Free Republic

The growth in the American population over the last decade was driven entirely by minority communities, according to new data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau, as the number of white Americans declined for the first time since the nation's founding. Non-Hispanic whites make up just under 58 percent of the American population, the first time since the Census was first conducted that they have fallen under the 60 percent mark. By contrast, the 2000 Census showed non-Hispanic whites made up just over 69 percent of the population, and 63.7 percent in 2010. Hispanic or Latino Americans have grown...

A federal judge on Friday dismissed a bid by Rep. Louie Gohmert (Texas) and other Republicans that sought to endow Vice President Pence with the legal authority to effectively overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral win. In his ruling, Texas-based U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle, a Trump appointee, said the GOP plaintiffs lacked standing. The judge found that Gohmert suffered no legally recognizable injury. The other plaintiffs, a group of Arizona Republicans who self-identify as an alternate “slate” of pro-Trump electors, could not link their supposed injury to Pence, he reasoned.

The Arizona Supreme Court late Tuesday threw out the bid by the head of the state Republican Party to void the results of the presidential race. In a unanimous ruling, the justices said that party Chairwoman Kelli Ward failed to present any evidence of misconduct or illegal votes in the tally that found Joe Biden outpolled President Trump in Arizona. Chief Justice Robert Brutinel, writing for the court, said Ward, who has the burden of proof when challenging an election, provided no evidence that the electors pledged to Trump got more votes than those pledged to Biden, “let alone (to)...

The country is heading into a three-week nearly total lockdown on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the government determined on Sunday after more than seven hours of heated debate. The closure will go into effect at 2 p.m. on Friday and last through October 9. During the lockdown, the school system will remain closed, except for special education and programs for at-risk youth. People will not be able to venture more than 500 meters from home. Restaurants, shopping centers and businesses that offer leisure and recreational activities will be shut down. There are detailed regulations that the government will approve...

Ignoring pleas from Republican leaders, Missouri voters approved a plan Tuesday to expand Medicaid coverage to more than 230,000 low-income people in the state. Missouri voted to expand its Medicaid program, as 53% of voters supported the measure. Missouri now joins 37 other states that have already expanded the federally subsidized health insurance program. The decision will mean adults between the ages of 19 and 65 whose income is at or below 138% of the federal poverty level will be covered. As of this year, that amounts to $17,608 for an individual and $36,156 for a household of four. The...

The Supreme Court on Friday denied an appeal by a Nevada church to allow additional worshipers to join in-person services based on capacity amid the coronavirus pandemic. Nevada has placed a 50-person cap on all places of worship, no matter the capacity of the building, as a part of the state's coronavirus restrictions. But casinos, along with other businesses such as restaurants and movie theaters, may permit up to 50 percent capacity, allowing casinos to grant access to hundreds of patrons at a time. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh all issued dissenting opinions rejecting the constitutionality of...

Senate Republicans are starting to quietly draft pieces of their next coronavirus relief package. Republicans aren't expected to begin formally negotiating the fifth bill — or even make an official decision about if they need another relief package — until they return from a two-week break on July 20. But GOP senators signaled on Tuesday that they are starting to brainstorm, and in some cases craft, pieces of what will eventually go into their initial offer, with Republicans expected to get an agreement amongst themselves before negotiating with Democrats. Republicans crafted a similar process in March when the $2.2 trillion...

Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned members of Congress on Monday that the U.S. could reach 100,000 new COVID-19 cases per day if the country does not get a handle on the pandemic. Speaking before the Senate health committee, Fauci said the country is heading in the “wrong direction as the average number of daily cases continues to go up. “We’re going in the wrong direction if you look at the curves of the new cases,” said Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “We need to do something about that and...

The United States is becoming a far more diverse nation, led by surging growth among those of Asian and Hispanic descent, while stagnating fertility rates slow overall population growth. A new report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows America's population is 60.1 percent white, the lowest level ever recorded. Among those under 16 years of age, fewer than half are white, a sign that white Americans are having fewer children and doing so later in life. "The nation is becoming more diverse, especially among the young," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. But the number of Americans...

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Thursday the state will pause its efforts to reopen the economy as the number of confirmed coronavirus infections spikes and hospitals begin to fill. Abbott has been warning of a mounting catastrophe for days, as new cases rise precipitously in Houston, the Dallas metroplex and in cities like Austin, San Antonio and El Paso. Abbott said businesses that are already allowed to operate under the current reopening phase will continue to be able to do so. "As we experience an increase in both positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, we are focused on strategies that...

President Trump spoke with Joe St. George, National Political Editor & Washington Correspondent for Scripps, and he talked about the prospects of another stimulus package. Here is a transcript of the conversation... Joe St. George: I have a lot of viewers in Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, who are still struggling economically, sir. They spent all of that first stimulus check, are you going to get them a second stimulus check? President Trump: Yeah, we are. We are. Look we had this— Joe St. George: When? When are you going to get it? President Trump: We had this going better than...

White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro said the next coronavirus relief package could provide funding up to $2 trillion as Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill debate what should be included in the next round of legislation. Navarro said the next package should focus on the manufacturing sector with the motto of “Buy American, Hire American.” “It’ll simultaneously create more manufacturing jobs, which tend to pay much higher wages, and it’ll also help the ripple effect to create a lot of those service sector jobs which we are going to lose to dislocation as we adjust. So the phase four,...

Apple is creating a $100 million program to promote racial justice inside the company, CEO Tim Cook announced Thursday, as corporate leaders across the U.S. seek to respond to the George Floyd protests and are under a renewed pressure to address racial inequality at major companies. "Growing up in Alabama during the civil rights movement, I saw firsthand that the only thing that ever made lasting and durable change was people of goodwill putting aside comfort and safety to speak up to march to call for accountability and to do what they could to make a flawed society more perfect,”...

The Securities and Exchange Commission has awarded a record $50 million payout through its Whistleblower Program to an individual who provided "detailed, firsthand observations of misconduct by a company" that led to enforcement action returning "a significant amount of money to harmed investors." “This award marks several milestones for the whistleblower program,” said Jane Norberg, chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, in an agency release Thursday. "Whistleblowers have proven to be a critical tool in the enforcement arsenal to combat fraud and protect investors.” The award is the largest amount given to a single individual under the SEC...

The killing of George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer who kneeled directly on his neck has angered the US. The tape that captured the event horrified Floyd's family, his brother Philonise Floyd wrote in a GoFundMe he established five days ago. Floyd died in Minneapolis, but the family is originally from Houston. Philonise Floyd was hoping to raise $1.5 million to pay for the family's considerable legal and travel expenses as well as to help support and educate Floyd's children. Philonise Floyd says that 100% of the money collected will go to the family and that it is...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Monday that the Senate will return to the Capitol next week — and he outlined GOP priorities for a fifth coronavirus relief bill. “Senators will return to Washington D.C. one week from today. We will modify routines in ways that are smart and safe, but we will honor our constitutional duty to the American people and conduct critical business in person," McConnell said in a statement. "If it is essential for doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, truck drivers, grocery-store workers, and many other brave Americans to keep carefully manning their own duty stations,...

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that the administration will send more funding to states if necessary but will only do so with bipartisan support. There is an emerging battle over whether to fund state and local governments in the next stimulus bill. Democrats including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have vowed to include such support in the legislation. “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace asked Mnuchin if President Trump would back giving aid to the states as several governors across the country are requesting. Mnuchin responded that the president had “heard from governors,” and the administration would consider providing this...

The Navy has recommended reinstating Capt. Brett Crozier as commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, according to reports, in a move that would be unprecedented. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday and acting Navy Secretary James McPherson made the recommendation to Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Friday when briefing him about the results of the investigation into the coronavirus outbreak aboard the aircraft carrier. Esper asked for more time to consider whether to reinstate Crozier, the Times added. In a statement Friday afternoon, chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said Esper is awaiting a written copy of the investigation to...

President Trump on Friday signed legislation providing $484 billion to replenish a popular small business lending program and support hospitals and COVID-19 testing amid the coronavirus pandemic. The measure includes an additional $310 billion in funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), $60 billion of which is reserved for community banks and small lenders; $75 billion for hospitals; $25 billion to support testing efforts; and $60 billion for emergency disaster loans and grants. Trump signed the legislative package during an Oval Office ceremony. The legislation came out of several days of negotiations between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and congressional Democrats....

One of the hospitalized sailors is in ICU Four sailors on the San-Diego based aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt are in the hospital with COVID-19, the Navy said Tuesday. One is in intensive care. The hospital admissions come the day after a member of the crew died of complications of the virus after four days in the ICU. The Defense department has not released the name of the sailor. The Navy also said Tuesday that 589 of the Roosevelt’s crew have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. More than 4,000 of the crew have moved moved off the ship into housing...