Free Republic

A meeting Tuesday of South Carolina lawmakers considering how to best counter future pandemics was dominated by vaccine skeptics pushing concerns about COVID-19 immunizations that are unaccepted by the greater medical community. Members of the all-Republican panel seeking more independence from federal health regulators were receptive to speakers who sewed doubt about vaccine safety and efficacy, as well as distrust in the scientific establishment. Testimony began with an hourlong presentation from Aaron Siri, the managing partner at a New York law firm that 2021 tax filings show received over $3 million from an influential Texas-based group that campaigns against vaccine...

Respiratory syncytial virus, usually shortened to RSV, is a common respiratory virus that can cause mild, cold-like symptoms. While most people recover within a couple weeks, the illness can be severe for infants and older adults, sometimes requiring hospitalization. Earlier this year, the CDC approved an RSV vaccine for adults, adding another shot to combat the “tripledemic” we were in last winter between COVID, the flu and RSV. Unlike COVID and the flu, medical professionals are not encouraging everyone to get vaccinated against RSV. In fact, only a handful of the population should get this vaccine. Here’s what to know...

From one end of the country to the other, officials are tracking yet another nitazene analogue that has caused at least 20 overdose deaths to date. Recently acquired in vitro pharmacological data shows this emergent novel synthetic opioid—called N-pyrrolidino protonitazene (also protonitazepyne)—is 25x more potent than fentanyl. Nitazene analogues are a novel class of synthetic opioids that can be up to 40 times more potent than fentanyl and up to 500 times more potent than morphine. While they vary in potency, most retain opioid receptor activity. In January, for example, the Center for Forensic Science Research & Education (CFSRE), identified...

The U.S. drug regulator authorized updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech as well as from Moderna on Monday as the country prepares to start an autumn vaccination campaign as soon as this week. A third vaccine from Novavax remains under review. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the shots for those aged 12 and above, and authorized them for emergency use in children aged 6 months through 11 years. Advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are set to meet on Tuesday to discuss recommendations on who should get the vaccines this year....

U.S. COVID vaccine manufacturers set list prices for their shots between $120 and $130 per dose, company executives said at an advisory panel meeting of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday. Pfizer and German partner BioNTech set the list price at $120 per dose, while Moderna said the list price for its shot is $129 per dose, for their respective COVID vaccines.

New research has found a link between the important micronutrient zinc and a sensor protein in the gut in the prevention and management of a range of bowel conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Professor Christer Hogstrand investigated the role of zinc and a sensor named the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AHR) that helps the body react to nutrients, drugs and toxic substances in the bowel. Mice fed a diet containing zinc and a chemical from cruciferous vegetables—such as broccoli—that stimulates the AHR were almost completely alleviated of IBD. In contrast, mice fed a zinc-deficient diet received no benefit from...

HENDERSON, Nev. -- NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly is optimistic a third franchise in Atlanta would yield better results than two previous failed expansion teams in the market. "I think some of the challenges that we've seen in the past in Atlanta can be overcome," Daly told ESPN at the NHL/NHLPA player media tour on Tuesday. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said that expansion isn't currently a priority for the league. "Having said that, particularly with the success of the Vegas and Seattle expansions, there are more people who want to own professional hockey teams," Daly said. The Golden Knights...

In a speech to service members and first responders on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, President Joe Biden falsely claimed that he was at Ground Zero the day after the Twin Towers fell in Manhattan. Biden, returning from a whirlwind trip to Asia, said in his Monday remarks at a military base in Alaska: “I join you on this solemn day to renew our sacred vow: never forget. Never forget. We never forget. Each of us – each of those precious lives stolen too soon when evil attacked. Ground Zero in New York – I...

Oak Bluffs police are investigating four signs that were placed around town over the weekend in support of a white supremacist group. Police found Patriot Front signs tacked to poles on various roads downtown Sunday morning, Oak Bluffs police chief Jonathan Searle said. The group, which has placed signs and done other attention-grabbing demonstrations in other parts of the country, is one of the most visible white supremacist groups in the U.S., according to the Anti-Defamation League. Three signs, some of which read Strong Families, Strong Nations and America First, were initially found on utility poles, according to Chief Searle....

— We must keep the virus, and long COVID, center stageKatz is a researcher, Perlowski is a cardiologist and long COVID patient, and Taylor is a community engagement leader. All three are involved with the RECOVER long COVID initiative.This year marks the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over time, as the virus morphed and continued to disrupt our daily lives, people around the world grew tired of COVID restrictions. As a result, we saw mask mandates liftopens in a new tab or window, social distancing practices fade, and vaccination rates declineopens in a new tab or window as more...

On Tuesday morning, leading Republican presidential candidate and 45th President Donald Trump voiced his anger on Truth Social after the Biden administration agreed to a prisoner swap with Iran that led to $6 billion being released to the radical Islamic regime on the anniversary of 9/11.The deal would allow for $6 billion in frozen funds to be unsanctioned by international banks that were the result of oil sales from countries like South Korea and Qatar, per Newsweek. In addition to releasing the money, the Biden administration will also be handing over five Iranians in American custody.In response to the move,...

The Central Intelligence Agency offered to pay off analysts in order to bury their findings that COVID-19 most likely leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China, new whistleblower testimony to Congress alleges. A senior-level CIA officer told House committee leaders that his agency tried to pay off six analysts who found SARS-CoV-2 likely originated in a Wuhan lab if they changed their position and said the virus jumped from animals to humans, according to a letter sent Tuesday to CIA Director William Burns. Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman...

In 1997, then-successful businessman and best-selling author Donald Trump launched a $100 million dollar lawsuit against the city of Palm Beach for imposing restrictions on him due to his insistence that blacks and Jews were allowed into his Mar-A-Lago club, despite no other Palm Beach clubs allowing them entry.The old guard of Palm Beach was outraged that Trump was allowing Jews and blacks into his club and the local town council in Palm Beach even imposed restrictions on Trump’s bid to get his club approved.Trump fought back and exposed the established private clubs in town that refused service to Jews...

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday suggested that neither President Joe Biden nor former President Donald Trump were of an appropriate age to lead the nation. Appearing on CBS News, the governor fielded a question as to the ages of Biden, 80, and Trump, 77. Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history while Trump previously held that title. "I think that's absolutely a legitimate concern," the governor said. "The presidency's not a job for someone that's 80 years old, and there's nothing wrong with being 80 obviously. I'm the governor of Florida. I know a lot of people...

The survey by the Pew Research Centre involving some 13,000 respondents in six Asian countries also found that about one in two Malaysians and Indonesians believe religious leaders should join politics.Around 6 in 10 respondents polled in Malaysia and Indonesia say religious leaders should talk publicly about the political parties or politicians they support, with about half even saying they should enter politics, a survey has found. Also, more than half of the respondents in Malaysia and Indonesia believe religious leaders should take part in political protests, slightly more than the 50 per cent of those polled in Cambodia and...

Someone in Washington law enforcement needs to issue a silver alert for the man who used to be Joe Biden, who is currently play-acting as President of the United States and last seen wandering aimlessly around various events in India, Vietnam, and Alaska. And while they’re at it, maybe round up the Cabal that actually runs the “Biden” White House for elder abuse — and for criminal conspiracy to completely ruin a once-great nation. While Biden further embarrassed himself and the country during a two-nation tour of southern Asia, his team back home continued to chip away at the country’s...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday the prosecution of former President Donald Trump was politically motivated and demonstrated the "rottenness" of the U.S. political system.Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is facing a series of criminal cases in which he is charged, among other things, with trying to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat by Joe Biden.He has pleaded not guilty, while Biden, who is seeking re-election next year, has kept silent about the proceedings against his opponent.Putin said what was happening to Trump was good from Russia's point of view."It shows all the rottenness of the...

A Diablo Valley College faculty member and track coach has been charged with human trafficking, pimping and other charges for making two female victims commit crimes of prostitution, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday. Kyle Lee Whitmore, a 39-year-old Crockett resident, was arrested last Thursday after one of the victims reported the case to authorities at DVC, a community college based in Pleasant Hill, prosecutors said. Investigators identified a second victim and Whitmore was taken into custody. He was charged Monday and was set for arraignment Tuesday afternoon in Martinez. Officials at the school and the Contra...

Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in a head-to-head matchup in the swing state of North Carolina, a ForwardCarolina/Change Research survey released this week found.The survey asked residents, “If the 2024 election for president were held today, and the candidates were the following, who would you vote for?”The survey gave respondents two choices: Trump or Biden.Overall, Trump leads Biden by four points, garnering 46 percent to Biden’s 42 percent. Another 12 percent remain unsure. Trump’s lead is outside the survey’s ± 3.6 percent margin of error.The survey also asked respondents who they supported in the 2020 election,...

Regardless of any delusions you, I, or anyone else may harbor on this issue, the odds that Donald Trump will be saddled with at least one FELONY conviction out of the dozens he is currently charged with are exceedingly high. It doesn’t even matter whether the charges are with or without merit. If a firing squad is pointing 91 rounds at someone, at least one of them is gonna hit the target. This means that this time next year, instead of campaigning or even accepting the GOP nomination in person, the former president could either be in prison or on...