Free Republic

Ukraine’s recent successes have left some opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin's war emboldened to speak out against the Kremlin. One of Russia's most celebrated pop stars, Alla Pugachova has asked to be declared a foreign agent, in solidarity with her exiled husband Maxim Galkin. He was designated a foreign agent less than a week ago. In an online post, she said Putin's war in Ukraine was "killing soldiers for illusory aims", and turning Russia into a "global pariah". Is there a shift in Russian public opinion, given Moscow's recent military set-backs in its war on Ukraine?

Dan Herbert, a Chicago attorney who has represented a number of police officers involved in deadly use of force incidents, says the officer who shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo “absolutely had a reason to fire” if he believed the teen possessed a gun while turning toward him. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability – the city’s police oversight agency – on Thursday released body camera videos and other related materials two days after Adam’s family was shown footage of the March 29 shooting in Little Village. The footage shows an officer chasing Adam in an alley while shouting at...

Police in San Francisco arrested a 19-year-old Daly City man on suspicion of murder for a brazen attack last week on an 84-year-old man in the city’s Anza Vista neighborhood, officials said Sunday. San Francisco police arrested Antoine Watson on Saturday after serving a warrant at a home in Daly City. He was booked on suspicion of murder, elder abuse, and assault with a deadly weapon. The CCTV footage captured the shocking moment when 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee was mortally wounded in Daly City, San Francisco on Thursday. He died two days later at a hospital. His family said Vicha was...

Police have identified an armed protester who was shot and killed by a person who had driven into a crowd at a demonstration against police violence in the Texas capital. Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said Garrett Foster, 28, was shot and killed Saturday night as demonstrators marched through downtown Austin. Manley said a vehicle turned onto the block where protesters stood and honked its horn. Police declined to say why the driver was there at that time or whether his intent was nefarious. Witness Michael Capochiano told the Austin American-Statesman that the car speed through the protesters before it...

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow’s defense in court over her claim that One America News is “really, literally is paid Russian propaganda” is that statements she makes on her show should not be considered facts. Maddow is currently being sued by the right-wing network for $10 million over the claim. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/maddow-argues-statements-on-air-should-not-be-taken-as-fact-in-response-to-oan-lawsuit/

Is there reason to doubt climate change because some of the nation’s hottest days happened in 1898, as President-elect Donald Trump told the New York Times in an interview Tuesday? In an exchange with Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and staff about climate change on Tuesday (Nov. 22), Trump said, “I have an open mind to it,” but later added, “You know the hottest day ever was in 1890-something, 98. You know, you can make lots of cases for different views.” However, it’s misleading to single out a weather event — such as a particularly hot day in 1898 — as evidence...