Free Republic

GOLD STAR MOTHER'S AND FAMILY'S DAY, 2017 - - - - - - - BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION As we solemnly observe Gold Star Mother's and Family's Day, we honor and extend our deepest gratitude to the families of military service members who gave their last full measure of devotion to our country. Gold Star families have paid the ultimate price for our Nation's freedom with the life of their loved ones. Our grateful Nation grieves with them in their loss, but also shares their pride in the selfless service of their sons...

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A pickup truck struck a Centro bus in Syracuse just over a week ago, lodging itself in the bus and injuring multiple people. Videos from cameras on the bus show the truck crashing through the side of the bus and throwing a passenger forward. Centro released the surveillance footage after Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard filed a Freedom of Information Law request. Neil Brownell, the driver of the pickup, was driving off Interstate 81 north at Park Street around 2 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 19 when the accident happened, said the Syracuse Police Department. Brownell swerved into the...

ALBANY - Days after getting the right to marry people, Gov. Cuomo will officiate a same-sex marriage Sunday morning an hour before marching in the city gay pride parade. Cuomo will marry David Contreras Turley, 36, and Peter Thiede, 35. "It’s hard to believe everything that’s happened in the last 24 hours,” Turley told the Daily News on Saturday night. “The opportunity arose for us to get married by the governor, and we couldn’t be happier.” Longtime gay rights activist Edie Windsor, who was part of a landmark Supreme Court decision, will deliver the opening remarks at the ceremony, which...

CAMPOBASSO, Italy — Pope Francis says abandoning the traditionally Christian practice of not working on Sundays isn’t such a good change. Francis on Saturday traveled to Molise, an agricultural region in the heart of southern Italy where unemployment is chronically high. While he said poor people need employment to have dignity, he disagreed with opening stores and other businesses on Sundays as a way to create jobs.m

Pope Francis privately visited the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome this morning to pray and entrust to the Virgin Mary his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. After 15 minutes of meditation and prayer before the image of Mary known as Salus Populi Romani, Pope Francis offered a bouquet of white and yellow roses at the feet of the Virgin. Since the beginning of his papal ministry in March 2013, this is the eighth visit Pope Francis has made to the Virgin Mary, under whose protection he has placed his pontificate. Speaking to Vatican Radio, the archpriest of the basilica,...

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has commended the efforts exerted by Pope Francis to revitalize interfaith dialogue between Christians and Muslims. Ihsanoglu made the comment during his first meeting with the pope at the Vatican on Friday. The secretary-general pointed out that today the presence of Muslims in historically Christian countries has expanded, while some OIC countries either have native Christian communities or have witnessed in recent years the arrival of Christians as guest workers.

And still no lawsuits... amazing restraint considering the number of attorneys who live in CT and the diverse families affected... patience shown under tragic circumstances .... Or...

UPDATED AT 6:40 P.M. CLEVELAND,Ohio -- The Rev. James McGonegal,pastor of a West Side Cleveland Catholic church,was charged today with soliciting sex while being HIV-positive. He had been arrested Friday in Edgewater Park. In the incident report released today,an off-duty Cleveland Metroparks ranger said McGonegal offered the ranger $50 to help him “get off,” then exposed himself and masturbated,all while sitting inside his late-model Jeep SUV. The report said McGonegal had three sex devices in his Jeep when he was arrested around 12:45 p.m. The priest,68,was released on personal bond from Cleveland City Jail this morning other media reports said....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday welcomed Pope Francis' recent remarks that the Catholic Church must shake off an obsession with teachings on abortion, contraception and homosexuals, saying the pontiff was showing incredible humility. "I tell you, I have been hugely impressed with the pope's pronouncements," Obama said in a CNBC interview.

Sandy Hook was 6 months ago. Where are all the lawsuits?

The scenario had been carefully planned: A terrorist group prepared to hurt vast numbers of people around Boston would leave backpacks filled with explosives at Faneuil Hall, the Seaport District, and in other towns, spreading waves of panic and fear. Detectives would have to catch the culprits. Months of painstaking planning had gone into the exercise, dubbed “Operation Urban Shield,” meant to train dozens of detectives in the Greater Boston area to work together to thwart a terrorist threat. The hypothetical terrorist group was even given a name: Free America Citizens, a home-grown cadre of militiamen whose logo would be...

we're not too far away from these headlines or wedding announcements.. a few I thought of while driving home this afternoon.. Man ties knot with beloved horse, ends in tragedy a local man,67, and terminally ill, married his favorite quarter horse, Peanut, 6, in a private ceremony at the family farm. Man passed away in an unfortunate accident when he tried to ride his bride off to the honeymoon... Peanut, now widowed, will be receiving the Medicare, social security and death payments. Woman and Teacher, 33, falls in love with her 3rd grade math class. marries entire class, 26 of...

UPDATE: Gov. David Paterson was loudly booed this afternoon when he was introduced to drop the ceremonial first puck at the outdoor hockey game between the Syracuse Crunch and the Binghamton Senators. The governor, who earlier announced his candidacy for election to a full term, took to the ice at the outdoor rink assembled at the New York State Fairgrounds in Geddes around 1:25 p.m. The game was supposed to start at 1. Thousands in the fairgrounds grandstand booed so loudly that the governor's words were indistinguishable over the public address system set up for the first outdoor American Hockey...

Feds use warrant, search Vick's property Associated Press, Updated 9 minutes ago SURRY, Va. (AP) - Federal law enforcement officials descended on a home owned by Michael Vick on Thursday armed with a search warrant that suggests they're taking over an investigation into the Falcons quarterback's possible involvement in dogfighting. More here..http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6899670

LUFKIN, Texas (AP) -- The would-be teen mother arrived by ambulance last May, her belly bruised, the twin fetuses she carried for five months gone and her lips tightly sealed. Authorities assumed 16-year-old Erica Basoria had been beaten and they charged her boyfriend, Gerardo "Jerry" Flores, 18, with murder under the state's new law protecting the unborn. But it wasn't that simple. Miss Basoria told authorities she had been trying to kill the fetuses for weeks and finally asked Mr. Flores to help by stepping on her stomach.

POSTED ON NEWSMAX TONIGHT... Democratic Party activist groups in Ohio have registered at least two known terrorists involved in a plot to blow up a shopping center in a bid to get out the vote for John Kerry. Nuradin Abdi - a Somali immigrant and admitted al-Qaida member who was indicted earlier this year as part of a conspiracy to blow up the Columbus Mall - was registered to vote by the civil rights group ACORN, according to the Columbus Dispatch. ACORN has spearheaded an aggressive Democratic Party vote drive in the battleground states. Iyman Faris, another new Ohio voter...

MINORITY REPORT Global warming 'to kill more blacks than whites' Study: African-Americans at greater risk, but less responsible for climate change -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: July 22, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Joe Kovacs © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com A new study released by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation suggests rising temperatures will kill more black citizens than whites in the U.S., while claiming African-Americans are less responsible than others for causing so-called "global warming." The research, conducted by Oakland, Calif.-based group Redefining Progress, is being billed as the first-ever comprehensive examination of the health and economic impact of climate change on the black...