Free Republic

Just two weeks into the new year, the U.S. has already seen more than a million new COVID cases on multiple days. The Omicron variant has created a dangerous surge, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimating that this version of the virus currently accounts for more than 98 percent of cases in the country. Omicron is spreading even faster than the previously dominant Delta variant, and pushing case counts higher than ever before. Health officials across the country have started to update existing policies in response to the surge, with some places introducing vaccine mandates for...

The Boston Police Department has put the most vocal critic of the city’s vaccine mandate on leave amid an internal-affairs investigation a week ahead of the jab deadline. Sgt. Shana Cottone, the head of the recently formed group Boston First Responders United, is now on administrative leave from the department, the Boston Police Department confirmed. A spokesman said it’s due to an open internal affairs investigation, so no further information is available. Cottone said BPD officers came to her house and took her badge and gun Saturday morning. “They’re trying to come after me — to silence me,” Cottone told...

It’s not just about Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. The national soul-searching over whether to take down monuments to the Confederacy’s demigods has extended to other historical figures accused of wrongdoing, including Christopher Columbus (brutality toward Native Americans), the man for whom Boston’s Faneuil Hall is named (slave trader) and former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo (bigotry). Historians interviewed by The Associated Press offered varying thoughts about where exactly the line should be drawn in judging someone’s statue-worthiness, but they agreed on one thing: Scrapping a monument is not a decision that should be made in haste during political fervor....

Prosecutors have filed a motion seeking funds from Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's inmate trust account, including a $1,400 COVID-19 relief payment he received in 2021. Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Nathaniel Mendell filed a motion on Wednesday asking for funds from Tsarnaev's account to be taken and used as restitution to his victims, according to Boston Fox affiliate WFXT. The motion indicated that Tsarnaev had an account balance of $3,885.06 as of Dec. 22, 2021, including a $1,400 COVID-19 stimulus payment deposited to the account in June. Prisoners were largely eligible to receive $1,400 payments included...

A wealthy Russian businessman indicted in Boston late last year on hacking and insider trading charges could have access to documents and information about the 2016 election hacking in the U.S. Vladislav Klyushin was extradited to the U.S. from Switzerland late last month and charged with overseeing a multinational scam that pried privileged documents that companies were filing with U.S. regulators before they were public, then trading on the information. Among his employees, and also named in the indictment, is Ivan Yermakov – who was among a dozen Russian military intelligence officers former special counsel Robert Mueller indicted in 2018...

Boston city workers were gathering together Tuesday night to discuss how they’ll fight the new coronavirus vaccine mandate, warning that “tyranny is here on our doorstep.” Mayor Michelle Wu last week announced that all city employees must be vaccinated by Jan. 15 or face termination. There will no longer be a regular COVID testing option for city workers. But those with Boston First Responders United say they’re preparing a legal challenge against the mandate. The group on Tuesday gathered in West Roxbury and invited all city employees - from police officers and firefighters to teachers and family workers. “People are...

After Monday’s announcement of a January 15th mandate for all city employees, and the implementation of a vaccine passport, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is going to have to be prepared to face the people with every step she takes. Although she’s a mere puppet in the larger scheme of things, she will have to answer to the people for the decisions that are being made. The people who have been on our front lines - during the Boston Marathon Bombing, and all throughout this pandemic, and every other emergency in between, are now being treated like peasants. They will lose...

A former Boston College student who prosecutors say drove her boyfriend to take his own life with thousands of text messages pleaded guilty Thursday to involuntary manslaughter. Inyoung You, 23, received a 2 1/2 year suspended jail sentence and 10 years of probation and was barred by a judge in Suffolk Superior Court from profiting from her case in any way. The sentence means You can avoid time behind bars if she adheres to all the terms of her probation. Prosecutors said You sent Alexander Urtula, of Cedar Grove, New Jersey, thousands of messages in the last two months of...

Harvard professor Dr. Charles Lieber was found guilty of all federal charges against him related to concealing his ties to a Chinese university and the Chinese government's Thousand Talents Program while receiving U.S. government funding. The verdict, a big win for the Justice Department’s China Initiative, came as a federal jury in Boston quickly determined Tuesday that Lieber was guilty on all six charges, including two counts of making false statements to federal investigators, two counts of filing false tax returns, and two counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Lieber, the former chairman of...

Boston Mayor Wu Relentlessly Heckled As New COVID-19 Restrictions Are Announced

Proof of vaccination against coronavirus will be required to enter city bars, restaurants, gyms, theaters and sports venues under a new mandate announced by Mayor Michelle Wu during a raucous press conference. “Vaccination is the most powerful tool we have to fight this pandemic,” said Wu Monday, announcing the city’s new rules as protesters flowed inside shouting “USA, USA!” In addition, all city workers will be required to get the vaccine if they want to keep their jobs, Wu said. Workers must have at least one dose by Jan. 15 and two doses by Feb. 15. The new, stricter requirement...

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Boston Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, in a Dec. 17 interview with a newspaper from Argentina, spoke about how some church factions in the U.S. drive views opposing Pope Francis via polarizing media messages. The cardinal, head of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, also spoke of how the sex abuse crisis has impacted evangelization. In the interview with La Nación on the occasion of Pope Francis’ 85th birthday, Cardinal O’Malley said polarization and opposition to Pope Francis includes some conservative prelates in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, but he did not name anyone. “Yes,...

Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley had strong words for the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) this weekend for its criticisms of Pope Francis. Asked by Argentinean journalist Elisabetta Pique about conservative/liberal polarization among the U.S. bishops, Cardinal O’Malley said that "the episcopal conference is polarized, but it is difficult to put a percentage on the opposing sides. There are also some bishops who are tied to a more conservative policy and the Holy Father himself has commented on the situation of EWTN, where many times the commentators are very critical of the Holy Father, at least of his ideas."

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced Monday that the city will require COVID-19 vaccinations to enter most indoor spaces starting on Jan. 15, as part of a campaign to increase vaccinations called "B Together." Additionally, Wu announced that those working in the listed indoor facilities will also be required to be fully vaccinated. The mandate will require that those entering indoor dining, bar, nightclub, fitness, movie theaters, concert venues, museums, sports arenas, and other entertainment facilities show a CDC vaccination card, a digital image of a CDC vaccination card or another official vaccine record, or using an official vaccine verification app.

The new mask mandate will be in place anywhere mass is celebrated, and for all events including weddings and funerals, the Archdiocese of Boston said Thursday. Face coverings are making a comeback for parishes within the Archdiocese of Boston for the holidays. “I will definitely feel safer coming to church knowing people are wearing masks,” said churchgoer Moran Brister of South Boston. “In fact I might not go otherwise.” The Archdiocese announced Thursday that masks will be required for a one-month period before and after Christmas and the New Year season. “Quite extraordinarily we’re seeing yet another spike and we...

The investigation continues. That’s the official word from the University of Massachusetts about their very thorough investigation of some racist emails, a probe that was announced with such fanfare and righteous indignation earlier this fall but now appears to be sputtering out, with no suspects. No suspects? How can that possibly be?..., I saw that ZooMass had decided to get ahead of the curve with “An Update into the Investigation of Racist Emails.” “To date no perpetrator has been identified,” the statement read. “It is not uncommon for the results of a cyber inquiry to be inconclusive and it is...

I don’t come to this conclusion lightly or because I disagree with a particular decision; I come to this conclusion because I believe the current court threatens the democratic foundations of our nation. This month, a majority of justices on the United States Supreme Court signaled their willingness to gut one of the court’s most important decisions over the past century, threatening to eliminate Roe v. Wade and a person’s right to choose. This is not the first time this extremist court has threatened, or outright dismantled, fundamental rights in this country. For years, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority —...

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A Jefferson Middle School teacher was placed on administrative leave after a planned reenactment of the Boston Tea Party was determined to be offensive. According to the Madison Metropolitan School District, the school principal stopped the history lesson from happening after determining it was “not consistent with the district’s vision, commitment to equity, cultural responsiveness, and was outside the scope of the district curriculum.” In a statement, MMSD explained the teacher, whose name was not released, was placed on administrative leave, as per district policy, until officials complete an internal review of the incident. Administrators also...

Speech and guns: two of the most contentious issues in America today, with controversies fueled not only by personal passions and identity politics but by competing interpretations of the Constitution. Perhaps more than any other parts of the Constitution, the First and Second Amendments inspire religious-like fervor in many Americans, with accordingly irrational results. As legal texts go, neither of the two amendments is a model of clarity or precision. More important, both are deeply flawed in their respective conceptualizations of some of the most important rights of a democratic society: the freedom of expression and religion and the right...

John Griffin, 44, of Stamford, Connecticut has been arrested charged with enticing minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity From April to July of 2020, Griffin allegedly used online messaging applications to communicate with people purporting to be the parents of minor daughters He allegedly attempted to impress ideas, that a 'woman is a woman regardless of her age,' and that women should be sexually subservient and inferior to men Griffin who was a producer with CNN is alleged to have sought to persuade parents to allow him to 'train their daughters to be sexually submissive' In June 2020, Griffin...