Free Republic

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today asked for unanimous consent on his bill, the Expatriate Terrorist Act of 2014, that would strip Americans who join ISIS of their citizenship. Senator Hirono, D-Hawaii, objected. In his remarks offering the bill, Sen. Cruz discussed the rising threat of ISIS, his concerns with President Obama’s plans to arm the Free Syrian Army, and the support then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton once gave to legislation, introduced in 2010 by former Senators Joe Lieberman and Scott Brown, that closely mirrors the ETA of 2014. Specifically Sen. Cruz said: “All too often the...

(CNSNews.com) - House Speaker John Boehner (R.-Ohio) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) joined forces early Wednesday evening as the House passed a continuing resolution that will fund the government after the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, and that will permit funding for Planned Parenthood (the nation's largest abortion provider), the entirety of Obamacare, and an amendment requested by President Barack Obama "to train and equip appropriately vetted elements of the Syrian opposition." The bill passed 319 to 108 with four members not voting. But there were not enough Republican members to pass the bill without...

A homeowner sporting a Game of Thrones T-Shirt and brandished with a medieval sword says that he could have taken the life of an intruder who entered his home but that he is a Christian and doesn't believe in killing. Thomas McGowan, 25, broke into the Wichita Falls, Texas home of Jimmy Morgan Jr. at midnight on Tuesday but retreated with terror leaving splatters of blood on the wall after Morgan Jr. whipped out a medieval sword and told him to get lost. McGowan broke into Morgan Jr.'s home to hide from police after crashing his car during a police...

The Senate approved a continuing resolution for the budget which included a provision authorizing President Obama to arm and train Syrian rebels for the purpose of combating Islamic State terrorists. The legislation passed 78-22. Of the 22 Senators that voted no, here are the 12 Republicans that voted against the provision: John Barrasso (WY) Tom Coburn (OK) Michael Crapo (ID) Ted Cruz (TX) Mike Enzi (WY) Dean Heller (NV) Mike Lee (UT) Jim Moran (KS) Rand Paul (KY) James Risch (ID) Pat Roberts (KS) Jeff Sessions (AL)

The state's highest criminal court on Wednesday tossed out part of a Texas law banning "improper photography or visual recording" - surreptitious images acquired in public for sexual gratification, often called "upskirting" or "downblousing" - as a violation of federal free-speech rights and an improper restriction on a person's right to individual thoughts. In an 8-1 ruling, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said photos, like paintings, films and books, are "inherently expressive" and, therefore, are protected by the First Amendment. The opinion supported a previous decision by the San Antonio-based 4th Court of Appeals. Scotland rejects independence in historic...

Unfortunately, sometimes high school looks a lot like a real-life version of the movie "Mean Girls." Case in point, a group of girls at Grand Prairie High School in north Texas tricked 17-year-old Lillian Skinner into thinking she was nominated for the homecoming court. The truth is, she wasn't actually nominated, but the story doesn't end there. Her two friends Anahi Alvarez and Naomi Martinez, who were nominated, heard about the cruel prank and came up with a plan. They decided that if either of them won, the winner would give the crown to Lillian. "We promised each other, and...

Duke Energy seeks nearly $2 million in Florida electricity rate hikes to pay for a new power plant made necessary by environmental restrictions. The electricity rate hikes became necessary as environmental restrictions force the closing of two coal power plants providing Floridians with inexpensive electricity. ... Aided by $10 million in campaign spending by billionaire liberal activist Tom Steyer, the Charlie Crist campaign is hammering Gov. Rick Scott for not imposing still more stringent power plant restrictions, above and beyond those imposed by the federal government. Steyer and Crist say Florida should impose state-specific power plant restrictions that would close...

AUSTIN -- The special prosecutor in the case against Gov. Rick Perry is asking for some help. San Antonio lawyer Michael McCrum, who guided the case to last month's indictment, filed a motion Friday asking a state court to fund a co-counsel. "Mr. Perry has filed several pleadings attacking the legality of the Texas statute that underlie the criminal charges the grand jury filed against him," McCrum wrote. "After due consideration, it is the opinion of undersigned counsel that an additional counsel is necessary at this time to adequately respond to motions and applications filed and otherwise prepare for trial."...

More than 700 infants at an El Paso hospital have been exposed to tuberculosis by an employee infected with the disease, according to public health officials. The city’s Department of Public Health says the infants along with about 40 employees at Providence Memorial Hospital were exposed.

AUSTIN — The special prosecutor who secured two felony abuse of power indictments against Gov. Rick Perry is facing his own legal problems after a decision by Texas’ highest criminal court to renew a contempt of court case against him. Prosecutors filed a contempt of court motion against San Antonio-based attorney Michael McCrum in January, after a separate case the previous fall. In it, one of McCrum’s clients was convicted of manslaughter for driving his car the wrong-way down an interstate with a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit, and sparking a head-on crash that killed two men.

Sen. Ted Cruz tried to get the Senate to consider a measure Thursday providing that any American who joins the fight with terrorist groups such as the Islamic State would immediately renounce their U.S. citizenship, but a Democratic senator objected, saying more time is necessary to weigh the significant constitutional issues it raises. Ahead of the Senate’s scheduled consideration Thursday afternoon of a proposal to arm and train Syrian rebels, part of President Obama’s strategy to combat the terrorist group, the Texas Republican asked for unanimous consent to pass the Expatriate Terrorist Act he introduced earlier this month. The measure...

Congressman Jason Chaffetz broke this shocking news Wednesday that four known terrorists were apprehended at the US border in Texas on September 10 – the day before the 13th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. Chaffetz questioned Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on whether he is “aware of any apprehensions of suspected or known terrorists.” Johnson dodged the question.

HOUSTON - Opening statements started Tuesday afternoon in a civil suit involving legendary singer Patti LaBelle. LaBelle and her entourage are being sued in federal court for an incident that happened at Bush Intercontinental Airport in 2011.

White abortion doctor, Lester Minto who performs abortions in Texas has admitted that he aborts primarily Hispanic babies.“For 35 years I had a clinic where I saw women and took care of their reproductive needs, but mostly terminating pregnancies,” Dr. Lester Minto says.“Ninety-eight percent were Hispanics,” Minto told NPR radio, “I would go days where I wouldn’t speak English because they were all Spanish speakers — which is great.”Minto, who says he averaged more than 4000 each year, admits that he has had emergencies related to his abortions. Two of his patients have had to go to the hospital, he...

Eighty legislators from Utah have submitted an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in which the legislators warn the Court that legalizing same-sex marriage would lead to the legalization of incestuous and polygamous marriages. The brief comes following the request for a writ of certiorari from both Utah's Attorney General, Sean Reyes, and the plaintiffs in Kitchen v. Herbert, the case that found both both a district court and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in favor of marriage equality in Utah. As Joe.My.God points out, "the brief is signed by 22 of the 29 members of the state...

The threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has created an opportunity for three White House hopefuls in the Senate to grab the spotlight from Republican governors. ... Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence panels has used the debate to distinguish himself as the inheritor of the muscular foreign policy worldview held by former President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) While he says it would be good for president Obama to seek congressional support for military action against ISIS, he argues the president doesn't need it. Rubio supports arming...

Brownsville, TX - Officials report that increased numbers of militia members are showing up along the Texas-Mexico border.

WASHINGTON — Militants for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have traveled to Mexico and are just miles from the United States. They plan to cross over the porous border and will “imminently” launch car bomb attacks.

A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper said he was asked to leave a Grapevine Waffle House last week because he was carrying a gun, but the restaurant said it was all just a big misunderstanding. When Jeff Evans walked into the Waffle House Tuesday morning, he was not dressed in a full uniform but rather a field uniform consisting of a polo shirt and tan pants. Evans also had his duty weapon on his hip and his badge on his belt, but according to a report by a local CBS affiliate, the restaurant’s manager only saw the gun, not...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)MISSION, Texas -- Authorities prepare to use “whatever force is necessary” to defend international bridges between Texas and Mexico from U.S. based militia groups. The preparations by Texas law enforcement agencies are in response to recently discovered plans by militia groups to attempt closing several international bridges. The militia groups' plans are intended to be protests against the federal government's failure to secure the border between the U.S. and Mexico. The plans call for militia groups to begin blocking traffic on an undisclosed number of international bridges in the Rio Grande Valley on Sept. 20th, 2014. “We will not allow...