Free Republic

DALLAS - If you can’t win big, go small. That’s the strategy gaining momentum among criminal justice reformers in the age of Trump, as the federal government hardens its approach to law enforcement. Instead of pouring money and energy into squeezing change out of Washington, national civil rights organizations are teaming with local groups to push their agendas in county-level district attorney races, where a few thousand votes can determine who asserts the most influence over the local justice system. Picking their targets carefully, and crunching election data to influence pivotal voter blocs - and benefiting from the largesse of...

PENNINGTON, N.J.—The past few years have been thick with promises of shiny new infrastructure and the revival of American greatness. Funny, then, that so little has been made of a quiet victory for U.S. infrastructure due later this year. By September 2018, one of the country’s most famous civil-engineering projects will finally complete construction, six decades after work on it began. Interstate 95, the country’s most used highway, will finally run as one continuous road between Miami and Maine by the late summer. The interstate’s infamous “gap” on the Pennsylvania and New Jersey border will be closed, turning I-95 into...

The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl for the first time in the franchise's history on Sunday, but several players have already indicated that they will not participate in the traditional White House visit, citing their opposition to President Donald Trump. Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, who also raised his fist during the National Anthem this past season, told CNN on Monday that he intends to skip the White House visit. "Nah, I personally do not anticipate attending," Jenkins told CNN's "New Day." Wide receiver Torrey Smith, who also raised his fist on the field to express solidarity with the "Black...

Less than 24 hours after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy into the air in Minneapolis, the total number of Philadelphia Eagles players who said they won’t visit the White House if the team is invited for the ceremonial championship visit rose to three. Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins— a prominent voice the past two seasons in NFL player protests of police brutality and social injustice— told CNN Monday that he will not attend the White House if President Donald Trump was to extend the invitation.

In the aftermath of the chaos that erupted in Philadelphia as Eagles fans tore through the streets celebrating their Super Bowl victory, many could not help but notice the difference in how the public and officials reacted to riots by fans compared to those prompted by civil unrest.

The Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl on Sunday night, beating the favored New England Patriots, and even though they played in Minneapolis, there was a distinctly Early Americana vibe with the two colonial-era powerhouses and their mascots — Patriots and Eagles — facing each other. Saturday Night Live ran with that on Saturday night, pitting the Patriots of New England (including Connecticut!) against the Philadelphia delegation (the "Iggles") at a Revolutionary War council in 1775 Philadelphia.

President Trump and the first lady celebrated the Super Bowl at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. To kick off the celebration, Trump and Melania watched the Florida Atlantic University Marching Band and cheerleaders perform patriotic songs in front of the club. Trump, who is a big fan of the New England Patriots, wore a black suit and red tie. Melania was not so subtle. The first lady made sure to show who she was rooting for by wearing Patriots colors. Melania was wearing the red, white and blue of the Patriots as she watched the performance.

This time, the New England Patriots were the victims of a Super Bowl comeback. MVP Nick Foles threw for three touchdowns and caught another as the Eagles defeated the Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, Minn. Sunday night to win the franchise’s first NFL championship since 1960.

Early this morning, Indiana Colts player Edwin Jackson was struck & killed by a suspected drunk driver who was unlicensed & ran from scene. Inmate booking records show the driver, Alex Cabrera Gonsales, is from Mexico w/an ICE detainer on him. h/t @JTTriguero

So what did you do? If you had a moment of weakness and watched the game, you can also confess here. My family? We ordered Out Back takeout and relaxed at home. Since we have never watched “Ash Versus Evil Dead” we started binge watching Season 1. It’s a hoot and the actor (Bruce Campbell) who plays the lead character bears an uncanny resemblance to Mitt Romney.

No players knelt or sat during the national anthem as the Super Bowl kicked off in Minneapolis on Sunday, according to The Associated Press. Pop singer Pink performed a rendition of the song as players for the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles stood on the sidelines.

Let the Games begin!

If you’re planning to watch the Super Bowl but you can’t stand the NFL take-a-knee protests, you may want to root for the Philadelphia Eagles. Not a single Eagles player sat or knelt during the national anthem, one of just seven teams with perfect non-kneeling records, in a season that saw 684 such incidents, according to a study released Thursday by Sports Pundit. The other Super Bowl LII team, the New England Patriots, landed in the middle of the pack with 17 incidents of anthem sitting or kneeling, wedged between the Buffalo Bills with 16 and the Cleveland Browns with...

Everything you need to know about the Super Bowl can be found in the rap hit “Dreams and Nightmares,” by Meek Mill. But which more truthfully could be named after a line in the song: "The Murder Game" or "All I Know Is Murder." Everything about how far professional football has fallen and how the NFL celebrates the obscene, the vulgar, the dangerous, and the foolish will be on full display as that song blares as the Eagles take the field. This song that the Eagle players have chosen is about guns, drugs, money, bitches, and murder, over and over...

<p>BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) - Nick Foles has a calling far greater than throwing touchdown passes.</p> <p>If Foles leads the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots, he'll become a folk hero in a city that has desperately waited for a championship since 1960.</p>

Perhaps they should have talked to some people who work with them. "A documentary being screened in cities around the country, and shown here to the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT), purports to show how our public schools — and public schools everywhere — are being forced to close because charter schools are stealing 'their' money," Anthony Williams, David Hardy & Sharif El-Mekki write in Real Clear Education. "The notion that the closure of several Philadelphia schools was caused by greedy charter school operators is ludicrous." "The primary culprit was a long-accumulating budget deficit (totaling $1.35 billion), brought on by...

Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have always had a kind of love/hate relationship. We're joined by history and boundaries, but divided by more than 300 miles on the turnpike and more than 1 million people in population (we admit it, Philly's bigger). We might poke fun at the weird accents and food tastes of the other, but just like brothers, we'll defend those same idiosyncrasies against all outsiders. And this weekend, most Pittsburghers will take up arms to root on the Philadelphia Eagles against the much-despised New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII. But there's more to love about the City of...

Cop shoots driver allegedly attempting to ram pedestrians Raw video: Officer updates media on police-involved shooting in South Philadelphia. Terrorism was being eyed as a possible motive after a man in a black Honda hit a pedestrian Monday morning in Philadelphia, seriously injuring one person before being shot in the head by an off-duty cop, officials said. The 31-year-old driver, who wasn’t immediately identified, was prounced dead at 10:15 a.m. at a hospital, police said. The driver was initially in “extremely critical condition” after the incident. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr. said at a news conference Monday evening that...

Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long said he won’t visit President Trump’s White House if his team defeats the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII on Sunday. “No, I’m not going to the White House,” Long said in an interview on Barstool Sports’ podcast Pardon My Take. “Are you kidding me?” Long, who was originally drafted by the St. Louis Rams and is playing in his 10th NFL season, played for the Patriots last season. He was one of several players who skipped the team’s White House visit after New England defeated the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI....

Seventy-two-year-old Susan Collesidis was never a football fan until she heard Carson Wentz talk about his faith. Then she was hooked on the Philadelphia Eagles. When Wentz found out his newest fan was fighting an advanced stage of cancer, he sent her an encouraging message with inspirational Bible verses. --SNIP-- Wentz isn’t playing in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots because he tore his ACL in Week 14. But backup quarterback Nick Foles is also a “brother in Christ” and one of the leaders in a locker room filled with guys who have formed a strong bond because...