Free Republic

The Justice Department on Tuesday unsealed charges, and sought extradition, of a Brit who did day-trading in futures contracts from his London home. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also filed civil charges against Navinder Singh Sarao and his company. Sarao was arrested in the U.K. over the charges relating to manipulation. While the government has alleged manipulation on at least ten different occasions, it is the activity on May 6, 2010, that will draw the most attention. The U.S. government says Sarao was engaged in what’s called layering, which involves making multiple, bogus orders that are quickly cancelled to trick...

John Doe laws dating back to the 19th century in Wisconsin allow DAs to hold secret panels, compel people to give testimony and turn over documents. To take advantage of the loopholes was Prosecutor John Chisholm, a partisan hack who had a vendetta against Scott Walker. The corruption extends to judges, police officers, lawyers and to at least one newspaper, the Journal Sentinel. In a September 9, 2014 article, former Milwaukee police officer Michael Lutz, who for several months served as an unpaid special prosecutor in Chisholm’s office, said that Milwaukee County DA John Chisholm, a Democrat, told him in...

In Oklahoma, Judge Thad Balkman ruled in favor of second amendment supporters when he issued a tempory restraining order to prevent the City of Norman from enforcing a ban on the carry of weapons during the Norman Music Festival.   The city argued that it was not banning weapons; only that the private organization that it had given control of city streets and sidewalks was banning arms.   From newsok.com: Bateman and Assistant City Attorney Rick Knighton argued that the festival operators essentially lease a three- or four-block area from the city for the special event. By doing so, they...

A canine flu outbreak has sickened many dogs in the Midwest, and veterinarians are cautioning pet owners to keep their dogs from going nose-to-nose with other four-legged friends. The University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Veterinary Medicine says the virus has sickened at least 1,000 dogs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana, and some veterinarians worry it could easily spread to other areas of the country. Recent tests from the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory have identified the strain as H3N2. Clinical assistant professor Keith Poulsen says it's not yet known how effective current vaccines are against this strain, which is believed...

I'd prefer Manny, but I think Mayweather will win. Your opinions?

In its first report on trafficking around the world, the U.S. criticized Thailand as a hub for labor abuse. Yet 14 years later, seafood caught by slaves on Thai boats is still slipping into the supply chains of major American stores and supermarkets. The U.S. has not enforced a law banning the import of goods made with forced labor since 2000 because of significant loopholes, The Associated Press has found. It has also spared Thailand from sanctions slapped on other countries with weak records in human trafficking because of a complex political relationship that includes cooperation against terrorism. The question...

Scott Walker is under fire for what a former aide calls an “Olympics-quality flip-flop” on immigration. Walker has already moved away from his past positions on allowing undocumented immigrants a clear pathway to legal status — what many conservatives deride as “amnesty” for immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally. On Monday, the Wisconsin governor appeared to go a step further, telling radio host Glenn Beck that he supports limits on legal immigration. “The next president and the next Congress need to make decisions about a legal immigration system that’s based on, first and foremost, on protecting American workers and...

Thank you for contacting me about President Obama's nominee for United States Attorney General. I appreciate receiving your comments on this matter. As you may know, on November 7, 2014, President Obama nominated Loretta Lynch to replace Attorney General Eric Holder. On February 26, 2015, the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary voted to approve Ms. Lynch's nomination by a vote of 12 to 8. I voted in favor of her nomination. I believe that elections have consequences and that elected presidents should be afforded a certain degree of deference in the presidential appointment process, particularly when the nominee...

President Barack Obama says NASCAR's winning team is kind of like his relationship with Vice President Joe Biden. Obama says both he and 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ Kevin Harvick know "when you have a trusted partner shouting world-class advice in your ear at every turn, you can't lose."

Gen. Martin Dempsey is used to giving orders, but it was an apology he issued Monday to Debbie Lee, after the Gold Star mom complained that the joint chiefs chairman trivialized the Iraqi town where her son became the first Navy SEAL to die in the Iraq War. Lee, whose son Marc was killed in Ramadi in 2006 after a fierce firefight with insurgents, told FoxNews.com she was "in tears" Friday after listening to comments by Dempsey in which he said the imminent fall of Ramadi to ISIS militants was "not symbolic in any way."

RUSH: Did you see where Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, has an op-ed in the New York Times? I kid you not. The Iranian foreign minister is considered an ally by the New York Times op-ed page. You see, ladies and gentlemen, there is so much controversy over the Iranian nuclear deal that Obama's putting together that the New York Times -- hoping to facilitate things for Obama -- offers op-ed space to the Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif. When you skim this thing, it looks like a regular editorial from the New York Times editors. Just like when old...

Dear LGBT Community, I am not your daughter. I never carried a flag in one of your gay pride parades. I have never written a letter on your behalf to a congressman or anyone else, and I have never felt the need to make people accept the fact I am the daughter of a lesbian. Perhaps it’s because she never felt the need to force people to accept her for being one. I knew from a young age that living with two women was not natural. I could especially see it in the homes of my friends who had a...

The problems are multiplying for the Texas veterinarian... "Current interests: Living my days to the fullest, finding the meaning of happiness, killing things or trying to kill things (animals, a full glass of whiskey, hangovers, etc)..."

Berkeley students protesting the “hostile atmosphere” against minority students blocked passage for minority students last Tuesday, at times resorting to violence in order to prevent them from attending class. Gathering at Sather Gate, Stop Mass Incarceration Network, who started the rally, prevented passage of students. The protests were aimed at “police brutality” and the environment on campus toward minority students. Up to 50 students gathered and prevented foot traffic through the gate. On multiple occasions, students, including minorities, tried to break through so they could attend class. In response, the protesters violently attacked them. Three assaults were reported during the...

Iran will not grant the International Atomic Energy Agency a second entry to the Parchin military base, the spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said on Monday. "Parchin is a military base," Behrouz Kamalvandi said at a news conference in Tehran. "They [the IAEA] have been raising the issue for years. It is important for their propaganda. They know we will not allow them to visit the Parchin base again, but they think raising the issue benefits the propaganda." Kamalvandi said that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, while serving as Iran's chief negotiator years ago, had allowed the IAEA to enter...

A Saudi-led coalition will end "Operation Decisive Storm" -- its nearly monthlong airstrike campaign in Yemen -- by the end of Tuesday, and a new undertaking called "Operation Restoring Hope" will begin, Saudi state-run TV reported without immediately elaborating. The aim is to bring back Yemen's "security and stability through establishing a political process," said a statement from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait.

Here’s the thing—the Tea Party, and the GOP horrify me. I might not know all the details about their campaigns, and I might not know what exactly HRC is planning, but one thing is for sure: Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Jeb Bush are absolutely bad news. Many feminists including myself are “excited” about the idea of a woman holding office in the White House. But it is a very dull excitement, muffled by the fact that this racist police state will have nothing to offer us, regardless of who is sitting in The Oval Office. Just as Obama’s election...

The Pentagon today shot down an overseas report that the head of ISIS was seriously wounded during an airstrike in western Iraq. According to a report in the Guardian, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi suffered life-threatening injuries during an assault between the villages of Umm al-Rous and al-Qaraan. Al-Baghdadi is no longer in control of day-to-day operations, Iraqi sources said, according to the Guardian.

Hillary Rodham Clinton will hold five fund-raisers in two days this month, low-key events in private homes hosted by a number of longtime supporters of hers — and one prominent 2008 backer of Barack Obama. In New York City, Mrs. Clinton will appear at three receptions. One is at the home of Lisa Perry, whose husband is a hedge fund executive and who was a major supporter of Mrs. Clinton for her last three campaigns. The second will be hosted by Milly and Arne Glimcher, who supported Mr. Obama in his 2012 presidential re-election campaign, and the third will be...

Gov. Scott Walker is set to serve as the keynote speaker for a voucher school summit next month in New Orleans. The American Federation for Children announced Tuesday that Walker would speak May 18 at the opening lunch for the summit. "Gov. Scott Walker is a tremendous leader who has been a relentless advocate for educational choice," Betsy DeVos, chairwoman of the group's board of directors, said in a release..... Walker's latest two-year budget plan, which is currently being considered by the Legislature's powerful budget committee, would expand school vouchers statewide.