Free Republic

But today, Republicans control both the state Senate AND the state Assembly, which means “Amanda’s Law” should finally be approved with no fuss or muss whatsoever, right? Indeed, the bill passed easily in the Assembly. But two Republican senators – for unknown reasons (the ones they give are total bull$#!+) – are trying to kill the bill: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Greg Brower, and his boss, Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson. The pair blocked a hearing and committee vote on Amanda’s Law last week before the deadline, killing its chance to get a stand-alone up-or-down vote on the Senate floor....

He flashed gang signs in selfies, posted a photo of a Smith & Wesson on his Facebook page, and had a rap sheet even a veteran street gangster could be proud of. And now he’s been murdered — at age 14. Bronx seventh-grader Christopher Duran was stalked and gunned down on a sidewalk near his Bronx home Friday morning — the victim, cops believe, of gang violence. “He was a gangbanger,” one law-enforcement source said of Christopher, a child known in his Morrisania neighborhood as already well on the road to doom when he was shot dead. “He terrorized the...

As things heat up on "The Bachelorette," Kaitlyn Bristowe is being put in the hot seat! On Tuesday night's episode, viewers were shocked when an extended promo for this season revealed that the newly crowned Bachelorette slept with one of her suitors weeks before the "fantasy suite" stage of the dating competition. In light of this scandalous revelation, Bristowe sat with ET's Nancy O'Dell on Wednesday to reveal why she's "not ashamed" of what was caught on the "Bachelorette" cameras. "I don’t think that's a crazy thing to sleep with somebody when you're trying to be in a relationship with...

We must engage the global economy to ignite growth and opportunity at home May 22, 2015 | 202-228-7561 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), today released the following statement regarding legislation to establish trade promotion authority: "The American middle class is getting crushed by the Obama economy," said Sen. Cruz. "Middle class incomes are stagnating, and the labor force participation rate has not been this low since the Carter Administration. While I have serious concerns about the all-too-typical Washington backroom deals that enabled this bill to get to the floor, I could not in good conscience vote against...

The vast majority of people who bought health insurance through ObamaCare exchanges are satisfied with their plans, according to a new national survey.People overwhelmingly said they felt positively about their choices of doctors and hospitals and their copays for appointments and prescriptions, delivering good news for the Obama administration one year into the law's rollout.More surprisingly, that satisfaction also extended to people’s monthly premiums and annual deductibles, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation.Sixty percent of ObamaCare customers said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their monthly premium costs — more than people who bought coverage before the...

A couple learns a new language to welcome a new addition to their family. See how Wells Fargo is always there to help you prepare financially for life’s biggest moments.

The 2 minute video features everyday people filmed in their workplaces and homes - among them a fire-fighter, a police officer, a teacher, an electrician, a doctor and a volunteer; as well as UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, a long-time ally of the LGBT community. Singer Sara Bareilles is lending her support to the initiative: her iconic song “Brave” provides the video’s soundtrack.

A military plane has gone off the runway at Naval Air Station North Island into the San Diego Bay, officials confirmed Friday. A Navy pilot, flying in a T-45C aircraft, overshot the runway while landing during a training exercise at 2 p.m. (5 p.m. ET) a Navy spokesman said. The pilot was able to eject from the aircraft before it ran into the water. According to Harbor Police, a civilian boater pulled the crew member out of the water. After being evaluated at UC San Diego Medical Center, the pilot was released and is in stable condition, Navy officials said....

As Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton fights through several mini-scandals, her approval rating has been skidding, sending her "favorability" rating to a seven-year low. In a new report, Pew Research Center said that her rating crossed the 50 percent mark this month and now sits at 49 percent. It was lower, at 48 percent, way back in May 2008 when she was being pushed out of the presidential race by then Sen. Barack Obama. It has been a steady fall from the 66 percent favorable rating she had as secretary of state in November 2009. Pew's report provided a graph...

Speaker of the House John Boehner is praising the Senate's passage of the trade bill and calling on Democrats to join with Republicans to pass the law in the House. “Trade helps create good-paying American jobs, so it’s good news that the Senate has put us one step closer to eliminating trade barriers. These reforms have the support of farmers, manufacturers, small business owners, and Americans from all walks of life, and it’s not hard to figure out why," Boehner says in a statement. "With trade promotion authority, we’ll be able to hold President Obama accountable so America’s workers can...

As of this week, Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland are felons, having pleaded guilty on Wednesday to criminal charges of conspiring to rig the value of the world’s currencies. According to the Justice Department, the lengthy and lucrative conspiracy enabled the banks to pad their profits without regard to fairness, the law or the public good. Besides the criminal label, however, nothing much has changed for the banks. And that means nothing much has changed for the public. There is no meaningful accountability in the plea deals and, by extension, no meaningful deterrence from future wrongdoing....

So, a Canadian Christian jeweler custom-made a pair of engagement rings for a lesbian couple, Nicole White and Pam Renouf, at their request. Later, when they found out that the jeweler personally opposes same-sex marriage, they went to pieces and demanded their money back.

If Republicans lose 2016, it can be traced to tonight's trade deception. At least with Hillary we will get Sex, Drugs and Lawrence Welk...

Meet TNA “Impact Wrestling” star and veteran Chris Melendez: a man who served his country, lost a leg for it, and then became a pretty badass professional wrestler. On Memorial Day, he will walk in Washington, D.C.’s National Memorial Day Parade. Melendez, 27, had two dreams growing up: Serve the country he loves, and become a professional wrestler. The son of a Vietnam veteran, Melendez grew up in New York and felt the call to service after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He was only 17 years old when he joined the Army. Seventeen, as in not a legal...

At least 43 people died Friday in what authorities described as a fierce, three-hour gunbattle between federal forces and suspected drug gang gunmen on a ranch in western Mexico, the deadliest such confrontation in recent memory. All the dead were suspected criminals except for one federal police officer, National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido said. He said the officer died trying to help a colleague wounded in the shootout.

Here's something you don't see every day: the New York Yankees are defending Alex Rodriguez. After a Tampa Bay Rays minor-league team planned a promo night poking fun at their infamous slugger, the Yankees objected that it was in poor taste. And now, the A-Rod "juice box night" that the Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs had planned for Friday has been cancelled. The team was going to give juice boxes to the first 500 fans through the gates. They were to read: "100% Juiced. Side Affects [sic] include: tainted records, inflated ego, omission from the Hall of Fame, and more!" The...

Four helipads will cluster around one of the largest domes in the world, like sideplates awaiting the unveiling of a momentous main course, which will be jacked up 45 storeys into the sky above the deserts of Mecca. It is the crowning feature of the holy city’s crowning glory, the superlative summit of what will be the world’s largest hotel when it opens in 2017. With 10,000 bedrooms and 70 restaurants, plus five floors for the sole use of the Saudi royal family, the £2.3bn Abraj Kudai is an entire city of five-star luxury, catering to the increasingly high expectations...

GENEVA: Switzerland has extradited a French teenager who was trying to reach Syria for a second time since March, the justice ministry said Friday. The 18-year-old was sent back to France on Thursday following a demand from French authorities, the ministry said. He had been arrested on May 14. The Tribune de Geneve newspaper said the teenager left Geneva on May 12 for Istanbul in a second attempt to go on to Syria. The following day, France issued an international warrant for his arrest.He was sent back to Switzerland on May 14 and arrested. He had tried to travel to...

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Frankly, I'm tired of listening to Senator Clinton portray herself as being in the solutions business -- as boasting a nice, fat resume of accomplishments -- while mocking Barack Obama for being a rhetorical empty suit. Is she truly a beacon of experience? Because I couldn't think of a single piece of legislation that has her name stuck proudly on the front of it, no equivalent of McCain-Feingold, for example, I headed straight for her campaign website to see what glorious aspects of her vaunted experience I was missing. Actually, I was missing nothing. There is not one single example...