Free Republic

Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney announced Friday that he will vote to hear from additional witnesses in the senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Romney had previously indicated that he wanted to hear from witnesses, including former National Security Adviser John Bolton, and his communications director Liz Johnson officially confirmed the senator’s intentions in a tweet Friday

BSO said a driver in an SUV breached two security points outside President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago, and law-enforcement officers fired their weapons at the vehicle. PALM BEACH — Two people are in custody after law enforcement opened fire near President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate following a car chase, according to the sheriff’s office. An SUV breached two security points outside Trump’s Palm Beach home, and law enforcement fired their weapons at the vehicle, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said. It was not immediately known which agency those law-enforcement officers worked for. The Florida Highway Patrol and a PBSO helicopter...

A car chase ended in shots being fired near President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort Friday in Florida, police said. Florida Highway Patrol had been in pursuit of a black SUV that headed towards two security check points at Mar-a-Lago, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida mother and her 15-year-old son are both facing charges after he robbed a convenience store at gunpoint while she acted as the lookout and getaway driver, according to a Seminole County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. Amanda Meador is being charged with robbery with a firearm and neglect of a child in connection to the robbery, which happened Halloween night at a Circle K at the intersection of Red Bug Lake Road and Tuskawilla Road. Meador drove her son and two others to the store, the arrest report states. It goes on to say that...

Democrats signaled in the runup to the looming conclusion of President Trump's impeachment proceedings that they'll simply refuse to accept his all-but-certain acquittal because his "sham" trial lacked proper witnesses and evidence. Signaling how they will message the saga in the coming months on the campaign trail, top Democratic leaders in the House and Senate argued Trump can never erase the stain of impeachment because the trial wasn’t legitimate. "The president's acquittal will be meaningless," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., declared Friday, "because it will be the result of a sham trial. If there are no witnesses, no documents in this...

Communities around China have ordered their residents to stop keeping pets - or risk getting them culled - amid fears that animals could also catch the new coronavirus that has killed 213 in less than three weeks, MailOnline can reveal. Residential committees, village officials and companies from various provinces and municipalities issued the strict order to locals after receiving instructions from their superiors to tackle the epidemic, it has emerged. One village in Hebei urged all households to 'deal with' their pets within five days, otherwise officials would 'handle' them altogether; while another residential committee in Shaanxi instructed people to...

I didn't see an "Official" BREXIT Thread, so here it is...

What’s really interesting is that Shea will be responsible for handling “highly politically charged cases.” Things that make you go “hmmm,” right? Attorney General William Barr on Thursday named Timothy Shea, one of his closest advisers, to be the next top prosecutor in the nation’s capital. Shea will lead the largest U.S. attorney’s office in the country, which has been historically responsible for some of the most significant and politically sensitive cases the Justice Department brings in the U.S. He is a senior counselor to the attorney general and was Barr’s right-hand man helping institute reforms at the federal Bureau...

A miraculous story of life-saving intervention is breaking from Northern Nigeria. According to Barnabas Aid, a group of 500 Nigerian Christians who converted from Islam gathered. The terrorist group Boko Harem descended and captured 76 members of the group as converts from Islam were highly targeted in their attacks. The group included men, women and children.

[Catholic Caucus] Fresh Scandal Prompts Questions About Vatican Sex Abuse Response Case highlights inconsistencies in handling predators VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - Former members of a disbanded public association of the faithful in Tuscany, Italy are being investigated for sexual abuse, leaving some Catholics wondering why a different Verona religious institute — notorious for a scandal involving priests raping deaf children — remains open. Nine former members of the defunct Disciples of the Annunciation (DA), five of whom are priests, are being investigated for the sexual abuse of two brothers.  Among those being investigated is DA's founder, Fr. Giglio Gilioli.  "I do...

Trump supporters also have greater science knowledge than voters who supported Clinton in 2016. According to the survey, "on six questions Trump supporters offer the correct answer significantly more often than Clinton supporters." But here's where things get interesting. Indeed, less than half of 2016 Clinton supporters (49.6%) are able to answer correctly both of two related questions: whether the earth goes around the sun or the sun goes around the earth (EARTHSUN) and whether that takes a day, a month, or a year (SOLARREV). Remember these two questions are multiple choice! You would have a 50-50 chance of guessing...

CLEVES, Ohio (CBS Local) — An entire school district in Ohio was shut down for two days this week after nearly 600 students called in sick, the district’s superintendent said. All classes and after school activities at Three Rivers Local School District in Cleves were cancelled for Thursday, Jan. 30 and Friday, Jan. 31. because of a major flu outbreak.Superintendent Craig Hockenberry said out of nearly 2,400 people who attend or work at three schools on campus, about 600 students and as many as 50 staff members are out sick. Many of the students have the same symptoms, such as...

Abp. Hebda Throws Priest Under the Bus Over Muslim Remarks Cleric warned Islam is the top threat to Christianity and to America MINNEAPOLIS (ChurchMilitant.com) - A priest of the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is being forced by his archbishop to apologize for preaching on the dangers of Islam. At the behest of Abp. Bernard Hebda, Fr. Nick VanDenBroeke apologized Wednesday for his Jan. 5 homily in which he said, among other things, "Islam is the greatest threat in the world both to Christianity and to America." He went on record saying immigration of Muslims should be curtailed owing to the dangers inherent in their Islamic religion.Tweet Hebda...

The biggest game of the NFL season is on the horizon, as the 49ers and Chiefs are set to battle for the right to be called champions on Feb. 2 at Hard Rock Stadium. While the betting line suggests that we should expect a close game, it's the props that offer a preview into how the big game could go. From fun angles like the length of the national anthem and whether the coin flip comes up head or tails, to key parts of the game like who scores first and last, and who's named MVP, there are over 1,000...

American and Delta Airlines announced they are suspending flights to China in response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak which has killed more than 200 people. American suspended all flights to China Friday through March 27, while Delta was to stop service next week. Delta said it is suspending all of its US flights to China starting this upcoming Wednesday, due to 'ongoing concerns' over the coronavirus. The flight ban will last until April 30, the US carrier says.

2020 is looking up to be the year that celebrities let their MAGA pride flag fly for all to see. After Joy Villa wowed everyone in her pro-Trump dress at the Grammy Awards this past weekend, Frank Clark, defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs, wore some Trump swag of his own during a Super Bowl press conference last Friday. The big moment went viral on social media Thursday when Benny Johnson shared footage of the moment on Twitter. Take a look: VIDEO AT LINK The sweater features a photo of the moment when President Trump met rap icon Kanye...

House impeachment manager Adam Schiff, D-Calif., continues to prove he is a "pathological liar" and a partisan as he leads the Democrats' efforts to convict President Trump in the Senate impeachment trial, Newt Gingrich said Thursday. Schiff's description of a hypothetical conversation between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was the latest example, Gingrich, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, said during an appearance on "The Ingraham Angle." "If the president went further and said to Putin in that secret meeting," Schiff said earlier in the day on the Senate floor. "I want you to hack Burisma, I...

NEW YORK CITY — Thousands of New Yorkers are expected to barrel into the city's subway system Friday with a single goal in mind: "Think of the ways you can move in affinity to build, and to f--- s--- up," a masked, hooded man with a disguised voice says in a video posted to Twitter this week. "The streets are ours," the Decolonize This Place tweet reads. "The trains our ours. The walls are ours. This moment is ours." Jan. 31 will be a day of action to protest the recent increase in New York City cops patrolling the subway...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other top Democrats on Friday slammed an upcoming vote that looks set to result in a quick end to President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. The New York lawmaker was responding to Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander’s announcement on Thursday night that he would not vote Friday to hear witnesses in the Senate trial. “It’s deeply disturbing that on something of such importance to the future of our democracy, a few of my Republican colleagues announced last night they’d vote against hearing additional evidence,” Schumer said at a news conference. “It’s clear where the American people...

The U.S. military is now treating 64 troops for traumatic brain injury symptoms following Iran's ballistic missile attack on Al Asad Air Base in Iraq earlier this month, defense officials said Thursday. "The Department of Defense remains committed to providing the American people timely and accurate information about the care and treatment of our service members," said Army Lt. Col. Thomas Campbell, a Pentagon spokesperson. CNN was first to report the increase. The latest news marks the fourth time the Defense Department has amended its statement regarding the injuries. Of the 64, 39 service members have returned to duty, officials...