Free Republic

Parents criticized Indiana school officials Thursday for a trip planned to local colleges that was only offered to black third-graders, ABC 57 reported. School officials defended the trip, saying the outing sends a positive message to black students who may believe the prospect of college is out of reach. "We take them to a college campus, have them meet African-American students, modeling the idea that as a black person, college is a great place," Dr. G. David Moss, the head of the African-American services at the South Bend Community Schools Corporation, told the station. The initiative has been criticized by...

Dramatic photograph appears to be real, experts say. Many species of cats are great fishers, and bobcats are no exception. But one bobcat created an extraordinary fish tale when it pulled a shark out of the surf. The dramatic moment was caught on camera by John Bailey in Vero Beach, Florida, Monday night, when he was walking along Sebastian Inlet State Park. Bailey has not yet responded to a request for comment but he told local media that he saw the cat fishing in the surf. Suddenly, the cat leaped and dragged a shark three to four feet long (one...

Jess Dooley, a Concord High School golf, softball and basketball coach, was suspended hours after responding to Religious Freedom Restoration Act news story with Tweet about arson. A Concord High School coach has been suspended after she tweeted about arson in relation to a Walkerton pizzeria whose owners told the media they agree with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Jess Dooley, who is the head coach of the girls golf program and also an assistant coach with the softball and girls basketball programs, took to Twitter Wednesday, April 1, to voice her opinion about the RFRA. She was adding to...

Kanye West's next chart-topping hit is ready and waiting -- all he has to do is re-record the racist chant that got 2 University of Oklahoma frat boys expelled ... according to Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh made the suggestion during his radio show Wednesday ... claiming if Yeezy made a song out of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon chant -- "You can hang him from a tree, but he can never sign with me. There will never be a ni***r SAE" -- he could cash in on it. As Rush put it, "If this had been a song by Kim Kardashian's husband,...

An artist who painted a portrait of former President Bill Clinton says there’s more to the piece than one might see at first blush. Pennsylvania artist Nelson Shanks told the Philadelphia Daily News that he included a shadow of a blue dress in the 2006 portrait that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. It’s an apparent reference to the Monica Lewinsky scandal, with Shanks adding that the 42nd president is “probably the most famous liar of all time.” “If you look at the left-hand side of it, there’s a mantle in the Oval Office and I put a shadow coming...

Chris Plante reported this last hour doing his show at the convention. Can anyone confirm? Thanks...

The American Kennel Club is releasing its annual rankings of the popularity of different dog breeds. THE TOP 10 FOR 2014: 1)Labrador retriever 2)German shepherd 3)Golden retriever 4)Bulldog 5)Beagle 6)Yorkshire terrier 7)Poodle 8)Boxer 9)French bulldog 10)Rottweiler HOW THE LINEUP CHANGED: The French bulldog entered the top 10 for the first time since the decade of the 1910s (the breed was ranked 11th in 2013). The dachshund dropped out; it was number 10 in 2013.

When conservatives gather at National Harbor on Thursday for their annual confab, there will be homages to ­Ronald Reagan everywhere. He’ll be mentioned in speeches, he’ll show up as a life-size cardboard cutout, and he’ll be on posters and buttons. The event’s big dinner is in his name. At the Conservative Political Action Conference, Reagan is king. And the many Republicans vying to be president will work feverishly to align with him. But do they? For the Loop, Crowdpac, a group that mines campaign and political data and assigns ideological scores, compared Reagan during his time in office with the...

Washington (CNN)They're carrying out sporadic terror attacks on police, have threatened attacks on government buildings and reject government authority. A new intelligence assessment, circulated by the Department of Homeland Security this month and reviewed by CNN, focuses on the domestic terror threat from right-wing sovereign citizen extremists and comes as the Obama administration holds a White House conference to focus efforts to fight violent extremism. DHS Secretary: ISIS reaching into U.S. to recruit DHS Secretary: ISIS reaching into U.S. to recruit 03:30 PLAY VIDEO Some federal and local law enforcement groups view the domestic terror threat from sovereign citizen groups...

If the 2016 presidential election were held today, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would be in a virtual tie with Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in the race for Virginia, according to a new Quinnipiac Poll released this morning. The survey of potential presidential candidates in the swing states shows that Clinton, a likely Democratic nominee, and Bush, the son and brother of former Republican presidents are tied, 42-42 in Virginia. With a margin of error of +/- 3 percent, Clinton is also in a statistical tie with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, with a 44-42 edge, as well as former...

New video evidence in the Bruce Jenner car crash incident could spell trouble for the transitioning reality star following the four-car incident that left one person dead and seven injured on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, earlier this month. An MTA bus traveling behind the Hummer involved is reported to have captured the entire incident on mounted cameras, evidence that is now in the hands of the police. The footage, which has been reconstructed, shows the 65-year-old former Olympian smash his Cadillac Escalade into the back of both the victim’s white Lexus and the Toyota Prius involved. Most...

A Wisconsin mother claims her 16-year-old son's classroom assignment last week described Republicans as opposed to helping the poor because "it's a waste of money." The woman said her son, a junior at Nathan Hale High School in West Allis, Wisc., was asked, along with other students, to complete an assignment about different views on the political spectrum while in a U.S. government and politics class on Thursday. The assignment listed a series of quotes and required students to identify which party affiliation best represented each statement. The first quote read, "We should not help the poor, it’s a waste...

After a year full of discord and #outrage, Super Bowl advertisers went waaay somber. It’s as if they hoped to gently heal us, to spur reflection, to encourage us all to just, like, coexist with each other and consider each other’s struggles. Over the course of the night, there appeared dead children. Absent fathers. People forced to work during the Super Bowl instead of watching the game. There was Jeff Bridges helping us to conquer our nighttime anxieties. Frankly, the whole thing was sort of a bummer. I’m all in favor of marketers evolving beyond the farting animals and contused...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpaLgF1uLB8

Azucar Bakery owner Marjorie Silva refused to make a Bible-shaped cake complete with strong anti-gay wording and imagery. Azucar Bakery found itself in hot waters over the message that was meant to go on a Bible-shaped cake, reported Out Front Colorado. The staff at the South Broadway spot refused to write "God hates homosexuality" and other anti-LGBT text and imagery on a cake that a man attempted to order. The man came in and began ordering a cake. After he found an image of a Bible-shaped cake to his liking, he showed the bakery employees the message he wanted displayed...

Robert Griffin III's days in Washington appear to be numbered. Jay Gruden believes Griffin is more concerned about building his brand off the field than with his play on it and the first-year head coach is "now done with him," according to Jason Reid of The Washington Post, citing multiple people within the organization. Griffin, who was selected No. 2 overall in the 2012 NFL Draft, hasn't won a game in more than a calendar year and is viewed as a long-term project as a pocket passer by Gruden, according to the report. Before being benched for quarterback Colt McCoy...

Pharrell Williams, one of the biggest black figures in the music industry, has spoken out about the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, saying he is 'troubled' a grand jury decided not to indict the white police officer responsible. But the 'Happy' singer also sparked outrage from his fans by calling Brown's behavior leading up to his August 9 death 'bully-ish'. Before he was shot dead, Brown was caught on surveillance camera stealing a handful of cigarillos from a convenience store in Ferguson, Missouri, and intimidating the shop owner. While Pharrell says that was no excuse for Officer Darren Wilson to...

Full Title "Former Democratic Charlotte Mayor, a Convicted Felon, Caught at Polling Place Doing Something ‘He Shouldn’t Have Done’" Former Charlotte mayor and convicted felon Patrick Cannon appeared to cast a ballot Tuesday, putting him in violation of his bond, an official told a local news outlet. Greg Forrest, who heads Charlotte’s U.S. Probation Office, told the Observer the action might have the 47-year-old Democrat in front of a judge again. “Let’s cut to the chase: He shouldn’t have done that, and we’re going to talk to him tomorrow,” Forrest told the newspaper. Forrest said he would report the apparent...

Everyone loves their mom, but some people have rather odd ways of showing it. We’ve found some of the most embarrassingly awkward Mother’s Day photos that have ever existed. LINK

Another week, another set of brilliant matchups, thrilling finishes and newly minted debates forged in college football. The destination in college football this season might be the new four-team playoff, but boy, oh boy, has the journey been fun. With several top teams facing off, this week's Associated Press rankings were sure to look a whole lot different than they did coming in to the weekend. Let's take a look at how the AP voters view the college football landscape now. Also, make sure to check out Bleacher Report's official Top 25 and review the week that was. Record Pts...