Free Republic

A home belonging to a family of Pakistani migrants was set ablaze in the German town of Wächtersbach on Christmas Day 2023. Phantasmal right-wingers were immediately blamed for the arson. The family members, meanwhile, were depicted as victims of so-called Islamophobia and xenophobia. This narrative, agreeable to European leftists and the liberal media, recently went up in smoke. A convenient spark The fire began around 1 a.m. on Christmas morning and did roughly $379,000 in damage. The fire brigade found anti-migrant slogans scrawled inside the smoldering ruins. Der Spiegel reported that the words "foreigners out" had been spray-painted on some...

On 1 December, 1948, the man’s body was found on Somerton Beach in South Australia with the circumstances of his death remaining an open police investigation. The Somerton man was first found by passers-by who noticed him slumped against a seawall. The cause of death remains unknown and many theories have been advanced over his identity, ranging from a jilted lover to a Cold War spy. An initial police investigation and coronial inquest left the matter unresolved, with the case particularly mystifying because of a number of items found with the body. They included a suitcase, items of clothing with...

The Chicks have filed a $6.6 million lawsuit against an insurance underwriter over its refusal to cover losses from the cancelation of the “Gaslighter” tour last year. The band, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, released their first studio album in 14 years last July. They also planned a 48-show North American tour, which was to kick off at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The tour was canceled, along with every other concert tour, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chicks’ touring company, Tunashoe Tours, had an insurance policy through Lloyd’s of London that provided up to...

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that the state had discovered a “massive” unemployment fraud scheme, bilking the state’s unemployment insurance fund of more than $500 million dollars, and possibly stealing much more from other states across the country on Wednesday. Governor Hogan held a press conference to announce the discovery of the fraud ring by the state. The organized fraudsters allegedly used information stolen from the state from previous data briefs to impersonate the identity of tens of thousands of people, filing 47,500 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims. The state currently believes that approximately $501 million in unemployment insurance benefits were...

Target said late Saturday night that it would temporarily close 175 of its locations across the U.S. after video of its Minneapolis store getting looted went viral amid the fifth night of chaotic protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, which saw protesters around the country destroying other shops and setting fire to police vehicles. ...In addition to the Minnesota closures, 49 Target locations in California and 12 in New York are temporarily shuttered, with the rest in Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Georgia⁠, which have all seen protests. ...President Trump blamed Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for...

...Good news for looters, you can find some overpriced junk with Teigen's name on it at Target....Maybe if Target stopped doing business with radical lefty celebs who help looters and rioters, its stores would be less likely to be looted. But Vladimir knew what he was talking about. Corporate America can't and won't stop following the lead of the radical lefties...Keep doubling down on social justice and eventually you'll run out of stores. When you make America a target, you also make yourself a target.

The Bangladeshi-Indian restaurant, Gandhi Mahal, in Minneapolis' 3rd Precinct was burned to the ground during riots that ravaged the city Thursday night into Friday morning. The restaurant sat in the epicenter of where America's riots began following the death of George Floyd. In fact, 18-year-old Hafsa Islam, the restaurant owner's daughter, saw Floyd being arrested while she was making a Door Dash delivery. She learned later in the day that Floyd had died. Hafsa was originally upset with the fact that her family's business – and main source of income – was lost until she heard her father say, "Let...

A cozy alliance between insurers and law enforcement has turned the justice system into the industry’s hired gun and left innocent customers facing prison.... These tactics can be applied with impunity, thanks to legislation in all 50 states restricting the ability of customers to sue insurers for wrongly accusing them of fraud

Rapper Young Dolph's car was broken into while he ate at a metro Atlanta Cracker Barrel last week, and thieves made off with roughly $500,000 of jewelry and other belongings. The Memphis artist, born Adolph Thornton, told police the thieves smashed the window of his custom camouflage Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV in the restaurant's parking lot on Wednesday. They made off with a Richard Mille watch worth $230,000, a Patek Phillipe watch costing approximately $85,000 and two diamond chains worth a respective $57,000 and $27,000. Police told WSB-TV that the case was "unusual in a number of ways," because surveillance footage shows the thieves approaching Thornton's car...

Fremont firefighters are on the scene of a fire outside of a Tesla plant Saturday night. The fire was first reported around 8:25 p.m. The plant is located at 45500 Fremont Blvd. The fire is on the grounds of the Tesla plant outside the main building. At first, officials thought the fire was a threat to the building, but they are starting to gain control.

DEARBORN, Mich. - A Dearborn cleric known for his YouTube presence was reportedly involved in the radicalization of one of the attackers who killed seven people and injured dozens of others in a London stabbing. Investigators identified the attackers as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane. Neighbors said they reported Butt to authorities at least twice when he tried to convert their children to radical Islam. Dearborn-based religious leader Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril is renowned among anti-terror sources as a favorite Imam of ISIS fighters, including one of the terrorists who carried out the attack in London over the weekend....

<p>A Maryland man who killed his 3-month-old son for $750,000 in insurance money was sentenced to life in prison with all but 50 years suspended on Thursday after a trial before a judge.</p> <p>Moussa Sissoko, 38, of Silver Spring, killed his 3-month-old son, Shane, in 2001, then sought to become the sole beneficiary of a $750,000 life insurance policy on the boy, court files show.</p>

Upstate NY town’s only black volunteer firefighter’s house burned down two days after receiving racist message telling him to leave Two days after getting a racist letter threatening him if he didn’t quit, a black volunteer firefighter’s house was burned down in an upstate New York town. On Monday, Kenneth Walker received a racist threat that if he didn’t resign from the North Tonawanda fire department, he would "regret it." Walker is the only black volunteer firefighter in the department.

Nearly two months after awarding a $100,000 life insurance policy to a Fort Worth mega church and not the deceased man's children, Denton County judge Robert Ramirez has had a change of heart — sort of. In a breathless order fraught with typos, Ramirez said he was "premature in granting a summary judgment" in favor of Birchman Baptist Church. Scarlette Rafferty Elliot and Sean Rafferty were the designated beneficiaries of their father's life insurance up until just 24 hours before his death. After meeting with Birchman senior pastor Bob Pearle on June 24, 2013, Sean C. Rafferty signed over his...

Bill Dal Cerro of the Italic Institute of America [Free for All, Dec. 28] took Dana Milbank to task for allegedly stereotyping Italians in his Dec. 22 Sunday Opinion column, “Godfathers of the Capitol.” But Milbank never used the word “Italian.” He did write “mafia” twice, and he used the phrase “going to the mattresses” once. He also used the term “mob boss.” In my opinion, it takes more effort than it is worth to be offended, no matter what one’s origins, by any of these words. It seems to me that even in “today’s enlightened era,” to use Dal...

The Democratic National Convention may be long over, but its organizers have not forgotten the almost half a million dollars worth of electronics they seem to have lost. Organizers of the Charlotte, N.C., convention have filed a police report for lost and stolen electronics, some of which they appear to have valued at as much as 62 times the listed market prices. A reportedly stolen 13-inch MacBook Pro laptop? $75,537. The price listed on the Apple website is $1,199. A lost iPhone? $30,503. A lost Blackberry? $54,250. The DNC did not respond to a request for comment. Calls to the...

The 65 page indictment unsealed Wednesday outlines a massive conspiracy to defraud employees, IHOP corporate, investors, the Internal Revenue Service and federal, state and local law enforcement. Background Prior to 2003, Tarek Elkafrawi owned and operated two IHOP franchises; one in Decatur, Illinois and the other in Evansville, Indiana. During his time in Decatur, the indictment alleges, Elkafrowi began a social friendship with Autumn Lee Tangas, an employee of IHOP Corporate in Decatur. Between 2003 and 2006 Elkafrawi purchased, either entirely or in partnership with other investors, 6 other IHOP franchises. Those stores are located in Toledo (2), Holland, Findlay,...

West Toledo couple arrested on terrorism charges involving Hezbollah FBI agents, Toledo police conduct raid at home Federal agents and police arrested a Toledo husband and wife Thursday and accused the couple of conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Hor I. Akl, 37, and his spouse, Amera A. Akl, 37, both of whom are dual citizens of the United States and Lebanon, were arrested on charges also that they conspired to launder money and committed arson relating to an insurance fraud scheme. Mr. Akl is also charged with two counts of bankruptcy fraud and one count...

NEWARK—The former owner of two medical billing companies pleaded guilty today to engaging in a scheme to defraud insurance companies that provided no-fault medical benefits to motorists, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr. announced. Aleksander Sirota, a/k/a “Alexander Sirota,” 39, of Freehold, also pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to money laundering and concealing approximately $1 million in income from the Internal Revenue Service, as well as other charges. Judge Wigenton scheduled sentencing for Sept. 29. Sirota admitted that between April 2001 and June 2005, he conspired with doctors Valery Rimerman and Irina Zelikson to defraud...