Free Republic

DENVER (AP) – Colorado dogs were probably one of the biggest winners of the legislative session that just concluded. On the day that shelter dogs and cats were designated the official state pet, Gov. John Hickenlooper also signed a bill into law Monday that requires new training for Colorado law enforcement on how to safely handle dog encounters in the line of duty. ***** Law enforcement offered guidance on the bill, which has exemptions for officers to exercise discretion during calls and take into account their safety and the safety of others when dealing with dogs. Sheriff’s deputies assigned to...

Following a debate that stretched on for more than seven and a half hours, the state House of Representatives approved a bill just after dawn on Thursday that offers undocumented immigrants the opportunity to obtain a Connecticut driver’s license. The 74 to 55 vote broke along party lines, with all the Republican members of the House voting no and all but nine Democrats voting yes.

Looking at the morning news shows, I see stories about a Liberace impersonator, roaches in an apartment, a kayak rescue in Washington state, and tornado relief in Oklahoma. NOTHING I have seen speaks to the destruction of God given freedoms by the Obama administration. All four tv stations worked overtime to destroy the Bush administration from 2001 to 2008.

What do you think of Gov. John Hickenlooper's decision to grant a temporary reprieve to death-row inmate Nathan Dunlap? Total Votes = 1137 He made the right decision 152 Votes, or 13.36 % He should have granted clemency 101 Votes, or 8.883 % He should have let the execution proceed 884 Votes, or 77.74 %

Police are looking for two more suspects involved in the shooting.A Pompano Beach man was arrested on homicide charges after he pocket-dialed 9-1-1 while talking to someone about his murder plans, police said. Scott Simon, 24, was arrested Tuesday for the fatal May 5th shooting that left southbound lanes of I-95 closed for three hours in Oakland Park, according to a news release from the Broward Sheriff's Office. Simon can be heard on the recorded line saying he was going to follow 33-year-old victim Nicholas Romondo Walker home and kill him, police said. Minutes after the call, Walker was shot...

White father furious after being accused of kidnapping his own biracial daughters after family trip to WalmartA dad visited by police was suspected of stealing his three mixed race children because he is white. After a routine trip to a Woodbridge, Virginia WalMart, Joseph—a white man who says he does not want his last name revealed—took his three young daughters home. Then a visitor came knocking at the door. It was a police officer with a shocking question. ‘Did he just ask us if these were out kids,’ Joseph’s wife Keana, who is black, recalled wondering, in an interview with...

JUST HOURS before dawn on May 14, Jackie Underwood's three daughters held her in their arms as the cancer stole the last breath from her broken body. For many days before, and almost every day since, her children - Makia Underwood, 32, Zakia Clark, 29, and Tasha Clark, 27 - have worn hats and shirts that read "F--- CANCER," with the "C" in "F---" replaced by a breast-cancer-awareness ribbon. "That's how we feel. It took our mom away. It's a demon. It's the devil," Zakia Clark said. "There are no other words you can use to explain how you feel....

It’s been a long time coming, but change is coming to Mississippi. Former Ward 2 Councilman and Chokwe Lumumba, 65, (pronounced SHOW-kway Lu-MOOM-bah) is the winner of the mayoral primary runoff election in Jackson, Miss., reports WAPT.com. Lumumba defeated business Jonathan Lee, 35, 54 percent to 46 percent with 100 percent of the vote reporting. “I think we just had a very difficult fight in order to win this office and we came out successful,” Lumumba said from his victory party at the Clarion Hotel. “I’m very proud of all of the people in my campaign who worked so diligently...

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A man who called 911 more than 100 times in one month says he’s not going to stop until his concerns are heard by the federal government. Jimmy Shao keeps a log book of every 911 call he’s made. So many that he boasts he’s probably set a world record. He doesn’t believe he’s wasting the time of emergency responders because he has an emergency of his own: Shao believes he’s being watched by shadowy government authorities. He claims to believe his body is controlled by satellites. “My brain, I can feel it starting. I’m blasted by...

An investigation by Cincinnati Fox 19 reporter Ben Swann finds that Obama Administration claims that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) targeting of conservative groups was the work of two “rogue” low-level employees in Cincinnati, Ohio, strain credulity and are "falling apart." Swann reports that so far six IRS agents working out of the Cincinnati office—which is the central hub for processing tax-exempt applications—have been identified as sending scrutinizing letters to conservative groups. These include: Mitchel Steele-IRS Agent Carly Young-IRS Agent Joseph Herr-IRS Agent Stephen Seok-IRS Supervisor Liz Hofacre-IRS Agent Ms. Richards (full name unknown)-IRS Agent These agents report to different...

Mayor Bloomberg went on a spitting-mad rant against a city cab-fleet boss who won a court victory over Hizzoner’s planned “Taxi of Tomorrow” — vowing to “destroy your f--king industry” when he leaves office, The Post has learned.snipBloomberg’s tirade included the warning that, “After January, I am going to destroy all you f--king guys.”

The Classical Fast Draw Society is home to a select number of expert marksmen. But their most remarkable member is not technically their most accurate. Jim Miekka only hits about 80 percent of his targets, firing shots at just half a second apart. But the truly incredible thing about Miekka is that he’s totally blind.

FULL TITLE: Miami cannibal victim learning to play guitar as part of treatment a year after most of his face was chewed off in horrific attack A homeless man whose face was mostly chewed off in a horrific attack last year in Miami has learned to play guitar as he continues to receive treatment for his injuries. As the first anniversary of the attack nears, Ronald Poppo has spoken publicly for the first time. In a video released by hospital staff, Mr Poppo thanked all the people to have supported him through his difficult recovery. He said: 'I thank the...

Sweden needs a new story better equipped to deal with and include today's demographic diversity and create a new Swedishness that is separate from whiteness, write representatives from the Multicultural Centre (Mångkulturellt centrum) in Botkyrka near Stockholm. (...) Swedes do not stand apart from the world and its history of racism and colonialism. Our way of dealing with this has so far been to deny that race exists, while we have also wanted to affirm the unknown and the new. Most Swedes will claim they are colour blind, and only see a human before them when they meet someone new....

<p>MOORE, Okla. (CBS Houston/AP) – A woman who thought she had lost it all found one of the things most precious to her while being interviewed on live television – her pet dog, buried alive under the rubble of her former home.</p>

Not in my house! That was the message some Florida residents had for Michael Maxwell, 19, who got more than he bargained for when he and three accomplices allegedly tried a home invasion in Palm Bay. When the group tried to enter the home around 1 a.m. last Wednesday, the residents fought back, kicking, beating and even using a stun gun on Maxwell, Florida Today reported.

A skewer of farm-raised African lion meat being served at Mokatanya Yakitori Restaurant in Burlingame. (CBS) Filed Under Business, Local, News, Syndicated Local Related Tags Animals, Burlingame, Exotic Animals, Food, Lion, Lion Meat, Mokutanya Yakitori Restaurant, Restaurants, Threatened Species BURLINGAME (KPIX 5) — A restaurant on the Peninsula known for its exotic fare has caused a bit of an uproar over a new menu item. For foodies who are interested in the controversial dish, it does not come cheap. At Mokutanya Yakitori Restaurant in Burlingame, the mane course on Thursday was lion. “It was really good,” said Mike Manole of...

Getting caught eyeing the ads too closely in an alt-weekly publication can get you some odd stares on public transit. Well, fair enough. But an eye-catching spot of a different sort appeared in this and other publications this week: An impassioned plea from a serious record collector to return his prized possessions for a $1,000 no-questions-asked reward. We reached out to the aggrieved collector. He's upset and embarrassed about the whole thing, so we'll just call him Desmond. Either way, he's still happy to plunk down a grand in return for his rare, irreplaceable late 1960s Jamaican 45 RPM records....

Many coastal New Jersey residents are resisting a $1 billion state plan to shield shore-front towns from storms with towering dunes and a mix of protective measures. As some cite fears the sand-replenishment projects would drag down their property values, about 1,800 landowners have declined to sign agreements to allow construction on their property, said Larry Ragonese, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection. The state Supreme Court last week heard arguments on a resident's lawsuit seeking more money for the agreement, known as an easement, and Gov. Chris Christie called dune opponents "knuckleheads."

SHERMAN OAKS (CBSLA.com) — A driver abandoned her car Sunday afternoon — after her passenger died – causing a major traffic nightmare on the 405 in Sherman Oaks. The 40-something driver apparently panicked after her 60-something passenger died. LAPD Lt. Steven Harer said, “The Coroner came out. Initial appearances … I would guess it was an overdose of some kind.” It happened around noon at the always-busy interchange where the 405 freeway and 101 meet in Sherman Oaks, said authorities. Traffic came to a virtual standstill, for hours, as one lane was incapacitated. The driver was distressed and distraught and...

Tornados hitting OK....near OK City. Midwest getting hit hard.

A thief grabbed the purse of an off-duty Polk County deputy Saturday evening, but also got the officer’s weapon. The deputy was entering the Publix, 884 Cypress Gardens Blvd., in Winter Haven, about 6:55 p.m. when a black man took the purse, according to the sheriff’s office. The suspect fled in a bright silver small size SUV, possibly a Mazda or Toyota hatchback-style vehicle, and headed south on 8th Street S.E. The thief also got the deputy's department badge and credentials, along with a .38-caliber Ruger that was in its holster, according to the sheriff’s office.

Stripped of the bras that decorated the tavern's ceiling for nearly half a century, the Holler House looked mighty naked. But on Thursday, justice was restored to the universe. A ridiculous city order to ban the bras as a fire hazard was rescinded. "Oh my goodness, we won," cried Marcy Skowronski, the always colorful 87-year-old owner of the south side bar. "We're going to have a party to throw the bras back up."

Is it just me or has this been a particularly awful month in terms of horror stories about women being kidnapped, killed or forced to do depraved things against their will? Last thing we need is another one, but of course, we got it. A former Philadelphia police officer has been arrested for date raping -- possibly at gunpoint -- two 20-year-old women he met at a party. Richard DeCoatsworth, 27, was arrested and charged with rape, sexual assault, terroristic threats and related offenses after the two victims reported him to police. Here's how the sordid string of events went...

Circa 1960 - LAPD Robbery Squad officers dressed as women “as part of an operation to catch a purse snatcher who murdered an elderly woman while she was on her way to church.”

A burglar learned never to stop off for a snack at the house you are stealing from after being identified via fingerprints found on a packet of Jaffa Cakes. Reece O’Callaghan, who was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison, was jailed in part because his DNA was discovered after he stopped to eat some biscuits and pasta. The 19-year-old had also pleaded guilty to two separate charges of burglary and aggravated burglary, which was taken into account during his sentencing. A burglar found a pack of Jaffa Cakes too irresistible (Picture: File) Mr O’Callaghan had managed to escape from the...

Albert Seedman, the New York Police Department’s chief of detectives in the early 1970s who became something of a celebrity as the savvy, cigar-chomping personification of the tough-guy cop while modernizing a tradition-bound force, died on Friday in Delray Beach, Fla. He was 94. The cause was congestive heart failure, his granddaughter Alison Stiegler said. He lived in Boynton Beach, Fla. Mr. Seedman oversaw New York City’s 3,000 or so detectives for only 13 months, but he seemed to be everywhere during a tumultuous time. Three pairs of police officers were shot — four of the officers were killed and...

What some are calling a local high school prank left one school a smelly mess and students out of the classroom on Friday. A worker at Wayne High School said when staff arrived early Friday morning they found a mess in the school. Someone broke a window and opened a fire escape, then trashed a classroom. The school employee told 13News that deer urine was spilled all over the floor and a desk. Workers also found rancid dead deer parts in the hallway and blood on the floors.

A Daly City woman who killed her ex-husband by throwing a pot of boiling water on him while he slept was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison Friday, according to prosecutors. Jesusa Ursula Tatad, 41, was sentenced Friday after pleading no contest on April 3 to a charge of second-degree murder with an enhancement for the use of a deadly weapon, according Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Guidotti. Tatad was divorced from Ronie Tatad at the time of the Nov. 26, 2011, attack, but the two still shared an apartment together, according to prosecutors. Jesusa Tatad, who prosecutors...

As most of you have already heard or seen the footage by now, the WSU confronted a horde of self-styled reds, Marxists, anarcho-syndicalists, ever dedicated full-time bearded baristas and professional couch-surfers in front of the north lawn of the white house in the nation's capital last Wednesday. The reds, in their attempts to make us look like "white supremacists" (with generous aid from the left-wing, liberal media in using that term to describe us in nearly every article out there from the Huffington Post to Raw Story) have, in a fashion so embarrassingly typical of their perverted ilk, only succeeded...

A Jersey City woman has been charged with aggravated assault after she threw hot water and broccoli on her daughter after a dispute, police said. The woman, Themyra Pridgen, 40, of Old Bergen Road in Jersey City, made her first appearance today in Central Judicial Processing court in Jersey City via video link from Hudson County jail. ----Pridgen pleaded with the judge to give her a lower bail, but to no avail. "My 13-year-old son needs me," Pridgen said crying. "Nobody is going to help me. I don't have that kind of money."

Just got a text message from my 16 year old North Haven High School in lockdown due to a home invasion on Elm Street (same street as school) I'm sure it's just a precaution, but moms still worry. And we live right next door to the school, so I'm in lockdown here too :-(

Chicago police said tonight that a 68-year-old woman's report that she was surrounded by a group of thugs and robbed of $135,000 in jewelry was not true. Chicago Police have determined that the robbery is unfounded, according to a police News Affairs statement. Detectives confronted the victim with inconsistencies between her account of the incident and recovered video, according to the statement. They learned that the story was not true, the statement read.

A young male mountain lion tranquilized and rescued after it was trapped for hours in an aqueduct near downtown Santa Cruz is being released into the wild today, a state Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman said. The cat was first seen around 7 a.m. Later in the morning, it became trapped in the Branciforte Creek aqueduct near Water Street and May Avenue, police said. Wildlife rescue crews from the University of California at Santa Cruz Puma Project were able to tranquilize the animal and it was transported to the Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center. Staff from Moss...

Girl was his last victim but she overpowered him with prayerA Saudi school teacher who had raped at least 10 girls aged between eight and 12 years was finally caught by police with the help of his last victim, a 10-year-old girl who led the detectives to where he lives when all other victims failed to locate the house. The girl, identified as Maha, was the only victim to escape rape by the 42-year-old man, who is married with four children, when she discovered his fear of prayers. When she recited some verses from the Quran before he was about...

Like airplanes and helicopters, witches on broomsticks must also obey the Swaziland's aviation laws.In Swaziland, the days when witches could enjoy the untethered freedom of flying high in the sky are, regrettably, over. According to the marketing and corporate affairs director of the Civil Aviation Authority, Sabelo Dlamini, “A witch on a broomstick should not fly above the [150-meter] limit.” So far no penalty exists for witches who fly below the firmly-defined 150-meter limit, though reports suggest that radio-controlled aircraft and kites are subject to the airspace regulation. Dlamini's statement was prompted by the arrest of a private detective, Hunter...

Because of its spectacular scenery, Highway 1 is officially an All-American Road, but long before it got its official number in 1964, the trip north along Sonoma County’s coast was slow going. Rather than just one road, there were pieces that eventually joined together. Russians built the first leg from Fort Ross to Bodega Bay and Bodega. Spaniards added to it, forming a rough trail to Olema. In later days, a stagecoach traveled between Petaluma and Olema. That’s why seeing the historic sights along the Coast Road sometimes requires you to leave the highway. Starting at Sea Ranch and heading...

Santa Cruz police are keeping watch on a mountain lion that is trapped in an aqueduct off of May Avenue near Ocean Street in downtown Santa Cruz. The big cat was first spotted at about 7:30 this morning, behind a medical facility on Water Street. Police are awaiting the arrival of a University of California Santa Cruz wildlife expert to assess the situation. Read more: http://www.ksbw.com/news/central-california/santa-cruz/mountain-lion-trapped-in-downtown-santa-cruz-aqueduct/-/5738976/20174176/-/hahdkuz/-/index.html#ixzz2TTtZLeQJ

Big Sur survivalist Tyson Curtis will be ready. By Kera AbrahamThursday, May 9, 2013 To prevent zombies from devouring his flesh, Tyson Curtis eats things that can’t taste much better, like fox meat, foraged thistle and acorn flour.
 To survive in a world where the undead can smell humans a mile away, he’s holed up – just like in a classic zombie movie – in a cabin in the woods. The hunger and social isolation made for a depressing Christmas season.
 He has gotten good at following rules, though, like any wise zombie-attack survivor. Like, never eat meat unless you...

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GWERU, Zimbabwe, May 15 (UPI) -- A man in Zimbabwe said he is feeling "OK now" after mourners at his funeral noticed his legs twitching and had him rushed to a hospital. Brighton Dama Zanthe, 34, was declared dead at his home after a long illness, but he was rushed to Gweru Provincial Hospital when mourners at his funeral Monday noticed his legs were still moving, The Daily Telegraph, Britain, reported Wednesday. Zanthe said told Zimbabwean newspaper The Chronicle he does not remember his apparent death or the ensuing funeral. He said the first thing he can remember after being...

A 69-year-old woman was robbed of as much as $200,000 in jewelry, cash and other items by a group of young men in front of a North Michigan Avenue department store this afternoon, authorities said. A victim was robbed of her possessions in the 700 block of North Michigan Avenue about 12:20 p.m., said Police News Affairs Officer Ronald Gaines. The victim was not injured in the robbery, Gaines said.

According to police, a Kentucky man held the best overnight grocery store campout ever in the wee hours of Monday morning. Employees knew that something was up when they found 57 cans of Reddi-Whip brand whipped cream in the store’s trash. The whipped cream cans use nitrous oxide as a propellant, see. Oh, but the festivities didn’t stop there. Security camera footage showed that the 30-year-old entered the store before closing on Sunday night, then evaded employees until after they locked up for the night. Over the course of the evening, he allegedly depleted the whipped cream cans, then cooked...

Schoolgirl re-discovers ‘first love’ – after marriage to another manIn a twisted tale of love and marriage, a schoolgirl from Gampola in Sri Lanka eloped with an attesting witness, just a couple of hour after her wedding with a schoolboy, several local media reported. According to the police, a bright Kandy girls’ school A/L student, who got nine As at the O/L examination, fell in love with a 19-year-old A/L student of another school in the same town. When the two youngsters decided to spend the night together at the house of the girl’s friend, the residents of the house...

On a map, the rambling 2,500-acre inlet known as Drakes Estero looks like a chicken foot, its bony fingers pointing north from the larger Drakes Bay. In person, the estuary is strikingly beautiful: calm water protected from ocean waves by sand spits at its mouth, flanked by headlands and low, grassy hills dotted with cattle and a few trees tough enough to withstand the wind. It's also an ecological jewel, a stopping point for dozens of species of migrating birds, host to a thriving eelgrass population, a favorite sunning spot and pupping ground for harbor seals. There are signs of...

He was supposed to have a guest on hios show that said the "United States as we know it is going to end by the end of May 2013". I was wondering if he had this guest on and what their name was. My curiosity was peaked listening to Hannity on KHOPW last night and I forgot about it this morning but my memory just jogged...

Yankee greats David Cone, Ron Guidry and Rich “Goose” Gossagehelped Yogi Berra — the catcher whose infamously quirky quips included the gem, “The future ain’t what it used to be” — celebrate his 88th birthday Monday.

A magnitude-3.9 earthquake has struck six miles south of Rancho Palos Verdes and seven miles southwest of San Pedro, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

“I’m from out of town, and I like a good pastrami sandwich,” said Jeffrey A. Devore, a lawyer from West Palm Beach, Fla., who was sitting in Katz’s, the Lower East Side delicatessen that, like the neighborhood itself, has become a study in contrasts. Mr. Devore had driven into Manhattan in his rental car after a court hearing in Newark and had taken a seat amid what a critic once described as the “terrazzo-and-Formica ambience, with a cafeteria counter along one side and signs instructing you, as of yore, to ‘Send a salami to your boy in the Army.’” Beneath...

BELCHERTOWN, Mass. — Massachusetts state police say they and the FBI are investigating a trespassing incident at the Quabbin Reservoir but have no evidence of terrorism. The central Massachusetts reservoir supplies drinking water to Boston. State Police spokesman David Procopio says Tuesday night that a trooper saw two cars parked at a reservoir park entrance at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, then saw five young men and two young women walking toward them from the reservoir. Procopio said they are from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Singapore with addresses in Amherst, Cambridge, Sunderland and Northampton, and New York City. He said law enforcement...