Free Republic

Nobody pays bribes to people unable to deliver favors. Thus, we learn that the Clinton Global Initiative will be shutting down and heartlessly laying off 22 workers. New York State is so concerned that it has issued a WARN Notice:

At least one gunman dressed as Santa has attacked a night club in Istanbul, killing and injuring scores of people, Turkish media report. Footage shows armored police vehicles surrounding the building as ambulances are rushed to the scene. At least 35 people were killed and 40 wounded in the attack, IstanbulÂ’s governor Vasip Åžahin said, calling the incident a terrorist attack. The attack took place at the well-known Reina nightclub in the Ortakoy neighborhood, in IstanbulÂ’s Besiktas district.

Mississippi Church Member Charged in 'Vote Trump' Arson By emily wagster pettus, associated press JACKSON, Miss. — Dec 21, 2016, 4:36 PM ET A Mississippi man arrested in the burning of an African-American church that was spray-painted with the words "Vote Trump" is a member of the congregation, the church's bishop said. Andrew McClinton, 45, of Leland, Mississippi, was charged Wednesday with first degree arson of a place of worship, said Warren Strain, spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. McClinton is African-American. McClinton was arrested in Greenville, where Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church was burned and vandalized Nov. 1,...

This is the 90th time we have named the person who had the greatest influence, for better or worse, on the events of the year. So which is it this year: Better or worse? The challenge for Donald Trump is how profoundly the country disagrees about the answer.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A cache of more than 19,000 emails from Democratic party officials, leaked in advance of Hillary Clinton's nomination at the party's convention next week in Philadelphia, details the acrimonious split between the Democratic National Committee and Clinton's former rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders. Several emails posted by Wikileaks on its document disclosure website show DNC officials scoffing at Sanders and his supporters and in one instance, questioning his commitment to his Jewish religion. Some emails also show DNC and White House officials mulling whether to invite guests with controversial backgrounds to Democratic party events. Although Wikileaks' posting of...

UPDATE: FBI agents took custody of Delemus on 9 charges including conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S., threatening, obstructionthe Federal Bureau of Investigation has taken custody of Jerry DeLemus, a New Hampshire Tea Party activist who previously made trips to Nevada to take part in the Bundy Ranch stand-off and the federal forestry building seizure in Oregon two months ago, according to reports. DeLemus faces nine federal charges including conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, threatening a federal law enforcement officer, obstruction of justice, attempting to impede or injure a federal law enforcement officer and...

Bristol Palin on Tuesday urged her mom, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, to endorse Donald Trump over Republican presidential rival Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas). The younger Palin took to her blog to note that her mom "has consistently supported" Cruz and accuse the Texas senator of "arrogance" for thinking a Trump endorsement could hurt her. "After hearing what Cruz is now saying about my mom, in a negative knee-jerk reaction, makes me hope my mom does endorse Trump," Bristol Palin wrote in her blog post that her mom shared on her Facebook page and tweeted to her 1.2 million followers....

Bristol Palin, the daughter of 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, has given birth to a second child. Bristol Palin, who turned 25 in October and is a vocal advocate of sexual abstinence before marriage, tweeted Thursday that her "heart just doubled" at the birth of her new baby girl, Sailor Grace. Palin announced she was pregnant in June, a few weeks after her engagement to Dakota Meyer , a 27-year-old U.S. Marine who received a 2009 Medal of Honor , was called off after a year-long relationship. Meyer tweeted a photo of the baby girl, too, writing: "Best...

A war is being fought in Europe and not a single shot has been fired. The Muslims are winning. This is what happens when government takes away your firearms. The citizens of each country are defenseless. Could this be why our Muslim in Chief wants to take away our guns?

California’s wrenching yearlong legislative debate over the right to die culminated Monday with Gov. Jerry Brown signing into law a bill making California the fifth state to permit physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill. As a Democrat and former Catholic seminarian, Mr. Brown was caught between two opposing sides of the right-to-die debate, and had given little indication of whether he would sign the bill before it reached his desk in early September. “In the end, I was left to reflect on what I would want in the face of my own death,” Mr. Brown said in his signing statement....

... Mr. Walker’s intended withdrawal is a humiliating climb down for a Republican governor once seen as all but politically invincible. He started the year at the top of the polls but has seen his position gradually deteriorate, amid the rise of Donald J. Trump’s populist campaign and repeated missteps by Mr. Walker himself.

Jeb Bush's new political ad rips Donald Trump and gushes about the bright future of America — but incredibly, the spot uses footage shot Asia and the United Kingdom, Politico reports. The embarrassing disclosure couldn't come at a worse time for Bush, who political insiders say must make a major splash in Wednesday's GOP presidential debate on CNN if he hopes to save his sinking poll numbers. The ad in question — produced by the former Florida governor's super PAC "Right to Rise" — trashes Bush's nemesis Donald Trump with ominous clips of the billionaire developer and says he's in...

Here is fascinating video of Sen. Ted Cruz in Grayson, Kentucky where it is clear he was blocked by a man as he tried to moved toward reporters near a stage where Mike Huckabee was to appear with jailed County Clerk Kim Davis upon her release from jail. You can see Cruz eventually push past the man, but he never did appear on stage. The Week reports the man trying to block Cruz was a Huckabee aide who was “trying to physically block him from speaking with reporters.”

After five days behind bars, county clerk Kim Davis was ordered released from jail Tuesday by the judge who locked her up for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. U.S. District Judge David Bunning lifted the contempt order but directed Davis not to interfere with the granting of licenses by her deputies. The move came down just before Davis was to receive jailhouse visits from presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz. Davis was thrown in jail on Thursday, becoming a hero among religious conservatives for the boldest act of resistance by a public official yet to the...

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) has given President Obama the final vote necessary to secure victory for his controversial nuclear agreement with Iran. From the AP: Senate Democrats have rallied the 34 votes they need to keep the Iran nuclear deal alive in Congress, handing President Barack Obama a major foreign policy victory. Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland became the crucial 34th vote Wednesday morning, declaring the agreement is the best way to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions. The Obama administration may have had a touch of nervousness in the past few weeks, as a couple of notable Senate Democrats brutally rejected...

CHICAGO -- A manhunt was underway in far north suburban Fox Lake, after a police officer was shot and killed while chasing three suspects on foot, CBS Chicago reports. Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Cmdr. George Filenko said an officer was shot Tuesday morning near Rollins Road and Route 59. At a late-morning news conference, Lake County Sheriff's Det. Chris Covelli said, around 7:50 a.m., the officer radioed he was pursuing three suspects, after looking into their "suspicious activity." Police lost radio contact with the officer, who was later found with a gunshot wound. Shortly after the news conference,...

Washington (AFP) - A survivor of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York who was featured in one of the most haunting photographs of the outrage has died of stomach cancer. She was 42. The family of Marcy Borders first announced her death Monday on Facebook.

US President Barack Obama on Monday let loose with a condescending insult against opponents of the Iran nuclear deal he is trying to force through Congress, claiming those who are critical of the controversial agreement are “crazies.” Obama arrived in Las Vegas on Monday after a two-week vacation in the posh Martha’s Vineyard. He spent Monday evening with retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), speaking at a green energy conference hosted by Reid, and then riding with him to a fundraising event for the Democratic candidate seeking to become Reid’s successor. Obama said after his vacation he was “refreshed,...

Former United States President announces he has been diagnosed with cancer which was found during recent liver surgery.Former United States President Jimmy Carter on Wednesday announced he has been diagnosed with cancer. "Recent liver surgery revealed that I have cancer that now is in other parts of my body," Carter said in a statement released by the Carter Center and quoted by The Associated Press (AP). "I will be rearranging my schedule as necessary so I can undergo treatment by physicians at Emory Healthcare." The statement made clear that Carter's cancer is widely spread, but not where it originated, or...

FERGUSON, Mo. (Reuters) - Four white men carrying military-style rifles and sidearms added a disquieting element to riot-torn Ferguson, Missouri, when they began patrolling the streets before dawn on Tuesday, which police quickly labeled "inflammatory." The men said they were part of a group called "Oath Keepers," which describes itself as a non-partisan association of current and former U.S. soldiers, police and first responders who aim to protect the U.S. Constitution. They told reporters on the street that they were in Ferguson to protect a media organization. The men attracted immediate attention in the mostly black neighborhood, which exploded into...