Free Republic

Former Democrat New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has officially entered the race for New York City mayor, signaling a bold attempt at a political comeback. After resigning in 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations and a tarnished public image, Cuomo is now seeking to reclaim his political influence. With his announcement, the former governor aims to bring his experience in state leadership to the city’s top job. However, his bid will likely face significant opposition as critics and supporters weigh his controversial legacy against his promises for the city's future. On Saturday, Cuomo announced his mayoral bid in a video post...

In October, Stanford University professor Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, hosted a conferenceopens in a new tab or window on the lessons of COVID-19 in order "to do better in the next pandemic." He invited scholars, journalists, and policy wonks who, like him, have criticized the U.S. management of the crisis as overly draconian. Bhattacharya also invited public health authorities who had considered his alternative approach reckless. None of them showed up. Now, the "contrarians" are seizing the reins: President Donald Trump has nominated Bhattacharya to lead the NIH and Johns Hopkins University surgeon Marty Makary, MD, MPH, to run the...

Authorities have confirmed the first human death in the United States caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or H5N1. The announcement was made by the Louisiana Department of Health on Monday, Jan. 6. The patient, a man over 65 with underlying health conditions, was hospitalized before succumbing to the illness after exposure to a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds. The Louisiana Department of Health said it has conducted a public health investigation and found no additional cases or evidence of person-to-person transmission. The department extended condolences to the patient’s family and stated this will be the final update...

President-elect Donald Trump used a “forceful hand” to get his Drug Enforcement Agency pick to drop out on Tuesday after hearing “concerns” about the Floridian’s record, sources familiar told The Post — leading outgoing Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) to make a bid for the position. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister issued a lengthy statement indicating he was withdrawing his name for the DEA slot — but did not reveal the specific reason he was dropping out of the confirmation process after just three days. “Everyone knows President Trump calls the shots,” a well-placed source spilled. “The president heard the concerns...

Donald Trump’s recent announcement of Sheriff Chad Chronister as his nominee for Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator has sparked a fierce backlash among conservatives, who are raising serious concerns about Chronister’s record, particularly his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic and his perceived alignment with leftist policies. ... many conservative voices have condemned the pick, pointing to his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic and his alignment with liberal policies. Among the most controversial moments of Chronister’s career was the arrest of Tampa Bay Pastor Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne in March 2020. The pastor was charged with violating public health orders after keeping...

A former Dallas salon owner who was jailed for re-opening her salon during COVID-19 will now be the next state representative for Texas House District 62. Shelley Luther won the election with nearly 80 percent of the vote. Luther received nearly 67,000 votes to defeat Democrat challenger Tiffany Drake in the far North Texas legislative seat election. In April 2020, Breitbart Texas reported that Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins (D) ordered that Luther be jailed for contempt of his order to close her business during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Dallas police came to her salon several times allegedly responding to...

The architect of New York City's coronavirus lockdowns admitted to breaking his own rules to attend drug-fueled sex parties in an undercover sting. Former Covid czar Dr Jay Varma was caught on camera talking about how he got high and went to underground raves that were 'not Covid-friendly' at the height of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. He also detailed how he snuck around to participate in 'deviant sexual' gatherings, hosted sex parties at his home and rented a hotel with friends where they would get 'naked' and take 'molly,' a street name for MDMA or ecstasy.

For many Americans, the Covid pandemic and draconian lockdowns it ushered in feel like a thing of the past. Biden declared the pandemic over last May, and it's not been viewed as a major voter issue since. But for some Americans, the masking and social distancing never ended. Sara Anne Willette, from New Jersey, has spent more than 1,600 days in isolation, rarely leaving home and planning to further isolate to the countryside. Her hope is to get back to gardening, running, and drinking coffee on the porch. She even plans to buy enough land so other immunocompromised people who...

Does anyone remember the Panic of 2020, also known as COVID? The Democrats are certainly hoping you’ve forgotten, especially the way they used the Red Chinese virus to bludgeon President Trump, and American society at large, into a form of public-health hysteria never seen before in world history. And they kept the grift going well into 2021, as a way to keep the Deep State’s boot on the throat of a formerly free people. But now… nothing to see here folks, never mind. Last week, at their convention, Dementia Joe Biden lied: “Well, during the pandemic, Kamala helped states and...

"Because in Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make. And even if we wouldn't make those same choices for ourselves, we've got a golden rule: Mind your own damn business!" Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) declared during his acceptance speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. He was, of course, referring to the killing of unborn babies. "In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make. And even if we wouldn't make those same choices for ourselves, we've got a golden rule: mind your own damn business." Is that why Walz encouraged Minnesotans to...

During his speech at the Democratic National Convention, President Biden attempted to gaslight the American people about his administration’s position on school closures during the pandemic. “Kamala and I helped states and cities get back their schools back open,” he yelled. But as X account Libs of TikTok reminded, Democrats attacked former President Donald Trump for arguing schools need to be reopened, especially because COVID-19 posed very little risk to children. “During the pandemic Kamala and I helped states and cities get back their schools back open” - Joe Biden Now look at this DNC ad from 2020 attacking Trump...

A former Minnesota bar owner who now commutes two hours a day to sling suds in neighboring Wisconsin said Gov. Tim Walz’s restrictive pandemic-era lockdowns in the state “decimated” local businesses — and caused financial ruin for those who stood up for their livelihoods. “I think he’s an evil man who overstepped his role as the governor. He took small businesses and ripped them up. He destroyed us,” Lisa Zarza. ... She said when shelter-in-place and business closures first went into effect in March, 2020, “I did everything I was supposed to do. I wore my mask, I social distanced....

Minnesota business owner Greg Urban on Fox News Wednesday criticized Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz for his allegedly tyrannical record during the COVID-19 pandemic as governor of Minnesota. Walz implemented harsh lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, establishing a hotline for Minnesotans to report people who violated stay-at-home policies and pushed residents of his state not to gather for Thanksgiving. Urban, on “America Reports,” characterized Walz as an “evil” tyrant for his policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, asserting the vice presidential candidate is farther left than Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom. “Walz was a complete dictator through that whole...

Just to preface this post, no, I'm still not 'over' the pandemic, and various government responses to it. It seems as though a lot of people just want to put all that unpleasantness behind us as a society, and move on, but we cannot do that. 'Authoritarianism' is a word that gets tossed about with reckless abandon, typically to describe virtually anything the Left opposes, but COVID triggered an extraordinary avalanche of authoritarian edicts -- many rooted in extremely dubious science, or none at all. Bureaucrats and politicians declared that we must "follow the science," even when they had little-to-no...

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top adviser to two presidential administrations during the COVID-19 pandemic, reversed course in a Tuesday interview and agreed that shutting down schools for more than a year due to the virus was a “mistake” — while also arguing the initial decision to close classrooms was correct. “Keeping it for a year was not a good idea,” the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) told “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil while talking about his new memoir “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service.” “So, that was a mistake in retrospect?”...

The headquarters of the Republican National Committee was briefly placed on lockdown Wednesday morning and the hazardous materials team from the United States Capitol Police responded to the scene on Capitol Hill. According to sources reported by NBC News, the emergency response stemmed from a package containing vials of blood that was sent to the RNC's offices just a few steps from House office buildings.NEW: Three sources tell @NBCNews vials of blood were sent to the RNC... https://t.co/iRhiH2O1rK— Dasha Burns (@DashaBurns) May 22, 2024Capitol Police told NBC News that the package was contained and removed by its personnel while another...

The headquarters of the Republican National Committee were put on lockdown Wednesday morning. It was unclear exactly what caused the security alert, but one source told The Post: “It sounds like vials of blood were sent in a package and something broke open.” There were no immediate reports of any injuries. A Hazmat unit was on site at the Capitol Hill building.

A revision to the municipal code made it illegal for groups of four or more people to convene in public spaces for commercial recreational activities without a government stamp of approval.They come in packs. They're often crunchy. They're chameleons: a downward-facing dog one moment, a cobra or child the next. (What versatility!) They do handstands and breathe peacefully. And we can't have any of that. At least, not on public land. By "they," I'm referring to the world of yogis. And by "we," I mean the city of San Diego, which revised its municipal code in March to prevent groups...

The co-owner of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, New Jersey, who fiercely defied tyrannical lockdowns in 2020, has won a monumental victory after a court dismissed all 80 charges against him. Ian Smith famoulsy reopened his gym in the middle of lockdown, defying Democrat Governor Phil Murphy’s draconian COVID-19 lockdown orders.

“4 years ago today, we reopened Atilis Gym in direct violation of an unconstitutional order by Governor Philip Murphy to close small businesses in New Jersey,” says gym owner Ian Smith. A New Jersey court has dismissed the case against gym owner Ian Smith over 80 citations and violations of Gov. Phil Murphy's (D) order to close small business during the covid pandemic. Smith, owner of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, made a statement on X Saturday breaking the good news.