. Dem GA Rep Johnson on Biden classified documents: I'm suspicious of the timing of it..things can be planted on people, places and things can be planted or things things can be planted in places and then discovered conveniently. — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 12, 2023

HONG KONG – Several global investment houses have recently upgraded their 2023 growth forecasts for China from the 4% range to well above 5%. We believe that’s much too conservative. An “explosive growth spurt” (in the words of a most experienced Hong Kong-based China investor) in the 7-8% range is highly likely as the current Covid wave recedes. The basic premise for this, as we have written and reiterated on several occasions since just prior to the China Communist Party’s 20th Congress, is that – contrary to the biased and ill-informed “reporting” of the Western press – General Secretary Xi...

UPDATE12:05 PM PT -- We're told Lisa Marie Presley went into "full arrest" ... our sources say someone administered epinephrine at the scene at least one time in order to help Presley regain a pulse. Lisa Marie Presley has been rushed to a hospital after EMTs responded to her home for a possible cardiac arrest ... TMZ has learned. Sources directly connected to Lisa Marie tell TMZ ... paramedics performed CPR Thursday at her house in Calabasas before rushing to a hospital. We're also told they were able to regain a pulse before she was transported. It's unclear what her...

NATIONAL PEACH MELBA DAY Another dessert brought to us by an internationally famous chef, National Peach Melba Day offers a refreshing celebration on January 13th each year. #PeachMelbaDay French chef Auguste Escoffier invented the elegant dessert back in 1892 or 1893, depending on the source. He created the dessert with peaches, vanilla ice cream, and raspberry sauce while employed at the Savoy Hotel, London. The dessert honored Australian soprano, Nellie Melba. The chef was known for naming his creations after famous people. Three such recipes are celebrated on the calendar including National Melba Toast Day on March 23rd. Nellie Melba...

A fluorescent microscope image of the V-shaped mouse hippocampus, stained blue, with specific neurons encoding a learning event stained in red. The mouse hippocampus, in blue, with a sparse population of neurons encoding a specific learning event labeled red. (Havekes Lab/University of Groningen) ****************************************************************************** A name on the tip of your tongue. That fuzzy feeling when the fact you learned just yesterday has floated out of reach. Recalling memories and tidbits of information can be exasperating at the best of times, and even harder when you're sleep deprived. But what if there was a way to reverse that sleep-deprived amnesia...

X1.9 Solar Flare January 9 2023 An X1.9 class solar flare flashes on the left edge of the Sun on January 9, 2023. This image was captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory and shows a blend of light from the 171, 131, and 304 angstrom wavelengths. Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO ******************************************************** The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 1:50 p.m. EST on January 9, 2023. Imagery of the event was captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which constantly watches the Sun. Solar flares are intense explosions of energy that can disrupt radio communications, damage power grids, and affect navigation signals....

Global warming’ alarmist spewed nothing but climate doom last summer about how the world would imminently burn if no ‘government’ actions were taken. The folks operating Mammoth Mountain in the Eastern Sierra might be perplexed about that assumption considering they’ve had to shutter operations this week because of too much snow. A moisture conveyor belt of atmospheric rivers for nearly three weeks has pounded lower elevations of Commie California with record amounts of rain. As for higher elevations, such as the area where Mammoth is located, feet of snow buried the region. ... “Due to continued intense snowfall, very difficult...

The White House on Thursday said it is confident that an investigation into the discovery of classified documents will find that President Biden accidentally misplaced them. “We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the President and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake,” Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, said in a statement. Sauber added that the White House has “cooperated closely with the Justice Department throughout its review” and “will continue that cooperation with the Special Counsel.” The statement comes after Attorney General Merrick Garland announced earlier...

I wonder how the French lesbian is going to deflect the ongoing criminal probe of Biden by a special counsel.

In the spring of 2021, Everest Romney had a bright future.The 6-foot-9 sophomore played on Corner Canyon High School’s basketball team in Draper, Utah. The 17-year-old told a TV interviewer he had high hopes for getting a scholarship to play college basketball.Then, on April 21 of that year, he got the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination.By that evening, Everest was feeling neck pain and swelling. Within days, he developed “extreme migraines,” KSL-TV reported in May 10, 2021.Cherie Romney said her son had been “100 percent healthy” up until then, KSL reported.Nine days after receiving the vaccine, Everest wound up in Primary Children’s...

E-commerce giant Amazon has failed in its recent efforts to overturn a union vote at its JFK8 facility in Staten Island. Engadget reports that a regional director with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has rejected the e-commerce giant’s request to overturn the outcome of a unionization vote at its JFK8 facility in Staten Island. The JFK8 facility became the first unionized Amazon warehouse in the US after the vote, which took place in April 2022, with workers voting 2,350 to 1,912 in favor of joining a union.

Tipping culture in the United States varies greatly from other countries where workers are paid a fair wage. Instead, it falls on customers in the US to make up for the shortcomings of our government and employers who don't fairly compensate workers. That being said, there are times when a large tip seems a little excessive and disproportionate to the service received. That issue is what prompted one TikTok user @thejmancomesquick to post a video of himself complaining after an awkward encounter at a pizza restaurant. He was asked to tip 20% for takeout pizza. “What is with everyone thinking...

Despite intense grassroots pressure, the Texas House refused to allow a vote on whether Democrats will be allowed to chair important committees in the Republican-controlled chamber. A Republican priority for 2023, banning Democrats from holding key committee chairmanships—which allows them to block conservative legislation—is supported by more than 81 percent of Republican voters. In the 87th Legislative Session, 40 percent of committee chairs were Democrats, per Phelan’s decision. Notably, [House Speaker] Phelan immediately moved Tuesday to hold the rules debate the following day, a full day before busloads of Republicans were scheduled to descend on the Capitol to voice their...

With the Federal Aviation Administration's Notice To all Air Missions, or NOTAM, system back up and running, staffing remains high and systems monitoring is at an urgently high level this morning, a senior official told ABC News Thursday. Computer traffic on the NOTAM system is at super-high levels as airlines, pilots and airports start the day with normal flight operations while also trying to make up for delays and cancellations yesterday. At the same time, public and media computer traffic on the NOTAM system is running high because of global interest in the antiquated system that crashed on Wednesday. The...