Free Republic

A new strain of Covid nicknamed 'The Kraken' is 'the most transmissible subvariant that has been detected yet', according to the World Health Organisation. The latest subvariant - another spinoff of Omicron officially named XBB.1.5 - has already taken hold in the US where it is thought to be behind roughly 70 per cent of new infections in the worst affected areas and 4 in 10 overall. Now it has started to sweep across the UK, indicating it has a major growth advantage over rival strains. But XBB.1.5 appears to be just as mild as its ancestor Omicron and its...

SEN. Hillary Clinton is barnstorming the Hamptons this weekend to fill her campaign coffers with the help of her hubby, Bill. Last night, Michael Recanati co-hosted a dinner in East Hampton with Ira Statfeld at $4,200 per head, the max under federal law. Today's brunch thrown by Lisa Perry in Sag Harbor costs $2,000. Tonight, the ex-president joins Hillary at the East Hampton home of Michele and Bill Nuti, where Jon Bon Jovi will perform. Tickets are $300, but $1,000 will get you a backstage pass.

Police in northern India thwarted a plot by Hindu extremists who threatened to burn to death more than 60 Christian converts if they refused to return to Hinduism by Sunday. Members of a Christian movement called Believers Church met peacefully Sunday in the state of Himachal Pradesh, according to Compass Direct, a news service that monitors persecution of Christians. "We were able to meet without incident," said Ramish Masih Battih, the son of Pastor Feroz Masih.