Free Republic

Phi Psi members, speaking publicly for the first time since the allegations surfaced, told The Washington Post that they went into hiding for weeks after their home was vandalized with spray-painted messages calling them rapists and with bricks thrown through windows. They booked hotel rooms to avoid the swarm of protesters on their front lawn. They watched as their brotherhood was vilified, coming to symbolize the worst episode of collegiate sexual violence against women since the 2006 Duke University lacrosse team scandal — which also turned out to be false. Although the Rolling Stone article was discredited and the student’s...

The Deseret News National Edition fills a void in the American media landscape through rigorous journalism for family- and faith-oriented audiences. Representing more than half of all U.S. news readers, this segment is consistently underserved by newsrooms that either overlook or do not report on readers' core values.

It's not mentioned in Islam's holy book, the Quran, but the religion's ban on depicting the Prophet Muhammad — even favorably — has run firm through the centuries. "The Prophet Muhammad enjoys sublime and supreme status among Muslims and it is impossible to let a normal person depict or act the role of the prophet," said Iraqi Shiite cleric Fadhil al-Saadi. "There is no confirmed information about the shape or the features of the Prophet ... So nobody should come up with a painting or an image of him. That would represent an insult to the status of the prophet."...

Although most of us worry about other things, climate scientists have become increasingly worried about the survival of civilization. For example, Lonnie Thompson, who received the U.S. National Medal of Science in 2010, said that virtually all climatologists "are now convinced that global warming poses a clear and present danger to civilization." Informed journalists share this concern. The climate crisis "threatens the survival of our civilization," said Pulitzer Prize-winner Ross Gelbspan. Mark Hertsgaard agrees, saying that the continuation of global warming "would create planetary conditions all but certain to end civilization as we know it." These scientists and journalists, moreover,...

Even as local Islamic scholar Imtiaz Mohammed condemned Wednesday’s attack at Charlie Hebdo he says freedom of expression cannot be exercised without religious sensitivity. Mohammed, president of the Islamic Missionaries Guild, said the rampage, which left 12 people dead, was not “Islamic behaviour.” In the same vein Mohammed said the media must exercise its use of freedom of expression with cultural sensitivity. “It is fine to criticise Islam. We do not have a problem with that, everybody is free to criticise everyone’s religion. But not with the words and images and so on to degrade and disrespect the individual or...

Thursday on Fox News Radio’s “John Gibson Show,” investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson explained she is suing the Department of Justice to get discovery, which she said hopefully will start with the names of the agents or third-party contractors sometimes hired for “certain dark projects,” who hacked her computer and planted a fiber optics cable at her house.

It is ever more essential that the news that journalists provide is even more important to our lives in terms of how accurately they report the changes affecting it. On the last day of 2014 I received a lapel pin from the Society of Professional Journalists in honor of my having been a member since 1979, thirty-five years ago. I confess I was a little stunned to think I had been an editor and reporter that long ago. Indeed, I had been one for several years even before I joined the Society. I doubt that today’s generation of young journalists...

From the dingy donut shops of Manhattan to the cloistered police watering holes in Brooklyn, a number of black NYPD officers say they have experienced the same racial profiling that cost Eric Garner his life. Reuters interviewed 25 African American male officers on the NYPD, 15 of whom are retired and 10 of whom are still serving. All but one said that, when off duty and out of uniform, they had been victims of racial profiling, which refers to using race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed a crime. The officers said this included being pulled...

This podcast is breathtaking in that it lays bare how this agenda-driven journalist trolled colleges looking to create a hit piece.

I shouldn’t be saying this since I’m obviously not a card-carrying conservative, much less a wild-eyed tea-party type. But, I’m confounded, if not amused, by this latest line of bull about Jeb Bush from the far-right fringe. How could the Jebster ever be dubbed a “moderate?” Isn’t this the same John Ellis Bush who as Florida’s governor often treated teachers’ unions, trial lawyers, statehouse reporters, civil servants and, at times, the courts, as pariahs? Heck, during his second inauguration speech, he looked up at the state government buildings and said he wished he could cut more staff and programs to...

Several key aspects of the account of a gang rape offered by a University of Virginia student in Rolling Stone magazine have been cast into doubt, including the date of the alleged attack and details about the alleged attacker, according to interviews and a statement from the magazine backing away from the article. The U-Va. fraternity chapter where the alleged attack took place in September 2012 released a statement Friday afternoon denying that such an assault took place in its house. Phi Kappa Psi said that it has been working with police to determine whether the account of a brutal...

In a defiant challenge to GOP leaders, immigration hardliners in Congress announced Wednesday they will oppose upcoming legislation to keep the government open. They demanded specific provisions to stop President Barack Obama's executive actions that granted a reprieve from deportation for millions. "We aren't with our vote going to give him one dime to execute his illegal action, and we believe the American people are going to stand with us," said Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., at a press conference outside the Capitol where she was joined by other House conservatives and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Cruz warned against "having a...

Four legal scholars told the president in a letter that he can legally use his executive authority to extend deportation deferrals to the parents of young immigrants, even if their children are not citizens or legal residents. In the Nov. 3 letter obtained by NBC News, the scholars said that "there is no legal requirement that the executive branch limit deferred action or any other exercise of prosecutorial discretion to individuals whose dependents are lawfully present in the United States." In fact, the scholars wrote, the law does not require they have any dependents at all. The lawyers said they...

Mary Landrieu is dedicated to the well being of Louisiana residents. Even her vote for the Affordable Care Act, which is being used to attack her, reflects concern for the hundreds of thousands of her constituents who lack health insurance. Seniority matters in the Senate. Although Democrats lost control of the chamber in the midterm elections, Sen. Landrieu would be one of the highest-ranking members of the minority party in the next Congress. Her track record demonstrates her ability to work successfully with Republicans on a variety of matters. Louisiana needs Sen. Landrieu's knowledge, energy and influence in Washington as...

In an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, police officer Darren Wilson breaks his silence about the shooting of Michael Brown. Wilson told ABC News that he did not execute Brown on August 9 but was in fear for his life and was just doing his job. Wilson told ABC News that Brown reached into his car and grabbed his gun. He described how Brown charged toward him and he felt that he had to shoot Michael Brown. Tune into World News Tonight at 6:30 p.m. EST to see Wilson's first public remarks about the fatal shooting.

They say failure can be a good teacher, but, so far, the Obama administration is opting out of the course. The post-midterm period has been one of the most bizarre of the Obama presidency. I’m not sure why the Obama administration has been behaving so strangely since the midterms. Maybe various people in the White House are angry in defeat and want to show that they can be as obstructionist as anyone. Maybe, in moments of stress, they are only really sensitive to criticism from the left flank. Maybe it’s Gruberism: the belief that everybody else is slightly dumber and...

After a productive trip abroad, President Barack Obama headed home Sunday on a collision course with Republicans on immigration and an oil pipeline project, showdowns that threaten prospects for cooperation over his remaining two years in office. Given his faltering political support in the U.S. and his party's recent election losses, his trip to China, Myanmar and Australia appeared to offer respite. The president, who was due to arrive in Washington late Sunday, basked in policy breakthroughs with China and warm welcomes in Myanmar and Australia. "I intend to build on that momentum when I return home," Obama said at...

During their summit meeting in Beijing, President Obama and President Xi Jinping of China made much of their agreement to ease visa restrictions for businessmen, students and tourists. Yet when Mr. Xi was asked at a news conference if he would do the same for foreign journalists, who have had a hard time obtaining permission to work in China, he displayed little patience with such concerns. The Chinese government has regularly declined to process visas for any New York Times journalist. China, with 1.3 billion people and the world’s second-largest economy after the United States, is a major force regionally...

Expectations were low when President Obama started his China trip Monday, less than a week after Democrats were trounced in the midterm elections. Yet upon his departure Wednesday from Beijing, Obama could claim some trophies from his visit: He’d landed several agreements with his hosts, including a first-ever commitment by China to control its greenhouse gas emissions. “I would describe this as the most successful multilateral summit of his presidency,” said Aaron Connelly, a research fellow in the East Asia program of Lowy Institute in Australia. He said it was impressive that the White House had been able to nail...