Free Republic

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., suggested Thursday that his Republican colleagues may be "holding back" on endorsing a candidate for president because they are waiting for Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C, to officially jump in the race. “I think Tim Scott would be a great person. Look, he’s intelligent. He gets it. He works well with people. He’s finding a path forward that would unite, I think, Republicans and independents, which is what we need to gain back the White House,” Rounds told NBC News in an interview in the Capitol. “A lot of us that are holding back on looking at...

"Gov. Ron DeSantis declared Friday that Florida is “on offense” as he signed two bills he said would protect Floridians against looming threats to their financial independence and financial privacy. “We’re leading, getting ahead of issues, and we’re making sure that your freedoms are protected against threats that may not even necessarily be here right now but are developing,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Fort Myers." "The bill (SB 7054) prohibits the use of a federally adopted central bank digital currency (CBDC) by excluding it from the definition of money within Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code. The bill also...

[H/T Red Badger]A study conducted on the effectiveness of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine has surprised many at the Cleveland Clinic. The organization studied its employees to determine how the new bivalent vaccines stack up against some of the more prevalent COVID strains in circulation. The results weren’t what they expected.The study’s authors admit their surprise that the risk of COVID-19 increases with the number of vaccine doses you receive. They acknowledge that their testing population was primarily young people eligible to receive at least three doses of the shot by the time the study started. Almost half of the individuals...

EXCERPTS Last year, the [Maryland] circuit court ruled that the tax on digital advertising violates the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, which prohibits discrimination against electronic commerce. The [Maryland circuit] court also held that the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition on state interference with interstate commerce. “This court [Maryland Supreme Court] has repeatedly held that constitutional claims are to be presented to the tax court . . . [ever] since the establishment of the tax court," said Julia Bernhardt, an assistant Atty Gen. Jeffrey Friedman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, argued there was a constitutional exception that applied to...

Florida is permanently banning coronavirus mandates in schools and businesses, protecting residents from the sorts of rules and restrictions imposed upon them nationwide throughout the pandemic. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) detailed some of the bills he is signing Thursday, explaining that one bill focuses primarily on “prescribing freedom.” More specifically, it makes some of the protections enacted over the past two years in the Sunshine State — such as those against vaccine mandates — permanent. “It makes all these protections permanent that we’ve done over the last two years,” he said, explaining that schools cannot mandate the coronavirus shot,...

May 11 (UPI) -- A Minnesota inventor who gained a following for his unusual vehicles unveiled his latest creation: a beer-powered motorcycle. Ky Michaelson, whose previous inventions include a rocket-powered toilet and a jet-powered coffee pot, said the beer-powered motorcycle he created in his Bloomington garage has a 14-gallon keg with a heating coil instead of a gas-powered engine. The coil heats the beer up to 300 degrees, which then becomes super-heated steam in the nozzles that propel the bike forward. "The price of gas is getting up there. I don't drink. I'm not a drinker, so I can't think...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be in Peoria on Friday to deliver a speech at the annual Peoria-Tazewell County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner at the Peoria Civic Center. DeSantis' appearance in Peoria has been lauded by Peoria Republican Congressman Darin LaHood, who called DeSantis one of the "preeminent voices in fighting back against the radical left." An official listing for the event on the Tazewell County GOP's website says DeSantis will speak on his "successful Florida blueprint" for the Republican Party in Illinois to fight against Illinois Democrats' "Marxist agenda." Where? How to get tickets? DeSantis will be the...

The Border Patrol union called the current crisis “the worst sustained disaster … ever seen at our border” — saying President Biden deserves to be arrested and that his administration is “absolutely corrupt to its core.” The National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) tore into the end of Title 42 — the pandemic-era law allowing certain migrants to be booted — as Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz confirmed that “upwards of 60,000 migrants” are “staging in and around the immediate border area.” “This is by far the worst sustained disaster that any BP agent, active or retired, has ever seen at...

Rapamycin is potentially the most powerful anti-aging drug ever discovered. However, due to its unlucky history, few know of it. Rapamycin is a paradoxical drug. It improves anti-cancer immunity, but it may also cause cancer. It protects against bacterial infection and halts viral replication, but it also suppresses the immune system. It reverses symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease but also increases plaque deposits in the brain. It improves metabolic function, but it also causes type 2 diabetes. This list of contradictions goes on and on; however, there is one thing about rapamycin that scientists tend to agree on: it is potentially...

Lawyers discussed how funds from 'Romania deal' would be divided during divorce Divorce lawyers for Hunter Biden and his ex-wife Kathleen Buhle were aware of money hitting Hunter’s bank account from a "Romania deal," emails show, appearing to contradict Buhle's previous claims she had her "head buried in the sand" when it came to Hunter’s finances. During a press conference Wednesday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer revealed Buhle was one of several Biden family members, including Hallie Biden, who received foreign money and that Hunter received over $1 million from Romania. According to 2016 and 2017 emails reviewed by...

View of a lava fountain, estimated to be about 20-30′ high, inside the caldera at Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii during an earlier eruption. No lava is erupting here right now, but USGS scientists suggest that may change soon. Image: USGS / HVO The USGS continues to monitor volcanoes around the United States; of the more than 160 they watch, 7 are experiencing elevated activity. Due to that activity, two of them are at an elevated WATCH / ORANGE status while five are at an ADVISORY / YELLOW level. All of the other volcanoes USGS is monitoring...

Three people who died when a jet crashed off California’s San Clemente Island this week were taking part in a U.S. Navy training exercise, their employer confirmed Friday. The victims, Eric Tatman, Spencer Geerlings and Shane Garner worked for Georgia-based Phoenix Air, a company with clients in the private sector and government, according to its website. The three men perished when the Phoenix Air Learjet 36 went down roughly one-mile southwest of San Clemente Island, which is the southernmost of California’s Channel Islands, around 7:40 a.m. Wednesday morning, officials said. San Clemente Island is owned and managed by the Navy,...

If you aren’t familiar with San Francisco, it’s almost impossible to know how far the once-beautiful city has fallen or how bad a mark the homeless, drug, and crime trifecta has trashed its iconic streets. New York reporter Elizabeth Weil wanted to dispel some of the horrible myths about San Francisco for her Curbed.com story, but, much to her dismay, she found those stories are far from “fake news.” “When I set out reporting, I wanted to write a debunking-the-doom piece myself,” Weil writes. “Yet to live in San Francisco right now, to watch its streets, is to realize that...

n a surprising turn of events, former Gov. Charlie Baker (R-Mass) seems to have a clear upper hand over Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in a hypothetical match-up for a U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts. A recent poll, courtesy of the Fiscal Alliance Foundation, has found that a whopping 49 percent of likely voters would support Baker should he decide to challenge Warren for her Senate seat. Warren is up for reelection in 2024 and lags behind Baker by 15 points, coming in at 34 percent. It seems the former governor’s popularity is still going strong, leaving his opponent with some...

A dance-loving educator has reportedly been fired from her position for performing sexy dances with her students and posting videos on TikTok. Cibelly Ferreira, who is Brazilian, has taught English all around the world, with her most recent class being taught at an unnamed language school, Milenio reported. In a bid to engage her students, she began dancing with her pupils in the classroom. “One of my students invited me to dance with him, and the class really enjoyed the interaction. After that, the other students began to ask questions, too, and I took advantage of the interaction and interest...

The boss of Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, accused a Russian brigade of abandoning its position in front-line Bakhmut, allowing Ukraine to seize territory. The remarks are the latest in a series of public criticisms from him of Moscow’s Ministry of Defense for the faltering invasion of Ukraine – and, in particular, the failure to capture the city of Bakhmut. But while Prigozhin has frequently poured scorn on the Russian military and its leadership, he has not previously accused Russian units of running from battle and allowing Ukrainian forces to recapture territory. Prigozhin said the 72nd brigade “just ran...

New York City lawmakers approved a bill to ban weight discrimination this week, making the city the largest municipality in the country to ban anti-fat bias. The proposal passed the New York City Council by a vote of 44-5 on Thursday, The Hill reported. The approved legislation will amend the city’s administrative code to make perceived and actual weight and height discrimination illegal in employment, public accommodations, and housing. The move was spearheaded by Democratic Councilmember Shaun Abreu, who said he was alerted to the need for “changing culture” around weight after he gained 40 pounds during lockdown. “Just recently...

A letter from a vegan neighbour asking a resident to close their window when cooking meat has sparked fierce debate. A bizarre neighbourhood dispute has erupted in Perth’s northern suburbs. And it’s over the smell of food … On behalf of their vegan family members, a Burns Beach resident has written to their neighbour asking they close their window when cooking their “sickening” meat — PerthNow reports. The upset writer presented the letter with “PLEASE TAKE SERIOUSLY” written on the front of the envelope containing the request. The letter submitted to Hey Perth on Facebook begins: “Hello neighbour, could you...

Alleged drunk driver Jamie Lee Komoroski had a blood alcohol concentration level of more than three times the legal limit during the car crash that killed newlywed bride Samantha Hutchinson, with the suspect telling cops she “did nothing wrong.” Komoroski, 25, had a BAC level of 0.261 when she allegedly slammed her car into a golf cart Hutchinson, 34, was driving in with her new husband in Folly Beach, according to a toxicology report from South Carolina police. The former taco eatery waitress was allegedly so intoxicated during the crash that she appeared confused, telling responding officers, “All the sudden...

Chicago got a lot more than it bargained for when the people voted for “sanctuary city” policies. Taking them at their word—that they would welcome hordes of illegal aliens—the governor of border state Texas, Greg Abbott, has been sending busloads of people who cross into his state illegally right to the heart of Chicago. It’s the best idea anyone has come up with yet. Let the sanctuary cities become the new border towns! Let the blowhards who say it’s inhumane to turn people away absorb them! Afterall, they’re the compassionate ones, right? They’re the ones who continually point the finger...