Free Republic

A federal judge ordered Wal-Mart Stores Inc to let shareholders vote on a proposal to force tighter oversight of its sale of high-capacity guns and other potentially offensive products. The proposal would require the governance committee of Wal-Mart's board to more closely examine the sale of products that might endanger public safety, hurt Wal-Mart's reputation, or offend "family and community values" integral to the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company's brand.

A squadron of ships from Russia's Northern Fleet is currently conducting drills in the English Channel, according to Russian media. The squadron, lead by the Udaloy-class destroyer Severomorsk and including the Alexander Otrakovsky amphibious ship and a tanker, are conducting exercises such as assisting a vessel in distress, communication training and transferring fuel in international waters. The ships are crewed by a total of 250 Russian marines. Russian media reports that the ships were also conducting drills to "repel air attack". According to the Russian navy's press service: "Today, a squadron of ships and support vessels from the Northern Fleet...

A new test designed to rapidly diagnose Ebola virus infection is to be tried out at a treatment centre for the disease in Guinea, international health charity The Wellcome Trust said on Friday. Researchers developing the 15-minute Ebola test say it is six times faster than similar ones currently in use and, if it proves successful, could help medical staff identify and isolate confirmed Ebola patients faster and start treating them sooner. The trial, led by researchers at the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal, and funded by Wellcome and the UK government, will use a "mobile suitcase laboratory" -- a...

USDA Buys Cranberries For Food Pantries And School Lunches: ‘It’s A Win-Win’ Nov 27, 2014 06:24 PM EST USDA Cranberries - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agreed to purchase up to $55 million in cranberry products to the Congressional Cranberry Caucus.The USDA doubled with this buy the previous one, which was in January. The agreement ended up with the Agriculture Dept. getting 68 million pounds of surplus cranberries, Green Bay Press Gazette reported.The U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said on a press release on Monday that Wisconsin is the main producer of cranberries and the decision of the USDA is to...

“I don’t want to say they’re unsafe, but they’re dangerous.” That was how President Obama’s former transportation secretary Ray LaHood described America’s roads and bridges in a pre-Thanksgiving interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes. The high-profile story left viewers with the distinct impression that America’s roads and bridges are crumbling, and politicians were to blame. First, let’s dispense with the notion that travel in America is a life-jeopardizing experience. According to the Federal Highway Administration’s own 2013 report, the number of structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges has decreased every year since 2000. This same report also shows that fatalities and...

The woman who founded the movement to support Darren Wilson has spoken out and revealed that the Ferguson police officer could have a $1 million war chest. The supporter said that she knew of at least $500,000 from two donation funds set up in his name but that was a 'conservative estimate' - and the total could be seven figures. She declined to give her name for fear of reprisals and revealed that she had been subject to a torrent of 'vile' online abuse.

“Ask Google who is the [King Of United States] and Google will inform you that it is Barack Obama, the current President of the United States,” Barry Schwartz writes for SearchEngineLand.com.

Years ago, I encountered a piece in Feminism & Nonviolence Studies entitled “Feminist, Prolife, and Atheist,” by Kathryn Reed. At the time, I had no idea that atheism was in my future. What really stuck with me was not the title, or even the body of the article, but one of the subheadings: “Converting Abortion Clinics To Peacetime Use.” The idea of “peacetime use” has been on my mind a lot lately, as the pro-life movement has seen a record number of abortion businesses close in recent months. On a whim, I thought I’d put together a list showing how...

If she hits the campaign trail as expected, Americans will have all the Hillary Clinton speeches they could possibly want, but for now she charges $300,000, according to communications the Washington Post obtained with a Freedom of Information Act request. Emails about an appearance at UCLA earlier this year reveal that $300,000 is the reduced rate for public universities, and the Clinton team requested "coffee, tea, room temp sparkling and still water, diet ginger ale, crudité, hummus and sliced fruit," backstage. The meticulous planning included discussion of everything down to the color of the chairs, the emails reveal, and the...

.....A newly published story in the Washington Post notes that Clinton often earns $300,000 or more per speech. On top of that, the prominent Democrat places many a demand on those who want to book her, including having “room temp sparkling and still water” and “two long rectangular (chair) pillows” on hand, according to the contract negotiations the Post obtained. Clinton’s fees have surprised some who booked her, according to the Post story. When UCLA hired her to give a talk earlier this year, a university official noted that Clinton’s spouse—as in former President Bill Clinton—came cheaper. “Wow! She (gets)...

David Cameron has passionately urged other EU leaders to support his "reasonable" proposals for far-reaching curbs on welfare benefits for migrants. Britain's prime minister said lower EU migration would be a priority in future negotiations over the UK's membership and he would "rule nothing out" ....... The main proposals in the speech-which are dependent on Mr. Cameron remaining in power after May's general election-are: . Stopping EU migrants from claiming in-work benefits, such as tax credits, and getting access to social housing for four years. . Stopping migrants claiming child benefit for dependents living outside the UK . Removing migrants...

[SNIP] Wilson also testified that even after being shot and wounded several times, Brown continued to “charge” at him, with an intent to kill. “When he stopped, he turned, looked at me, made like a grunting noise and had the most intense, aggressive face I’ve ever seen on a person. When he looked at me, he then did like the hop … you know, like people do to start running,” Wilson testified. It’s hard to fathom what is more absurd, the idea that a multiple gunshot wound victim would keep coming for more, or that a grand jury would believe...

We're going to need a big push to wrap this up within the next few days. Let's git 'er done. We've got a big fight ahead stopping Obama's desperate scorched earth plan for his last two years, especially now that the GOPe leadership has officially taken a powder and refuses to engage him. It's now up to the grassroots patriots and the conservative tea party members in congress. The democrats and RINOS have us surrounded, so we must split, no, DOUBLE our forces and efforts and fight in both directions!! It's more obvious than ever, today, that Obama must be...

WASHINGTON - If you thought the bare knuckled, no-holds-barred, midterm elections were rough, the last two years of Barack Obama's presidency will make that look like a Sunday school picnic. Frustrated by the slow, plodding pace of democracy, the Constitution's checks and balances, and the pertinence of Republicans to want a say in their government, Obama's preparing for all out war in next year's GOP Congress. He has taken to writing his own immigration laws, and by implication, erased Article I, Section 1 of our governing document that says "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress...

St. Louis County police said they are searching for an AR-15 rifle swiped from one of the two St. Louis County police cars set ablaze during Monday night's violence. Sgt. Brian Schellman said rioters who torched a county police car about 10 p.m. in the 400 block of South Florissant Road yanked out the high-powered police rifle and the rack in which it was stored. At least one other county police car was set on fire Monday night.

Bruno’s Italian eatery, Sistina, was slammed with its own $5,000 fine after a staffer placed an ad on Craigslist for a “hostess.” In 2011, the Windsor, a Greenwich Village sports bar, was fined after a sting by the city Commission on Human Rights caught it trying to hire “waitresses” through Craigslist. Gender-specific ads violate city civil-rights law. Unlike the Windsor’s owners, Bruno says he’s going to fight what he describes as a “scam.” “They want us to settle for $5,000,” Bruno told The Post on Thursday. “I’m not going to settle. I didn’t do anything wrong.” Sistina, on Second Avenue...

DAVIS (CBS13) — A UC Davis economics professorhas determined there is no American Dream. Gregory Clark is sharing his research as a hard truth with no hope—whether or not you can get ahead in America is as predictable as any formula.

St. Vincent's Hospital went from lifesaver to bankrupt to closed to construction site for luxury condominiums in what seemed the twinkle of an eye in lower Manhattan. Its end created a void. It was a place of births, last breaths, long and grueling nights, close calls and emergency care. Its closure is made no less traumatic by the memory of words spoken by St. John Paul II when he visited these shores in 1987. He told Catholic health care workers: "Your health care ministry ... is one of the most significant services which the Catholic Church offers to society in...

900 Austrian Police Raid Mosques and Homes in Terrorist Search MAINZ, Germany — Some 900 police officers swooped in on mosques, prayer rooms and homes across Austria early Friday in an operation against suspected jihadi recruiters and alleged financiers of the ISIS terror group, local media reported. Prosecutors confirmed to NBC News in a statement that 13 people were arrested in the raids. They provided limited details but, according to Austrian newspapers, the raids took place in in Vienna, Graz and Linz and were the culmination of a two-year investigation into people suspected of recruiting young people to fight in...

CARACAS, Venezuela - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said Thursday she will continue working toward a peaceful change of Venezuela's government even as she complies with an order to face charges of plotting to kill the president. Venezuela's chief prosecutor on Wednesday ordered the former congresswoman to appear in court next week on charges of participating in what the government described back in May as a U.S.-backed plot to assassinate socialist President Nicolas Maduro. She denies the allegations. Machado told journalists the charges are further evidence that the Maduro administration has become a dictatorship and said the charges may have...