Free Republic

Federal authorities are warning Missouri officials not to release an illegal immigrant accused of raping and kidnapping a woman in a quiet college town on Easter Sunday — the second violent crime in the state in just weeks involving a suspect in the country unlawfully. The Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that Cristian Lopez-Gomez, a Honduran national who entered the U.S. illegally in April 2024 and was released into the country under the Biden administration, is now charged in the attack in Kirksville, home to Truman State University. Authorities say Lopez-Gomez raped the woman and held her against her...

Approximately 1,350 union workers at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Missouri, are escalating their strike against Olin Winchester as they demand better wages and stronger contracts. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 778 have been on strike since April 4 after overwhelmingly rejecting a contract offer from company management. ... The IAM Local 778 negotiating committee met with company representatives earlier in the week. The company indicated it would provide future dates to continue discussions. The Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is a critical facility in the U.S. defense industrial base. Workers...

Martin-Chavez’s wife started to worry at a little past 7 in the morni. Chavez usually arrives home at 7:15 for breakfast after he drops off their children at Milan Elementary. But Chavez never returned home that day. The Guatemala native was one of three people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Feb. 24 in Milan, a town of about 1,800 people in north-central Missouri. As soon as her children’s passports come in, Chavez’s wife said, she will leave for Guatemala to reunite with her husband, who was deported there.

On Friday, Republican Congressman Sam Graves of Missouri became the 36th Republican -- and 57th House member -- to announce plans not to seek re-election, saying it was time to "pass the torch" to a new generation. In fact, more Republicans are retiring ahead of the midterms than at any point in nearly a century, according to an ABC News tally of retirement announcements and a review of historical data since 1930 compiled by the Brookings Institution. Heading for the exitsThat's a larger cohort than the 34 Republicans who did not run to keep their seats in 2018, when Republicans...

Senator Eric Schmitt outlined a proposal aimed at expanding the federal government’s authority to revoke citizenship from individuals convicted of certain serious crimes, arguing that current law makes denaturalization extremely difficult once someone has become a U.S. citizen.

CDC Update: Tularemia Outbreak in Prairie Dogs in Texas Tuesday, August 06, 2002 4:15 PM Eastern US http://www.videonewswire.com/CDC/080602/event.html?id=7237

A Somali driver caught barreling an “80-ton truck” the wrong way down a Missouri highway failed an English proficiency test — and wasn’t able to read road signs, authorities said. The trucker was filmed driving south in the northbound lanes on Highway 61 near Troy, about 55 miles outside of St. Louis, at 8 a.m. Wednesday before finally crossing over and heading the right way, terrifying video shared by US Transportation Security Sean Duffy on X shows. “We have learned that a truck driver with a Minnesota CDL who couldn’t read basic road signs spent MILES driving the wrong way...

Missouri lawmakers are advancing legislation designed to criminalize the creation and distribution of sexually explicit deepfake images on the Internet with specific care for victims under the age of 18. The bill, known as the ‘Swift Act’, is gaining renewed attention following the dissemination of fake, sexually explicit images of Taylor Swift in January 2024. Missouri remains one of only a handful of states without specific laws regarding the abuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Missouri Senate Bill 1117 would establish both civil and criminal penalties for anyone who creates or shares non-consensual intimate digital depictions without consent. The Senate Judiciary...

On Wednesday, aerospace giant Boeing announced it will return its Defense, Space & Security headquarters to St. Louis following almost a decade in Virginia. The move comes only weeks after radical Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) took office. Steve Parker, Boeing Defense, Space & Security CEO, said in a statement, “It’s important for leaders to be side-by-side with our teammates, listening to their feedback and acting to remove obstacles as we continue to stabilize and strengthen our business.”

O'FALLON, Mo. — A Florissant woman is questioning why her fiancé was detained by ICE following a routine traffic stop in St. Charles County. “I’ve never been this worried,” Victor Lopez de Lara’s fiancée said. “I’m devastated. I’m scared of what can happen.” According to his fiancée, Victor Lopez de Lara was driving to Troy, MO, to work when he was stopped by O’Fallon Police. “They said he had no front plate on his van,” Lopez de Lara’s fiancée said. “They asked for his driver’s license, but because he’s undocumented he had no driver’s license.” After being taken in on...

A beloved former Team USA skater was gunned down in a Missouri Starbucks drive-thru allegedly during an armed robbery by a maniac with a long rap sheet who was wanted for two similar shootings days earlier. Gabrielle “Sam” Linehan, 28, was inside her car at the coffee hotspot in St. Louis’ Tower Grove East neighborhood when Keith Lamon Brown allegedly held her at gunpoint before opening fire just after 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to a probable cause statement viewed by The Post. Brown, 58, was caught on surveillance video wearing a high-visibility vest and helmet when he walked up to...

A woman was seen trying to set fire to a South Kansas City warehouse on Thursday, the same site that had been proposed as a possible immigration detention center. Video from our crew shows the woman igniting window areas at the building and flames briefly flaring up. KMBC reporter Andy Alcock said he witnessed the woman throw what appeared to be a liquid onto the windows before the fire started. Grandview firefighters responded and put out the flames. No injuries were reported. The warehouse has been the focus of protests and public concern after reports surfaced that it could be...

LAWRENCE, Kan. (KCTV) - An unvetted DoorDash driver with a suspended license killed University of Kansas student Elsa McGrain, her parents’ lawsuit claims. ... The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says Elsa McGrain, 20, was jogging in Lawrence around 6 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2025, when Klingler struck her with his vehicle. Deputies found McGrain’s body around 3:35 a.m. the next day near the 1700 block of E. 1500 Rd. in North Lawrence. She was a pre-med student set to graduate in 2026. Investigators indicate that they found Klingler and the suspect vehicle on Nov. 10, less than a mile from...

William Palmer was found dead just before 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning after allegedly being shot by a woman he picked up on the side of the road during the cold of night. KMOV reported that Palmer was found near N 9th and Olive in downtown and pronounced dead. He had given 36-year-old Brittany Rivoire a ride and, at some point, she allegedly shot him. ...

Progressive 'Squad' member Rep. Cori Bush is continuing to dish out cash to her security guard husband despite a federal probe into her alleged misuse of campaign funds for security purposes. Her most recent Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing reveals her campaign paid her husband Cortney Merritts - who works as her personal security guard - $15,000 in the first quarter of 2024. That brings the total amount she has paid him to over $135,000. Bush has regularly paid Merritts $5,000 a month since January 2022, her filings indicate.

Missouri filed a sweeping federal lawsuit on Friday arguing the Census Bureau’s practice of counting illegal immigrants and visa holders is unconstitutional because it dilutes U.S. citizens’ votes and bolsters blue states' representation in Congress. The lawsuit, led by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, alleges that Missouri was robbed of one congressional seat after the 2020 census because the apportionment process, conducted every ten years, involves counting certain foreigners living in the United States. Missouri lawyers made an ambitious demand that the Census Bureau redo its population count from 2020 and exclude illegal immigrants and visa holders, and then recalculate...

Riverview Mayor Mike Cornell Jr. was arrested and charged Thursday, according to St. Louis County Police. St. Louis County Prosecutors charged the 39-year-old mayor with four counts of second-degree statutory sodomy, three counts of first-degree sodomy or attempted sodomy, one count of first-degree harassment and one count of possession of child pornography. St. Louis County Police said Thursday there were four victims, including two minors under the age of 17, and the timeframe these alleged crimes took place was between December 2016 and the present day. According to the St. Louis County Police’s probable cause statement, Cornell committed forcible sex...

Stop what you’re doing and watch this full exchange between Senator Josh Hawley and a “Dr.” Hawley asks over a DOZEN times if men can get pregnant and she CAN’T ANSWER. She blanks, then gives word salads and excuses for why she won’t answer. This is the star testimony for Democrats on abortion.Unbelievable.

The Missouri Supreme Court has upheld a state law banning gender-affirming care for minors.

Republicans on Capitol Hill who have championed the tech industry’s race to dominate artificial intelligence are confronting a growing political obstacle: voters angry over the soaring energy demands and utility costs tied to the data centers. The politics of data centers are still very much in flux, but GOP politicians may be particularly vulnerable to a voter backlash because of their pro-development views and President Donald Trump’s all-in support for AI — including blocking states from setting their own rules. Some are starting to seek distance from the White House. Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis floated new limits on data...