Free Republic

Nearly 24 years after the original Eastern shut down on Jan. 18, 1991, the new Eastern Air Lines welcomed home its first new aircraft on Dec. 19. Ex-Kenya Airways Boeing 737-800 “The Spirit of Captain Eddie Rickenbacker,” N276EA, arrived from Shannon, Ireland (SNN), via Portsmouth, New Hampshire (PSN), into the airline’s base at Miami International Airport at 3:13 p.m. local time on Runway 8R to a water-cannon salute. The fanfare reached far beyond that of a traditional airline launch, particularly in Miami. Miami was the original Eastern’s headquarters, and the carrier was the city’s largest employer from the mid-1970s until...

Open bowl thread Late second quarter, refs wave off a BYU defensive pass interference after claim ball was tipped. (Instant replay -- no tip at line...only tip by BYU interception player...result? Free ref-provided td for BYU) Otherwise...hi-scoring first half. BYU...first 1 1/2 quarters...an unsportmanslike conduct penalty...an unnecessary roughness penalty...a facemask penalty...A real testimony, I would say. Commentators mentioned penalties been an issue for BYU during season.

While Miami-Dade residents were strike recently with new, rare fee hikes on vital east-west arteries, Gov. Rick Scott was rewarding his farming regressive supporters with $9 million to build and urge their toll-free roads. So while down south we compensate a way, a folks adult north who minister reduction to state revenues get a giveaway ride. Poor timing? Irony? A giggle to go with a slap to a pockets of Miami-Dade’s toll-payers? The governor’s proclamation from Tallahassee was all those things — and came by approach of press releases finished with difference of regard from a prolonged register of who’s...

Delbert Rodriguez Gutierrez, a street artist who goes by the name “Demz,” was in critical condition with a severe brain injury after being struck by an unmarked Miami police car during a chase in Wynwood early Friday. Rodriguez, 21, was spotted by police gang unit members as he was “tagging” a privately owned building near Northwest Fifth Avenue and 24th Street about 2 a.m., police said. When officers began chasing him, Rodriguez fled. Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article4296547.html#storylink=cpy

Freddrick Parks fired the bullet that killed Khambell Manning last week during a wild shootout near Miami Carol City High School that had students trapped in the school and dogs and helicopters scouring the neighborhood for hours, police said Tuesday. Parks, 17, was taken into custody Tuesday morning by Miami Gardens and Miami-Dade police, and was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 16-year-old Khambell Manning. Parks also was charged with attempting to murder Manning’s friend, 17-year-old Tranard Gray.

Islamic State militants are reportedly demanding $6.6 million and the release of a U.S. prisoner before they will free a third American hostage held by the group, an unidentified aid worker. A source confirmed to Fox News that the aid worker is a 26-year-old woman from the West Coast. They did not provide further details, but ABC News reported that the woman, whose relatives have requested she not be identified, is the third of at least four Americans known to be held by the extremist Muslim organization. American journalist James Foley was executed by the group in a video that...

According to the Latino American Dawah Organization (LADO), more Hispanics are turning towards Islam and interestingly, more than half of Miami’s 3,000 Hispanic Muslims are female. Florida, bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, is the US’s fourth most populous state and is highly distinguished by its thriving Hispanic community. In 2010, Hispanics and Latinos made up 22.5 percent of Florida’s population.

A resolution to split the state of Florida in two has passed in the city of South Miami, the newspaper in South Miami the Sun-Sentinel reported. The officials voted 3-2 in favor of making South Florida the 51st state, according to the Sun-Sentinel. The city's Vice Mayor Walter Harris stated that the capitol doesn't provide South Florida with the proper representation and doesn't address the specific concerns like the sea level rising. The mayor supported the secession too. Those opposed to the idea said that this vote sets a precedent for parts of cities to break away if need be....

As a hub of international shipping and travel it stands to reason that Miami might be at a higher risk to report a case of ebola. It also stands to reason that since Miami's economy is dependent on tourism a reported case of ebola could have serious business consequences. So it's not surprising either that Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and the county commission are taking extra precautions to prepare for the possibility of ebola in the 305. Come to think of it actually, it's not that surprising that they seem to have no idea what they're talking about either. The...

Fifteen people were shot at an adult nightclub in Liberty City early Sunday morning, according to Miami police. The injured range in age from age 11 to 25.

The party in the new club went into the wee hours Sunday morning. Strawberry daiquiris flowed. Music from DJ Bay Bay pulsed. Teens were chilling and dancing. Then came the gunfire. Witnesses said they heard dozens of rounds, maybe 100, rip through a storefront Miami nightclub called The Spot, wedged between a furniture store and a smoke shop. When the bullets stopped, 15 young people were bloodied, dazed and wounded. Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article2282344.html#storylink=cpy

A Miami high school student brutally raped at female teacher at his school after choking until she passed out, police say. Victor Marshall Nash, 18, is charged with attempted first degree murder, sexual battery, robbery and grand theft for the alleged attack on his teacher at South Dade Senior High School on Friday. Detectives say two hours after the last class ended, Nash approached the teacher and put his arm around her. When she told him 'No, stop,' he body-slammed her to the ground and smashed her head against the floor.

In the next decade, Florida’s biggest cities will add toll lanes to the state’s busiest highways. Nobody knows exactly how much it will cost. Maybe as little as $3 billion. Maybe double that. What’s clear is that when the toll lanes across the state are complete, they will become one of the largest infrastructure projects in state history. There’s little debate that the toll lanes, also called express lanes or managed lanes, make commutes quicker for those willing to pay as much as $10 to use them. But there has been little debate about the need for the projects —...

#BREAKING: A potential case of #Ebola is being treated at a Miami-area hospital, officials from @CDCgov confirmed. http://on.nbc6.com/A1i24K6

Antwan Washington was shot twice. So was Marquise Riley-Asbury, whose life the second bullet ended. Another man was shot as he got off a bus, and still another while in bed at home. In the first seven months of this year, 43 people living in a 13-square-block area surrounding Miami’s Liberty Square housing project have been shot, police records show. Seven have died.

“Praise be to God, each day we conquer the American Jews like our conquests over the Jews of Israel. Your brother, Sofian” One should know several things about “Brother Sofian”: his full name is Sofian Zakkout; he is a Palestinian "proudly born in Gaza"; he lives in Florida; and – despite the outrageous statement above and others like them, the organization he runs is funded by agencies of the U.S. government and has excellent relations with a range of Jewish organizations.

You’ve seen the story of the Mike Brown family autopsy, and the grand press conference they produced to deliver it to the public. But a closer look points out why the Scheme Team actually used New York Times Frances Robles to deliver the ruse: Frances worked with the Scheme Team in 2012 (2012 bio below) while she was at the Miami Herald and was part of their inner circle of media types willing to sell the Trayvon Story. The actual truth appears to be – a rather controversial person Shawn Parcells, who is NOT a forensic pathologist, was used by...

Miami Gardens police have charged a second suspect in the death of Qualecia James, a pregnant woman who was killed in a drive-by shooting earlier this year. Police charged Gregory Medy, 18, with one count of first-degree murder of James. James, 21, was shot March 30 as she sat in the back seat of a car at Northwest 182nd Street and 32nd Avenue. Doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital delivered her baby, but he died five days later.

The Rabbi of a Miami Beach synagogue was murdered earlier today on his way to synagogue. The Rabbid was shot dead oin cold block only two blocks away from the synagogue that was defaced with Hamas, swastikas and Jew hatred last week after a Hamas-CAIR hate demo.

As a hardcore baseball guy, I often wonder why people needlessly waste their time on all those other, lesser sports. But I suppose everyone has a right to their insane opinions. In any case, football fans may want to keep an eye on this development: The NFL announced this week that it will be using RFID tracking chips on players during select games in the 2014 season. The high-tech chips — RFID stands for radio-frequency identification — will generate precise positioning data on each player on every play. Football Uniforms Throughout History For the initial rollout, the RFID system will...