Free Republic

Police found the bodies of sisters Susan — naked and doused with chemicals — and Sarah Wolfe at the foot of their basement stairs about 12:45 p.m. Friday with single gunshots in their heads... ...Detectives are reviewing surveillance video from the Port Authority that shows Susan getting off a bus at the same time as an unidentified man...

The Republican-led Iowa House passed a ban on telemed, or webcam, abortions on Tuesday. 52 Republicans and three Democrats voted in favor of House File 2175. Rep. Tom Shaw of Laurens was the lone Republican not to vote in favor of the bill. He did so primarily because it does not ban all abortions. The bill was authored by Rep. Matt Windschiltl of Missouri Valley and Rep. Kevin Koester of Ankeny led the floor debate. Koester cited federal Food and Drug Administration reports that 14 women have died from taking the abortion-inducing drugs used in webcam abortions. “A huge thanks...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), a tea party favorite, will speak at a homeschooling rally in Iowa next month, signaling his continued interest in a possible 2016 presidential bid. The event, which will take place on March 18 at the Iowa state capitol in Des Moines, will be hosted by the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators (NICHE), a politically-engaged group that has previously hosted presidential contenders.

The Obama administration will announce the establishment of regional hubs focused on mitigating climate change on Wednesday. The hubs are the first-ever regional centers that will focus solely on risk adaptation and climate change solutions at seven locations across the country. "On the heels of passage of the farm bill, the administration will take executive action to help farmers, ranchers and rural communities combat climate change and adapt to extreme weather and other damage it causes," a White House official said in an email ahead of Wednesday's announcement. Dubbed "climate hubs," the new centers will address issues like increasing risks...

The chairman of the Iowa Republican Party was forced last week to apologize for a graphic posted on its Facebook page that suggested charges of racism are invariably concocted to smear innocent white people. It was removed, as was the site manager who posted it, after it garnered outrage on The Daily Beast. Headlined "Is someone a racist?" the post reflects a claim growing popular with opponents of diversity, affirmative action and other efforts at inclusion, triggered in part by the election of a black president: that the real racism is against white people. "Are they white?" asks the post....

The Des Moines Register ran a sad story this past weekend about awful sexual assault accusations against a school superintendent's son that have divided the conservative town of Treynor, Iowa.Kreighton Elwood, the 18-year-old son of Superintendent Kevin Elwood, was accused of sexually assaulting three different girls in 2012. He allegedly took them to a secluded area, forced them to remove their clothes, and hid their car keys and phones to keep them from escaping, according to court records cited by The Register. He also allegedly snapped photos of one victim nearly naked, a form of humiliation that is becoming all...

A killer who was executed in Missouri for the 1987 murder of a 12-year-old girl was also responsible for a long-unsolved triple homicide in Iowa three years earlier, investigators announced Friday. New DNA evidence implicates Andrew W. Six in the 1984 bludgeoning deaths of 20-year-old Justin Hook Jr.; Hook's fiancee, 19-year-old Tina Lade; and Hook's mother, 41-year-old Sara Link, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and Wapello County Sheriff Mark Miller announced. "What we know for sure is that Andy Six is responsible," Miller said at a news conference at his office in Ottumwa, in southeast Iowa.

The facts 1. There are 21 US Senate seats held by Democrats in the 2014 election. 2. There are nine US Senate seats held by Democrats in the 2016 election. This is likely to be 10 due to a special election in HI in 2014. 3. Republicans need to pick up six senate seats to have a majority. The Analysis The failures of ObamaCare and broken promises by Democrat senators create a target rich environment in 2014. This is a year Republicans have to do well. Winning a majority in the senate by only one seat or maintaining the status...

Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) -- In Iowa, the state that pulled the first block out of her wobbly Jenga-game of a presidential campaign six years ago, Hillary Clinton enjoys stratospheric approval ratings, well-heeled outside groups toiling on her behalf, and important political connections that date back decades. From a distance, she appears invincible once again, far outpacing her rivals in the polls and primed to redeem herself in the caucus state that has never been especially friendly to the Clintons, or to female candidates. Iowa has not elected a female governor, senator or member of Congress. In 2016, Clinton could...

For Immediate Release Contact: tomhoefling@gmail.com January 9, 2014 As part of a campaign to get the Republican Party back to basics, candidate for Iowa Governor Tom Hoefling and District 10 State Representative Tom Shaw today released the text of their “2014 GOP Unity Platform” in advance of the January 21st Iowa Caucus. “Ronald Reagan said that political parties cannot be all things to all people. He was right. They can’t be, and they shouldn’t try to be. That’s why this platform contains the key principles and clear purposes that represent the core of true American republicanism. However, with this document,...

North Carolina Rep. Mike McIntyre and New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy will not seek reelection this year, according to multiple Democratic sources familiar with their plans – marking a blow to Democratic efforts to win control of the House. The 57-year-old McIntyre, who was elected in 1996 to the Wilmington-area congressional seat, narrowly defeated Republican state Sen. David Rouzer in 2012 and was poised to face him in a 2014 rematch. His retirement from the heavily Republican district will further thin the ranks of Blue Dog Democrats. It comes less than a month after another Blue Dog, Utah Rep. Jim...

(Colo, IA) A teacher in Colo, Iowa, decided to eat only at McDonald’s for 90 days to see what it would do to his health. The result turned out to be a good lesson for him and his students. “I can eat any food at McDonald’s I want as long as I’m smart for the rest of the day with what I balance it out with,” said science teacher John Cisna said That was the theory Cisna laid out for three of his students at Colo-Nesco high school this past fall. Ninety days of Mickey D’s for breakfast, lunch and...

I have decided not to "throw my hat" into the ring and run for US House 3rd District/Iowa. I felt that I could not run a viable Campaign and it would reflect badly on both Tea Party and Free Republic people. Tom Latham is leaving and THAT was the important thing. I am looking CLOSLY at who is running and will endorse later.

The Bible's account of the night Jesus was born is noted for some well-known characters at the Bethlehem manger, including the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph and some shepherds following the instructions of an angel. The famous wise men were not present, as they showed up later when Jesus was a young child in a house. And as far as the New Testament indicates, there weren't any lesbians there either. Now a Christian church in America's heartland is helping redefine the story, as its most-recent living Nativity scene in December featured two women instead of a man and a women starring...

Nearly 16,000 Iowans who tried to apply for coverage via the trouble-plagued federal health-insurance website are being told to apply separately through the state Department of Human Services. The Friday afternoon announcement is the latest bout of bad news about the website, which is a key part of the Affordable Care Act. The announcement affects people who entered their information into healthcare.gov and received a notice that they might qualify for Medicaid. The federal computer system was supposed to transfer their applications to a state computer system, but that transfer has been complicated by technical problems. The timing is critical,...

DES MOINES, Iowa —The Iowa Department of Human Services said Friday that Iowans who have applied through the federal health care portal should reapply using the websites or call center. Officials said they were notified by federal officials that there would be an additional delay in getting needed information needed to process Iowan's applications from HealthCare.gov. "We are working hard to ensure that Iowans who applied through HealthCare.gov will be enrolled in health coverage. We are encouraging Iowans who applied at the federal portal to reapply through our state website and call center," said DHS Director Charles M. Palmer. "We...

Yet a trip this week by tea party Republican Reps. Michele Bachmann, Steve King and Louie Gohmert has been quite hush-hush, even though they went to iffy places like Beirut, Cairo and even to Tripoli — where the U.S. embassy last week issued a “warning” notice “strongly advis(ing) against all but essential travel to Tripoli and against all travel . . outside Tripoli because of ongoing instability and violence.” And, as best we can figure, they even flew commercial, not only to the region but even within the region. They even went to embassy briefings and such. So this is...

Federal authorities have filed charges for six Chinese nationals in an alleged scheme to steal valuable corn seeds from U.S. seed manufacturing companies for the benefit of their China-based seed companies. Mo Hailong, Li Shaoming, Wang Lei, Wang Hongwei, Ye Jian and Lin Yong each have been indicted on conspiring to steal trade secrets from U.S. seed companies, according to an indictment filed on Tuesday in the U.S. Southern District Court of Iowa. Mo was detained last week, but the others remain at large, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Southern District Court.

IOWA CITY | Top-ranked Penn State delivered a powerful message Saturday night. The three-time defending NCAA champions dominated the third-ranked Hawkeyes 24-12 in a nonconference dual which saw Iowa win just three matches. With a third-period pin at 133 pounds, Tony Ramos energized the Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd of 13,747 which included celebrities Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, who enjoyed second-row center mat seats next to wrestling legend Dan Gable. Ramos’ win provided Iowa with the only bonus points the Hawkeyes mustered against the Nittany Lions. “We needed every point we could get and as a captain and leader of this...

Des Moines, Iowa - Vice President Joe Biden, widely assumed to be plotting a third presidential bid in 2016, shouldn’t bother booking any flights to Des Moines, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said. “Biden is dead meat out here,” Branstad asserted Wednesday in an interview with CNN inside his office at the gilded state capitol building. “He is not going anywhere.” Branstad, a 67-year old Republican, admitted his lack of familiarity with the passions of Iowa’s liberal Democratic caucus-goers, but he was unusually blunt when discussing Biden’s latest flirtation with the White House. “Washington, D.C. is extremely unpopular,” he said. “Biden...