Free Republic

Google Inc. is preparing to offer its high-speed fiber-optic Internet service in four new metro areas, the latest step in a careful expansion of the service. Google will announce launches of Google Fiber in Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Raleigh-Durham, N.C. and Nashville, Tenn. in coming days, according to two people familiar with the situation.

Bomb threats have been reported on two flights that recently landed at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. NORAD fighter jets were deployed to escort Delta flight 1156 and Southwest flight 2492 to the Atlanta, Georgia, airport, the FAA confirmed. The Delta flight came from Portland, the Southwest flight flew in from Milwaukee.

By now you've likely heard that Atlanta Fire Chief, Kelvin Cochran, was recently fired from his position for publishing a book in which he affirmed a biblically orthodox understanding of human sexuality. Who Told You That You Were Naked book coverThe 162-page book in question, "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" is a Bible study designed for Christian men. According to press reports, Mr. Cochran gave a copy of the book to three individuals within his department, all of whom he knew to be Christian. So, what's the problem? The now former fire chief was initially suspended from his...

The mayor of Atlanta Kasim Reed announced today the firing of the city's fire chief for the crime of being a Christian, according to news reports. It seems the fire chief, Kelvin Cochran, wrote a book for his Bible study group in which he espoused actual Christian beliefs. How dare he? But his firing doesn't infringe on religious freedom at all, so says the mayor. "This is not about religious freedom, this is not about free speech" the mayor reportedly said. "Judgement is the basis of the problem." So there you have it. If you're fired for being a Christian...

Kelvin Cochran was five-years-old when he realized that he wanted to be a firefighter. “My family was very, very poor,” Cochran told me. “We were living in a shotgun house in an alley – three big brothers, two little sisters.” One Sunday afternoon the Cochran children heard a fire truck stop across from their neighbor’s home. Miss Maddie’s house was one fire. “It’s a frightening day in the United States when a person cannot express their faith without fears of persecution following,” White told me. “It’s persecution when a godly fire chief loses his job over expressing his Christian faith.”...

Kelvin Cochran was five-years-old when he realized that he wanted to be a firefighter.... God granted Kelvin Cochran the desires of his heart. The little boy in the shotgun shack grew up to become the fire chief of Shreveport. He was named the Atlanta fire chief in 2008 – a position he served until 2009 when was called to serve in the Obama Administration as a fire administrator. In 2010 he returned to Atlanta where he was unanimously confirmed to once again be the city’s fire chief. But now Chief Cochran’s storied career is up in smoke – all because...

<p>TLANTA - Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced Tuesday that he will 'separate' Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran from the department. The Chief was terminated just after noon, Reed said.</p> <p>The announcement came as Cochran scheduled to return to work following a one-month suspension.</p>

Mercedes-Benz USA is expected to announce it will move its headquarters to the Atlanta area from New Jersey, ending a more than 40-year connection to the state where it employs about 1,000 people. The announcement could be made as soon as Tuesday, according to two people briefed on the matter. Mercedes-Benz, a division of Daimler AG DAI, +0.70% , has been based in Montvale, N.J., since 1972. Reports of a possible move first surfaced in December.

<p>The Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency approval for a new diagnostic kit to test blood for the deadly Ebola virus, even as doctors are reporting a survival rate in one hard-hit area that has climbed to about 70 percent.</p>

On the weekend before Christmas, last-minute shoppers descended upon Buckhead to pick up last-minute gifts for their friends and family. And protesters, who in recent weeks have taken to Atlanta's streets over the non-indictments of police officers responsible for the killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in Staten Island, N.Y., decided to stage one of their most disruptive demonstrations yet by shutting down a major intersection near two of Atlanta's biggest shopping centers. Atlanta Police this afternoon arrested more than a dozen protesters who blocked traffic for more than 90 minutes at Peachtree and Lenox roads...

McDonald’s and its franchisees illegally retaliated against employees for participating in union-related activities, the National Labor Relations Board’s top lawyer alleged Friday in a case with sweeping industry implications. NLRB general counsel Richard Griffin announced Friday he will issue 13 complaints involving 78 charges against franchises and McDonald’s USA, LLC. Though many of these alleged labor violations were committed by independent franchise owners, Griffin ruled earlier this year that McDonald’s can be held liable for those actions as a so-called joint employer, leaving the corporatrion — and potentially other franchisors — exposed to such claims. McDonald’s said the decision will...

Who Really Discovered America? Did ancient Hebrews reach the shores of the North and South American continents thousands of years before Christopher Columbus? What evidence is there for Hebrew and Israelite occupation of the Western Hemisphere even a thousand years before Christ? Was trans-Atlantic commerce and travel fairly routine in the days of king Solomon of Israel? Read here the intriguing, fascinating saga of the TRUE DISCOVERERS OF AMERICA! William F. Dankenbring A stone in a dry creek bed in New Mexico, discovered by early settlers in the region, is one of the most amazing archaeological discoveries in the Western...

A U.S. healthcare worker who had been in West Africa and may have been exposed to the Ebola virus is being transferred to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, a hospital spokeswoman said on Wednesday. The patient will be monitored and observed for signs of infection. The hospital said it did not have a time of arrival and was unable to share more details "out of respect for patient privacy and in accordance with the patient's wishes." It did not say where the patient is currently located or when he or she returned to the United States.

(CNN) -- Witnesses are crediting a family's German shepherd with shielding its owners from gunfire in an Atlanta road-rage incident (video also)

Years ago, I encountered a piece in Feminism & Nonviolence Studies entitled “Feminist, Prolife, and Atheist,” by Kathryn Reed. At the time, I had no idea that atheism was in my future. What really stuck with me was not the title, or even the body of the article, but one of the subheadings: “Converting Abortion Clinics To Peacetime Use.” The idea of “peacetime use” has been on my mind a lot lately, as the pro-life movement has seen a record number of abortion businesses close in recent months. On a whim, I thought I’d put together a list showing how...

Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran has been suspended without pay for one month because of authoring a religious book in which he describes homosexuality as a “sexual perversion” akin to bestiality and pederasty. Mayor Kasim Reed’s spokeswoman Anne Torres said the administration didn’t know about “Who Told You That You Are Naked?” until employees came forward with complaints last week. . . . Cochran has been ordered to undergo sensitivity training and has been barred from distributing copies of the book on city property after a number of firefighters said they received them in the workplace.

Janice Mathis with Rainbow Push Coalition says she’s never seen anything like it, nothing so deliberate and focused on a particular incident that was about to happen. According to Mathis, “I’ve seen meetings sort of like this in the aftermath of Jena, or in the aftermath of Trayvon, but I’ve never seen anything like this in preparation for an announcement.” Close to 200 metro Atlanta law men and women, administrators from various jurisdictions, members of clergy and civil rights organizations, along with high school and college students gathered Thursday afternoon inside the chambers of the DeKalb County School Board. They...

Bank Robbery Suspect Who Fatally Shot Himself During Chase Was Former Atlanta Police Lieutenant Police said Dodd was a former lieutenant with the Atlanta police and was visiting Matteson from Georgia Wednesday, Nov 19, 2014 • Updated at 4:05 PM CST A man suspected of robbing a bank Friday morning and leading police on a car chase through the south suburbs before fatally shooting himself has been identified as a former lieutenant with the Atlanta Police Department. Maurice Chester Dodd, 44, died of a gunshot wound to the head and his death was ruled a suicide, according to the Cook...

Jabari Sadler demonstrates the disarm.  You can see the bullet hole in the door. In a home invasion in Atlanta, a father protected his wife and children with a successful disarm of one of the invaders. Multiple people were on separate floors of the three level home when the four invaders broke the door down.  It appears that only one home invader had a gun.  He was left guarding the family on a lower floor while the three other invaders rushed upstairs and gathered TVs, phones, and other valuables. The grandmother was hiding under a bed on the third...

Kellogg’s was a sponsor of the Atlanta Gay Pride March and festival last month. Apparently, Tony the Tiger wants to make sure you and your kids “wear your stripes with pride,” gay pride that is. According to the American Family Association’s (AFA) Facebook page, “[t]hey even put an ad in the ‘Pride Guide.’” Also displayed on the ad is Human Rights Campaign (HRC), who considers Kellogg one of the “BEST PLACES TO WORK,” due to its support "for LGBT Equality."