Free Republic

Twitter is experimenting with adding brightly colored labels directly beneath lies and misinformation posted by politicians and public figures, according to a leaked demo of new features sent to NBC News. Twitter confirmed that the leaked demo, which was accessible on a publicly available site, is one possible iteration of a new policy to target misinformation it plans to roll out March 5. In this version, disinformation or misleading information posted by public figures will be corrected directly beneath the tweet by fact-checkers and journalists who are verified on the platform, and possibly other users who will participate in a...

A prominent City of Buffalo employee plead guilty to the sexual abuse of a 17-year-old boy. Antwan Diggs, 50, plead guilty Thursday to the abuse that happened at the Marriott Hotel at Canalside last August. He forced the boy to perform oral sex on him, then later blamed “demons” for his actions. Diggs was the former Community Crime Prevention Coordinator for the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency. He has since lost his job. Diggs was also a pastor at the Hananiah Lutheran Church in Buffalo. “There are human frailties in life and people make bad decisions and mistakes,” Defense Attorney Tom...

Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders lost his cool Wednesday night when former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called him the “best known socialist” who “happens to be a millionaire with three houses.”

More than 1,000 military veterans have signed on to a letter condemning President Trump over his "sustained attacks" on Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the Army official who provided damaging testimony during the House's impeachment inquiry and was later recalled from the White House's National Security Council (NSC). The letter, which was organized by the anti-Trump group National Security Action, condemned the dismissal of Vindman and his twin brother, Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, saying it suggests that Trump is prioritizing "a personal vendetta over our national security.".... Signatories of the letter include former U.S. Army Europe Commander Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling,...

A state judge has revoked, retroactively, a building permit at 200 Amsterdam on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. If the decision holds, the developer might have to lop off almost half of the 668-foot tower. The Municipal Art Society and other opponents of “super-tall” buildings are elated. But Judge W. Franc Perry’s ruling is likely not only wrongheaded but also a threat to basic fairness and legal predictability. The problem: the developer received his building permit under an official guidance on the definition of zoning lots dating to 1978. That guidance may have been in error—the Department of Buildings (DOB) has...

Last night’s Democratic Debate was like a WWE wrestling event minus decent wrestlers. Seriously, if Warren could have grabbed a folding chair and slammed it over Bloomberg’s head she probably would have. Man, she was absolutely unhinged, which tells you she knows she’s just about done. James Woods summed ALL of this up in one perfectly hilarious meme:

A school district in Maryland revamped its eighth grade U.S. history curriculum after reviewing how it approached topics like slavery. Eighth graders at Montgomery County Public Schools, one of the largest districts in the nation, now mostly use primary sources like letters and speeches to learn about U.S. history, instead of relying on textbooks alone. "It was really important to us to make sure that we are telling an inclusive narrative of American history," said Tiferet Ani, social studies curriculum specialist. "And so to get away from sort of the dominant narrative that's focused on presidents, on generals, you know,...

A Shawnee State University philosophy professor's lawsuit over the pronoun he used to address a student has been dismissed. Professor Nicholas Meriwether, a “professed Evangelical Christian”, was confronted in January 2018 by student Alena Bruening. Bruening said identified as a transgender female and wanted to be addressed by the pronouns she/her/hers. When Meriwether refused to abide by the request, the lawsuit claims, Bruening “became belligerent” and said, “well I guess that means I can call you a c**t.” "the court’s decision opens the door for them to shift from being a marketplace of ideas to an assembly line for one...

Mike Bloomberg has officially surpassed Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in presidential endorsements from members of Congress and governors after his debut on the debate stage Wednesday night. With the Nevada caucuses set for Saturday, Warren still does not have any major endorsements from politicians in the Silver State. Bloomberg will not be on the ballot in Nevada. Joe Biden is the sole Democratic candidate with formal support from a Nevadan. Rep. Steven Horsford, the Democratic member for NV-04, endorsed the former Vice President on February 14. Biden leads the pack with a whopping 49 official backings from members of the...

A history of 10 or more lifetime sexual partners is linked to a heightened risk of being diagnosed with cancer, reveals research published online in the journal BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health. And among women, a higher number of sexual partners is also linked to heightened odds of reporting a limiting long term condition, the findings indicate. Few studies have looked at the potential impact of the number of sexual partners on wider health outcomes. To try and plug this knowledge gap, the researchers drew on information gathered for the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a nationally representative tracking...

New York is combatting anti-Semitism with a new ad campaign featured in Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish print and digital outlets, in addition to social media. The New York City Commission on Human Rights launched a campaign to fight religious harassment and discrimination and to emphasize the city’s support for its Jewish population. The commission said in a release that the campaign was in response to rising anti-Semitic incidents in the city, the surrounding area and the country. One of the new ads reads, “Jewish New Yorkers belong here. Anti-Semitism does not.” The advertisements will be featured in Orthodox and Hasidic...

President Donald Trump likes to claim credit for the number of Americans who have stopped receiving food stamps since he entered office. In July 2018, he said 3.5 million had fallen from the rolls; the next spring, 5 million had. In his State of the Union speech this month, the number had grown to 7 million. Democrats say those figures only show Trump has pushed struggling Americans off public assistance by pressing to restrict eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicaid and other programs. For now, the evidence supports Trump’s contention that an improving economy is more responsible for...

Google Ends Kite Energy Initiative. Commercializing the tech will take too long and be too risky. 2-20-2020 AUTHORS Andy Szal Google’s parent company is ending an ambitious effort to harness wind energy using kites after officials determined that commercializing the technology would be “longer and riskier” than originally hoped.

Aliya Feroe recalls the flustered OB-GYN who referred her to another physician after learning she identified as queer. For Rhi Ledgerwood, who was designated female at birth, identifies as trans and doesn’t have sex with men, it was a doctor advising about condoms and pregnancy prevention. For Tim Keyes, who came out as gay at age 17, it’s when doctors automatically assumed he sleeps with women. Ask any LGBTQ patient about awkward doctor visits and chances are they’ll have a story to tell. When being heterosexual is presumed even in doctors’ offices, those who identify otherwise can feel marginalized and...

After nearly a dozen years moving through the U.S. visa system, Sai Kyaw’s brother and sister and their families were at the finish line: a final interview before they could leave Myanmar to join him in Massachusetts and work at his restaurant. Then a dramatic turn in U.S. immigration policy halted their plans. The interview was postponed, and it’s not clear when, or whether, it will be rescheduled. “It’s terrible,” Kyaw said. “There’s nothing we can really do except pray. They’ve been waiting 12 years. If they have to wait another 12 years, they will.” His is just one of...

Two people were killed when a car went off Highway 1 and over a cliff in Big Sur on Tuesday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.

...Folks, Americans are extremely naive about what’s coming. We just cannot imagine that people who burst into tears in the face of gentle mockery of their political beliefs can ever come to power. They are already in power, in the sense that they have mesmerized leaders of American institutions. I’m telling you, that 2015 showdown on Yale’s campus between Prof. Nicholas Christakis and the shrieking students was profoundly symbolic. Christakis used the techniques of discursive reason to try to establish contact with these young people. None of it mattered. They yelled and cursed and sobbed. The fact that he disagreed...

In three critical Rust Belt states that delivered a victory to President Trump in 2016 by narrow margins, President Trump leads in head to head matchups against the top Democratic candidates in Wisconsin, but loses or trails within the margin of error in Pennsylvania matchups, and is locked in close races in Michigan, according to a Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pea-ack) University Poll released today. This is the first swing state poll of the 2020 presidential election cycle from the Quinnipiac University Poll that includes separate polls conducted simultaneously in key swing states. The poll was conducted from February 12th - 18th, prior...

Former Rep. Dana Rohrabacher denied that he spoke with Julian Assange on behalf of President Trump about a pardon. Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, claimed Wednesday that he had been told by Rohrabacher that he could be pardoned by Trump if he stated that Russians were not connected to the hacking of the Democratic National Committee's emails. In a statement, Rohrabacher denied that he promised a pardon to Assange on behalf of Trump. “At no time did I talk to President Trump about Julian Assange. Likewise, I was not directed by Trump or anyone else connected with him to meet...

A UK magazine called ArtsProfessional has published the results of a “Freedom of Expression survey” and the results are not good. The survey found that in the professional art world in the UK , self-censorship is the norm and pressure to stay silent on controversial issues is felt by most. A culture of self-censorship and fear of backlash from funders, colleagues and the public is convincing arts and cultural workers to stay silent on important issues, according to new research from ArtsProfessional… While about 90% of respondents agreed that “the arts and cultural sector has a responsibility to use its...