Free Republic

Nearly a week since Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), igniting a nationwide debate about whether the controversial law invites discrimination based on sexual orientation, most potential Republican presidential candidates have taken the opportunity to bolster their conservative credentials. "Governor Pence has done the right thing," said former Florida Governor Jeb Bush on Monday. “I want to commend Governor Mike Pence for his support of religious freedom, especially in the face of fierce opposition,” Texas Senator Ted Cruz said in a written statement. “Governor Pence is holding the line to protect religious liberty in the...

PHILADELPHIA — Provocative ads showing a photograph of Adolf Hitler with a former Arab leader are now appearing on Philadelphia transit buses. A federal judge last month ordered the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority to accept the ads. The agency said last week it wouldn’t appeal. The pro-Israel American Freedom Defence Initiative’s ads appearing Wednesday carry the tagline: “Jew Hatred: It’s in the Quran.”

Republican presidential hopefuls are united in blasting President Obama for his chaotic enforcement of marijuana laws, but the unity quickly breaks down when they are asked how they would handle things if they were in the White House. Some have sent mixed signals, saying state decisions should be respected while questioning how Mr. Obama has respected those decisions. Others have refused to say how they would wield the federal bureaucracy against marijuana. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is one of the few potential candidates to take a firm stance, saying he would insist on following federal statutes that outlaw the drug....

--SNIP-- Kane's office declined to comment. Lanny Davis, her outside lawyer and spokesman, later said that she signed and sent paperwork to Saylor for a Norristown grand jury. The Norristown grand jury recommended criminally charging Kane with perjury, obstruction of justice, official oppression and criminal contempt for allegedly leaking grand jury information to a Philadelphia newspaper. The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to nullify the grand jury's report. Its evidence remains sealed.

EBENSBURG – In the words of Cambria County Sheriff Bob Kolar: some people collect model cars, some people collect motorcycles, some people collect guns. One middle-aged Cambria County man is a collector of the latter. When an angry lady friend decided to strike out, it was in the direction of those guns that she struck. A total of 306 rifles and shotguns – some of which the woman alleged had been stolen – were removed from the home by Kolar and his deputies. “We wore bulletproof vests. We had no idea what we where getting in to,” Kolar said Wednesday....

Republicans are debating whether their path to the presidency in 2016 runs through the blue-collar Rust Belt states, or the demographically changing new South and Sunbelt states. For Democrats looking to retake the Senate, however, the formula is more clear-cut: Win back white working-class voters, or be consigned to a longer-term minority. Most of the Senate battlegrounds run through the Midwest—Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio—along with New Hampshire, which carries demographic similarities with those older, whiter Great Lakes states. To defeat the vulnerable Republican incumbents, Democrats have a challenging task ahead: Making inroads with blue-collar voters, who have been stubbornly resistant...

ROSTRAVER (KDKA)- Police had to redirect traffic around a messy crash along Interstate 70 in Westmoreland County. Around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, a tractor-trailer swerved and hit a barrier, which split the trailer wide open. This crash happened in the construction zone between exit 44 (Arnold City) and exit 43 (Fayette City/Donora). The big rig was hauling Twizzlers licorice, which spilled all over the highway. I-70 was closed for several hours while crews cleaned up the mess. The truck driver was not seriously hurt in the crash. Foggy conditions in the area may have played a role in the crash.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvania's highest court says a county judge acted properly when he appointed a special prosecutor to look into grand jury leaks tied to the state attorney general's office.

Voters in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania question the former secretary of state’s trustworthiness and honesty, according to a new Quinnipiac University survey taken after the controversy surrounding Clinton’s use of a private email server for government communications. Her favorability ratings are down in all three states. Pennsylvania, a key state that has been elusive for Republicans recently, could be competitive this cycle, with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul narrowly topping Clinton, 45 percent-44 percent. Clinton beats Bush by six percentage points, Walker by five and Rubio by four in the Keystone State.

Martina White made history Tuesday night by winning a special election for a Pennsylvania House seat — the first time a Republican won an open General Assembly seat in Philadelphia in 25 years. White, 26, became the 120th Republican in the House, part of the largest GOP majority in the state since 1958 and including a state Senate that increased its majority in historic numbers in 2014. Down-ballot races matter. These elected officials are the most attuned politicians with whom average people ever interact; they focus on voters' core values, and are far removed from the harsher rhetoric of national...

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A freshman state lawmaker wants to give the Pennsylvania House of Representatives more power by affording all standing committees and subcommittees subpoena power.

UNITED FEDERATION OF HUMANITY LOCAL 15120 OFFICIAL GRIEVANCE FORM Grievance filed against: Steel Valley Education Association Grievance alleged: The union representing Park Elementary School teachers filed a cruel, insensitive, unnecessary and ultimately impotent grievance against Steel Valley School District. Said grievance involving a special needs student violates the compassion, decency and concern for others clauses of its collective bargaining agreement with the UFH, hereafter referred to as “humanity.” The grievance was incalculably unintelligent and an enormous public relations gaffe that casts Park teachers as complete cads. Those aren't explicit violations of the CBA but should be noted for the record....

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz wasn’t taking any chances the other day when he announced he will seek the Republican nomination for president in 2016. Cruz launched his bid at what for him was the friendliest of venues: Liberty University in Virginia, a Christian school founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell. It would have been difficult for Cruz to pick a more receptive crowd for his announcement. And he didn’t disappoint. He asked Christian conservatives in the audience and across the nation to imagine a United States without the IRS, without Obamacare and without abortion rights. Said Cruz: “I believe...

Chick-Fil-A Opens Slew of New Stores Nationwide Despite the occasional negative press, Chick-Fil-A’s franchises are thriving throughout the United States. Shortly after the arrival of spring, new Chick-Fil-A restaurants are cropping up in states like Florida and Pennsylvania, signaling that the chain responsible for “Eat More Chicken” ads continues to outperform competitors, such as KFC and Church’s. As reported by the Palm Beach Post, Chick-Fil-A’s newest restaurant held a grand opening in Delray Beach, Florida on March 26 to hundreds of people anxiously awaiting its debut. For more than 24 hours, customers camped outside the new restaurant hoping to be...

http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/03/26/angies-list-class-action-lawsuit/

Police say two men in their twenties got off the trolley at 56th and Lansdowne Avenue and headed toward Media and Conestoga when two other men approached and announced a robbery. One of the victims then reportedly pulled out a gun and shot those two robbers. “Unbeknownst to the robbers, the 27-year-old victim has a permit to carry…has his handgun with him,” Police Lieutenant John Walker says. “He’s able to draw his handgun, firing multiple times, striking both robbery suspects.” One of the robbers then returned fire and shot the friend of the armed robbery victim.

A shocking chart released this week shows that nine of the top ten cities have more retirees collecting pensions than current employees contributing to the fund. It’s happening in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Scranton, and Harrisburg. “It’s a major problem,” said Representative Seth Grove (R-York). “We have local governments that are on the verge of bankruptcy.” Auditor General Eugene DePasquale has been raising alarms across the state about the fiscal frailty of municipal pensions. “One-quarter of all the municipal pensions in the United States are in Pennsylvania,” DePasquale said. That’s a lot of little communities managing pension plans and DePasquale says nearly half...

Imagine there's no IRS. It isn't hard to do. No Obamacare to pay for. And no budget deficits too. Imagine all the people, living with a flat tax. You may say Ted Cruz is a dreamer, but he's not the only one. He hopes some day—especially if you live in Iowa—you'll join him, and, well, he'll be president. That, at least, was the message during his announcement, oddly redolent of John Lennon, that he's officially seeking the highest office in the land. It was a conservative wish list to not only repeal the 21st century, but the 20th, too. About...

Many of the key figures cited in a scathing inspector general’s report this week are allies of Hillary Rodham Clinton, marking the latest in a series of stumbles for the former first lady and secretary of state that likely forced her to delay her planned presidential campaign announcement.A Democratic strategist familiar with her team’s thinking said they are scrambling to limit the damage and readjust the campaign rollout schedule after the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general revealed an apparent cronyism scandal that ensnared Mrs. Clinton’s brother, Anthony Rodham, and two of her political confidants, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and former...

Harrisburg, Pa. • A police officer was charged Tuesday with criminal homicide after investigators concluded she shot an unarmed motorist in the back as he lay facedown after a traffic stop over an expired inspection sticker.Authorities accused Hummelstown police Officer Lisa J. Mearkle of shooting David Kassick, 59, twice Feb. 2 without legal justification. She was jailed without bail.They said Mearkle had attempted to pull over Kassick for expired inspection and emissions stickers before he sped away. She caught up to Kassick near his sister's home, where he got out and ran.