Free Republic

American citizenship as a birthright has recently become a prominent issue in the ongoing immigration debate, and congressional leaders sought answers during a hearing Wednesday. The House Judiciary Committee called upon legal experts to discuss whether the U.S. Constitution actually allows children born in the United States to be citizens, even if their parents are illegal immigrants. Under the Citizenship Clause, which falls under the Fourteenth Amendment, people born within the country or its territories are automatically granted citizenship

Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke (D) reacted to a report that police in Baltimore were told to stand down by stating he would “defy” any such order on Thursday’s “O’Reilly Factor” on the Fox News Channel.

Rev. Al Sharpton called for the Justice Department to “take over policing in this country” and stated “we’re going to have to fight states’ rights” in comments recorded by the Baltimore Sun on Thursday.

A special celebration was held Thursday honoring University of Miami president Donna Shalala. This past fall, Shalala announced that she is stepping down as president at the end of the 2014 - 2015 university year. ....Shalala says she plans to return to the faculty as a professor of political science and health policy.

Jameis Winston wasn’t the only controversial football player to skip the 2015 NFL Draft in Chicago. Ray Lewis stayed home, too—in Baltimore.

The Texas senator and 2016 presidential contender is hawkish on Iran, but believes the Obama administration’s intervention in Libya and decision to throw Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak under the bus during the 2011 Egyptian revolution were not in America’s interest. “So he’s for the dictator,” Graham said of Cruz’s positions on those issues. “So I’m an American. I’m not for the dictator.”

Republican insiders in early-voting states say a crucial battle is emerging in the 2016 presidential race between Marco Rubio and Scott Walker, competing to establish themselves as the party’s “bridge” candidate who can appeal to both the establishment and grass-roots activists.As it has become increasingly apparent that they are key rivals, the men have started taking regular,subtle but unmistakable,shots at one another. Walker talks about the need to nominate someone who is not from Washington and implicitly compares Rubio to Barack Obama. Rubio suggests that there is “no way” a governor like Walker is prepared to deal with global crises...

At an event in Washington, President Barack Obama talks about the importance of reading and writing when a student moderator cuts him off... ... a student moderator interrupted Obama, saying, "I think you sort of covered everything about that question."

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush declared Wednesday that 11 million immigrants in the country illegally should have an opportunity to stay, wading yet again into his party's contentious immigrant debate. "We're a nation of immigrants," Bush said at the National Christian Hispanic Leadership Conference that brought several hundred Hispanic evangelical leaders to Houston this week. "This is not the time to abandon something that makes us special and unique." A successful immigration overhaul is more than simply strengthening the border, Bush said, referring to "11 million people that should come out from the shadows and receive earned legal status." He...

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China is trying to fix its banking system. Not by piling on more regulations in the name of protecting consumers and the financial markets. Instead, it's trying to inject more free-market competition into the system so as to improve its stability and efficiency.

Jim Quinn is back! - and in better form than ever!! The Quinn in the Morning Show airs from 6:00am to 9:00 am, Monday thru Friday. To listen online, go to www.warroom.com and sign up (for a small fee). Or, for those of you in the upstate NY listening area, Quinn is on WYSL 1040 AM in Rochester, NY. If you sign up online, be sure to choose the "auto-renew" option in order to have full access to archived shows and podcasts.

(RNS) When Republican presidential hopeful Scott Walker spoke last Saturday (April 25) to an influential gathering of Christian conservatives in an Iowa church, he brought along a little reading material. Standing before more than 1,000 people at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition, the Wisconsin governor used part of his time to read from “Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence,” a Christian devotional written in the first-person voice of Jesus by missionary-turned-author Sarah Young. “‘The way to walk through demanding times is to grip my hand tightly,’” Walker read to the crowd. “‘Regardless of the day’s problems, I can...

A bartender and model is broadening her lawsuit against San Francisco transit police to include an Oakland cop after she says they used excessive force while booking her on St. Patrick’s Day last year and caused her to break at least four bones in her face. Megan Sheehan acknowledges she was intoxicated and belligerent when she was apprehended at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station, but says officers left her with permanent physical damage after taking her to the nearby jail to charge her...The suit says that she spent two days being treated in a nearby hospital and never faced...

For most parents, watching their child get pulled over is a nightmare. But when Ashley Crawford saw the flashing lights of a police car behind her son’s vehicle, she happily whipped out her camera. Jaxon Arbuckle, Crawford’s son, is a 2-year-old who loves his toy car. So when Crawford saw that a local Louisville, Ky., police officer was tending to a small car wreck on her street on Tuesday, she had an idea. “I thought, ‘How cute would it be if I got a picture of Jaxon pulled over?’” she tells Yahoo Parenting. “I waited for him to finish up...

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Chief executive Elon Musk announced the firm would build batteries that store solar energy and serve as a back-up system for consumers during blackouts. The device would allow consumers to get off a power grid or bring energy to remote areas that are not on a grid. Tesla plans to start shipping the units to installers in the US by this summer. In a highly anticipated event near Los Angeles, Mr Musk said the move could help change the "entire energy infrastructure of the world". "Tesla Energy is a critical step in this mission to enable zero emission power generation,"...

Japan Prime Minister Gives Speech at Stanford Amid Protests Over Country's Use of "Comfort Women" During WWIIJapan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered a speech at Stanford University Thursday amid demands by Korean-Americans and others that he apologize for the use of sex slaves by Japan's military during World War II. Abe's speech focused on innovation and partnerships between his country and Silicon Valley, which was followed by answering submitted questions, according to Stanford spokesman Brad Hayward. "I want the best, brightest Japanese talent with superb technology and high motivation to dive themselves into Silicon Valley," Abe said. "I also want...

A former commander of U.S. nuclear forces is leading a call for taking U.S. and Russian nuclear missiles off high alert, arguing that keeping them less ready for prompt launch would reduce the risk of miscalculation in a crisis. It also could keep a possible cyberattack from starting a nuclear war, he said, although neither Washington nor Moscow appears interested in negotiating an agreement to end the practice of keeping nuclear missiles on high alert. Retired Gen. James Cartwright said in an interview that “de-alerting” nuclear arsenals could foil cyber intruders by reducing the chance of firing a weapon in...

A Marine temporarily assigned to Camp Pendleton was found dead in the barracks, military officials confirmed Thursday. The man, who is stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, came to San Diego for an advanced career course this week. First Lt. Luke Kuper says the Marine checked into Staff Noncommissioned Officer Academy on Monday. He was found unresponsive in his room at about 8 a.m. Wednesday. Medical responders pronounced him dead a short time later. Officials have not released any details about what caused his death, saying it is under investigation. The man's name is being withheld until his family can...