Free Republic

White House officials told NBC that President Joe Biden is planning to use his presidential authority to curb migration in the run-up to the 2024 election. The admission concedes the Republicans’ primary claim in this month’s partisan political conflict over the border: that Biden’s choice not to use his presidential authority has caused his vast and costly inflow of more than 6 million migrants since January 2021. The NBC report said: The Biden administration is considering taking executive action to deter illegal migration across the southern border, according to two U.S. officials. … The plans have been under consideration for...

Twenty chief executive officers (CEOs) of leading retailers are calling on Congress to pass legislation to curb the sale of stolen goods online in the wake of “organized retail crime” across the United States. The Retail Industry Leaders Association sent a letter to Congressional leadership on Thursday, which was signed by CEOs of Home Depot, Target, Best Buy, Nordstrom, and executives of many more retail titans.

President Biden said Monday that his administration was not recommending further restrictions on businesses or in-person gatherings to combat the coronavirus pandemic amid concerns about the new omicron variant. Speaking from the Roosevelt Room, Biden described vaccinations as the best possible tool to defeat the virus and any emerging variants. He said his administration would outline a strategy to combat COVID-19 during the winter months later this week. “On Thursday, I'll be putting forward a detailed strategy outlining how we're going to fight COVID this winter, not with shutdowns or lockdowns but with more widespread vaccinations, boosters, testing and more,”...

ORLANDO, FL—A local street curb on Baxter Avenue has come forward to accuse a woman of multiple vehicular assaults. According to sworn testimony, the curb endured unwelcome scuffing from tires and aluminum wheels over the course of several months. "We are proud of this brave little cement curb for coming forward," said Police Chief Orlando Rolón. "We need to do better in educating our daughters how to parallel park and put proper distance between their car wheels and the curb, for gosh sakes. Yellow paint means, 'stay away!' We will redouble our efforts to prevent this from ever happening again."...

Just curious.

Larry David had strong words when asked in a recent interview if he was "afraid about alienating" Trump supporters for wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat in his HBO show, "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Journalist Jimmy Traina shared a clip of David's January interview with Michael Kay after President Trump shared a scene from "Curb" where David discovers that wearing the iconic "MAGA" hat is a great "people repellent." He wears the hat around Los Angeles to avoid person-to-person contact. Kay asks David: "There are people that wear the MAGA hat and like what the MAGA hat represents. Are you...

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Reducing the human carbon footprint is a "moral imperative," University of California President Janet Napolitano said Tuesday as she vowed to turn the system's 10 campuses into a living laboratory for solutions that can be scaled up to state, national and global levels. Napolitano made the comments at a two-day climate change summit at UC San Diego, where researchers discussed their blueprint for actions that they say the state and the world should undertake to tackle the problem — including reducing the carbon footprint of the wealthiest 1 billion people. The plan will be presented at...

US President Barack Obama has supported a motion passed by Senate Democrats which weakens Republicans' ability to block White House nominations. The measure, known as the "nuclear option", curbs the power of the upper chamber's minority party to use a blocking tactic known as a filibuster. Mr Obama said the practice had gone too far, and was "not normal". Republicans vowed they would use the new rule against Democrats if they won back the Senate in the next election. Correspondents said Thursday's motion, which passed 52-48, will make American politics even more acrimonious. 'Power grab' At the White House on...

Kill a camel, earn cash for cutting greenhouse gases: That offer may be coming soon in Australia, where vast numbers of the nonnative, methane-belching animals have been trampling the Outback for more than a century. The government has proposed that killing camels be officially registered as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Australia has the world's largest population of wild camels _ an estimated 1.2 million _ and considers them to be a growing environmental problem. The proposal, released for public comment this week, would allow sharpshooters to earn so-called carbon credits for slaughtering camels. Industrial polluters around the...

LONDON – Recent targeted attacks that killed militants in Somalia, Indonesia and Pakistan have chipped away at al-Qaida's power base, sapping the terror network of key leaders and experienced operatives who train recruits and wage attacks. Intelligence officials said Friday that the military strikes have reduced al-Qaida's core leadership to only a handful of men and diminished its ability to train fighters. This, they said, has forced al-Qaida to turn to its global affiliates for survival. The killings of Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan in Somalia, Noordin Muhammed Top in Indonesia and Baitullah Mehsud in Pakistan — all in recent weeks...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is announcing $25 million in grants to states and health care systems to launch a national experiment on alternatives to medical malpractice lawsuits. The grants will be up to $3 million each for three years. They can be used to examine a broad range of ideas, including programs in which doctors and hospitals quickly acknowledge a mistake, offer an apology and restitution, and pledge to take corrective action.

More than 20 prominent British Muslim leaders have signed a letter denouncing the rise in anti-Semitic attacks resulting from Operation Cast Lead and calling on Muslims to help prevent attacks on Jews in the UK. The Community Security Trust (CST) has reported a sharp rise in anti-Semitic incidents in recent weeks, with more than 150 reported attacks on Jews, Jewish-owned property and even an arson attempt on a London synagogue. "We are deeply saddened to hear about anti-Semitic assaults on British Jews, and a recent arson attack on a London synagogue. Although the perpetrators are yet unknown, we unreservedly condemn...

VIENNA, Austria - Negotiators from 158 countries reached basic agreement Friday on rough targets aimed at getting some of the world's biggest polluters to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. A weeklong U.N. climate conference concluded that industrialized countries should strive to cut emissions by 25 percent to 40 percent of their 1990 levels by 2020. Experts said that target would serve as a loose guide for a major international climate summit to be held in December in Bali, Indonesia. "We have reached broad agreement on the main issues," said Leon Charles, a negotiator from Grenada...

SACRAMENTO - California's recent passage of a bill to curb emissions of carbon dioxide drew praise from the head of the United Nations' climate change assessment panel, who said the move will have great influence. "Clearly this will have a profound effect on the position of the federal government," said Rajendra Pachauri, director of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. "And I would say even before that, perhaps it will have an effect on other states in the U.S. I wouldn't be surprised if in the next year or two you see other states following similar actions. "And it will...

SACRAMENTO Over the past year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has sought to position himself as a leader on climate change issues. He outlined a broad program to reduce air pollution during a speech at a United Nations summit a year ago and last week reached a publicity-generating agreement with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Republican governor now faces a dilemma that threatens to undermine his environmental credentials at the same time he is trying appeal to moderate voters as he seeks re-election. This month, the Democrats who hold a majority in California's Legislature plan to send Schwarzenegger a bill that...

Bush refuses to curb Israeli assault By Alec Russell in St Petersburg and Tim Butcher in Beirut (Filed: 15/07/2006)(go to the site to use the links below) Audio: Con Coughlin on Hizbollah's motives Audio: Tim Butcher reports from Beirut In pictures: Beirut under siege Your view: are Israel's tactics justified? President George W Bush refused last night to rein in Israel as its close ally brought international condemnation by stepping up its offensive in Lebanon. For the second day running Israeli aircraft bombed southern Beirut, hitting the headquarters of Hizbollah, the Iranian-backed militant Islamic group, and the residence of its...

WASHINGTON - The Federal Election Commission failed to give a good reason for refusing to rein in nonprofit political groups that spent huge sums in the 2004 presidential elections, a judge has ruled in a case brought by President Bush's campaign and lawmakers. In a 34-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said the FEC failed to give "a reasoned explanation" for its decision not to issues rules to require so-called "527" groups to register as federal political action committees and face the same strict fundraising, spending and disclosure rules PACs do. But Sullivan stopped short of saying the...

Diplomatic push is planned to curb Iran's nuclear ambition By Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor (Filed: 28/03/2006) The world's key powers will seek this week to reach agreement on a strategy that will build up pressure on Iran. This could lead to sanctions being imposed by the summer unless Teheran halts the most dangerous parts of its nuclear programme. Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, along with foreign ministers from the United States, France, Germany, Russia, and China will meet in Berlin on Thursday at a gathering designed to finalise a United Nations call on Iran to comply with international demands,...

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2006 – Iraqi and coalition forces have boosted their presence in Baghdad in response to a surge in attacks against Iraqis that officials link to today's seating of the country's new parliament, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman told reporters. "Operation Scales of Justice" was launched to enhance security in Iraq's capital city as the parliament begins selecting the country's new government, Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said today in Baghdad. The 275-member body met briefly today to begin the difficult process of electing a president, two vice presidents and a prime minister. Lynch called the seating of...

Dublin repeals English laws designed to curb the Irish By Tom Peterkin, Ireland Correspondent (Filed: 13/03/2006) The draconian laws the English imposed on Ireland to keep the natives at bay are to be repealed hundreds of years after they were first put on the Statute Book. Bertie Ahern, the Irish prime minister, has finally got round to dealing with more than 2,000 pieces of legislation drawn up by colonial parliaments following the 12th century, Norman invasion of his country. The revision programme will see the removal of ancient acts banning the Gaelic language, prohibiting the English from fraternising with the...