Free Republic

BALTIMORE, Maryland — Racial protests supposed to be peaceful quickly turned into violent riots on Saturday evening, closing down the city of Baltimore for some time—and creating a panic for thousands of people as just 50 miles away elites in Washington partied with President Barack Obama at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Personally, I wasn’t supposed to be on the job tonight as a reporter. After a long news week and as several of my contemporaries lived high on the hog down in D.C. at the so-called “Nerd Prom,” me and my brother left D.C. to go see our Boston...

Here’s a story you haven’t seen for a while: Congress is working — well, sort of. Better than it had for the previous six years, anyway. The difference? Harry Reid is no longer running the Senate — and Republican Mitch McConnell has made the place far less dysfunctional. Just last week, the Senate cast breakthrough votes on a sex-trafficking bill and the confirmation of attorney-general nominee Loretta Lynch.

Jeb Bush had a paleo-friendly power luncheon at the ‘21’ Club Friday afternoon during a New York fund-raising trip. The presumptive GOP presidential candidate has reportedly lost a whopping 30 pounds in the run-up to an expected campaign run.

In a swing through the crucial presidential state of Iowa this weekend,Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker took the rare step of lashing out at prosecutors who had probed his campaign by questioning whether their tactics were constitutional.In an equally unusual turn,prosecutors fired back by calling Walker's comments inaccurate,offensive and defamatory—with Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm suggesting Walker could be criminally charged for lying. They said Walker should call for the release of sealed court records so the public could know more about the investigation and raids on people's homes,but Walker gave that notion little heed....The state Supreme Court is now...

In this "tell all" interview with Director Joel Gilbert, Malik Obama, the "half-brother" of President Obama, reveals his pain and confusion over Barack's shunning of his Kenyan family after becoming President. Malik provides a stunning take on the film, Dreams from My Real Father, stating "Frank Marshall Davis and Barack look alike" and adds that Barack does not look like his father. Malik says he would like a DNA test so the truth can come come out. Malik also states that Barack is "deceptive" and "has not been an honest man.” In the interview, Malik displays an early manuscript he...

Many towns have questionable names, as the people of Twatt, in Scotland can attest, however surely town slogans are easier to change than town names? This may be why the people from Tisdale, in Saskatchewan, Canada, are finally admitting the fact that their town slogan, ‘The Land of Rape and Honey’, needs updating.Rather than sexual assault, the slogan cites the harvesting of rapeseed which was a large part of the town’s economy many years ago.However, after witnessing hundreds of giggling travellers stopping by the town’s signs to take humorous pictures, Tisdale’s Economic Development Office have created an online survey asking residents if...

The man behind such classics as "Keep on Pushing" and "Superfly" will be the focus of upcoming projects, including new recordings, DVDs & memorabilia. Curtis Mayfield’s storied music career will mark its 60th anniversary next year. To celebrate the occasion -- and Mayfield’s still influential legacy -- the late soul icon’s estate is ramping up multiple projects. The slate includes a website, new recordings, merchandise, DVDs and a documentary. “It’s taken some time to put things in order,” says Altheida Mayfield, Mayfield's widow. “Now it’s time to celebrate and re-evaluate his legacy; to let him touch people’s hearts again. But...

Police caught another not-so-wily coyote Saturday morning in lower Manhattan after a nearly hour-long pursuit, officials said. The critter was first spotted around 7:30 a.m. in Battery Park City, police said. Cops quickly responded, chasing after the fast-moving critter on foot and in police cruisers, authorities said. The coyote was eventually cornered near a cafe at North Cove Marina about an hour after being first spotted, cops said. Police shot the animal with tranquilizer darts, placed it in a cage and brought it to Animal Care & Control’s East Harlem facility. It is unclear if the coyote captured Saturday was...

Law enforcement agencies have long wondered why methamphetamine, which ravaged so many American communities from the 1990s until the mid-2000s, didn’t take hold in New York City. Because the New York City metropolitan area is the largest illegal drug market in the country, and because demand has been so high elsewhere in the U.S., the city’s law enforcement for decades “has always been anticipating a meth outbreak,” explains James Hunt, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Division. “We’ve just never seen it take off to the same degree,” Hunt tells Newsweek. Try Newsweek for only...

Israeli warplanes struck military targets in Syria early Saturday, according to media reports that were not confirmed by Israeli or Syrian officials. According to Arab media and pro-opposition sources in Syria, the strikes targeted several bases belonging to Syrian missile brigades in the mountainous Qalamoun region near the Syrian-Lebanese border. The targets reportedly were Syrian army brigades said to keep long-range missiles and other strategic weaponry...

A 12-year-old Michigan girl who just made it through the biggest fight of her life has been dealt another blow. In August 2012, Rose McGrath, of Battle Creek, was diagnosed with leukemia. But last week, her family received a letter from her school that would turn her world upside down. As CBS affiliate WWMT reports, the letter addressed concerns regarding Rose's attendance and academic performance, and stated that Rose had been dismissed from St. Joseph Middle School. "I didn't do anything wrong, but they still got rid of me," Rose said. screen-shot-2015-04-24-at-11-24-21-am.png Rose McGrath WWMT Rose has been with the...

Mitch McConnell is building the case that this Senate is much more productive than the last one. The Kentucky Republican, who ascended to majority leader after repeatedly ripping the Democratic-led Senate as “dysfunctional,” has to show that the GOP can govern. If he falls short of that goal, Democrats will likely win back Senate control in 2016. McConnell and his Republican conference got off to a rocky start to the year as they bickered with House GOP lawmakers, most notably over tying funding for the Department of Homeland Security to immigration policy. But now, Senate Republicans are on a bit...

Ted Cruz remarks to the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition Spring Summit.

Expected surge of immigrants to push U.S. to 'European model of state control'Only eight short years from now, immigrants will make up a record-high 14.8 percent of the total U.S. population, and longtime conservative leader Phyllis Schlafly views the rising tide of newcomers as a purposeful attack on the country. By the nation’s own president. “It’s deliberate,” Schlafly told WND in an interview. “It’s not any accident. It’s because Obama and his friends are letting all these people in who don’t want to be Americans, who don’t want to speak English.” The Census Bureau projected last month that the U.S....

Jean Sharon Abbott spent nearly all of her life believing she had an incurable condition that left her feeling "trapped" in her own body -- unaware that many of her symptoms could be easily treated with a pill. The 38-year-old Minnesota mother of three was diagnosed as a child with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that appears early in life and permanently disrupts the brain's ability to control movement and balance. For more than three decades, Abbott says she suffered from debilitating symptoms. "I could barely move my arms or legs to due to the...

DALLAS (AP) — A Texas delegation is arriving in Cuba with hopes of building a front-of-the-line position for renewed trade with the Caribbean nation long isolated by a U.S. embargo. The Dallas Morning News (http://bit.ly/1IX4MDi ) reports the delegation landing in Havana on Sunday is the first Texas has sent to Cuba since the U.S. and the communist island nation agreed to restore diplomatic relations. Texas industries with potential to expand trade with Cuba include agriculture, airlines, oil, technology and tourism, said Cynthia Thomas, president of the Dallas-based consulting firm Tri Dimension Strategies and leader of the delegation. "The last...

“One Name, One Flock, One Shepherd” (Acts 4:1-12; John 10:11-18)Today is the Fourth Sunday of Easter, also known as “Good Shepherd Sunday,” the day in the church year every year when the propers--that is, the various parts of the service--revolve around Jesus as our Good Shepherd. The Holy Gospel is always a portion of John 10, in which Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd. The Psalm is always the 23rd Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd.” The Hymn of the Day, which we just sang, is “The King of Love My Shepherd Is.” And so on. This theme of the...

“SeaWorld Trainer Barbie” is going to need to freshen up her resume. A Mattel spokesperson has confirmed that the company has ceased production of the doll and the rest of its SeaWorld-related merchandise. "We're not making the doll anymore," Alex Clark told NBC News. "Consumers may find it on retail shelves but we are not shipping and not producing the doll." Clark didn’t name a specific motivation behind the move. "A number of factors go into a decision like that," he said. "Their licensing deal expired and we've elected not to renew it." However, Mattel’s decision follows a growing backlash...

Vietnam veterans from around the country are in San Diego to mark the 40th anniversary of the Vietnam War on April 30. On Friday, many took private tours of USS Midway and were able to see locations that are off limits to the general public. Veteran Pete Dunn, who is making his first return to the ship since the war, said the experience took them back to 1975. “It just brought back so many memories of being in that hot fire room," he said. The minimum temperature was like 120.” On Sunday, a commemorative event will be held to mark...

A Google executive has been confirmed dead in an avalanche at Mount Everest triggered by a massive magnitude-7.8 earthquake in Nepal, the Mountain View internet company said. Google issued a statement Saturday confirming the death of Google "X" privacy executive Dan Fredinburg. "Sadly, we lost one of our own in this tragedy," the statement said in part. "Dan Fredinburg a long-time member of the Privacy organization in Mountain View, was in Nepal with three other Googlers, hiking Mount Everest. He has passed away. The other three Googlers with him are safe and we are working to get them home quickly."...