Free Republic

A proposed City of Richmond School Safety resolution asks Congress to ban “large-capacity ammunition cartridges.” The proposed resolution also calls on Congress to “ban the manufacture, sale, purchase, possession, and use of assault weapons.” It also asks to implement “universal background checks.” Such checks would require a background check for a private sale just like the background check currently required for a retail purchase. Ironically, almost every high-profile firearm-based attacker acquires his or her gun via background checks at retail sales, so such an expansion would do nothing to prevent future attacks. To date, attackers that do not acquire firearms...

Strangers I meet are always surprised when they discover they’ve met a third-generation Northern Virginian. “Wow, a native!” they exclaim, “you don’t meet many of those!” This surprise is often accompanied by a strong opinion about NoVA, as it’s often called—they suggest that the area just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. has little regional identity or unique culture, or little worthy of praise. It’s quite a bracing commentary to hear about one’s home. Yet I contend that whatever deficit in cultural identity NoVA may have has been accrued by the technocratic elite that has come to dominate the...

An operative for a political committee that supports Democrats has been charged with assault following a confrontation with a staffer for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke outside a congressional hearing. Capitol Police charged Wilfred M. Stark, 49, of Falls Church, Virginia, with simple assault following a confrontation with Heather Swift, a spokeswoman for Zinke. Stark works for American Bridge 21st Century, a group that supports Democratic candidates. According to a police report, Stark approached Zinke after a House hearing Thursday and started yelling at him. Zinke continued walking out of the hearing room at the Longworth House Office Building and Stark...

“Let me make something very clear,” Nick Freitas stated unequivocally. “I don’t have a political career.” Freitas, a Republican member of Virginia’s House of Delegates, was responding to advice. Upon announcing his candidacy for the United States Senate, he was given the standard smoke-filled room wisdom: running against super-incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine, he was told, “could hurt [his] political career.” You see, Kaine has a lot going for him. He is the former mayor of Richmond, lieutenant governor and then governor of Virginia, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, U.S. Senator and Hillary Clinton’s Vice-Presidential running mate in 2016. What...

Before Friday, a No. 16 seed had never beaten a No. 1 seed, much less a No. 1 overall seed. They were 0-135. But the University of Maryland-Baltimore County -- yes, the little-known UMBC Retrievers -- proved even the longest of odds aren't totally insurmountable.

A 61-year-old Reston man is facing several charges stemming from a 2017 incident in which his dog was found deceased at an archery range. Officers responded to the private Northern Virginia Archers Club Range, adjacent to Fountainhead Regional Park, on July 15 of last summer after someone called to report they found a deceased dog that appeared to have been shot with a firearm. The dog, a shepherd mix, had a collar, but no tags or any identifying information. Further investigation determined the dog did have a microchip, which led officers to medical records and a possible owner. Animal...

For more than two months, the FBI has failed to abide by a judge’s order to turn over all of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s text messages, emails and SMS phone messages to a government watchdog group that has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a former senior FBI special agent. The communications in question are related to McCabe’s wife’s unsuccessful run for Virginia State senate and might also contain invaluable information on McCabe’s role in the Bureau’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server used to send classified information, several former FBI sources and a government official told...

The GOP chairman of the House judiciary committee is trying to boost his immigration-reform and DACA-amnesty bill by including a separate bill to accelerate the immigration of Indian and Chinese tech-workers. The separate bill, numbered H.R. 392, allows faster delivery of green cards once Indian or Chinese guest-workers — such as H-1B or L-1 visa workers — get initial approval for immigration. The delivery process does not allow more than 7 percent of each year’s green cards be given to approved people from any single country, so many approved Indian and Chinese workers are stuck in their own country backlogs.[...]

Local media is reporting that a Democrat vying for a seat in Congress has caught the eye of federal regulators over a rifle whose barrel she publicly shortened in a protest. Police tell area media they now have the AR-15 that Karen Mallard, a candidate for Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, on Wednesday seemingly shortened the barrel on while on Facebook Live. After the event, Mallard turned the gun over to the Virginia Beach Police Department, a spokesman of which said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is “looking into the situation.” Mallard announced she was destroying her husband’s...

[Video] Karen Mallard Makes An Illegal SBR in Her Campaign Video Video here.

WASHINGTON — The dispute over Medicaid expansion in Virginia has resulted in failure to reach a budget deal. WTOP has learned that lawmakers in Richmond have failed to reach an agreement on a spending plan due to the disagreement. The legislative session was supposed to end this week. This dispute means either the session will need to be extended, or a special session will be called. The House included Medicaid expansion in its budget, but the Senate did not. That leaves the Senate budget hundreds of millions short of the House spending plan.

wo top House Republicans repeated their call for a special counsel to look into alleged abuse of the FISA process, in the way a warrant was granted to spy on a former Trump adviser based on an unverified dossier with Russian sourcing. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, who chairs the oversight committee, and Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, who chairs the judiciary committee, said Attorney General Jeff Sessions must appoint a special counsel. The two men said they have faith in Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz to do a thorough job in the matter, but note that he doesn't have...

•President Calvin Coolidge was born in Plymouth, Vt., on July 4, 1872. He is the only president born on July 4; however, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe all died on the Fourth of July. •One lucky Philadelphian purchased a $4 picture at a flea market. Behind the picture was an original 1776 printing of the Declaration of Independence. It was sold to TV producer Norman Lear for $8.1 million. •After the war, King George III rationalized that Washington would become a dictator and make the Americans yearn for royal rule. When he was told that Washington planned to...

WASHINGTON — The two-year-old high-tech system that allows the Interstate 66 “red X” lanes to be opened outside of rush hour will be taken down within the next 12 months, WTOP has learned.The active traffic management system, which includes digital signs over each lane on a stretch of about 12 miles of I-66 just outside the Capital Beltway, cost $39 million. Work began in 2013; the system was first activated in September 2015.Construction on two HOV or toll lanes in each direction between the Beltway and Gainesville is set to ramp up this spring, and that will disrupt the system....

FAIRFAX, Va. — Both Interstate 66 tolls for solo drivers and expanded HOV hours have not slowed traffic on most major parallel routes during the morning rush hour, Virginia transportation officials said Tuesday.A new analysis — which found the average daily toll paid in January was $12.37 — also showed that even an increased number of cars on some roads like U.S. Route 50 did not significantly change travel times in January, compared with the same time a year earlier.“What we’re still seeing is the project is working as intended,” said Nick Donohue, Virginia’s deputy transportation secretary.The Virginia Department of...

The electric car company founded by former Gov. Terry McAuliffe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, blaming in part a wave of negative coverage by a conservative news website for its financial woes. GreenTech Automotive's bankruptcy petition cites 76 articles by the website Watchdog.org it says "negatively affected governmental, investor and public perception of GreenTech" and prompted investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Homeland Security. GreenTech in 2013 sued Watchdog.org, operated by the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, for $85 million. A judge dismissed the case in 2014. McAuliffe resigned from GreenTech...

Almost a dozen people have been injured at a Washington-area military base as a result of a letter that contained a hazardous substance, according to local first-responders. Hazmat crews rushed to Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall and were trying to identify the substance Tuesday afternoon, according to the Fort Myer Fire Department’s Twitter account.

The City of Charlottesville will soon be ordered to remove the black tarps currently covering two Confederate statues downtown. Reading from an official court letter Tuesday afternoon, Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Richard Moore said he thinks the shrouds on the statues of Gens. Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson are a violation of a state code protecting the removal or disturbance of war memorials. Moore said the city will have 15 days to remove the tarps after an official order has been signed.

It’s been a rough year for the Pittsburgh basketball program. In its second year with Kevin Stallings as head coach, the Panthers have not won a single game in conference play and entered Saturday’s home game against No. 1 Virginia with an 8-21 (0-16 ACC) record. With its first half performance against the Cavaliers, Pitt may have finally hit rock bottom. The Panthers went into the half trailing 30-7. Yes, Pitt scored only seven points in 20 minutes of action.

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) - The South Carolina leg of a proposed interstate that would end on the Grand Strand may benefit from President Trump's infrastructure plan. Some leaders say Interstate 73 construction could be approved sooner, but paying for the highway could change. The president's plan says the federal government would pay for 20 percent of a project, with more costs shifted towards local governments, the private sector and people. That means if I-73 is built, it will likely include tolls. "I think the odds for I-73 are looking better and better," says Brad Dean, president and CEO of...