Free Republic

The midterm elections are officially over after Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated GOP nominee Herschel Walker by nearly 3 percentage points in Georgia’s Senate runoff. While Democrats celebrate their 51st seat in the upper chamber, Karl Rove, a veteran GOP strategist and Fox News contributor, says the Republican loss was avoidable. "It shouldn't have been," Rove told Fox News Digital. "We had a terrible candidate who was well-meaning but plagued with a lot of scandal and was not particularly good on the campaign trail." Republicans' loss in the Peach State boils down to poor candidate quality at the hands of President...

"The View" co-host Joy Behar appeared upset on Thursday that Americans didn't give Democrats a "supermajority" in the midterm elections and said that half of the country was "not paying attention to their own needs." After co-host Sara Haines praised Ohio Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan's concession speech after losing to Republican JD Vance in Ohio's Senate race, Behar said she didn't want to be a "Debbie Downer" but insisted Democrats should have enjoyed massive gains in Congress. "On the one had you have a party that tried to save health care, that tries to save your right to vote, that...

Russian President Vladimir Putin is “furious” that his invasion of Ukraine hasn’t been “easy” after Russian troops have been unable to take even one major city in three days of fighting, according to a member of the European Union Parliament who said he was citing Ukrainian intelligence reports. “Putin is furious, he thought that the whole war would be easy and everything would be done in 1-4 days,” tweeted Riho Terras, who is also the former defense chief of NATO member Estonia, said in a lengthy thread on Twitter.

<p>ST. HENRY, Ohio (AP) — Three brothers who were trapped in a manure pit on their livestock farm after being overcome by fumes have died, authorities said.</p><p>Rescue crews found the men unconscious and unable to move in the pit Tuesday afternoon. They were fixing a manure pump before they passed out from the fumes, said St. Henry Fire Chief Matt Lefeld.</p>

SEATTLE -- Following days of violent confrontations with protesters, police in Seattle have largely withdrawn from a neighborhood that protesters have transformed into a festival-like scene that has President Donald Trump fuming. Trump taunted Gov. Jay Inslee and Mayor Jenny Durkan about the situation on Twitter and said the city had been taken over by “anarchists." “Take back your city NOW. If you don’t do it, I will,” Trump tweeted. The “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” sprung up after police on Monday removed barricades near the East Precinct and basically abandoned the structure after officers used tear gas, pepper spray and...

TOKYO - The chief of a Japanese real estate firm apologised on Tuesday (Dec 18), admitting that his employees had caused an explosion that injured 42 and collapsed a building in Sapporo on the northernmost island of Hokkaido. The two-storey wooden building, which housed an izakaya - a bar-cum-eatery - called Umi Sakura, a clinic and a real estate firm, collapsed in the blast that occurred at about 8.30pm (7.30pm in Singapore) on Sunday. The fire took six hours to put out, reports said. The force of the explosion shattered glass windows in at least 20 buildings, some as far...

At first, Chris Matthews thought a flu bug had hit his entire family last week when they started to feel nauseous and experience eye problems at the same time. But when the family's two dogs started to show symptoms, Matthews knew something was wrong. Matthews had cleaned out the aquarium inside his house in Steventon, England, a day prior. The 27-year-old was transferring rocks and other items from the fish tank into another container, so he could clean each item individually. When he was finished power cleaning the tank, Matthews shut the door and went to bed. The next day, Matthews and...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A police interrogation of a Kansas City man charged with drug and gun offenses ended prematurely when an investigator was driven from the room by the suspect's excessive flatulence. A detective reported that when asked for his address, 24-year-old Sean Sykes Jr. "leaned to one side of his chair and released a loud fart before answering."

Seven agents of the Transportation Security Administration were briefly hospitalized Friday after reported exposure to fumes at an airport checkpoint, but officials said no cause was discovered. All seven were examined at Hennepin County Medical Center and released by 2 p.m.

Asking for opinions here....I have seen video from a satellite dish of the anniversary rally in DC...Al Charlatan and Jesse Jagmo are heading up what purports to be a time of commemoration of MLK's "I have a dream" speech..... Anyway, the thing kicks off today, and I am looking at a live pic of the mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial....and folks, it doesn't even look half full. I AM ONLY SEEING ONE ANGLE, so I may be wrong, but from that viewpoint it looks like the 9/12 rally of Tea Partiers WAS MUCH BIGGER than this crowd of...

Just received a notice on my phone that South Tampa residents are being asked to "shelter in place" due to fumes coming from the port of Tampa. Will post updates as they become available.

Mark Levin in fine form.

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- President Barack Obama has a Sin City problem that won't go away. Obama is counting on Nevada's support for reelection next year. He easily won the Las Vegas Valley in 2008 and will probably win the largely Democratic, urban center again next year.

A hospital official says one person who was sickened by fumes at a McDonald's restaurant in Pooler has died. Memorial University Medical Center spokesman Michael Notrica confirmed the death Thursday but said he could not provide any details about the person. Authorities said 10 people were taken to the hospital Wednesday after firefighters found two customers unconscious inside a restaurant bathroom and others struggling to breathe. Notrica said eight were treated and released and two were admitted for treatment. Pooler Fire Chief Wade Simmons earlier said one of the customers found unconscious was in critical condition, but it was not...

Strong oil fumes on Southeast LA Coast and Northshore, speculation its from burning the spill.

An American Airlines flight with 145 people on board made an emergency landing Tuesday in Iceland after five crew members became ill following reports of chemical fumes in the cabin. American Airlines Flight 49 traveling from Paris to Dallas-Ft. Worth landed safely just after 1345 GMT (9:45 a.m. EDT). The source of the fumes was being investigated, Keflavik Airport spokesman Fridthor Eydal said.

HONG KONG - Ships belching toxic fumes from diesel fuel contribute to the deaths of tens of thousands of people in Europe, Asia and the United States each year, claims a U.S. report released this week. As many as 60,000 people living in coastal communities along major shipping routes died from lung and heart complaints as a result of high sulfate emissions from ships in 2002, according to the study released Wednesday by the American Chemical Society. With international maritime trade on the rise and little regulation of ship emissions, that death toll could rise to as many as 82,000...

The pictures below are from the source Web site linked above, but see the first comment for a new Web site, PhotoVolcanica, with some spectacular high-resolution volcano photos. The reason I'm posting these pictures is due to inspiration (fortunately not inhalation) of a picture of this place in the "Volcanoes 4 (Hot Springs and Fumaroles)" section of PhotoVolcanica. Crystallizing sulphur stalactites How much do you get paid for this? Molten red sulfur! Just like on Io (Jupiter's sulfurous moon) Raw and picturesque, as long as you're upwind

KENNER, La. - A Louisiana congressman is calling for hearings on the government's response to formaldehyde fumes in trailers provided to storm victims by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Earlier this month, the agency dismissed findings by environmentalists that the trailers pose serious health risks from the known carcinogen. The agency said the fumes could be reduced by opening vents and windows, a strategy deemed unacceptable by Rep. Bobby Jindal (news, bio, voting record) in light of the region's heat and humidity. Jindal, a Republican widely expected to run for governor in the fall, sent a letter to House leadership...

OK, my father was watching my kids today while I was having surgery. about an hour ago I went down stairs to make sure the doors were looked and was immitadly struck by noxus fumes. As it turns out my Dad was watching my kids ride their bikes today and moved a gas can to get out a camping chair. After he was done, he tossed the chair back into the garage and unknowingly knocked over a gallon sized can of gasoline to the floor. If I remember correctly, the last time I mowed the yard I knew I was...