Free Republic

The September Hajj stampede killed at least 2,411 pilgrims, a new count shows, making it the deadliest in the history of the annual pilgrimage The September Hajj stampede killed at least 2,411 pilgrims, a new count shows, three times the number of deaths acknowledged by Saudi Arabia. The figures establish the crush on September 24 as the deadliest in the history of the annual pilgrimage. Saudi's official death toll of 769 people has not changed since September 26, and officials have yet to address the discrepancy. The kingdom rebuffed criticism from its regional rival Iran and efforts by other countries...

From the <“>Josh predicted this<”> department, see stage 5. As Predicted: Paris Climate Talks DeadlockedIndia<’>s crucial role at the climate change talks in Paris has once again been underlined by a high-level outreach by the United States, including a call to Prime Minister Modi from President Barack Obama who hopes to cement his legacy with an ambitious global agreement on curbing global warming.Obama reached out to Modi on Tuesday in an attempt to break the deadlock at the climate summit, where the responsibility of developing countries such as India in tackling rising global temperatures has been a sticking point.He...

We all know that Europe is in big trouble. Now it appears that the situation is even worse than most of us suspected. A report by the European Union Parliament states that the Islamic State has been recruiting dozens of chemists, biologists, and nuclear physicists to build weapons of mass destruction - materials for which have already been smuggled into Europe. Daily Mail: The terror organisation, according to the briefing document, 'may be planning to try to use internationally banned weapons of mass destruction in future attacks'. The document, which was compiled in the aftermath of the deadly attacks on...

Former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, who served under President Bill Clinton, has died at the age of 70 from cancer. "V sad start to day; just learned Sandy Berger passed away during the night," Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, tweeted Wednesday morning. "Good man & friend who served nation well as bill clinton's NSA."

Macy's is blaming "warm weather" and "low spending from tourists" for a massive drop in sales and excessive on hand inventory, which has now caused them to cut their full year sales forecast.

A frightening showing at the box office this weekend featured five disappointments—including two of the biggest flops in history. “ Steve Jobs,” “The Last Witch Hunter,” “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension,” “Rock the Kasbah” and “Jem and the Holograms” all fell short, with only “Witch Hunter” cracking $10 million. “Kasbah” and “Jem” now rank among the worst openings of all time, and “Paranormal” missed expectations after weeks of anticipation over its divisive distribution strategy. Instead, holdovers “The Martian” and “Goosebumps” came in first and second place, respectively. “The Martian” grossed an estimated $15.9 million in the U.S. and Canada, bringing...

The United States and its NATO allies denounced Russia on Monday for violating Turkish air space along the frontier with Syria, and Ankara threatened to respond if provoked again, raising the prospect of direct confrontation between the Cold War enemies. NATO held an emergency meeting of ambassadors of its 28 member states to respond to what Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called "unacceptable violations of Turkish air space" after Turkey said a Russian jet had crossed its frontier. NATO members "strongly protest" and "condemn" incursions into Turkish and NATO territory, the alliance said. "Allies also note the extreme danger of such irresponsible...

The media world was waiting for it and Donald Trump delivered Wednesday night, performing his now nightly Twitter assault on Fox News after announcing his boycott of the network earlier in the day. This time, the GOP frontrunner’s outrage came after the National Review’s Rich Lowry suggested that Carly Fiorina “cut [Trump’s] balls off with the precision of a surgeon” at the CNN Republican debate, much to host Megyn Kelly’s shock. “You can’t say that,” Kelly said. For once, she and Trump agreed.

HORGOS, Serbia (AP) — Hungary sealed off its border with Serbia with massive coils of barbed wire Tuesday and began detaining migrants trying to use the country as a gateway to Western Europe, harsh new measures that left thousands of frustrated asylum-seekers piled up on the Serbian side of the border. Human rights activists condemned the move, with Amnesty International saying Hungary's "intimidating show of militarized force is shocking." But Prime Minister Viktor Orban defended the measures, saying he was acting to preserve Christian Europe, which he said had become threatened by the large numbers of Muslims streaming into the...

It was supposed to be a routine photo op. During a historic trip to Alaska intended to call attention to climate change, President Obama got a bit of a surprise while at a fishing village at Kanakanak Beach. He was holding up a caught fish for the cameras when the salmon spawned on his shoes. It all started off so innocently. A local fisherwoman retrieved the salmon from a net in shallow water and handed it over to the leader of the free world. As soon as the president had the fish firmly in his grasp, nature took its course....

Amidst an ever-growing scandal about her private email system, and multiple national security violations, Hillary Clinton today Tweeted that she had finally had enough of Bill's philandering ways and had filed for divorce.

Post-Dispatch reporter Paul Hampel was beaten, bloodied and robbed by a group of attackers as he covered the Ferguson protests Sunday night. Hampel said he was taking photos and videos of break-ins along West Florissant Avenue shortly before he was attacked. Suddenly, he said, he was rushed from behind. “I got swarmed, beaten down really bad,” he said. The attackers punched him in the face, hit him in the head at least three times and kicked him in the back of the head when he was on the ground, Hampel said. The attackers took his phone and wallet and left....

Protesters who claimed affiliation with the Black Lives Matter movement stormed the stage during a rally for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in Seattle on Saturday, taking over the microphone and forcing Sanders to leave without ever speaking. Moments after Sanders took the stage at Westlake Park, two women and one man climbed the stage and confronted the Democratic presidential candidate, demanding a chance to speak. After several moments of confusion and confrontation, an event organizer took the microphone and said the protesters would be allowed to speak before Sanders.

Real-estate magnate Donald Trump's presidential campaign is filled with internal conflict, New York magazine reported Thursday. "It turns out that, inside a campaign that's been built on attacking seemingly anyone and everyone, the staff has now turned to attacking each other," Gabriel Sherman wrote. Sherman added that the campaign's "civil war" broke out into the public view after Business Insider revealed a Trump adviser's history of racially provocative Facebook posts last week. The adviser, Sam Nunberg, was fired from the campaign as a result on Sunday.

A police dog bit an officer during a pursuit early Sunday morning. Shortly after 2:30 a.m., a police officer tried to pull over a driver for a traffic violation, San Diego Police said. The driver took off and lead officers on a short chase before jumping out of the car and running off near the intersection of Fairmont Avenue at Camino Del Rio North in Kensington. When the officer ran after him, he was bitten on the hand by his own K9 dog, police said. The officer was treated and will be okay. The suspect in the pursuit was arrested.

My, what a difference two and a half years and a nasty, self righteous video by a nasty, self righteous man make. In the summer of 2012, an individual who could only accept diversity, pluralism and multi culturalism as long as it agreed with his politically correct notions, posted a video of himself harassing a Chick-Fil-A order taker on Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day. That was the day those who actually believed in diversity, pluralism and multi culturalism chose to support the fast food chain against those who disagreed with the founder who opposed gay marriage. The founder didn't say he would...

JERUSALEM — A Twitter hashtag campaign launched by Hamas on Friday to build support in the West seems to be backfiring with users mocking the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza. Hamas launched (hashtag)AskHamas on Friday. The campaign promised responses from the group’s leaders, or as they called it, “Truth from the mouth of the horse.” Some Twitter users swiftly responded with mockery.

The Reverend Al Sharpton lashed out at New York cops on Monday after they revealed to the New York Daily News that they found his Viagra prescription in the apartment of a lawyer friend recently cleared of rape charges. Sharpton claimed that he is “unembarrassable.” According to the NYDN, when asked about the find, “a shocked Sharpton” initially feigned ignorance about the RX note for the sex pills. “I don’t know anything about that, no, I don’t know anything about that,” Sharpton said, “after a speechless second.” He roared back a moment later, accusing the source who leaked the detail...

Turns out there’s no free lunch, even if you’re among those lucky few dining at the Harvard Faculty Club. The New York Times is feasting on the delicious uproar created by Harvard professors who are now outraged to be hit with higher health care costs as a result of ObamaCare. I hardly know where to start on this one. Perhaps with the fact that the article appears in the New York Times? I will let that one go for the moment. Here’s what’s clear: Health care costs at Harvard are going up. Immediately. And they are rising directly as a...

Many illegal immigrants at a Northern California DMV reportedly were failing the written exam when applying for driver’s licenses on Friday. Under the AB 60 law that Governor Jerry Brown (D) signed in 2013 and took effect at the start of 2015, illegal immigrants were able to apply for driver’s licenses on Friday. And nearly 1.4 illegal immigrants are expected to apply for licenses in California in the next three years. At a DMV in south Sacramento, Veronica Oropeza, a 28-year-old illegal immigrant who has reportedly been driving without a license for six years, reportedly failed her written exam twice....