Free Republic

Sam Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison *** matter-of-factly telling jurors that he bears the blame for deciding to steal billions in FTX customer funds. “He directed me to commit these crimes,” Ellison said in Manhattan federal court, during her highly-anticipated testimony at a trial where Bankman-Fried faces criminal fraud charges stemming from the November 2022 disappearance of $8 billion from his now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. Ellison, 28,***accusing him of being emotionally distant and not devoting enough attention to their relationship during their time living together inside a $35 million Bahamas penthouse. “There was a general theme that I sort of wanted more...

International Man: In parts of California and other states, shoplifting under $950 has been de-facto decriminalized. The practical reality is that thieves can now walk into a store and steal whatever they can without fear of police intervening—as long as it’s under $950. The trend of de-facto legalization of shoplifting is spreading across the country. What is your take? Doug Casey: The rise in crime in general and the veritable legalization of shoplifting, in particular, are really just symptoms. The real problem is that the moral fabric of the US and many other Western countries are torn. There’s not much...

Lincoln Project co-founder George Conway said Thursday on CNN’s special coverage of the hearing held by the House Select Committee investigating January 6 that former President Donald Trump’s “criminality” is being established. Anchor Wolf Blitzer said, “let me get your reaction to one of the most newsy developments we got, that John Eastman, this attorney that was advising the then president of the United States, he was beginning to believe that maybe he did commit an illegal act and wanted his name on that pardon list.”

As the nation goes through its periodic soul-searching as to the causes of recent mass shootings, I fail to see one major factor discussed. This factor is the gradual weakening of consequences for bad behavior to the point of threatening the very fabric of society. The latest manifestations of this can be seen in the refusal to prosecute not only minor, but major infractions of the law in a significant number of cities. But what are the origins of these relaxed attitudes? I was an elementary school teacher for 40 years. Starting in the mid-1970s, the various school districts I...

Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Thursday on MSNBC’s “The Beat” that the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot had “ample evidence of criminality” by former President Donald Trump. Schiff said, “I can say say that any of the players who were involved in the bogus litigation involve in discussions at the White House whether voting machines ought to be seized or what the authority was or the declaration or martial law, you know, we want to bring them all in. Obviously, I think Mr. Giuliani is a person who will have a great deal of relevant...

On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “The Story,” Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez (D) said that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s (D) policies have “put the entire city under siege” and that “the Democratic Party on so many levels seems to be enamored with the mentality of being enablers to criminality.” Lopez said, “The only thing that is equitable about what the mayor’s policies have been is to put the entire city under siege and to spread fear and violence into every neighborhood, so much so that it’s now commonplace and doesn’t even raise an eye nationally.

Gwen Inglis, a national cycling champion, was training on familiar roads when a driver hit and killed her after drifting into the bike lane, Lakewood (Colo.) Police said. Inglis was riding with her husband, Mike, in the Denver suburb around 10 a.m. on Sunday when the Nissan sedan driven by Ryan Montoya, 29, veered into the lane. He remained at the scene. Inglis, 47, was taken to the hospital, where she died of her injuries. Inglis is the reigning 2019 U.S. road race champion in the 45-49 age group and her husband won the national title in the 50-and-over category...

A woman in Tennessee was killed and a cop was rushed into surgery following a shootout in a parking lot, graphic video shows. Footage of the Friday morning encounter between Metro Nashville Police Officer Josh Baker and Nika N. Holbert, 31, shows the 14-year veteran cop deploying his Taser on the woman while ordering her to get out of a car.

At a Miami Beach car wash in December 2018, a car thief named Jose Antonio Reyes Bermudez pushed an employee and climbed into a customer’s empty Mercedes SUV. As the SUV accelerated forward, the customer ran toward the vehicle — pistol already drawn. The customer, Stephen Allen Lott, aimed his pistol and fired two shots as the SUV tried to drive away from the lot. Mortally wounded, Reyes Bermudez — who did not have a gun or a knife — lost control of the stolen SUV. It plowed into the side of a building across the street, destroying an electrical...

SEATTLE - As suddenly as it appeared, the Capitol Hill Occupation Protest was gone. **SNIP** Durkan’s destruction of the CHOP was a reversal of her previous position. On June 12, when Trump accused her of letting anarchists take over the city, Durkan responded, “Seattle is fine. Don’t be so afraid of democracy.” But over the last few weeks, the CHOP had become increasingly controversial. While the daytime scene resembled a music festival or cultural event, the nights became more violent. Six shootings, two of them fatal, occurred in or near the zone in the last two weeks of June, a...

In a rush for Fulton County district attorney Paul Howard to distract from the investigation of his own wrongdoings regarding a missing $140,000, Howard quickly charged former police officer Garrett Rolfe with eleven felonies before an investigation could be properly done into a police shooting. Not only is Howard under investigation, but he is in a hotly contested primary in August. Howard did not take the case to the Grand Jury and, in an apparent political move, immediately charged Rolfe. On June 12, 2020, Rayshard Brooks, 27, fought with two police officers and grabbed one of their taser guns. As...

If Republicans refuse to stop investigating Hunter Biden, Democrats will launch a "scorched earth" attack on President Trump's children, warns an adviser to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's campaign. (Posted the piece below due to possible 'wnd' issues for some FReepers)

DALLAS (AP) — A Dallas man previously arrested in the death of an 81-year-old woman has been charged with killing at least 11 more elderly women whose jewelry and other valuables he stole, authorities said Thursday. Kim Leach, a spokeswoman for the Dallas County district attorney’s office, said 46-year-old Billy Chemirmir was indicted Tuesday on six more counts of capital murder in the deaths of women ranging in age from 76 to 94. Chemirmir, a Kenyan citizen who was living in the U.S. illegally, also is charged in nearby Collin County with two counts of attempted capital murder for similar...

A father in West Palm Beach fired into a Honda with his 6-year-old son inside to stop a persistent felon from stealing his car, Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office said. The incident occured Saturday afternoon. The 6-year-old was unharmed, said PBSO. But the would-be thief, 29-year-old Lamar Thurman, was in critical condition. Thurman is two and a half months into a three-year post-prison probation after serving 5 months for carjacking without a firearm, aggravated battery on a senior citizen and robbery without a gun. Witnesses told PBSO he jumped into the father’s Honda, which was parked in front of a home...

It is evident that both law and morality serve to channel our behavior. Law accomplishes this primarily through the threat of sanctions if we disobey legal rules. Morality too involves incentives; bad acts may result in guilt and disapprobation, and goods act in virtuous feelings and praise. These two very different avenues of effect on our actions are examined in this article from an instrumental perspective. The analysis focuses on various social costs associated with law and morality, and on their effectiveness, as determined by the magnitude and likelihood of sanctions and by certain informational factors. After the relative character...

A man who is already in custody in connection with a string of burglaries in the Malibu Creek State Park area has now been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a father who was camping in the park in late June and other shootings, authorities announced Monday. Anthony Rauda, 42, was charged with one count of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and five counts of second-degree burglary, Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office officials said. Rauda allegedly opened fire on campers and motorists in incidents dating back to November 2016. On June 22, Rauda is accused of...

USA Today property so headline and link only.Other reports state suspect is a Middle Eastern male in his twenties with a long beard who shot a security guard then threw smoke grenades then kept firing. Used a "big handgun" according to a witness on ABC7 in Los Angeles.

An intern for Democratic Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum has been arrested and charged with battery after she threw chocolate milk on a group of College Republicans tabling on campus.

A Texas bank employee accused of being an accomplice to a violent armed robbery appeared in court Wednesday to face charges. Shelby Wyse, 25, was arrested and charged with aggravated robbery on Tuesday for her alleged part in a brazen daytime attack on a woman carrying $75,000 in Houston. The mother-of-one appeared before a judge Wednesday, wearing a Whitney Houston tank top with her hair scraped up in a top knot. Court documents state that security footage captures Wyse watching the woman while she conducted her business at the bank. She then allegedly sent a text message to her boyfriend...

A 28-year-old woman suffered a brain injury, had part of her foot amputated and her shoulder torn off after she jumped in front of a train to save her mother who was pushed onto the tracks by a stranger. Katie Wenszell was waiting for a train with her family at the Midtown Station in Atlanta on Sunday when a man suddenly pushed her mother Susan Wenszell onto the tracks. The heroic daughter jumped off the platform to drag her unconscious mother out of the way as the train approached the station.