Free Republic

Less than two weeks after “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly lying to police about a hate crime, prosecutors have dropped charges in the case.

SNC was one of three companies, along with incumbents SpaceX and Orbital ATK (now Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems), to receive CRS-2 contracts from NASA in January 2016. Each company is guaranteed at least six missions to the ISS under the contracts. To carry out the missions, SNC proposed a cargo version of the Dream Chaser spacecraft it had been developing for NASA’s commercial crew program. Although the vehicle was not selected by NASA when it awarded contracts instead to Boeing and SpaceX in 2014, SNC adapted the design with foldable wings, allowing it to fit within many existing payload fairings,...

SDF has cleared the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor of ISIS and secured the Iraq-Syria border. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters advancing on three fronts in the Operation Cizire Storm have merged in the village of Bogaz earlier today. SDF fighters have thus cleared the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor and established security at Iraq-Syria border. The second phase of the Operation Cizire Storm was launched by SDF on June 4 with the ultimate goal of liberating Deir ez-Zor and Heseke countryside from ISIS. SDF commander Bahoz Heseke stated that they have reached the Baghous town after Dashisha, thus securing...

In a statement about the ongoing campaign to liberate Raqqa, SDF General Command announced that 80 percent of the city has been cleared of ISIS. The General Command of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) released a statement informing about the latest situation in the operation to liberate Raqqa, dubbed the ‘Great Battle’. The statement by SDF General Command is as follows; “During the past 5 days, our forces have targeted the fortresses formed by ISIS gangs north of Raqqa and launched an operation, which is a first on this front. ISIS gangs had estimated that they would be able to defend...

General Michael Flynn is a hero who dedicated his life to this country. His forced resignation was nothing but a political assassination from Obama’s insiders. The mainstream media wants you to believe that Flynn had some secret relationship with Russia but that isn’t true and the intelligence community just confirmed it. After reviewing the transcripts, the FBI found NO WRONG DOING!! “The FBI reviewed intercepts of communications between the Russian ambassador to the United States and retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn — national security adviser to then-President-elect Trump — but has not found any evidence of wrongdoing or illicit...

Rep. Joaquin Castro, the twin brother of HUD secretary Julian Castro, claimed this morning on CNN that Hillary Clinton had been cleared by the Justice Department:

<p>The Brooklyn EMT who callously refused to help a dying pregnant woman because she was on her coffee break saw her official misconduct charge dropped today after EMS chief Abdo Nahmod — who initially supported the case against her — flip-flopped, leaving frustrated Brooklyn prosecutors no choice but to dismiss the case.</p>

It looks like the U.S. government will give serious thought this week to arming Syrian rebel groups, days after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces re-captured the key city of Qusair. Secretary of State John Kerry, according to an AP report, has pushed back his mideast trip this week because the White House is planning to discuss sending weapons to some rebel groups. Kerry was supposed to go to Israel and Palestine to hack away at a peace plan for the region. But, perhaps because Syria's situation became even more pressing this week, the Associated Press's sources say that reported trip...

Prosecutors have dropped kidnapping and rape charges against a former San Diego Tea Party spokesman after the alleged victim recanted her story. Michael Kobulnicky, 54, was arrested earlier this month and accused of sexually assaulting a 56-year-old woman he allegedly picked up in his car. According to San Diego Fox affiliate KSWB-TV, the alleged victim appeared at a bail hearing Monday and told the judge Kobulnicky was not the man who assaulted her. On Wednesday, she recanted her story to prosecutors and said she was never kidnapped or raped.

POLK COUNTY, Wis. - A western Wisconsin man has been cleared of all charges after an 11-year-old girl who had accused him of sexual assault admitted fabricating the whole story. Paul Burritt of Turtle Lake is a driver for a handicapped transportation service. He was taken into custody and charged with sexual assault in mid-December after a client told authorities that Burritt drove her to his home and molested her before driving her home. The case was widely reported in the media, including on kare11.com, because the case was officially charged by the Polk County District Attorney. That is among...

A PE teacher falsely accused of molesting a 12-year-old schoolgirl has spoken of his pain at telling his children he was going to be arrested. Sean Lanigan was pulled out of a class in Fairfax, Virginia, and told he was going to be arrested for allegedly carrying out the offences. In reality his 'crimes' had been invented and the schoolgirl bore a grudge against him. Despite being cleared of all the offences, the teacher’s $125,000 legal fees still haven’t been repaid by the state and he is struggling to get his life back. The young girl claimed that the teacher...

Okie dokie, so let me get this straight. On Sunday, it was hot enough here in Charleston that I burned my feet on the sidewalk outside our apartment while walking our dog.  A few hundred miles to the west, in Birmingham, Alabama, the high temperature reached near ninety degrees despite rain.  At the airport there in Birmingham, a Muslim gentleman from Detroit, Michigan named Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al Soofi arrived to catch a flight.  He was flying to Amsterdam, connecting once at O’Hare International in Chicago. Despite being in the deep South in late August, al Soofi wore such bulky...

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2010 – International Security Assistance Force officials in Afghanistan have confirmed that Fazil Subhan, a Haqqani terrorist network commander known to facilitate foreign fighters, was killed along with multiple insurgents by Afghan and international forces in a two-day offensive in Khost province last week, military officials said. The Haqqani fighters were in fortified fighting positions in an area known for ambush attacks against international troops southwest of Kowte Kheyl in Khost’s Shamul district. The Afghan-international force also discovered and destroyed a building used to store ammunition, heavy weapons and explosive materials. Haqqani network commanders continually seek to...

LITCHFIELD, Conn. – A Connecticut judge has dismissed a drunken-driving charge against Rip Torn after the actor completed a court-ordered alcohol education program. Torn was arrested in December 2008 near his home in Salisbury. He was stopped while driving in the breakdown lane with a Christmas tree tied atop his Subaru. Bantam Superior Court Judge Cara Eschuck dismissed the charge Friday because Torn completed a program that gives drunken-driving defendants a chance to clear their records.

Another Ethics Complaint Rejected July 15, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska - The Alaska Personnel Board has rejected another ethics complaint lodged against Governor Sarah Palin. The complaint alleged that the governor misused state time by accepting media interviews. The complaint also alleged that Governor Palin was paid for television and radio interviews. Governor Palin has not been paid for media interviews. This complaint was filed by Raymond Alvin Ward on July 9. It was rejected in part because it was not properly notarized. In addition, Personnel Board Chairman Debra English said the board had already determined media interviews did not violate...

Health authorities in Sweden have decided not to punish two doctors who mistakenly stitched a 65-year-old patient’s bladder to his large intestine. The faulty operation took place in January at Malmö University Hospital on a patient who had previously had surgery for an inflamed rectum following treatment for prostate cancer.

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday declined to file corruption charges against a former California lawmaker, clearing the way for his campaign for Oakland mayor next year. ... The announcement ends an investigation into former state Senate leader Don Perata that stretches back to 2004 and extended to his family and circle of political associates. ... Federal prosecutors released a statement saying only that they were declining to file criminal charges but did not say why. They said they could not "disclose our deliberative process."

The FEC dismissed a complaint over the $150,000 designer wardrobe the Republican Party bought for VP candidate Sarah Palin and her family. The Far Left Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington had filed the complaint against the Alaska Governor. The FEC has yet to conduct an audit of how Barack Obama raised and spent his presidential campaign’s record-shattering windfall, despite accusations of questionable donations and accounting methods. --In case you forgot about the MASSIVE election donations fraud by the Obama Campaign here is a look back at the scandal: By turning off their Address Verification System, or AVS, at...

A new report just released -- hours before the polls open on Election Day -- exonerates Gov. Sarah Palin in the Troopergate controversy. ... Both investigations found that Palin was within her rights to fire Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. But the new report says the Legislature's investigator was wrong to conclude that Palin abused her power by allowing aides and her husband, Todd, to pressure Monegan and others to dismiss her ex-brother-in-law, Trooper Mike Wooten. Palin was accused of firing Monegan after Wooten stayed on the job.

Albert Einstein once said "The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." Yesterday DBKP wrote about Joe Horn, the Texas man who was cleared by the Harris County Grand Jury after he shot two illegal "immigrants" when they had broken into a neighbor's home in Pasadena TX in November. Horn's actions, that of a private citizen using deadly force against someone committing a felony, were covered by a new Texas statute, the Castle Law, or Senate Bill 378. “Don’t go outside the house,” the...