Free Republic

The tide is turning as schools across the country are empowering parents to make the decision of whether their children will wear masks in the classroom, rather than mandating them. This includes Virginia, where Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) on Wednesday signed SB 739, which includes a provision on optional masking. Even more liberal states, such as New Jersey, are lifting their school mask mandates. Yet Dr. Anthony Fauci, medical director for the NIAID who serves as President Joe Biden's chief medical advisor, said it was "risky" in a clip that CNN aired on Thursday morning. The comments came during a...

More than three-quarters of Americans still feel there’s at least some risk from the COVID-19 pandemic in attending July Fourth celebrations — with four in 10 believing the threat is moderate to high, according to a new poll. Some 77 percent of respondents in an Axios-Ipsos poll ranked the celebrations as posing at least a small risk, with less than a quarter — 23 percent — maintaining there was no risk at all.

Dr. Anthony Fauci once argued that conducting experiments on contagious viruses to increase their potency was worth the risk, even if the work could accidentally lead to a pandemic, it was revealed Friday. The nation’s chief medical advisor wrote in the American Society for Microbiology in October 2012 of the public health benefit to gain-of-function viral experiments — which center on manipulating viruses and making them stronger — as long as there is significant oversight.

At least two people were injured and “a number” of people buried when an swept down a ski slope in Andermatt, Switzerland, state police said Thursday. “We believe there are more people buried but we can’t say how many,” Reto Pfister, state police spokesperson in the Swiss canton of Uri, told NBC News. The police first received reports of the avalanche at 10:50 a.m. (4:50 a.m. ET). Emergency services including Alpine Rescue Switzerland, Swiss Air Ambulance and the state police were involved in the ongoing rescue operation. A video posted on the Swiss news website site Blick showed a swath...

Three-quarters of U.S. investors with more than $10,000 in stocks, bonds and mutual funds think bitcoin is a "very risky" investment, a new survey revealed Monday. A poll conducted by Gallup and Wells Fargo asked U.S.-based investors about their views on bitcoin, finding that just 2 percent currently own any and more than 70 percent "have no interest in ever buying bitcoin." A further 26 percent are "intrigued" but do not plan to purchase any in the near future, the poll found. The poll surveyed nearly 2,000 adults in the U.S. who have invested either in a retirement savings account...

LOUIS — Donald Trump adopted a base-first strategy at the second presidential debate, tossing red meat to his most fervent supporters in an effort to save his campaign from imploding. Trump might have had little choice after an extraordinary weekend that saw Republicans fleeing his campaign.

Julie Bishop will not let the workers go to west Africa until treatment and evacuation plans are in place Australia will not send health workers to Ebola outbreak zones until their welfare can be guaranteed.

A trick where boiling water is thrown in the air to instantly turn into snow in the bitingly cold US weather became a viral hit this week, as metereologists and TV reporters illustrated just how freezing it is in the polar vortex. But now it seems Americans are feeling the backlash of the stunt after trying it themselves in the -30 degree weather. The LA Times found that at least 50 people on social media complained that they or their friends were scalded by hot water on Monday and Tuesday. Others have posted photos of their injuries on Instagram, and...

The Department of Energy announced the distribution of $43 million in funding for the development of energy storage technology that is “too risky for private-sector investment.” The Aug. 2 press release said the recipients were chosen through two programs of DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy – the Advanced Management and Protection of Energy Storage Devices (AMPED) and Small Business Innovation Research (STTR). “ARPA-E was launched in 2009 to seek out transformational, breakthrough technologies that are too risky for private-sector investment but have the potential to translate science into quantum leaps in energy technology, form the foundation for entirely new industries,...

President Obama has touted General Motors (GM) as a successful example of his administration's policies. Yet GM's recovery is built, at least in part, on the increasing use of subprime loans. The Obama administration in 2009 bailed out GM to the tune of $50 billion as it went into a managed bankruptcy. Near the end of 2010, GM acquired a new captive lending arm, subprime specialist AmeriCredit. Renamed GM Financial, it has played a significant role in GM's growth . The automaker is relying increasingly on subprime loans, 10-Q financial reports shows. Potential borrowers of car loans are rated on...

The Kyoto Protocol committee has blocked Romania from selling carbon credits over concerns about irregularities in the country's carbon emissions data, Romania's environment ministry said Sunday. In December, Romanian Environment Minister Laszlo Borbely said the country hoped to earn some 1.5 billion euros ($2.2 billion) from selling carbon offsets. But the committee that monitors Kyoto Protocol compliance decided to suspend Romania from the programme due to "irregularities observed" in Bucharest's 2010 greenhouse gas emissions data, the environment ministry statement said. The suspension has immediate affect, and Bucharest must put in place an "adequate" system for monitoring emissions before it can...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve launched an unorthodox new policy on Wednesday, committing to buy $600 billion more in government bonds by the middle of next year in an attempt to breathe new life into a struggling U.S. economy. The decision, which takes the Fed into largely uncharted waters, is aimed at further lowering borrowing costs for consumers and businesses still suffering in the aftermath of the worst recession since the Great Depression. The U.S. central bank said it would buy about $75 billion in longer-term Treasury bonds per month as part of the new program. It said it...

THE United States' peak sailing body was so concerned about Abby Sunderland's solo record bid that it refused to sponsor her. As the young sailor blasted her critics, the American Sailing Association confirmed it had knocked back the teenager's appeal for help, fearing commercial endorsement might encourage her to take too many risks. "We chose not to be sponsors of Abigail because we did have concerns about the timing of her departure," said executive director Charlie Nobles. Abby's route placed her in the treacherous Indian Ocean during the notoriously tough winter months. "She had a lot of sponsors that were...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29— In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders. The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring. . .

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. taxpayer-funded rescue program set up to save banks from collapse during the financial crisis makes future reckless behavior more likely, the government's bailout watchdog said in a quarterly report. A quarterly report to Congress on the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, made available in draft form late on Saturday, said financial firms seen as too big to fail before 2008 have only grown larger as they feasted on subsidies from the bailout program. "To the extent that institutions were previously incentivized to take reckless risks through a 'heads I win, tails the...

WASHINGTON -- President Obama says he has no plans to ask the Justice Department to end its criminal investigation into the harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists during the Bush administration. Seven former CIA directors have asked the president to do just that. In a letter to Obama on Friday, they warned that the probe could discourage CIA officers from doing the kind of aggressive intelligence work needed to fight terrorism. Obama tells CBS' "Face the Nation" that he appreciates that the former CIA chiefs are wanting "to look after an institution that they helped to build."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner last week proposed a series of programs, totaling $1.5 trillion, to bail out the U.S. banking system. Of course, Geithner hasn’t told us precisely how he plans to spend the money, or identified which banks require such an enormous outlay. So I thought it was worth looking at the United States’ 12 largest banks to see where the problems might be and identify which banks might need big infusions of government cash. I perused the financial statements of all 12 banks, and also looked at their market valuations. Unlike when the Troubled Assets Relief Program...

When members of the Los Angeles City Council agreed last month to put an ambitious solar energy plan on the March 3 ballot, they talked effusively about their desire for cleaner air and "green" technology jobs -- the kind that could boost the economy during a recession. What they didn't discuss was an analysis by a city-hired consulting firm that called the solar plan "extremely risky" and considerably more expensive than was being portrayed by the Department of Water and Power. Measure B, which calls for unionized DWP workers to install solar panels on rooftops and parking lots across the...

Former Israeli cabinet minister and respected international figure Natan Sharansky warned American Jews this week that voting for Democratic candidate Barack Obama in the upcoming presidential election would risk Israel's future. Speaking on Shalom TV, a Jewish cable network that reaches 18 million American households, Sharansky avoided the rampant conspiracy theories regarding Obama, but did note that his lack of a positive record vis-a-vis Israel should raise concerns. With Obama, said Sharansky, "nobody can know for sure what will be. It can happen to be good. It can happen to be very bad. It's a risk." Also of concern is...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty today called Sen. Barack Obama too risky to be president. “The people of the United States and Iowa are wise. They understand what’s at stake in this election,” he said. “Voting for Obama is the political equivalent of bungee jumping.” Speaking at the grand opening of the Tom Latham for Congress and Victory 2008 headquarters in Ames, Pawlenty said Sen. John McCain has a long record of wisdom and judgment, something Obama can’t match. “We do not want the next president to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the world we live in,” he said.