Free Republic

Democratic Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman has pointed to his work as the state's current lieutenant governor as he campaigns for a job in Washington, D.C., but an Associated Press review of his time in that position shows a noticeably light workload. The examination – which focused exclusively on the time prior to Fetterman's stroke in May 2022 – showed that for nearly one-third of his workdays, he had an empty schedule. An AP report said that days that had activity in Fetterman's schedule showed that the lieutenant governor only had four to five hours of work in a typical...

Windfall profits made by fossil fuel companies should be taxed to pay for climate damage, according to the UN Secretary General. Antonio Guterres told the General Assembly that polluters should pay for the impact of climate-related events. Having recently seen the devastating flooding in Pakistan for himself, Mr Guterres is now doubling down on the need for the rich world to urgently address the demands of the poor. And there's little doubt whom he believes is responsible for the world's climate emergency. "The fossil fuel industry is feasting on hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies and windfall profits while...

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health, Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont socialist, put out tweets calling for the codification of Roe v. Wade. “Overturning Roe v. Wade and denying women the right to control their own bodies is an outrage and in defiance of what the American people want,” said Sanders in a tweet on June 24. …

A global study of asthma patients found a combination of two drugs dramatically reduces the chances of suffering an asthma attack. Results from the clinical trial show that a combination of albuterol, which provides relief from an asthma attack by relaxing the smooth muscles and is used for immediate asthma relief, and the corticosteroid budesonide, taken via an inhaler, lower the number of sudden episodes of shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing in patients. Such incidents, known as asthma attacks, can often lead to an emergency room visit. "This represents a paradigm shift in the treatment of asthma. We see...

The single-celled protozoan Toxoplasma gondii is a fascinating parasite. Replicating only in cat intestines, it is excreted in feces and subsequently spreads to many other organisms, not just felines. Inside these critters, it winds its way to the brain and transforms into numerous cysts, patiently waiting to return to its desired nine-lived host. But, though dormant, it is not entirely inert. T. gondii actually alters its host's behavior. Mice, for example, grow less fearful of cats, making them easier prey. Just like T. gondii wanted... Humans are also affected by T. gondii. About one in ten Americans and a third...

There are a lot of good reasons for US songwriters to sell their publishing catalogs right now. There’s the fact that Joe Biden’s tax plans will – if they get through the US legislature – significantly raise capital gains tax for composers whose songs attract a sale price-tag over $1m. There’s also the fact that streaming continues to grow the record industry, leading to rosy projections from the likes of Goldman Sachs… and, in turn, fuelling a frenetic M&A music rights marketplace. And, of course, there’s the fact that acquisition multiples have never been higher, as well-funded players like Hipgnosis...

A Guinea worm emerging from a dog’s leg. Credit: Jared Wilson-Aggarwal Efforts to eradicate a human parasitic disease are being hampered by dogs eating infected fish, new research shows. Guinea worm disease is usually caught by drinking water containing water fleas that carry the parasite larvae. The worms mate and grow inside the body, and after 10-14 months the one-meter-long adult worm emerges, usually from the arms or legs, to shed its larvae back into water. The parasite causes disability and trauma in some of the world’s poorest communities in Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, and South Sudan. Eradication programs have cut...

Three years ago, a family in Boston was thrown into chaos during the small hours of the morning. A man, who moments ago had been sleeping soundly next to his wife, was on the floor convulsing, and nobody knew why. He was confused, uttering nonsensical words and tried to resist being taken by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital. There, through a painstaking diagnostic process, doctors discovered an unwelcome brain guest. On examination, the unfortunate man's heartbeat and breathing were slightly elevated, but toxicology and chest X-rays showed no abnormalities. There was no physical evidence to suggest an underlying chronic disease,...

A Texas community is dealing with the spread of an intestinal parasite that inhabits the guts of humans and other animals and excretes larvae during defecation. The Guardian reports 16 residents in Rancho Vista, Texas -- located within an hour from Austin -- were notified that they were infected by Strongyloides after giving blood and stool samples to a noted university conducting a study researching the spread of the parasite. The report confirms the individuals included a woman who was pregnant and a 2-year-old child. Strongyloides are capable of contaminating soil due to a sewage leak and surviving up to...

President Biden is moving forward with setting up a commission to study Supreme Court reforms which could, according to the Daily Mail, lead the way to ‘court-packing.’ Biden repeatedly refused to state his position on court-packing during his campaign but did vow to set up a commission to study judiciary reforms. “The President remains committed to an expert study of the role and debate over reform of the court and will have more to say in the coming weeks,” a White House official told Fox News. Politico reports that Biden has already begun naming people to the commission. They note...

Newest post, from 1976 Canadian VISA application. Mother of Kamala Harris a self-declared "Citizen of India" (in her sworn statement of the mid-1970's). From official records. Can a US "Natural Born Citizen" also be a Citizen of India (by birth)?? https://twitter.com/KamalaKancel/with_replies

Cicadas infected with the parasitic fungus Massospora unknowingly engage in trickery with their fellow insects, resulting in effective disease transmission, according to West Virginia University-led research. Massospora manipulates male cicadas into flicking their wings like females – a mating invitation – which tempts unsuspecting male cicadas and infects them. It’s a recent discovery into the bizarre world of cicadas plagued by a psychedelic fungus that contains chemicals including those found in hallucinogenic mushrooms. The research, “Behavioral betrayal: How select fungal parasites enlist living insects to do their bidding,” was published in the journal PLOS Pathogens. “Essentially, the cicadas are luring...

A parasite linked to bagged salad mixes has sickened 641 people in 11 states, States that reported the illnesses were Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wisconsin,

TAMPA, Fla. – The Florida Department of Health (DOH) confirmed that one person in Hillsborough County has been infected with Naegleria fowleri, a water-borne microscopic single-celled amoeba that attacks the brain. The amoeba can cause a rare infection of the brain called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) which destroys brain tissue and is usually fatal. Infections can happen when contaminated water enters the body through the nose. Once the amoeba enters the nose, it travels to the brain where it causes PAM, according to the DOH. The DOH did not specifically say where in Hillsborough County this latest infection was reported;...

Becoming, the new Michelle Obama documentary on Netflix, seems like the kind of left-wing hagiography that mainstream media critics would lap up in Pavlovian fashion. Instead, the movie has fallen flat with reviewers who have called it “bland,” “self-celebratory,” and a “paper-thin” account of the former first lady. The documentary is the latest collaboration between Netflix and the Obamas, who struck a lucrative production deal with the streamer in 2018. Former Obama national security advisor Susan Rice currently sits on Netflix’s board of directors.

President Donald Trump attacked the 2020 film Parasite at his rally in Colorado Springs Thursday night, complaining that a foreign film won the Academy Award for Best Picture. “How bad were the Academy Awards this year?” Trump, who is president, asked at his 2020 campaign rally. “And the winner is a movie from South Korea. What was that all about? We got enough problems with South Korea, with trade. On top of it, they give them the best movie of the year? Was it good? I don’t know. Let’s get Gone With the Wind, can we get Gone With the...

Parasite may be getting the awards-season love, but a vibrant new generation of filmmakers is ready to emerge from the shadow of established masters like Bong Joon Ho and Park Chan-wook... The overdue official recognition from the West has been doubly meaningful--as 2019 also marks the 100-year anniversary of the country’s first feature film, Kim Do-san’s 1919 kino-drama, The Righteous Revenge. It’s likely that Parasite’s success — the film recently raced past the $100 million mark at the worldwide box office — will come to be viewed as the culmination of the "New Korean Cinema," the renaissance of the country’s...

by Lynn Foster “The Communist Manifesto” got a shoutout during the 2020 Oscars. Julia Reichert, the co-director of best documentary winner “American Factory,” which was produced by former President Barack Obama’s new film company, apparently quoted from Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’ infamous book during her acceptance speech on Sunday night. “Working people have it harder and harder these days — and we believe that things will get better when workers of the world unite,” Reichert said. The quote was a riff on the last lines of the 1848 political document, which are frequently translated from German as “Workers of the...

Mexican migrants working abroad sent home a record $36 billion in remittances in 2019... It’s the highest level of remittances on record. It’s also greater than the $25 billion in income Mexico receives from foreign tourism, or the country’s $22.4 billion in annual petroleum exports. Mexico’s central bank said the average amount of each electronic transfer sent home was about $300...

Here are the winners at the 92nd annual Academy Awards that handed out Sunday night at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood:Best PictureParasite (Neon) A Barunson E&A Production Kwak Sin Ae and Bong Joon Ho, ProducersActress in a Leading RoleRenée Zellweger Judy (LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions)Actor in a Leading RoleJoaquin Phoenix Joker (Warner Bros.)DirectingParasite (Neon) Bong Joon HoOriginal Song“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from Rocketman (Paramount) Music by Elton John Lyric by Bernie Taupin Original ScoreJoker (Warner Bros.) Hildur GuðnadóttirInternational FeatureParasite A Barunson E&A Production South KoreaMakeup and HairstylingBombshell (Lionsgate) Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan and Vivian Baker Visual Effects1917 (Universal/Amblin...