Free Republic

As a scientist with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Frances Kelsey single-handedly prevented thalidomide, a drug now infamous for causing horrific birth defects, from reaching patients in the United States. Today, 70 years later, we Americans are fortunate to have thousands of people like Dr. Kelsey working across the federal government to protect us not just from dangerous pharmaceuticals, but also from banks that might cheat us out of our hard-earned money and from employers who think nothing of risking their workers’ lives. Instead of being celebrated, though, our public servants find themselves the target of escalating political...

Online spending during the 2023 holiday season hit a new record, according to a recent report from data firm Adobe Analytics. The numbers, released Thursday, showed online spending between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31 spiked by nearly 5 percent to a record high of $222.1 billion on retailer websites and apps. This is an increase of 10.4 billion from the previous year, Adobe noted. Mobile shopping also had a breakthrough this past holiday season, surpassing desktop for the first time and accounting for 51.1 percent of online sales, according to the report. This is up from 47 percent in 2022...

Covid-19 struck Beth Green just in time for Christmas, upending her annual holiday gatherings. She planned on hosting her extended family at her Derry Township home on Dec. 23. She was especially excited because it’s difficult to get two of her adult sons together with their hectic schedules. Green, an administrator at a long-term care facility, said her covid symptoms weren’t serious. She went ahead with altered plans to host. She wore an N95 mask. She told family to attend at their own risk. Some did. Some didn’t.

The following cities ranked among the top 10 most "unsafe" places in the U.S. during the holidays, according to new research from Vivint, a smart-home security company. Researchers combined "property crime data, Google search trends and other security factors" to rank the 50 largest cities in the country in order by crime risk. Those factors include data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), Google Trends searches related to holiday security, security features for Airbnb listings, registered Neighborhood Watch groups and National Insurance Crime Bureau statistics, according to Vivint. Here are the top 10 . . . .

The absurdity of the liberal secular push claiming the Founders intended the First Amendment to bar Christian Christmas images from public places is most evident by the fact that these same Founders actually used the U.S. Capitol as a church week after week from the start of the United States of America. The liberal secularist argument would indicate the Founders messed up so badly in writing the Bill of Rights that they contradicted themselves in the very first words. The liberal secularist argument would mean that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," contradicts "or prohibiting the...

The director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) told people to stay home if they are sick in a holiday message Friday. “We continue to see a lot of respiratory illness right now. Flu, COVID and RSV are spreading in most of the country,” Mandy Cohen said in a Friday video posted to the CDC’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter. “And as we gather with family and friends this time of year, I want to give you a few reminders,” Cohen continued. “I know it’s hard, but if you’re feeling sick, please stay home. Avoid spreading germs...

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on Thursday touted the achievements his department has made over the last year and gave Americans pointers on air travel before they take off for the holiday season. “This year we have seen some of the busiest air traffic days in U.S. history. And so far, this year, our aviation system has been handling the increased volume well,” Buttigieg said in a video posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “In fact, cancelations are lower than they were before the pandemic, and we’re pushing hard to keep it that way.”

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu proudly shared a photo of the controversial “electeds of color” holiday party she hosted on Wednesday, showcasing all the smiling government officials of minority backgrounds at the “no whites” gathering. “Last night was my turn to host the annual holiday dinner for Boston’s elected officials of color—a special moment to appreciate that our affinity group now includes leadership across city, state, county, and federal offices,” Wu wrote in a caption alongside the photo on Instagram.

A suburb of Portland, Maine removed a Star of David from its annual holiday lights display. A local Arab-American organization complained and called it “offensive.” The reason is the Israel-Hamas war. How convenient for the normalization of antisemitic sentiments. Unlike most Arab countries, there is religious freedom in America. There is, however, a separation between church and state. Mayor Michael Foley is using the excuse of the Constitution’s Establishment Clause for the removal. Religious displays are forbidden on public property. Here is the kicker – local Jewish groups agreed and want the Star of David removed and replaced with a...

Black Friday e-commerce spending popped 7.5% from a year earlier, reaching a record $9.8 billion in the U.S., according to an Adobe Analytics report, a further indication that price-conscious consumers want to spend on the best deals and are hunting for those deals online.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is encouraging Americans to “keep” their holiday plans and “get vaccinated” for protection, despite the fact that the coronavirus vaccine does not prevent one from contracting the virus or halt virus transmission. “Keep your holiday plans. Get vaccinated. Stay protected,” an image shared by the CDC reads, featuring a group of people smiling around the dinner table about to have a Thanksgiving meal. “Planning for COVID-19 protection makes for a safer, healthier holiday season. Get yourself and your loved ones vaccinated and stay up to date on your immunizations,” the caption...

Those watches, handbags and sunglasses might look awfully alluring when laid out on a New York City street corner — but the feds want holiday shoppers to keep walking. That was the message they hammered home Tuesday as federal authorities warned people not to shell out their hard-earned dollars for fraudulent goods — whose very existence poses a shadowy threat to the country, they said. “Today we’re here to warn the public again with an old saying that will stand the test of time: If the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is,” Marina Vides, assistant special...

Amazon announced Tuesday that it will hire a quarter million new workers starting this month as the holiday shopping season nears. The company is also raising the starting pay for the new full-time, part-time and seasonal workers to an average of $20.50 per hour, it said.

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called Juneteenth a “useless” holiday during a campaign event with voters in Iowa on Saturday. Ramaswamy’s remarks, first reported by NBC News, come after he celebrated the holiday earlier this year on June 19, saying it is about honoring how far the country has come and how people can advance through hard work, commitment and dedication. He called for a range of proposals concerning the country’s elections on Saturday, including that all voting happen on one day, having all paper ballots and declaring Election Day a national holiday instead of one of the “useless” ones.

Furious passengers began to lash out at Pete Buttigieg over the Forth of July weekend's travel chaos as 3,000K delayed or canceled flights has left thousands of people stranded. Angry tweets slammed the Transportation Secretary for not fixing the airline industry as the number of Americans traveling by air for the holiday is expected to reach 25 million, surpassing pre-pandemic levels for the first time in four years. 'Almost 3000 flights were delayed or cancelled this weekend. And this is after he said he would fix the airline industry,' one Twitter user lamented. But Buttigieg doesn't appear worried with how...

A British father died in Jamaica after attempting a challenge at a hotel pool bar to try and drink all 21 cocktails on the menu, an inquest has heard. Timothy Southern, from Lichfield, Staffordshire, had drunk 12 of the cocktails when he went to his room at the Royal Decameron Club Caribbean, in Saint Ann. The 53-year-old was on holiday with his sister, children, and other relatives when tragedy struck in May, 2022. Loved-ones rushed to Timothy's room after the alarm was raised. One of them told his inquest: 'He was on his back choking. I put him in the...

Safe Boating Tips No matter how much experience you have, it’s always a good idea for everyone to review boating safety rules before departures. Below you will find 10 basic boating safety tips to help you stay safe: 1.Be Weather-Wise Always check local weather conditions before departure; TV and radio forecasts can be a good source of information. If you notice darkening clouds, volatile and rough changing winds or sudden drops in temperature, play it safe by getting off the water. 2.Follow a Pre-Departure Checklist Proper boating safety includes being prepared for any possibility on the water. Following a pre-departure...

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) said simultaneous surges of COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have created an “extremely challenging” health situation for the city. The city indicated flu cases are already higher than they were during the peak each of the past four years, also noting increases over the past month in COVID-19 and RSV cases. “This year, particularly around the flu, from the briefing we received, the numbers are higher than it traditionally is around this year,” Adams said at a Tuesday news conference. “When you combine it with the other elements that we are...

By all accounts, the risk of another winter surge of COVID-19 in the U.S. is high. And this time coronavirus is on the prowl alongside two pals — influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). In some areas, hospitals are already overwhelmed. Just how severe this “tripledemic” is going to be is unclear. But what is very clear is that a pandemic-weary public isn’t taking the threat seriously enough. Shockingly, neither is government. Biden administration officials have expressed concerns for months, but there’s been no loud alarm bells, so far. That includes at a White House briefing on Tuesday where officials...

Honolulu police have opened a first-degree robbery investigation after three male suspects allegedly robbed a visitor in Waikiki. Police said the suspects approached the victim, 23, in the 400 block of Ena Road brandishing knives and a handgun and demanded money at about 2 p.m. Wednesday. The suspects fled on foot with money taken from the victim. No injuriies were reported.