Free Republic

Many U.S. beaches face Labor Day swim advisories due to unsafe fecal bacteria levels, posing health risks like illness, rashes, and nausea for swimmers.Thousands of Americans will head to beaches for one last summer splash this Labor Day weekend, but taking a dip might be out of the question: Many of the beaches will caution against swimming because of unsafe levels of fecal contamination. Beaches from Crystal River, Florida, to Ogunquit, Maine, have been under advisories warning about water quality this week because of elevated levels of bacteria associated with fecal waste. The advisories typically discourage beachgoers from going in...

At least three cases of the plague have been reported in the United States, with infections confirmed in New Mexico, California, and Arizona. Infectious disease specialists noted that a handful of plague cases are diagnosed each year. The bacterium responsible, Yersinia pestis, is transmitted by fleas and cycles naturally among rodents. At least three cases of the plague have been reported in the United States, with infections confirmed in New Mexico, California, and Arizona. (WKRC, file, Provided) "If a person is around these rodents where the fleas are, the fleas can jump off the rodents, get on the person, and...

California is facing a steep rise in tuberculosis cases. In 2023, the number of tuberculosis cases increased by 271, or 15%, from 2022, according to California Department of Public Health data released in February. The rate of TB in the Golden State has increased each year since 2020, with it now holding the highest number and one of the highest rates of TB cases in the country. And deaths are also mounting.

Irregular immigration to the EU from Western Africa rose more than ten times on the year in January, according to the bloc's Frontex border agency, which expects overall arrivals to grow in 2024 and says halting the movement of people completely is impossible. Frontex head Hans Leijtens spoke in his Warsaw office ahead of a trip by the EU chief executive and Spanish prime minister on Thursday to Mauritania, which has recently become a major point of departure for Europe. Asked about a June EU-wide parliamentary election, in which migration is a top issue, the former Dutch border guard told...

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) on Monday said any consideration of the “border” bill would be a “waste of time.” The House Republican leaders said in a written statement: House Republicans oppose the Senate immigration bill because it fails in every policy area needed to secure our border and would actually incentivize more illegal immigration. Among its many flaws, the bill expands work authorizations for illegal aliens while failing to include critical asylum reforms. Even worse, its language allowing illegals...

The Obama administration, anticipating that Congress might not pass comprehensive immigration reform this year, is considering ways it could act without congressional approval to achieve many of the objectives of the initiative, including giving permanent resident status, or green cards, to large numbers of people in the country illegally. The ideas were outlined in an unusually frank draft memo prepared for Alejandro N. Mayorkas, director of the federal agency that handles immigration benefits, U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS). The memo lists ways the government could grant permanent resident status to tens of thousands of people and delay the deportation...