Free Republic

Wal-Mart closures have citizens concerned. Jade Helm 15 is set to kick off in seven states this summer, sending Special Operations forces from all four main branches of the military onto civilian soil to conduct hostile take-over training – and civil-rights advocates are sounding the alarms. ... The looming Jade Helm exercise, set for July 15 through Sept. 15, labels Texas and Utah as hostile areas. Global Research also reported the military says New Mexico “isn’t much friendlier.” Other states participating: California, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada. Some of the social media commentary so far: “The Pentagon’s ‘Operations Jade Helm 15′:...

While the administration struggles to move forward with its plan to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants, the list of foreigners trying to get into the United States legally has surged to 4.4 million, over 100,000 more than last year, according to the State Department. Those on the list either have a family member who is a U.S. citizen or green card holder, sponsoring their entry, or an employer wants them. The list grew by 100,085 over last year. And more than a quarter of them, 1,323,978, are Mexican. ... unlike illegals slipping over the border, many of those on the...

Senior Republican Sen. John McCain blasted Pentagon officials on Friday for dramatically downplaying the role of Ramadi as the key Iraqi city stood on the brink of being taken over by ISIS. "Disregarding the strategic importance of Ramadi is a denial of reality and an insult to the families of hundreds of brave young Americans who were killed and wounded during the Surge fighting to free Ramadi from the grip of Al-Qaeda," McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a written statement released by his office, which was later joined onto by Repbulican Sen. Lindsey Graham. McCain,...

FORT HUACHUCA — The death of 6 million Jews and millions of others was partially the fault of untold others who remained silent as Nazis and their supporters went on a murderous campaign from 1933 to 1945. That was the message sent by those who spoke at Fort Huachuca’s annual Days of Remembrance ceremony, during which horrors of the Holocaust were recalled.

PHOENIX - Five adults were found dead inside a north Phoenix home after a shooting Thursday in a suspected dispute about the family's business, police said. Phoenix police said a dispatcher received an "unknown trouble" call around 2 p.m. and then heard gunshots in the background. The names and ages of the three men and two women weren't immediately released. But police said the three men were brothers and the dead women apparently were the men's mother and a wife of one of the brothers. Police said a gun was found next to one of the men who had a...

PHOENIX -- Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed legislation Monday that would have allowed county attorneys to refuse to help with adoptions, setting the stage for a legal fight over whether gays have the same right to assistance as heterosexuals.

Arizona Police RAm Suspect.. Police Hit Suspect Mario Valencia With Car Dash Cam Video Dashcam video shows Arizona cop car ramming armed suspect TUCSON, Ariz. -- Police in Arizona released video from a dashboard camera showing how a police officer used his cruiser to put an end to a crime spree in February, CBS affiliate KOLD-TV in Tucson reported.

FORT HUACHUCA — April is a special month for the Army as it celebrates the most precious and youngest of its soldiers — the children of those enlisted — especially considering that often GI parents and their kids are separated by the needs of military. Saturday, the Thunder Mountain Activity Centre on Fort Huachuca and the grounds outside were turned over to the young as a place for them to cavort, to play games, and to...

PHOENIX -- An Arizona legislator said she's formally exploring a possible primary challenge to Sen. John McCain, a fellow Republican and five-term incumbent. State Sen. Kelli Ward said in Monday's announcement that she wanted to provide a "new, positive, principled voice for Arizona in Washington" and that she's received strong encouragement to run in 2016.

A judge sentenced convicted murderer Jodi Arias to life in prison without the possibility of parole Monday, for the murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander. The decision by Judge Sherry Stephens was largely a formality after a jury deadlocked last month on whether to give Arias the death penalty or life in prison. The mistrial removed the death penalty as an option. The only decision left was whether the judge would allow the 34-year-old Arias to be eligible for release after 25 years. She declined to do that, meaning Arias will spend the rest of her life in prison.

Two of the country’s most powerful and politically influential labor unions are backing President Obama in the recent court challenge to his 2014 executive action on illegal immigration, saying they support the president’s effort because "undocumented workers" need more workplace protection and their participation helps the U.S. economy. The AFL-CIO and the National Education Association on Monday each filed so-called amicus briefs in a federal appeals court case in which Texas and 26 other states are challenges the president’s 2014 memorandum on illegal immigration. The memorandum essentially expands work authorization and delayed-deportation programs for illegal immigrants. And it provides similar...

Government documents obtained by a top "Inside the Beltway" watchdog group and released on Thursday reveal that Internal Revenue Service's Lois Lerner was strongly urged by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, and Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, her assistance in attacking certain non-profit political groups. The organizations they selected for targeting by Lerner were part of the Tea Party and conservative movements. Newly released documents revealed that Sen. Levin (left) and Sen. McCain both urged the IRS to target conservative groups in the wake of the Citizens United decision. The group that investigates and exposes government corruption, Judicial Watch, released newly acquired...

Officers wanted to question them about the alleged assault of a Walmart employee who was going into the store bathroom. The police were accompanied by another Walmart employee. ... Several times on the video the group appears to surrender, but starts fighting again. The melee goes for several minutes until backup officers arrive and make arrests. Police charged four members of the family with assaulting an officer and resisting arrest. Two minors were also taken into custody and are being held at a juvenile detention facility.

Much-anticipated challenger to U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), state Senator Kelli Ward (R-Lake Havasu City) announced early Thursday that she is officially exploring a 2016 run for the U.S. Senate. Ward supporters have been strongly encouraging state Senator and military wife Ward to run. In a message to supporters, Ward relayed, “I am receiving huge support from the grassroots.”

SIERRA VISTA — A number of city leaders from both sides of the international border will gather in Sierra Vista this week to discuss a range of issues that affect their communities and how they can work together to best address them. On Friday, the Border Mayors’ Coalition will host a number of guest speakers with an eye on economic development, including Lea Marquez-Peterson, the president and CEO of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “I will be discussing the growing importance of the Hispanic community in the State of Arizona and the opportunity for Arizona businesses in Sonora,” Marquez-Peterson...

FORT HUACHUCA — This southern Arizona Army post is one of two military installations chosen to use special funds to conserve land in and around the fort as part of a multiple federal agency program called Sentinel Landscapes. The program involves federal, state, private and non-profit groups, which have committed more than $25 million in funding to support the two military installations to conserve and restore habitat, implement conservation practices and strengthen local economies, according to a Wednesday news release by the Departments of Agriculture, Defense and Interior. Within the Fort Huachuca Sentinel Landscape, the U.S. Forest Service, Natural Resources...

A provision in a new Arizona law requiring doctors to tell women that their abortion may be reversible has made national headlines, incited outrage from abortion-rights groups, and sparked heated criticism from the medical community. An almost identical provision in an Arkansas law signed this week by Gov. Asa Hutchinson has not seen much media coverage. Even the man who has pioneered the idea of abortion reversals—Dr. George Delgado—said he hadn't heard of the Arkansas law until National Journal informed him of it during a phone interview. Delgado, medical director of Culture of Life Family Services in San Diego, has...

Topping off the day of his Senate re-election bid announcement, Senator John McCain joined Fox’s Greta Van Susteren, taking the opportunity to emphasize national security issues and express his support of Senator Lindsey Graham for president. McCain has recently expressed that he expects to face a primary challenger for the Senate seat in the 2016 primary.

Justice: A Marine veteran has been held captive in Iran since August 2011, when he was taken prisoner while visiting family and charged with spying. Does President Obama hear his plea for unconditional freedom? With the exception of deserters like Bowe Bergdahl, those who put on a uniform and serve their country seem like afterthoughts to this administration, if they're thought of at all. Just ask Andrew Tahmooressi, the Marine sergeant allowed to languish 214 days in a Mexican jail for the crime of missing a highway exit. Or now, Amir Hekmati of Flagstaff, Ariz., a Marine vet who sits...

“There are few Republicans who have betrayed our conservative principles more than John McCain,” SCF President Ken Cuccinelli said in an email to supporters Tuesday of the party's 2008 nominee for president. “John McCain lost his way a long time ago and it's time to replace him with a strong conservative leader who will support and defend the Constitution.”