Free Republic

Anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian, and pro-Hamas protesters who camped out in Harvard Yard on Wednesday received a rude awakening overnight as automatic sprinklers switched on, soaking tents and sending the activists into a panic. The Harvard Crimson reported that sprinklers began to turn on after 2:00 a.m. in 36º Fahrenheit weather. It later noted at 4:05 a.m. ET: As protesters spend their first night in the Harvard Yard encampment, the biggest threat to their stay has not come from administrators or Harvard University police officers, but the Yard’s sprinklers. Two more sprinklers turned on at the edge of the encampment near Massachusetts...

Rivian’s stock price has lost 90 percent of its value since November 2021. (The Epoch Times)—Amazon-backed electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian will be laying off a part of its workforce amid “challenging” economic conditions, the company said on Wednesday, sending its share price into a nosedive. Rivian announced its Q4, 2023, and full-year results on Feb. 21, revealing that the company will be reducing its salaried workforce by roughly 10 percent. In an email to staff, CEO RJ Scaringe said that layoffs would be implemented on Thursday. “Our business is facing a challenging macroeconomic environment—including historically high interest rates and geopolitical...

A number of electric car manufacturers in Vietnam plan to launch mini models, with the world increasingly interested in and strongly committed to reducing emissions. After signing a strategic cooperation agreement with the joint venture of General Motors and SAIC-Wuling on the manufacturing, assembling, and exclusive distribution of electric vehicles (EVs) in Vietnam, Hoang Minh Dong, director of TMT Motor, said the company would officially launch two versions of the Wuling HongGuang Mini EV and announce its sales policy on June 29-30 in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The Wuling HongGuang Mini EV includes a standard and fully enhanced...

There is a theoretical, magic tipping point for adoption of electric vehicles. Once somewhere between 5 and 10 percent of new car sales are all-electric, some researchers say, huge numbers of drivers will follow. They predict that electric car sales will then soar — to 25 percent, 50 percent and eventually to close to 80 percent of new sales. Early adopters who love shiny new technologies will be replaced by mainstream consumers just looking for a good deal. Last year, the United States finally passed that elusive mark — 5 percent of all new cars sold in the fourth quarter...

During Thursday’s edition of ABC’s The View co–host Joy Behar expressed bewilderment that Gov. Chris Sununu (R) will not ban the AR-15, which she described as “automatic rifle” used in high profile shootings. The hosts brought up gun control, with Whoopi Goldberg asking why Republicans refuse to ban AR-15s. She asked, “Why are you holding on to this one gun?”

CLAIM: During Friday’s airing of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) claimed an AR-15 rifle is an “automatic weapon.” VERDICT: False. AR-15s are semiautomatic firearms. Grisham made her comments during a discussion of the May 16, 2023, Farmington, New Mexico, shooting that left three people dead. CNN identified the Farmington gunman as an 18-year-old male and noted his family had worried about his mental health. He used three different guns in the attack and was ultimately killed by police.

You must have seen a movie in which the protagonists empties their entire magazine through automatic fire and hits the target every single time. And if you’re a fan of video games, you must have played at least one first-person shooter that made you believe that automatic weapons essentially turn you into a god of war. Unfortunately, that’s the literal opposite of what the truth is, as automatic firearms aren’t used like that in real-life combat, and here’s why. Automatic fire is inaccurate In real life, if they have the option to choose their rate of fire, professionals like to...

Okay, I'm not really into guns. But wow ran across this and was blown away. Video at AA-12 Fully Automatic Shotgun Comments? Thoughts?

FOX News personality Geraldo Rivera backed President Biden’s push for an “assault weapons” ban and said that the “AR” in AR-15 stands for “automatic rifle” on Tuesday’s The Five. Newsweek quoted Rivera telling the co-hosts, “I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, there is no legitimate reason … to have an AR-15.” He described the AR-15 as a “machine gun” that people own in order to make them feel “macho.”

Tesla is recalling more than 1 million vehicles over concerns with automatic systems for car windows that can pinch a driver or passenger and cause injury when closing. In a letter to Tesla, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) confirmed the company’s notice that it is recalling the Tesla Model 3 for the years 2017 to 2022, the Tesla Model Y for 2020-2021 and the 2021-2022 Model S and Model X vehicles. In those models, the automatic reversal system for windows does not adequately detect an obstruction, such as a person’s arm or hand, and can continue to roll...

It is now more than evident that it is very dangerous for a society to allow for the widespread distribution and ownership of weapons whose sole purpose is to destroy human life.

ASBURY PARK, N.J. (AP) — A wave of new electric vehicle charging stations across the country is coming as interest in alternatives to gasoline-powered vehicles is on the rise and could heighten further due to a global spike in gasoline prices. Though most of the plans were in the works before already high gas prices surged because of the war in Ukraine, the timing may work in favor of electric vehicle makers and other proponents of ditching fossil fuels. From coast to coast, cities big and small are adding charging stations for electric vehicles. Strong demand is forecast for the...

One person is dead and three others are injured after they were shot by a resident of an Arizona home they were trying to burglarize, police said. The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call at approximately 1:38 a.m. Thursday and discovered that four individuals were shot after breaking into a home. According to a news release, Edith Guerrero, 36, Jaden James, 18, Leonardo Gonzalez, 27, and Jessica Aynes, 28, woke the sleeping occupants as they entered.

The 26-year-old man who walked into a Sutherland Springs church and opened fire did so with a variant of the AR-15, a popular rifle that is based on the military’s M-16, police said Sunday. The rifle used by Devin Kelley was the Ruger AR-556, Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Freeman Martin said in a news conference. The AR-15 is more of a category than a specific weapon. It is known for being customizable, with hundreds of variants, each with its own characteristics. Ruger’s AR-15 variant, the AR-556, comes with a suggested retail price of $849 and weighs 6.5...

Greg Nash Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) has proposed a bill to automatically register Americans to vote, fresh off of similar calls by Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton. “Today, too many politicians are trying to make it harder than ever for citizens to make their voices heard at the ballot box,” Cicilline said in a statement on Wednesday. “The Automatic Voter Registration Act will protect the right to vote and expand access for eligible voters across the United States. I thank my colleagues who have co-sponsored this important legislation that helps to expand one of our most essential rights as...

Illinois is taking a novel approach to getting its residents to save for retirement. Starting in 2017, most state residents who don’t already have a retirement plan at work will be automatically enrolled in individual retirement accounts, funded through a 3 percent deduction from their paychecks. The program will be created under a law signed by Gov. Pat Quinn on Sunday. Participation will be voluntary, but workers who don’t want to save will need to opt out manually. (They will also be allowed to save more than 3 percent if they wish.) An estimate produced by the plan’s backers found...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate voted along party lines Tuesday to reject a GOP effort that would have blocked the approved increase in the national debt limit. The chamber voted 54-45 against the GOP move to try to use a special "disapproval" process to block that increase. The move came as Senate Democrats proposed to avoid future showdowns over the so-called debt ceiling by giving the president authority to authorize additional federal borrowing unless Congress can muster veto-proof margins to block him. The move by Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, is aimed at heading...

It’s time to repeal the National Firearms Act of 1934. The Second Amendment requires it and the American people demand it be done now! The elite in society don’t want you to know that since 1934, there appear to have been at least two homicides committed with legally owned automatic weapons. One was a murder committed by a law enforcement officer (as opposed to a civilian). On September 15th, 1988, a 13-year veteran of the Dayton, Ohio police department, Patrolman Roger Waller, then 32, used his fully automatic MAC-11 .380 caliber submachine gun to kill a police informant, 52-year-old Lawrence...

Mimicking the 'bump fire' technique that can be utilized to fire a semi-auto rifle nonstop (from the hip), a new $6000 rifle from Slide-Fire keeps the stock (and your trigger finger) steady while the rest of the gun moves with the recoil, pulling the trigger against your stationary finger and producing the desired hail of gunfire...  The weapon utilizes loopholes in federal firearms law, whereas the stock of such a gun is simply not regulated as to it's movement/or lack of, nor how this is now being utilized to produce a full-auto effect... just the traditional mechanical elements of...

Why Do The Philadelphia Police Have 1,356 Full-Auto M-16s? Posted on April 18, 2013 by Robert Farago “An automatic M-16 rifle is missing from one of the Philadelphia Police Department’s main gun-storage units and Commissioner Charles Ramsey has called in federal authorities to investigate,” philly.com reports. ”Obviously, this is very, very serious,” Ramsey said. “And believe me, we will get to the bottom of it, one way or another, I guarantee that.” Cops lose gun. Cops go crazy trying to find it before it turns into another Fast and Furious Brian Terry deal. Another day, another example of why cops...