Free Republic

The number of active TB cases in the eight county Idaho public health district that includes Twin Falls jumped 500 percent between 2011 and 2012. One case of active TB was diagnosed in the South Central Public Health District that includes Twin Falls in 2011, and six active TB cases were diagnosed there in 2012, the year Chobani opened the world’s largest yogurt factory in the small southern Idaho city with the help of $54 million in federal, state, and local financial assistance. That same year, 2012, the percentage of active TB cases in Idaho that were foreign-born spiked to...

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Republicans have chosen a primary rather than a convention for 2017 as a way to elect candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. The State Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia narrowly voted Saturday to have a primary for the first time since 2005, scoring a win for the party’s establishment wing. John Whitbeck, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said the primary will allow candidates to expand the party’s outreach. “We can’t afford anymore to exclude anybody from the Republican Party,” he said.

WASHINGTON — Gov. Terry McAuliffe broke the bad news to the General Assembly’s money committees Friday morning in Richmond that the state’s budget is in the hole by about $1.5 billion over two years, and he warned state lawmakers to brace for “tough decisions ahead.” The projected shortfall for the current two-year budget is $1.2 billion. But that’s in addition to shortfall of about $280 million carried over from the budget year that ended June 30. The governor told state lawmakers the budget problems are being driven by lower income and sales tax revenue collections than what was anticipated. As...

(snips) “Trump is someone who’s worked with the Jewish community his entire life and has family, including his daughter (Ivanka Trump) and son-in-law (Jared Kushner), who are both observant Jews,” Greenwald said. “The smearing of Trump as anti-Semitic is just outrageous.” JewsChooseTrump.org has steadily grown with Jewish supporters of Trump from across the country signing up to express their solidarity and looking for ways to get involved. The website has had over 78,000 visitors and over 1,000 people have signed up to publish their names, Greenwald said. Out of the over 1,000 names registered on JewsChooseTrump.org, a significant portion of...

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton appeared in an Army training presentation labeled as in “insider threat,” the Washington Examiner reports. The presentation featured a slide titled “Who is the threat? Insiders” along with photos of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis and Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. Clinton and Gen. David Petraeus, who shared classified information with his biographer and mistress, are also pictured.

SANTA CLARA — Colin Kaepernick didn’t do much to warrant headlines with his performance on the field Friday, but he’s certainly in for his fair share of scrutiny after he sat through the national anthem before his preseason debut against the Packers. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com was first to report Kaepernick didn’t stand for the national anthem and got the 49ers to issue a statement on the matter. The statement from the 49ers to PFT: “The national anthem is and always will be a special part of the pre-game ceremony. It is an opportunity to honor our country and reflect...

A man has been arrested in the stabbing deaths of two nuns whose bodies were found in their home in rural Mississippi, authorities said. Margaret Held and Paula Merrill, both nurse practitioners, failed to show up for work Thursday at a clinic in Lexington, where they served one of the state’s poorest counties. Authorities believe the killer took the victims’ car, a blue Toyota Corolla, which was later found on an abandoned road less than a mile from their home. But nothing was taken from the house, according to a law enforcement official who has been briefed on the investigation.

        FAITH OR FEAR? For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin [whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful]. — Romans 14:23 Is it possible to allow someone to control and manipulate us, honestly saying we are doing so in faith? Of course not! We know this type of behavior is rooted in fear, not faith. Faith obeys God, but fear is easily intimidated and finds many excuses for disobedience. A person who is a perfectionist, a workaholic, or involved in sexual perversion is just as dependent...

Epicentre along the Owen Fracture Zone An earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richter Scale was recorded in the Arabian Sea at 6.43am on Saturday. The incident was confirmed by the country’s National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), with the authority confirming no impact on the UAE. The earthquake struck along the Owen Fracture Zone, stated the NCMS, which is a fault line that runs along the eastern boundary of the Arabian Plate. Speaking with Emirates 24|7, Khamis Al Shamsi, Head of Seismology at NCMS, stated: “This was not a big earthquake, with no impact on UAE following the...

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is refusing to stand for the national anthem before games because he believes the United States oppresses African Americans and other minorities. Kaepernick sat on the team's bench Friday night during the anthem before the Niners played host to the Green Bay Packers in an exhibition game. He later explained his reasoning in an interview with NFL Media . ''I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,'' Kaepernick said. ''To me, this is bigger than football and it...

<p>MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — A McDonald’s franchisee says he’s been unable to substantiate claims by two customers who reported finding worms in food at the fast-food chain’s restaurants in two Kentucky communities.</p> <p>Michael Love, owner-operator of the two restaurants, says inspections of the restaurants by health officials did not uncover any of the problems raised by the customers.</p>

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Colin Kaepernick did not stand during the national anthem Friday because he refused to “show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” he told the NFL Network’s Steve Wyche after the game. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way,” Kaepernick said. “There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” The San Francisco 49ers quarterback has been outspoken on his Twitter and Instagram account about racial issues, including...

A new Republican proposal [by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (RINO, VA)] to resolve the long-running fight over taxing internet sales across state lines drew praise from Amazon.com Inc. and House Speaker Paul Ryan. “I am shocked Republicans would propose an internet sales tax,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) “This proposal would create a logistical nightmare for states like Oregon that don’t have or want sales taxes. I will continue to oppose any efforts to impose a national sales tax scheme on Oregonians.” Michael Needham, the chief executive officer of Heritage Action for America said, “the Republican-controlled Congress would be wise...

Since its reunification in 1990, Berlin has developed into a thriving, cosmopolitan centre. Dubbed "poor but sexy" by its former mayor, it has attracted creative types like moths to a flame with its low rents and exploding startup scene. Tourists flock to this grungy vibe too, with nearly six million visiting in the first six months of this year alone. But the reality is that the city is struggling with poverty, unemployment, poor infrastructure, a floundering education system, debt, the refugee crisis and crime. Its chronic problems led national newspaper Die Welt to label it a “failed state” in 2014....

New Emails: Clinton’s State Department Gave Special Access to Foundation Donors Federal Court Orders Hillary Clinton to Answer Email Questions under Oath JW Forces Release of “Deleted” Clinton Emails – Hidden Emails Include Benghazi Material Court Victory for Election IntegrityJW’s New Book Clean House Coming Next Week New Emails: Clinton’s State Department Gave Special Access to Foundation DonorsThe true nature of the Clinton Foundation becomes ever clearer with each discovery of withheld emails. This week we released 725 pages of State Department documents that include email exchanges in which Hillary Clinton’s top aide Huma Abedin provided influential Clinton Foundation...

Donald Trump is up 4 points on Hillary Clinton is the latest Mason-Dixon Florida poll. And, Donald Trump leads Hillary by 14 points with independent voters. Conservative Treehouse reported: A non-media poll by Mason Dixon of central Florida Voters (I-4 Corridor) finds Donald Trump leading overall: 46% Trump to 42% for Clinton. More interestingly, and many would say more importantly, Donald Trump is leading Hillary Clinton by 14 points with independent voters: Trump 44%, Clinton 30% This tracks with the previous outline we shared discussing voter registration, voter intent, voter engagement, and voter analysis within Florida. All of the previous...

Colin Kaepernick, who has been mired in a quarterback controversy with Blaine Gabbert to see who will lead the 49ers this season, may have sparked a real controversy Friday night. Kaepernick did not stand for the national anthem before the 49ers preseason game at Levi's Stadium, although the move went unnoticed by most at the time. ProFootballTalk.com reported the story more than an hour after the game, and no reporters asked Kaepernick about it following the 49ers 21-10 loss to the Packers.But Kaepernick's action prompted the 49ers to issue a statement acknowledging that he sat during the anthem, and defending...

Some people in the United States have already filed their 2015 income tax returns — not because they are super-law-abiding, but because they want to get a check from Uncle Sam in the mail. Some savvy illegal aliens, since they can get substantial tax breaks, will have filed by now. The first day that IRS accepted returns was January 19 this year — the deadline is two and a half months away, the usual April 15. This year there is yet another tax break for illegals in the tax system. Unlike citizen and green card workers who are not participating...

Joseph Heller coined the term “Catch-22” in a novel about bomber crews in World War II. It described a set of Army Air Force regulations that exempted crazy people from flying combat missions. The catch was you had to apply for the exemption. And trying to get out of combat proved you weren’t crazy. In the last 55 years the term has become a catchy way to describe any double bind – which is a logical dilemma that requires someone to correctly answer two questions. And, a correct answer to either one automatically means a wrong answer to the other....

In a not unexpected move, immigrant advocates filed a lawsuit Thursday taking on a federal court ruling that blocked President Obama's 2014 executive actions providing deportation relief to certain undocumented immigrants. The lawsuit argues that the federal judge who blocked the implementation of the programs -- Andrew Hanen, a conservative in southern Texas -- did not have the authority to impose a nationwide injunction. Because the Supreme Court was evenly divided when Hanen’s order was appealed to the eight justices, the new lawsuit could open the door for Obama's actions to go back into effect for at least some undocumented...