Free Republic

An apparent large oil spill spanning dozens of square miles of sea has been spotted off of Iran’s main oil hub of Kharg Island, according to open source satellite imagery and reporting in both the NY Times and Reuters on Friday. It could be the result of a leak. Other claims have suggested oil was pumped into the sea because storage space had run out due to the blockade. In newer images, the oil slick appeared to be moving south.

NBA ratings continue to be inexplicably low this month, with all of the Twitter chatter surrounding the league’s return not translating into an actual increase in viewers. When the NBA resumed its season at the end of July, many observers assumed it would be a ratings boon for all involved. Networks were starved for sports programming as a result of COVID-19, and basketball’s glut of big name stars should have converted into a ton of viewership. Only it didn’t. In the first week of action, the NBA’s ratings immediately sputtered. Rather than spiking due to an increase in hype and...

Standard anti-cop ideology, whether emanating from the ACLU or the academy, holds that law enforcement actions are racist if they don’t mirror population data. New York City illustrates why that expectation is so misguided. Blacks make up 23 percent of New York City’s population, but they commit 75 percent of all shootings, 70 percent of all robberies, and 66 percent of all violent crime, according to victims and witnesses. Add Hispanic shootings and you account for 98 percent of all illegal gunfire in the city. Whites are 33 percent of the city’s population, but they commit fewer than two percent...