Free Republic

More than 2 million residents of Zimbabwe’s capital on Tuesday were left without drinking water after authorities shut down the main treatment plant, further worsening a region beset by economic instability and drought. Tuesday’s shutoff comes as the country is still reeling from the worst cholera outbreak in a decade. Meanwhile, water levels in polluted reservoirs have dropped because of drought. Officials in Harare have struggled to raise the necessary $2.7 million in foreign currency needed to import water treatment chemicals. City Council spokesman Michael Chideme said everyone living in Harare is affected and that some residents have turned to...

Sherikia Hawkins was charged Monday with six felony counts for allegedly altering absentee ballots during the November 2018 election in her capacity as city clerk for the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Mich. Hawkins, a 38-year-old registered Democrat, stands accused of altering 193 absentee ballots. She was arraigned Monday in Southfield on charges including falsifying returns or records, forgery of a public record, misconduct in office, and multiple counts of using a computer to commit a crime. She was released on $15,000 bond. The alleged misconduct was discovered after the Oakland County Clerk’s Office noticed that 193 voter files had been...

On a crowded platform during the morning rush in the Bronx, commuters jumped into action to save a little girl's life. Police say a 45-year-old man jumped onto the subway tracks Monday morning while holding onto his 5-year-old daughter. The man, later identified as Fernando Balbuena-Flores, was hit by an oncoming 4 train and was pronounced dead at the scene. However, his daughter managed to find a safe spot and was not seriously hurt.

The wife of “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary has been charged in connection with the fatal boat crash last month on a Canadian lake, according to reports. Linda O’Leary, 56, was charged with careless operation of a vessel stemming from the Aug. 24 collision on Lake Joseph in Ontario that killed two passengers of another vessel, CTV News reported on Tuesday. She was allegedly piloting the boat when it slammed into a larger, 13-person vessel returning to a lake cottage just before midnight. A New York man who was driving the other boat was also charged in connection with the...

One triplet came out fine — the other two, conjoined. An Indian woman has given birth to a girl with four legs and three hands in what doctors believe to be the first case of two naturally born triplets being conjoined.

After the rollout of President Trump’s Maintaining Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act (MISSION Act) Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie responded to the previously predicted problems on Military.com. “One story said to ‘expect glitches.’ Another said it was ‘confusing.’ Some lawmakers who supported the bipartisan bill suddenly warned about the possibility of ‘overreach’ by the Trump Administration, while others warned of a ‘ tech nightmare.’ But thanks to thousands of dedicated VA workers around the country and President Donald J. Trump’s support for this historic reform, elements of the MISSION Act took effect on June 6, and veterans immediately...

Tony Podesta, Vin Weber were being investigated for not registering as foreign agents for Ukraine Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have closed an investigation into two prominent Washington lobbying firms, including one affiliated with Democratic powerhouse Tony Podesta, according to people familiar with the matter. The outcome marks a quiet end to the sprawling inquiry that led to the conviction of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his longtime deputy. The decision to close the investigation without criminal charges comes weeks after former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig was acquitted in another case...

"Democrats say we have guns in America because of 'corruption,'" former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared on Twitter on Sept. 12. "No, we have guns because it's our God-given right enshrined in the Constitution." The second part of that tweet is silly; God didn't give people the right to own AR-15s any more than a divine entity gave Americans the right to own automobiles without seat belts. The first part of Sanders’ tweet, though, is mostly accurate. The National Rifle Association's money doesn't corrupt Republican legislators. Instead, Republicans oppose gun control because conservative political identity is today...

The B-52H fleet, already nearly 60 years old, has been the recipient of a steady but slow stream of upgrades to keep the planes useful. The Air Force is now committing to flying the bomber into the 2050s, a feat that will require even more improvements. The U.S. Air Force ordered 102 B-52H bombers during the Cold War, with the first planes delivered in May 1961. The old eight-engined warhorse has been in continuous service ever since, flying combat missions over the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The Air Force plans to keep flying the remaining 76 B-52Hs through 2050,...

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will announce later Tuesday that she supports a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump, a Democratic lawmaker close to her confirmed to The Hill. The move comes amid mounting pressure from House Democrats to take a stand against Trump’s alleged political pressure on Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, during a July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. That call has come under increasing scrutiny over the past several days following the revelation that a whistleblower raised concerns about the discussion between the two leaders. Pelosi is expected to make...

“There has always been industrial logic for Dish and Direct to get together,” said Charlie Ergen, co-founder and chairman of Dish. Telecom giant AT&T, under pressure from an activist investor, is exploring a possible sale of its satellite TV unit DirecTV, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to NBC News. The satellite TV company has suffered subscriber losses as consumers shift to contract-free streaming video services. AT&T acquired DirecTV in 2015 for $67 billion as it worked to diversify away from its core phone business as part of a broader plan to marry video and wireless access. The company...

Readers of the Washington Post and similar news media outlets know little-to-nothing about business deals secured by Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s second son, in China and Ukraine, noted Peter Schweizer during a Monday interview on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow. Schweizer highlighted the Jeff Bezos-owned news media outlet’s broad omissions in reporting on Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings during his father’s tenure as vice president. “If you are a reader of the Washington Post, and that is really your main source of news, you would have absolutely no idea what this whole Biden thing and his son...

As a NAVY Veteran, I have one question about this whole Biden/Ukraine. How was it possible for Hunter Biden to have worked with the Ukraine Government as a Foreign Agent, when he was kicked out of the Naval Reserves (were he was a Public Affairs Officer and Lt.) for drug usage in 2014? I haven't been able to find out, what type of discharge Hunter Biden received, as most enlisted members of the would receive a Bad Conduct Discharge-(Big Chicken Dinner), if they were to fail a urine test due to cocaine usage. Also, if memory serves, wasn't Hunter Biden...

Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter died Monday night, Rolling Stone first reported. He was 78. The family of Hunter provided a statement to the New York Times, The Wrap and Rolling Stone. "He died peacefully at home in his bed, surrounded by love," the statement read. "His wife Maureen was by his side holding his hand. For his fans that have loved and supported him all these years, take comfort in knowing that his words are all around us, and in that way he is never truly gone." "Uncle John's Band," "China Cat Sunflower," "Scarlet Begonias,"...

A painting found hanging in an elderly French woman's kitchen was found to be a long-lost panel from a polyptych by 13th-century Italian artist Cimabue. The painting, titled "Mocking of Christ," is scheduled to be auctioned Oct. 27. Photo courtesy of Acteon =========================================================== Sept. 24 (UPI) -- A long-lost painting by pre-Renaissance painter Cimabue is headed to auction after being found hanging in an older French woman's kitchen. Experts said the Compiegne woman decided to have the painting hanging in her kitchen appraised and numerous tests were conducted that confirmed it to be the work of 13th-century Italian artist Cimabue,...

Federal narcotics agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration raided several Kaiser Permanente pharmacies along the West Coast Sept. 18, according to The Oregonian. The inquiry is part of a Los Angeles-based investigation. Federal narcotic officers from the agency's diversion control office used administrative inspection warrants to search records to determine if legitimately made controlled substances were being diverted for illicit drug use. "We are fully cooperating with the DEA to provide the agency with the information they are seeking. As always, we are committed to complying with all state and federal regulations and ensuring the safety of our patients and...

Dear Ann and Matt, Please Come Back! There were only a handful of Trump supporters that helped carry the Donald Trump candidacy into the White House. Matt Drudge, the iconic founder of the Drudge Report, and best selling author and speaker Ann Coulter, were two key individuals who pushed Trump over the finish line. Since the election, these two leaders have gone missing. What happened? Matt Drudge Wikipedia, which is far-left when it comes to politics, reports that the Drudge Report was created by Matt Drudge in 1995. His first assistant was Andrew Breitbart, who created and ran conservative website...

Body camera footage from St. Paul Police Officer Steven Mattson from the fatal shooting of 31-year-old Ronald Davis on Sept. 15 near the intersection on Thomas Avenue West and North Griggs Street. WARNING: This video contains graphic images and language that may be disturbing to some viewers...