Free Republic

There are currently 488 media professionals imprisoned around the world, the highest number since Reporters Without Borders began counting more than 25 years ago, the organisation announced Thursday. By contrast, the number killed this year – 46 – was the lowest since it began issuing annual tallies, due to the relative stabilisation of conflicts in the Middle East. "The number of journalists detained in connection with their work has never been this high since Reporters Without Borders began publishing its annual round-up in 1995," the group, which battles for freedom of the press, said in a statement. The number has...

As the delta variant of COVID-19 spread across the United States this summer, the virus appeared to take a particular toll on unvaccinated pregnant people, with deaths dramatically increasing in the summer months. The number of pregnant people who died of COVID-19 spiked sharply in August and September, with more than two dozen deaths recorded in each of those months, according to data released this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 40% of the 248 deaths among pregnant people since the start of the pandemic occurred since August, the data shows. The number...

ATLANTA (AP) — An Associated Press review of every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states disputed by former President Donald Trump has found fewer than 475 — a number that would have made no difference in the 2020 presidential election. Democrat Joe Biden won Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and their 79 Electoral College votes by a combined 311,257 votes out of 25.5 million ballots cast for president. The disputed ballots represent just 0.15% of his victory margin in those states. The cases could not throw the outcome into question even if all the...

A series of deadly tornadoes ripped across at least six states on Friday, killing more than 80 people in what experts have called a "historic" weather event. The twisters have devastated communities — and experts say these kinds of weather events may only get deadlier as climate change moves coastal populations inland to vulnerable areas. Many experts have pointed to climate change as part of the reason for the catastrophic events, echoing past warnings that global warming will undoubtedly fuel extreme weather. KCBS meteorologist Evelyn Taft told CBS News on Monday that the stark contrast in temperatures of the Northeast...

First lady Jill Biden is planning to meet with families of victims and others who were at a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee where six people were killed and dozens were injured after an SUV plowed through the crowd. Biden’s final stop will be in Waukesha to meet with families and first responders from the parade tragedy. Darrell Brooks Jr. is accused of driving his vehicle into the parade in Waukesha on Nov. 21. Witnesses said he was swerving and appeared to be intentionally trying to hit people.

Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the origin of the virus tormenting the world remains shrouded in mystery. Most scientists believe it emerged in the wild and jumped from bats to humans, either directly or through another animal. Others theorize it escaped from a Chinese lab. Now, with the global COVID-19 death toll surpassing 5.2 million on the second anniversary of the earliest human cases, a growing chorus of scientists is trying to keep the focus on what they regard as the more plausible “zoonotic,” or animal-to-human, theory, in the hope that what’s learned will help humankind fend off...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is getting ready for his first late-night TV appearance since taking office. Biden is set to appear Friday on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” with comedian Jimmy Fallon. Biden will appear virtually; the White House didn’t say where he will be when he tapes the segment. Biden is suffering from a steep drop in the polls and has been under pressure to engage more with the media.

It’s not your grandfather’s Republican Party now, unless your grandfather was a fascist. The GOP is dangerous, and we must take action to make sure our children live in a free country. … Few Republicans nowadays have that much patriotism. In fact, the party has become a corrupt force spouting violent rhetoric and plotting to overthrow our democracy. It’s not your grandfather’s Republican Party now, unless your grandfather was a fascist. I’m not asking you to become a Democrat. I’m asking you to become an anti-Republican. Here are six reasons why it’s time to get serious about the GOP threat:...

He’s the Whine House Chief of Staff. President Biden’s top aide, Ron Klain, took to Twitter Saturday to decry press coverage of his boss. The chief of staff — known to insiders as the “Prime Minister” for his outside influence inside the West Wing — shared an opinion essay from the Washington Post arguing that Biden was receiving worse coverage than former President Trump. The piece from Post opinion columnist Dana Milbank warned that “My colleagues in the media are serving as accessories to the murder of democracy.” Milbank said he came to the conclusion after an analysis of more...

CNN, Dec 2, 2021, campaigning for Biden Following Biden's speech, Dr Leana Wen criticized, on the rapid tests idea. That it would have been better to orivide it for free, like other countries do. In the UK for example, you can pick them up on a pharmacy. CNN anchors immediately shut her up and injected the words "we just font know the details yet" and turned to orher interviewees part of CNN team... Then came up with a message by someone from John Hopkin's finding about Red States with more infections.... Dec 2, 2021. 14:04 ET.

Embattled CNN primetime host Chris Cuomo had become a pariah among his colleagues before he was suspended from the network over his involvement in brother Andrew's defense from sexual misconduct claims, it has now emerged. The cable news network on Tuesday evening announced that Chris Cuomo, 51, was suspended indefinitely, with Anderson Cooper extending his hour-long show to two hours, to cover Chris's 9pm slot. The news came a day after the New York Attorney General's Office released transcripts and exhibits, showing that the TV presented provided greater assistance to his older brother than initially acknowledged both to his employer...

BREAKING: CNN says host Chris Cuomo is 'suspended indefinitely' after it was revealed he used his media sources to find out info on brother Andrew’s accusers

Rich countries can’t say they weren’t warned. For almost as long as Covid-19 has been around, scientists, academics and campaigners have called on wealthy nations to share vaccines around the world — not only to protect people in those countries, but also to reduce the risk of new mutant variants emerging that could evade vaccines for everyone. Those sounding the alarm have repeated the same mantra: No one is safe until everyone is safe. Despite these warnings, this is exactly what appears to have happened, some of these experts say. The new omicron variant emerged in southern Africa with a...

Last year saw a flurry of LGBTQ-inclusive Christmas movies from Lifetime, Hallmark and other networks and streaming services. The tradition continues in 2021, with films starring RuPaul, Michael Urie, Jonathan Bennet and more — plus appearances by gay favorites like Jennifer Coolidge. Plan your holiday season binge-watching sessions accordingly with these upcoming movies and specials. 'Christmas at the Ranch' Dec. 1 , Tello Films 'Single All the Way' Dec. 2, Netflix 'The Bitch Who Stole Christmas' Dec. 2, VH1 'The Great British Baking Show: Holidays' Dec. 3, Netflix 'The Jenkins Family Christmas' Dec. 4, BET+ 'With Love' Dec. 17, Amazon...

… As New Zealand shifts to a policy of “living with the virus,” residents accustomed to living virtually Covid-free for most of the pandemic are being confronted by rising case numbers and widening vaccine mandates. Opposition to vaccination as well as frustration with ongoing pandemic restrictions is fueling a small but vocal protest movement inspired in part by American politics. In a working paper published in November, a team of researchers in New Zealand said there had been a “sharp increase in the popularity and intensity” of disinformation around Covid-19 since August. The researchers said the disinformation was “being used...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation is soaring, businesses are struggling to hire and President Joe Biden’s poll numbers have been in free-fall. The White House sees a common culprit for it all: COVID-19. Biden’s team views the pandemic as the root cause of both the nation’s malaise and his own political woes. Finally controlling COVID-19, the White House believes, is the skeleton key to rejuvenating the country and reviving Biden’s own standing. But the coronavirus challenge has proved to be vexing for the White House, with last summer’s premature claims of victory swamped by the more transmissible delta variant, stubborn millions...

LOS ANGELES — Inside a wood-clad meeting room in Orange County, five school board members sat before a sign-waving, opinionated crowd. For more than three hours, the trustees listened, debated and asked questions as they tried to decide whether to ban classroom teaching on a hard-to-define topic not taught in their schools: critical race theory. "I don't think that this definition is really good," trustee Marilyn Anderson said after reading the dense entry. "I think it needs to be really specific. It needs to spell out the specific theories that we do not want taught in our district — like...

NANTUCKET, Mass. - The Biden administration has taken pains in recent days to show it is working to ease the pain of inflation for Americans. The emphasis comes after months of pleas from worried Democrats, who have pressed White House officials to do more to acknowledge inflation as a central concern for voters and toutwhat they are doing to combat it. Any suggestion that the White House focus on inflation is new is a "false narrative, to put it bluntly" said one top White House economic aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to...

In a story published Nov. 16, about the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, The Associated Press erroneously reported that prosecutors said he traveled from his home in Illinois to Wisconsin with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle. Rittenhouse testified that he picked up the weapon at the home of his friend’s stepfather in Wisconsin.

As Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted in two killings that he said were self-defense, armed civilians patrolled the streets near the Wisconsin courthouse with guns in plain view. In Georgia, testimony in the trial of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers showed that armed patrols were commonplace in the neighborhood where Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was chased down by three white men and shot. The two proceedings sent startling new signals about the boundaries of self-defense as more guns emerge from homes amid political and racial tensions and the advance of laws that ease permitting requirements and expand the allowable use of force....