Free Republic

If you are planning a lengthy holiday getaway don’t leave your home unattended: beware the squatters. In some towns in the U.S. if homeowners take a lengthy vacation and squatters move into their home in the interim the intruders may wind up calling it their own “home sweet home.” And “yes,” it’s legal. The issue of squatter rights is not something new; squatters have been around since the first European settlers arrived in America. What is new is the emergence of squatters in growing numbers as a result of the Biden administration’s open borders policy. Texas Senator John Cornyn tells...

She then decided to cite the Ten Commandments, and the lack of a specific reference to abortion, to defend it “It’s not mentioned in the Big Ten, I’m just gonna say. In the Big Ten, it is not mentioned… Cause I figure, God was pretty clear. Here’s the stuff that will make your life better on earth. Don’t lie, cause you don’t want people lying to you. Don’t mess with somebody’s wife, cause you’re going to be made if they’re messing with yours. Just, you know, common sense stuff

WASHINGTON — Twenty years after George W. Bush won re-election with the help of ballot initiatives that rallied voters around a popular cultural issue, Democrats are dusting off his playbook and attempting a similar strategy to keep Donald Trump out of office. In 2004, Bush’s team seized on popular opposition to same-sex marriage, with strategist Karl Rove encouraging allies to put initiatives to ban it on ballots in key swing states, hoping to stir up voters and enable the president to ride the measures’ coattails to re-election. It worked. Now, President Joe Biden’s allies are seizing on fury over the...

Former President Donald Trump officially announced his position on abortion on Monday, ending months-long speculation about how he would handle the issue should he be elected in November. In a video posted to Truth Social, Trump said the issue of abortion is about “the will of the people” and should be left up to states to decide. The 45th president touted his role in nominating the Supreme Court justices who ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade in their Dobbs decision — ending 50 years of an invented constitutional right to abortion and sending the issue back to individual states and their...

Former President Donald Trump on Monday announced his position on whether abortion should be banned, following months of not taking a stance on the combustible and crucial issue in his 2024 rematch with President Biden. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee took to his social media platform on Sunday night to say that he would issue a statement on "abortion and abortion rights." In video posted Monday morning, Trump explicitly affirmed his support for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and he emphasized his support for states determining their own laws for abortion so long as there are exceptions for rape, incest and...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) broke with former President Trump on Monday over Trump’s decision to back away from endorsing a national 15-week abortion ban, declaring that leaving the issue entirely to the states “runs contrary to an American consensus that would limit late-term abortions.” “I respectfully disagree with President Trump’s statement that abortion is a states’ rights issue,” he said in a statement responding to Trump. Trump on Monday reversed course on his plan to support a 15-week or 16-week national abortion ban amid pushback from top Republicans, who warned it would put the issue of abortion rights at the...

Former Vice President Mike Pence blasted former President Trump on Monday for embracing the position that abortion policy should be determined by states and avoiding taking a stance on whether the federal government should enforce a national ban at a certain cutoff point. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Pence — who was Trump’s running mate in 2016 and 2020 —said Trump’s newly announced position on abortion was a “slap in the face” to opponents of abortion rights who voted for their ticket. “President Trump’s retreat on the Right to Life is a slap in the face to the...

Conservative groups backing former president Donald Trump in his re-election bid say they are "deeply disappointed" with his official position on abortion unveiled Monday, but it won't deter their support in November. The former president and presumptive GOP nominee in a video posted on Truth Social Monday morning said he cemented his position on the controversial issue, saying that abortion access should be a states’ issue and didn’t endorse a national, federal limitation – like a 15-week ban. Pro-life interest groups who have endorsed Trump expressed disappointment at his announcement, but it appears unlikely to sway their support in consideration...

On a spring night in 2022, Ross Hill was trying to get several of his children—he has eight—tucked into bed for the night. *** “They were in tears because they didn’t want to go to school the next day,” said Mr. Hill, a 38-year-old teacher from Florence, South Carolina (pop: 39,958). Whether he knew it at the time or not, Mr. Hill’s family was part of a trend in the United States. A surprising number of children are miserable at school, research shows, and it’s a trend that began before the pandemic. For example, a 2020 Yale study that surveyed...

The new head of Boeing’s troubled commercial airplane unit said the planemaker faces a “pivotal moment” as it works to boost quality and address significant concerns from regulators and airline customers after a panel flew off a 737 MAX 9 jet in January. “This is a pivotal moment for us, and we have serious work ahead to build trust and improve our operations,” said Stephanie Pope, who was named president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes ... Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced he would leave by the end of the year, while the company’s long-time head of commercial airplanes, Stan...

South Carolina has collected about $1.8 billion in a bank account over the past decade and state and private accountants are still trying to figure out where the cash came from and where it was supposed to go. “It's like going into your bank and the bank president tells you we have a lot of money in our vault but we just don't know who it belongs to,” said Republican Sen. Larry Grooms, who is leading a Senate panel investigating the problem. It's the latest trouble with the state's books and the two agencies, typically led by elected officials, that...

A fire alarm led to the discovery of a large quantity of drugs in a Berkeley County woman's home. Dietra Drayton, 40, is charged with trafficking fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute, marijuana, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and distribution within a half-mile proximity of a school. Her arrest was announced on March 27. On March 22, according to the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office (BCSO), a fire alarm went off at a residence on Highland Avenue in Sangaree. Fire personnel entered the residence due to it being full of smoke. Upon clearing the house, they found several...

COLUMBIA — A controversial energy bill is heading to the House floor over the continued opposition of consumer and environmental advocates, who say changes fell far short of addressing concerns over fast-tracking a new power plant in South Carolina. A House committee voted unanimously Wednesday to advance the legislation introduced last month by Speaker Murrell Smith of Sumter, R-Sumter. The bill gives permission for Dominion Energy and state-owned utility company Santee Cooper to partner on a possible 2,000-megawatt natural gas plant on the site of a former coal-fired power plant along the Edisto River in Colleton County. But in the...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A 48-hour manhunt for the suspect who reportedly shot and killed New Mexico State Police Officer Justin Hare near Tucumcari is now over. Bernalillo County deputies arrested Jaremy Smith Sunday morning in Albuquerque after a shootout in a neighborhood. Right now, Smith is still recovering at UNM hospital. Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Chief John Allen confirmed his deputies shot Smith during that shootout Sunday morning. It’s not exactly clear where he was shot or how many times, but BCSO officials said he suffered non-life threatening injuries. The shootout happened in one woman’s backyard, and she caught the...

It’s time for America to come together and make Donald Trump the next president of the United States. I was one of those who doubted he could pull off a second presidential victory and backed Nikki Haley. I was wrong — Trump is ready to be president again, and the country needs him. Indicted 91 times by biased prosecutors out to stop him, Trump has engineered a great comeback.

Boeing whistleblower John Barnett “didn’t seem depressed” at dinner on the evening before he was mysteriously found dead in his car ... Lawyers, family friends and witnesses all say the 62-year-old was upbeat about finishing off giving testimony against his former employer in Charleston, South Carolina, and raised suspicious as to whether he’d take his own life. An employee who works at the Holiday Inn where Barnett was found dead in the parking lot told ... seemed fine on the evening of Feb. 8.... He didn’t seem upset at all,” ... Barnett was due to give a third day of...

The lawyers for Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, who was found dead from a ‘self-inflicted wound’ inside his vehicle this week, have raised doubts he took his own life. Barnett was found dead just days after testifying against the airplane company. The Daily Mail reported: “Barnett’s death came during a break in depositions in a whistleblower retaliation suit, where he alleged under-pressure workers were deliberately fitting sub-standard parts to aircraft on the assembly line.” Barnett was reportedly found with a ‘silver handgun’ with his hand and his finger on the trigger, along with a suicide note. However, the contents of the...

A prominent Boeing whistleblower who reported on safety and quality control concerns in the company’s production line was found dead Saturday, according to South Carolina authorities. John Barnett, 62, died of an apparent self-inflicted wound on Friday, the Charleston County Coroner’s office said. He was found in his truck at his hotel’s parking lot.

Now that South Carolina has officially become the 29th state to adopt Constitutional Carry (and the 28th to have the law formally take effect, since Louisiana's new statute doesn't kick in until July 4th), the state's few pro-gun control voices are ramping up their fearmongering. Everytown for Gun Safety's South Carolina chapter is already predicting the new law will lead to more violence and less safety, while the state's most politically powerful sheriff says he's turning to the Almighty to protect the state from Constitutional Carry's effects. "Law enforcement agencies in South Carolina are bracing for what could happen as...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has proposed a 10-knot speed limit for much of the Atlantic coast in a bid to protect the Whale population. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As the federal government nears final approval for a 10-knot maritime speed limit along the East Coast, the Southeastern legal Foundation is warning that such a move would adversely impact the economies of coastal communities. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has proposed a 10-knot speed limit for much of the Atlantic coast in a bid to protect the whale population. Violators could face up to $20,000 in fines and one...