Free Republic

In the bad old days of New York City, the mob would decide the price of erecting a building regardless of who was planning to do it. Years after the construction of One Police Plaza, the City’s Police Headquarters, when the ceiling of the main floor started to fall down an investigation found that the mob had sold the city substandard concrete. They didn’t care who they ripped off. Hard work led by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani broke the grip of the mob on New York’s construction industry and for years afterward construction boomed because of the reduced costs of...

A French maker who creates incredible "Star Wars" drones is back with another. This time, he flies a modded Imperial Star Destroyer sure to strike fear into the heart of any Rebel in its path.

The latest baggage threatening to dog Hillary Clinton’s expected bid for the White House comes in the form of her brother, who allegedly got help from the Department of Homeland Security in smoothing a business deal. The department’s inspector general found that Tony Rodham was given special treatment by DHS’ No. 2 in securing visas for foreigners connected to a deal. Rodham was CEO of an electric car company owned by another longtime Clinton pal, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, when he got help from DHS official Alejandro Mayorkas securing the visas for investors in the firm. It is not clear...

VIDEO: Congresswoman's poor parking job ABC News obtained video of a Congresswoman's poor parking job Wednesday morning and it is causing quite a stir.

If Rahm Emmanuel gets his wish and O'hare or Midway airports are renamed in honor of President Obama, what will be the policies of the new airport?

What we are hearing this morning is that one of the pilots left the cockpit and was unable to reopen the cockpit door. The voice recorder records the pilot outside the door at first tapping then banging on the door. The plane apparently begins it's decent FOR 18 MINUTES, so I assume during this horrific time, the passengers and other crew are witnessing this. Perhaps passengers are also recording this. We shall see. The door locks are activated or unactivated in the cockpit. The pilot can have the door unlocked, normal (which means access can be obtained by a passcode...

Formerly the "Quinn and Rose Morning Show" thread our friendly group continues to meet to start the day as we await the return of our favorite morning talk show - ON APRIL FIRST!! So look for the new "Quinn in the Morning" thread, as our favorite talk show FINALLY returns to the airwaves, and via streaming media!

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Former President Jimmy Carter has met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muqrin during a visit to the kingdom. The official Saudi Press Agency says the two met in a palace in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Wednesday. The report says they discussed a number of topics but gave no details.

Secretary of State John Kerry and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Anne Patterson met today with Moaz al Khatib, former President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition. Mr. Khatib shared his views on ways to advance a political solution to the crisis in Syria. Secretary Kerry emphasized that Bashar al-Asad is a brutal dictator with no legitimacy to lead Syria. The Secretary reaffirmed our commitment to pursuing all diplomatic avenues to help bring about a political transition based on the Geneva Principles that leads to an inclusive government and a future of freedom, dignity, and security for the...

Yemen's crisis is getting worse and then some. Saudi Arabia has started bombing rebel positions inside Yemen, and said the Sunni Kingdom will do "anything necessary" to deter the Iran-backed Shiite rebels who are taking over its neighbor. Meanwhile, the rebel Houthi fighters looted American intelligence files, which contained details of US operations in the country, Brian Bennett and Zaid Al-Alayaa of the LA Times report. Some of the files were reportedly "handed directly to Iranian advisors by Yemeni officials who have sided with the Houthi militia," which has successfully dismantled Yemen's government since marching into Sana, the capital, in September....

A jury today found a Michigan woman guilty of firing a shot into a McDonald’s drive-thru window after employees failed to put bacon on a cheeseburger she ordered.

The Arab League will discuss the crisis in Yemen on Thursday, the regional body's deputy secretary general said, after the country's foreign minister called on Arab states to intervene militarily to halt an advance by the Shi'ite Houthi militia. "Yemen's foreign minister proposed the idea today ... in a meeting with the Arab League Secretary General," Ahmed Ben Hilli, told Al Arabiya Al Hadath television channel, on Wednesday. "The issue will be presented tomorrow at foreign minister level." Arab heads of state are due to meet in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on March 28-29 to discuss a...

The House of Representatives approved a US budget Wednesday that shaves $5.5 trillion in spending over a decade, repeals the Obamacare health law and eliminates the federal deficit in nine years without raising taxes. The Republican blueprint for fiscal year 2016 is seen as a compromise between the party's fiscal conservatives, who want to slash the debt by virtually any means possible, and defense hawks calling for increased military spending amid rising extremism and unrest worldwide. The House debated several budget proposals Wednesday, including a few Democratic alternatives and one favored by deficit hawks, but they were voted down. The...

I work in a major department store west of the Pittsburgh area and I sold some jewelry to a lady who was buying it foe her grandaughter's tea party. Just to make conversation, I referenced the Tea Party political group. She said how bad they were and Ted Cruz is "too Christian." I asked, "what do you mean by that?" She said, "I'm Catholic and liberal," and I replied, "hopefully if him or someone like him was elected, we can start to fix the damage of the last 7 years." She didn't like it. People like that drive me nuts....

This week's thread is dessert - starting with: Carrot Cake! I first tasted Carrot Cake in the 1970's. I'm sure it was a standard recipe before then, but it seemed to gain a great popularity in the 'hip' 70's. This recipe, which comes from an old friend's mother ca. 1975, is still the very best I've ever eaten, and is very easy to make. Again: Grate The Carrots By Hand, on a box grater! Doing it in a food processor will probably release too much liquid, and the cake won't be the same. The only difficulty you may have is...

Chelsea Handler says she has no doubt in her mind that Bill Cosby sexually assaulted numerous women. Handler revealed to Esquire that she had a strange experience with Cosby about 10 years ago, and she believes “he’s guilty.” “He tried to Cosby me,” she told the magazine.

Bill Murray is a man of great taste, that's well known by now. He's appeared in a film with Wu-Tang Clan's RZA and GZA, shared a stage with Eric Clapton and even hung out with Leeds punks Eagulls (who got a tattoo especially to mark the occasion). The celebrated actor also likes to mix it with the general public - and these moments, as well as urban legends regarding his prank antics, are becoming even more well known in this increasingly digitalised age. Now, just like Danny DeVito before him at last year's Coachella, Murray has has been checking out...

I have noticed that there seems to be more and more posters on FR that have accounts from the 1990's or early 2000's, that are posting a lot more frequently. I can't be the only one that has noticed this. Maybe it was Ted Cruz, I don't know, but I'd like to know that I'm not alone here.

Bankrupt consumer electronics retailer RadioShack Corp. (RSHC), has listed personal data of millions of its customers for sale. The RadioShack assets listed for sale includes more than 65 million customer names and physical addresses and 13 million email addresses. Hilco Streambank is the advisory firm that is taking care of disposition of RadioShack's assets in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy auction. According to reports, the auction for the personal data of customers has been concluded with hedge fund Standard General winning the auction. However, the deal still requires approval from a bankruptcy court and it looks like RadioShack will also face...

An economic implosion is becoming increasingly likely in Venezuela , and the country's debtholders, trade partners and neighbors are bracing for the fallout. The country's energy-dependent economy requires oil prices above $100 per barrel in order to sustain itself. Oil accounts for 95 percent of the country's export earnings, and combined with gas, it's 25 percent of the country's gross domestic product. Internationally traded Brent crude prices have fallen more than 48 percent in the past year. Meanwhile, a combination of inflation and currency controls have generated scarcity of basic needs such as flour, toilet paper and medicine. Venezuelans stand...