Free Republic

He picked the wrong guy to mess with. A drunken Queens man went berserk after he couldn’t get an ATM to work at a gas station early yesterday and was killed when he turned his rage to the attendant — a former competitive kickboxer. “I feel bad. I didn’t mean for the guy to die. He called me a Taliban,” said Jasjeet Walia, who was released from custody last night after being grilled by cops all day. “I feel like throwing up. I’m having a bad headache,” said Walia, an amateur kickboxer for seven years in his native Mumbai. Arzeno...

Special Prosecutor Angela Corey's office today released 76 new pages of evidence in the George Zimmerman second-degree murder case, including dozens of pages of records the state did not intend to make public. The new documents included a grainy photo depicting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin's body, George Zimmerman's school records, from high school and Seminole State College, and his application for the Seminole County sheriff's Citizens Law Enforcement Academy.

Came across this Virtual Career Fair aimed towards folks wanting a job in the Intelligence field. Sorry it's last minute, the online fair is Tuesday, March 6 from 2pm to 8pm, but it looks pretty organized and even promises online recruiters for one-on-ones.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A woman shot and killed a home invader after he opened fire and shot her in the arm, according the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Deputies in Apopka said two armed men broke into a garage of a home on 18th Street and Leroy Court at about 12:30 a.m. on Friday and demanded money from the woman's boyfriend, Lionel Griffin.

APOPKA, Fla. -- A man attempted to commit suicide at the Shoot Straight gun range in Apopka on Thursday afternoon, Apopka police said. The man survived the self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. The man’s identity was not immediately released. In June, a man walked into the Casselberry Shoot Straight location and took his life, police said. Casselberry police said an Altamonte Springs man walked in and waited until there was only one other customer inside. Tommy McWilliams then sent his mother a goodbye text message and told her he loved her before shooting himself. (Video at link)

Republicans block youth immigration bill AP WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans on Saturday doomed an effort that would have given hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants a path to legal status if they enrolled in college or joined the military. Sponsors of the Dream Act fell five votes short of the 60 they needed to break through largely GOP opposition and win its enactment before Republicans take over the House and narrow Democrats' majority in the Senate next month.

ORANGE CO., Fla. -- Both the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Orlando police are investigating a traffic stop involving a UCF professor who accused officers of discriminating against her. The same professor has made public statements in the past about racial profiling. While there was no comment from the police department itself, the university is calling this an "urgent matter." Dr. Jennifer Vest is a multi-racial, distinguished philosophy professor at the University Of Central Florida. She writes poetry about discrimination and she's an activist for gay rights. "Everywhere I go there's somebody who's got a problem with me racially,...

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca, U.S. Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. Few combat commanders will deny the importance of reconnaissance to the success of tactical operations. The opposing force (OPFOR) at the National Training Center (NTC) will attest that the success of any visiting unit operation depends largely on the success of the "Blue" force's (BLUFOR) division and regimental reconnaissance teams. Military Intelligence (MI) soldiers--in particular military occupational specialty 98G (Cryptologic Linguist) and MOS 96R...

ORLANDO, Fla -- Fishermen will be prohibited from catching red snapper and some other snapper and grouper species in the southeast Atlantic in a nearly 5,000-square-mile zone off the coasts of Georgia and Florida under a measure passed by a federal fisheries management council Wednesday. Members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council voted 9-4 in favor of the ban which supporters hope eventually will restore the red snapper's population over the next three decades. Opponents, though, doubt studies showing that the population is overfished and said Florida fishermen already have been squeezed by restrictions in the Gulf of Mexico...

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- Federal officials just extended a ban on red snapper fishing off the east coast of Florida, but not everyone knows about the extension. The ban was originally set to expire June 2 after six months, but now it will be in place through December. A lot of people who work in the commercial and recreational fishing industries get bulletins that update them on changes to fishing regulations, but the feds never sent one saying the snapper ban had been extended. William Golding said he has gotten call after call from people wondering if the red snapper...

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. -- Once daylight broke, search teams began a third full day of searching for a missing 11-year old autistic girl in Winter Springs. Police told Eyewitness News they are not giving up hope that they will find Nadia Bloom okay. The search for her has been going on since Friday afternoon when Nadia disappeared from the Barrington Estates neighborhood.

OCOEE, Fla. -- When two gunmen tried to break into an Ocoee house early Tuesday morning, the homeowner pulled out his gun and shot one of the men dead. Another robber ran off after the home invasion on Pomegranate Court. WFTV gathered new information Tuesday afternoon about the shooter and the robber.

Greeter Terminated For 'Gross Misconduct' PALM BAY, Fla. -- A Walmart greeter who was shown on video getting punched by a customer has been fired. Ed Bauman, 69, said the act of defending himself cost him his job. Bauman went into Walmart hoping to get back to work for the first time since police said he was punched by a customer. Instead, Bauman said he was fired. His termination notice called the incident an act of "gross misconduct" and accused Bauman of fighting with a customer. "They told me I did a good job of defending myself," said Bauman. "Then...

OCOEE, Fla. -- Ocoee police are still searching for the gunman who ambushed a business owner and shot his wife near their home off Lake Johio Road late Tuesday night. Investigators told Eyewitness News the suspected shooter waited until the victims arrived at the front gate of the Willows on the Lake subdivision in Ocoee and tried to rob them of their bank deposit bag. Ocoee police could not track down the suspect with their dogs or helicopter, but they believe surveillance cameras at several nearby businesses and at the Chase Bank next to the subdivision's entrance may have captured...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- It was an Internet romance and it led to an attempted murder and a suicide in Orlando. Police say a woman, scorned by a man she thought was her online lover, showed up at his Middlebrook Pines Apartment (see map) late Sunday night with a handgun. The man survived the shooting, but then the shooter killed herself. Paula Harris, 30, drove all the way from the Atlanta, Georgia area, according to investigators, and checked into the Holiday Inn at Universal Boulevard and Sand Lake Road (see map), just over four miles from 44-year-old Andre Barboza's Orlando apartment....

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- An Orange County man caught two burglars breaking into his house, so he pulled out his gun and shot them both Tuesday night. One of the burglars was killed and the other is in critical condition. The deceased burglar was identified as 17-year-old Brandon Martinez. Deputies say the owner of the house on Rubens Court (see map) won't be arrested. They say he did nothing wrong. The homeowner, along with his brother and son, had just gotten home from work when he confronted the burglars Tuesday night. They had already ransacked his house and even tried...

(CBS) As members of Congress debate a "public option" for health care coverage, they remain safe and secure in their own generous health plan. CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports it's subsidized by millions of your tax dollars annually. The government doesn't even keep track the total cost. What exactly does Congress get? Sen. Lindsey Graham agreed to show CBS News first hand, flashing his Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance card. Blue Cross Blue Shield is one of five plans offered to members of Congress. Most Americans, 74 percent are offered only one plan - if their employer offers insurance...

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- The debate over health care reform got rowdy again Tuesday, this time in Brevard County. The legislation in front of Congress right now has led to a lot of angry debates across the country. Tuesday, the AARP tried to answer questions from some angry residents there. They all came here to be heard and, with no other public forum offered by congressional leaders in Brevard County, they turned to the AARP to demand answers. "Why wouldn't AARP insist the government fix Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security before we discuss anything?" one attendee asked. More than...

ZHUKOVSKY, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - President Barack Obama has banned U.S. Air Force planes from participating in MAKS-2009 air show in Russia citing the ongoing economic crisis, the show organizer said on Friday. "Eight U.S. aircraft were originally set to be showcased at MAKS and two more to participate in demonstration flights. But the U.S. president's last-minute decision was not to send the planes, which is due to economic, rather than political, reasons," said Vladimir Borisov of the Aviasalon firm. Earlier reports said over 711 companies, including 465 Russian firms, will participate in the biennial air show outside Moscow...

PALM BAY, Fla. -- Police shot a dog Thursday while responding to a domestic disturbance in Palm Bay. Officers, with guns drawn, approached a house on Geary Street. That's when a pit bull charged at officers. Officers say they were forced to open fire. "I myself fired a bean bag, less lethal round, hitting the pit bull in the head. The other officer fired a 9-mm, hitting the pit bull in the right rear leg," explained Sgt. Don Smith, Palm Bay Police Department. The dog survived the shots. Police took the dog, along with two others, into custody. Police also...

MELBOURNE BEACH, Fla. -- The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says officers caught suspected wildlife cop shooter, Christopher Eddy, Friday evening in Melbourne Beach. Eddy, 23, is suspected of shooting veteran Fish and Wildlife Officer Vann Streety at least six times, during a traffic stop in a rural area in west Cocoa. Investigators tracked Eddy down in a wooded area on A1A, in Melbourne Beach after he tried to steal a car. Eddy admitted his crime to Eyewitness News as he was being handcuffed. “It was just unjust the way they treated me, because they pulled me over and they...

LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- A couple fought back against two bold intruders in their Lee County Home. The homeowner and his fiancee, a retired coast guard officer and a former maximum security prison guard, said they woke up in their home early Monday morning to find a gun pointed in their faces. The couple took action and fought back against the two intruders. The homeowner even managed to get the crook's gun. "At that point I was going to take his life and he begged for his life, ''I don't want to die, I don't want to die, please don't...

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- A man was shot and killed outside a home near Altamonte Springs early Friday morning. Deputies say he was trying to break into a home on S. Magnolia Avenue when someone inside shot him. Investigators say at approximately 4:00am on Friday, a woman was awakened by a loud, pounding sound coming from the front door of her home. She woke up her husband to let him know what she heard and asked him to go check on what was happening. "Yes someone's just tried to break down my front door," said the caller to the 911...

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- A child rapist who admitted to preying on nearly 20 children is now a free man. Kareem Merthe was released during a hearing in Seminole County Friday morning. His mother collapsed outside the courtroom and later died. Officials say his mother went outside to get some fresh air when she collapsed. The 26-year-old preacher's son had been locked up for nine years and as a young teen, Merthe admitted to preying on children as young as 4 years old. He told investigators he raped them at his father's church in Sanford. Kareem Merthe had nothing to...

A self-described aspiring rapper confessed to robbing a convenience store Friday night and shooting a clerk in the temple with a BB gun in a misguided effort to gain "street credibility" for his career in Gainesville hip-hop, according to police. Steven Gilmore Jr., 21, was arrested in his Gainesville Place Apartment, at 2800 S.W. 35th Place, after a tip led police to his home. Gilmore confessed to the Friday night robbery and to a robbery last week of Hungry Howie's restaurant, police said. Police also arrested Gilmore's accomplice, a 16-year-old who police said served as a lookout for the Friday...

POLK COUNTY, Fla. -- A Polk County man caught two thieves on his property so he pulled out a gun and started shooting, killing one suspect. The homeowner, Jamie Jones, was working in his Winter Haven orange grove Tuesday morning when he heard a noise. Jones says he grabbed his gun and saw a man and woman trying to drive away in his SUV Land Cruiser. Jones yelled at them to stop, but the driver tried to run him over so he started shooting. The Polk County sheriff said Jones had a right to protect himself. "The word to the...

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- Eyewitness News has learned that the Shoot Straight Gun Range will no longer be renting out guns at any of its Florida locations. According to Casselberry Police, 26-year old Jason McCarthy of Winter Springs rented a gun then shot himself in the head at the Casselberry location on Monday evening. The Shoot Straight Gun Range is the same place where a woman shot and killed her son and then herself earlier this month.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- An Orange County man was arrested Thursday night after he allegedly attempted to kidnap a 9-year-old girl who was playing with friends in her neighborhood. Marcus Younge, 23, was booked into jail, but was released on $5,000 bond Friday morning. The girl's mother says Younge tried to grab her daughter while she was playing outside near Pershing Avenue and Goldenrod Road in Orlando. The girl told investigators that she was playing hid and seek with neighborhood friends when an unknown black male came out of nowhere, grabbed her by the wrist and tried to pick her...

CASSELBERRY, Fla. -- A mother shot and killed her son, and then herself, inside a Casselberry Gun Range Sunday afternoon, according to police. When Casselberry police arrived at the Shoot Straight Gun Range on South U.S. Highway 17-92 (see map) just after 4:00pm, they found two people had been shot in an apparent murder-suicide. Police identified the man as 20-year-old Mitchel Moore. The shooter, his mother, was identified as 44-year-old Marie Moore. Eyewitnesses said the pair was acting strangely and then the woman ran out of the room to get more ammunition. When she returned, eyewitnesses said, she shot her...

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. -- A Seminole County woman remained in jail Monday morning, after being accused of attempting to kill her own husband and then trying to cover up the crime. Deputies were called to the couple's Winter Springs home after a report of a home invasion early Sunday morning. Police have since charged Kimberly Boone, 44, with attempted murder in the first-degree. At approximately 5:45am, deputies responded to 714 Boysenberry Ct, in Winter Springs, regarding a call of a possible residential burglary with shots fired. Upon arrival deputies found 41-year-old Robert Boone in the bedroom with a gunshot wound...

Four women, accused of flashing bar patrons at "The Barn," in Sanford, were arrested after attending a "Girls Gone Wild" party on Thursday. Of the over one-thousand attendees, Joyce Lourcey, of Middleburg, Kathryn Giannobile, of Sanford, Christine Goncalves and Migdalia Rodriguez, both of Deltona, were hauled-off in handcuffs for indecent exposure. “Sanford had a strict nudity law and anyone that violated it with any type of flashing would be arrested,” said Cleo Cohen from the Sanford Police Department. Nudity is strictly prohibited in Sanford. "The Barn" owner, Eric Tims, posted signs about the town ordinance, but despite that, the women...

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- New information released Friday reveal disturbing details about the murder of a retired police officer who disappeared from his home in Palm Bay. Paul Cadigan's dismembered body was discovered off a rural road in Osceola County on February 8. On Friday, Dianne Parker was jailed for his murder. She is expected to make her first appearance in court on Saturday. Investigators told Eyewitness News the victim died of multiple gunshot wounds and then was dismembered and scattered along at least two different rural roads in Osceola County. Parker, 55, is accused of a crime fit for...

OCOEE, Fla. -- An eyewitness saw a robber brutally beating a store clerk in Ocoee, so he pulled a gun out of his car at the Kangaroo gas station on Franklin Street (see map) and fatally shot the robber. That witness talked to Eyewitness News about his decision to pull the trigger and said he'd shoot that robber again if he had to (watch full interview). He's a regular at the store and said he was coming to buy some cigarettes when he heard the clerk screaming. He told Eyewitness News he not only grabbed his cell phone to call...

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- The remains of a young child were located in east Orange County on Thursday morning less than a half-mile from Casey Anthony's parents' home, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Eyewitness News has learned an Orange County water meter reader discovered a bag in the area of Chickasaw Trail and Suburban Drive (see map), around three-tenths of a mile from the Anthonys' home (map from location to Anthonys' home). According to information obtained by Eyewitness News, when the meter reader picked up the bag a skull fell out. The Orange County Sheriff's Office has confirmed...

A Republican party official says U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida will not seek a second term in 2010. The official said Martinez was scheduled to make the announcement at a Tuesday morning press conference in Orlando. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make the announcement. Martinez was elected in 2004 after serving as the U.S. secretary for Housing and Urban Development for President George W. Bush.

OCALA, Fla. -- The owners of an Ocala business are accused of taking a racist swipe at president-elect Barack Obama. The NAACP of Florida calls the message on the company's marquee "horrific" and "insensitive." Last year, the same fence company and auto shop was accused of using its sign to ridicule people with disabilities. What they've posted now, some call free speech and others call an outrage. "That's like racist right there," one resident told Eyewitness News. "Why do they feel like they have the right to just put it out there. There's kids that come by here. There's...

NAPLES — A group of children and parents were trick or treating when witnesses say a black Hyundai drove through the crowd, nearly striking one of the children. One of the parents yelled at the driver to slow down. The driver stopped her car and exited the vehicle holding a three-foot long crow bar. Witnesses say the suspect began swinging the crow bar at the group violently. The suspect struck a parent on the forehead with the crow bar and then drove away quickly. Witnesses were able to jot down the license plate number. The suspect and her vehicle were...

Can't recall the last vanity I've done but I thought this was funny/interesting enough to post one now.

When he heard the name connected to the story – the one about the college kid who allegedly "hacked" his way into a personal e-mail account for Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin – Tracey McDaniels was not surprised. There was, after all, a history there. "He did the same kind of thing when he went to school here," said McDaniels, a history teacher at Eastern Hills Middle School. "He and another kid found a way to get onto the school's server – they just sat down and figured out the password." A taste of things to come for...

Local elections officials are looking into potential election fraud and some of the information is pointing to a Democratic-leaning voter's group. ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations For Reform Now, has been registering thousands of new voters for this year's election, but in Seminole County, some voter applications are being withheld until it's proven they're legitimate. Election fraud is a felony, but first it has to be proven and someone has to be charged. So far, elections officials said they are just beginning to gather clues in this case. Seminole County's elections supervisor is holding up dozens of voter registration...

Governor Palin about to speak at rally in Florida. Here is a live stream from an Orlando station

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A controversial billboard in Orange County has a picture of the burning World Trade Center and the message, "Please Don't Vote for a Democrat." The man who paid for the ad says he's trying to help Republicans, but officials with both political parties are calling the billboard inappropriate. There are billboards up and down busy Orange Blossom Trail, but this at John Young Parkway (see map) one sticks out. "Just looking at it, I'm not thinking about Democrat or Republican, I'm thinking about the twin towers and all the people killed," resident Mary Anderson told Eyewitness...

Catholics consider the consecrated wafer, the Eucharist, among the most sacred objects in the world and believe it becomes the 'Body of Christ' through transubstantiation. Student Government Senator Webster Cook filed the hazing charges with University of Central Florida administrators shortly after he admitted violating church rules by bringing the Eucharist home from Mass on June 29, then holding it hostage for one week in a plastic bag before returning it. Cook said his hazing complaint cited a UCF anti-hazing policy banning the forced consumption of any food in which the initiation or admission into or affiliation with a University...

A 13-year-old girl's sexual shenanigans have put a second man behind bars. Morris Williams, 22, told the judge he thought the girl was 18-years-old, but he found out Tuesday that ignorance is not a defense. Morris Williams' mother wailed as he went off to jail. The judge asked for media not to show 13-year-old Alisha Dean's face in court, but her pictures are all over her MySpace page and they portray a sexy, 19-year-old divorced woman. "She told me she had just turned 18," Williams said. Williams said Dean picked him up on the street and after a few conversations...

MARION COUNTY, Fla. -- A Marion County man who opened fire on his wife bought the shotgun used in the crime just hours earlier at a nearby Wal-Mart. He didn't have to wait to get the gun. He passed a mandatory background check in the store and walked right out with it. The man then went back into the store and bought some shotgun shells. Detectives said he then went home and murdered his wife. Cheryl Schleher heard a knock at the door Monday night around 11 o'clock. It was her neighbor, Johnny High. "My husband went out there and...

MARION COUNTY, Fla. -- A man who kidnapped and molested a Marion County boy choked to death in prison. Frederick Fretz died at a federal prison in Atwater, California after choking on a hot dog. In 2005, Fretz kidnapped 11-year-old Adam Kirkirt from Dunellon Elementary School. At the time, he told Kirkirt he was going to take him to his father, who had been arrested in Kentucky. Fretz and the child were later found in Georgia.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Florida's citrus growers are reporting only minor damage as the state thaws out from an overnight cold snap, even as snow flurries fall in parts of the Sunshine State. The National Weather Service says temperatures dropped into the 20s across north Florida, including parts of the Panhandle. The lowest temperature recorded was 20 degrees in Cross City, about 90 miles southeast of Tallahassee. A serious freeze would have been devastating to the state's citrus industry, already struggling from years of diseases and hurricanes. But most citrus growers are based in central and South Florida, where temperatures hovered...

cbs4denver will live stream a news conference about the religious shootings with Arvada and Colorado Springs Police at 4 p.m. A link will be provided here (at http://cbs4denver.com/ )

Hyderabad, April. 3 (PTI): The Congress Government in Andhra Pradesh today said it would support the state-wide strike called tomorrow by an OBC body to protest the Supreme Court's stay on the quota for backward classes in elite educational institutions. The entire Opposition, including the TDP, TRS, BJP, CPI and CPI(M), had earlier announced that it would back the shutdown called by the Andhra Pradesh Backward Classes Welfare Association. Expressing solidarity with the strike, the government asked the Road Transport Coproration to suspend its bus services. All public examinations scheduled for tomorrow would be postponed to a later date, Backward...

Florida has given concealed weapon licenses to hundreds of people who wouldn't have a chance of getting them in most other states because of their criminal histories. Courts have found them responsible for assaults, burglaries, sexual battery, drug possession, child molestation -- even homicide.