Free Republic

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...

Indiana University has faced criticism after abruptly firing Professor XiaoFeng Wang on the same day FBI agents executed search warrants at his home. The university also removed the couple’s online profiles, causing concern among academics regarding their due process. Federal authorities have confirmed the investigation is ongoing. Wang has brought approximately $23 million in federal grants to the university. However, Wang was barred from his office and denied access to university resources prior to his dismissal. Veracity IIR president Doug Kouns said, “He’s right there on the cutting edge of this kind of research as far as data privacy, cybersecurity...

Property taxes are due twice a year. You will receive a statement with upcoming due dates in April. Statements include two coupons, one for each due date, to be used when mailing a payment or when paying in person or at a bank. Current property tax due dates are: May 10, 2024 November 12, 2024 You may pay all your property taxes for the year on the first due date, or pay in two installments. View a list of your payment options.

General Motors (GM) plans to expand production at one of its plants in Indiana thanks to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign-made cars. On Wednesday evening, Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on all foreign-made cars to protect the nation’s auto industry from unfair trade competition. GM executives said they will be increasing production of light-duty trucks at the automaker’s Fort Wayne Assembly Plant in Indiana, according to an exclusive report by Reuters on Thursday.

A 64-year-old man in Indiana is likely to spend the remainder of his days behind bars for killing his own daughter, allegedly fatally stabbing her because he felt “humiliated” because she constantly left her children with him. Knox County Circuit Judge Monica Gilmore on Monday ordered Fritzner Antoine to serve 60 years in a state correctional facility for the horrific slaying of Sterline Antoine Joseph, authorities announced. According to a news release from the Knox County Prosecutor’s Office, officers with the Vincennes Police Department at about 7 a.m. on June 24, 2023, responded to a call regarding a possible stabbing...

A “shameless” Indiana Democrat is so anti-Elon Musk he’s pushing legislation to rein in the billionaire’s power, yet drives around in a Tesla leased with taxpayer dough, records show. Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind) has denounced the Tesla founder as untrustworthy and last month introduced a bill in direct response to Musk and the “shameful invasion of Americans’ privacy.” But Carson, 50, apparently has no qualms — at least until The Post inquired — about cruising around in one of Musk’s Teslas. The latest House disbursement records show Carson claimed almost $11,000 of public money last year to pay Tesla Finance...

Superior Judge James Joven of Marion County, Indiana, has issued a preliminary injunction against the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH), stopping the department from releasing its Termination of Pregnancy Reports (TPR). The ruling comes after abortionists Caitlin Bernard and Caroline Rouse filed a lawsuit in February to suspend the reports’ release. At that time, Joven issued an order temporarily blocking the state from releasing the TPR; Monday’s preliminary injunction extends that block. Historically, the TPRs have been used by Voices for Life, a pro-life organization in the state, to ensure that state laws are being followed surrounding abortion. Voices for...

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WISH) — Video from bodycams and surveillance cameras during a fatal shooting in December at a laundromat was released Thursday on the Lafayette Police Department’s YouTube page. The shooting was reported shortly before 7:40 p.m. Dec. 5 at Lafayette Laundry, 3100 South St. That’s in a strip mall a couple of blocks west of Sagamore Parkway. One of the three people shot, Keith Ford, 35, of Lafayette, died from multiple gunshot wounds in what the Tippecanoe County coroner called a homicide. The shooter, Louis McGlothlin, 73, of Lincoln, Nebraska, died at an Indianapolis hospital from a self-inflicted gunshot...