Free Republic

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...

The man accused of robbing a Charlotte bank Tuesday afternoon and leading highway patrol officers on a dangerous high-speed chase in two counties has also been involved in gangs in Los Angeles, according to authorities. WBTV has also learned that the suspect is an avid user of the online social media tool "Twitter" and uses the website Myspace -- both to possibly help further his aspiring musical career. The robbery in Charlotte this week happened at a Wachovia branch on West Sugar Creek Road. The police report says Carlos Burns handed the teller a note demanding cash. The chase ended...

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...

The girl's father, Bradley Lockhart, said he had a one-night stand with Antoinette Davis and mostly brought up their daughter before letting Davis take care of her. A month later, Shaniya Davis was dead, her body dumped off a rural road and her mother accused of selling her for sex. "She was an amazing young lady," Lockhart said of his daughter. "Every day was special with Shaniya. Once she was your friend, she was your friend for life." On Monday, searchers discovered the girl's body off a rural road, nearly a week after her mother reported her missing from a...

A new aviation business park and long, isolated runways in eastern North Carolina could be keys to attracting commercial space-travel companies here, according to experts who attended a forum Thursday at Elizabeth City State University. Leaders in the industry spoke during the daylong NewSpace Commerce Forum, including Jeff Greason, CEO of XCor Aerospace in California; Robert Richards, CEO of Odyssey Moon Lt d.; and Jeff Krukin, a consultant in the field who helped organize the forum.

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.

When Jugtown Pottery kicked off the North Carolina art pottery movement in the early 1920s, its owners focused on two lines of ware: traditional lead-glazed "dirt dish" earthenware and new, colorful pieces based on oriental designs. Potters in the surrounding area observed no such strictures; whether by genius or by serendipity, they used colorful art-pottery glazes on anything that went into the kiln, pitchers included. The pitchers sold and, some nine decades later, they still sell.

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.

RALEIGH -- After having spent much of his life as the hunter, former Gov. Mike Easley is the prey. Easley rose in politics as corruption-busting district attorney and a consumer-oriented attorney general, then as an outsider governor who didn't like good ol' boy politics. That image is a distant memory. On Monday, Easley's reputation suffered deep damage as the State Board of Elections opened several days of hearings into allegations of election-law violations that occurred during his eight years as governor. Gone were the stories of Easley as the young drug-busting prosecutor who kept a shotgun next to his bed...

On October 20, the North Carolina State Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the petition requirement, 2% of the last gubernatorial vote, does not violate the State Constitution. The plaintiffs are the Libertarian and Green Parties. This is the case that was filed in 2005. The 2% requirement for 2010 and 2012 is 85,379 signatures. North Carolina’s requirement is the second most severe in the nation, both on a percentage basis and a raw number basis, when one compares each state’s easier method for getting on the ballot for president. Here is the decision. The Court also upheld the 2%...

I believe that Christianity is the single best influence on mankind. It is responsible for Western civilization's flourishing, it is responsible for the heights of freedom and liberty that untold billions of humans have enjoyed and will enjoy in the future. Certainly the bedrock of that success is the Christian Bible. So, don't go calling me a religion hater or a Christian basher. There. That is said. Now, the story is that a "pastor" in North Carolina is having a book burning event for his fool followers and one of the books he is burning is any copy of the...

Hundreds of people have been arrested in Texas and around the country what officials say is the largest single strike at a Mexican drug cartel in the U.S WASHINGTON (October 22, 2009)—U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder calls the arrests of more than 300 people in a series of drug raids in Texas and across the country the largest single strike at a Mexican drug cartel operating here. Holder said at a news conference Thursday that the arrests over the past two days were aimed at the U.S. operations of the La Familia cartel. Click here to find out more! Holder...

Gun store posters take flak By Geoffrey Cooper - Rocky Mount Telegram Tuesday, October 20, 2009 NASHVILLE — For more than a week, a local gun shop owner has been under scrutiny regarding certain advertisements outside his front door. Nashville Guns owner Dennis Nielsen has been met with the watchful eyes of a few county officials and town residents for the storefront posters of women holding guns. Facing two documented complaints, Nielsen maintains that he has done nothing wrong and runs a clean business. Facing the Washington Street sidewalks are two posters inside of Nielsen’s gun shop windows. The first...

A large trough is in place over the eastern U.S. and will remain so through this weekend allowing for it to be quite cold for this time of year. Temperatures will be averaging between 15 and 25 degrees below normal!

NEW YORK – A mortgage fraud crackdown announced Thursday resulted in the arrests of dozens of people, including six lawyers, seven loan officers and three mortgage brokers in four states. Thirty-one people were arrested in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Carolina. They were among 41 people charged with engaging in mortgage fraud scams that defrauded lenders out of more than $64 million in home mortgage loans. Of the 10 other defendants, one was expected to surrender later Thursday, four were previously charged and five remained at large. Authorities gathering for an afternoon news conference in Manhattan said the crackdown,...

. The Bank of America 500 Saturday Night 7:25 pm Eastern from Lowe's Superspeedway Speed Channel Pre-Race at 5:00 ABC Pre-Race at 7:00Green Flag at 7:41 Please give your support to the FR Canteen - Dedicated to our troops, veterans, and their families: The FR Canteen God Bless Our Troops Please pray on this day, and every day, for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm's way around the world in defense of our liberty, and for the families awaiting their safe return.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- In its search for fugitives, the FBI has begun using facial-recognition technology on millions of motorists, comparing driver's license photos with pictures of convicts in a high-tech analysis of chin widths and nose sizes. The project in North Carolina has already helped nab at least one suspect. Agents are eager to look for more criminals and possibly to expand the effort nationwide. But privacy advocates worry that the method allows authorities to track people who have done nothing wrong. "Everybody's participating, essentially, in a virtual lineup by getting a driver's license," said Christopher Calabrese, an attorney...

The FBI on Wednesday announced that it had charged 53 defendants, the largest number ever charged in a cybercrime case, following a multinational investigation into a phishing scheme that operated in the United States and Egypt. Thirty-three of the 53 defendants named in the indictment have been arrested, the FBI said, and several others are being sought. The investigation, dubbed "Operation Phish Phry," began in 2007. Authorities in Egypt have charged 47 defendants linked to the phishing operation. Phishing is a form of social engineering that attempts to convince Internet users, via e-mail or other means, to provide online credentials...

The Rebecca jug is an enduringly popular form of North Carolina art pottery. The "Rebecca" got its name from illustrations of the Biblical story of Rebecca at the Well (in Genesis, Chapter 24). The classic shape of the Rebecca is that of an ewer (a vase-shaped water jug) with an elongated, over-arched handle. [Pictures]

RALEIGH, N.C. — Not everyone who paid to see Irish rock band U2 perform at Carter-Finley Stadium got to see the Saturday night show due to traffic back-ups. "We were really disappointed,” concertgoer Carrie White said. White spent $250 on U2 360° tour tickets for her husband’s birthday. She said they were stuck in traffic for three hours, and were then told no parking was available. "One of the state troopers told us, ‘Too late. All lots are full. Go home and see you next year,’” White said. The state Highway Patrol said the traffic congestion was not due to...

Here is another video of school children reciting praises to President Obama - this time from a school group in North Carolina. They say several times "Change has come, Change has come." About President Obama, they say: "Uniting blacks and whites...being both Obama cannot take sides." They even manage to work in Obama's Campaign themes of "Hope, Change, and Yes We Can." . . . (VIDEO)

WASHINGTON -- North Carolina's ACORN office has had to lay off all eight of its employees in the wake of a scandal that has rocked the national office of the grass-roots organizing group. Yet many workers have continued the past three weeks as unpaid volunteers for the nonprofit organization, reaching out to low- and moderate-income workers who might need help with issues ranging from landlord fights to high-priced mortgages. In Washington, hidden-camera videos made this summer by two young conservative activists that appear to show ACORN workers in other states encouraging illegal behavior have led to federal inquiries and inspired...

North Carolina's vintage art pottery shops usually had a glaze referred to as "Brown Sugar." These rustic-looking glazes were popular with tourists and were in demand by the candle-making operations which purchased large numbers of small wares. The most distinctive "Brown Sugar" glaze - - one that is widely associated with North Carolina pottery - - is the lead-rutile matte glaze in shades of tan and brown . . . . {Many pictures)

It was only a week ago that CBS Radio moved the famous WBCN call letters from Boston to Charlotte, onto WFNA-AM (1660). Now, the plan will be to end the sports simulcast between WBCN & WFNZ-AM (610), launching “America’s Talk” on WBCN on September 14. That will pose direct competition for Greater Media’s market leader WBT-AM/FM (1110/99.3). The Charlotte Observer says the new format will feature a conservative lean, including syndicated talkers Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity, along with former WBT host Jason Lewis, now in syndication. WBCN operations manager D.J. Stout tells the paper, “We feel that Charlotte has...

(IsraelNN.com) SNIPPET: "Jude Kenan Mohammad, an American who was to go on trial in Pakistan for, among other things, planning a terror attack in Tel Aviv, disappeared on Saturday." SNIPPET: "Mohammad was a member of an American Islamic terror cell based in North Carolina, along with seven other U.S. citizens."

Do You Agree With President Obama’s Plan To Speak To School Students By Video? Do You Agree With President Obama's Plan To Speak To All Public School Children By Video? Yes No Other:

There's no doubt that Dr. Chacko had her supporters. Chief among them was Dr. Rashmikant Shah. Still after hearing all the testimony, the investigative board determined that Dr. Chacko needed to be removed. Dr. Chacko challenged the results and at some point, Dr. Chacko hired an attorney. The attorney saw that the investigative board wasn't conducted properly and the results were thrown out. As such, in May, another board, Summary Board for a Probationary Employee, was convened by the Pittsburgh VA in order to again try and remove Dr. Anna Chacko. Dr. Chacko, who often bragged about having political connections,...

In the last few months, the ghostly image of Jesus has appeared on a half-eaten Kit Kat bar, a slice of cheese toast and the seat of a Las Vegas toilet. But those miraculous manifestations were all about the size of a driver’s license photo, and even when the evening newscast zoomed in tight, you had to squint to see the savior’s beard. In his latest showing, just off the Boylan Avenue Bridge in Raleigh, N.C., the Prince of Peace shows up 30 feet tall and green. The Kudzu Jesus, Raleigh’s vegetative relic. He snakes up a utility pole, forming...

RALEIGH -- The N.C. Supreme Court issued a 4-3 ruling today declaring that the way some judicial seats are divided in Wake County needs to be re-evaluated. The decision could mean a restructuring of how Superior Court judges are selected in Wake County, with the N.C. General Assembly or a judge having to weigh in. Wake County, referred to as Judicial District 10 in the state Supreme Court's ruling, has six superior court judges who are elected from four separate geographic areas but with widely differing populations. "Plaintiffs have demonstrated gross disparity in voting power between similarly situated residents of...

A sex offender was shocked after being arrested for attending church. According to North Carolina law, a sex offender could be forced to serve 12 more years in prison for worship. James Nichols was convicted of attempted rape and taking indecent liberties with a young girl. After serving a six year sentence, Nichols was released in September of 2008. Upon the release, Nichols began attending the Moncure Baptist Church in Chatham County, North Carolina. In March of the following year, he was arrested on the property owned by the church for being within 300 feet of a building with a...

The N.C. Supreme Court says a 2004 law that bars convicted felons from having a gun, even in their own home or business, is unconstitutional. The state's high court ruled Friday in the case of Barney Britt of Wake County that the General Assembly went too far five years ago when it toughened restrictions on felons owning guns as part of a broad anti-domestic-violence bill. Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson said in a dissenting opinion that the decision could encourage challenges against state bans on felons and the insane owning guns. Britt was convicted of felony drug possession in 1979. He completed...

Students would pay out-of-state tuition and wouldn't get government grants or loans Community colleges in North Carolina would be required to admit students who are not legal residents of the United States if the state approves a proposed policy. The state Board of Community Colleges will consider a proposal that would admit students who aren’t in the country legally and require them to pay the out-of-state tuition rate.

Here we go again! As posted on the in- state 2nd Amendment Civil Rights Organization Grass Roots North Carolina website Senator Soles voting record on the Right To Keep And Bear Arms was evaluated at *ONE* Star.

A jury says a North Carolina man accused of killing his wife acted in self-defense Multiple media outlets report that a Davie County jury deliberated seven hours over two days before finding Friday that Kirk Alan Turner killed his wife, Jennifer, in self-defense. Prosecutors had said Turner slashed his wife's throat twice with a pocketknife in September 2007 because he was angry over their pending divorce. Defense attorneys said Turner killed his wife in self-defense after she stabbed him twice in the thigh with a 7-foot spear. Turner still faces a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his wife's sister. And...

Former Sen. John Edwards (D) is expected to admit that he is the father of a child born by his former mistress. So ends one of the most shameful political story in recent memory, as it ends a career. Edwards - who ran for president in 2004 and in 2008 (and was John Kerry's 2004 running mate) - was supposed to be the Democrat's best hope (before Barack Obama), in the model of Robert F. Kennedy. However, as his wife battled inoperable breast cancer, stories began swirling during the 2008 campaign that the former Senator at a love-child with a...

U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield is holding a town hall meeting Tuesday evening in Rocky Mount for some of the same reasons dozens of other Democratic lawmakers have opted against holding public forums during the congressional recess. “Never before has there been this sort of cry for people’s opinions to be heard,” Butterfield press secretary Ken Willis said. “And the congressman just feels like there is so much disinformation out there, he wants to address the voters directly.” Attempting to deflate what Democrats are calling “generated outrage” over plans to overhaul the U.S. health care system, most North Carolina members of...

August 10, 2009, 4:00 a.m. Ten Questions Politicians Won’t AnswerEvasive politicians, not concerned citizens, are dividing America over health-care reform. By Tom Coburn The past week’s debate about health care has shown that in Washington the only things more stubborn than facts are politicians who evade them. In spite of a torrent of independent analyses showing that the so-called health-care “reform� bills moving through Congress will dramatically increase the deficit and cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance, the politicians leading the effort have steadfastly refused to consider that their ideas and policies, rather than the character...

U.S. Rep. G. K. Butterfield, D-N.C. was in Williamston, NC last week. The Martin County Chamber of Commerce had invited the congressman to lead a round table forum on how the Democrats’ proposed health care bill would impact small business owners and their employees. The event was scheduled to last two hours. I was among the standing room only audience. Upon registering, attendees were asked to write down questions we’d like the congressman to try and answer. We soon learned only questions Butterfield’s staff approved, had any chance of being addressed. -snip- In his opening remarks, Butterfield admitted that his...

"I love jihad. I love to stand there and fight for the sake of Allah," a voice identified as Boyd said on a recording made in June at Boyd's home....The indictment named 39-year-old Boyd as the suspected ringleader, saying he bought guns, and Boyd's two sons — 20-year-old Zakariya and 22-year-old Dylan. It said some of the men took trips over the past three years to Jordan, Kosovo, Pakistan and Israel "to engage in violent jihad."...Sutton said some of the men recently had scheduled trips, and that Zak Boyd said at some point that he planned to travel to the...

For nine years, Layvonne McAuley worked her job processing returned merchandise at the Rocky Mount QVC Distribution Center. When she swiped her security card to go to work Wednesday, it didn’t work. She was among several hundred workers who were accused of possibly making improper withdrawals from the company’s 401(k) plan. McAuley is livid. “This is so unjust,” she said. She said she wrote the hardship letters for the withdrawal of her own 401(k) money when she needed money for medical bills and tuition for her children. McAuley said she was embarrassed to talk to other employees about her need...

These men distrusted the central government and believed states’ rights best protected individual liberties. After debating for eleven days, it became clear that the Constitution would not be ratified in North Carolina.

Obama health meeting draws Appalachian protesters By DUNCAN MANSFIELD Associated Press Writer July 29, 2009 BRISTOL, Va. - More than 200 protesters from a conservative corner of Appalachia showed up Wednesday in opposition to President Barack Obama's health care reform effort. Some held signs reading, "Obamacare is political malpractice" and "Keep your hands off my health care."... ...The protesters, who came from the tri-state area of Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee, were focused on who will get to make health care decisions. Art teacher Angie Meade, 39, of Bristol said she worries that government control of health care will mean...

Two concourses reportedly were evacuated Thursday afternoon after a suspicious package was discovered at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. Passengers have told The Observer that the concourses were reopened after about a half-hour, but there also are reports of some flight cancellations and delays. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say they were called to the airport shortly after 2 p.m. Office Jean Wassenaar, a spokeswoman for CMPD, said the bomb squad was called to deal with a "suspicious device."

RALEIGH, N.C. - Israel denied entry two years ago to members of a North Carolina family that includes three men accused of plotting to execute terror attacks in foreign countries, an official said Wednesday. Daniel Boyd, 39, was arrested Monday with six others, including two sons. Authorities claim Boyd was the ringleader of a group that was gearing up for a "violent jihad," though prosecutors haven't detailed any specific targets or timeframe. If convicted, the men could face life in prison. An eighth suspect is believed to be in Pakistan. Boyd's wife, Sabrina, told a Raleigh newspaper that he and...

NEW YORK — New York City is buying one-way plane tickets for homeless families to leave the city. It's part of a Bloomberg administration program to keep the homeless out of the expensive shelter system, which costs $36,000 a year per family. More than 550 families have left the city since 2007. All it takes is for a relative to agree to take them in. ~ snip ~ Families have been sent to 24 states and five continents, mostly to Puerto Rico, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. City officials say none of the relocated families have returned to city

Pristina | 28 July 2009 | By Arber Kuci FBI logo Kosovo Albanian Hysen Sherifi has been charged in the US alongside six others in connection with an international terror plot, which included a potential attack on Kosovo. The 24 year old, who is a US resident, was indicted in Raleigh, North Carolina, for attempting to engage in ‘violent jihad’, the FBI announced on Tuesday. Prosecutors claim Sherifi visited Kosovo in July 2008 “to engage in violent jihad�, before returning to the US in April 2009 to raise “funds and personnel to support the mujihadeen�. All seven defendants are charged...

RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina father who led an unobtrusive rural life as a drywall contractor had militant roots dating back to 1980s Afghanistan and Pakistan and secretly led a U.S. group plotting international terrorism, federal prosecutors said. Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, was arrested Monday with his two sons and four other North Carolina men. Prosecutors accused them of military-style training at home and plotting "violent jihad" through a series of terror attacks abroad.... It is unclear when Boyd and his family returned to the U.S., but in March 2006, Boyd traveled to Gaza and attempted to introduce his...

FBI agents this morning arrested a group of homegrown terrorists in North Carolina who were heavily armed, organized, and making plans to wage jihad overseas. The seven men arrested—including a father and his two sons—were charged with providing material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure people overseas. The father, Daniel Patrick Boyd, once fought in Afghanistan and trained in terrorist camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan. All of the defendants are North Carolina residents, and all but one are U.S. citizens. “The threat that terrorists and extremists pose to America and our allies has not dulled...

RALEIGH, NC—Seven individuals have been charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons abroad, David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division; George E.B. Holding, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina; and Owen D. Harris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Charlotte Field Division, announced today. On Wednesday, July 22, 2009, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina returned a sealed seven-count indictment against the following defendants: * Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina...

U.S. DOJ confirms 7 people in North Carolina charged with conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad.