Free Republic

Transgender rights activists occupied the Oklahoma state Capitol’s rotunda on Monday to protest a push by Republicans to limit so-called gender-affirming care in the state. About 150 people, many holding signs and banners, chanted “Trans lives matter” ahead of a new legislative session in which GOP lawmakers had pre-filed bills aimed at curtailing treatments like hormone replacement therapy, the Oklahoma Daily reported. One of the new proposals, Senate Bill 129, would ban health care professionals in the Sooner State from referring anyone under 26 for gender-affirming care, including both surgical and non-surgical interventions. The second bill, Senate Bill 252, aims...

President Biden plans to use his State of the Union address on Tuesday to build on his “unity agenda” by calling on Congress to help him crack down on the influx of fentanyl coming into the U.S. and help tackle the mental health crisis by banning targeted advertising online for children. The four pillars of the agenda laid out in his first State of the Union in March 2022 include ending cancer as we know it, delivering on obligations to veterans, tackling the mental health crisis and beating the opioid and overdose epidemic. Biden on Tuesday plans to call on...

A reboot of the Disney show "The Proud Family" is receiving backlash over a rap in a recent episode of the cartoon featuring kids singing about slavery and reparations, arguing that America "owes" black Americans because America "still has not atoned for" its systemic prejudice, racism and White supremacy. "This country was built on slavery, which means slaves built this country," the song repeatedly stated in the Disney+ episode of "The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder," which reviewed the history of Juneteenth.

A woman was to be breathing when she was delivered to the O.B. Davis Funeral Home in Miller Place. Photo Credit: Google Maps street view A woman who was breathing and alive was delivered to a New York funeral home after being pronounced dead at an area rehabilitation and nursing center. The incident took place on Long Island after the 82-year-old woman was pronounced dead at 11:15 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, at Waters Edge Rehab and Nursing Center in Port Jefferson, the Suffolk County Police said. The woman was transported to the O.B. Davis Funeral Home in Miller Place...

Yellowstone, TV’s top-rated drama, may end in spectacular fashion. Deadline understands that Taylor Sheridan, co-creator and showrunner, Paramount Global and Paramount Network are moving to end their signature show in its current form. But they are plotting a potential franchise extension to continue the Dutton saga, a new show with Matthew McConaughey in talks to star. It is unclear which of the Yellowstone cast will move over to the McConaughey-led series, but it is expected to include several of the big stars. “We have no news to report. Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone and we hope that’s...

Disney Plus is now home to content marketed to kindergarteners that deals with extremely divisive and controversial social topics of the day. That's already strange enough, but combine that with a previously disclosed "not so secret agenda" and you'll find discover Disney is solely on one side of the propaganda game. A nuanced or neutral presentation this is not. Instead, the loveable characters from the original Proud Family television show have been brought back only to push extreme ideology, world views, and political beliefs on your children.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) responded to questions on whether he would tear up President Biden’s State of the Union speech as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) did to former President Trump in 2020, stating he does not believe in such “theatrics.” “A lot of people have been asking if I’m planning on ripping up President Biden’s speech tonight. Here’s my answer,” McCarthy said on social media Tuesday morning, providing a clip of his answer. “You know, I don’t believe in the theatrics of tearing up speeches. I respect the other side. I can disagree on policy, but I...

Paul Pelosi, Tyre Nichols' parents, U2 star Bono, Monterey Park shooting hero Brandon Tsay, Ukraine's ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova and a Holocaust survivor are among those headed to the US Capitol Tuesday evening where President Joe Biden is set to deliver his State of the Union address. Biden's remarks will both touch on key themes of his presidency and offer a preview of a 2024 reelection message. And the guest list for first lady Dr. Jill Biden's box offers a blueprint for what to expect. The first lady's 26 guests represent key administration priorities and accomplishments like infrastructure,...

What are the motives and significance of the Chinese spy balloon penetration of U.S. territory, and why now? First the backstory:China’s military capability may soon rival that of the United States. What holds back Chinese President Xi Jinping from moving militarily on Taiwan are two things: First he may think that time is on his side, with Biden’s America in decline and a perception that a two-year window remains for action. Second, what holds Xi Jinping back is of course his concern that if the invasion fails, he would be removed by the CCP.So, Xi continues to build Chinese military...

On this date in 1902, two African-American U.S. Army privates were hanged before a crowd of 3,000 at Guinobatan, Philippines for deserting to the anti-occupation insurgency. The 7,000 black soldiers deployed to put down Philippine national resistance against the American occupation faced an obvious conundrum: they were second-class citizens back home, fighting a savage war to keep Filipinos second-class citizens abroad. Men in such situations have been known to square that circle by going over to join their fellow downtrodden. In the Philippines, Each black soldier resolved for himself the quandary caused by service against the insurrectos. Some, like Lieutenant...

Rolls-Royce Holdings is getting into the spaceflight industry. The British aerospace engineering company says it’s developing a micro-nuclear reactor that the company hopes could be a source of fuel for long trips to the Moon and Mars. Rolls-Royce Holdings announced in 2021 its intent to develop nuclear reactor technology, having obtained $600 million in public and private funding to develop its business. Since the nuclear reactor won’t have to carry as much fuel as a chemical propulsion rocket, the entire system will be lighter allowing for faster travel or increased payloads. The company says that the reactor could serve as...

Scott Alexander, a magician best known for his time on "America's Got Talent," has died ... according to his wife. Scott's wife Jenny -- who appeared on the show as his assistant -- shared the tragic news on Monday, posting ... "We have lost a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a friend, a mentor, and one hell of an entertainer." As for what led to his death, Jenny says "Scott suffered a stroke while working on a cruise ship in St Kitts and did not make it home to us." 'AGT' fans will remember Scott and Jenny from...

Flight LogFlight 42 Sol 697 Date Feb. 4, 2023 Horizontal Distance 248 m ~814 ft Max. Altitude 10 m ~33 ft Max. Groundspeed 3 m/s ~6.7 mph Duration 137.2 seconds Route of Flight from Airfield Beta to Airfield GammaFlights 42 (as of 2/4/23)Distance Flown 8,439 meters (~27,688 ft)Highest Altitude 14 meters (~46 ft)Fastest Ground Speed 5.50 m/s (12.3 mph)Flight Time ~70.0 minutes (4,198 seconds)

Glaciers around the world are melting at an alarming rate, and are leaving massive pools of water in their wake. The meltwater fills the depression left behind by the glacier, forming what's known as a glacial lake. As temperatures get warmer and more pieces of the glacier melt away, the lake rises — and living downstream from one could be incredibly dangerous. If the lake rises too high or the surrounding land or ice gives way, the lake could burst, sending water and debris rushing down mountains. This phenomenon is called a glacial lake outburst, and according to a study...

After declining for years, U.S. birth rates have ticked upward again, but it’s not enough to buck the long-term decline. Because rates were so low in 2020, “we’re just getting back where we would’ve been had we not had that pandemic decline,” said Karen Benjamin Guzzo, a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and director of the Carolina Population Center. This phenomenon isn’t, by any means, unusual. “It’s very common, say, after war situations or other major catastrophes … for birth rates to drop and then shoot back up higher than they were,” said...

The Federal Reserve is doing Archie Bell and The Drells “Do The Tighten Up!” Over the fourth quarter, significant net shares of banks reported having tightened standards on C&I loans to firms of all sizes. Banks also reported having tightened all queried terms on C&I loans to firms of all sizes. Actually, banks are tightening standards across the various credit boxes. And as banks tighten up their credit box, we are seeing the median age of US homebuyers rising from 31 to 47 years. This is reminding me of Germany where you save for your entire life to buy a...

I really miss Rush. Regardless how complex or critical the issue, I could always count on Rush Limbaugh’s entirely rational and moral analysis, delivered by an apex professional with genuine compassion, even for those with whom he disagreed. He was ensconced behind that golden EIB microphone; a master of ideas and argument. From his lofty height, he engaged with every thorny problem with an equanimity that drew a placid sagacity from an ocean of experience, and confidence. After all, Rush was “documented almost always right 99.7% of the time.” He was a compass that always pointed the precise bearing to...

Bed Bath & Beyond is closing 150 more stores — just a week after the struggling retailer announced the closure of 87 locations. The company's brick-and-mortar footprint has already shrunk dramatically, a regulatory filing showed late Monday, and the new closings mean it will have shuttered 400 stores in the past year — almost half the 950 or so stores it had open in February 2022. That includes last week's announcement that it was also closing all 49 remaining Harmon Face Value stores, which sold cosmetics; plus 5 BuyBuy Baby locations. A list of the new store closures wasn't immediately...

In the 1960s, one pocket of uranium hidden within the mountains was transformed into a productive mine, and the massive element used as fuel for nuclear fission was extracted to the tune of more than 1,000 tonnes per year. But by 1990, the Königstein mine‘s production had fallen off, and much of the mine was flooded... Then strange life forms started to move in, prompting the mine’s keepers to call in scientists... In the damp, dark, acidic, uranium-filled environment, biofilms composed of microbes had taken over. Orange acidic “streamers” looking like long, thin worms lazily swayed in the liquid drainage...

Standing up for the freedom of speech is something that is certain to annoy the good folks in Islamabad. But now the same Pakistani government has taken aim at hyper-woke Wikipedia, accusing the Leftist Big Tech giant of hurting Muslim sentiments. How crestfallen they must be today in Wikipedia’s San Francisco headquarters: for years they’ve been smearing critics of Islam and whitewashing Islamic doctrine and history, and this is the thanks they get. The Associated Press reported Monday that the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority “blocked Wikipedia services in the country for hurting Muslim sentiment by not removing purportedly blasphemous content from...