Free Republic

This year’s flu season is proving to be worse than normal, with hospitalizations up significantly compared to last year, and the CDC reporting 4.6 million cases of the flu so far. But with peak flu season still going on until at least February, signs of the unusual “super flu” variant behind the rising sickness don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The leading culprit? The latest version of the flu, subclade K, is a variant of the H3N2 influenza A virus that dominates flu seasons. This strain was responsible for over half of US flu cases as of mid-November.

Metcalf's money did not vanish, but his safety net did.DK Metcalf's physical confrontation with a Detroit Lions fan Sunday will see him miss the rest of the regular season and forfeit more than $555,000 in salary. But the impact could go beyond that. The two-game suspension for what the NFL terms "conduct detrimental" to the league now voids at least $45 million in future guaranteed money for the Pittsburgh Steelers receiver. Metcalf would still be able to earn that money over the next two years. His four-year, $132 million contract from March, reviewed by CBS Sports, notes that if he...

It's not often life gives nations real second chances when it comes to the big things, but in America’s case it did. My only hope is that we don’t squander it… or to be more precise, I hope Donald Trump doesn’t squander it. The 2026 midterms are less than a year away, that makes what he does in the next six to eight months monumentally important. The bottom line is, does he want to be consequential or just well known? Julius Caesar is easily one of the most well-known men in history, but was he really that consequential? The truth...

VIDEOIf you have watched musicals made within the past 75 years, then whether you realize it or not you have seen many many Bob Fosse moves. The famous Broadway Barbara breaks down and explains many of the Bob Fosse moves. My personal favorite Bob Fosse move as revealed by Broadway Barbara is Fiddle Faddle from Conagra Foods.

Hypersonic weapons are reshaping modern military competitions. As the U.S. advances its capabilities, understanding the structure, progress, and strategic intent of its programs is essential. Current efforts focus on building reliability and interoperability across domains, creating a cohesive defense network. This integration provides a strategic advantage in contested environments, ensuring systems remain accurate, resilient, and adaptable for future operational needs. Background The United States is currently developing three hypersonic weapons programs: the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS), the Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), and the Air Force’s Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM). Compared with China, which reportedly has five hypersonic...

University of Oklahoma student Samantha Fulnecky, a Christian, received a zero grade from transgender teaching assistant Mel Curth for not upholding a woke narrative for a paper on gender stereotypes. Initially, the University removed Curth from the classroom. On Monday, they announced that Curth “will no longer have instructional duties at the University.” “A student’s claim of religious discrimination on an individual assignment in an online Psychology Course taught by a graduate teaching assistant has come to resolution.” “As stated previously, the student followed two available processes at the University: the grade appeals process in the college and she made...

When Sean Corcoran was a freshman in college, his girlfriend of several months told him she was pregnant. He knew fatherhood would change his life, and he fully embraced it. He was stunned when his girlfriend told him she was planning to have an abortion. “I was accepting of my responsibility in this pregnancy and tried hard to dissuade her from having the abortion. When you get pregnant, you’re already a parent," Corcoran told Live Action News. Despite his support for her and their baby and his objections to abortion, his girlfriend remained firm in her decision. So Corcoran turned...

Russia has issued a call for the remaining Ukrainian soldiers that have been surrounded in Pakovsk and Kian to surrender, noting that they have no chance of survival. And it doesn't seem as though the NATO alliance or Kiev is too concerned about the situation on the front lines as they seem more concerned about Zalinsk's latest photo op. not realizing the importance of some of these final Ukrainian strongholds and just how quickly Kiev's defensive lines are crumbling. So, what does all of this mean for the ongoing conflict and how could the possibility of tomahawks being introduced by...

President Donald Trump has announced the creation of a new Golden Fleet designed to jump start the Navy. During a press conference on Monday from Mar-a-Lago, Trump revealed that the Navy will begin constructing two new battleships with 100 times the power of existing war ships. The “all steel” vessels will be equipped with guns, missiles, hypersonic weapons and high-powered lasers. “They’ll be the fastest, the biggest and by far, 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built,” Trump said while standing alongside Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Navy Secretary John Phelan and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The...

Video game developer and ‘Call of Duty’ creator Vince Zampella, 55, was killed in a horrific car crash in Southern California on Sunday. Video posted to social media shows Zampella speeding out of a tunnel in his Ferrari in the San Gabriel Mountains before crashing into a concrete barrier. The Ferrari burst into flames as onlookers screamed in horror. Several witnesses ran across the windy mountain road and dragged the ejected passenger away from the fiery wreckage. Zampella died at the crash site. The unidentified passenger died later at the hospital. NBC Los Angeles reported: Video game developer Vince Zampella,...

Fulton County, Georgia, recently made an admission that should have commanded national attention. During a hearing before the Georgia State Election Board, county officials acknowledged that approximately 315,000 early ballots cast in the 2020 presidential election were unlawfully certified yet were nonetheless included in Georgia’s final, official results, in a race Joe Biden was officially declared to have won by just 11,779 votes.The admission arose from a challenge filed by David Cross, an election integrity activist, who alleged that Fulton County violated Georgia election law in its handling of early voting. Under state statute, each ballot scanner is required to...

In this episode of "Try to Control Your Shock and Amazement..." There's no doubt that Minnesota governor and erstwhile Democrat vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz is, shall we say "different"? And if you're like me, you still shudder at the mere thought of what would have become of the country we love if the equally *brilliant* Kamala Harris had not been decisively mauled by President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Apparently, a group of nearly 100 Minnesota mayors has already learned. So yeah, 98 mayors across Minnesota have sounded the alarm in a no-nonsense letter to Walz and state...

Former GOP Sen. Ben Sasse revealed Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer and does not have long to live. In a lengthy statement on X, the 53-year-old said bluntly: “Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die.” “Death is a wicked thief, and the bastard pursues us all,” the former senator from Nebraska added. “Still, I’ve got less time than I’d prefer. This is hard for someone wired to work and build, but harder still as a husband and a dad.” The announcement drew an outpouring of support for...

Lawyers for former CIA Director John Brennan want the Justice Department to be prevented from steering an investigation of him and other former government officials to a “favored” judge in Florida who dismissed the classified documents case against President Donald Trump. The request Monday is addressed to U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga, the chief judge in the Southern District of Florida, where federal prosecutors are pursuing a criminal investigation related to the U.S. government assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Brennan and other former officials have received subpoenas, and Brennan's lawyers say he's been advised by prosecutors...

The latest recall impacts Washington state-based Direct Source Seafood LLC products sold at various locations. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed a recall of more than 83,000 bags of raw frozen shrimp for potential radioactive contamination, expanding actions taken against shrimp products that were imported from Indonesia. According to an announcement last week, Washington state-based Direct Source Seafood LLC is recalling 83,800 bags of frozen raw shrimp sold under the Market 32 and Waterfront Bistro brand names “because they may have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with” radioactive cesium-137,...

An Israeli man was violently assaulted and lost an eye in a horrific attack overnight in Limassol, Cyprus. According to media reports, the victim was apparently overheard speaking Hebrew on his phone outside his hotel when a group of local youths allegedly recognized the language, hurled insults, before viciously attacking him. Cyprus police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. Photo of victim

A Palestinian doctor living in County Meath, whose family members have been killed in the war in Gaza, has called for more aid for the people of the enclave. Four of Dr Mahmoud Abumarzouq’s close relatives were killed in an Israeli strike earlier this year. At his home in Navan, Dr. Abumarzouq is going through some family photos. He knows more than most about the misery the war has brought. […] The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has said 70,000 people have been killed, since the outbreak of the war and the 7 October attacks. …

It’s the benchmark of success, a milestone of responsible adulthood, a time-tested way to amass wealth for you and your progeny. Homeownership, we’re told again and again, is a status that every right-thinking person should aspire to — the white-picket-fence-fronted embodiment of the American Dream. But what if it’s also a little overrated? For generations it has been taken as a near article of faith across the country that ownership is both the financially and socially superior way to inhabit a home and that public policy makers should always promote it. California legislators and housing advocates spent this past year...

VERY well done, passaround worthy.Merry Christmas

Californians will see the minimum wage increase to $16.90 per hour starting Jan. 1. The adjustment — a boost of 40 cents per hour — was calculated in August by the Department of Finance as part of its minimum wage annual review required by state law. California has been raising its minimum wage over the past decade. Former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2016 signed a watershed law to increase minimum wage from $10.50 per hour to $15 per hour, plus annual adjustments for inflation. The current rate of $16.50 per hour suggests that a minimum wage worker needs to work...