Free Republic

The list of names that will be used for tropical storms and hurricanes that form during the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season includes some simple ones like Arthur, Fay and Kyle. But it also marks the return of Isaias — a storm name that was used during the 2020 hurricane season and proved to be tough to pronounce. Isaias is supposed to be pronounced ees-ah-EE-ahs, but many TV and radio newscasters butchered it. (The most common mispronunciations included eye-ZAY-us and ee-SAY-us.) On the serious side, Isaias turned out to be a category 1 hurricane when it made landfall in North Carolina...

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee held an impromptu press conference outside the House chamber, while the House was voting to defund Obamacare; to demand that C-span stop playing classical music during televised House votes. "This has got to stop," Jackson-Lee said. "Nobody listens to that s**t any more. This is designed to discourage the youth, and minorities, from tuning in and paying attention to their government."

Why are U.S. hurricanes given names? Names are actually given to tropical storms but if they reach a sustained wind speed of 74 miles per hour, then they are deemed hurricanes. These types of destructive storms are given monikers because naming them makes it much easier for meteorologists, researchers, emergency response workers, ship captains, and citizens to communicate about specific hurricanes in a clear manner. So after decades of hurricane and storm names, did a Black Congresswoman demand that African-American names be included? ... In July 2003, Sheila Jackson Lee (pictured), a Democratic member of Congress who represents the 18th...

Do devastating hurricanes need help from affirmative action? A member of Congress apparently thinks so, and is demanding the storms be given names that sound "black." The congressional newspaper the Hill reported this week that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, feels that the current names are too "lily white," and is seeking to have better representation for names reflecting African-Americans and other ethnic groups. "All racial groups should be represented," Lee said, according to the Hill. She hoped federal weather officials "would try to be inclusive of African-American names." A sampling of popular names that could be used include Keisha,...

Five people accused of robbing a Mojave bank on Sept. 5 will be tried in federal court. Francesca Maia Rivera and Megan Lee Evans, both 19; Jonathon Jovan Ward, 22; and Maliki DeWayne Foust, 23, were arrested soon after allegedly robbing Mojave Desert Bank in the 15500 block of K Street. Their alleged partner in crime, Kejaun Chavis Moore , was arrested later, according to FBI spokeswoman Karen Ernst. Each originally was charged in Kern County with four state charges of robbery. On Sept. 16, the federal government decided to take the case to the United States District Court in...