Free Republic

It began with the flicker of a flashlight, muffled voices and the gentle splash of paddles carrying softly across the stillness of the Rio Grande Valley. As the silhouette drew closer to the shore we could suddenly see the bow of a small boat and the faces of women and children peering back at us though the gloom. Moments later the raft reached the riverbank and the dozen or so occupants began clambering on to U.S. soil with dreams of starting a new life in Joe Biden's America. As they stumbled around in the darkness a young woman tripped and...

A massive “street takeover” in the Granada Hills neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley led to 11 arrests and several injuries, including two officers who were hurt while trying to break up the crowd, authorities said. Video of the Saturday night incident shows cars screeching and spewing exhaust as they drive in tight circles, or “doughnuts,” at San Fernando Mission and Balboa boulevards. 21 vehicles were impounded and 25 citations were issued... So-called street takeovers or sideshows involve street racers or members of car clubs taking over a stretch of road or an intersection to perform burnouts, doughnuts and other...

Former Kentucky state Rep. Charles Booker, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination last year to take on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), said on Monday that he is “strongly considering” a bid against Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) next year. “I am strongly considering a run for United States Senate in 2022,” Booker, who campaigned as a progressive in 2020, tweeted. “Good morning.” Booker challenged Amy McGrath, the well-funded former Marine fighter pilot favored by Senate Democratic leadership, in last year’s Democratic Senate primary in Kentucky. McGrath ultimately won the nomination but by a smaller-than-expected 3-point margin. McConnell went on...

There are days when you wake up wanting to conquer the world. Today I woke up like this, like a rebel. With the temptation to do something subversive. Something really transgressive, that breaks the mold, that makes the entire universe feel a chill. Something definitely historical, countercultural, provocative, wild and criminal. Determined to do so, at first my pulse trembled at the thought of possible consequences. Retaliation is becoming more and more prevalent. The stakes are becoming increasingly higher. But I have remained steadfast in the purpose of exercising my freedom, whatever the cost. So, while holding my breath, with...

Free Government is that happy condition wherein government respects and protects the unalienable, Natural Rights of the nation, and makes no law without its consent. In the twilight of free government: People believe voting alone can restore free government. The outward institutional structures of a free people still exist. No matter how corrupted our system becomes, there will always be a congress, federal court system, and a president. Despite the fact that these institutions no longer serve their intended purposes and are thoroughly disconnected from any constitutional restraint, they give the patina of legitimacy to tyranny. Unknown, faceless, unaccountable people...

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, who gained a national profile by criticizing President Donald Trump and marching with George Floyd protesters, has resigned to lead the Miami Police Department. Acevedo confirmed to CNN in an email Monday morning that he will be leaving his present position after more than four years to become the City of Miami's next police chief. Born in Cuba, the 56-year-old Acevedo was the first Hispanic to lead the police department in Houston, the nation's fourth most populous city. Acevedo will replace Miami Interim Chief of Police Ronald L. Papier. Acevedo has become a fixture in...

An official Twitter account of the U.S. Marines has apologized for tweets lacking 'professionalism' after calling Fox News host Tucker Carlson a 'boomer' and hitting out at other critics in a debate over pregnant service members. 'We are human and we messed up. We intended to speak up for female Marines and it was an effort to support them,' the II Marine Expeditionary Force wrote in a tweet on Saturday. 'They are a crucial part to our corps and we need them to know that. We will adjust fire and ensure the utmost professionalism in our tweets,' the apology continued....

North Korea so far has rebuffed entreaties from the United States to engage in dialogue, the White House said on Monday, as a chill in relations that began under then-President Donald Trump has extended into Joe Biden’s presidency. Biden White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that U.S. officials have reached out to North Korea through a number of channels since taking office nearly two months ago.

My mother had a ban on pork, and I thought she was mad that I broke it. One afternoon four decades ago, when I was about 8, I walked into my family’s house after playing outside and saw my mother sitting in the yellow recliner with a book in her lap. She had found the copy of Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham. I knew that I was in trouble, because normally no one sat in the canary-colored La-Z-Boy, a throne reserved for my grandmother. Another member of the family occupying it automatically meant that something very serious had happened­....

Home Secretary Priti Patel urges people not to attend any more Sarah Everard protests due to lockdown - as protesters gather outside parliament Ms Patel orders police inspectorate to review policing of Saturday's vigil in Clapham Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick says she will not step down - and is backed by the PM Protesters block Westminster Bridge and stage sit-in outside Scotland Yard as criticism of police grows protesters trying to out-manoeuvre policePolice have moved in on protesters who are campaigning following the death of Sarah Everard. Hundreds of campaigners have marched from Parliament Square and through the...

A former aide who accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment told investigators Monday that the embattled Democratic leader has a "preoccupation with his hand size." The former aide, Charlotte Bennett, met with investigators for more than four hours as part of New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation into the allegations against Cuomo, her attorney Debra Katz said. "The investigators have been moving quickly, and with sensitivity, to get to the heart of these allegations," Katz said in a statement. "We remain confident that their investigation will substantiate Charlotte’s claims of sexual harassment against Gov. Cuomo,...

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – March 12, 2021SAN DIEGO – Former San Diego County Sheriff’s Captain Marco Garmo was sentenced to two years in prison today for years of unlawful firearms transactions and for an array of corrupt conduct relating to unlicensed marijuana dispensaries operating in his former jurisdiction. In pronouncing sentence, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel said that Garmo’s conduct demonstrated arrogance reaching a level where Garmo was “almost becoming a mob boss of sorts” in picking winners and losers and dispensing unlawful favors to friends and family.Garmo admitted in pleading guilty in September that he had acted as an...

FRESNO, Calif. — On March 10, 2021, Jatinderieet “Jyoti” Sihota, 34, of Selma, was arrested on a federal indictment charging her with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud for the submission of over $790,000 in fraudulent crop insurance claims, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. The indictment was unsealed today following her arrest.According to court records, from at least November 2013 through September 2016, Sihota controlled her family’s farms in Fresno and Tulare Counties that produced table grapes, plums, and other crops. The crops were sold through fruit brokers in California’s Central Valley to supermarket chains and...

Dead arapaima washes up in Cape CoralThe Burmese python, green iguana and lionfish are, by now, well-known invasive species that have established a dangerous foothold in Florida. But a fearsome new invasive predator has emerged in the state: the arapaima, a monster fish that can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh hundreds of pounds. A dead one recently washed ashore in Cape Coral’s Jaycee Park along the Caloosahatchee River, which runs from Lake Okeechobee west to the Gulf of Mexico. The arapaima is native to the Amazon River in South America and is one of the world’s largest...

This story is developing and we will be adding more information on the hearing as the day progresses… UPDATE – Observations from a legal mind – the judge today added terms to increase contention and disputes, to let sides work out details and not agree on little things, so they have to come back in court. Judge wanted a specific judge as ‘special master’. Bonnefor, (sp?) who is not available for 45 days, for no reason; he had 6 names from hearing participants. Attorney Ringer (Fulton County) objected to content of election fraud affidavits being disclosed, doesn’t want any of...

LOS ANGELES – A Hawthorne man was sentenced today to 212 years in federal prison for intentionally driving his ex-wife and two disabled sons off a wharf at the Port of Los Angeles into the ocean – drowning the boys who were trapped in the car – to collect on accidental death insurance policies he had taken out on their lives. Ali F. Elmezayen, 45, was sentenced by United States District Judge John F. Walter, who, in imposing the maximum sentence allowed by law, noted Elmezayen’s “evil and diabolical scheme” as well as the “vicious and callous nature of...

A new study led by Belgian and Spanish researchers published in Scientific Reports adds evidence about the potential benefits of green tea extracts in Down syndrome. The researchers observed that the intake of green tea extracts can reduce facial dysmorphology in children with Down syndrome when taken during the first three years of life. Additional experimental research in mice confirmed the positive effects at low doses. However, they also found that high doses of the extract can disrupt facial and bone development. More research is needed to fully understand the effects of green tea extracts and therefore they should always...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Security officials will soon scale back the perimeter fencing surrounding the Capitol in response to guidance from the U.S. Capitol Police that “there does not exist a known, credible threat” that warrants keeping the temporary barrier in place. The fencing will be scaled back in two phases, Timothy Blodgett, the acting House sergeant-at-arms, said Monday in a memo to members of Congress and their staff. An inner perimeter will be moved closer to the Capitol building this week, providing access to nearby streets and some sidewalks. Strings of razor wire atop the fence will also be removed...

Explanation: It appeared, momentarily, like a 50-km tall banded flag. In mid-March of 2015, an energetic Coronal Mass Ejection directed toward a clear magnetic channel to Earth led to one of the more intense geomagnetic storms of recent years. A visual result was wide spread auroras being seen over many countries near Earth's magnetic poles. Captured over Kiruna, Sweden, the image features an unusually straight auroral curtain with the green color emitted low in the Earth's atmosphere, and red many kilometers higher up. It is unclear where the rare purple aurora originates, but it might involve an unusual blue aurora...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Chris Paul Snow, 68, of Marana, Arizona, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to 144 months in prison for assault of a federal officer with a deadly weapon, unlawful possession of a destructive device, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, and use of a firearm during a crime of violence.On August 3, 2018, law enforcement responded to a 911 call reporting a shooting incident at Snow’s residence in Marana. While investigating the incident, officers found several rounds of ammunition, loaded firearm magazines, and a live grenade in Snow’s...