Free Republic

The Soberanes Fire — which continues to burn throughout California’s Monterey County — is officially the most expensive in the United States’ history, with costs topping $208.4 million, the Associated Press reports. California already sustains the highest annual wildfire costs of any state. And, as KPCC reports, this year’s fire season as a whole—which has included scorchers like the Blue Cut, Soberanes, and Sand Fires — could prove to be the most expensive for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) since 2000. The Soberanes Fire, which began on July 22nd after an illegal campfire, is only 71 percent contained, according to the...

A New Jersey man picked a fight with his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son, telling the defenseless toddler to put up his dukes before beating him to death. Zachary Tricoche, 24, of Pennsauken was arraigned Tuesday in Camden County Superior Court on murder charges after his pathetic attempt at a boxing match with little Jamil Baskerville Jr., who weighed a mere 29 pounds.Tricoche was then transferred to Camden County Jail, where he’s being held on $1 million cash bail. Just prior to the Saturday night attack, Tricoche had gotten into a heated argument with his girlfriend over food she had purchased that...

Hmmm. Reggie Love sent out this bizarre fundraising email Tuesday night. There have always been fringe rumors about a romantic relationship between Reggie and Barack. This email doesn’t help. Reggie even emphasizes his position as Barack’s “body man” in the email.

The European Union has slapped its biggest ever cartel fine, worth $3.24 billion and twice the previous record, on several of Europe’s top truck producers for colluding to keep prices artificially high at the expense of consumers. EU Antitrust Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said EU-based MAN, Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco and DAF “colluded on the pricing and on passing on the costs for meeting environmental standards to customers.” Germany’s Daimler received the biggest fine of €1 billion ($1.1 billion), followed by €752 million ($832 million) for DAF of the Netherlands, €670 million ($741 million) for Volvo/Renault and €494 million ($546 million) for...

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts over the years, while I’m not the handiest or craftiest guy, I do make an effort to expand my DIY skills when I can. One thing that often leaves me scratching my head is purchasing lumber whenever I take on a project that requires it. You’d think lumber would be simple; it’s just going and buying a piece of wood, right? But it’s surprisingly complex. There are so many choices that, even with a supply list in hand, I often find myself wandering the lumber section at the home improvement store for 20 minutes...

It’s been fodder for many a heated debate among men for centuries.What skills should every man know?A vast amount of ink and e-ink has been spilled on the subject. But why?Part of being a man is being competent and effective in the world. To do that, you’ve got to have skills. A man wants to know (or at least feel like he knows) that no matter what situation he’s placed in, he’ll be able to handle himself — to act rather than be acted upon. Hence our incessant drive to figure out what skills we’ll need to know in...

Have you ever met one of those families that just seem to have it all together? Maybe you knew such a family growing up and loved hanging out over at their house – there was such a great atmosphere there that you kind of felt like you were coming home whenever you stopped over. The parents were happy. The kids were all well-adjusted and generally did the right thing. Everyone in the family seemed to genuinely love, respect, and care about each other. They all truly enjoyed each other’s company and had a blast doing things together. Sure, they...

First Lady Michelle Obama hosted children from across the country to harvest the White House Kitchen Garden today -- and it was hard work.The first lady joined students in gathering nutritious items like kale, fennel and turnips from the garden, all to be prepared into a fresh meal minutes later. When she finished, she jokingly flexed her muscles. “Folks across the country are starting to do what we're doing here at the White House, and it's really helping a lot of kids eat better,” the first lady told the children. “You guys are champions in that effort.” The White House...

This is ridiculous! New York City now recognizes 31 forms of gender dysphoria.PDF file (363KB download) h/t to a New Jersey friend.

The U.S. Justice Department is putting the feelings of transgenders -- men who think they are women and women who think they are men -- above the privacy rights of the vast majority of people who don't contest the biological facts of who they actually are. "And what we must not do, what we must never do, is turn on our neighbors, our family members, our fellow Americans for something that they cannot control and deny what makes them human," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Monday. "[N]one of us can stand by when a state enters the business of...

SEATTLE - Police and firefighters spent much of Tuesday and Wednesday morning trying to coax down a man who climbed to the top of downtown Seattle's iconic 80-foot-tall Sequoia tree and has refused to come down. Crews brought a ladder truck to the scene, at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Stewart Street, after receiving reports of a man stuck in the upper branches of the tall tree, just after 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. The fire truck's ladder was extended to within a few feet of the man, then negotiators climbed up and tried to speak with him. So far he...

Thomas Dimassimo, 22, was arrested for disorderly conduct and inducing panic after rushing the stage at Donald Trump's rally in Ohio SaturdayBefore attending the rally, he tweeted about his plans to disrupt the eventHe helped lead an anti-racism protest in April 2015 studying as a junior at Wright State UniversityVideo at that protest shows him dragging America flag and stepping on it Last summer he participated in a counter-protest during a Confederate flag rally in Georgia alongside Black Lives Matter activistsDimassimo appeared in minor rolls on 'House of Payne' and 'Reno 911!' as a child and is in his fourth...

Detroit police released video this week of a brutal knockout attack during an attempted robbery.The suspects knocked an elderly man out during an attempted robbery. The second suspect hit the man after he fell unconscious to the ground.The suspects knocked an elderly man out during an attempted robbery. The second suspect hit the man after he fell unconscious to the ground. This was so brutal–" ideo from a surveillance camera in a Detroit liquor store shows the brutal attack of a 64-year-old man during an attempted robbery that happened last weekend. Police released the video Friday with the hope that...

An Indian may be the first known human being to have been killed by a meteorite hit. Authorities said that a small celestial body struck a southern college campus, killing a bus driver and injuring three others in an incident initially reported as a bomb. The "mysterious explosion" that took place on Saturday in Vellore, a city in the south Indian state of Tamil, has been confirmed as a meteorite impact by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

Transgenderism is the new faux protected class that liberals want to claim are oppressed. Thanks Caitlyn Jenner. But the entire movement has become a slippery slope of weird, barreling down into the nonsensical. It has giant dress up Barbies. Well I have a few opinions on the matter. Hopefully you were sitting down for that revelation. VIDEO AT LINK What about the wife and children he abandoned? Are they happy? Maybe sometimes there’s more to decision-making than what makes you happy. Sometimes you have to take responsibility for your actions, have compassion for others and do things you may not...

In its Men's Style section, The New York Times recently published a somewhat ridiculous, liberalism-infused article entitled "27 Ways to Be a Modern Man." While a few of the 27 ways made some sense, many of them were so soft-handed and weak that one wonders if the article was meant as a joke. Sadly, it appears that the writer was serious: When the modern man buys shoes for his spouse, he doesn’t have to ask her sister for the size. And he knows which brands run big or small. Does the modern man have a melon baller? What do you...

Officer Robert Busch also stated that Jim Ochse “became very hostile and began yelling in my face” when he first approached him for singing in front of a crowded restaurant. Busch also wrote in his report that Ochse remained defiant even after being slammed to the pavement, keeping “his arms so tense that I could not move them or get the handcuffs on the defendant.” As a result, he charged Ochse with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, according to The Morning Call. ***** A 61-year-old man happily singing a Beach Boys song in front of a crowded restaurant in Pennsylvania...

<p>WILLARD, Ohio – A man who became agitated about his next-door neighbor mowing her lawn at night shot her and then ran a push mower over her body, authorities said Friday.</p> <p>Linda Ciotto, 62, was shot in the face from close distance, Huron County Coroner Jeffrey Harwood said. Ciotto also had a severe wound to her left arm and hand that appeared to have been caused by a mower blade, Harwood said.</p>

An FDNY recruit is getting a third chance to pass the training academy after collecting top firefighter pay for a year in desk jobs, sources told The Post. Choeurlyne Doirin-Holder, 39 — one of four women among 320 current probies in training — failed midway through a Fire Academy class in 2013, and returned to her former job as an EMT. After entering another class in early 2014, she dropped out because of an injury. But the FDNY kept Doirin-Holder on payroll.

TV reporter has no idea that a man with a bag walks past her in the background... ties it to a rope and someone pulls it over the prison wall. More likely filled with drugs, booze, KFC and a cell phone to call a couple of hookers.