Free Republic

Bodega owners across New York City plan to shut down their businesses on Thursday to protest President Trump's executive order on immigration. "This shutdown of grocery stores and bodegas will be a public show of the vital role these grocers and their families play in New York’s economic and social fabric," the organizers of the event wrote on their Facebook page. According to BuzzFeed News, the bodega business community in New York City is mainly dominated by Yemeni Americans, many of whom are upset by the president's ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. Yemen is one of the countries...

Al Sharpton's daughter and Eric Garner's mother were both arrested Tuesday night during a protest outside of Trump Tower against the president's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch. "In an act of civil disobedience and in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Eric Garner's mom and others were arrested tonight ... over President Trump's SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch," Sharpton's spokeswoman, Rachel Noerdlinger, said in a statement, according to the New York Post.

Rochester, N.Y.-(WHAM) - 18 year old Eman Muthana gets emotional talking about being judged on her Muslim faith. She wears a traditional hijab, and said sometimes people stare at her. She hopes that through education and awareness, they will learn this is something she does because she is proud of her Muslim faith and culture and is showing modesty.

..America’s food-insecure population is also low-income and trapped in food deserts, where they lack fresh, healthy, affordable eating options. Residents of food deserts make up almost 18% of the population, or about 54.4 million people, who live more than half a mile away from the nearest supermarket in urban areas or more than 10 miles away in rural areas. “It’s just ridiculous in a country that is as resource-rich as we are,” says 30-year-old Anu Samarajiva, a graduate student at Washington University in St Louis. “The issue isn’t a lack of food or a lack of resources, but of distribution,...

At least 17 Jewish community centers across the United States were targeted with bomb threats in the third wave of such mass disruption this month. Paul Goldenberg, the director of Secure Community Network — an affiliate of the Jewish Federations of North America that advises Jewish groups and institutions on security — said the threats were called in late Tuesday morning. Some of the messages were live, he confirmed. “[I]n the past we know that the numbers can grow exponentially,” he said, adding that perpetrators have been “leveraging technologies to make mass calls.” Goldenberg confirmed that threats had been called...

New state data show the 2015-16 year was the worst on record when it comes to serious violence in city schools — even as Mayor Bill de Blasio says his data show it was the safest. Which do you believe? The State Education Department on Monday posted its latest Violent and Disruptive Incident Report, or VADIR. In the key category of serious incidents, it shows a rise of nearly 6 percent, up from 15,934 incidents in 2014-15 to 16,851 in 2015-16.

Moments after President Donald Trump announced Neil Gorsuch as his U.S. Supreme Court pick, a small group of protesters blocked traffic in front of Trump Tower and got arrested. After Trump’s announcement, about a dozen demonstrators knelt in the middle of Fifth Avenue as an act of civil disobedience. They were calmly led to a blue and white police bus in plastic handcuffs.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday called for a state constitutional amendment to codify abortion rights should Roe v. Wade be overturned, the latest idea from Democrats in this blue state eager to push back against the new administration of President Donald Trump. Addressing hundreds of abortion-rights supporters rallying in Albany, Cuomo said New York must ensure that legal access to abortion services and birth control continues regardless of what Trump and other Washington Republicans do. “Our rights are under attack in Washington,” Cuomo said at the event. “As they pull on our rights, we’re going to push back.” …

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is looking into the mysterious death 51 years ago of newspaper writer and “What’s My Line?” star Dorothy Kilgallen, who was investigating the JFK assassination, The Post has learned. The stunning development comes after a new book, “The Reporter Who Knew Too Much,” suggests Kilgallen was murdered to shut down her relentless pursuit of a Mafia don linked to JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald. Joan Vollero, a spokeswoman for DA Cyrus Vance Jr., confirmed that a staffer has read the book, and reviewed a letter from author Mark Shaw citing new leads, medical evidence, and...

Dozens of sign-wielding City University of New York students and staffers from Brooklyn Borough Hall rallied Monday in support of a graduate student detained abroad because of President Trump's immigration order. "Unify and defy," the 50 or so protesters outside the Cadman Plaza federal courthouse chanted. "No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here." Others held signs with three simple words in capital letters: "LET HER IN." "Her" is Saira Rafiee, a doctoral student enrolled at the CUNY Graduate Center through an F1 visa who spent winter break visiting family members in her native Iran, one of the seven countries...

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D., N.Y.) has paid more than $150,000 to a company owned by the wife of his New York chief of staff since 2008, a review of campaign finance records shows. Meeks, who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1998, has employed Robert Simmons in his New York office as chief of staff since 2006. Simmons is the second highest-paid staffer on Meeks' payroll, earning a yearly salary of around $70,000, according to data from Legistorm. Robert Simmons' wife, Patsy, is listed as the treasurer for Friends for Gregory Meeks, the congressman's campaign committee....

In hopes of denying Mayor Bill de Blasio a second term, some New York City Republican leaders intend to rally around a single candidate to avoid a contentious primary and present a stronger challenge in the general election. Starting this week, Republican Party leaders and members will begin the process of vetting candidates who have declared their intention to run for mayor or are exploring a mayoral bid. Party organizations will host public meetings where each candidate will have the opportunity to present their ideas to party voters and functionaries. When it fielded Joe Lhota in 2013 after a primary...

New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio told CNN's Jake Tapper that it is OK to shield undocumented immigrants who drive drunk from federal authorities if it does not "lead to any other negative outcome." Tapper asked the Democratic mayor on Sunday's "State of the Union" if he would comply with federal authorities following President Trump's executive order to halt funding to cities that do not cooperate with immigration officials by presenting a specific scenario. "Jake, there are 170 offenses in that law that are listed as serious and violent crimes that lead to automatic cooperation between the city of New...

Authorities in Bucks County make an arrest in a fetish-themed child predator sex ring they say was going on for the better part of a decade. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said for the last seven years at least four men sexually abused a young boy at sex parties where the men would dress up like different animals. “This child victim was repeatedly abused by a group of criminals who cared only about their gratification, they cared nothing about this young boy,” he said. “This is a horrendous case.” On Friday police in Bucks County arrested 57-year-old Kenneth Fenske...

In a report from the Telegraph, former ex-KGB chief Oleg Erovinkin has been found dead in Moscow. Erovinkin is linked to the fake news dossier published by BuzzFeed and is suspected of helping former MI6 spy Christopher Steele in compiling the dossier. Erovinkin was found dead in his car back in December while Barack Obama was still President and news of his death is just now starting to come out.

Links to President Donald Trump are shaping up to be a liability for Silicon Valley's golden boys. Case in point: Uber.  The hashtag #DeleteUber has been spreading on social media amid protests against Trump's Muslim travel ban. The ride hailing service was accused of "strike breaking" in New York Saturday, while others condemned remarks made by Uber CEO Travis Kalanick indicating he would work with the president. In a statement, Kalanick said the "ban will impact many innocent people." He added that the company would compensate drivers stranded outside the country for the next three months. SEE ALSO: Airport protests against...

The American Civil Liberties Union announced Saturday evening that a federal court in New York had issued an emergency stay on President Trump’s executive order banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The court’s decision, which will affect people who have been detained in airports, came after the ACLU and other activist groups filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of two Iraqis who were held at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as a result of the order. “I hope Trump enjoys losing. He’s going to lose so much we’re going to get sick and tired of...

The Joe Friday look is out. Tattoos, turbans and beards are in. Police departments, compelled by a hiring crisis and eager for a more diverse applicant pool, are relaxing traditional grooming standards and getting away from rules that used to require a uniformly clean-shaven, 1950s look. More officers are on the job with tattoos inked on their forearms, beards on their chins or religious head coverings like hijabs and turbans in place of — or tucked beneath — their blue caps. “My turban is a part of me,” said Mandeep Singh, among 160 Sikhs in the New York City Police...

We are here at JFK airport demanding that visa holders and refugees JFK has detained are released! We will be here until all people detained are released. #Terminal4 arrivals. #NoMuslimBanJFK #NoBanNoWall

worth it? By George Russell Published January 27, 2017 FoxNews.com Facebook Twitter livefyre Email Print Now Playing Report: Trump set to decrease US funding of United Nations The Trump Administration intends to take a hard-nosed approach to one of the frustrating mysteries left behind by the Obama Administration: Just exactly how much money does the U.S. give to the United Nations, what is the money going for—and is it worth it? The Administration’s tough strategy is specifically aimed at reducing, rather than eliminating, U.S. support for the world organization and will not affect, at least in the short term, Washington’s...