Free Republic

The U.S. Justice Department failed to prove a North Carolina county sheriff ordered deputies to target Hispanic residents in violation of their civil rights, a federal judge ruled Friday. Judge Thomas Schroeder dismissed the government’s civil lawsuit against Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson. Justice Department attorneys failed to demonstrate that Johnson’s agency engaged in a pattern of unconstitutional law enforcement against Hispanics, the judge ruled. The government had alleged Johnson’s deputies routinely targeted Latinos for traffic stops. A statistical study commissioned by the DOJ said the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office was as much as 10 times more likely to stop...

Aldi and Lidl, Germany’s toughest discount food retailers, are invading the US. Both operate small, efficient no frill self serve supermarkets with a strong non-food assortment, and very low prices. Both have permanently changed the competitive landscape wherever they have gone. Lidl is about to open its U.S. headquarter in Arlington, Virginia and a distribution center in Alamance County, North Carolina. These are early steps in its U.S. invasion by this formidable company that operates about 11,000 stores in 26 countries throughout Europe. I am told that the company has already selected 80 locations in the Greater Washington, D.C. area...