Free Republic

Actress and novelist Mary Astor was born on May 3rd, 1906. In making the 1941 movie “The Great Lie”, Bette Davis insisted that a difficult to cast role be given to Astor because Davis liked to work with good actresses who would bring out the best in her. Astor understood this type of risk taking, as opposed to dull self-protective caution, later writing: “Our security must be threatened in order for us to appreciate it.” Astor won the movie's only award, the supporting actress Oscar for her portrayal of pianist Sandra Kovak. In her acceptance speech, Astor thanked Bette Davis...

A surge in coronavirus cases in and around Tulsa, Oklahoma, is probably connected to the campaign rally President Donald Trump held there last month, the city’s top health official said Wednesday. Tulsa County reported 206 new confirmed cases Tuesday and 261 — a record high — Monday, and Dr. Bruce Dart, director of the Tulsa Health Department, said at a news conference that it was reasonable to link the spike to the rally and related events. “The past two days we’ve had almost 500 cases, and we know we had several large events a little over two weeks ago, which...