Free Republic

A one-time Colorado “counselor of the year” is accused of sexually assaulting a female student over several years — and threatened to kill herself if the girl ever came forward, according to police. Cassandra Poncelow, 40, met her accuser in her high school counseling office in the Poudre School District in Fort Collins, Colo. — and later began bringing her to her home for “sleepovers,” according to court documents obtained by 9News. The student — who is now an adult — met with police in July and claimed she was assaulted more than 100 times over several years at Poncelow’s...

Israeli government of Jerusalem municipality freezes bank accounts of Greek Orthodox ChurchAt the heart of the confrontation lies “Arnona,” Jerusalem’s property tax. For generations, churches had been shielded from such levies, a status quo respected by Ottoman, British, Jordanian, and Israeli authorities(ZENIT News / Jerusalem, 08.20.2025).- The decision by Jerusalem’s municipality to freeze the bank accounts of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate has thrust one of the Holy Land’s oldest churches into financial paralysis, intensifying a long-running dispute over property taxes and exposing once more the fragile standing of Christians in the region.The measure, imposed on August 6, prevents the Patriarchate...

A judge in Atlanta left a courtroom gasping after he mistakenly delivered a devastating “guilty” verdict for a man charged with murdering a police officer — when the defendant was found “not guilty” on all counts. Judge Henry M. Newkirk on Friday botched the climax of the week-long murder trial of Alton Oliver, who was accused of fatally shooting off-duty Fulton County Deputy James Thomas in Dec. 2022. After nine hours of deliberation, the jury found Oliver innocent — but Newkirk left out a critical word, Fox 5 reported. “We, the jury, find the defendant guilty as to all six...

An American woman who traveled to the UK to try to assassinate her lover’s business rivals — only for the gun to jam on her — was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison. Loved-up Aimee Betro, 45, traveled from Wisconsin for the twisted murder plot nearly six years ago in Birmingham, England, to please Mohammed Nazir, a British man she fell for on a dating app. Surveillance footage caught Betro as she hid behind a full Islamic niqab face covering while waiting in a car — then stepped out to try to shoot her main target’s son, Sikander Ali,...

VIDEOCall it Karmatic Kickback! While CORRUPT Letitia James is now facing federal criminal charges of mortgage fraud, President Donald Trump had the absurd $500 million civil fraud penalty tossed out by the New York Appeals Court in the case that James had been pursuing like a rabid dog. Yes, yet another BEAUTIFUL example of the hunter becoming the hunted. Now looking forward to a very steeep fraud PENALTY to be applied to James to drain her of the MILLIONS that she illegally obtained for herself over the years.

Covid vaccine mandates and a lack of transparency by public-health experts produced many unintended effects—or what scientists call “off target” responses. One is a political turn against mRNA technology that could damage U.S. innovation and pandemic preparedness. The Health and Human Services Department recently scrapped 22 mRNA-related vaccine investments. “These vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu,” Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said. “We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.” Let’s dissect these assertions. Start with his claim that mRNA vaccines fail to protect against...

Breaking: agreements have been reached with 10 FBI Whistleblowers (and counsel) to include a combination of backpay, security clearance, and reinstatement. We greatly appreciate Donald Trump commitment to transparency and accountability. Thank you to Chuck Grassley for working with us to make this happen.

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting came hours after Mr Jaishankar held wide-ranging talks with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov. It largely focused on expanding the trade ties between the two countries. The meeting comes amid Trump's tariffs and pressure on India to stop buying oil from Russia, claiming that it fuelled the Ukraine war. "We believe that relations between India and Russia have been among the steadiest of the major relationships in the world after the Second World War," Mr Jaishankar said at a joint media briefing with Mr Lavrov. "Geo-political convergence, leadership...

In one of the largest overnight strikes since the war began, Russia unleashed some 614 drones, ballistic and cruise missiles across Ukraine, killing one, injuring dozens and destroying an American-owned electronics company less than an hour from two NATO borders, officials confirmed Thursday morning. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy said the strike on the private U.S. company, which involved "several" cruise missiles, was "very telling" following President Donald Trump’s attempts to force Moscow to end its invasion.

At the heart of the confrontation lies “Arnona,” Jerusalem’s property tax. For generations, churches had been shielded from such levies, a status quo respected by Ottoman, British, Jordanian, and Israeli authorities(ZENIT News / Jerusalem, 08.20.2025).- The decision by Jerusalem’s municipality to freeze the bank accounts of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate has thrust one of the Holy Land’s oldest churches into financial paralysis, intensifying a long-running dispute over property taxes and exposing once more the fragile standing of Christians in the region. The measure, imposed on August 6, prevents the Patriarchate from paying clergy, teachers, and employees across its schools, monasteries,...

Is this the last gasp of Latin America's disastrous "pink tide"?Two decades ago, democratic socialism was rising in Latin America. The so-called "pink tide" swept leftist leaders into power in Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Their useful idiots in the U.S. were delighted. Linguist and political commentator Noam Chomsky saw "seeds of a better world" in Venezuela. Filmmaker Michael Moore praised Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez as a champion of the poor. Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz claimed he was witnessing an "economic miracle" in Argentina. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) said Bolivia's socialist government had improved the lives of...

In a bizarre and cringey five-and-a-half-minute video posted by James Comey to social media exclaiming his adoration of Taylor Swift, the former director of the FBI opens by claiming that Donald Trump is humiliating America through his negotiations with Vladimir Putin. In reality of course, the only one humiliating America, and himself, is James Comey.That this man ever led the FBI – once considered the world’s premier law enforcement agency – speaks volumes about the discredit that that institution has brought upon itself. Comey’s increasingly irrational behavior appears to necessitate some sort of intervention by those who love him. Recently...

It’s possible Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to “federalize” law enforcement in Washington, D.C., was just a one-off power grab, reflecting the federal government’s unique control of the capital city and Trump’s own obsession with Washington as a symbol of the American greatness he claims to be restoring. In other words, maybe he took over D.C. because he could. But the exotic and rather fascistic appearance of National Guard units on the streets of Washington absent a riot or some other historically relevant pretext makes you wonder if the 47th president has something far worse in store. Here are some possibilities...

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga went into lockdown on Thursday afternoon after an alert was sent out reporting a possible active shooter. The alert stated, per WSMV, "Run. Hide. Fight." The university reported the possible active shooter as being at the University Center or the school’s library. The Chattanooga Police Department said they are working with campus police to investigate reports of shots fired, and authorities said they have not found any victims at this time. All City of Chattanooga buildings are in lockdown along with campus buildings. This is a breaking story. Please refresh the page for updates.

Almost half of U.S. adults say they're ordering from restaurant kid menus in order to save money when they go out to eat and to opt for smaller portions, new research shows. About 44% of adults surveyed by Lightspeed Commerce, a provider of point-of-sale technology for hospitality businesses, said they're ordering from the kids' menus at restaurants. Kids' meals are traditionally less expensive than those on adult menus because portion sizes are usually smaller. The trend comes as some consumers are cutting back on eating out, with McDonald's and Wendy's earlier this month reported sluggish breakfast sales. The companies attributed...

They lied. For 50 years, nutrition “experts” told you eggs would kill you. A University of South Australia study just proved them wrong. Eggs don’t cause heart disease. They never did.The methodology was embarrassingly simple. Separate the effects of cholesterol from those of saturated fat. The result? When eaten without excess saturated fats, eggs actually help reduce bad cholesterol. Any halfway competent researcher could’ve figured this out in the 1970s. But they didn’t — because they didn’t want to.The American Heart Association built its empire by peddling cholesterol-centered panic. By 2016, documents revealed the AHA had taken sizeable sums in...

Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting. Read Full Bio Edited By Updated on: August 21, 2025 / 11:48 AM CDT / CBS News If you look up at the sky in Texas and see what could be a flying burrito, you may not be imagining things: Chipotle on Thursday launched an autonomous aerial delivery service for digital orders in the Dallas area. Through a partnership with Zipline, a drone...

The state’s new congressional lines have yet to be approved, but would-be candidates are jockeying behind the scenes. Supervisor Hilda Solis hasn’t publicly announced her candidacy, but she’s already lining up support for a potential new southeast L.A. County congressional seat. As Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push to redraw California’s congressional maps plays out at the state Capitol and on the national stage, a quieter but no less bloody scramble is simultaneously underway. Newsom’s plan — a bid to counter President Trump’s drive for more GOP House seats with his own California show of force — still needs to be approved...

3:43 VIDEO AT LINK...................... NUTCASE DEPUTY FIRED FOR BEING A NUTCASE...................

Hempstead Officer Fired Transcript 0:00 Give me the keys. 0:00 What do I do now? 0:01 Give me the keys. 0:03 What in the world? 0:04 Why did you take off from that stop? 0:07 I was I stopped. 0:08 Why did you take off from this stop? 0:12 The sheriff's office in Hipstead County, 0:13 Arkansas, fires an officer following 0:15 concerns over his conduct on a traffic 0:17 stop. Hello everyone, I'm Alex Anderson 0:20 and I'm Courtney Buds. Thanks for 0:21 joining us. And that is our top story at 0:23 three. Body camera footage captures 0:25...