Free Republic

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Thirteen-year-old Lilly Carriere loves art and sometimes, even homework. She's also an advocate for transgender rights and followed the debate over bills at the statehouse related to LGBTQ issues. "I didn't know like this was actually Iowa and this was going to happen at first. But when it became more real, I started to get into what is happening," Lilly said. For her, what comes out of these discussions matter because Lilly started the transition from male to female last year. "It's a really nice thing having supportive people in my life," Lilly said. Since...

The former chief rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, has died aged 72 about a month after being diagnosed with cancer, a spokesman for his office has confirmed. He died in the early hours of Saturday morning, the spokesman said. Lord Sacks was a prolific writer and regularly contributed to radio and TV programmes such as BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Elaine Taylor, their three children and several grandchildren.

Eddie Sutton, the first college basketball coach to lead four different schools to the NCAA tournament, died on Saturday, his family said in a statement. He was 84. Sutton's family said he passed away at home in Tulsa, Oklahoma, due to natural causes, surrounded by his sons and their families. His wife of 54 years, Patsy, died in 2013. Sutton -- a four-time National Coach of the Year -- was one of nine honorees to be elected to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in April. He will be inducted posthumously, along with legend Kobe Bryant, on August 29. His...

The United States was born in a revolt against the tyranny of King George III. The Constitution was designed to prevent tyranny through a system of checks and balances, but in President Trump's America, those safeguards are failing. Donald Trump holds the grandiose belief that only he should rule America. Unchecked by cowed or complicit Republicans in Congress, Trump invokes executive authority to alter policies and practices long established by law and treaty. Days after his summit meeting with Vladimir Putin, no one knows what the two autocrats agreed to, or even talked about -- not the President's top aides,...

When the San Diego Padres played the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, the game was far from exciting to some people. Padres fans watched the Braves completely pummel the home team, winning 14-1. But if things were seeming predictable, that changed when a foul ball flew into the stands. The Braves' Ender Inciarte hit the foul high into the stands, where a woman named Gabby DiMarco sat, casually sipping her beer, CBS Sports reports. She was shocked when the ball flew her way, and she caught it right in her beer cup. But that amazing feat wasn't the end of it....

Oklahoma lawmakers on Thursday passed two anti-abortion bills. The Oklahoma Legislature passed a bill that would make performing an abortion a felony punishable by up to three years in prison. The Center for Reproductive Rights says the measure is the first of its kind in the nation. The bill also would restrict any physician who performs an abortion from obtaining or renewing a license to practice medicine in Oklahoma. It was drafted by State Senate Candidate Paul Blair. "A doctor cannot intentionally break his Hippocratic oath and intentionally try to kill that unborn child and retain his license to practice...

“I love you” works for most couples, but it was just too long to type at the end of messages Dana Landis would send to her new spouse, Tamara Landis-Waldridge. So they shorted the note of affection to “Italy,” which they say stands for “I’ll truly always love you.” There were plenty of shouts of “Italy” on Wednesday at Davenport’s Vander Veer Botanical Park conservatory. The two wanted to get married on Dec. 12, 2012, and their wish came true. Dana Landis and Tamara Landis-Waldridge, both 42, made the four-hour trek from their home in South Bend, Ind., to get...

McAlester, Oklahoma -- A man convicted of killing his wife in Tulsa in 1996 was put to death by lethal injection Thursday evening at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Timothy Stemple has been on death row for 16 years. Stemple confessed to and was convicted of beating Trisha Stemple, 30, with a baseball bat, then running over her on the side of highway 75 near Jenks. The execution was carried out at the state prison in McAlester after Gov. Mary Fallin denied a request by the condemned man's family to stay the capital punishment. 3/13/2012 Related Story: Anti-Death Penalty...

DES MOINES — The leader of the Senate Republicans is pushing to reinstate a limited death penalty in Iowa for any adult who kills a minor in the commission of a rape or kidnapping. But Democrats say it’s a political ploy to interject a distracting social issue during a session focused on job creation and reforming the state’s property tax, education and mental-health systems. Senate GOP Leader Jerry Behn of Boone introduced the death-penalty measure this session as he has done in previous years. He says it is a way to deter perpetrators of Class A felonies in Iowa from...

Women Are Equal ... an attempt to resurrect ERA.

A 10-year-old Arkansas boy named Will Phillips has decided that he cannot in good conscience pledge allegiance to the flag as long as the country for which it stands refuses legal equality to its LGBT citizens. The West Fork School District fifth grade student clashed with a substitute teacher for his refusal to stand for the pledge, prompting a call to Will’s mother, Laura Phillips. When the principal acknowledged that Will has the right to refuse to say the pledge, Ms. Phillips asked that her son receive an apology — a request that the principal declined to honor. Laura Phillips...