Free Republic

SALT LAKE CITY — U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney said Monday that he believes climate change is happening and human activity is a significant contributor. During a speech at the conservative Sutherland Institute in Salt Lake City, the senator acknowledged that the position is rare among his fellow Republicans, but one that younger people seem to respond to more strongly than older conservatives. “In some respects, (by speaking with newer conservatives), I’ll be able to make inroads with some of the young people coming along,” he said.

Noted author, Harvard law professor, and critic of President Trump, Laurence Tribe offered his disparaging opinion of the Wednesday Robert Mueller hearings saying, "Much as I hate to say it, this morning’s hearing was a disaster." "Far from breathing life into his damning report, the tired Robert Mueller sucked the life out of it," he continued. "The effort to save democracy and the rule of law from this lawless president has been set back, not advanced." His criticism comes amid the former special counsel's appearances before both the House Judiciary and House Intelligence committees, which have received criticism due to...

The 2017 Tubbs Fire was the most destructive wildfire in California history, burning the wine-growing Napa and Sonoma regions north of San Francisco.  The greatest losses occurred in Santa Rosa city where 2,800+ homes were incinerated (one neighborhood shown in the picture below ). After a full year investigation, State officials traced the cause to a malfunction in a private electrical system.  Obviously, Santa Rosa was caught vastly unprepared. There's now great danger our country will face a disastrous wildfire -- an economic & cultural one if radical Dems are elected in 2020. Bernie Sanders' outright communist agenda was radical...

RANDOLPH, N.H. (AP) — Seven people were killed in a crash between a truck and several motorcycles in New Hampshire, state police said Friday, in what witnesses described as a "devastating scene" as bystanders grabbed first aid kits and blankets to treat injured motorcycle riders scattered along the highway.

Alabama Republican Roy Moore has announced he is running for U.S. Senate again in 2020 after failing to win the seat two years ago amid sexual misconduct accusations. Moore announced his campaign Thursday, seeking an eventual rematch against Democratic Sen. Doug Jones. The announcement upends an election viewed by Republicans as a top priority in 2020 and ignores President Donald Trump's warning that he "cannot win."

As president, Donald Trump no doubt gets all the free advice he can handle about ‘how to win’ in 2020, though obviously, he’s got his own track record and credentials after pulling off a reportedly ‘unlikely’ victory against Hillary Clinton in 2016. The victory, the president likes to say, was his and that of his campaign team. They read all the right tea leaves, and besides, POTUS has an instinct for connecting with a majority of Americans. That helps explain why his campaign is making serious plays for deep blue states like Oregon and lighter-but-still-blue states like New Mexico, Minnesota,...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- NEMA said that the current public impact of flooding in Nebraska is $205,494,325 and the private impact is $59,745,590. There are also three known fatalities, according to the agency. One being the farmer who was killed trying to help someone, another from someone who was carried away after they drove into high water, an 80-year-old woman who couldn't be rescued and another person is missing from the Spencer Dam. The agency said there has also been a $400 million impact to livestock. This does not account for future losses because of delayed or canceled planting. FEMA individual...

As floodwaters continued to devastate parts of the state on Friday, communities north and northwest of the Omaha metro area have braced for more damage. Flooding has already been blamed for at least one death and two people are believed to be missing as of Friday afternoon. About a dozen injuries have been reported, including to first responders. Homes are underwater and roads impassable. People displaced by the waters have taken shelter in hospitals, schools and other community buildings. Residents across the region are being evacuated as levees break or rivers overflow their banks. Rita Argintean was one of many...

Americans have long dreaded the “Big One,” a magnitude 8.0 earthquake along California’s San Andreas Fault that could one day kill thousands of people and cause billions of dollars in damage. The Big One, though, is a mere mini-me compared with the cataclysm forming beneath the Pacific Northwest. Roughly 100 miles off the West Coast, running from Mendocino, California, to Canada’s Vancouver Island, lurks the Cascadia Subduction Zone, where the Juan de Fuca Plate is sliding beneath the North American Plate, creating the conditions for a megathrust quake 30 times stronger than the worst-case scenario along the notorious San...

A Chinese airline is reportedly pressing charges against a passenger who threw coins at a plane engine ahead of a recent flight for "good luck." The man’s actions allegedly caused roughly $21,000 in damages and delayed travel plans for 160-plus passengers, who were forced to wait until the following day to fly out.

... To accommodate the expected increase in looting, additional officers have been brought into the region. Townsville mayor Jenny Hill says it’s only a matter of time before those responsible are caught. “If anyone thinks that they can behave in that manner, I pray that the police catch them,” Cr Hill told the Townsville Bulletin. It’s not the first time the Queensland community has been looted following a natural disaster. There were a dozen cases of looting after Cyclone Yasi hit in February 2011. Looters also struck during bushfires in Rockhampton and Gracemere at the end of last year. The...

**SNIP** Venezuela is ‘an ice cube’ The end result of the country’s decline, in terms of society, has been extreme poverty and hunger. In 2017, the average Venezuelan citizen lost around 24 pounds in 2017, about 73 people were murdered a day. And the rule of law is also breaking down: According to the country’s Prosecutor General’s office, 98% of crimes in 2014 were not prosecuted. Hyperinflation and the introduction of President Nicolas Maduro’s unique cryptocurrency has made the bolivar essentially worthless. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) noted that three million Venezuelans have sought refuge, hoping to find a...

While speaking Tuesday at Rice University’s Baker Center with author Jon Meacham and former White House chief of staff, James Baker, former President Barack Obama discussed identity politics and its history regarding race in the United States. Obama said that America, particularly American elites, have had a history of “great smugness” when it comes to wealth and status, Partial transcript as follows: OBAMA: We did not adapt quickly enough to the fact that there were people being left behind. And that frustrations were going to flare up and that all of these changes that were happening were happening really quick,...

Thirteen states -- Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia -- have enacted laws to combat what is seen as price gouging in the wake of natural disasters. Price gouging is legally defined as charging 10 to 25 percent more for something than you charged for it during the month before an emergency. Sellers convicted of price gouging face prison terms and fines. Price gouging in the wake of natural disasters is often seen as evil exploitation by sellers to rip off desperate customers. Let's hold off on that...

FEMA Administrator Brock Long today briefed reporters on the impact of Hurricane Michael as well as the response and recovery efforts. The administrator also took the opportunity to implore more Americans, especially those that live in areas susceptible to natural disasters...

SCIENCE The US Government Is Updating Its Nuclear Disaster Plans And They Are Truly Terrifying “We are looking at 100 kiloton to 1,000 kiloton detonations,” a FEMA official said. By Dan Vergano Map of Washington, DC Reporting From Washington, DC Posted on August 24, 2018

Complete Headline: Sixty nine major earthquakes hit the Pacific's Ring of Fire in just 48 hours driving fears that the 'Big One' is about to hit California Sixteen tremors above magnitude 4.5 shook the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' on Monday This followed a cluster of 53 quakes that hit the geological zone on Sunday The quakes rattled Indonesia, Bolivia, Japan and Fiji, but failed to reach the US Scientists have previously warned California is long overdue a major quake Fears that a deadly earthquake may soon hit California have emerged after a swarm of quakes rocked one of Earth's major...

Complete Headline: Watch Out California! 53 Major Earthquakes (Including A Magnitude 8.2) Just Hit The Ring Of Fire In A 24 Hour Period Is something unusual starting to happen to the crust of our planet? The USGS defines any earthquake of at least magnitude 4.5 as "significant", and there were 53 earthquakes that met that criteria along the Ring of Fire on Sunday alone. If you would like to verify that information for yourself, you can so do right here. Not too long ago, I wrote about how "Earth changes" seem to be accelerating all over the world, but even...

California has been hard hit by wildfires, and 17 major fires continue to burn. California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced Saturday that the White House had approved the state's request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for Shasta County, where the historic Carr Fire continues to burn. According to Governor Brown's office, the request was submitted to the President and approved in the same day. "This is part of a trend – a new normal – that we've got to deal with. We're dealing with it humanly, financially and governmentally," Governor Brown said on Saturday during a media briefing...

Hundreds of residents of the seaside resort of Mati, east of Athens, sought refuge on Monday to nearby beaches to evade the approaching fire that has claimed the lives of at least 50 people.Heartbreaking photos have emerged of panicked residents trying to escape the rage of the flames and waiting to be rescued by the Greek coast guard and private boats. (note: many more photos at the link and 2 videos) -- Greeks Turn to Social Media to Find Missing Persons A group of Greeks have created an electronic database with photos and names of missing persons following Monday’s devastating fires...