Free Republic

The iconic Sir Francis Drake hotel in San Francisco’s Union Square is reportedly mulling a name change, as the 16th century explorer’s name has been disappearing across the Bay Area. While Drake is best remembered for circumnavigating the globe and crushing the Spanish Armada, a lesser known part of his life is gaining attention. "There are estimates that he captured and traded between 1,200 and 1,400 slaves. There is nobody that says he was not involved in the slave trade," said Brandon Johnson, organizer of the activist group Change the Name. He said Drake also forced native people from their...

Dortmund – It’s hard to believe: The man (23) who is said to have raped a 13-year-old in Dortmund on Friday apparently struck a month before! On June 20, the Afghan is said to have raped an eleven-year-old in Dortmund. “It was a comparable event,” prosecutor Börge Klepping also confirmed the earlier act when asked by BILD. He did not want to give details, to protect the now twelve-year-old victim. The man was caught shortly after the crime, but was released on July 3 after only twelve days, subject to registration requirements. Reason: he was not considered to be a...

Two men were beaten to death and a woman was seriously injured late Thursday during an attack at a home in a gated Windermere community while a 10-year-old boy called authorities while hiding in a bathroom, police said.

Tadich Grill, the classic San Francisco restaurant that’s been serving fresh seafood, slabs of beef, and other stick-to-the-ribs fare since 1849, announced Monday that it will temporarily close this Friday. It won’t reopen until indoor dining is again allowed in San Francisco, it says — and with that date up in the air, diners should probably order Tadich’s beloved crab cakes, cioppino, and bread pudding while they can.

IRAN: 16-year-old Muslim girl thrown to her death from an 11th floor apartment by her uncle after she spoke out against his abuse JULY 28, 2020 BY BARENAKEDISLAM Fatemeh Ghozat, 16, was allegedly beaten and then murdered by her uncle Mojtaba Namdar after speaking out against his abuse on May 22nd. Daily Mail (h/t CHB) The victim’s mother is now speaking out after Ghozat was released on bail just two weeks after the incident, Iran International TV reported. Speaking to Iran International TV, Bariha Rahmani said: ‘He threw my girl out of the window in front of my eyes, and...

The state’s Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that while Oakland County had the right to seize Rafaeli’s house to satisfy the tax debt and "any interest, penalties, and fees," it was not entitled to the full value of the home that it sold. Defendants were required to return the surplus proceeds to plaintiffs, and defendants' failure to do so constituted a government taking under the Michigan Constitution entitling plaintiffs to just compensation," Justice Brian Zahra wrote in the 6-1 decision. Oakland County commissioners sent an angry letter last week to Treasurer Andrew Meisner after the Michigan Supreme Court rebuked...

Just weeks before schools must open across Florida, the numbers of new cases and hospitalizations due to Covid-19 have surged. On July 16, the state had a total of 23,170 children ages 17 and under who had tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Florida Department of Health. By Friday, that number jumped to 31,150. That's a 34% increase in new cases among children in eight days. And more children in Florida are requiring hospitalization. As of July 16, 246 children had been hospitalized with coronavirus. By July 24, that number had jumped to 303.

A Rwandan refugee could face up to 10 years in prison after admitting setting fire to Nantes cathedral. The 39-year-old man, who has solely been identified by his first name Emmanuel, worked as a volunteer security guard at the 15th-century Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paint which set alight last week. Three fires had been started at the site on July 18 and it took 104 firefighters to control the blaze which tore through the building and caused millions of pounds worth of damage. The Rwandan refugee was questioned for a second time yesterday by prosecutors and he was...

Two people wore swastika-emblazoned masks inside a Marshall, Minnesota, store Saturday as a form of political statement against Gov. Tim Walz's recent executive orders concerning COVID-19, including the latest order mandating masks. Other shoppers recorded the two on their cell phones as they checked out of the store and urged them to take the masks off because they were considered offensive. The two declined and attempted to justify wearing the Nazi masks as a form of protest for the recent executive orders which have shut portions of the state's economy down. The two were cited for trespassing, and Walmart told...

One man in London is taking his public mask wearing to his privates. Tim Shieff, a 32-year-old former “Ninja Warrior UK” contestant, startled Londoners when he took to Oxford Street wearing nothing but a face mask fashioned into a G-string that (barely) covered his privates, mocking a new law that has mandated mask-wearing in public. The Connecticut-born athlete is also a world champion freerunner and vegan YouTube sensation, according to the Daily Mail, and known for stunts like admitting to eating meat despite railing against eating animals.

He summarized that witnesses told APD a vehicle began honking its horn as it turned south onto Congress Avenue from 4th Street. He said the vehicle stopped “as there were a large number of people in the roadway.” Manley said that Foster, who was holding an AK47-type assault rifle, approached the driver side window of this car as others in the crowd began striking the car. “Gunshots were fired from inside the vehicle at Mr. Foster,” Manley said. “During the initial investigation of this incident, it appears Mr. Foster may have pointed his rifle at the driver of this vehicle...

Relentless heavy rains that began pummeling China last month is flooding more areas along the Yangtze River and causing anxiety further along the 2.3-km Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric power plant. Already, 40 million people have been uprooted. Now, the dam 300 km west of Wuhan is threatening to burst and flood the first city to be hammered by the novel coronavirus. More than 400 rivers have overflowed and authorities estimate the economic toll has already reached 64.4 billion yuan ($9.2 billion).

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) - A 61-year-old woman was taken into custody after allegedly speeding down Interstate 15, and failing to stop for law enforcement, believing they "were giving her the go-ahead to continue traveling." Louise Locke, 61, was arrested on charges of failing to stop or respond at the command of a police officer, a third-degree felony, and reckless driving, a misdemeanor, according to a probable cause affidavit. A Utah Highway Patrol trooper spotted a silver Ford Mustang traveling 121 mph southbound on Interstate 15 at approximately 7:07 p.m. The vehicle sped past several vehicles and was out of...

SILVER LAKE, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A tribute was held Sunday for Mely Corado, a Trader Joe's assistant manager who was killed in the crossfire of a police shootout in Silver Lake two years ago. Corado's family led a march from the Los Angeles Police Department's Northeast station to the Trader Joe's where the gunfight took place. Corado, 27, was struck by a police officer's bullet in the shootout on July 21, 2018. "This is a march is to keep the memory of Mely alive, to bring justice for Mely," said Albert Corado, Mely's father. "All we want is for...

A Kokomo woman whom officials say tortured and mutilated cats and dogs while filming the actions on social media was arrested Tuesday afternoon during a raid of her residence just outside Kokomo. Local and federal authorities spent several hours searching the home near the intersection of Malfalfa and Zartman roads on Tuesday, according to a media release from the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Indiana. Now, one of the home’s occupants, Krystal Cherika Scott, 19, faces felony charges related to animal cruelty. According to Chris Bavender, of the FBI’s Indianapolis office, Scott is in federal custody....

At least 14 people were killed Saturday in southern China because of seasonal rains and flooding. Three floodgates of the Three Gorges Dam that spans the Yangtze River were opened as the water level behind the massive dam rose more than 50 feet above flood level, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. The dam was holding back about 45 percent of the water, Xinhua said, citing China Three Gorges Corp. Upstream, 11 people had been killed in Chongqing as of Saturday morning, China National Emergency Broadcasting said in an online report, citing the municipal emergency agency. More than 20,000 people...

Scuffles erupted inside Taiwan’s legislative chamber on Friday as opposition lawmakers protested for the third day President Tsai Ing-wen’s nomination of her senior aide to a top government watchdog role. “Several KMT lawmakers on Friday knocked down voting booths inside the chamber to block DPP legislators from casting ballots over the nomination,” Reuters reports. South China Morning Post, KMT protesters are seen throwing water balloons at DPP legislators inside the chamber on Friday. Other rival lawmakers engaged in fistfights with each other as tensions escalated on the third consecutive day of protests. On Thursday, “an intense struggle ensued and at...

A fire has broken out at the cathedral in the French city of Nantes. More than 60 firefighters are currently at the Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul cathedral, according to local media. The cause of the fire is not yet known. Images from the scene show a substantial fire and smoke billowing from inside the gothic building.

CHICAGO – A large protest has erupted at the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park on Friday night. WGN has received many reports of officers being hit by fireworks and other items as they guarded the statue. The protest started near Buckingham Fountain and marched south.