Free Republic

PHOENIX – Police in Phoenix say they've arrested a woman accused of leading an armed robbery gang involving her 12- and 14-year-old sons. Police say 51-year-old Cynthia White Roberson coached some of the four boys and three men who would face charges with her. The suspects are accused of at least 20 armed robberies in Phoenix and Glendale since late April. Police say Roberson lost her job six weeks ago and guilted her sons and some of the others into committing the robberies to pay for rent and a car loan.

Shooter was defending himself with shotgun, DA says Based on the information provided to the Yolo County District Attorney's Office by the West Sacramento Police Department regarding the Wednesday fatal shooting on Cummins Way in West Sacramento, no charges will be filed against Michael Moniz, 23, at this time. The evidence presented established that Joe Villanueva, 32, who was shot and killed in the attack, initiated the initial confrontation as he stood in the street and began shooting a handgun at people in the front yard of 1101 Cummins Way around 6 p.m. During that assault, police reported that bullets...

Law enforcement officers Wednesday continued praising the efforts of an armed couple, who stopped a burglary at their home Tuesday, as a search of a New Philadelphia suspect’s residence revealed a huge amount of evidence from past burglaries. “They broke the case,” said Detective Jeff Moore of the Tuscarawas County Sheriff Department, referring to the Roswell area couple who held Thomas Ritchie, 30, of New Philadelphia and William Allison II, 25, of Massillon at gunpoint until sheriff’s deputies arrived. “They broke the case for numerous detectives who are all smiling at this point in time,” Moore said as he participated...

Rep. Bachmann has made good on her word and showed up outside the White House this morning, shotgun in hand, ready to start a revolution! To a press conference of three, Bachmann stated, “I have called upon thousands of loyal Americans to march here this morning, with whatever weapons they have on hand: butter knives, slingshots, silly string, water balloons… Anything that’s going to let the Washington Elite know that we are serious!”

Police traced the suspect in a Monday burglary at a North Hero house because he abandoned his car at the scene while under fire from the homeowner, who said he could have killed the intruder but wanted only to force the man to surrender. Authorities Tuesday arrested Eric Edson, 37, of Burlington after using Department of Motor Vehicles information to present homeowner Jim Melanson with a photo lineup, according to Vermont State Police in St. Albans. Melanson, meanwhile, recounted his confrontation with the burglar -- a heart-racing encounter the 51-year-old self-employed electrician said lasted three to five minutes, but felt...

A map of President Bush's motorcade to Camp David was found last week in the possession of a teenager accused of stockpiling weapons and bomb-making materials, according to prosecutors. With the possibility that the motorcade was a target, federal authorities have joined police in investigating Collin Matthew McKenzie-Gude, 18, who allegedly was storing the weapons and materials just outside Washington, D.C., at the Bethesda, Md., home where he lives with his parents. MyFOXDC.com reports that Assistant State's Attorney Peter Feeney disclosed the discovery of the map of Camp David during a court hearing on Tuesday in Rockville, Md. The map...

Britain's Armed Forces 'stretched beyond their capabilities' by fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent Last Updated: 10:12PM BST 24/06/2008 Britain's Armed Forces cannot go on running two major military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the head of the Armed Forces has admitted. There are 4,000 British troops in Iraq and numbers in Afghanistan will soon exceed 8,000 The two wars have left the Forces "stretched beyond the capabilities we have," Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup said. It is the first time the most senior officer in the British military has expressed such grave doubts about...

During the decades the American Rifleman has published “The Armed Citizen”

Defensive Thoughts for the Day Get Good With Gun Gab by Greg Perry Always practice your response when asked why you carry a gun or what you think of gun control. Through the years several writers and enthusiasts have written great sound bites you can use. Gun people love to exchange gun-related effective statements that are funny, cut to the heart of gun controls evil, promote freedom & defense, or all of the above. Being armed emotionally and conversationally is almost as important as being armed with bullets that fly out your guns muzzle. The left thinks it owns the...

WASHINGTON - U.S. Capitol Police arrested a man carrying a rifle outside the Capitol building Friday, authorities said. The man was in custody and no one was injured, police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider. An officer first spotted the man near Union Station, about two blocks from the Capitol. A car belonging to the suspect was being searched.

FORT HUACHUCA — The head of the House Armed Services Committee will visit the post Friday and Saturday. Isaac Newton “Ike” Skelton IV, the Democratic representative from Missouri’s 4th District, will be coming to the post, and later travel to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, to receive mission briefings and to meet with soldiers and airmen and their families, according to C.J. Karamargin, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, whose 8th Congressional District includes both military installations. Democrat Giffords, who is a member of the committee, invited the chairman to look at key installations in her district, Karamargin said....

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2007 – The U.S. military’s most senior enlisted member locked up his office yesterday in pursuit of other seniors – senior citizens living in the Armed Forces Retirement Home here. Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, jokes with Army veteran Jo Colvard-Willa Cooper about being married to a sailor, Aug. 8, 2007. Gainey and his joint travel team spent their workday visiting the Armed Forcers Retirement Home in Washington, D.C. Photo by Sheila R. Abarr  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Command...

One man was killed and another wounded after being shot in Queens late Tuesday by a contractor who told investigators that the men had demanded $20,000 from him and threatened to harm his wife, law enforcement officials said. The contractor, Lulzim Kupi, 42, told investigators he shot the men in self-defense. He was expected to be charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, the police said. One man who was shot, Redinel Dervishaj, 32, was in stable condition at Elmhurst Hospital Center with gunshot wounds to the arm and torso, law enforcement officials said. The other man,...

GREENCASTLE - An Antrim Township mini-mart owner who has been the victim of several recent burglaries shot an intruder during a confrontation early Thursday, according to Pennsylvania State Police. Merlony Colaco, 29, has seen his Molly Pitcher Mini-Mart at 13640 Molly Pitcher Highway burglarized more than half a dozen times since March. Colaco has owned the store for a year and a half. The first year was relatively tranquil, but in March the establishment was robbed four times in 14 days. In one incident, Colaco held a woman at bay with a gun until police arrived. On Thursday at 1:46...

A Gainesville man awoke to the sounds of a dog fight early Monday. When he walked outside, he found his dog locked in the jaws of a large pit bull. "I'm sound asleep and my wife says there's a dog fight in the yard," said Fletcher Sutton, 58. "And within 90 seconds I find myself standing in the yard in my bathrobe with a knife in one hand, a gun in the other and a dog dead between my legs." ...

Calling Blood Type AB Donors We have received an urgent request from the United States Department of Defense for type AB plasma. We will be shipping them 100 units a week thru mid-August. We ask for your help at this time. As a blood type AB donor, the plasma in your body is universal – it can go to anyone of any blood type. Who uses plasma? Burn patients, trauma patients, even our troops wounded in battle. Type AB is also rare. Only 4% of the population is type AB, so you can imagine how in-demand your plasma must be....

Armed Forces Day "America Supports You" Saturday, May 19, 2007 President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country. On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department -- the Department of Defense.

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md., May 18, 2007 – Ask someone serving in the military, and you might be surprised to hear them tell you just how much Armed Forces Day means to them. As the country commemorates its 57th Armed Forces Day tomorrow, soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines say they’re grateful for a special day set aside to recognize them and their service. It’s particularly important, they say, while the country is at war. After 14 years in the Army and two deployments to the Middle East, Army Sgt. Robert Clark said he welcomes a day honoring the...

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2007 – Today’s servicemembers reflect the same determination shown by those who fought for America’s freedom more than 200 years ago, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in a message issued as the annual Armed Forces Day observance approaches. Armed Forces Day -- always the third Saturday in May -- is observed May 19 this year. Gates said many people are familiar with the opening of Thomas Paine’s treatise called “The Crisis,” written in defense of the then-fledgling American Revolution: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Less familiar, he said, is a later passage...