Free Republic

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — For decades, the tiny Marshall Islands has been a stalwart American ally. Its location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has made it a key strategic outpost for the U.S. military. But that loyalty is being tested amid a dispute with Washington over the terms of its “Compact of Free Association” agreement, which expires soon. The U.S. is refusing to engage the Marshallese on claims for environmental and health damage caused by dozens of nuclear tests it carried out in the 1940s and ’50s, including a huge thermonuclear blast on Bikini Atoll.... ... China...

A New York state lawmaker has introduced a bill that would allow the government to detain people that they deemed to be a potential public health risk. While the law does not specifically mention coronavirus, it comes amid increasing concerns that the Covid-19 crisis could be used to usher in authoritarianism. RT reports: Authored by a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly N. Nick Perry, Bill A416 calls for the “removal and/or detention” of individuals who are identified as a “case, contact or carrier” of a contagious disease. Such person or group of persons shall be detained in...

History buffs might have cracked a knowing smile on April Fools' Day when they saw the Daily Number -- 666. The Book of Revelation calls it the "number of the beast," or the devil's mark. Pennsylvanians, though, might remember 666 better as the number drawn by Pittsburgh broadcasting pioneer Nick Perry during the so-called "666 fix." On April 24, 1980, more than 6 million viewers watched Perry pull up the infamous three-digit Daily Number during a statewide telecast from the WTAE-TV studio in Wilkinsburg.

In "The Wizard of Oz," Dorothy is told, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." Perhaps Dorothy should play the Pennsylvania Lottery. Things are not what they have seemed. That midday lottery drawing, which is advertised for the three- and four-digit numbers as occurring at 1:35 p.m., actually happens at about 1:10. Moreover, if you are a gambler who thinks that balls come down a tube -- as they do on the live TV broadcast in the evening -- then brace yourself for another surprise: The midday numbers are drawn randomly by a computer program, despite the impression...

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Nick Perry, a Pittsburgh broadcasting pioneer who was convicted of rigging the state lottery's Daily Number drawing of April 24, 1980, died yesterday. Born Nicholas Perry Katsafanas in 1916, Perry was the well-known host of bowling broadcasts on WTAE-TV and the announcer for the state lottery number drawing, which was conducted at WTAE studios. When the Daily Number came up 666 on that spring evening almost exactly 23 years ago, rumors about a fix began to surface, many of them from illegal bookmakers who took bets on the lottery and had to pay off. In the 666 fix,...