Free Republic

ASH, N.C. -- Brunswick County Sherriff John Ingram announced in an emailed statement today that he is shifting his political affiliation to the Republican Party. Ingram could not be immediately reached for comment. "Though my career in law enforcement as a Democrat has brought me to this place in time," Ingram said in the statement, "it is my humble choice to live as my conservative principles and discipline desire."

Police are searching for a Gaston County pastor charged with raping and molesting a teen girl. Robert Lee Adams, 46, began sexually abusing the girl when she was younger than 13 and got her pregnant about three years later, according to the Gaston County Police Department. Authorities have been searching for Adams for nine months. The girl gave birth in the summer of 2008, and an investigation led police to Adams, said Gaston County Police Capt. Joe Ramey. Ramey said Adams was pastor of Mount Calvary Tabernacle at the corner of Linwood Road and Camp Rotary Road in west Gastonia....

Private meeting is one thing; cheap photo op is another. I don't mean to begrudge Billy Graham a Sunday afternoon visit from an admirer. I just wish he hadn't been used as a political prop. Picking up the paper Monday morning, I cringed at news of Sarah Palin spending the day with the evangelist at his home in Montreat. Especially cringe-inducing was the picture of Palin holding her special needs child, Trig, on her lap as mother and son shared what looked to be a less-than-spontaneous moment with Graham. It definitely wasn't a private moment, since a photographer had to...

Sarah Palin drew a crowd of over 4,000 on Monday to her book signing at Fort Bragg, though the former Alaska governor kept her appearance from turning into the kind of "political platform" that some military officials were concerned about. Palin did not give a speech during her three-hour stop at the North Carolina Army base, apparently living up to her pledge to tone down the event after Fort Bragg officials expressed concern that the visit could prompt grandstanding against the Obama administration. "It was just a peaceful crowd -- orderly, no one making any strange comments that I know...

RALEIGH -- North Carolina's unemployment rate rose slightly to 11 percent in October, a fraction off its historic peak earlier this year and the ninth straight month in double digits.

Sarah Palin, the hottest name in the Republican Party, took a detour from her book-signing tour Sunday to dine with Billy Graham at his mountaintop home in Montreat."He's followed her career and likes her strong stand on faith," said son Franklin Graham, who was present for the 2 1/2-hour get-together. "Daddy feels God was using her to wake America up."The former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate told Billy Graham about how she came to faith in God as a girl in Bible camp.She quizzed him on the presidents he's known and wanted his take on what the...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Thousands of people braved a cold, drizzly Monday for a chance to meet former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who was signing copies of her memoir at a Fort Bragg store. Some people camped out overnight, and the line snaked around the North Post-Exchange by the time Palin arrived at 11:15 a.m. The crowd chanted Palin's name when her "Going Rogue" tour bus pulled up outside the PX. "We love Sarah because she's a woman and she's smart," Sandra Harvath said. "She loves this country. I voted for her last time, and I'd vote for...

Sarah Palin arrived at Fort Bragg this morning to a media mob and cheers from more than 1,000 people lined up for her book-signing event. About a dozen people had been waiting since Sunday. Palin's bus pulled up to the North Post Exchange just after 11:15 a.m. and the former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate emerged in a black suit to cheers and whistles. As she passed the collected media, Palin was asked what she was thankful for this holiday season. "I'm thankful for the U.S. military, the best in the world," she said. The line to see Palin extended...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Hundreds of people are lined up at an Army base in North Carolina where former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is signing books. Palin arrived a little after 11 a.m. Monday, waved and went inside the store where she quickly started signing copies of her new memoir. She did not make any statement.

Sarah Palin comes to Asheville NC to have Dinner with Billy Graham & Family from richard bernier on Vimeo. Sarah Palin arrives in Asheville NC to have Dinner with Billy Graham & Family. 22 Nov 2009 - On a very short notice, Space Mountain Productions was advised that Mrs.Palin would be coming to Asheville to have dinner with Billy Graham & Familly. Mrs. Palin is on her book tour & will be in Fayetteville the next day to promote her book. Mrs.Palin arrived at 3:10pm & took a few questions & meet some supporters who had time to come to...

Sarah Palin, who will sign books Monday at Fort Bragg, plans a stopover in Montreat today to have dinner with 91-year-old Billy Graham and his son, Franklin Graham, who issued the invitation. "He just saw that she was going to be in the area and he said to come by," said Jeremy Blume, a spokesman for Franklin Graham. Former Alaska Gov. Palin, who was the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008, will fly into Asheville this afternoon, Blume said, and then go to Billy Graham's mountaintop home in Montreat for dinner. The Charlotte-born evangelist has never met Palin, who is...

4 at Duke get drug-resistant H1N1 By KEITH UPCHURCH DURHAM -- Four patients at Duke University Medical Center, all from North Carolina, have tested positive for a type of swine flu that's resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu, and three have died, health officials announced Friday at a news conference in Raleigh. The fourth patient, a woman, is still a patient at Duke and ''is doing much better,'' they said. Although the four had the H1N1 virus, they all had other medical problems, so it's uncertain if the swine flu caused their deaths, they said. All four were in an...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The U.S. Army has reversed its position and now says it will open Sarah Palin's appearance on Fort Bragg to media despite fears the event will turn into political grandstanding against President Barack Obama. Fort Bragg officials said Friday in a news advisory that any interested media will be able to attend. A day earlier, a spokesman said media would be prevented from attending so the Palin book signing would not become a political platform to express opinions "directed against the commander in chief."

Cops: Girl Raped, Killed On Day She Was Taken 29-year-old man faces sexual assault, murder charges in 5-year-old’s death Police say Shaniya Davis was raped and asphyxiated Nov. 10, the day her mom reported her missing from the trailer park. FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - A 5-year-old North Carolina girl was raped and killed the same day she was taken from her home, according to an arrest warrant released Friday. Shaniya Davis was sexually assaulted and asphyxiated Nov. 10, the day her mother reported her missing from the trailer park where she was staying, according to the warrant. Authorities embarked on a...

RALEIGH -- Dr. Earl Sunderhaus, an Asheville eye doctor, has what might charitably be described as a brusque bedside manner. That much is not in dispute. But the N.C. Medical Board may decide Sunderhaus overstepped the bounds of decency when he recently told a patient she was irresponsible for being unemployed, on Medicaid, and relying on taxpayers to cover another pregnancy after giving birth less than a year earlier. What really galled her, the patient complained, is that Sunderhaus poked her thigh and told her she is fat. Quantcast "When I got home I was very upset about the way...

RALEIGH — The Army now says it will allow media limited access to Sarah Palin's appearance at Fort Bragg. Army officials had said they would prohibit coverage of Palin's on-post event, saying it would turn into political grandstanding against President Obama. The Associated Press and The Fayetteville Observer objected, and the military changed its position slightly Thursday night. It will grant a pool of reporters restricted access to Monday's appearance. Fort Bragg spokesman Col. Billy Buckner said members of the media will not be allowed to interview the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and will be barred from talking to...

Breaking news! The Shaniya Davis cause of death is asphyxiation and the autopsy revealed that the little five year old girl was raped. Mario Andrette McNeill has been charged with rape and first degree murder in addition to first degree kidnapping charges. A live press conference was held tonight at 8:00 p.m. and the additional charges were made public. (click here to view a slideshow from the Shaniya Davis case) Reports state that Mario McNeill has remained in isolation since he surrendered to authorities on November 13, 2009, after being seen carrying Shaniya Davis in his arms in a hotel....

The U.S. Army now says it will allow media limited access to Sarah Palin's appearance at Fort Bragg. The Associated Press and The Fayetteville Observer objected and the military changed its position slightly on Thursday night. It will grant a pool of reporters restricted access to Monday's appearance. Buckner said the setup will allow reporters their right to access .

| The formal introduction: Mike Adams is a professor at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and a syndicated columnist. The informal: He is probably the most outspoken Christian conservative professor in the United States now teaching at a state university. He's gone from passive writing to fiery prose, and from an incendiary lifestyle to one centered on true ideas. Q: Tell us about your 1.8 GPA in high school. I can't believe you brought that up! That was off limits! Q: How hard did you have to work to get a 1.8? My goal was to graduate with a 1.0,...

Nearly two weeks after U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell bucked his party and voted against health care legislation, June Mabry's phone line is still burning up with calls from angry Democrats. [...] Kissell, of Montgomery County, was one of 39 Democrats who voted against the health care bill that passed the House by five votes this month. He was one of just eight from a district that President Barack Obama carried last year. It didn't take long for the backlash to begin. The liberal group MoveOn.org has been running a TV ad in his district that applauds congressmen who "stood tall"...

<p>Contact your Senators and let them know what you think!</p> <p>U.S. veterans or subsidies for United Nations (U.N.) bureaucracy.</p>

Body of Shaniya Davis found along the side of a road in rural N.C. Mother sold the child last week into underground slavery. Last seen on a hotel video camera.

AIP Reagan List member Bill Randall, who is running for Congress in North Carolina's 13th District: Watch video HERE

Fayetteville, N.C. — The mother of a 5-year-old girl, who has been missing since Tuesday, was charged late Saturday in connection with her disappearance, Fayetteville police said. Antoinette Nicole Davis was charged with human trafficking; felony child abuse – prostitution; filing a false police report; and resist, delay, or obstruct an officer, police said. Shaniya Nicole Davis was reported missing from her home, at 1116-A Sleepy Hollow Drive in Fayetteville, on Tuesday morning.

On opposite sides of town, two local groups with opposing viewpoints on health care reform set out to have their opinions heard. The Onslow County Democratic Party held a march in support of President Barack Obama’s health care initiative along Western Boulevard Saturday morning, where about 50 supporters walked Several hours later, the Onslow County Republican Party held a rally at the Marina Café on U.S. 17 in opposition of the president’s health care reform with nearly 200 people in attendance

The North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission revoked an Eden night club's permit to sell alcohol after three people were shot leaving the club last week, according to the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. Authorities have charged two people in connection with the shootings, which included one fatality. Timothy Ronnel Seay, of Martinsville, was killed and two other Virginia men were injured during the shooting near the Icehouse Club and Lounge during the early morning of Oct. 7. Detectives arrested Shavon Lamont Reid, 21, of Martinsville, at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday after he turned himself in at the...

It seemed like a good idea -- take an elementary school class on a field trip to a historical plantation. But things turned awkward when the tour guide decided to choose black students to demonstrate how slaves were forced to pick cotton. The incident happened last Wednesday in Charlotte, North Carolina on a visit to the historic Latta Plantation. When the subject turned to slavery, tour guide Ian Campbell, who is black, picked three black students out of the mostly white class to illustrate slaves picking cotton. "I am very enthusiastic about getting kids to think about how people did...

Congressman Bob Etheridge said Friday that he would not challenge Republican Sen. Richard Burr next year, despite a concerted effort by the national Democratic Party to coax him into the race. The decision is another setback for the Democrats, who earlier this year failed to entice Attorney General Roy Cooper into the race, Rob Christensen reports. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has turned its attention to former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, an Iraq War veteran from Lexington, who had spent several months exploring a Senate bid, before announcing Monday that he would not be a candidate. Etheridge, a veteran Congressman,...

As America debates whether to send tens of thousands more troops to Afghanistan, in the ninth year of a war for ends we cannot discern, a riveting new history recalls times when Americans fought for vital national interests. "A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent" is Robert Merry's brilliant biography and history of that time. Merry goes far toward righting the injustice done by historians who have denied this great man his place in the pantheon of presidents, because they believe "Jimmy Polk's War" to have been a war...

Kimberly Munley shown in a photo from her Twitter page. The civilian police officer credited with stopping the shooting rampage that killed 13 people at Fort Hood is a Carolina Beach native and graduate of Hoggard High Fort Hood police Sgt. Kimberly Munley and her partner responded within three minutes of reported gunfire Thursday afternoon, Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said Friday morning. Cone said Munley shot the gunman four times despite being shot herself. “She happened to encounter the gunman. In an exchange of gunfire, she was wounded but managed to wound him four times,” Cone said. “It was...

Selling candy didn't raise much money last year, so a Goldsboro middle school is selling grades. A $20 donation to Rosewood Middle School will get a student 20 test points - 10 extra points on two tests of the student's choosing. That could raise a B to an A, or a failing grade to a D. Susie Shepherd, the principal, said a parent advisory council came up with the idea, and she endorsed it. She said the council was looking for a new way to raise money.

November 11 is Veteran's Day, a day when veterans of the armed forces are honored and remembered for their service and sacrifice. An aging group of veterans from the U.S. state of North Carolina, came to Washington D.C., on a pilgrimage to honor their fallen comrades. The airplane carrying more than 100 World War II Veterans arrived in Washington right on schedule. There was a celebration to honor these men known as the "greatest generation" for their service and sacrifice during World War II. It was an outpouring of admiration and appreciation for these veterans from North Carolina. They came...

The GOP's women problem By MEREDITH SHINER & GLENN THRUSH | 11/9/09 4:11 AM EST A widening schism between the GOP's right wing and moderates has clear gender undertones. Photo: AP photo composite by POLITICO Conservatives say they pushed Dede Scozzafava out of the House race in New York’s 23rd District a week ago because of her left-of-Republican social views — and not because she is a woman. But the growing schism between the Republican Party’s ascendant right wing and its shrinking moderate core has clear gender undertones — and Scozzafava’s departure raises fresh questions about the GOP’s ability to...

>Nouri Obeyd Kathem (left), an archaeologist with the Iraqi Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism, explains the Sobbar Abu Habba site to Maj. Charles Morrison (center) and Capt. Ross Boyce with the 120th Combined Arms Battalion, Nov. 4. Photo by Sgt. Jon Soles, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. BAGHDAD — What may look like large, weathered mounds of dirt on rural farmland near Mahmudiyah are actually artifact-filled ruins of an ancient civilization. Soldiers of the North Carolina National Guard's 120th Combined Arms Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team here surveyed the sites recently with officials from the Government of Iraq's Ministry of...

When Wrightsville Beach police detective Shaun Appler pulled over a suspected drunk driver in 2000, he couldn’t have foreseen the dangerous situation that was about to ensue. Thankfully Appler’s partner, Kimberly Munley, was there to save his life.

When Wrightsville Beach police detective Shaun Appler pulled over a suspected drunk driver in 2000, he couldn’t have foreseen the dangerous situation that was about to ensue. Thankfully Appler’s partner, Kimberly Munley, was there to save his life. While Appler was talking to the driver of the vehicle, a third man approached the detective and interjected himself into the discussion. Appler said he asked the third man to leave, when he didn’t, the detective tried to arrest him. A struggle ensued, and the two men eventually rolled down a hill. When they came to a stop, the man was straddling...

Due to the amazing energy of the 9-12 March on Washington, we are BRINGING IT HOME TO NORTH CAROLINA! North Carolina FreedomWorks is sponsoring a “Taxpayer March On Raleigh” The 11-14 event will begin at 11AM and include a march and rally. The event will begin on Halifax Mall, the large grassy area located between the Legislative Building and the Legislative Office Building. As FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe is fond of saying, “Government goes to those who show up.” We showed up to march on our nation’s capitol. It’s time to bring it home to our state capitol! From...

<p>Below is a list of selected Democrats and their positions on the House healthcare reform bill based on media accounts, press releases and spokesmen for the lawmakers.</p>

RALEIGH — Rep. Pricey Harrison has asked the state’s attorney general and Department of Insurance to investigate Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina’s use of campaign-style tactics aimed at defeating controversial federal health insurance legislation. The Greensboro Democrat wants to know whether the insurer violated the state’s do-not-call registry law with an automated message in late October. And she questions whether it is proper for the insurer to use its premiums to pay for the calls and two recent pieces of direct mail. “I have heard from a number of constituents who were really upset about the postcard campaign,”...

The civilian police officer credited with stopping the shooting rampage that killed 13 people at Fort Hood is a Carolina Beach native and graduate of Hoggard High School. Fort Hood police Sgt. Kimberly Munley and her partner responded within three minutes of reported gunfire Thursday afternoon, Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said Friday morning. Cone said Munley shot the gunman four times despite being shot herself. “She happened to encounter the gunman. In an exchange of gunfire, she was wounded but managed to wound him four times,” Cone said. “It was an amazing and aggressive performance by this police officer.” Munley,...

While roaming the grounds of the US Capitol yesterday, Kristinn Taylor obtained a list of possible democrat defectors of the now infamous “Healthcare” bill. Kristinn was asked to post this list of wobbly democrats on FreeRepublic in an effort to mobilize our forces and overwhelm these members with phone calls and e-mails asking them to vote NO on the socialization of our healthcare. We also learned that Nancy Pelosi had just scheduled the vote for tomorrow; Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 6:00 PM. For all those who were unable to answer the call to surround the Capitol yesterday, here is...

TAMPA - Charlotte, N.C.'s mayor politely suggested Monday that the Tampa Bay area was behind its competition when it comes to the transportation networks necessary for job recruitment. Then Mayor Patrick McCrory shared with 300 community leaders the experiences that led to Charlotte's recent transit-oriented success. The strong turnout for the regional transportation session provided a further example the local transit movement is gaining momentum. Hillsborough County leaders are trying to get a 1-cent sales tax referendum for transit on the November 2010 ballot. "You are taking a very courageous political step," McCrory told elected officials advocating improved transit. "You...

GREENSBORO — The City Council just got a lot more conservative — starting with the guy at the top. First-time mayoral candidate Bill Knight ousted incumbent Yvonne Johnson in Tuesday’s City Council election. The victory is the first by a challenger over an incumbent mayor since voters began electing the mayor at-large in 1973. Knight ran on a platform of fiscal conservatism and cleaning up the city’s police department. He will lead a council that, in the course of one election, now has a supermajority of registered Republicans. “The voters spoke to change,” Knight said. About 18 percent of the...

Voters ended more than two decades of Republican leadership in Charlotte Tuesday by electing Democrat Anthony Foxx the city's second African-American mayor and the youngest in memory. Foxx won Charlotte's closest mayoral race in years, taking just over 51 percent of the vote over Republican John Lassiter in unofficial totals. At a victory celebration, Foxx shared a long hug with a jubilant Harvey Gantt, the last Democratic and first African-American mayor. "It's been 22 years since we've had this moment," a hoarse Foxx told a cheering crowd at the Westin hotel. "The work of rebuilding our community starts very soon....

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Greensboro’s first African-American mayor was ousted Tuesday by Republican challenger Bill Knight. Knight won 51.36 percent of the votes to Johnson’s 48.54 percent in unofficial election results. Knight, during an interview this week, said that while businesses in the Gate City have had to cut back on expenses, the city budget needs to be more heavily scrutinized. Knight said he is also willing to consider reopening the White Street landfill as a way to save money. Knight lost his first political campaign for City Council two years ago. A former certified public accountant, he earned a bachelor’s...

New York beef manufacturer Fairbanks Farms has issued a voluntary recall of a little more than half a million pounds of ground beef. The recall, which affects states from Maine to North Carolina -- Maryland included -- comes after one person died in New Hampshire and people were sickened in other states after eating beef thought to be contaminated by the bacteria E.coli. The products, which include ground beef, meatloaf and meatball mix, carry sell-by dates from Sept. 19-28 and were sold under such brands as Trader Joe's Butcher Shop Fine Quality Meats, Giant Meatloaf & Meatball Mix and BJ's...

A month ago, Almeta Whitsett was on the waiting list for Mobile Meals. With two hip replacements and a husband with Alzheimer’s, the 84-year-old Greensboro woman was finding it harder to cook. She already had someone who came in to clean her house every two weeks. Now, she has help in the kitchen, too. Senior Resources of Guilford learned over the summer that it would receive $80,000 in stimulus money from the state Department of Health and Human Services. The money officially arrives today for Senior Resources. But since the agency knew that the funds were coming, Whitsett started receiving...

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C.-- Police have made an arrest after a team of robbers invaded a home in Rowan County twice in the same week. Timani Starks and Tiffany Horne have been charged with multiple counts of robbery and Starks is also being charged with attempted murder. Investigators say a home on Corriher Grange Road near Highway 152, was first held up Monday night. NewsChannel 36 spoke exclusively with the Deadmon family after the first home invasion. They told us how the robbers forced them to open the safe at gunpoint. Timani Starks and Tiffany Horne They reported the robbery to...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zayow4PaQr4 This is an account of over 5 years of research and collection of evidence that many of North Carolina's elected county officials have assumed office illegally, and are acting in a CRIMINAL capacity, according to statute, but the Attorney General, having acknowledged the problem, refuses to do anything about it. See for your self. Absent assumption of liability, absent assurance of value, absent offer of recourse. The viewer must decide. FOR A PDF VERSION: www.amossigngraphics.com/movie/abovelaw.pdf

North Carolina elections officials penalized former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign $100,000 Friday for not reporting flights provided by a political ally and asked prosecutors to investigate whether he or others broke laws by trying to hide them or other expenses.