Free Republic

FRANKLIN — A cold case from 1994 that captured national attention was the focus of a significant update from Franklin Police on Monday. The press conference took place at the gravesite of the infant known as Baby Hope, located in Greenlawn Cemetery, marking the first major update on the murder case in several years. On April 13, 1994, two boys searching through a trash can in Temple Park in Franklin for aluminum cans stumbled upon the body of a newborn infant. The preliminary investigation revealed that the baby had been stabbed to death shortly after her birth. The discovery shocked...

In one of the first nationwide hypothetical polls for the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, Illinois Governor and billionaire JB Pritzker ranks at the bottom, receiving the lowest level of support from minority voters as prominent Democrats begin preparing for potential campaigns. On Friday, the well-regarded Emerson College Polling released new results showing former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg leading the Democratic field with 16 percent support. Former Vice President Kamala Harris follows at 13 percent, with California Governor Gavin Newsom close behind at 12 percent. JB Pritzker, billionaire heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune who invested over $350 million of...

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis church is calling for members of the LGBTQ+ community to be put to death or to kill themselves. Local faith leaders are condemning the message. The call was made during a recent sermon titled “Pray the Gay Away” inside Sure Foundation Baptist Church on the northwest side of the city. “There’s nothing good to be proud about being a f*****. You ought to blow yourself in the head, in the back of the head. You’re so disgusting,” Stephen Falco said from the pulpit. He was speaking during the church’s “Men’s Preaching Night.” The event was...

Across the country, American factories are reopening. Companies are returning home. Jobs are being created. Under Donald Trump’s leadership, U.S. manufacturing is seeing a revival. Tariffs on foreign goods, tax incentives for domestic production, and fewer federal regulations have caused a shift. Major corporations are pulling operations out of China and Mexico and bringing them back to American soil. Kentucky. Alabama. Indiana. Texas. South Carolina. These states are attracting billions of dollars in new manufacturing investments. Thousands of new jobs are being created. But Illinois is being left out—and Governor JB Pritzker’s tax-heavy policies are a major reason why.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A 15-year-old accused of raping a 7-year-old on a school bus in central Indiana has now been charged as an adult, according to NBC-affiliate WTHR. WTHR reported a judge in Jennings County waived Landon Doty, of North Vernon, to adult court. According to court documents, the victim suffers from “moderate to severe autism” and is non-verbal. The family of the victim said he was sexually assaulted multiple times on his school bus. Court documents say the alleged crimes took place on the bus while being taken to school in the morning/afternoon in front of other children....

Audrey vanished in 1962 after a babysitter said they took a bus from Madison to Indianapolis. She was never seen again, until she resurfaced 60 years later at age 82A woman who vanished 60 years ago has been found alive at the age of 82, leaving her family and authorities stunned. Audrey Backberg, who disappeared from her Wisconsin home in 1962, has resurfaced, claiming she has “no regrets" about her decision. Audrey was just 20 years old when she vanished. Her disappearance led to a frantic search by her family and local police, which eventually turned into a ‘cold...

The stunning downward spiral of Michael Madigan’s political career ended Friday with a 7 1/2-year prison sentence and a $2.5 million fine for the former Illinois House speaker and the longest-serving legislative leader in U.S. history after he was convicted of trading legislation for the enrichment of his friends and allies. U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey sentenced the 83-year-old in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Nicknamed the “Velvet Hammer” for his quiet but hard-nosed style, Madigan was convicted in February on 10 of 23 counts in a remarkable corruption trial that lasted four months. The case churned through 60...

Hundreds of billions of screaming insects are emerging from the ground throughout the US in a jarring sight that hasn't taken place in 17 years. The long-awaited cicada invasion is here, and the bugs have already been spotted hatching in at least three states: Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Scientists are also expecting billions more to emerge at any moment in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. This startling awakening of cicadas is referred to as Brood XIV. The insects last appeared in 2008, and now the next window in their synchronized...

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — A 19-year-old woman has been arrested in Evansville after police say they found destructive devices in her backpack that she wanted to use at her old high school. On Thursday, an Evansville Police Department officer took Ahnna Tipton to a hospital for an evaluation. During the intake process, a hospital police officer found a suspicious item in Tipton’s backpack, EPD said in a release. The officer said it looked like a “pill bottle wrapped in duct tape with a matchstick sticking out of the lid” and a piece of cloth attached. The officer then found...

A mother shot and wounded a convicted child molester after she found him allegedly trying to rape her 12-year-old daughter inside an Indianapolis motel room Saturday, according to reports. The mother walked in on Bruce Pierce, of Indianapolis, allegedly on top of her child as the preteen repeatedly said no, leading up to the gunfire at the Baymont Inn, court documents state. The young victim’s grandmother told police that Pierce had been talking with the 12-year-old online and over the phone, trying to persuade her to leave town with him, according to the documents obtained by WTHR Wednesday.

The WNBA concluded its investigation into allegations that fans taunted Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese with racist slurs during their season-opening game against the Fever in Indiana last week. The league concluded that the reports of racial taunts could “not be substantiated.” Now, a U.S. senator from Indiana thinks Reese owes fever fans an apology. Jim Banks (R, IN) called on Reese to apologize to Fever fans for accusing them of being racists. “Angel Reese owes Indiana fans an apology,” the senator wrote. While there is some ambiguity over whether Reese herself made the initial complaint, sparking the investigation. There...

Former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that President Donald Trump should not accept a jet from Qatar to use as the next Air Force One. Pence said, “First, we’ve got to remember who Qatar is. We’ve got a military base there. I have members of our immediate family that have deployed to the region. But Qatar has a long history of playing both sides. They support Hamas. They supported Al Qaeda. Qatar has actually financed pro-Hamas protests on American campuses across the United States.” Host Kristen Welker said, “So you are saying President Trump...

The banking industry is attempting to take programs from Indiana’s state treasurer because he works to protect Christians and conservatives. ndiana lawmakers amended a proposal that had attempted to give some of state Treasurer Daniel Elliott’s powers to big banks angered by his strong defense of taxpayers, Christians, and conservatives. Yet the program is still at risk of being turned over to the state’s powerful banking lobby, which has donated to all the politicians who control the $3 billion local investment pool targeted by the changes. The provision inserted by Republican Sen. Travis Holdman, a former bank CEO, initially attempted...

S’Doni Pettis, a black career criminal “on probation after serving time for aggravated battery” (a downgraded charge as Pettis was facing attempted murder) reportedly led police on a high-speed pursuit in a stolen vehicle in February, a chase which ended almost as soon as it began: In less than 30 seconds, Pettis had “slammed” into an SUV with a father and his two young children on their way home from a pediatric check-up. The car “exploded into a fireball,” allegedly killing little 2-month-old Iris instantly, and burning the three-year-old Ares so badly, he died from his injuries shortly after.

When Pete Buttigieg was the Secretary of Transportation under President Biden (and whoever was actually making the calls at the White House during that time), one of the more glaring examples of bloated bureaucracy came in the form of what was required in order to qualify for government grants for infrastructure projects: Shortly after taking office, the president signed an executive order mandating that the beneficiaries of 40 percent of all federal climate and environmental programs should come from "underserved communities." The order also established the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, which monitors agencies such as the Department of...

A powerful figure has emerged in the Muslim world, and his newly founded religion is gaining followers worldwide. Shockingly, on Easter Sunday, his followers declared him to be the new pope, and the next day, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had passed away. Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq, commonly known as Abdullah Hashem, was born in 1983 in Indiana to an Egyptian father and an American mother. He is an Egyptian-American and the founder of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL), not to be confused with the Ahmadiyya community discriminated against in Pakistan. He claims to be the...

Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham was on the receiving end of some brutal treatment by the Washington Mystics in the first preseason game of her WNBA season. The Fever played without star Caitlin Clark, who was absent due to a minor injury that was described as 'a little tightness' in her left leg. So it was Cunningham that led the way for Indiana. However, she didn't do so without a bit of bruising. In the second quarter, Cunningham was fighting for a rebound with Mystics rookie Kiki Iriafen. Iriafen had her arm wrapped around Cunningham's torso and then flung her...

A Wisconsin woman who disappeared more than 60 years ago has been found alive by authorities. Audrey Backeberg left her Reedsburg home in July 1962 when she was 20 years old, a press release from the Sauk County Sheriff's Office said. During a review of cold cases earlier this year, a detective reassessed the initial evidence and re-interviewed several witnesses, Sheriff Chip Meister said in the release. Law enforcement departments across the country have been reviewing cold cases with the aid of new DNA technology, including the self-submit websites such as Ancestry.com. As such sites have expanded, so have the...

Indiana’s state treasurer repeatedly stood against big banks canceling accounts and releasing customer data of Christians and conservatives for viewpoint discrimination. A pending must-pass bill in Indiana’s Republican-run legislature would strip some of Treasurer Daniel Elliott’s powers and could give them to those same banks.... Elliott has been a key partner of a nationwide coalition of conservative financial elected officials, the State Financial Officers Foundation. As part of that coalition, he and some 25 other Republican state financial officers have fought financial discrimination against Christians and conservatives, ESG, and DEI.... In a 2024 Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) press conference, Elliott...

According to Indiana State Police, Warrick County Dispatch received a call about a reckless driver on State Road 62. A Chandler police officer tried to stop the car, but the driver kept going. Troopers said the vehicle eventually stopped after crashing into a ditch in Chandler, Indiana. Devillez, who was wearing a motorcycle helmet, exited her vehicle and started waving a sword at an officer. Indiana State Police said the officer shot Devillez at least once. Devillez then got inside the officer’s patrol vehicle and drove towards Boonville, Indiana. Police lost contact with the police cruiser until a Rockport Police...