Free Republic

A Romanian national pleaded guilty on Monday to charges related to his role in a “swatting” ring that targeted dozens of public officials, including a former US president. Going by the aliases “Plank,” “Jonah” and “Cypher,” 26-year-old Thomasz Szabo took part in a years-long conspiracy to place bogus 911 calls, claiming emergencies were taking place at the homes of top government officials, and make bomb threats against government buildings and houses of worship, according to Justice Department. Szabo and a co-conspirator, 21-year-old Serbian national Nemanja Radovanovic, allegedly targeted about 100 people, including members of Congress, governors, cabinet-level executive branch officials...

Angus King III is following in his father’s footsteps and running to be governor of Maine. King is the son of Angus King, who served as governor of Maine from 1995 to 2003 and now serves as the independent senator from the Pine Tree State. King III is planning on running as a Democrat, hoping to replace embattled Democrat Gov. Janet Mills. “I’ve spent my life building and making things that really help people,” he said, according to WGME. “Now, I’m running for governor to build a better Maine,” he continued, “where it’s easier to start and grow a small...

Yesterday, I [Turley] was notified by the Justice Department confirming that a recent swatting indictment includes the person or persons responsible for my own swatting a year ago. One of the defendants, Thomasz Szabo, was arrested a couple weeks ago. The indictment below charges two foreign nationals: Thomasz Szabo, 26, of Romania, and Nemanja Radovanovic, 21, of Serbia. Szabo and Radovanovic are each charged with one count of conspiracy, 29 counts of threats and false information regarding explosives, and four counts of transmitting threats in interstate and foreign commerce. Their alleged conspiracy began as early as December 2020. It continued...

Mark Zuckerberg has become a farmer, announcing he has bought a herd of cattle which he will feed with macadamia meal and beer - aiming 'to create some of the highest quality beef in the world.' The 39-year-old Facebook founder said he will raise the cattle on his ranch in Hawaii, feeding them the nuts for taste and protein, and the beer so the animals relax. Zuckerberg - who has a net worth of $126.5billion- has since 2014 been buying up hundreds of acres on Kauai, and now owns 1,400 acres of beachfront land on the north shore worth an...

McDonald's is cutting the Angus burger from its menu. The Oak Brook, Ill.-based company had said earlier this year that it was evaluating whether to continue selling the Angus Third Pounders, which were introduced in 2009 and are among the chain's priciest items. The company also said at the time that it was it was cutting Chicken Selects and Fruit & Walnut Salad.

A meat supplier has greatly expanded a ground beef recall, which now includes about 5.7 million pounds of fresh and frozen meat that may be contaminated with E. coli. David Goldman, acting administrator of the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, announced on Saturday that the recall would be expanded to include products with sell-by dates from April 6-April 20. The beef, sold in 11 Western states, was distributed by California-based United Food Group LLC. Goldman said that none of the latest batch of suspect beef is in stores now because the product would be well past its expiration date,...

Fast-food chain McDonald's is testing a bigger high-end Angus burger that costs a little bit more for the extra weight, according to a published report Wednesday. The Chicago Tribune said the new Third Pounder is currently available only in about 600 restaurant locations in Southern California. At one-third of a pound, the burger is the biggest on the McDonald's (Charts) menu at outlets where it is being tested. It is also the most expensive sandwich, priced at $3.99, the paper said. America's most amired companies The paper quoted McDonald's franchise owner Scott Frisbie as saying that he approached the company...

NEW YORK (Billboard) -- AC/DC's 1980 breakthrough "Back in Black" has been certified for U.S. shipments of 21 million copies, tying it for fifth place with Billy Joel's "Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & II" on the Recording Industry Assn. of America's all-time best-sellers list. The Australian hard rock group's first album with lead singer Brian Johnson, who replaced Bon Scott following his alcohol-related death, "Back in Black" was originally released by Atco and was reissued in 2003 by Epic along with the rest of the band's catalog. Joel's "Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & II" reached 21 million in 2000. The...