Free Republic

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Heavy fighting broke out Monday between government supporters and opponents in Lebanon's second-largest city, where the two sides battled with rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns and mortars, security officials and residents said. Residents said they heard strong explosions reverberating through Tripoli. At least six people were wounded, security officials said. The fighting had stopped Sunday morning after Lebanese troops deployed between the two sides, then flared again Monday after soldiers pulled back when the situation calmed. The fresh clashes erupted when pro-government forces thought opponents gathering for a funeral in a nearby neighborhood were preparing a new...

An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale has hit China's Sichuan province. The tremor was felt across the entire region - shaking buildings in the capital, Beijing, as well as the Thai capital, Bangkok, and Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. US Geological Survey said the quake struck 57 miles north-west of the city of Chengdu at 2.29pm local time (6.28am GMT). Some 10 million people live in Chengdu.

The Talk Shows Sunday, May 11th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): David Axelrod, campaign adviser for Obama; Howard Wolfson, campaign adviser for Clinton; actor Ben Stein. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.; Terry McAuliffe, campaign chairman for Hillary Rodham Clinton. THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Carly Fiorina, adviser to John McCain's campaign. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Reps. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; Retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez,...

A tornado that spun across the Oklahoma-Missouri border killed several people as severe storms raked the nation's heart Saturday, taking at least 11 lives, mangling buildings and trapping people in rubble in the storm-weary region. At least six people were killed as the tornado flattened the northeastern Oklahoma town of Picher before the funnel struck about 15 miles away near Seneca, Mo., and killed at least three, authorities said. The death toll in Oklahoma could climb, said state Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten. The tornado in Picher — a depressed and pollution-scarred mining town that many residents had already fled...

One of Barack Obama’s Middle East policy advisers disclosed yesterday that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas – prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him. Robert Malley told The Times that he had been in regular contact with Hamas, which controls Gaza and is listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. Such talks, he stressed, were related to his work for a conflict resolution think-tank and had no connection with his position on Mr Obama’s Middle East advisory council. “I’ve never hidden the fact that in my job with...

Quote: "It is wonderful to be back in Oregon," Obama said. "Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it."

A Via Rail train, carrying more than 260 passengers to Toronto, has been quarantined in Foleyet, Ont. after one person died and several people fell ill. "Currently there are a few people who are seriously ill on the train and one person is being airlifted right now," OPP Sgt. Laura Nichols told CTV.ca from the North Bay Communications Centre. The train was quarantined at the train depot in Foleyet, a community near Sudbury, Ont., after officials notified police that someone was feeling ill. More than 260 people were aboard the train when it stopped in Foleyet. Police believe there are...

YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- Authorities in cyclone-ravaged Myanmar have seized United Nations aid intended for victims of the disaster, a move that "shuts down" future flights from the organization, according to a U.N. World Food Program official. A child sleeps on the floor as cyclone-affected families shelter in a school in western Yangon. 1 of 3more photos » The organization, which insists on distributing its own relief supplies, said the seizure of two aircraft-loads of food, medcine and equipment, has already hit out at Myanmar's refusal to all access to foreign eis workers. "This is another example of them actively...

BAGHDAD, May 9 (Reuters) - A man seized by Iraqi forces in the northern city of Mosul is not Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, a senior U.S. military official said on Friday. "He has not been detained," the official told Reuters, without giving further details.

Excerpt - BEIRUT, May 9 (Reuters) - Hezbollah gunmen took control of large areas of Beirut on Friday in a third day of fighting between the pro-Iranian group and fighters loyal to the U.S.-backed governing coalition. Security sources said at least 10 people had been killed and 20 wounded. The thud of exploding grenades and crackle of automatic gunfire echoed overnight in the worst internal strife since the 1975-90 civil war. Gunmen loyal to Hezbollah forced the pro-government Future News television off the air on Friday, said a senior official at the Beirut station. Future News is owned by Saad...

By Amanda Carpenter Thursday, May 8, 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama flatly promised to raise taxes in a television interview Thursday afternoon. “I will raise CEO taxes,” Obama told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room.” “If you’re a CEO in this country you’ll probably pay more taxes,” Obama said. Obama speculated his CEO tax rates “won’t be prohibitively high, you’ll pay roughly what you did in the 90’s when they were doing fine.” Obama also said he would eliminate the Bush tax cuts and install what he called a “middle class tax cut.” Blitzer asked Obama to define...

Go to the link above for Audio.

DNC Superdelegate Puts His Vote Up For Sale Steven Ybarra Wants $20 Million For His Vote SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CBS13) ― In this tight battle for the Democratic nomination we've heard a lot about the candidates courting superdelegates. But, one superdelegate is courting the candidates. He says he'll sell his vote for a price. A very high price: $20 million. Steven Ybarra of Sacramento says that eight-figure price is peanuts for the presidency.

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Thursday that the Lebanese government had declared war on his Shiite militant group by declaring its private telecommunications network an illegal threat to state security. Nasrallah vowed to fight any attempts to disarm Hezbollah in a speech that hiked tensions already running high after a long-simmering political crisis between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the government erupted into sectarian violence. "Those who try to arrest us, we will arrest them," he said. "Those who shoot at us, we will shoot at them. The hand raised against us, we will cut it off."...

<p>LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Democratic leaders have settled on a plan to give presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton 69 delegates and Barack Obama 59 as a way to get the delegates seated at the national convention.</p> <p>Clinton won the Jan. 15 Michigan primary and was to get 73 delegates under state party rules. Obama was to get 55 delegates.</p>

Clinton says she is in it until a nominee is decided. (also a poll on the page if you wish to freep it).

**DRUDGE EXCLUSIVE 8:59 EM ET**: Senator Clinton has made another multi-million dollar loan to her campaign. She gave $6.4M in the past month and will be giving more... Developing...

Fox News Channel projects Sen. Barack Obama the winner in Tuesday's North Carolina Democrat primary election.

Fox News Channel Prelimary Indiana Result: Hillary 52%, Obama 48%

Senate Republicans are set to announce Wednesday the hardest-hitting package of immigration enforcement measures seen yet -- one that would require jail time for illegal immigrants caught crossing the border, make it harder for them to open bank accounts and compel them to communicate in English when dealing with federal agencies. Most of the bills stand little chance of being debated in the Democrat-controlled Congress, but the move by some of the Senate's leading Republicans underscores how potent the issue of immigration remains, particularly during a presidential election year. The bills give Republicans a way to put pressure on the...

<p>Amid heavy turnout, Republicans appeared to be crossing over in droves today in Marion County and suburban counties, where fewer Republican voters might impact down-ticket primary races.</p>

The official discussion thread for North Carolina's big day - the first time in twenty years NC has mattered in a Presidential primary. Also, several other hotly contested primary races, determining who will face off in November to replace term limited Governor Mike Easley; and some very interesting Congressional races, among them the three-way 11th district race that includes Free Republic's own John Armor. Races are held under run-off rules; if the top vote-getter doesn't reach 40%, the top two vote-getters will face off in June. North Carolinians, let us know what you see/hear at the polls today. Contested primaries:...

Explorer89, a very good friend of MrConfettiMan sent me this information to share. Click on the link above to get the pdf of an internal Goddard newsletter that describes the inscription on a reaction wheel that is going to the moon. Joe (FR's MrConfettiMan) wrote the software for the reaction wheel. Joe's article is on page 9. Since the pdf is a bit grainy, the inscription on the wheel is reproduced below: "The life of Joe Vitale ended far too early, but his work will carry on as the United States Space Program returns to the moon. The software Joe...

Sen. Barack Obama won the endorsement of the Teamsters earlier this year after privately telling the union he supported ending the strict federal oversight imposed to root out corruption, according to officials from the union and the Obama campaign. It's an unusual stance for a presidential candidate. Policy makers have largely treated monitoring of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters as a legal matter left to the Justice Department since an independent review board was set up in 1992 to eliminate mob influence in the union.

An early morning explosion at the federal courthouse in downtown San Diego left a door damaged and blew out a window. Sgt. Bob Dare of the San Diego Police Department says the loud blast occurred at about 1:40 a.m. Sunday. Streets in the area have been closed. No injuries were reported. The explosion is under investigation. FBI Special Agent Darrell Foxworth told a local TV station it appears the explosion may have been caused by a pipe bomb.

The Talk Shows Sunday, May 4th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean; Joe Andrew, former DNC chairman; Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe; Carly Fiorina, adviser to John McCain's campaign. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind.; Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.; Richmond Mayor and former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder. THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.LATE EDITION (CNN) : Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Govs. Mike Easley, D-N.C., and Bill Richardson, D-N.M; Robert Reich, former...

Howard Dean appeared on the Daily Show and said definitively that the Michigan and Florida delegations will be seated. (H/t Scott Jacobs.) The video is here. Representative quotes: STEWART: If I were designing a plan to submarine your chances, and again, you don’t have to follow my advice here, I would take the state that was, let’s say crucial to the Republican election chances — lets, let’s call it Florida — and I would find a way to insult them. Maybe not seat them at the convention, that sort of thing. Then I would pick a Rust Belt state, maybe...

FBI To Address Attacks Dear Pro-Troop Supporters:I have some great news to share with you!! Please also pass along this information to others who will appreciate the good news.As you know there has sadly been an increasing campaign of violence against military recruiting centers across the nation - conducted by anti-military radicals (who are erroneously referred to as "peace activists" by a sympathetic media). We at Move America Forward researched the vast array of these incidents and compiled them together in "The Sedition Report" which we provided to members of Congress and law enforcement.Today Move America Forward's legal team received...

Employers trimmed a less-than-expected 20,000 jobs in April, marking the 4th straight month of losses; unemployment falls to 5%.

Election latest: David Cameron inflicts worst drubbing in 40 years The Conservatives made sweeping gains across the country early today as voters gave Gordon Brown a huge rebuff in his first electoral test as Prime Minister. David Cameron chalked up important successes in the North, the Midlands and the South, securing his top target of Bury in Greater Manchester and taking control of Nuneaton and Bedworth, and Southampton. The Conservatives also took seats in Labour strongholds of Sunderland and Wigan. Labour suffered one of its worst electoral humiliations, with its national share of the vote dropping to 24 or 25...

Northwestern rescinds honorary degree offer to Rev. Wright 21 minutes ago Northwestern University has withdrawn its offer of an honorary degree to the former pastor of Democrat Barack Obama. A university official says the school had offered the Rev. Jeremiah Wright an honorary Doctorate of Sacred Theology. But vice president for university relations Alan Cubbage now says the offer has been rescinded because of the controversy surrounding Wright. He also says the school wants "to ensure that the celebratory character of commencement not be affected." Wright is the former senior minister at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. His...

Jim Robinson is in surgery today and the last thing he needs to be worried about is whether or not the freepathon is going to continue for another day/week/month. In the words of "Larry, The cable guy"... LETS GET 'ER DONE!!

<p>TARPON SPRINGS - Police were called to the home of DC Madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey's mother on Thursday to investigate her apparent suicide.</p> <p>Police have confirmed that the dead person is Palfrey who was 52.</p> <p>Palfrey was dubbed "The DC Madam" by the national media after her arrest for allegedly running an upscale call girl ring in the nation's capitol.</p>

Hawaiian Sovereignty Activists Barricade Iolani Palace An Unknown Amount of State Workers Trapped Inside By Malia Zimmerman, 4/30/2008 9:19:10 AM HONOLULU, HAWAII - Hawaiian sovereignty activists calling themselves the "Hawaiian Kingdom Government" surrounded Iolani Palace this morning, refusing to let state employees either enter or exit the historical site, saying the palace and surrounding grounds are property of the "Hawaiian Kingdom." An unknown amount of state employees who work in the state archives division were trapped inside this morning, according to Russ Saito, head of the Department of Accounting and General Services, but since were allowed to leave, his office...

Fed Cuts Rate, Signals Pause Ahead By BRIAN BLACKSTONE and HENRY J. PULIZZI April 30, 2008 2:32 p.m. WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve lowered its key interest rate by one-quarter percentage point but also signaled the seven-month easing cycle may be coming to an end. The cut, the seventh since September, was modest by recent standards, reflecting upward pressure on inflation from higher food and energy prices and the weak dollar. Those trends suggest further rate cuts might do more harm than good in the months ahead. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 8-2 to lower its target for the...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. federal appeals court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by New York City against gun makers and suppliers the city targeted in a bid to stop the flow of illegal weapons. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the city's claims against the manufacturers and wholesale sellers of firearms, saying a federal law granted them immunity. The decision overturns a lower court ruling.

The man who is the subject of a regionwide manhunt after allegedly killing a Texas state trooper was once a peace officer himself. Records with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education show the man wanted for the shooting death of trooper James Scott Burns, 39, of Linden during a high speed chase Tuesday night is a former lawman in Rusk County.

The government reports that the economy grew 0.6% in the 1st quarter, the same rate as in the 4th quarter of 2007.

A second American aircraft carrier steamed into the Persian Gulf Tuesday as the Pentagon ordered military commanders to develop new options for attacking Iran. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports that the planning is being driven by what one officer called the "increasingly hostile role" Iran is playing in Iraq - smuggling weapons into Iraq for use against American troops.

Live NOW on FOX, CNN, and MSNBC! The Holy Messiah Obama is throwing Rev, Wright under the Bus!!

WASHINGTON - Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Monday that either Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama must drop out of the Democratic presidential race after the June primaries in order to unify the party by the convention and win the election in November. But Dean didn't say which candidate should drop out, only that it should happen after primary voters have been to the polls. "We want the voters to have their say. That's over on June 3," Dean said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America." Dean also said that while the party rules say Democratic superdelegates...

Mary Anastasia O'Grady writes in today's Wall Street Journal that George Soros's Open Society Institute has been funding terrorism. In a column entitled Friends of Terror in Peru, O'Grady notes that Thursday's vote by the European Parliament to take the Peruvian guerrilla group known as the Tupac Amaru (aka MRTA) off its terrorist list has Peru in an uproar. For good reason: The MRTA is notorious for kidnapping, torturing and murdering civilians to advance its political agenda. More recently, Peruvian officials have linked it to Hugo Chávez's "Bolivarian Movement," which seeks to destabilize democracies in Latin America, and to the...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled that states can require voters to produce photo identification without violating their constitutional rights. The decision validates Republican-inspired voter ID laws. The court vote 6-3 to uphold Indiana's strict photo ID requirement. Democrats and civil rights groups say the law would deter poor, older and minority voters from casting ballots.

Event Name: Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright Event Date: Apr. 28, 2008 Event Type: NPC Breakfast Time: 8:30 AM Sponsored by: Speakers Committee Event Location: Ballroom Details: The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., senior pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, will discuss the role of faith in the public square in a presentation entitled, The African American Religious Experience; Theology & Practice, at a National Press Club breakfast on April 28th. Dr. Wright will also talk about his pastorate, his development as a theologian and teacher, and the how the issues of social justice and global...

Jeremiah Wright speaking live now. Fascinating. You can also get it live streaming from CNN

The Talk Shows Sunday, April 27th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. FACE THE NATION (CBS): David Axelrod, campaign adviser for Barack Obama; Howard Wolfson, campaign adviser for Hillary Rodham Clinton; Roger Mudd, author of a book on CBS news. THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind.; former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D.; Reps. Artur Davis, D-Ala., and Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y; Rep....

We're down to the last $13k or so in this FReepathon! If you haven't made your donation yet, today would be a great day to do so. Click the secure server link above and let's git 'er done!! Mail-in donors: If you haven't sent in your check yet, please drop it into the mail today. There's still time to get it in for the 'thon. Your checks always make this part of the fundraisers go faster. Your donations are greatly appreciated!! Our mailing address is: Free Republic, LLC PO Box 9771 Fresno, CA 93794 ALL: If you are considering making...

Just happening now.

A vessel contracted by the Navy in the Persian Gulf fired warning shots Thursday on two Iranian fast boats, FOX News has learned. The Westward Venture, a ship contracted by the Navy to carry military cargo to Kuwait, fired upon the boats Thursday after attempts to get Iranian boats' attention failed. The ship was about 50 miles off the coast of Iran when the fast boats approached. A Navy security team, armed with M16 rifles and .50-caliber machine guns, was onboard at the time the warning shots were fired.