Free Republic

When the American flag is flown upside down, if you were not aware, it is a signal of dire distress. Can you imagine what it is like to suddenly have low-flying military helicopters, explosions, and gunfire rocking your home in the middle of the night? This message went out on Facebook around midnight last night from the official Lapeer County Police, EMS, and Fire Facebook page: "ATTENTION VIEWERS: PER FLINT POLICE OPERATIONS (FPO) THE US ARMY IS DOING TRAINING IN FLINT THIS WEEKEND AND YOU MAY HEAR HELCOPTERS, GUNFIRE, & EXPLOSIONS. PLEASE DO NOT BE ALARMED." That message was sent...

(INTELLIHUB) — A ten-day US Army urban military training exercise has begun in Flint, Michigan with explosions rocking neighborhoods and scaring residents who had no idea what was actually happening. With less than three hours between a city press release and the beginning of the exercise, residents were left in the dark about the urban military training until the last possible moment. Most had no idea what was happening as their homes shook from the force of the simulated explosions. “It was like a big huge explosion, it shook my whole house, it shook the ground.” (Watch video at link)...

FLINT, MI -- What started as a local attorney's way to draw attention to an unusual mayor's election has turned into an international phenomenon as Giggles the Pig makes headlines around the globe. News organizations from Russia and the Netherlands have picked up the story of the small porcine from Flint whose owner is attempting to enter into the mayor's race. Even CNN ran a story Friday, May 8, about Giggles' attempt to take on the Vehicle City's political establishment. Attorney Michael Ewing announced Giggles' campaign on Facebook on May 4 following news this week that no names would appear...

In all, 17 service pistols and shotguns belonging to Flint police are officially listed as stolen, while another 22 guns used by Flint police are listed as lost or missing -- including a sub-machine gun and a short-barreled shotgun.

<p>FLINT, MI -- A Flint man and Marine veteran imprisoned in Iran more than three years has renounced his Iranian citizenship and is requesting deportation from the country.</p> <p>A statement from Hekmati's family details what they call torture, abuse and a forced confession that he has been through. Those claims detail poor nutrition, foot whippings and long stretches of solitary confinement.</p>

BURTON, MI – Two 16-year-old Flint boys are facing assault charges after they allegedly punched a 52-year-old teacher from Otisville in the head while he shopped at Wal-Mart then posted video of the alleged attack online as part of the so-called "knock-out" game. The assault took place around 7 p.m. March 17 at the Wal-Mart on Court Street in Burton. The man was shopping alone when a teen ran up and punched the man while another teen filmed the attack with a cellphone, according to police. They then fled the scene. The victim, a teacher at an area school, suffered...

FLINT -- Three people were arraigned today on charges of child abuse in connection to the Facebook video of a child being beaten. The mother of the child, 28-year-old Demitria Powell along with 42-year-old Uteas Taylor, and 39-year-old Stefon Felton, all from Flint, were charged with 3rd degree child abuse, conspiracy to commit child abuse in the 3rd degree, and 3rd degree child abuse committed in the presence of another child. In the 6-minute video, the 11-year-old boy is smacked in the face and hit with a belt more than 50 times. At least three adults and one infant were...

<p>The Willys Wheeler Edition Wrangler matches the most basic version of the 4x4 with heritage styling cues and a selection of off-road gear.</p> <p>Willys-Overland was one of the automakers that built Jeeps for the U.S. Military during World War II and commercialized them for the civilian market in 1945.</p>

Flint Mayor Dayne Walling will join survivors of gun violence, victims’ families, other politicians, law enforcement, gun owners and faith leaders in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Sept. 19. Walling will be there as a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns during a news conference at 10:30 a.m. at the U.S. Capitol. “We’re asking lawmakers to support common sense gun safety – including universal background checks,” Walling told The Flint Journal. The “No More Names” tour has been in 25 states in the last 100 days, urging elected officials to reconsider bipartisan gun background check legislation that enjoys overwhelming public support...

FLINT, MI -- A Flint abortion clinic that made national news after a Fenton Township woman claimed that she was held down by a doctor and forced to have an abortion at the facility has closed. The closure of the Feminine Health Care Clinic, 2032 S. Saginaw Road, leaves one free-standing abortion clinic in the Flint area, according to the leader of a Genesee County Right to Life group. A recorded phone message at the clinic says that the facility is closed until further notice. Appliances and furniture can still be seen inside the brick and metal building. A glass...

In between bowls of chicken poodle soup and deciding to provide air cover for al-Qaeda in Syria, our Dear Leader, Barack Hussein Obama, found time to meet with mayors from our crumbling major cities. From Justin Sink of The Hill: *** "President Obama told a collection of big-city mayors Tuesday at the White House that he would continue to use executive actions to combat gun violence plaguing major cities. In the meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder and the mayors of 18 cities from across the nation, Obama discussed commonly applicable strategies to reduce youth violence. 'He also vowed to...

FLINT, MI – Some Kettering University students want to start a conversation about allowing the carrying of concealed firearms on campus. And they've started a club to do it. Kettering Students for Concealed Carry became an official university club Aug. 1, and members are taking the opportunity to get students talking. "We believe that while college campuses are usually safer than other public places, we still think that anything can happen," said Kaity Huff, KSCC vice president. "Calling this a gun-free space won't stop a crazy person." The group of roughly 20 active members out of the almost 900 students...

After falling for five consecutive years, the number of violent crimes across the United States rose by 1.2% in 2012. Based on data published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the increase was even greater in some of America’s largest cities. In 2012, for the third year in a row, Flint, Michigan had the highest violent crime rate in the country. According to the FBI, violent crime includes murder, nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. In some cases, the cities with the highest violent crime rate, including Flint and Oakland, had high rates in all four categories. However,...

Shortly after Barack Obama won reelection in November, New Jersey governor Chris Christie pointed out that Republicans’ cloudy political prospects had a bright silver lining. “One of the reasons you have 30 Republican governors in America, and why we’re the only organization to add Republican strength,” Christie said, “is because people see us getting things done.” Christie’s stance countered most of the elite postelection commentary, which gleefully pronounced the Republican Party’s political irrelevance. But the governor was right. Since Obama first took office in 2008, Republicans have picked up a net nine governorships, bringing their total to 30 states,...

There are music fans, and then there are Bob Seger fans. Evie Branan had been in a coma for five years and when she emerged, the first words out of her mouth were, “I want to go to a Bob Seger concert.” “Why would I say that?” Branan laughed later when recounting the story to her hometown paper, the Flint Journal, in Michigan. “Maybe my last thoughts were Bob Seger before I had my stroke.” While Branan may have been unsure about why she wanted to see Bob Seger in concert so badly, she was certainly a fan of the...

FLINT, MI – Matthew Dewayne Williams became Flint's record-setting 67th homicide victim in 2012 when he died five months after he was shot at a Flint gas station. Williams was critically injured when he was shot Nov. 6 at a BP gas station at Clio Road and Myrtle Avenue. Williams, 24, was taken to Hurley Medical Center in a personal vehicle. Flint police released his name to the media the next day. Michigan State Police said Williams died earlier this month – becoming Flint’s record-setting 67th homicide for 2012. “This stat is affirming that the gun violence in Flint is...

Forbes put Detroit Mayor Dave Bing on its cover in 2011 for a story with the optimistic headline: “City of Hope.” The premise was that the city had hit rock bottom and was poised for a turnaround. “Right now, it’s all about survival,” Bing told Forbes. Two years later, Detroit’s problems continue to multiply, sadly. It is still dealing with high levels of violent crime and unemployment. Home prices, already at historic lows, plummeted a further 35% during the past three years to a median of $40,000 as net migration out of the city continued. The latest blow was Tuesday’s...

A Michigan civil servant is in hot water after being exposed as holding down two six-figure public posts at the same time - earning him more than the Vice President. Barnett Jones, has been paid $273,750 since May as Flint's administrator of public safety and head of security for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, despite the fact the posts are both full-time and based 70 miles apart, according to the Free Press. The lawman resigned his Flint role today after the newspaper began investigating his job-juggling. Flint City Administrator, Michael Brown, told the Press he wasn't aware of Jones'...