Free Republic

CHICAGO—It’s the hottest scam going, one that everyone would be well-advised to keep in mind as they wander the streets of Chicago: fake charity solicitors and “homeless” people commandeer phones and transfer large sums of money to themselves using the victims’ electronic banking apps. We’ve told you about the scam and some people who’ve allegedly been caught running it, usually in tourist areas like the Mag Mile and Millennium Park or nightlife districts like Wrigleyville and the Gold Coast. Just yesterday morning, two men asked a couple for a donation near Crown Fountain at Millennium Park. The victims reluctantly agreed...

Progressive Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), a Squad member running a tight race for re-election in Missouri, is backing Vice President Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee. Bush was among the earliest left-wing voices in the House to embrace Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee after President Biden announced that he was suspending his campaign on Sunday. She is competing to hold on to her seat in the state’s first congressional district against moderate Democratic challenger Wesley Bell, who is St. Louis County’s prosecuting attorney. “In 2020, voters turned out to deliver Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White...

The Middle East Children's Alliance announced Tuesday the third annual Ride for Palestine, held in Madison on July 21. Beginning at 10:30 a.m., MECA said riders will assemble at the Tenney Park Pavilion on Madison's east side. Riders will then depart on an eight-mile, casually-paced ride at 11:00 a.m., using Madison bike paths. There will be a refreshment break at Olin Park. Riders will return to Tenney at around 12:15 p.m. MECA said there will be activities for guests of all ages at Tenney Park during and after the ride, including live music, poetry, bike decorating, kite making, and temporary...

Thousand of Donald Trump supporters descended on Grand Rapids, MI on Saturday for the first campaign rally of the former president since the failed assassination attempt one week ago in Butler, PA. Crowds of Trump loyalists started lining up in downtown early in the morning and by early afternoon, the line to get into the event spanned multiple city blocks as people came from all over Michigan and out of state to see the Republican presidential nominee speak. Security for the rally was intense outside the Van Andel Arena. Dump trucks blocked off streets around the venue while fencing had...

A thief in São Paulo, Brazil gets hit by a bus after snatching a phone from an elderly man

Madonna’s 18-year-old son David Banda says he’s “scavenging” for food after moving out of his mom’s multi-million dollar home.“I love it. I’m not on my own, I’ve got my girlfriend. But I love it,” Banda, who is dating 21-year-old model Maria Atuesta, said on recent session on Instagram Live. “It’s lovely to experience it being nine o’clock at night, me being hungry and realizing that I don’t have enough money to get food and scavenging. It’s fun to be young.” Banda is purportedly living in The Bronx and making his own money by teaching guitar.

The body of a New Jersey dad reported missing just before Father’s Day was recovered 100 miles from his home, New Jersey State Police said, but the mystery of what happened to him is still unsolved. Family members reported Isaac Bishop, 33, of Irvington, missing on June 11, authorities said. His body was found June 30 around 2:30 p.m. in a heavily wooded area near 13th Avenue in Weymouth Township, Atlantic County, a state police spokesman confirmed. The cause of death was not disclosed and his family is searching for answers. “From Our Family: Thank you so much to everyone...

BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. (AP) — Part of an ancient Michigan cave where “The Great Train Robbery” was filmed has collapsed under heavy rain. A wall of Bear Cave in Buchanan collapsed this week, Adam Morris, the property manager at a campground that operates near the cave, told MLive.com. The wall collapsed at night and was already closed to the public due to flooding, Morris said. He didn't clarify what night the collapse happened. The cave will remain closed pending an inspection, Morris said. It was unclear how soon the inspection might take place. Storms on July 9, 10 and 15...

Hunter Biden is desperately trying to throw out his criminal gun conviction charges and a separate tax evasion case by claiming the person prosecuting him was unlawfully appointed. The younger Biden's lawyers referenced a federal judge's decision Monday dismissing charges against Donald Trump for illegally holding onto classified documents after office. In that decision, Florida District Judge Aileen Cannon found the appointment of Jack Smith, the special counsel in the classified documents case, violated the Constitution because he was not authorized by Congress to pursue the charges. The legal maneuver comes after the Supreme Court's decision weeks ago to grant...

A drinking water warning has been issued for an area of Florida that includes former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club. The Town of Palm Beach shared an alert online Thursday warning residents, including Trump and others at Mar-a-Lago, that its water supply was having issues with cloudiness, or "turbidity." While noting that "turbidity does not cause health effects," residents were warned that infants, pregnant people, the elderly and those with "a severely compromised immune system" should avoid the water. "You may be at increased risk and should seek advice from your healthcare providers about drinking this water," the alert states.

Chilling video footage shows the moment a woman shot a seven-month-old infant in Philadelphia — heartlessly shouting “&*&* your baby!” as the child’s mother screamed in horror. The unidentified boy was sitting in a stroller in the northeast section of the city when the attacker opened fire on his parents — striking the tot in the leg Thursday evening, according to police who are searching for the suspect. The assailant is shown strolling past the mom and child then casually turning and firing at them from point-blank range, according to footage released by the Philadelphia Police Department.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) speaks during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol March 20, 2024 in Washington, DC. WASHINGTON (TND) — Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, reaffirmed her support Thursday for a bill that would remove Secret Service protection for former President Donald Trump. The congresswoman asserted her position on the legislation in response to state Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Waxahachie, who urged her to resign following Trump’s attempted assassination. The "Denying Infinite Security and Government Resources Allocated toward Convicted and Extremely Dishonorable, or 'DISGRACED,' Former Protectees Act" would remove Secret Service protection for people convicted...

Data from the United Nations shows that China has surpassed the US in the amount of daily dietary protein available to its population – an important indicator of a modern quality of life, and one that some commentators and politicians in the West thought would be impossible to achieve. According to the latest data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), China overtook the US in 2021, reaching a daily supply of 124.61 grams (4.39oz) of protein per capita. In the same year, Americans had access to 124.33 grams (4.38oz). For comparison, Japan’s daily protein supply per capita...

CHICAGO — A 14-year-old boy has been charged with 14 felonies in connection with a violent crime spree on Sunday, as well as an attempted hijacking in June. The boy was part of a group that carjacked and robbed four people in the 1900 block of West Irving Park around 5:40 a.m. Sunday, according to CPD. As CWBChicago reported that morning, a carjacker driving a white car pulled in front of the victim’s Mazda CX3 to block their path, and two gunmen got out, took the victims’ valuables, and then drove away with the Mazda. CPD said the victims were...

TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. (WSVN) — A Central Florida woman is on the road to recovery after surviving an alligator attack on the Fourth of July. Rachél Thompson said she went for a morning run and decided to take a dip in the river when danger struck. “I’m basically standing in shallow water and I look from the dark water, out of nowhere appear the ripples of a giant alligator head,” Thompson recounted. The gator lunged and bit down on Thompson’s leg. She started fighting for her life, punching the animal in the snout and trying to free herself. “The thought...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- An Illinois sheriff’s deputy charged with murder in the death of a Black woman shot her in the face during a tense moment over a pot of water in her home, authorities said Thursday. The details were in a court document filed in support of keeping former Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson in custody without bond. Sonya Massey was killed at her home in Springfield, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of Chicago, after deputies responded to her 911 call early July 6, State’s Attorney John Milhiser said. Prosecutors said Grayson “aggressively yelled” at Massey to put...

S​ummer has a reputation for prolific rainfall totals in a short amount of time, and because of that, it's when many states have recorded their most extreme 24-hour rainfall records. Records for 24-hour rainfall in the United States range from less than 6 inches to more than 4 feet. Those amounts for each state are shown in the map below, which uses data compiled by NOAA's Centers for Environmental Information. The record for Kansas is under review by the State Climate Extremes Committee since the previously posted biggest total of 13.53 inches was found to be

MILWAUKEE — Former President Donald Trump’s 17-year-old granddaughter Kai Madison Trump said Wednesday night she wanted Americans to know “the side of my grandpa that people don’t often see” in an unscheduled addition to the speaker’s lineup at the Republican National Convention. “To me, he’s just a normal grandpa. He gives us candy and soda when our parents aren’t looking, he always wants to know how we’re doing in school,” the Republican presidential nominee’s eldest of 10 grandchildren said in what her father, Donald Trump Jr., revealed was her first speech. “When I made the high honor roll, he printed...

Special counsel Jack Smith has formally appealed a federal judge’s dismissal of criminal charges against former President Trump over his alleged mishandling of classified information after finding the prosecutor was unlawfully appointed. Smith’s office filed a notice saying it would appeal Florida-based U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling tossing out the 40 charges Trump faced to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Trump-appointed judge on Monday ruled that Attorney General Merrick Garland did not have the authority to appoint a federal officer with the “kind of prosecutorial power wielded by Special Counsel Smith.” “The bottom line is this: The...

July 17 (UPI) -- It was a not-so-sweet, not-so-savory situation Wednesday morning on an Interstate 440 ramp in Raleigh, N.C., when an overturned truck spilled thousands of gallons of steak sauce. Police said the tractor-trailer overturned about 1:45 a.m. on the ramp from Wade Avenue to I-440 and lost its load of steak sauce and teriyaki marinade gallon bottles into the roadway. The driver was not injured, but the spilled cargo left a sticky mess that required several hours to clean up, officials said. Morning commute drivers were advised to find alternate routes while crews worked to clear the truck...