Free Republic

A half-century before Donald Trump dismissed the four criminal cases against him as a “witch hunt,” a defensive President Richard M. Nixon famously declared, “I’m not a crook.” Nixon made the comment 50 years ago Friday, on Nov. 17, 1973, at Disney World in Florida as the Watergate scandal was swirling around him. It came a month after the Saturday Night Massacre, when Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus resigned rather than carry out Nixon’s order to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox. Then Solicitor General Robert Bork fired Cox. Now Nixon was addressing 400 people...

During an interview with The Weather Channel on Tuesday aired on Wednesday, President Joe Biden said that, “Practically speaking,” he’s “already” declared a national emergency on climate change. He stated that, as part of this practical emergency declaration on climate, “we’ve conserved more land,” “rejoined the Paris Climate Accord,” and “we’ve passed a 368 billion-dollar climate control [initiative].” Weather Channel Meteorologist Stephanie Abrams asked, “Mr. President, you called climate change a code red for humanity. The World Health Organization said it would cause an additional quarter of a million deaths a year starting in 2030. Are you prepared to declare...

It is always happy hour in Helsinki! Finland was dubbed the world’s happiest nation for the sixth consecutive year in the annual World Happiness Report, released Monday. The list is largely based on Gallup World Poll evaluations on matters such as GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption. “Citizens of Finland’s strong feelings of communal support and mutual trust” were factors in helping the country navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and again grab the top spot, authors of the study wrote. “Additionally, Finlanders felt strongly that they were free to make their own choices, and showed...

Harsh words were exchanged in the German parliament amid calls from various leftist politicians to ban the country’s most successful populist party. Leftists in Germany are now openly calling for the populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party to be outright banned over alleged links to the so-called “Reichsbürger” movement in the country which questions the legitimacy of the current German state. Many legacy politicians and activists have been especially keen to link those in the party to the movement amid claims that the country’s police recently unearthed an attempt by a number of Reichsbürger adherents to violently overthrow the country’s...

Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ) said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Katy Tur Reports” that “war has been declared on the American woman” when asked to react to the Politico report that the Supreme Court has made a 5-4 decision to overturn abortion. Tur said, “Even if the 1973 decision is reversed, abortion would be illegal in states like New Jersey. It is more than a handful of Democratic red states that codified the abortion into state law. Joining me now is Governor Phil Murphy. Governor, thank you for being with us. What is your reaction?”

A mistrial was declared Friday in the trial of Jacob Carrizal, the first biker from the May 2015 Twin Peaks shootout to stand trial. Jurors told 54th State District Judge Matt Johnson they were hopelessly deadlocked after more than 14 hours of deliberation, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial at about 2:50 p.m. snip In a note to Johnson, the jury initially reported they had reached a unanimous vote on one count, but that vote later changed. The initial decision was for not guilty on the first count, the source said.

Governor John Bel Edwards today announced that the federal government declared a major disaster for the State of Louisiana. Following a tour of several parishes, Governor Edwards requested that President Barack Obama make the declaration. The initial federal declaration is for Bossier, Claiborne, Grant, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, and Webster Parishes. Additional parish declarations may be made as further damage assessments are conducted.

Are we at war? I remember the Congress voting to authorize GWB to go into Iraq, but I’ll be hornswaggled if I can remember any authorization for Afghanistan. If not, how can Bergdhal be a POW? I’m confused. Can anyone explain the nitty-gritty here?

CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire has certified former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte (AY'-aht) as the winner of the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Ayotte was endorsed by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and won a narrow victory over Ovide Lamontagne (LAH'-mohn-tayn). His conservative credentials and courting of the tea party pulled him close in the final days of the campaign. Lamontagne has until 5 p.m. to decide whether he'll seek a recount because the margin of victory fell within 1.5 percent of the total votes cast. The secretary of state's office says Ayotte's official margin of victory was 1,667...

MADRID/GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization is likely to raise its flu alert to the top of its six-point scale and declare a pandemic, its director-general indicated in an interview published on Monday. In remarks setting the scene for another alert increase, but without saying when, WHO chief Margaret Chan warned against over-confidence following a stabilization in the number of new cases of the H1N1 strain that has proved deadly in Mexico. "Level 6 does not mean, in any way, that we are facing the end of the world. It is important to make this clear because (otherwise) when...

We won. The Iraq War is over. I declare November 22, 2008 to be "Victory in Iraq Day." (Hereafter known as "VI Day.") By every measure, The United States and coalition forces have conclusively defeated all enemies in Iraq, pacified the country, deposed the previous regime, successfully helped to establish a new functioning democratic government, and suppressed any lingering insurgencies. The war has come to an end. And we won. What more indication do you need? An announcement from the outgoing Bush administration? It's not gonna happen. An announcement from the incoming Obama administration? That's really not gonna happen. A...

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma already has a state fruit, so legislation given final approval by the state Senate on Tuesday declares the watermelon as the official state vegetable. The measure was introduced in the state House by Democratic Representative Joe Dorman of Rush Springs, site of an annual watermelon festival in August. State Senator Don Barrington, R-Lawton, sponsored the bill in the state Senate.

SANTA ANA, Calif. - Jurors were unable to decide Friday whether to impose the death penalty on two convicted leaders of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, prompting a mistrial in the matter and giving the men life in prison. The same jury convicted Barry "The Baron" Mills and Tyler "The Hulk" Bingham in July. Jurors were then asked to determine whether the two should be sentenced to death or life in prison without possibility of parole. After 3 1/2 days of deliberations, they told the judge Thursday they were deadlocked, but he ordered them to return to the jury room...

A mistrial was declared Tuesday in the federal terrorism trial of a Lodi man charged with lying to protect his son, who authorities say attended an al-Qaida training camp in Pakistan. The announcement came one day after the jury told U.S. District Court Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. that it could not reach a unanimous decision. "Their jury declared that it was hopelessly deadlocked this morning," deputy court clerk Carol Davis said. Burrell questioned each member of the jury and then discharged them, she said. Umer Hayat, a 48-year-old ice cream vendor, is charged with lying to FBI agents about...

MARTINEZ, Calif. (AP) - A judge declared a mistrial Monday in the murder case against a woman defended by prominent lawyer Daniel Horowitz, whose wife was slain over the weekend. Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Laurel F. Brady cited excessive news coverage of the homicide of Pamela Vitale when she dismissed jurors in the case of Susan Polk, who is accused of stabbing her therapist husband. "Ladies and gentlemen, it would have been hard to miss, despite my admonitions," Brady told the jury. "I have reached the conclusion at this juncture that it is not possible to continue the...