Free Republic

Families of American hostages who communicate with foreign kidnappers or raise money and pay ransoms will no longer have to fear prosecution for aiding terrorist groups, a White House-ordered advisory group on U.S. hostage policy is expected to recommend, senior officials told ABC News last week. "There will be absolutely zero chance of any family member of an American held hostage overseas ever facing jail themselves, or even the threat of prosecution, for trying to free their loved ones," said one of three senior officials familiar with the hostage policy team's ongoing review. The study undertaken by the National Counterterrorism...

President Obama has reached Reagan-like levels of popularity in the twilight of his tenure, but analysts say his bounce can be attributed largely to the fact that he is fading into the political background as the next presidential race kicks into high gear and as Congress claims a surprising number of concrete legislative accomplishments. Mr. Obama’s job approval rating stands at 46.4 percent, his highest mark in nearly two years, according to a recent Gallup survey. The figure puts him in the company of President Reagan, whose approval rating also hovered around 46 percent at the same point in his...

An officer who found an abandoned newborn in a garbage dumpster has been reunited with the now 25-year-old man he helped save. Santa Ana police officer Michael Buelna and Robin Barton recently met in an emotional reunion, KABC-TV reported (http://abc7ne.ws/1QwNdzt ). "I hoped that someday I would see him again," Buelna said. Buelna was on duty in November 1989 when he heard a faint sound coming from a trash bin. Buelna started shifting through the trash and discovered a baby, his umbilical cord still attached. The child was just four hours old and weighed 4 pounds, 2 ounces. "He still...

By Joel Leyden Israel News AgencyJerusalem, Israel — April 26, 2015 — Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today spoke to the commander of the Israeli delegation to Nepal, Col. Yoram Laredo. The Prime Minister was informed that the rescue mission to Nepal includes an IDF field hospital and that its goals were locating Israelis, rescuing people who were trapped and treating the injured. IDF Col. Laredo told Prime Minister Netanyahu that an advance team had already landed and was preparing the infrastructure for the arrival of the humanitarian mission. “You are being sent on an important mission. This is the...

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America launches “World’s Longest Receipt” campaign to teach Kroger a lesson for not banning guns. “World’s Longest Receipt” is a boycott of Kroger whereby Moms Demand Action is asking supporters to shop at a Kroger competitor, then submit the receipt on a Moms Demand Action website to help keep a running tally.Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts announced the boycott by saying: It’s a shame that Kroger President & COO Rodney Ellis and CEO W. Rodney McMullen will not listen to their customers and employees to follow the lead of their competitors and...

Washington, D.C. — The annual White House Correspondent’s Dinner is indeed — as President Obama put it last night — “where Washington celebrates itself.” Little real news is ever made, but Beltway media, politicians, and consultants attend in such large numbers that you can get a sense of the current conventional wisdom. Cecily Strong, the Saturday Night Live comic who followed President Obama on the podium, was so blatantly in Hillary’s corner that it was jarring. But what was striking about last night’s dinner was that many people have come to the conclusion that Hillary Clinton’s campaign is in deep...

In the evening, Lucas and I walked down our street and into a village, the oldest community of ethnic Newars in the Katmandu Valley, a place where goats often live on the ground floor of homes and women wash their pots and their hair on the stoops. Making our way along the town’s narrow, medieval paths, we passed building after building that had collapsed. Residents, police officers and Nepal Scouts were digging through the debris with their hands, trying to rescue those who had been buried. Others were setting up temporary shelters in any open space. Blankets and cushions were...

 Donation-Gate  4/26/2015Stephanopoulos Floored as Gingrich, Bloomberg Editors Detail Seriousness of ‘Clinton Cash’Stephanopoulos Aggressively Questions Peter Schweizer Over ‘Clinton CashClinton Foundation Acknowledges Mistakes as Schweizer Calls for InvestigationFox’s Wallace Grills Lanny Davis over Clinton Donations: Not Just ‘Smoke and Mirrors’Charity watchdog: Clinton Foundation a ‘slush fund’Mark Halperin: An Assistant Secretary Would be Fired for What Already We Know Hillary Clinton DidClinton Foundation: 'Yes, We Made Mistakes'  4/25/2015Issam Fares: Supporter of Hezbullah and Hillary Clinton  4/24/2015White House Dodges on Whether Hillary Clinton Violated Secretary of State Contract (VIDEO)Report: Companies With Ties to Clintons Profited After Haiti QuakeAsked About Clinton’s Failure to Meet Admin Disclosure Rules,...

Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake made a stunning admission Saturday in the aftermath of violent protests over the recent death of Freddie Gray, saying she wanted to give space to those “who wished to destroy.”And destroy, some did.Numerous storefronts and vehicles were damaged and businesses were looted at the tail end of a day of demonstrations. Thirty-four people were arrested and six police officers suffered minor injuries. Baseball fans attending a game at Camden Yards were told to stay inside the ballpark until violence outside of the stadium subsided.“I’ve made it very clear that I work with the police and...

Photos shared on Twitter of yesterday’s protest in Baltimore over the death of Freddie Gray allegedly show members of the rival Bloods and Crips street gangs putting aside their differences and marching together: The Bloods, Crips and the Nation of Islam have united in Baltimore for #FreddieGray— HBCU Pride Nation (@HBCUPrideNation) April 26, 2015 Bloods and Crips gang members squash beef in Baltimore in honor of Freddie Gray and to protest together for justice. pic.twitter.com/oujWVZmvWB— HBCU Buzz (@HBCUBuzz) April 26, 2015 https://twitter.com/BEautifully_C/status/592144092391440384 The fact bloods and crips came together to protest the murder of #FreddieGray is astounding and beautiful.— Queen...

White Sox Hall of Famer Frank Thomas responded to Rock’s commentary Thursday on Fox Sports 1’s “America’s Pregame.” He believes Major League Baseball has a responsibility to get young African-American players back into the game. “Major League Baseball has got to take initiative and put academies in the inner cities across America,” Thomas said. “(They) do it in the Dominican Republic, (they) do it in Venezuela and as soon as Cuba is open, they’re going to do it in Cuba because those kids play baseball 24/7.

The acting chief executive of the Clinton Foundation is acknowledging the global philanthropy made mistakes in how it disclosed its donors. In a blog posting Sunday, Maura Pally defended the foundation’s work and reaffirmed its commitment to transparency. Pally’s statement comes amid growing scrutiny of the foundation as Hillary Rodham Clinton embarks on her presidential campaign.

Protests over the death of Freddie Gray, who died in police custody, took a violent turn on Saturday, resulting in dozens of arrests and widespread property damage. During a recent press conference, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake confirmed that the protesters were being given “space” to “destroy.” “While we tried to make sure that they were protected from the cars and the other things that were going on,” the mayor said of the protesters. “We also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well. And we work very hard to keep that balance and to put ourselves in...

NEW DELHI: Indian Air Force has initiated a proposal to purchase three more Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft from the US for about Rs 8,700 crore, impressed as it is by the cargo carrier's varied utility that includes carrying out of large-scale humanitarian assistance operations such as the ongoing relief effort in earthquake-hit Nepal. The IAF has told the government that it wants to add three very heavy transport aircraft to its fleet of 10 C-17s that were ordered in 2011 and inducted in 2013, officials said. The IAF has pressed the case for three more C-17s after being informed...

A future Labour Government is committed to outlaw the scourge of Islamophobia by changing the law and making it an aggravated crime, according to the Party’s Leader Ed Miliband. “We are going to make it an aggravated crime. We are going to make sure it is marked on people’s records with the police to make sure they root out Islamophobia as a hate crime,” Miliband told the Editor of The Muslim News, Ahmed J Versi in a wide ranging exclusive interview. “We are going to change the law on this so we make it absolutely clear of our abhorrence of...

The Islamic State seized control of a dam and overran a military barracks in the Thar Thar area in western Iraq over the past several days. Over 120 Iraqi soldiers and a senior general were killed during the Islamic State offensive.In a video released by ‘Amaq News, the Islamic State’s unofficial news agency, the jihadist group claimed to have taken control of the Thar Thar dam, which is located northeast of Fallujah in Anbar province. Islamic State fighters attacked the complex with “explosive-laden vehicles,” or suicide car bombs, before engaging with Iraqi troops in a firefight, Reuters noted. Also, the...

An officer and one other person were hospitalized following a shooting at Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport Saturday night. There was a report of suspicious individuals at the Terminal 1 rental car ramp on the second floor around 9:30 p.m., according to airport police. Once officers arrived and began investigating, police said a vehicle intentionally drove at them, resulting in the officers opening fire on the vehicle. Abdulkadir Sheikh Mahmoud, 36, was the driver of the vehicle and faces aggravated assault charges. Mahmoud was hospitalized, along with one officer who reportedly had non-life threatening injuries. The rental car ramp was reopened at...

Ian Reisner, one of the two gay hoteliers facing boycott calls for hosting an event for Senator Ted Cruz, who is adamantly opposed to gay marriage, apologized to the gay community for showing “poor judgment.” Mr. Reisner put the apology on Facebook, where a page calling for a boycott of his properties, the gay-friendly OUT NYC hotel and his Fire Island Pines holdings, had gotten more than 8,200 “likes” by Sunday evening. “I am shaken to my bones by the e-mails, texts, postings and phone calls of the past few days. I made a terrible mistake,” wrote Mr. Reisner. The...

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!   For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.   Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!     ~ Hall of Heroes ~Col. Donald Blakeslee Story from this website...and this one.More here.             New York Times, October 3, 2008 By Dennis Hevesi Col. Donald Blakeslee, one of the most decorated fighter pilots of World War II and the commander of the first American fighter squadrons to reach Berlin as the Allies ground...

The Clinton Foundation has joined Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network on a list of naughty nonprofits maintained by Charity Navigator, a prominent charity monitor.The Clinton Foundation was put on Charity Navigator’s “watch list” last month, The New York Post reported on Sunday.The foundation has come under intense scrutiny of late amid revelations it received millions of dollars in donations from foreign governments while Hillary Clinton served as secretary of state. Money also flowed to the foundation from companies and businessmen who benefited from their relationship to the Clintons.Furthermore, analysis of the foundation’s tax forms showed it spends a relatively...