Free Republic

Lake Tahoe is in “terminal” condition as the water level in the sixth largest lake in the US fell below its natural rim, according to the Tahoe Daily Tribune. The UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center reportedly said Tuesday that the lake’s water level sunk six days earlier than expected, meaning the lake is no longer flowing to its tributaries. The terminal, or endorheic condition, could prevent salmon from spawning in the Truckee River, and other water sources connected to the freshwater lake that straddles the border between California and Nevada, according to the report.

Interest in the goodwill visit has been building since the Pentagon announced in August it was sending its own hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, to neighboring Colombia to provide free medical treatment for thousands of Venezuelan migrants fleeing their homes amid widespread food and medicine shortages. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, in a visit to Colombia last month, called the ship's deployment a humanitarian mission to deal with the fallout of President Nicolas Maduro's mismanagement of the economy. The United Nations estimates that 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled the crisis-torn country in recent years, mainly to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and...

The fight to force honesty into the voting process has a familiar ring. Students of American history have seen its likes in the analogous battle to stop cargo thefts from America’s docks. Across the country the tsunami that flipped so many state legislatures is beginning to prove how profound our side’s version of “change” is and will be. Among the top priorities of the new Republican majorities in state Senates and Assemblies has been fixing the problem of Democrat voter fraud. The most obvious and easily accomplished remedy to cure this social cancer is a photo identification card for anyone...

Crescent City, Calif. (AP) -- A tsunami swept at least five people watching the waves out to sea Friday and ripped docks out of harbors in California, spreading the destruction of a devastating Japanese earthquake to the shores of the United States. Four people were rescued from the water in Oregon, but one man who was taking photos in Northern California was still missing Friday afternoon. Coast Guard helicopters searched for him near the mouth of the Klamath River in Del Norte County, Calif., after his two friends made it back to shore.

Just a few questions for freepers. I'm looking into buying a houseboat here in NYC, and I've never bought or owned a boat before, what do I need to know. I.E. Do I need to have insurance, or some kind of drivers licience or an equivalent of it?What are slip fee's usually for docking a boat at the marina's in New York?Is it hard to find a place to dock the boat?Is there laws about living on the boat?What kind of permits do I need, and how do I register ownership of the boat, is there an agency or something...

WASHINGTON -- Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced on Tuesday a White House initiative to relieve highway, aviation and freight congestion, largely with the help of private fees and tolls. "Congestion is not a fact of life. We need a new approach and we need it now," he said. The plan includes fast-tracking a modernized air traffic control system and building extra-wide interstate highways that could serve as "corridors of the future," he said. Because of "trucks stalled in traffic, cargo sitting on the dock at overwhelmed seaports (and) airplanes circling over crowded airports, congestion is costing America an estimated $200...

    John Bowers, the aging president of the International Longshoremen’s Association, had gone to meet a local union official at the Smith & Wollensky in Miami Beach. Inside, he was surprised to discover George Barone seated amid the polished brass and dark wood decor of the pricey waterfront steakhouse.     Barone was no stranger. A Genovese family member, he once controlled ILA locals in New Jersey and Miami. He also had coldly killed at least 10 people, by his own count, as a mob enforcer.     In a sworn deposition, Bowers recounted the conversation:     ‘‘You’re doing a wonderful job,’’ Barone told him. ‘‘We...

Decades After Brando, Waterfront Still Mobbed Up   BAYONNE, N.J.  — At the headquarters of New Jersey's most notorious union, the ornate front windows are etched with an anchor-and-rope motif. They're opaque, making it impossible to peer inside International Longshoremen's Association (search) Local 1588.That hasn't stopped law enforcement. Local 1588 was historically so corrupt that mob enforcers were unnecessary, according to one veteran investigator. Kickbacks, extortion and fraud became as routine as a Labor Day picnic at the local, long a lucrative outpost for the Genovese (search) crime family. In 1954, when Marlon Brando (search) starred in the Oscar-winning "On The Waterfront," one of 1588's delegates was...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO — Even though the West Coast port lockout ended two weeks ago, a slew of ships remain unloaded, reviving fears that holiday shipments may not make it in time.</p> <p>Retailers and manufacturers say many of their orders are stuck in the harbor. If ships aren't moving soon, they say, they will incur huge losses — especially over the all-important holiday shopping season. That could wallop an already weak economy.</p>