Free Republic

A San Francisco man who was feared dead after going missing in Mendocino National Forest for nearly three weeks survived alone in the wilderness on a diet of squirrels, lizards, frogs and snakes, his family said. Gene Penaflor, 72, was found alive by a group of hunters Saturday morning at the bottom of a canyon about three miles from where he first disappeared while hunting. "Basically, he ate whatever he needed to survive," his son, Jeremey Penaflor, 31, said of the 18-day disappearance. The elderly hunter was reported missing on Sept. 24 when he didn't show up for a planned...

When do schools assume legal responsibility for your children? At the school, on the bus, or at the bus stop? The latter is likely the best answer, but no one believes that it starts in your front yard, seventy feet away from the bus stop. Nobody, that is, except perhaps the Virginia Beach City Public School System, which may expel Khalid Caraballo today for shooting a non-lethal pellet pistol in his own front yard last week:CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO A suspended seventh grade Virginia Beach student will find out soon if he is expelled for the rest of...

President Obama was caught by an open mic saying he quit smoking six years ago because he is scared of first lady Michelle Obama. "I hope you've quit smoking," Obama said to the U.N.'s Maina Kiai. "No, no, I haven't had a cigarette in probably six years. That's because I'm scared of my wife."

A military jury sentenced Maj. Nidal Hasan to death Wednesday for killing 13 people during the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood. Hasan, who sat motionless as the jury president read the verdict, has said he acted to protect Islamic insurgents abroad from American aggression, never denied being the gunman. In opening statements, he acknowledged to the jury that he pulled the trigger in a crowded waiting room where troops were getting final medical checkups before deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. Hasan had one final chance Wednesday to give a closing argument before his case went to the jury, but...

On Tuesday, the popular clothing line Illuminati issued a tweet calling for the murder of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer on trial for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Twitchy reported."The Only Justice for Trayvon Martin is to take the Life of George Zimmerman, (sic)" Illuminati tweeted.The tweet angered a number of Twitter users, some of whom demanded Twitter ban the account."@twitter, please BAN @ThelIluminati ~ they are OPENLY CALLING FOR MURDER. If you don't, we will take legal action," one person tweeted.As of this writing, the short message was retweeted over 770 times.

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was convicted Monday of racketeering conspiracy after prosecutors said he presided over a breathtaking profit machine by rigging contracts and demanding bribes. The racketeering count carries up to 20 years in prison. Kilpatrick was convicted of at least six other criminal counts and acquitted of one, and jurors said they were unable to reach a verdict on two. Kilpatrick was charged with 30 federal crimes. The verdict was still being delivered in federal court in Detroit. Jurors began deliberating Feb. 18. Kilpatrick, 42, was charged with bribery, extortion and tax evasion Prosecutors said that Kilpatrick,...