Free Republic

So a 22-year-old son of Hollywood privilege goes on a murder spree, killing 6 and then himself. People who write for a living mount their favorite hobby horses and tell us “what it all means.” Since we are all critics now, I want to get in on the action. What do we know? Quite a lot, actually. The killer wrote a “manifesto:” apparently a must-do for people who want to go out with a bang, and who have the time and leisure to chronicle their lives. I read the whole thing and it's fascinating because it reads like a movie...

A self-proclaimed Satanist who claimed to have killed almost two dozen people could face the death penalty in the killing of a man she and her husband are accused of luring to his death through a Craigslist ad, a Pennsylvania judge ruled Monday.

This is the text of a speech given by Lord Alton of Liverpool at a Vigil for Syria held at Farm Street Jesuit Church on Tuesday, just a day after the murder of Fr van der Lugt in Homs. In a talk at the beginning of Lent at Brentwood Cathedral I cited the heroic and faithful work of a 75-ear-old Dutch Jesuit, Fr.Franz van der Lugt who, in the face of extraordinary danger and acute suffering, refused to desert the suffering people of Homs.Father Frans van der Lugt was born on April 10, 1938 in the Netherlands and entered the Society...

<p>COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) — Police have identified the shooter in the Maryland mall shooting as a 19-year-old teenager from College Park.</p> <p>Howard County Police Chief Bill McMahon said Darion Marcus Aguilar arrived at the mall after 10 a.m. on Saturday and shot to death two people at a store on the upper level before killing himself.</p>

SAN FRANCISCO -- A suspect wanted in connection with the killing of a German tourist near Union Square in 2010 has been arrested, authorities said Friday. Devante Laws, 21, was spotted in Hayward on Thursday and taken into custody by members of a task force led by the U.S. Marshals Service. Laws, suspected of being a gang member, was sought on suspicion of being an accessory to murder in the August 2010 shooting that killed Mechthild Schroer, who was visiting with her husband to celebrate her birthday and anniversary.

Eureka, California (CNN) -- Police had a man who is suspected of killing a Catholic priest in his California rectory, but they let him go. It was mere hours before the slaying of the Rev. Eric Freed that an odd-acting Gary Lee Bullock had been in custody for public intoxication. On New Year's Eve, Humboldt County sheriff's deputies had responded to reports that a person was "acting strangely" and arrested Bullock, taking him to jail. But Bullock, police said, was "rejected" from the facility "due to his erratic behavior." Bullock, 43, was then moved to a nearby hospital, "where he...

Four villagers in north-east Kenya have chased down and captured two cheetahs which were killing their goats. The owner of the goats told the BBC that the cheetahs had been picking off his animals one by one, day by day. The men waited until the hottest part of the day before launching the chase over a distance of four miles (6.4km). The cheetahs got so tired they could not run any more. The villagers captured them alive and handed them over to the Kenya Wildlife Service.

President Barack Obama is criticized every day for the problems and difficulties associated with the Affordable Care Act. But in the long term, it's likely history will scrutinize the CIA’s use of drone strikes during his administration with a far more critical eye.

Gov. Jan Brewer said Wednesday that she does not want U.S. House Republicans to succeed in their bid to shut down the Affordable Care Act, saying it would “devastate” the state budget. Brewer said she has never been a fan of “Obamacare.’’ And she pointed out she was among several governors who sued — unsuccessfully — to have it declared unconstitutional. But the governor said once it was clear the law would take effect, she sought ways to have Arizona take advantage of a key provision rewarding states that expand their Medicaid programs. In this state, that is the Arizona...

‘Not how we do it in New York’: Ex-NYPD cop questions sister's killing by Capitol police Published time: October 05, 2013 10:44 Police in Washington DC did not have to resort to shooting dead an unarmed woman, who lead officers on a short-lived car chase through the Capitol on Thursday, said the driver's sister, former New York police sergeant Valarie Carey. "My sister could have been any person traveling in our capital," Valarie Carey told reporters outside her Brooklyn home on Saturday. "Deadly physical force was not the ultimate recourse and it didn't have to be."

Armed with a Remington shotgun and two stolen handguns, suspected shooter Aaron Alexis unleashed a barrage of gunfire on innocent people at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, prompting immediate and knee-jerk cries for gun control and “common sense” reforms to curb gun violence. But the details of this case prove once again the ineffectiveness of gun control. Wasting no time and taking full advantage of the emotional climate of yet another highly-publicized gun crime, Diane Feinstein asked “When will enough be enough?”, and accused Congress of “shirking its responsibility” of preventing gun violence. White House spokesman James Carney said...

WWII Veteran Beaten To Death In Spokane Paul Szoldra Aug. 22, 2013, 8:31 PMDelbert Belton A veteran who was wounded during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II was beaten to death Wednesday outside of the Eagles Lodge in Spokane, Seattle Times reports. Delbert Belton, 88, died from injuries sustained during the attack, which police believe was perpetrated by two African-American male suspects between 16 and 19 years old. Police responded to the scene after receiving a call at 8:15 p.m. and found Belton sitting in his car, suffering from severe injuries to his head. He died at the...

WASHINGTON – A high-powered rifle lost in the ATF’s Fast and Furious controversy was used to kill a Mexican police chief in the state of Jalisco earlier this year, according to internal Justice Department records, suggesting that weapons from the failed gun-tracking operation have now made it into the hands of violent drug cartels deep inside Mexico. Luis Lucio Rosales Astorga, the police chief in the city of Hostotipaquillo, was shot to death Jan. 29 when gunmen intercepted his patrol car and opened fire. Also killed was one of his bodyguards. His wife and a second bodyguard were wounded. Local...

A Hungarian pensioner was dragged off his mobility scooter and mauled to death by a pair of killer donkeys. Sandor Horvath, 65, was bitten and trampled on so much that when his body was found it was believed had been torn apart by wolves. Mr Horvath, was chased and pulled off the scooter at a farm in Magyarszecsod where he was visiting his farmer friend. His mutilated remains were found by the farm owner who called the police, believing his friend had been attacked by wild dogs. But a postmortem revealed the bites and markings had come from the donkeys....

Dear Presedent Obama My name is Alexander. I’m 7. Please change the law about killing babys when they are still in mommy’s tummys. This babys are a live and not one chose to die. Please make a new law that will protect the babys. Marten Luther King, Jr. had a drem and he changed America and I also have a dream that Momys have to take good care of the babys in there tummys and bring babys to the orfanedg and other mommys can adopt them and they will be happy. I will also be Presedent wen I grow up....

<p>A high-speed chase through two North Texas counties this morning may involve the suspect wanted in connection with Tuesday’s murder of the head of Colorado’s Department of Corrections.</p> <p>This morning’s incident began in Montague County, where, just north of Bowie, a sheriff’s deputy pulled over a man driving an older model black Cadillac with Colorado license plates. According to several news accounts, that man then fired three times at Deputy James Boyd, who took two bullets to the chest — he was wearing a bullet-proof vest — and one in the ear. Boyd was transported, via helicopter, to a Fort Worth hospital; his condition is unknown at present, but Wise County officials say his injuries are non-life-threatening.</p>

http://www.biography.com/people/andrew-kehoe-235986 Andrew Kehoe was a farmer living in Bath, Michigan. A member of the school board and the town clerk, on May 18, 1927 he orchestrated a plot to dynamite the Bath Consolidated School, killing thirty-seven children. He killed himself in a second explosion aimed at the school’s superintendent. Kehoe's act was one of the largest school-related mass murders in US history.

This infographic is floating around Facebook.And according to PolitiFact (and the FBI) it’s true. Our rulingThe post uses data selectively, ignoring the significant role of handguns in gun violence. But the statistics it mentions are solid. FBI data backs up the Facebook post’s claim that in 2011, more people were murdered with knives, “hands or feet” or “clubs and hammers” than with any type of rifle. We rate the statement True. You can read the whole assessment here.  

A US senator has accused the Obama administration and the Justice Department for not being “adequately forthcoming” with information on the targeting and potential killing of Americans suspected of terrorism. Ron Wyden, the Democratic senator from Oregon and a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, wrote an open letter to John Brennan, the frontrunner for the post of Director of the CIA, asking Brennan to provide Congress with the secret legal opinions defining the government’s capacity to pursue and kill US citizens suspected of involvement in terrorist activities. Members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence by law...

Federal agents charged four Georgia men they say are part of a fringe militia group with plotting to attack government officials with explosives and the biotoxin ricin, prosecutors in Atlanta announced Tuesday. A government informant recorded the men discussing plans to manufacture ricin, a highly poisonous substance derived from castor beans, and attack Justice Department officials, federal judges and Internal Revenue Service agents, according to court papers released Tuesday afternoon. Prosecutors said the public was never in imminent danger. All four suspects were in custody and are scheduled to make their initial court appearances Wednesday in Gainesville, about 50 miles...