Free Republic

On Monday, there were more Covid-19 hospitalizations in Florida than at any time in the pandemic. The chief executive of the Florida Hospital Association, Mary Mayhew, told MSNBC that about 95% of those hospitalized were unvaccinated. “Our beds are full of patients with Covid-19 who are predominately unvaccinated,” said the hospital’s chief operating officer, Stephanie Manson, in a statement. “In the past two weeks, we have seen a rapid influx of younger patients under the age of 50 come into our hospitals with the Delta variant.” 99.99% of people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 have not had a breakthrough case that...

The French film Cuties, currently available on Netflix, has outraged American politicians who say it sexualizes prepubescent girls. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D–Hawaii), a former presidential contender, warns that Cuties, which depicts an 11-year-old's participation in a risqué dance troupe that flouts the values of her conservative Muslim family, "will certainly whet the appetite of pedophiles & help fuel the child sex trafficking trade." Sen. Ted Cruz (R–Texas) goes even further, suggesting that Cuties is illegal. Whatever your take on the film's merits, Cruz presents no evidence to substantiate that claim. In a letter he sent Attorney General William Barr on...

U.S. deaths from COVID-19 rose for a third week in a row to more than 6,300 people in the seven days ended July 26, though the number of new cases fell 2%, dropping for the first time after rising for five weeks, a Reuters analysis found. ... There were nearly 460,000 new COVID-19 cases reported last week, according to the analysis. California, Florida and Texas collectively accounted for nearly 200,000 of the new cases, though the latter two states reported fewer new infections compared to the previous week.

Kevin Gough, a lawyer for Mr. Bryan, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In an interview last week, he said Mr. Bryan “had no role or involvement in that shooting. He has committed no crime. He is a witness.” Mr. Arbery’s family and civil-rights activists have pressed for weeks for authorities to charge Mr. Bryan, arguing he wasn’t simply a witness but was involved in the young man’s killing. In an April letter to the Glynn County Police Department, George Barnhill, the district attorney in Waycross who oversaw the case for a period before recusing himself, wrote that...