Free Republic

The terror induced by an alert to “Run, Hide, Fight” is not unique to Michigan State, where a gunman fatally shot three people as students barricaded doors and raced across campus in search of safety. The strategy, which follows best practices developed by the Department of Homeland Security, is familiar to most students in the lockdown generation. When a shooter is nearby, it holds, people should fight only as a last resort and only if confronted by a shooter. But when it’s deployed, the results can be traumatic. After a shooting last fall at the University of Virginia, a campus...

When a five-year-old Queensland boy woke up with a headache while on holiday, his mum thought he had the flu — four days later, he tragically died in hospital.A five-year-old Townsville boy who woke up with what appeared to be a harmless headache while on holiday has tragically died four days later in hospital. Andre Daisy, 5, died unexpectedly after coming down with flu-like symptoms on a family holiday with his mother Trudy Stanley-Thaiday, step-dad Jarick and his three sisters, in Brisbane on February 2. His mother said she thought her son had caught the flu when he developed a...

Natalie Curtis, who suffered with spina bifida and was a member of Australia's wheelchair basketball squad before the delayed 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, has died aged 34Australian Paralympian Natalie Curtis has died suddenly at the age of 34. The basketball player was a member of Australia's wheelchair basketball squad ahead of the delayed 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where the Aussies missed out on a medal. She was also renowned for raising awareness of disability sports and athletes. Curtis died on February 5 but the cause of death is not yet known. The tragic news was confirmed on Facebook by her...

A rowdy, drunken woman on a flight from Greece to the Big Apple allegedly sexually harassed the man next to her and nearly forced an emergency landing, according to a lawsuit. The “visibly intoxicated” passenger commented on his “big muscles,” massaged his neck and caressed his inner thigh, and “asked if she could lay on top of me in a ‘non-sexual way,'” according to court papers. She never should have been allowed to board Flight 203 from Athens to Kennedy Airport, contends the man — who is suing Delta for allegedly overserving her and failing to take his complaints seriously.”...

Political commentator Charlie Kirk made a wild claim about the Ohio train derailment and its significance to the “crusade against White people.”The train, which derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 3rd carrying 50 cars, spilled various toxic chemicals during the event.The potential health issues from the toxic chemicals have become a great concern for residents in the area.On the Monday edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, Kirk, who runs one of the largest pro-Trump student organizations, Turning Point USA, claimed the lack of attention by President Joe Biden to the situation is an indication of something even more...

OCALA, Fla. (WCJB) - Marion County deputies arrested 53-year-old Chuck Legette this Wednesday on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery. Deputies say Legette threatened to hurt another man with a chainsaw before battering him. Deputies responded to a home on Southwest 16th Avenue, where they found Legette intoxicated and uncooperative. Legette has been arrested in Ocala on five separate occasions since 2020. His bond is currently posted at $17,500.

I took notes during the Ohio government update on the East Palestine train derailment and toxic chemical spill response. The full press briefing is below. The media present was a mix of uncurious stenographers and some inquisitive journalists. After about 20 minutes of generally obtuse outlines intended to downplay the seriousness of the crisis, which included a game and fish commissioner saying 3,500 fish were killed by the chemical pollutants – yet never actually saying *what* about the chemicals killed the fish, suddenly the Ohio EPA official admitted something important. After the Ohio EPA spent several minutes of saying the...

Goalkeeper Arne Espeel has tragically died during a match while playing for Belgian side Winkel Sport B. The ‘keeper pulled off the save and then dropped to the ground, with emergency services running onto the pitch and using a defibrillator to try and save him.

A little less than a year since Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has “lost strategically, operationally, and tactically,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley said from Brussels on Tuesday. “Putin thought he could defeat Ukraine quickly, fracture the NATO alliance, and act with impunity. He was wrong,” the top US general said. “Ukraine remains free, they remain independent. NATO and this coalition has never been stronger, and Russia is now a global pariah. And the world remains inspired by Ukrainian bravery and resilience. In short, Russia has lost — they’ve lost strategically, operationally, and tactically, and...

Former President Donald Trump had been widely discussing with “close associates” ahead of his 2024 presidential campaign bringing back the death penalty, expanding the execution methods used by the federal government, and even broadcasting executions as a means to deter violent crime and drug dealers, Rolling Stone reported on Tuesday, citing multiple sources close to Trump. Rolling Stone’s Asawin Suebsaeng and Patrick Reis write that Trump has been regularly asking those around him, “What do you think of firing squads?” The article adds that “Trump has talked about bringing back death by firing squad, by hanging, and, according to two...

The explosive train derailment that recently led to the evacuation of an Ohio town was among more than a dozen reported rail wrecks in the U.S. since the year began. On February 3, a tanker train derailed in the Ohio town of East Palestine, near the state border with Pennsylvania. The crash led to multiple explosions and chemical leaks, prompting the governors of both states to issue evacuation notices for the town and its surrounding areas. Controlled burns of the vinyl chloride from the train's tanks were initiated, with residents warned that the air could be flooded with dangerous gases...

Addicts in Portland are reportedly turning to their food stamps to fuel their drug addiction, recycling bottles to garner cash to buy more fentanyl, all at the expense of the city's taxpayers. Portland resident Angela Todd released shocking footage showing people on the streets appearing to dump out water bottles shortly before cashing in on the plastic to raise money to buy more drugs. "People are not using their food debit cards to help for survival skills or diapers or to make ends meet," Todd said during "Fox & Friends First" Tuesday. "They're cashing them in for drugs. It's really...

President Joe Biden falsely claimed food prices are coming down after Tuesday’s inflation report revealed prices at the grocery store actually increased in January. Delivering a Tuesday afternoon keynote address at the National Association of Counties, Biden falsely claimed inflation, including food prices, is coming down. “Today’s report on inflation shows the good is that inflation in America is continuing to come down,” Biden claimed. “Food prices at the grocery store are coming down.”

Despite the evacuation order being lifted last week, locals have since questioned authorities' assurances that the area is safe. More than 3,500 fish have been killed due to the toxic runoff, while footage of the aftermath shows plumes of toxic smoke still lingering in the area. Some residents are also reporting persistent coughs, while farmers in the area claim their livestock are dropping dead in large numbers. The EPA said Tuesday they have carried out 'robust air-quality testing' in and around the area of the crash, and confirmed they have 'not detected any levels' of chemicals that could cause harm.

Sharon Stone, 64, is mourning the loss of her brother Patrick Stone, who died suddenly Sunday in Pennsylvania. He was 57. The coroner’s office told TMZ that Patrick suffered a sudden cardiac death due to heart disease. It’s unclear whether he was hospitalized at the time of his death. SNIP River was Patrick and Tasha’s 11-month-old son who died of organ failure in August 2021.

"No disrespect to those artists like Adele or Harry Styles who won. It's not their fault, but that's some straight-up bulls---," said Spike Lee of Beyoncé losing the album of the year Grammy award.

It was recently announced that the group’s back catalog will arrive on streaming services for the first time in March.Trugoy the Dove, one-third of De La Soul, one of the most important rap groups in the history of the genre, has died. A representative for the trio confirmed the news. Trugoy was 54 years old. Born David Jude Jolicoeur, Trugoy the Dove formed De La Soul in 1988 alongside his high school friends, rappers Posdnuos and Maseo. The three artists grew up in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. After catching the attention of local producer-and now living...

Los Angeles, California city officials announced a new public safety initiative which implements yoga, meditation and healing circles to homeless communities as an alternative form of unarmed policing. The initiative's launch cost the city of Los Angeles $2.2 million in city funding. At a briefing on Monday, Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, who chairs the City Council's public safety committee, announced the Project TURN initiative-which stands for Therapeutic Unarmed Response for Neighborhoods. The initiative aims at providing trauma training and services to 100 community intervention workers to tackle retaliatory violence. "Community-based public safety workers are regularly exposed to high trauma environments and...

The stance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on face masks has taken many twists and turns throughout the COVID pandemic. After initially claiming face coverings weren’t necessary, the CDC changed course in April 2020, calling on all Americans — even children as young as 2 — to mask up. That September, then-CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said during a Senate hearing that “face masks are the most important powerful health tool we have,” even suggesting that they might offer more protection than vaccines.

The war in Ukraine is at a stalemate, but that doesn’t mean it’s not changing. General David Petraeus predicts the war will look different this year with significant offensives likely staged by the two sides. Bergen: Who’s winning the war? Petraeus: It is not Russia. Russia has, after all, lost the Battles of Kyiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv; failed to take the rest of Ukraine’s southern coast (not even getting through Mykolaiv, much less to the major port at Odesa). It has lost what it had gained in Kharkiv province. And it has had to withdraw its only forces west...