Free Republic

For the time ever, Xcel Energy locked the smart thermostats of thousands of Colorado customers on Tuesday because of what it called an energy emergency. Xcel started a program six years ago, called the AC Rewards program, in which customers get rebates in exchange for allowing Xcel to adjust their thermostat on the hottest summer days to ease strain on the electrical grid. Participating customers need to sign up for the program, and about 22,200 have done that in Colorado. Tuesday was the first time that Xcel locked those thermostats, a company spokesperson said. The grid experienced an energy emergency...

The nation's top military official has apologized for taking part in President Donald Trump's walk from the White House to St. John's Church for what eventually turned into a controversial photo op after authorities had used pepper balls and smoke canisters to disperse largely peaceful protesters. "I should not have been there," said Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a prerecorded video commencement address to National Defense University. "My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics."

The 34-year-old attorney who had “never run for junior class president, let alone mayor” now holds the keys to the state’s most populous city. He brings with him a progressive agenda and much of the leftover to-do list of his father’s administration. He sees his victory – collecting 93% of the vote in Jackson’s 6 June election – as proof that even in a deep red Republican state, and even in the age of Trump, the city’s residents are ready to move in a new progressive direction. “The citizens of Jackson have demonstrated overwhelmingly a readiness to be a progressive...

Beto O’Rourke didn’t eat crow, humble pie or even his words after losing to Ted Cruz. He ate dirt instead. O’Rourke, who came up short in his bid to unseat Sen. Cruz, R-Texas, despite raising $80 million for the Senate push, told the story of his earthy snack in a sprawling 3,000-word profile published by The Washington Post. “In January, Beto hit the road, much as his father had done before him, and drew energy from the people he met, and — on one stop in New Mexico he didn’t write about in his blog — by eating New Mexican...

Margrethe Vestager, vice president of the European Commission, further urged EU citizens to take shorter showers. "When you turn off the water, say 'Take that, Putin!'” she said last week, referring to President Vladimir Putin of Russia.

Since the identification of the SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan, China in Jan 2020, the origin of the virus has been a topic of intensive scientific debate and public speculation. The two main hypotheses are that the virus from human to an infected animal ("zoonosis" or a research-related-accident.) The investigation into the origin of the virus has been made difficult by the lack of key evidence from the earliest days of the outbreak. There is no doubt that a greater transparency would be enormously helpful. Nevertheless, we argue here that there is much important information that can be gleaned from US-based research...

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito mocked Prince Harry, Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau, and other foreigners who have taken it upon themselves to intervene in America’s abortion debate.In a speech to Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Summit in Rome, Italy, the conservative justice quipped he “had the honour this term of writing I think the only Supreme Court decision in the history of that institution that has been lambasted by a whole string of foreign leaders who felt perfectly fine commenting on American law,” referring to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.“One of these was former prime...

Noor was initially convicted of third-degree murder and manslaughter, but the top charge was dismissed and he was resentenced. MINNEAPOLIS — A former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed woman who called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her home was released from prison on parole Monday, months after his murder conviction was overturned and he was resentenced on a lesser charge. The Minnesota Department of Corrections website said Mohamed Noor, 36, was placed under the supervision of Hennepin County Community Corrections. He was freed 18 days shy of the fifth anniversary of...

Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), one of the remaining Democrats advocating to defund the police, has spent $393,417.67 in campaign cash for private security this election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. During the 2022 quarter-two election cycle, Bush spent $89,265.67 on her private security detail. Her nearly $90,000 on campaign security is more than $50,000 higher than her campaign’s second-largest expenditure for fundraising services, Fox News reported. Close to two-thirds of her second quarter security spending went to a security agency that frequently posts against gun control laws, while the rest went to two individuals who share an...

Charleston, W.Va. — Police say a woman's actions may have prevented a mass casualty event following an altercation about a man speeding through a neighborhood. "She did the right thing. I don't know if any other person would have done that," said Lt. Tony Hazelett with the Charleston Police Department. Charleston police said it all started when 37-year-old Dennis Butler was speeding up and down a parking lot inside the Vista View apartments. He was approached by people attending a graduation party and a birthday party, who asked him to slow down, as children were playing. Witnesses said Butler seemed...

Authorities in Florida arrested a group of individuals for drug and ammunition charges earlier this week, including one man who was found in cow pajamas, officials said. Richard Anthony Bonnell was wearing one-piece black-and-white-spotted cow pajamas, with pink cuffs, a pink hat and a pink collar when Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested him and five other individuals on Friday, the office said. The arrests came as Narcotics Task Force and our Special Response Team members were executing a narcotics warrant at the Okeechobee home. "If you want to deal drugs in Okeechobee County, you may want to consider MOOOOOO-ving,"...

The Republican National Committee said Thursday it was withdrawing from the Commission on Presidential Debates, alleging that the organization was biased in favor of Joe Biden and against Donald Trump during the 2020 campaign. The commission has organized all general election debates between major-party candidates since 1988 and it’s unclear how 2024 debates would proceed — if at all — as Trump teases a possible rematch against Biden. RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel vowed her organization would “find newer, better debate platforms to ensure that future nominees are not forced to go through the biased CPD in order to make their...

By Bill DriesMEMPHIS, TN (The Daily Memphian) — Former President Donald Trump has put the Memphis area on his “American Freedom” tour.The June 18 stop is one of two day-long events listed on the tour’s website including another one in Austin, Texas. The details for Memphis stop say the exact location is to be determined.“Build important relationships, help promote a conservative agenda and protect America’s future,” the details read.The format for the event seems similar to Conservative Political Action Conference events the American Conservative Union has held in Memphis in recent years, featuring various conservative political figures.A CPAC event in...

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WTVO) — President Joe Biden has appointed Sam Brinton, an outspoken drag queen and “queer activist”, to oversee spent fuel and waste in the nuclear energy office of the Department of Energy. Brinton, a graduate of MIT with dual master’s degrees in nuclear engineering and technology, has also been an activist for Global Zero and the gay and transgender suicide prevention organization, The Trevor Project, and has advocated against gay conversion therapy. He previously advised President Donald Trump on nuclear waste matters, according to The Washington Examiner. “I have accepted the offer to serve as the Deputy Assistant...

Donald Glover has confirmed that Malia Obama is in the writers’ room for his new Amazon series. The “Atlanta” Emmy winner told Vanity Fair that Obama is “an amazingly talented person,” adding, “She’s really focused, and she’s working really hard.” “I feel like she’s just somebody who’s gonna have really good things coming soon,” Glover said. “Her writing style is great.” Stephen Glover, Donald’s brother and frequent collaborator, is also developing the Obama-assisted Amazon series and had this to say about the young talent: “Donald always says perspective is important, and people with different perspectives are important for a writers’...

A Maryland woman returned home from vacation to find two strangers in her bed and more than $49,000 in possessions stolen.(snip) When the woman and her friend left for vacation on March 28, the apartment had been "fully furnished." Upon their return, they found the whole house in disorder. "The living room was completely empty except for black trash bags filled with items, trash on the walls, the kitchen was completely empty and the cabinet doors were missing, the second bedroom was completely empty, the closets were completely empty and the bedroom was empty except for the bed the suspects...

TOMS RIVER – Some people enjoy literally wearing their politics on their sleeve, and a Toms River store has made that just a little bit easier. The Let’s Go Brandon store located at 1405 Route 37 East opened recently and its owners, Vinny Scuzzese and Greg Dooner, both of Toms River have made a big splash with national coverage on a Fox News show as well as with local media. The store features a full line of Trump paraphernalia ranging from hoodies, T-shirts and a number of items that would recall memories of the 2020 campaign season. This wasn’t the...

Syracuse police are under fire for their response to a call of an 8-year-old accused of stealing a bag of chips from a store in the city's Northside neighborhood, according to multiple reports. A bystander caught the Sunday encounter in a now-viral video that's garnered millions of views on Twitter and has been viewed over 50,000 times on Facebook. The clip shows three Syracuse police officers appear to apprehend a Black boy who allegedly stole a bag of Doritos from a Syracuse, N.Y., shop. The boy is visibly shaken up and sobbing as one of the officers grabs the boy...

WEST PALM BEACH — When a Palm Beach County judge stepped into the courtroom on Thursday to sentence Alexander Jerich for using his truck to burn a 15-foot-long skid mark into a gay pride memorial painted on Delray Beach street, he said he was pretty sure what kind of character he would meet. “I was expecting someone who displays complete disrespect for their fellow citizens,” Circuit Judge Scott Suskauer said. “A person some might call a thug or a redneck.” Instead, the 20-year-old Jerich hung his head and cried after hearing his father recount his son’s struggles in school, his...