Free Republic

As Donald Trump cranks up his attacks on a growing list of targets linked to his numerous legal battles, experts predict the former president could soon be strapped with a court-ordered muzzle. But it’s an open question, they say, whether a gag order could be enforced against Trump, now a top White House contender with a reflexive social media habit and a campaign message built around his self-proclaimed political persecution. “I think a gag order is likely, I’m just not sure if it will be enforced,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told CNBC. “A lot of the judges that I’ve...

The woman bitten by a shark while swimming alone at Rockaway Beach is believed to have lost “approximately 20 pounds of flesh” in the rare attack — believed to be the waterfront’s first since 1953, sources told The Post on Tuesday. The victim, a 65-year-old Queens woman, was attacked off the shore near Beach 59th Street shortly before 6 p.m. Monday — losing a large chunk of her left leg, above the knee, to the shark, according to sources and a photo of her injury. Lifeguards spotted her screaming for help in the water — and pulled her to shore,...

In May, the COVID-19 emergency was officially declared over — but the coronavirus remains a lethal threat, according to an increasingly concerned medical community. The latest data from the New York state Department of Health, released Aug. 2, shows that COVID cases spiked by 55% since the prior week, with an average of 824 reported cases per day across the state. And hospital admissions for the disease increased by 22% compared to the previous week, which translates to more than 100 admissions a day. Meanwhile, a new variant — dubbed EG.5, or eris — has arisen as the dominant strain,...

"Sanctuary" state Massachusetts is the latest to declare a state of emergency over its inability to handle thousands of immigrants who have arrived after being released from federal custody at the United States-Mexico border. "This is a national issue that demands a national response," Gov. Maura Healey (D-MA) said during a press conference on Tuesday morning. "Today, I am declaring a state of emergency in Massachusetts." Healey called on Washington to help Massachusetts because the state could not financially or logistically respond to the 20,000 people living in state-funded shelters, hotels, dormitories, and other emergency facilities statewide — an 80%...

The Armed Forces of Ukraine were able to break through the first line of Russian defense on the left bank of the Dnipro, and take control of the settlement of Kozachi Laheri, dialog.ua reports. The Russian military is sounding the alarm, reporting a serious advance of the Ukrainian army units, which were able to force the Dnipro and take control of the settlement of Kozachi Laheri on the left bank, breaking through the first line of Russian defense in this area. Russian military Yegor Guzenko (call sign “Thirteenth”) reports this on his Telegram channel, noting the rapid deterioration of the...

High housing prices nationwide are leading many to view renting as a smarter move than purchasing a home, according to a report released Tuesday. More than two-fifths — 44 percent — of renters surveyed by RealPage said that renting is a better option than buying. The top reason among all surveyed was affordability. Broken down by generations, Generation Z renters led the way, with 51 percent saying renting is the best choice. For the survey, RealPage asked 25 questions to 2,000 multi-family renters ages 55 and below across the country whose income ranged between $20,000 to $200,000.

[Catholic Caucus] ‘Sacrilege’: World Youth Day has highlighted widespread abuse of the Blessed SacramentThe Catholic Church's clear rules on reverence for the Eucharist have been repeatedly ignored at World Youth Day.The boxes containing the Holy Eucharist at World YouthLISBON (LifeSiteNews) –– Recent events at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, have highlighted the widespread liturgical abuse of the Blessed Sacrament, with Catholics condemning the “sacrilegious” reservation of the Eucharist in plastic crates.In recent days, pictures from World Youth Day in Lisbon have been circulating on social media, causing outrage and consternation amongst faithful Catholics.The first notable example during this year’s...

A rising New York City doctor was charged with drugging and sexually assaulting numerous women — including a patient — then filming their unconscious bodies as he violated them. Zhi Alan Cheng, 33, a gastroenterologist at New York Presbyterian Queens, was initially arrested in December after his girlfriend claimed the doctor knocked her unconscious at his Astoria apartment using a surgical mask stuffed with cotton balls soaked in an unknown liquid. She said she didn’t remember anything when she woke up, but found a video of Cheng sexually assaulting her — along with footage of him attacking other women. In...

🔬 The puzzle pieces continue to fall into place, and a significant new puzzle piece dropped last week, in the form of a preprint published to MedRxIV on July 31st, titled “SARS-CoV-2 Uses CD4 to Infect T Helper Lymphocytes.” Although “just” a preprint, it features no fewer than seventy-seven authors. And it has already gathered three positive peer reviews. Let’s start with their conclusion, and then try to unpack what it means. The study’s admittedly obscure conclusion: We demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (S) directly binds to the CD4 molecule, which in turn mediates the entry of SARS-CoV-2 in T...

Joe Scarborough is so engrossed in attacking Donald Trump that he is even willing to dismiss Bill Clinton's sexual misconduct, and mock those who were offended by it. On today's Morning Joe, in condemning evangelicals who continue to support Trump despite a federal judge finding a "substantial truth" in the jury's conclusion of a sexual assault, Scarborough said: "My brothers and sisters that I grew up with in the evangelical church . . . are now fiercely fighting for and backing a rapist, according to a judge. Who said by the common definition of the term, Donald Trump raped E....

There's been a lot of EV news lately, and unfortunately for those looking to promote the complete switchover from ICE to pure battery power in the near future, none of it appears to be very promising. Here's an overview of some of these events along with a common sense solution that in the long run should make everyone happy.

Anyone familiar with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) shouldn’t be surprised at their recent segment attacking Health Care Sharing Ministries (HCSMs). The taxpayer-supported PBS network pushes leftwing themes relentlessly. In this case, they manipulated data and facts to paint a false picture of Health Care Sharing Ministries that fits their ideology. Let's set the record straight:

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D) on Tuesday hailed the anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark law he co-authored in secret negotiations with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) a year ago that then became a major point of contention between Manchin and President Biden. “The Inflation Reduction Act is one of the most historic pieces of legislation passed in decades, and we are already seeing real results in West Virginia,” Manchin said in a statement, claiming the law has reduced the nation’s debt by $238 billion.

The Supreme Court revived the Biden administration’s restrictions on so-called ghost guns in a 5-4 emergency ruling Tuesday. The justices agreed to pause a lower court’s decision, which invalidated the regulation nationwide, as the administration continues its appeal. The decision hands a victory to Biden, at least for now. Biden last year announced the crackdown on ghost guns, referring to firearms that are sold as do-it-yourself kits and are generally hard to trace. The case will now proceed in a lower appeals court, which is slated to hear oral arguments next month. The matter could ultimately return to the Supreme...

An Alabama man died from a drug overdose after he was forced to ingest narcotics — leading to felony murder charges for his dad and two neighbors, police said. Landon Tyler Rader, 26, was found dead inside a Jasper home on March 27 after being forced to take meth and/or amphetamines by his dad, Jamie Landon Rader, 48, and neighbors Ryan Dustin Clark, 24, and Tonya Raye Keene, 43, according to the Walker County Sheriff’s Office. London’s dad grinned in his booking photo as he and his neighbors were charged with felony murder, manslaughter and unlawful distribution of a controlled...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis: Rigid (traditionalist) priests lead immoral lives. From Pontifex Maximus to the Great Generaliser August 07, 2023 Pope Francis: Rigid (traditionalist) priests lead immoral lives. From Pontifex Maximus to the Great Generaliser Pope Francis meanly attacks priests who disagree with his idea of church.In ten years of Pontificate, the Church has undergone a real earthquake. The ministerial priesthood has become Francis' main target, and with each passing day, Bergoglio shows how impatient he really is. Many ask, 'but is he happy being a priest?' There is no Holy Mass or liturgical event where the Pope smiles. It...

A snippet of President Ronald Reagan's address to the 42d Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, New YorkSeptember 21, 1987President Ronald Reagan's expresses desire for an Alien Invasion to bring us all togetherText of President Ronald Reagan's Entire Address of the United Nations 42nd Assembly

Judge Napolitano kindly highlighted my recent piece discussing indications that the United States and NATO are preparing to jettison Ukraine and Volodomyr Zelensky. Here it is: Video interview Joe Biden and is team of national security hacks continue to double down in public on supporting Ukraine’s fight with Russia, but the Washington leak machine is up and running and the usual suspects in mainstream media outlets — New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal — are putting out more articles describing the failings and shortcomings of the Afghan officials — oops, I mean the Ukrainians. The United States...

Ukrainian refugees are filling open job positions in the shale patch of North Dakota, thanks to a humanitarian program, the AP reports, noting 16 Ukrainians have already started work in the shale patch and another 12 are due to arrive later this month.There are some 2,500 job vacancies in the Bakken shale play in North Dakota, which currently produces some 1.1 million barrels of oil daily.The output in the play peaked in 2019 at 1.5 million barrels daily and has been in decline since then.As of June, there were 38 drilling rigs in the Bakken but North Dakota’s mineral resources...

The Financial Times estimates that European companies have lost at least €100 billion ($110 billion) since the Russia-Ukraine war began. Around 176 European companies noted significant losses in their fiscal year reports for 2022, and the future remains grim as tensions continue to grow. Naturally, energy-related industries faced half of those losses, followed by banking, chemicals, industrial, and automotive. BP, TotalEnergies, and Shell lost 40.6 billion euros due to the war, but the spike in energy costs helped them to post favorable earnings reports. Numerous European companies cited “asset impairments, foreign exchange-related charges and other one-off expenses as a result...