Free Republic

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Washington on Wednesday for what will in all likelihood be her last official visit to the US before her almost 16-year term in office ends after the September federal election. Although the Merkel era is coming to an end, the trip is being seen as marking a new beginning in German-US relations following the tensions between Berlin and Washington under the administration of Donald Trump. However, although new US President Joe Biden has vowed to steer his country away from the far more unilateral "America First" course of his predecessor, he and Merkel will...

Democrats taunted House Republicans with a “Na Na Na Na” chant after the latter passed the revised American Health Care Act (AHCA). The “Goodbye” in the chant was to be taken as a warning that passing an Obamacare repeal package will force the Republicans to lose their majority in the House. House Republicans narrowly passed their revised American Health Care Act after moderate Republicans fretted about how well the bill will protect patients with pre-existing conditions.

A Mexican teen who swiped an anti-immigration sign from a Southampton protester got more than he bargained for when he was busted - he'll now be deported....Joel Martines, 18, is accused of grabbing a sign from an anti-illegal immigration protester, where immigrants gather to wait for work - and protesters regularly gather to oppose their presence. It turned out that Martines was wanted on an illegal-immigration warrant by ICE. After his arraignment on charges of fourth-degree theft and giving police a false identity, Martines was handed over to federal authorities.

Gov. Shwarzeneggar expected to make announcement on Tookie Williams Execution Clemency shortly according to Fox News.

AKRON, Ohio - A federal judge has ruled voting rights are not denied to those who cast ballots on systems that use punch cards. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge David D. Dowd Jr. upheld punch-card voting in the nation's first trial challenging that method of voting. The American Civil Liberties Union argued that punch-card machines are not uniform, are outdated in several counties and don't allow voters to correct mistakes. The ACLU also claimed that Ohio violated the voting rights of blacks, who live predominantly in punch-card counties. "All voters in a county, regardless of race, use the same voting...

Kerry: Bush Lets Groups Do 'Dirty Work' RON FOURNIER Associated Press BOSTON - John Kerry fought back Thursday against campaign allegations that he exaggerated his combat record in Vietnam, accusing President Bush of using a Republican front group "to do his dirty work" and challenging Bush to debate their wartime service records. "Well, if he wants to have a debate about our service in Vietnam, here is my answer: Bring it on," said the Democratic presidential candidate, reviving an old war and campaign slogan amid strong urging from party leaders for him to respond to two-week-old GOP assertions. As Kerry...

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<p>NEW YORK (AP) -- Hilary Rosen, the U.S. recording industry's head lobbyist who waged a high-profile battle against Napster and music piracy, is resigning at the end of the year.</p> <p>In a statement, Rosen cited personal reasons for leaving the Recording Industry Association of America, where she has served as chief executive since 1998.</p>

Scott Ritter said he doesn't want forgiveness. Speaking publicly for the first time about the sex charge he was arrested for in 2001, the former U.N. arms inspector and one of the leading critics of the Bush administration's plans to attack Iraq said he has been held accountable for breaking the law. And it would be a shame, he said Wednesday, that his arrest could derail his efforts to help prevent a war in the Middle East. "I think it's important to put a human face on this, to remind people that there are issues out there bigger than a...