Free Republic

President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that he’s pardoning individuals charged with simple marijuana possession on a federal level, but his decision does not affect broad groups of Americans and non-citizens charged with the crime. There’s historical precedent for mass application of the presidential pardon power, but the sheer size of Biden’s pardon list stands out among most recent predecessors. The White House estimates “6,500 people with prior federal convictions” and “thousands of such convictions under (Washington, DC) law could benefit from this relief.”

During her 10 years as a Utah state trooper, Lisa Steed built a reputation as an officer with a knack for nabbing drunken motorists in a state with a long tradition of tee totaling and some of the nation's strictest liquor laws. Steed used the uncanny talent - as one supervisor once described it - to garner hundreds of arrests, setting records, earning praise as a rising star and becoming the first woman to become trooper of the year. Today, however, Steed is out of work, fired from the Utah Highway Patrol, and she - and her former superiors -...

Police were called to a church in St. Louis this morning for crowd control after an unexpectedly large crowd gathered on rumors of applying for $500 food vouchers. St. Louis police spokesman Dave Marzullo initially said police had responded to crowds at a blood drive but later corrected that statement. Howard Walker, an administrator at St. Louis Powerhouse Church, and also a representative for Advanced Marketing Promotions, LLC, said the hundreds of people gathered for the event at the church, were tempted by the chance at the vouchers...

ST. LOUIS • The St. Louis Police Department is asking officers to be especially watchful today after graffiti appearing to threaten officers was scrawled on a restaurant associated with the fatal shooting of a suspect Tuesday. Police Chief Dan Isom said officers in the Sixth District are patrolling in pairs instead of alone. That's the district where the department says officers shot and killed a man after witnessing a suspected drug transaction. The incident started at a Church's Chicken on Riverview Boulevard, and that's where graffiti appeared overnight. In addition to memorial messages for the man fatally shot by police,...

The St. Louis Public Library's massive downtown restoration project is hiring far too few black workers, says Makal Ali. Ali, president of the African-American Business and Contractors Association, stood at the gate to the job site this morning and counted 80 to 90 workers entering. Three or four, he said, were black.

(KMOV) -- When cell phone users pay their bills, they might overlook that little charge called the "universal service fund fee." That money adds up, and the government is expected to dole out $1.2 billion for free phone service to low-income people, including residents from Illinois and Missouri. SafeLink, a company created by TracFone, is behind the deal. The SafeLink Web site has a disclaimer telling people that the service is not paid for by taxpayers. However, if you pay your cell phone bill, you're paying for it. Irene Flannery of the Federal Communications Commission said that TracFone has been...

President Obama was scheduled to speak at 12:30pm Central Time. While we are still awaiting his words, feel free to vent about the current situation in Egypt until he begins speaking!

Berkeley, MO. (KPLR11.com) — Middle school students are robbed at gunpoint while waiting for the bus and parents are outraged over the crime. This crime has the police chief here shaking his head. Middle school students were held up at gunpoint just before dawn this morning. The mothers of two of the students told us the suspects pointed a gun at their children and ordered them to empty their pockets. If they had any money or electronics they would let them go, if not they hit them. The kids are shaken up but did not suffer any physical injuries. This...

INTRO Let me guess, you have seen a few models in your local store, you have seen some ads in the gun rags, and a "guy" you know thinks his rifle is "the best." And now you need some help separating the wheat from the chaff, and have come here to find out what is best for you. Am I close? I am going to assume you plan to take this into harm's way, or at least want a rifle CAPABLE of being taken onto a "two-way" range. If you just want a recreational shooter, just pick up whatever fits...

CHICAGO — Showing up to check on the construction progress, the owners of the stately old brick house being renovated on Greenwood Avenue could be forgiven for feeling a bit stressed. There are blockades at each end of the block, and signs warn people that they need permission from federal authorities to go any farther. Every carpenter, roofer and mason to set foot on the job site must submit to a background check. Each night they are required to e-mail their schedules for the next day. If they say they are going to arrive at 8 a.m. and they do...

Please join in and discuss the new AMC original series "The Walking Dead!"

UPDATED at 2:47 p.m. with charges filed Two teenagers were charged today in an overnight shooting spree that began in St. Louis County, moved on to Jefferson County and ended in Illinois early Tuesday after a high-speed chase. Albert Robinson, 17, of the 4700 block of Nebraska Avenue was charged with two counts of armed criminal action and two counts of assaults in the first degree. According to court documents, Robinson admitted to letting two juveniles armed with a rifle out of his vehicle and picking them up after they had shot Jacob Elliott at his front door at 433...

This car is one of only two fully-equipped 1964 Aston Martin DB5s actually used in the early James Bond films, and it's going up for auction in the fall. In this case, "fully equipped" includes features you don't see on most cars. Among the options included on this model: guns that poke out through the taillights, a license plate that rotates to show different sets of numbers and a removable roof panel to allow easy egress for a passenger in the ejector seat. The car is expected to sell for more than $5 million, but its value is impossible to...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- A Cape Girardeau mother with a gun is being credited with stopping the attempted rape of her daughter. The Southeast Missourian reports that 51-year-old Craig Kizer faces a variety of charges, including attempted rape, armed criminal action and burglary. He has no known address and did not have an attorney. Police say Kizer had been working on the family's home as part of a renovation project, but was not staying there. The teen was in bed around 5:30 a.m. Sunday when Kizer came into her room with a knife and climbed on top of her.

Police say a south St. Louis County couple who were severely beaten in their home last week were targeted by one or more attackers who wanted to kill them. "This was not a random act," St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch said Monday at a news conference called to discuss the case. "It was a concerted effort to attack these individuals and to burglarize them at their residence. They were innocent individuals." Police say no suspects are in custody in the attack but a search is under way for an unnamed 24-year-old "person of interest" as well as one...

It was wonderful meeting with fellow FRiends over great food tonight at Charlie Gitto's "on The Hill." There is certainly much to talk about in this day and age! Charles Henrickson made a recommendation to have a picnic in the summer, which was reinforced by those around the table. Therefore, we will have the picnic on June 19th, 2010 at 12:00pm at a location to be determined. I will work on getting a covered pavilion reserved in the St. Louis area on Monday and will provide more details at a future time. The meat and soda will be provided, but...

If anybody is within driving distance of St. Louis, MO and would like to join us tomorrow evening (Saturday) at 5:00pm for some great Italian food and interesting discussion, it's not too late to join us - please let me know as soon as possible by responding to this thread. I will respond to you via FReepmail no later than tomorrow morning with the name and address of the establishment. Also, please let me know how many people will be coming along with you so that I can get the information to the restaurant. Everyone will be able to order...

Dear St. Louis Area FReepers, Given the current political climate, I thought that it would be advantageous to meet over dinner somewhere to discuss current events and our personal strategies to restore the Republic. The restaurant is not important to me (there is absolutely no need to squabble over trivial things like that), but I would like to get to know everyone better beyond the monitor. Of course, if you are already meeting on a somewhat reoccurring basis, I'd like to get involved. We can discuss places on the public thread, but let's keep the final decision private, via FReepmail....

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x81n0b_suzanna-gratiahupp-what-the-second_news

I'm just leaving Chaifetz Arena on the campus of St. Louis University - what a night! After some pre-debate entertainment, thousands of GOPers settled in to watch Palin destroy Biden on several big screens. After the convincing win, Gov. Palin came by to deliver a speech, along with her family. They were on "The Straight Talk Express," and the bus literally pulled into the arena, some 30 feet from the stage. We were promised a big entrance, and she certainly didn't disappoint! At one point during the speech, some members of a group with a pink banner - presumably Code...