Free Republic

There are 55.3 million Latinos in America, nearly triple the 1980 population, and those under 18 years old are the largest group, a demographic fact likely to influence the future of the country, according to Census figures. The new report helps to complete the picture of the U.S. immigration population, which previous reports pegged at 61 million. According to Pew, 35.3 million, or 64 percent of the total number of the Latino immigrant population are Mexican-origin. A 2008 Pew report said that more than half of the immigrants from Mexico were illegally in the United States.

Erik Bauersfeld, who turned three words from a minor acting role — "It's a trap!" — into one of the most beloved lines of the "Star Wars" series, has died. His manager, Derek Maki, says the performer died Sunday at his home in Berkeley, California, at the age of 93.

Oscar-winning actress Patty Duke, who hit the trifecta of stardom with her turns on TV, in the movies, and on Broadway, is dead. Duke, who was 69, died due to sepsis from a ruptured intestine, her managers said. "I love you Mom," one of her actor sons, Sean Astin, said in a statement confirming his mother's death. The Queens-born daughter of a troubled cashier and alcoholic cab driver, Duke overcame a dark childhood to become one of the Hollywood's most respected actresses and president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1985 to 1988.

David Smyrl, the Emmy-winning actor best known for his role as Mr Handford, the retired firefighter who ran Hooper's Store on Sesame Street, has died. He was 80. Smyrl was diagnosed with lung cancer in January, his wife, Cheryl, said. He died on Tuesday at Lankenau Medical Center outside Philadelphia. 'He was funny,' Cheryl Smyrl said. 'I could say so many good things about him. He was loved by so many people. He was a mentor to a lot of children. He was a family man, loyal, true and faithful.' A north Philadelphia native born on September 12, 1935, Smyrl...

An "amazing" Scottish ski coach has died in an accident in the Alps. Aaron McLean, a co-founder of off-piste group British Freeride, is thought to have been instructing young skiers in the French mountain resort of Avoriaz when he died on Thursday afternoon. Mr McLean, 26, went to school in Edinburgh and learned to ski at Hillend. Snowsport Scotland said he was "a man of great enthusiasm and infectious energy".

A Kansas mom of five who had just given birth to triplets died minutes after she arrived home from the hospital. Casi Rott, 36, was briefly reunited with her two older daughters at the family’s rural farm — which she hadn’t seen in months because she stayed with family closer to the hospital toward the end of her high-risk pregnancy — on Feb. 8. “That day was the happiest I’d ever seen her,” her husband, Joey, told the Kansas City Star of the reunion. But just after she walked through the door, she started having severe chest pains, brought on...

Fellow Freeper, Tom Buchanan,(Fivetoes)had a heart attack and passed away this morning. He will be missed.

Joey Feek, who rose to fame as a member of the soulful husband-and-wife country duo Joey + Rory, died Friday, according to her husband’s blog. She was 40 years old. Feek made headlines in recent months as her husband, Rory, blogged on behalf of the couple about their experiences as she fought cervical cancer that eventually spread to her colon. When the songstress’ cancer spread in October 2015, she informed fans that she was stopping treatment. She entered hospice care in early November, and Rory kept fans up-to-date in the months that followed.

FULL TITLE: Father Bill Carmody, outspoken Catholic priest in the Colorado Springs area, remembered as champion of youth and faith A devoted sports fan; often the loudest man on the court or the field. A church leader. A shy man who loved working with kids. A great hugger. When word spread Tuesday that Father Bill Carmody had died, his friends and parishioners remembered him as all of these things. Carmody, 58, died in his sleep late Monday night after a long battle with cancer. The beloved Catholic priest left behind him a legacy that stretches from Widefield schools to the...

Author Nelle Harper Lee, who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1961 for her book, "To Kill a Mockingbird," passed away in her sleep Friday morning at the age of 89, her family has confirmed. "This is a sad day for our family. America and the world knew Harper Lee as one of the last century's most beloved authors," Hank Conner, Lee's nephew and a spokesman for the family, said in a statement Friday morning. "We knew her as Nelle Harper Lee, a loving member of our family, a devoted friend to the many good people who touched her...

Tommy Kelly, who played the titular boy hero in the 1938 movie "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," has died. He was 90. Kelly suffered congestive heart failure on Jan. 25 in Greensboro, N.C., his son announced Tuesday. Along with the adaptation of the Mark Twain novel for which he's best known, Kelly appeared in "Gone With the Wind," "He Walked By Night," and "The West Point Story" before retiring from Hollywood at age 25.

JRandomFreeper (Johnny) died at 4:33 pm, January 22, 2016. He was 54 years old, his last birthday, October 13. 2015. He leaves two sisters, one brother, two daughters and five grandchildren. Johnny had hundreds (thousands?) of Freeper friends. His posts were sought after and were pithy to the max. He was the ultimate prepper, survivor, agriculture plant grower, electronic expert, and trained chef. If you were in trouble, he was the one you would want with you. He could make something useful out of almost nothing, or out of plain air - air is something - nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon...

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) _ A Navajo man who helped stump the Japanese during World War II using a code based on his native language has died in suburban Salt Lake City. Ernest Yazhe’s daughter Melissa Yazhe tells The Salt Lake Tribune that her 92-year-old father died of renal failure Tuesday. Yazhe joined the U.S. Marines when he was 19 and became one of the hundreds of code talkers who played a vital combat role by transmitting battlefield messages in an unbreakable Navajo-based radio code.

We’re sad to report the death of Robert Banks Stewart, whom many Doctor Who fans will remember fondly as the creator of the Zygons. Aside from writing two Fourth Doctor adventures – Terror of the Zygons and The Seeds of Doom – he co-created the well-remembered Shoestring (1979–80) starring Trevor Eve as a detective on the edge, and created the enormously popular Jersey-based cop show, Bergerac (1981–89). He also scripted episodes of the most iconic series of the 60s and 70s including Danger Man, The Avengers, Callan and The Sweeney and served as a producer on huge hits such as...

NEW YORK -- David Margulies, a veteran actor of the stage and screen, whose career spanned decades on Broadway and numerous film roles including the mayor in "Ghostbusters," has died. He was 78. Margulies died in New York on Monday, his agent Mary Harden said Tuesday. No cause of death was immediately available, she said. The Brooklyn-born Margulies made his Broadway debut in the 1973 revival of "The Iceman Cometh." He performed on Broadway a dozen more times, including as Roy Cohn in "Angels in America."

The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams star Dan Haggerty has died at 74 following a battle with cancer. The '70s star passed away at his home in California's San Fernando Valley on Friday surrounded by friends and family, according to TMZ. The actor was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago after he underwent surgery for back pain. Scroll down for video The hirsute star, who famously was the real life friend of bears and wildcats, returned home after doctors, in the hospital where he was receiving treatment at, told him time was growing short. While home, Haggerty met...

Singer David Bowie, one of the most influential musicians of his era, has died of cancer at the age of 69. A statement was issued on his social media accounts, saying he "died peacefully, surrounded by his family" after an "18-month battle with cancer". Tributes have been paid from around the world to the "extraordinary artist" whose last album was released days ago. Sir Paul McCartney described him as a "great star" who "played a very strong part in British musical history". Bowie's son Duncan Jones, who is a Bafta-winning film director, wrote on Twitter: "Very sorry and sad to...

David Bowie has died after a battle with cancer, his rep confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. "David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief," read a statement posted on the artist's official social media accounts.

It may sound crazy to some, but it's not the first time James Twyman has gone to a war torn area to sing and pray for peace. While it might be dangerous, James feels he has to do it. Twyman sings the Muslim prayer. It's just one of many prayers he puts to music from various religions when he sings for peace around the world. In the late 90's, Twyman performed in Baghdad amid fallout from Dessert Storm and he played in Syria a couple years ago. On Jan. 20, Twyman will travel to the Israeli-Syrian border to hold a...

<p>The body of country singer Craig Strickland was found on Monday, authorities confirmed to FOX411.</p> <p>Strickland was the lead singer of the Arkansas-based country-rock band Backroad Anthem. He disappeared during severe storms on Dec. 27 while on a duck hunting trip with friend Chase Morland.</p>