Free Republic

Mary Peltola’s win in the Alaska special election this week became the latest surprise to spark concern for Republicans as it appears that a once presumptive red wave in November is neither definite nor guaranteed. Peltola, the first Alaska Native and first Democrat in decades to be elected to fill the state’s lone House seat, edged out two formidable Republican challengers on Wednesday, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), to serve the remainder of the late Rep. Don Young’s (R) term.

In the six days after top Chinese officials secretly determined they likely were facing a pandemic from a new coronavirus, the city of Wuhan at the epicenter of the disease hosted a mass banquet for tens of thousands of people; millions began traveling through for Lunar New Year celebrations.President Xi Jinping warned the public on the seventh day, Jan. 20. But by that time, more than 3,000 people had been infected during almost a week of public silence, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press and expert estimates based on retrospective infection data.Six days.That delay from Jan. 14...

With no warning for residents, military helicopters flew low Monday evening over St. Paul and Minneapolis in a federal training exercise, about which officials released almost no information. The exercise -- reportedly involving U.S. Navy Seals with Army pilots, engaging in rappelling exercises in an urban setting -- began just before 8 p.m. and was scheduled to last until midnight. The St. Paul police watch commander initially had no information on the exercise. He was later informed that it was a training exercise involving Homeland Security and local law enforcement. . . . Many downtown residents said they were shocked...

A storm alarm two blocks down Kendall Lane remained silent as the walls of 19-year-old Shelby White’s second-story bedroom caved in. She had just climbed into bed with her Rhodesian Ridgeback, Margot, when the tornado hit at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning. The Baylor University freshman crawled through the mound of shattered glass and fragmented beams that was once her parent’s house at 2629 Kendall Lane and walked down the street to find help. Neighbor George Gobea answered the door. The retired city purchasing agent had been huddled in a hall closet with five family members during the minutes of...