Free Republic

After California’s then-Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced felony pimping charges last year against the two owners of Backpage.com — a classified-ad website that is a hub for sex trafficking and prostitution, one of the men cut a $10,000 check to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s super PAC. Mrs. Pelosi’s political action committee, House Majority PAC, has resisted giving the money back, and an aide to Mrs. Pelosi said the California Democrat knows nothing about the contribution. The uproar over sexual harassment that began with the Harvey Weinstein scandal has intensified the scrutiny of political contributions linked to Backpage, which...

Patrons at Miami eatery Versailles cheered when Donald Trump twice declared “Food for everyone!” during a surprise stop at the Little Havana hotspot. Then he left without buying food for anyone, according to a local report. Fresh off pleading not guilty to criminal charges in a Miami federal court, Trump was all smiles as he entered the crowded restaurant Tuesday. Well-wishers sang “Happy Birthday” to the former New Yorker on the eve of his 77th birthday. Trump supporters told NBC 6 South Florida they thought the 45th president was treated unfairly when he was indicted on more than three-dozen counts...

HOUSTON – A 25 year-old resident of Houston has been ordered to federal prison after he threatened two young girls and required them to engage in commercial sex, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.A Houston federal jury deliberated for one hour before returning a guilty verdict against Romello Lee following less than three days of trial on March 6. He was convicted on one count of trafficking a minor for commercial sex and one count of trafficking a minor by force for commercial sex.Today, U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Lee to serve a total of 480 months in federal...

A viral photo of a "demon" from Arizona has people around the world wondering about the mysteries of our universe. Are you freaking kidding? Reportedly, Phoenix resident Richard Christianson snapped the picture while in Tucson, then loaded it to his Facebook account on New Year's Day. "What the hell do you see in this picture for reals ??? Anybody," he wrote in the caption. He has since deleted the post. This is what passes for "for reals" news in an age when "fake news" gets so much attention. While people ponder whether Breitbart.com or DailyKos.com should be considered fake news...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s attorney general said Friday that she was pursuing new pimping charges against the operators of Backpage.com, a website that advertises escort services, just two weeks after a judge tossed an earlier case. Kamala Harris, an incoming U.S. senator, said she has charged Backpage executives Carl Ferrer, Michael Lacey and James Larkin with 13 counts of pimping and conspiracy to commit pimping. They also are charged with 26 counts of money laundering.

If you're like us, the first impulse you had after seeing your first oil-soaked seagull was to rip off your clothes and hop on a bike. This Saturday, you can do just that in the company of strangers at the Miami World Naked Bike Ride to protest our nation's dependence on that gooey, wildlife-killing, black gold. OK, so the organizers put an asterisk next to the word nudity, encouraging imaginative costumes and well-placed body paint. In other words, bare as much as you dare. World Naked Bike Ride is an international movement, practiced in cities like Vancouver, British Columbia and...

Where is the outrage over the racist use of the word n**** at an awards ceremony by powerful editor and owner Michael Lacey of the Phoenix New Times, who also owns at least half a dozen other weeklies across the country, including Village Voice weeklies? Other prominent persons of influence have been forced to step down for similar remarks, including Senator Trent Lott, talkshow host Don Imus, and Gov. George Allen of Virginia had to drop his presidential bid. Arguably Lacey’s remark was even more derogatory than Lott’s or Allen’s.In his acceptance speech at the Society of Professional Journalists...

In a quiet end to a highly contested investigation, the Justice Department signed a consent decree on Saturday with New Times Media and Village Voice Media, two newsweekly chains that it had accused of dividing markets when they closed competing papers in Cleveland and Los Angeles last October, according to representatives of both companies. The Justice Department is expected to file a complaint and a competitive impact statement today, along with the consent decree, they said. There is no admission of guilt in the consent decree, but each company is required to aid the opening of new weekly papers in...

New Times contributor is fired for faking story about nonexistent NBC "reality" show. BY TONY ORTEGA New Times L.A. freelance writer Antoine Oman was fired last week for fabricating a story about teenage rape victims Tamara Brooks and Jackie Marris. Oman, who had a short history with the alternative weekly, was escorted from New Times' offices on Friday afternoon and made no comment. His story, published in last week's issue, claimed that the NBC television network was about to announce that Brooks and Marris had been signed to host a new prime-time reality show produced by an amoral lowlife named...