Free Republic

A pack of 30 teens helped themselves to items in a Maryland 7-Eleven early Sunday morning in what authorities have labeled another instance of a possible flash mob. The store, which is located in Germantown, Md., was empty at 2 a.m. Sunday morning when a group of teenagers calmly walked in and picked out items as though they were shopping. Then, just as calmly as they entered the store, police say, they exited without paying for the items. A surveillance video from the store obtained by FoxNews.com shows a large group of teens taking candy and other snacks. They appear...

Is Race Behind Teen Mob Attacks? Fox 29 is taking a look at a very touchy and controversial issue: race and the recent teen mob attacks in Philadelphia. It's being talked about because of incidents the video shown only on fox 29, of a group of kids that attacked a man walking in Philadelphia’s old city neighborhood just blocks from the liberty bell. It's one of several attacks in Philadelphia in recent weeks. Three teenagers one in this video -- who we are not identifying -- turned themselves into police. Cops say they were walking home from Mastery Charter School...

Lakewood, N.J. – While millions of Americans hold their collective breath as Wall Street wreaks havoc with their life savings and retirements, residents of Tent City, a tiny makeshift community about 70 miles south of New York City, have more immediate concerns: finding their next hot meal. For this collective of homeless and unemployed former landscapers, service industry workers and military veterans, the mention of "tarp" is sure to start a conversation about temporary rooftops, rather than a debate over President Obama's $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. At Tent City in Lakewood, N.J., very few are lucky enough to...

The Obama administration may turn thousands of government-owned foreclosures into rental properties to help boost falling home prices. The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Wednesday it is seeking input from investors on how to rent roughly 250,000 homes owned by government-controlled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration. All of the homes are foreclosures. The U.S. government rescued the two mortgage giants in September 2008 and has funded them since the financial crisis. Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee about half of the nation's mortgages and nearly all new mortgages. Converting the homes into rentals...

CHARLOTTE — It was clear that Liza Jackson’s luck had changed when she drove her pearl-white Dodge sedan, the one with the huge pink plastic eyelashes over the headlights, into Pinebrook, an eight-year-old subdivision where residents tend to notice cars with huge pink eyelashes. “There goes the neighborhood,” one homeowner said when she heard that her potential new neighbor had a federal housing voucher known as a Section 8.

The number of Americans using the government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) -- more commonly referred to as food stamps -- shot to an all-time high of 45.8 million in May, the USDA reported. That's up 12% from a year ago, and 34% higher than two years ago. The program provides monthly benefits to low-income individuals and families, which they can use at stores that accept SNAP benefits.

A short film about my favorite post-apocalyptic hell-hole, the Salton Sea.

... Police spent hours trying to control a mob of teenagers at the Inner Harbor....

A somber event turned grim on Tuesday when a gunman opened fire on the memorial service of slain teen Jovany Diaz. Around 2:20 p.m. a man was heard shouting at the corner of Kildare and Hirsch in West Humboldt Park. The man, who had been at Diaz's memorial just before, then fired two shots into the air, The Sun-Times reports. Kim Janssen, who was on the scene as the shooting happened, said that the gunman then pointed his gun down Kildare and fired two or three more shots. The shots hit one victim, a 24-year-old man. The man was shot...

The owner of the Perkins and Marie Callender's restaurant chains filed for bankruptcy Monday with plans to close 65 of its 600 locations and cut 2,500 jobs, according to court documents. Perkins & Marie Callender Inc. became the latest food company to fall victim to a sluggish recovery and soaring food prices. Last week, chicken producer Allen Family Foods tumbled into bankruptcy. Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, which offers all-day breakfasts, plans to emerge from bankruptcy by giving ownership of the chain to holders of the company's unsecured debt, led by funds managed by Wayzata Investment Partners. The bankruptcy will wipe...

That average monthly benefit of $133.24 for 44.199 million people will help with the purchase of one third of a very edible iPad. Food stamp participation chart presented without further commentary.

1. Analyze your expenses. Budget your money. Find out where it's coming from and, more importantly, where it's going. This can be a very surprising and enlightening exercise for many people. 2. Find where you spend the most money on a monthly basis. The top two or three items are where you need to do the most work. 3. Is rent your biggest expense? If so, consider moving to a cheaper place. Consider getting a roommate to split the costs of living. Consider moving back in with your parents or guardians. Offer services (e.g. looking after a relative) in exchange...

If the election of America's first African-American president was expected to give blacks an economic boost, it hasn't emerged yet. Indeed, the percentage of African-American men with a job has dropped to its lowest level since records began in 1972, according to the government's monthly jobs report released last week. Even as the economy added a better-than-expected 244,000 jobs, the percentage of black males over 20 who are currently employed dropped slightly to 56.9, the Labor Department's April report shows. For whites, the equivalent figure is 68.1 percent. Before this recession, the percentage of black adult men with a job...

Developing ....added 225,000 jobs

43.6 Million Americans Living In Poverty Is The Highest Number Ever Recorded Joe Weisenthal Sep. 16, 2010, 10:31 AM This was expected, but it still hits you in the gut. Poverty in America has hit the highest level the Census has ever recorded, according to a new report out today. Image: Census[snip]

By this chapter of this curious tale, Mark von der Burg surely is wondering: Why me? What did I do to deserve this? He's the Eastside real-estate agent who, two months ago while prepping for an open house to sell a $3.3 million mansion in Kirkland, was stunned to find that complete strangers had moved in and were staking a tortured legal claim to the foreclosed property. ...

A near riot took place in Atlanta after city officials staged an event to hand out applications for section 8 housing. Police estimate that 30,000 people showed up at an East Point shopping mall in hopes of being placed on a waiting list for federal housing assistance. The number was three times what officials expected and only 13,000 applications were handed out to those waiting. 11Alive reports that a line for the applications began two days ago and grew into hundreds of people late Tuesday night. Officials report that some hopeful residents slept outside of the shopping mall that houses...

What level of depravity has a city reached when a uniformed police officer is no safer from a street robbery than anyone else? ItÂ’s a shame that the public has to be reminded of this from time to time, but any cop can testify to this inescapable fact of police work: Where there is no punishment for criminal behavior, crime will flourish.Nowhere has this been demonstrated with greater clarity lately than in Chicago, where the Sun-Times has taken notice and sounded the alarm. In a three-part series that concluded Tuesday, reporters Mark Konkol and Frank Main examined the violent incidents...

Obamaville (to the tune of Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet) By: Jon Watts and Aaron Brakefield Nibblin’ on spin cake Watchin’ the banks break All of those beaches covered with oil Drummin’ my fingers A parade of humdingers Illegals flooding American soil Chorus: Wastin’ away again down in Obamaville Watchin’ my freedom under assault, All sides will claim that there’s another to blame But I know it's our own damn fault I don't know the reason That the jobs aren’t increasin’ Nothin to show but my GI humvee But it's a real beauty An Afghanistan cutie How it got here I...

At the height of the Great Depression in the 1930s, many Americans fighting for survival ended up living in crudely built shantytowns known as "Hoovervilles," in humiliating honor of President Herbert Hoover, who many blamed for the economic distress.