Free Republic

Whoopi Goldberg told her co-hosts Thursday on ABC’s “The View” that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was “ignorant as hell” for saying electing Georgia Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker would change the narrative that Republicans are racist. Wednesday on FNC’s “Hannity,” Graham said, “They’re beating all of our guys up, but what is it about this guy? He changes the entire narrative of the left. We’re a party of racists, Sean. Me and you are racists. The Republican Party is racist. Well, what happens when the Republican Party elects and nominates Herschel Walker, an African American, black Heisman Trophy winner, right?...

Outgoing National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that for people to think he is political is “completely crazy.” Anchor Jon Karl said, “Fauci became the subject of bizarre conspiracy theories and received countless death threats as he was vilified by the right. So what’s the biggest misconception about you?” Fauci said, “You know, I don’t know, Jon. I think the misconception is I was misleading people. You know, to say that I, who have been adviser to seven presidents and have never ever veered one way or the other...

I’ve lived in Houston for most of my life, and there’s never been a time when I’ve reasonably been able to walk anywhere. Houston is practically the poster child for American urban sprawl — the landscape is dominated by spread-out neighborhoods with single-family homes and massive “stroads” (street-road hybrids with the worst aspects of both) lined with strip malls and expansive parking lots, connected by miles and miles of highways. It’s an environment designed to be solely traversed by car, not by foot. That had a dramatic effect on the friends I could make, especially when I was younger and...

Former President Bill Clinton is arguing President Biden does not care about his popularity with the American people and is focused instead on solving problems the country faces. “In his first 16 months in office, Joe Biden has done exactly what he said he would do if elected—help America overcome an unprecedented pandemic, rebuild a battered economy from the bottom up and middle out so that it works for all of us, and restore our standing in the world,” Clinton said in a write up about Biden for TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2022.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) aired frustration with members of his own party for making disparaging comments about GOP colleagues, saying lawmakers such as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) were “putting people in jeopardy.” The comments, disclosed in newly released audio from The New York Times, show McCarthy frustrated by the tenor of some of those comments in the days after Jan. 6, 2021 — a feeling that appears to have faded as GOP lawmakers continue to disparage the two Republicans who sit on the committee investigating the riot.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” that “you use lockdowns to get people vaccinated” while discussing the extreme COVID lockdowns in China. Mitchell said, “How concerning is the outbreak in China? We see the lockdown in Shanghai and State Department now ordering families out, all nonessential workers out of Shanghai.” Fauci said, “China has a number of problems, two of which are that the complete lockdown, which was their approach, a strictest lockdown you’d never be able to implement in the United States. Although that prevents the spread...

Legendary talk show host Jerry Springer said on Thursday that the argumentative and out-of-control guests who appeared on his long-running show closely resemble former President Donald Trump, Newsweek reported. Speaking on SiriusXM's "The Dean Obeidallah Show," Springer argued that "there's no question" the infamous bickering and cursing of guests on the famed "The Jerry Springer Show" led to Trump's election.

Black and Hispanic Americans are paying extra money to secure rental housing in the U.S. compared with Whites, according to Zillow. In a report this week, the real estate data firm said that, regardless of race, Americans paid an average of $700 in security deposits when renting an apartment. Yet renters of color paid $750 while White renters paid $600. White renters typically paid $50 for a rental application fee while Black Americans paid $65; Hispanic applicants paid $80 and Asian Americans paid $10. People of color also typically must submit more rental applications in order to find a place...

(CNN)Most Americans say the way they conduct their lives is still affected to some extent by the pandemic, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Wednesday, though fewer say their activities remain dramatically curtailed. A majority also favor continued masking in some public places, and say they've continued to wear masks in some, though not necessarily all, situations when they're indoors and in public. The results -- and the marked partisan and demographic splits that characterize them -- highlight the nuances and fault lines that mark Americans' response to Covid-19 more than two years after the start of...

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday on her podcast “You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton” that the average American “should go around saying gay all the time.” Comedian Kate McKinnon said a listener asked, “What are your thoughts on the state of attack we find on the LGBTQ+ community with Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill passing 22-to-17 and Texas anti-trans agenda. I can’t help but wonder how this plays into the midterm elections?”

CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner said Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead” that he recommended people continue to wear a mask in crowded indoor settings. Anchor Jake Tapper said, “Hawaii just announced it is dropping its mask mandate, becoming the last state in the United States to do so. The CDC says 90% of people in the U.S. can take their masks off now. Who should still be wearing a mask and where?”

Coronavirus numbers in California have fallen almost back to levels observed before omicron became the state's dominant variant, the latest COVID-19 infections and hospitalization data show. California and many counties last Wednesday ended their mask requirement in indoor public places for the fully vaccinated, while Los Angeles and Santa Clara counties kept their mandates in effect. Masks remain mandatory throughout the state in several settings, including on public transit, in health care settings, at long-term care facilities such as nursing homes and at K-12 schools.

Four doctors, including the director of Covid response for UCSF Medical Center’s emergency department, are calling on state leaders to acknowledge the transition of Covid to an endemic disease and lift most masking policies for school-aged children.The petition was first circulated Friday and currently has more than 9,500 signatures. It includes a strongly-worded open letter to Gov. Newsom and state public health and education leaders, and it notes that “restrictive policies … have long lost their justification as necessary for prevention of serious illness and death.”The California Public Health Department said in a statement responding to the letter that “vaccinations,...

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin reacted during the inaugural broadcast of FNC’s “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Monday. Palin said the virus was being used as a way to “control the people. “This is madness though, this COVID overreach, overregulation, overreaction. “I don’t know who decided that this was going to be one that was going to be politicized and weaponized, science, a virus?” Palin continued. “A virus that has just turned into something that is just something to control the people — well, that’s exactly what it’s become, and it’s a shame.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration this week announced a plan for addressing extreme heat that includes recommendations on how to monitor deaths caused by heat waves and the possible establishment of temperature limits for residential units.The release of the plan follows the publication of a Los Angeles Times investigation that revealed that California has done a poor job tracking the number of people who have died due to extreme heat and has largely failed to provide resources to communities that are most vulnerable to the effects of heat and global warming."Extreme heat threatens public health and safety, economic prosperity and communities...

Elon Musk has attacked a draft plan under consideration in California that critics say disincentivizes the use of rooftop solar panels.The Tesla founder was responding to changes proposed by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to the state's Net Energy Metering (NEM) program.Under the program, the estimated 1.3 million homeowners and businesses in the Golden State who have installed rooftop solar panels can sell back surplus energy to the grid and receive credit on their bills.But last month the CPUC released a proposal calling for a number of changes, one of which is how much customers are paid when they...

South Korea is limiting gatherings to four people amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol announced Thursday that for at least the next 16 days, gatherings of five or more are banned, even among the fully vaccinated, The Associated Press reported. If a person isn’t fully vaccinated, they are not permitted to gather with others and would have to eat alone at restaurants. The gathering limits don't apply to those younger than 18.

Nearly half of Bay Area employers expect employees to work in person on three days a week post-pandemic, a market shift that could result in roughly 1.1 million fewer commute trips per day... The survey, conducted monthly since April, found that an average of 40.75% of Bay Area employers surveyed expect their workers to return to the office three days a week once the pandemic subsides. Around 15% to 20% of employers said they expect their workers to return to in-person work five or more days per week while less than 5% of employers said they thought their employees would...

California will impose a statewide mask mandate in all indoor public spaces as COVID-19 case rates soar, state Secretary of Health and Human Services Mark Ghaly said on Monday... The mandate, which will take effect on Wednesday and last one month... In addition to requiring masks, the state is tightening its testing requirements for unvaccinated people who want to attend large events such as music festivals and professional ball games where more than 1,000 people are in attendance. The state is also recommending that all travelers to the state be tested for COVID-19 within three to five days of arrival,...

Alec Baldwin has a long history of fiery behavior. Alec Baldwin‘s arrest last week was far from his first scrape with authorities. The actor, 60, has a long history of fiery behavior, largely stemming from his contentious relationship with reporters and photographers. Here’s a look back at his history.