Free Republic

GARDEN CITY, Ind. (AP) -- Vice President Mike Pence turns nostalgic when he talks about growing up in small-town Columbus, Indiana, where his father helped build an empire of more than 200 gas stations that provided an upbringing on the "front row of the American dream." The collapse of Kiel Bros. Oil Co. in 2004 was widely publicized. Less known is that the state of Indiana — and, to a smaller extent, Kentucky and Illinois — are still on the hook for millions of dollars to clean up more than 85 contaminated sites across the three states, including underground tanks...

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The hottest show on Broadway has won praise for its groundbreaking casting of black and Latino performers, but now, “Hamilton” may have run afoul of the strict New York City Human Rights Law. As CBS2’s Tony Aiello reported, the controversy was sparked by a casting notice posted by the producers of “Hamilton,” which specifically seeks “non-white” performers. One critic said “Hamilton” takes a story that “valorizes dead white guys” and replaces it with black, Latino and multi-ethnic performers playing America’s founding fathers. But as the blockbuster musical looks to expand to other cities, the casting notice...

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence endorsed Ted Cruz Friday, just days before a primary that could make or break the Texas senator's chances of halting Donald Trump's march to the Republican presidential nomination. But Pence was quick to praise Trump, too, and encouraged Hoosier voters to "make up their own minds." "I'm not against anybody, but I will be voting for Ted Cruz in the Republican primary," Pence said in an interview with WIBC's Greg Garrison. He praised Cruz's "knowledge of the Constitution" and his willingness to "take on the leadership" of his own party.

(CNN)—Gov. Mike Pence pledged Tuesday to "fix" Indiana's controversial religious freedom law to clarify that it does not allow discrimination against gays and lesbians. But he insisted the problem isn't the law itself but how it's being perceived, saying a fix is needed only because of "frankly, the smear that's been leveled against this law." And he said the fix won't involve statewide anti-discrimination protections for LGBT Hoosiers. The first-term Republican governor sought to tamp down the backlash Indiana has faced since he signed the law -- which its in-state supporters had claimed would allow businesses to turn away LGBT...

Representative Mike Pense (R-IN) released an inspirational video message yesterday. “Let Your Voice Be Heard” urges all Americans to rise up in opposition to the Pelosi health care plan. (video below) “As President Ronald Reagan said: ‘Since the American founding, we have been a people with a government, not the other way around.’ Now comes the Pelosi plan for a government takeover of health care. It is a freight train of runaway spending, bloated bureaucracy, mandates and higher taxes. If the liberals in Washington have their way, they will forever change the relationship between the government and ‘we the people.’...