Free Republic

While the viral debate over whether or not Popeye’s has the best chicken sandwich is still raging online, a high school activist is using the long lines at the fast food chain for good. David Ledbetter, a high school senior in Charlotte, North Carolina, used the long lines at Popeye’s this weekend to remind people to vote, going so far as to hand out sample ballots and voter registration forms outside of his local Popeye’s. In an interview with CNN, Ledbetter explained that he saw the chicken sandwich wars as a way to engage people to do their civic duty....

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A 24-year-old man from Berkley was brutally beaten to death after a seemingly minor car crash on Detroit's west side early Monday morning. The crash and beating were caught on surveillance video from a nearby gas station. Tyler Wingate is remembered for his contagious smile, good spirit, and loving character. His friends said that he was known for - before his life was violently taken early Monday morning.

Today, Google announced that Youngstown, Ohio, will be the first city in its Compass Experiment, a joint venture with newspaper publishing company McClatchy to revive local news. The announcement couldn't be more timely, as Youngstown's long standing publication The Vindicator will close its doors on August 31st. The Compass Experiment, part of the Google News Initiative, aims to develop sustainable business models for local news organizations. It plans to launch digital platforms in three mid-sized communities, with the Youngstown site going live this fall. In addition to covering local news, Compass will test a variety of revenue models. The goal...

A 74-year-old man who was pushed off a Las Vegas public bus -- allegedly by a woman he had told to "be nicer" -- has died from injuries he suffered when he hit the sidewalk, and the woman has been charged with his murder. Surveillance video released by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department this week captured the scuffle that led to Serge Fournier tumbling from the bus. The video helped Vegas police identify and arrest suspect Cadesha Michelle Bishop, 25, according to a criminal complaint. The incident occurred just before 5 p.m. on a Thursday evening in March, as...

Earlier this month, the Virginia men's basketball team took home the 2019 NCAA National Championship with a thrilling overtime win over Texas Tech, completing an incredible redemption story that began over a year ago with a loss to No. 16 seed UMBC. Besides cementing themselves as a part of college basketball greatness, the championship also opened up the opportunity for the team to visit the White House to celebrate the accomplishment, something that has become a somewhat standard procedure for winning teams in all major sports. However, on Friday Virginia announced that it would be declining that invitation, citing that...

ox News analyst Brit Hume took a swipe at President Trump over his tweet offering condolences to the family of GOP Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), who died Saturday at the age of 81. Hume pointed out that Trump’s tweet avoided praising McCain himself, setting it vastly apart from the dozens of tributes to the late senator posted by lawmakers from both parties. “My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain,” Trump tweeted Saturday after the announcement of McCain’s death. “Our hearts and prayers are with you!” “Still not a kind word about McCain himself,”...

Donald Trump has occupied the White House for a grand total of 580 days. Apparently the president hasn’t discovered all the features and perks that come with the Oval Office. Take his tweets. Early Friday morning the leader of the free world publicly shamed Jeff Sessions, asking his attorney general to open up the files of the Department of Justice so the public could peek at documents concerning everything from the Russia dossier to FISA applications. It would be quite the haul. It would dominate news cycles for months to come. It could happen tomorrow. Trump has the power. As...

Donald Trump has occupied the White House for a grand total of 580 days. Apparently the president hasn’t discovered all the features and perks that come with the Oval Office. Take his tweets. Early Friday morning the leader of the free world publicly shamed Jeff Sessions, asking his attorney general to open up the files of the Department of Justice so the public could peek at documents concerning everything from the Russia dossier to FISA applications. It would be quite the haul. It would dominate news cycles for months to come. It could happen tomorrow. Trump has the power. As...

Former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman claims new audio shows Trump campaign staffers discussing racial slur.

The Newseum, an institution with a mission "to increase public understanding of the importance of a free press and the First Amendment," is now selling T-shirts featuring President Donald Trump's favorite pejorative against the media. Shirts with the phrase, "You Are Very Fake News," emblazoned on the front are on sale for $19.97 on the merchandise page on the Washington-based journalism museum's website, along with a version of the familiar red "Make America Great Again" hat.

As Americans fought in recent weeks over whether restaurants should refuse to serve top aides to President Trump, an entire city has been debating what it means to host his convention for reelection. Charlotte won the rights to the 2020 Republican National Convention on Friday. But that's largely because it faced little serious competition. And even before the victory was announced in Austin, Texas, this thriving, progressive urban island in the Trump-friendly South was suffering some buyer's remorse. Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, a Democrat, says the decision to host the convention was the hardest she has tackled — "not just...

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is among the crop of Democrats suddenly sparking outrage over the condition of immigration detention centers at the U.S.-Mexico border. Images of children placed in cages have been going viral. The problem is, the conditions are largely the same as they had been under President Obama. In fact, some of the photos being circulated look eerily similar to those taken in 2014. Baldwin was going on about the Trump White House's terrible policy on CNN, until Brooke Baldwin asked the senator if she was just as outraged during the Obama years. Not exactly, but she did...

Sometimes you imagine the whole thing as a parade down Main St. in Stupidville, with floats and marching bands — and a new grand marshal every time there is a new political controversy in America. This isn't necessarily about Republicans or Democrats, red states or blue states or conservatives or liberals. It is about people in this country who not only pay attention to muttonheads like Ted Nugent, but somehow see him as their voice. Or conscience. Nugent, a National Rifle Association board member and B-list singer, is another gun-lover threatened by the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School,...

The American job market is chugging along -- but after more than seven years of sustained job gains, the situation on the wage front remains frustratingly stagnant. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that the U.S. added 228,000 non-farm jobs in November, more than the 200,000 economist consensus. The overall unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1%, while the U-6 figure (often referred to as the "real" unemployment metric because it accounts for the percent of total unemployed plus people who are marginally attached to the labor force or working part time for economic reasons) ticked up to 8% from...

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- At least one city leader is questioning the Red Cross's choice of hotels while coming to Houston to help with Harvey relief. City Councilman Dave Martin dubbed the charity the "Red Loss." He made the point last week at city hall, claiming he hadn't seen the charity in his district. Five days later, they still haven't shown up in Kingwood, Martin claims. Flood victims like Ronald Leggett, who live in Kingwood echo Martin's complaints. "I haven't seen them," Leggett said. "I've been here almost every day." But that's not what really has Martin upset. Some of the...

Tens of thousands of residents fled Oroville, California, on Sunday after water levels surged over a spillway at the Oroville Dam. Traffic jams reigned on highways leading north from Oroville, where officials ordered people to evacuate at 4:45 p.m. Oroville families, who made their way to the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds in Chico and other staging areas, face uncertainty in the coming days. By late Sunday night, water from Lake Oroville was no longer rushing over the top of the dam’s emergency spillway, thanks to efforts by California water authorities to increase the flow of water out of the reservoir. But...

ORLANDO – It has been 39 days since Donald Trump has had to worry about Hillary Clinton, but his supporters can’t seem to stop talking about her. Even before Trump took the stage at a boisterous Friday evening rally here, the president-elect’s introductory speakers referenced his former Democratic opponent – and the crowd of thousands, perfectly on cue, chanted, “Lock her up!” One man screamed loudly, “Waterboard her!” When Trump delivered his speech in Orlando, his latest stop on a national “thank you” tour, his throngs of fans repeated their chants: “Lock her up! Lock her up! Lock her up!”...

The Michigan recount finished its first day, and there were already reports that half of Detroit’s votes might not be recounted, as well as other problems with ballots. The reason so many Detroit ballots could get left out of the recount: The number of ballots listed in poll books is not the same as the totals given on machine printouts. Clinton rang up huge margins in Wayne County, home to populous Detroit, and she would likely need her margin there to grow in order to shrink Trump’s 10,704 vote margin in Michigan. Clinton received 66 percent of the Wayne County...

During Sunday's presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Donald Trump appeared to loom over Hillary Clinton while she addressed the moderators and audience. And like the millions of people who watched the political slugfest, Clinton took notice. In fact, during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, airing Friday, Clinton didn't mince words about her GOP rival's behavior, saying he "stalked" her on stage while she addressed the moderators and audience. "Because of the revelation of the public video, and everything that came out on 'Access Hollywood,' you know, he was really all wrought up, and you could...

Something strange happened on the last night of the Democratic National Convention. After the GOP nominee lambasted the Democrats on Twitter for displaying what he viewed as too few American flags, there was a sea of waving flags as far as the eye could see when Hillary Clinton became the first woman to accept a major party's nomination on Thursday. A small faction of protesters chanting "no more war" as General John Allen spoke were quickly drowned out by chants of "USA!" filling the Philadelphia arena. The most notable refrain from the RNC crowd last week: "Lock her up." The...