Free Republic

There’s a battle to shape the Democratic Party this fall, and two top Senate Democrats are taking different paths in their bids to put their mark on the process. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., endorsed Abdul El-Sayed in the duel for the Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan. It’s a break from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is backing Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich. The diverging endorsements are emblematic of the fight going on behind the scenes and publicly in the Democratic Party as the old guard fights to stand its ground, while a progressive surge threatens to completely overtake the...

There’s not a whole lot of information yet, but a corpse was found Saturday at a Boston-area property owned by Conan Harris, husband to Squad Member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA-7). The couple does not live in the house but rents it out to tenants.Here’s what we know:Police spokesperson James Moccia told CBS News Boston officers were called to 25 Malta Street in Boston's Mattapan neighborhood at 1:52 p.m. "for a report to investigate a person."When they arrived, they found the person deceased, Moccia said.Moccia did not have any further details and said the homicide unit is handling the investigation. A...

A company where the husband of Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., is a partner was selected for a nearly $2 billion deal to build a new courthouse in Springfield, Massachusetts — a decision now being challenged in court by rejected bidders who allege conflicts of interest tainted the process. Conan Harris, who has been married to the Massachusetts Democrat for more than a decade, is a partner with John Barros in CoJo Real Estate, which is part of the Liberty Junction team selected in early July for the 40-year courthouse lease, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs allege Barros’ role as...

Boston police are investigating the discovery Saturday of a dead body that was found at a property that is owned by the husband of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. Police spokesperson James Moccia told CBS News Boston officers were called to 25 Malta Street in Boston's Mattapan neighborhood at 1:52 p.m. "for a report to investigate a person." When they arrived, they found the person deceased, Moccia said. Moccia did not have any further details and said the homicide unit is handling the investigation. A Boston police cruiser was seen outside the home Saturday evening and it was sealed off...

After dedicating 15 years to shining a light on systemic racism and spreading the mission of racial justice in Franklin County, the grassroots organization Racial Justice Rising came to a close at the end of June. “It was a very difficult decision,” said Teegrey Iannuzzi, a co-founder of the organization. “It feels like a natural ending.” In the email announcing the closure, Iannuzzi wrote that the volunteer organization lacked the “people power” to continue. Over the phone, she explained that the group’s volunteer base started dwindling after the COVID-19 pandemic, when online opportunities for anti-racism work expanded. Although the murder...

WASHINGTON (VINnews) – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent disclosed publicly for the first time Thursday that he was the target of an alleged assassination plot just hours after being sworn into office. Speaking at a State Department ministerial on political terrorism, Bessent said he was the subject of an alleged assassination attempt “two hours after being sworn into my job,” adding that the case demonstrates that politically motivated violence remains a real threat. Federal prosecutors have charged Ryan Michael English, 24, of Massachusetts, in connection with the alleged plot. According to the Justice Department, English traveled to the U.S. Capitol on...

WILLIAMSBURG — A Burgy resident and his children are having a towering problem trying to sleep at night, saying the hourly, around-the-clock chimes that emanate from the Haydenville Congregational Church bell are disruptive for his family. “It’s really loud. In the daytime it doesn’t seem it because of all the noise, but at nighttime, laying in bed, it’s like jarring — jarring,” High Street resident Mike Ambs told the Select Board on Tuesday. He said he is a light sleeper and that his four children have also been awakened by the bell. Ambs is asking the board to direct the...

SPRING BROOK TWP. — In the wake of a fiery Schuylkill County crash that killed a Pennsylvania state trooper this month, U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.) reiterated his support for a proposed law aimed at preventing people in the country illegally from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses. Michael Bon, 33, of Brockton, Massachusetts, faces felony vehicular homicide and other charges after his tractor-trailer veered off Interstate 81 early on July 1 and caused the crash that killed Trooper Michael Pahira. Pahira, a 20-year state police veteran, was conducting a routine commercial inspection in Cass Twp. Bon, who was issued a CDL...

A truck driver with no legal right to be in the country, let alone behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler, killed Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael E. Pahira Jr. Wednesday morning while he was doing his job. Pahira, 44, had served with the Pennsylvania State Police since 2007, most recently as a motor carrier enforcement inspector. He was inspecting a semi-truck on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County when another truck ran off the road, slammed into his patrol car and the vehicle he was checking, then struck him directly. Both trucks erupted in flames. Pahira died at a local hospital a...

A photographer in Boston, Massachusetts, got a sneak peak of the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular drone show during a rehearsal on Friday, July 3. Boston-based photographer @betterfoodbetterphoto was on the Charles River Esplanade when he captured footage of drones making the shape of a man holding a musket. The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular took place on Saturday evening and saw a revolutionary-themed drone show during a performance of the 1812 Overture and a fireworks display choreographed to music by the orchestra. According to reports, Massachusetts State Police evacuated viewing areas around the Charles River Esplanade ahead of the show because...

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Plum Island homeowners recently received a notice from the Town of Newbury warning that it had "become aware of the use of devices and materials intended to deter" protected shorebirds from using local beach and dune systems. The letter listed "mylar streamers, flags, [and] reflective materials" as examples of such devices. The letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, goes on to caution that "activities intended to deter protected shorebirds from utilizing suitable habitat may be viewed as harassment or disruption of normal feeding, nesting, or migratory behavior," which is prohibited under the state and federal Endangered Species Acts, and "carry...

The bar staff at the Sam Adams brewery in Boston have seen busy weekends. They had not seen anything like the Tartan Army. Over four days in June, kilted Scotland supporters drank the place through seventy kegs of America’s most patriotic lager, sang until their voices frayed, and turned a craft brewery taproom into a slice of Glasgow with better weather. … The numbers from Boston read like a tall tale. Seventy kegs of Sam Adams emptied in four days at the brewery alone, never mind the bars across the city that filled with tartan from morning until well past...

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration in two key immigration cases on Thursday, drawing strong opposition from blue state Democrats and prompting a prominent House Republican to break ranks over concerns of a looming healthcare "crisis." In a 6-3 decision in Mullin v. Doe, the high court ruled that Haitian and Syrian nationals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) cannot turn to federal courts to postpone the revocation of their legal status while challenging the Trump administration's policies. In a separate ruling, the court also held that migrants turned away at the southern border before entering...

In the lead-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted primarily in the United States along with Mexico and Canada, there was widespread criticism from many European fans. Concern that the Trump administration's immigration policies would somehow impact fans' ability to enter the country. Complaints that the host stadiums, places like Los Angeles Stadium, Boston Stadium or Seattle Stadium would somehow prove unworthy of hosting World Cup matches. Those concerns and complaints have proven to be wildly unfounded. The atmosphere in Los Angeles for the U.S. Men's National Team opening match win over Paraguay was widely praised. To the point...

A nationwide welfare fraud crackdown reached Massachusetts this week, as federal authorities announced the arrests of 15 people — 11 of them illegal immigrants — accused of stealing more than $1.4 million in American taxpayer-funded benefits. The defendants are accused of fraudulently obtaining benefits through programs including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance, MassHealth, Social Security disability payments, housing assistance and unemployment benefits, according to the Department of Justice. "Alarmingly, 11 of the 15 charged defendants are suspected illegal aliens, some of whom assumed stolen identities to steal these taxpayer-funded benefits and avoid detection," Acting Assistant Attorney General Colin...

A federal judge in Massachusetts has ordered the Trump administration to restore all signs that were changed or removed at national parks across the country as part of President Donald Trump’s controversial directive last year. In a scathing 63-page ruling on Friday, Judge Angel Kelley wrote, “Under the guise of promoting American dignity, this Administration seeks to share a limited history by ordering the removal of all signs, displays, and interpretive exhibits at National Parks that do not align with its preferred narrative, thereby telling half-truths.” Kelley, an appointee of President Joe Biden, ordered that the restoration be complete by...

“The pitchfork was erected into the air, anchored into his head,” police said.A Fall River man is facing murder charges in connection with the deaths of two men Wednesday night, after victims were fatally beaten with cobblestones and one was found with a pitchfork impaled in the back of his head, authorities said. Vitor Francisco Gomes, 28, is charged with two counts of murder for the double homicide, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn announced in a press release. Shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday, police responded to 90 Aetna St. in Fall River after receiving reports of three shots fired....

The newly elected vice president of Massachusetts's top teachers' union is a longtime left-wing activist who has denounced the United States as a "fascist oligarchy," objected to national borders as a "construct of colonizers," and pushed resolutions condemning Israel as "genocidal." The Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA)—an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), the largest labor union in the United States—earlier this month elected Deb Gesualdo as its vice president. The new leadership team will take over from outgoing MTA president Max Page in July. Gesualdo, along with the MTA’s newly elected president, Matt Bach, is a member of Educators...

Reports of an explosion from people across New England on Saturday afternoon sent police agencies and others scrambling to understand what caused a double boom that shook buildings in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The American Meteor Society said that the booms people heard were actually caused by a meteor about 3 feet (nearly 1 meter) wide entering the atmosphere around the New Hampshire border with Massachusetts, north of Boston. NASA officials confirmed that the meteor was natural material, not a satellite or space debris, and that it entered the atmosphere at 2:06 p.m. American Meteor Society program monitor Robert Lunsford...