Free Republic

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: I have here in my formerly nicotine-stained fingers a story from PJMedia.com that just cleared this morning. It's by Bryan Preston. Here's the headline, and the headline pretty much says it, but we'll delve into it. "Newly Released Documents Detail the Department of Justice's Role in Organizing Trayvon Martin Protests." Let me reread that with just a slight difference. "Newly Released Documents Detail Eric Holder's Role in Organizing Trayvon Martin Protests -- Judicial Watch announced today that it has obtained documents proving that [Eric Holder] the Department of Justice played a major behind-the-scenes role in organizing protests...

The chief executive of US bookstore chain Barnes & Noble, William Lynch, has resigned amid a continued drop in sales of its Nook e-books and devices. His resignation comes just days after the firm reported that sales in the Nook business fell 34% in the fourth quarter, from a year earlier.

One week ago, Egypt was led by President Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist and close ally of the Muslim Brotherhood, as perhaps millions of protesters demanded his removal. Today, after a very long and tumultuous week, the military appears to be in charge, having deposed Morsi and replaced him with the constitutional court chief. Violence has gone from bad to very bad, with military troops opening fire on a pro-Morsi protest, killing 51 people and injuring 300. You can follow latest updates from Egypt on our live blog. Here is the story of the past week, told in photos.

If you haven’t already heard, Michelle Obama checked into a lavish $3500 per night suite at Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel on Monday. To add insult to injury, Mrs. Obama’s visit requires not just the booking of the “Princess Grace” suite but an additional 29 rooms for her entourage. This is not an inexpensive trip and it is costing taxpayers huge amounts of money. The President is in Dublin for the two-day G-8 Summit which will allow him to rub elbows with the likes of Stephen Harper and Vladmir Putin. It is expected that Barack Obama would attend this event. It is...

At long, long last, a bit of good news on immigration reform — if it’s true. A money quote from Ryan Lizza’s New Yorker piece about the big push in Congress for amnesty: [A] senior White House offcial insisted that Obama’s role in overseeing details of the bill has been more signifcant than is generally known. ‘No decisions are being made without talking to us about it,’ the official said of the Gang of Eight negotiations … ‘This does not fly if we’re not O.K. with it, because everyone knows this is going to pass with some Republicans but with...

Merely tweeting about guns these days can prove to be volatile, especially for those in Hollywood. Ads by Google Puritan's Pride VitaminsBuy 1 Get 2 Free Plus Free Shipping! www.Puritan.com Brutal Fighting SkillsFight Moves Federal Agents & The Army Don't Want You To Know FightFast.com/Fight_Moves Case in point is actress Katee Sackhoff, best known for her TV roles as agent Dana Walsh on “24″ and pilot Kara “Starbuck” Thrace on “Battlestar Galactica.” After having seen a news report about a four-year-old boy who accidentally shot and killed his father with a loaded gun that was left unattended at a friend’s...

The whistleblower who leaked details of top-secret US surveillance programmes has disappeared from sight in Hong Kong - with Russia saying it would consider granting him asylum. Edward Snowden, 29, left his hotel on Monday, ahead of a probable attempt by the US government to have him returned to face charges. Mr Snowden, who was a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA), had admitted giving details of the monitoring of phone calls and internet data, from companies such as Google and Facebook, to The Guardian and Washington Post. He checked out of Hong Kong's Mira Hotel, where he was...

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is secretly carrying out a domestic surveillance program under which it is collecting business communications records involving Americans under a hotly debated section of the Patriot Act

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is refusing to intervene in a case of a young girl who needs a lung transplant as doctors have only given her weeks to live. From a local news report: The Newtown Square girl has been hospitalized for three months with end-stage cystic fibrosis. Sarah is not giving up hope. She wants to be a singer, but needs a lung transplant to live. Her parents have been with her constantly while she waits at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “She worries that she’s dying, because she’s not — she’s a smart kid. And she says to...

(CNN) - Sen. John McCain visited rebels in Syria on Monday, his communications director confirmed to CNN, making the Arizona Republican the highest ranking elected official from the United States to visit the war-torn country.

Anthony Weiner’s run for redemption is officially on. The ex-congressman whose career imploded in a rash of raunchy tweets two years ago said in a YouTube video announcement late Tuesday that he’s in the New York City mayoral race. He’d said last month he was considering it. … The Democrat is jumping into a crowded field for September’s primary. He’s arriving with some significant advantages, including a $4.8 million campaign war chest, the possibility of more than $1 million more in public matching money, polls showing him ahead of all but one other Democrat—and no end of name recognition. …

(via Weasel Zippers) -- The Department of Defense confirms to NBC 5 Investigates that accused Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan has now been paid more than $278,000 since the Nov. 5, 2009 shooting that left 13 dead 32 injured. The Army said under the Military Code of Justice, Hasan’s salary cannot be suspended unless he is proven guilty. If Hasan had been a civilian defense department employee, NBC 5 Investigates has learned, the Army could have suspended his pay after just seven days. Personnel rules for most civilian government workers allow for “indefinite suspensions” in cases “when the agency...

(CBS News) Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left a note claiming responsibility for the April 13 attack on the Boston Marathon, reports CBS News senior correspondent John Miller.

New York City may soon allow non-citizens, including illegal immigrants who would be granted amnesty if the Senate's immigration reform bill passes Congress, to vote in elections. According to Talking Points Memo, the New York City Council is currently considering a proposal that would allow non-citizens to vote in local elections. Even though Mayor Michael Bloomberg reportedly opposes the proposal, TPM reports that the New York City Council “appears to have a veto-proof majority” so it could make the proposal law without Bloomberg’s support. Queens College professor Ron Hayduk, a supporter of the proposal who helped craft it, told TPM...

Electric car maker CODA Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday after selling just 100 cars and said it plans to quit the auto business altogether. The Los Angeles-based parent of CODA Automotive filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court in Delaware. A consortium of debtors plans to acquire CODA for $25 million, according to a company statement. The company’s statement said it plans to concentrate on CODA Energy, an energy storage business founded two years ago, and exit the automotive business. “CODA Energy’s products are based on the same core battery management technology found in its vehicles...

Old and busted: ObamaCare is no “train wreck,” no matter what one of its authors says now. New hotness: Give us more money to head off this train wreck! Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says he shares colleagues’ concerns that the Affordable Care Act could become a “train wreck” if it’s not implemented properly.Reid warned that people will not be able to choose health insurance plans on government health exchanges if federal authorities lack the resources to set them up and educate the public.“Max said unless we implement this properly it’s going to be a train wreck and I...

Two Kazakh men and a third man have been arrested by federal authorities in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings, a law enforcement official familar with the case said this morning. The two men, Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, came to America from the Central Asian nation to study at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was also enrolled. The law enforcement official did not release the name of the third person arrested. … The White House and law enforcement authorities have previously suggested that the Tsarnaevs may have acted alone without clear ties to foreign governments...

BOSTON (AP) -- The angry and grieving mother of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects insists that her sons are innocent and that she's no terrorist.

WATERTOWN, MA -- On Friday, April 19, 2013, during a manhunt for a bombing suspect, police and federal agents spent the day storming people's homes and performing illegal searches. While it was unclear initially if the home searches were voluntary, it is now crystal clear that they were absolutely NOT voluntary. Police were filmed ripping people from their homes at gunpoint, marching the residents out with their hands raised in submission, and then storming the homes to perform their illegal searches.

The Boy Scouts of America on Friday moved to partially lift its long-standing ban on gays, with a decision that would allow openly gay youth members but continue to bar gay adults in one of the largest youth serving organizations in America. If the resolution is approved in a nationwide vote in May, "no youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone," Deron Smith, the organization's spokesman, told Reuters. Gay rights groups want the ban lifted for youth and adults and the proposal immediately drew criticism. "By refusing...