Free Republic

City Creek Center may be trying to attract retail tenants during tough economic times, but that doesn't mean there will be lots of empty storefronts when the massive project opens for business in early 2012, a representative said Wednesday. Interest in City Creek -- one of the few large shopping centers in development nationally -- is high, Mark Gibbons, president of City Creek Reserve, said without elaborating. SNIP But City Creek Reserve, a development arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has yet to release much information about retailers that will fill 80 smaller speciality shops. The...

SEATTLE -- There are more questions than answers in the case of a suspected international arms dealer caught in Washington state with a stockpile of sniper rifles. Oliver King is an Iranian citizen who, in the past, has been a licensed gun dealer. King appeared in court in Seattle on Wednesday, accused of keeping a stash of guns and ammunition hidden in a storage unit near the U.S.-Canada border. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, King lied to enter the U.S. near Blaine last week. Agents with U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement became suspicious of King when he showed up...

ORLANDO, Fla.- A Florida shopping mall had an unexpected, and unwelcome, visitor Wednesday when a 10-foot alligator took up residence on a nearby sidewalk, authorities said. Trappers were called to the Millenia Mall in Orlando, Fla., early in the morning to capture and remove the animal, WESH-TV, Orlando, reported. They said more of the reptiles are seen at this time of year when the alligators' mating season begins. "Most of the time when you have a big single alligator, it's usually a male adult searching for a girlfriend," gator trapper Terry Parlier said.

Six people have been injured in a shooting at Arrowhead Mall in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Three of the victims are reported to be in critical condition. Muskogee, United States - Muskogee Police confirm that there was a shooting at the mall and that there are victims. At this time the duty desk officer said during a phone interview that there is no other information that they can give out.

How do you keep more than 6,300 people fed, housed and having the time of their life while floating in the middle of the ocean? The Oasis of the Seas -- the world's largest cruise ship -- aims to accomplish that feat nearly every week. Almost five times as large as the Titanic, it has a population during its seven-day Caribbean sailings that is larger than many American small towns -- more than 8,600 when it is fully booked and including staff. The Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ship, which first set sail last December, is almost as long as five...

A father was told he was not allowed take pictures of his four-year-old son at a Sunderland shopping centre because of fears he could be a paedophile. Kevin Geraghty-Shewan, of Kent, was challenged by a security guard at The Bridges after photographing his son Ben on a children's train ride. He was told he could not prove Ben was his son and later quizzed by a police officer called to the centre. Bosses at the shopping centre have apologised for the "misunderstanding". Mr Geraghty-Shewan, 48, of Gillingham, said they had visited the shopping centre after Ben was given £10 from...

Arguments have moved to the appellate court level in a California case in which a man talking to two willing strangers in a shopping mall was arrested because the subject of the conversation was God. The case developed several years ago when a youth pastor was arrested at the Galleria Mall in Roseville, Calif., for having a conversation about religion with two other people. Matthew Snatchko, who works with youth at his church, was interrupted in the middle of a conversation by a security guard. A second guard joined the confrontation and told Snatchko he was being placed under citizen's...

The shopping malls of America will be among the next major terrorist targets. Malls make such obvious high-value targets that it's difficult to grasp why they haven't been hit up until now. Shopping malls are America's marketplaces, constantly packed with people, with uncontrolled entry, and openly vulnerable to any given form of attack. We need only consider the darkest days of the Iraqi terror campaign of 2006-2007 to grasp how the jihadis view marketplaces. Scarcely a week went by without another Iraqi marketplace bombing, with casualties largely consisting of women and children, mounting from the dozens to the hundreds. We...

A Muslim immigrant opened fire and killed five people in Finland today before turning the gun on himself.
CNN reported: A gunman opened fire inside a busy shopping center near the Finnish capital of Helsinki Thursday, leaving five people dead, police said. Four of the victims — three men and one woman — were killed at the Sello shopping center in Espoo, just west of Helsinki, police said. Some were employees of a grocery store at the mall, police said. A fifth victim, also an employee of the grocery store, was found later at an apartment in Espoo, police said, without...

Shots have been fired at a shopping centre in the town of Espoo, near the capital of Finland, Helsinki. An eyewitness said at least one person was left lying on the floor after shooting broke out, the national broadcaster YLE said on its website.

Rocky Mount, N.C. — Rocky Mount police officers are searching for Risheem Robinson, 18, who was accused of shooting inside Golden East Crossing Mall, at 1100 N. Wesleyan Blvd., around 7 p.m. Saturday. Robinson shot at three young men – ages 16, 15 and 14 – in the mall's common area near the entrance to Best Buy, Rocky Mount police Capt. Laura Fahnestock said. No one was injured, but a wall and glass doors were damaged. Police arrested the 16-year-old, Murray Chamberlain, and the 14-year-old, whose name was not released. The 15-year-old was released after questioning. Police charged Chamberlain and...

"Stop, stop, you're killing me: Knoxville Muslim says he was joking about carrying out jihad terror attack at shopping mall Ha ha! A real side splitter! Look out, Letterman!" SNIPPET: "...pushed for the detention pending trial of Hazam Ali Ahmed. The 35-year-old Ahmed was charged with being a felon in possession of firearms after authorities last week found two guns inside the Central Convenience Store on Keith Avenue that he operated. However, testimony at Monday's hearing shows Ahmed has been on the radar screen of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force since at least January 2006." SNIPPET: ""He referred to...

A man was arrested for allegedly throwing two tomatoes at Sarah Palin from the second floor balcony during a book signing event at the Mall of America in Minnesota, MyFoxTwinCities.com. reported. Neither tomato came close hitting the former 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, but did hit a police officer in the face, the station reported. The unidentified man may face charges for assaulting a police officer, according to the station. Die-hard supporters treated the event like another Black Friday, lining up outside in freezing weather before the mall doors opened at 5 a.m. Emily Calhoon, a high school junior from...

Police arrested 22-year-old Abdul Walid Hamid of Hayward on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 4, after he reportedly tore a crucifix from a person's neck and scared others at Stoneridge Shopping Center. Hamid, an employee at a mall kiosk near Starbucks, has been charged with battery, terrorist threats and grand theft. According to reports, Hamid was yelling "Allah is power" and "Islam is great" while holding a pen in a fist over his head. Witnesses said he shouted anti-Christian comments, said police. Lt. Mike Elerick of the Pleasanton Police Department said the man was not provoked and didn't threaten violence,...

Man arrested for 'anti-Christian' mall disturbance Kiosk employee allegedly tore a crucifix from someone's neck Police arrested 22-year-old Abdul Walid Hamid of Hayward on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 4, after he reportedly tore a crucifix from a person's neck and scared others at Stoneridge Shopping Center. Hamid, an employee at a mall kiosk near Starbucks, has been charged with battery, terrorist threats and grand theft. According to reports, Hamid was yelling "Allah is power" and "Islam is great" while holding a pen in a fist over his head. Witnesses said he shouted anti-Christian comments, said police. "We had multiple...

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A shooting has been reported and confirmed at a Tualatin strip mall, police said. Few details were available. According to Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, there may be as many as 10 victims. The shooting was reported at 7575 SW Mohawk at the Martinazzi intersection. Police first confirmed that a shooting had occurred sometime after 11 a.m.

SNIPPET: "Shopping malls stepped up security measures and terrorism awareness training after 9/11, but it’s unlikely they could prevent a shooting rampage by a terrorist hell-bent on killing, according to industry experts. Malls lack access control, and their civilian security officers usually are unarmed, making them much more vulnerable to an attack such as the one suspect Tarek Mehanna allegedly suggested, although they are less likely terrorism targets than more high-profile, class-A office buildings, other iconic centers or power facilities.

BOSTON - A pharmacy college graduate conspired with two other men on a terror plot to kill two prominent U.S. politicians and carry out a holy war by attacking shoppers in U.S. malls and American troops in Iraq, prosecutors said Wednesday. But their plans — in which the men used code words like "peanut butter and jelly" for fighting in Somalia and "culinary school" for terrorist camps — were thwarted in part when they could not find training and were unable to buy automatic weapons, authorities said. Tarek Mehanna worked with the men from 2001 to May 2008 on the...

Via ABC News: A pharmacy college graduate made a defiant appearance in federal court Wednesday, hours after being charged with conspiring with two other men in a terror plot to kill two prominent U.S. politicians and carry out a holy war by attacking shoppers in U.S. malls and American troops in Iraq. Authorities say the men's plans — in which they used code words like "peanut butter and jelly" for fighting in Somalia and "culinary school" for terrorist camps — were thwarted in part when they could not find training and were unable to buy automatic weapons, authorities said....

Dan Fuchs is a local businessman who set up a graphic arts kiosk at The Johnson City, Tennessee mall. Business was slow until a customer suggested he try selling stickers with the NoBama message. Business picked up and he expanded his line of 'anti-Obama' stickers. Today, mall administration terminated Fuchs' lease after it began receiving complaints about the allegedly 'anti-Obama' merchandise. Fuchs said he also sold 'pro-Obama' stickers, but the mall administration felt he wasn't offering a fair balance between anti and pro Obama stickers. In the video story on Channel 11's website, the mall spokeswoman inexplicably says that the...