Free Republic

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has recently announced a hardline approach that bans the entrance of electric bicycles by visitors or staff due to SAFETY CONCERNS. NREL is a federally-funded R&D center that focuses on sustainable energy solutions, including research into solar energy and energy efficiency, among others. According to the NREL’s fire marshal Nicholas Bartlett, micromobility devices such as electric scooters and bikes are no longer permitted to be charged or stored in the buildings. Bartlett explained: The data in the past few years shows an alarming trend of injuries and deaths, as demonstrated by entities such as...

Republicans scored massive victories in elections held in Virginia on Tuesday, returning two GOP politicians to local legislature following the departure of the incumbents. While it has leaned to Democrats in recent elections, Virginia is seen as an important battleground state ahead of the 2024 election, with Republicans winning in the latest gubernatorial election in 2021 and political commentators labeling it a competitive purple state.

Former Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski and his deputy Maciej Wasik were detained by police and taken to prison on Tuesday after being convicted of abuse of power. [...] ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCY Kaminski was first elected a member of parliament in 1997 and was re-elected in 2001 and 2005. He resigned in 2006 to become the head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau. Political opponents said he and his associates pursued corruption with excessive zeal, using methods they said sometimes circumvented laws and hounding innocent people. PARDON In 2015, Kaminski and Wasik were found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison....

NATIONAL BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE DAY Chocolate lovers, rejoice! National Bittersweet Chocolate Day on January 10th gives you the excuse to indulge in some chocolate satisfaction. (National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day is celebrated on November 7th.) #BittersweetChocolateDay Chocolate comes from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao, which has been cultivated for at least three millennia, is grown in Mexico, Central America, and Northern South America. The earliest known documentation of the use of cacao seeds is around 1100 BC. The cacao tree seed has an intensely bitter taste and must be fermented to develop the flavor. Once the...

Turley explains why this is so devastating to Willis' case. Willis broke the Rules, and the Code Of Conduct, regarding the appointing of a Special Prosecutor in order to benefit her lover, Nathan Wade. Not only was Special Prosecutor Wade "sleeping with Willis", he received taxpayer funds (almost 1M dollars) that were used to pay for their (his and Willis') extravegant vacations and getaways. Fani Willis and her "alleged boy toy" have been personally profiting from these funds. Start at 1:45.

Dr. Anthony Fauci completed the second day of his closed-door grilling with members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, in which he reportedly admitted that the six-foot social distancing rule that emerged at the start of the coronavirus pandemic was actually based on nothing. The committee, led by chairman Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), provided a brief recap of Tuesday’s session. Monday and Tuesday’s sessions totaled 14 hours, according to lawmakers. In Tuesday’s session, Fauci admitted that the six-foot social distancing recommendation “was likely not based on any data,” according to the committee.

WEST VALLEY CITY — A man was arrested Tuesday after police say he sexually assaulted a young girl who was petting farm animals on the property where he was living.Yelsin Almonacid Canchari, 30, who is originally from Peru, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of rape of a child, sodomy on a child and two counts of forcible sexual abuse.The investigation began on June 18 when a girl, under the age of 13, called 911 from a West Valley gas station to report she had been raped, according to a police booking affidavit. The girl's mother...

10 January 2024 Wednesday of week 1 in Ordinary TimePala d'Oro, the high altar retable of the Basilica di San Marco in Venice, commissioned by Saint Doge Pietro Orseolo Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Green. Year: B(II).First reading1 Samuel 3:1-10,19-20 ©'Speak, Lord, your servant is listening'The boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli; it was rare for the Lord to speak in those days; visions were uncommon. One day, it happened that Eli was lying down in his room. His eyes were beginning to grow dim; he could no longer see. The lamp of God had...

Fifteen radical left State Attorneys General from across the nation sent a letter on Tuesday, asking the Biden Regime’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention to ban private citizens from purchasing 5.56-millimeter rounds manufactured at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant. Instead, they want these rounds to be reserved only for the military. They must have forgotten the Founding Fathers’ intent with the Second Amendment. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is currently suing the NRA, ran for office on taking on the NRA and slammed the group as a “terrorist organization,” is leading this effort. Back in March 2022,...

BROOMFIELD, Colo. (TND) — An El Salvador native in the U.S. illegally is accused of killing a mother and son while driving under the influence in Colorado. Jose Guadalupe Menjivar-Alas had been deported from the U.S. four times before, an ICE spokesperson told The National Desk (TND) Wednesday. The 37-year-old was charged with vehicular homicide reckless, vehicular homicide DUI and habitual traffic offender after crashing his truck resulting in the deaths of 47-year-old Melissa Powell and her 16-year-old son, Riordan, the Broomfield Police Department said. The investigation into the cause continues, but it’s believed alcohol and speed were contributing factors....

Yemen's Houthi rebels fired their largest-ever barrage of drones and missiles targeting shipping in the Red Sea, forcing the United States and British navies to shoot down the projectiles in a major naval engagement, authorities said Wednesday. No damage was immediately reported. The attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis came despite a planned United Nations Security Council vote later Wednesday to potentially condemn and demand an immediate halt to the attacks by the rebels, who say their assaults are aimed at stopping Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. However, their targets increasingly have little — or no — connection...

U.S. and British warships and aircraft shot down “the largest attack from the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea to date” overnight, taking down every drone, cruise missile, and ballistic missile, preventing damage to warships and merchant shipping. Eighteen ‘suicide attack’ drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles, and one anti-ship ballistic missile were launched by Iran-backed Shiite Houthi fighters in Yemen towards the Red Sea overnight on the 9th of January, part of an ongoing effort to attack the economy of Western nations by destroying merchant ships and closing the crucial Red Sea route to trade. The 21 drones and missiles...

Whether you and your wife are newlyweds or have been married for several years, this thought has, at one point or another, crossed your mind: "Is my wife planning to murder me?" Though determining the answer is not easy, there are warning signs. The Babylon Bee is here to help increase your admittedly slim chance of survival by providing you with the following list of red flags to watch for: She listens to podcasts about wives murdering their husbands: Sure, many wives do this, but your wife takes notes. Not good! She always says things like "If you died, would...

Daily Readings from the USCCBWhen it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him. Mark 1:32–34Today we read that Jesus once again “drove out many demons...” The passage then adds, “...not permitting them to speak because they knew him.”Why would Jesus not permit these demons to speak? Many of the early Church fathers explain that even though the demons had...

The latest Census Bureau data on population changes in America should have been a wake-up call to lawmakers in blue states and cities. The Census data provide even further evidence that “soak the rich” tax policies have incited a blue-state meltdown. California, New York, and Illinois all lost the most population last year. These states have nearly lost a combined 5 million people over the past decade. California and New York could both lose another three congressional seats by the end of the decade, and Illinois another two. Did I mention that these are the three states with the highest...

What Every Small Business Needs to Know About the Corporate Transparency Act The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is going into effect on January 1, 2024, impacting millions of small businesses across the U.S. Knowing the intricacies of this act and its potential impact is essential for small businesses. Otherwise, they may incur criminal or civil penalties for not filing or updating this report. What is the Corporate Transparency Act? Enacted in 2021, the CTA aims to combat illicit activity including tax fraud, money laundering, and financing for terrorism by capturing more ownership information for specific U.S. businesses operating in or...

The shelves at a Bronx food pantry have been bare for the past two weeks as hungry New Yorkers face heightened food insecurity at the beginning of the New Year. The Albanian American Open Hand Association (AAOHA), located in Pelham Parkway, fed around 800 weekly before the pandemic, but that has since doubled to 1,600. For the first time in 10 years, the pantry has been forced to turn people away. For weeks now, hungry New Yorkers have lined up outside AAOHA on Thursdays and Fridays – when food is distributed.

The global economy is on course to record its worst half decade of growth in 30 years, according to the World Bank. Global growth is forecast to slow for the third year in a row in 2024, dipping to 2.4% from 2.6% in 2023, the bank said in its latest “Global Economic Prospects” report. “Without a major course correction, the 2020s will go down as a decade of wasted opportunity,” Indermit Gill, the World Bank Group’s chief economist and senior vice president, said. The global economy is on course to record its worst half decade of growth in 30 years,...

DNIPRO, Ukraine -- The number of heavily wounded soldiers being treated at one of Ukraine's largest trauma hospitals has risen by as much as 30% in the past few weeks, according to the chief doctor there. Dr. Sergii Ryzhenko told ABC News that the Mechnikov Hospital in the city of Dnipro, a few hours' drive from the fighting, is now receiving between 40 and 100 seriously wounded men each day, with his team performing between 50 and 100 surgical operations in any 24-hour period. Many of those procedures are amputations, he said.

Protesters gather in support of former Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski and his deputy Maciej Wasik from Law and Justice (PiS) party, in front of the police station where both politicians are detained in Warsaw, Poland, January 9, 2024. STAFF / REUTERS A former minister and his aide temporarily evaded arrest by fleeing to the Poland presidency on Tuesday, January 9, highlighting the turmoil roiling the country after pro-EU parties won power from populists last year. Prime Minister Donald Tusk's pro-EU government took over in December in the EU and NATO member nation, after eight years of rule by the right-wing,...