Free Republic

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein wants to ensure his state allows killing babies in abortions regardless of what President Donald Trump may do. Stein has issued an executive order to bolster protections for abortion businesses. The executive order directs state agencies to refrain from cooperating with out-of-state investigations or prosecutions related to abortion – which would allow abortion facilities to break other states’ pro-life laws. That sets them up for legal safeguards from mailing dangerous abortion drugs that kill babies to people in pro-life states. The order also ensures that all data and information surrounding abortions remains private – which...

Fayetteville police have arrested and charged a man Thursday in connection with the death of 25-year-old Heather Williams, who was previously reported missing and endangered. Detectives have charged Tyrell Siermons, 30, of Fayetteville with first-degree murder. During a follow-up investigation into the missing person case, police were led to the woods near Newark Avenue and State Avenue, where they found Williams' body. Police began investigating Heather's death as a homicide.

Nearly four weeks since the start of the PowerSchool data breach began families, teachers and school districts remain in the dark about the scope of the breach compromising personal information uploaded on the platform.PowerSchool, a cloud-based platform that tens of thousands of schools use all over the country, has been the official student information system (SIS) since 2009 in South Carolina and 2013 in North Carolina.

A Salisbury man infamously known for a shooting at a Washington, D.C. pizza restaurant was identified as the man who was shot and killed by officers during a traffic stop earlier this month in Kannapolis. A Kannapolis Police officer patrolled North Cannon Boulevard around 10 p.m. on Jan. 4 when he recognized a GMC Yukon normally driven by someone he knew had an outstanding warrant for their arrest. The officer pulled over the Yukon and while talking to the driver, recognized the passenger in the front seat as Edgar Maddison Welch, 36, who had an outstanding warrant for felony probation...

Wokeness is clearly causing much of the military’s recruiting problems.. ... A venerable aphorism is “an army marches on its stomach.” An equally valuable observation is that amateurs talk tactics, but professionals talk logistics. A military that can’t get its troops where it they need to be on time, and that can’t provide them with the food, water, munitions and other gear they need to fight is going to lose. ... the former Ft Hood (now Ft Cavasos) in Texas soldiers weren't being fed. ... The base had only two of its 10 major dining options open every day ......

Los Angeles fire hydrants are OUT OF WATER because the county REFUSED to refill reservoirs, per Rick Caruso “You can’t fight a fire without water!” The Mayor did ZERO prep despite the advanced warning of winds and fire risk. This is EXACTLY what happened on Maui! ... This is not climate change, this is criminal negligence. ... Yet my notifications are full of leftists screeching about climate change. Ask them why you need a permit to clear highly-flammable brush out of your own backyard. ... The mayor is out of the country. She also cut la fire services by millions...

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has ruled to authorize Amish farmer Amos Miller to continue operating in the state after the FDA tried to shut him using their bogus "food safety laws." Almost exactly one year ago, they raided his farm and put him through hell. They desperately want to shut down independent local farmers like Amos because food independence is bad for tyrants. Congratulations to @barnes_law for crushing the bureaucracy in court.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) commuted death sentences for 15 inmates on his last day in office. On Tuesday Cooper announced that he has commuted the sentences of 15 people on death row in North Carolina to life without the possibility of parole after a thorough review of detailed petitions for clemency. “These reviews are among the most difficult decisions a Governor can make and the death penalty is the most severe sentence that the state can impose,” said Governor Cooper. “After thorough review, reflection, and prayer, I concluded that the death sentence imposed on these 15 people should...

A young North Carolina woman was doused in gasoline and set on fire by a sick suspect who then fled — leaving her heartbroken mother wondering, “How could they do this to my baby?” Ashanti Downey, 20, was rushed to the emergency room the night of Dec. 16 with second-and third-degree burns down the right side of her body, according to WRAL News in Raleigh-Durham. Staffers at Central Carolina Hospital in Sanford called the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office at about 7 p.m. to report the horrific act, which happened as Downey walked along Highway 27 toward a Dollar General in...

Greensboro, North Carolina, police officer Michael Horan was shot and killed Monday while confronting a man who had been reported with a firearm in a Food Lion grocer. ABC 11 reported that Horan arrived on scene, confronted the man, and “a brief struggle ensued.” During the struggle, the man pulled his firearm and shot Horan, killing him. The Duplin County Sheriff’s Office noted, “The suspect fled the scene and was taken into custody by law enforcement after a high speed chase that ended near the Duplin County.” Horan joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 2000 and became a police officer...

A United States Postal Service (USPS) supervisor was arrested Thursday after allegedly stealing more than 20 checks, totaling over $281,000. Joivian Tjuana Hayes, a worker at the Costa Mesa Post Office in California, allegedly stole numerous checks, including one for more than $114,000 and allegedly deposited them into her account, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Officials said the checks contained forged signatures and surveillance footage allegedly caught the 36-year-old depositing the checks at ATM machines scattered throughout the cities of Costa Mesa, Compton, and Fountain Valley. Hayes allegedly began depositing the checks in...

Police in San Francisco identified UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, and alerted the FBI four days before his high-profile arrest, a new report says. An officer tipped off the feds after recognizing the 26-year-old’s face in surveillance images put out by the NYPD after Thompson was gunned down last week, sources told the San Francisco Chronicle. Mangione’s face was known to cops in California because he’d been reported missing by his family just weeks earlier on Nov. 18, the sources added.

Former stripper and current murder convict Crystal Mangum confessed to lying about being raped by Duke Lacrosse players in an interview on the independent media outlet “Let’s Talk With Kat” on Thursday. “I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn’t and that was wrong, and I betrayed the trust of a lot of other people who believed in me,” Mangum said. “[I] made up a story that wasn’t true because I wanted validation from people and not from God.” Mangum, who is serving a prison sentence for murdering her boyfriend, falsely accused three Duke...

18 years after the Duke lacrosse allegations, Crystal Mangum admits that she testified falsely against them "I testified falsely against [the lacrosse players] by saying that they raped me when they didn't...I made up a story that wasn't true...I hope that they can forgive me." She was convicted of second-degree murder in 2013 for the stabbing death of her boyfriend, Reginald Daye, and sentenced to serve between 14 and 18 years

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A woman has been charged after a fight escalated into a shooting at McDonald’s, according to officials with the Greensboro Police Department. On Tuesday, around 8:30 p.m., police said they responded to McDonald’s, located at 3601 W. Gate City Blvd after reports of a shooting. When they arrived, officers found a 29-year-old who had been shot. Investigators said the shooting victim, identified as Aaquan Butler, tried to rob someone in the bathroom of the McDonald’s. This caused a struggle, which moved into the dining area, where Butler pulled a handgun and it went off. Officials said Butler...

Could North Carolina have a new U.S. Senator in 2026? Experts say it is possible as questions swirl around Senator Thom Tillis’ chances of winning re-election. New polls out this week show a close race in a potential Republican primary. A poll conducted by Florida-based firm Victory Insights showed Lara Trump, the current GOP Chair and President-elect’s daughter-in-law, as the strong favorite. Pollsters found that among surveyed Republican voters, 65 percent preferred Trump, while only 11 percent would back Tillis. Western Carolina Professor Chris Cooper said Tillis first fell out of favor among the GOP when the state party censured...

Senate GOP hawks who receive large sums from the defense industry could be mobilizing to tank one of President-elect Donald Trump’s national security nominees. Former Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, nominated by Trump to helm the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, could face opposition from Senate Republicans with hawkish views on national security over her beliefs on Ukraine and government surveillance powers. Though a considerable number of Trump-aligned senators have endorsed Gabbard, citing her decades-long military service and commitment to reforming the country’s intelligence agencies that have been frequently weaponized against the president-elect, GOP senators whose national security...

A Charlotte, North Carolina, woman claimed Wednesday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) refused to cover a minor window repair after Hurricane Helene, instead offering her a month-long stay at a costly hotel. Susan Lewis, 74, said the small window crack would cost $200 to fix, but said FEMA proposed placing her and three others in the Charlotte Marriott SouthPark hotel for a month — an option she said would cost the agency thousands of dollars, according to WSOC-TV. Lewis said she had to pay for the repair out of pocket because she had a $1,000 home insurance deductible....

The very close election for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat heads next to a hand recount even as election officials announced a machine recount of over 5.5 million ballots resulted in no margin change between the candidates. The statewide machine recount — in which ballots were run again through tabulators — that wrapped up this week showed Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs with a 734-vote lead over Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin, who is a Court of Appeals judge. Most county election boards reported minor vote changes from the machine recount requested by Griffin. But State Board of Elections data...

North Carolina residents, including families with small children, are sleeping in snow-surrounded tents as post-hurricane recovery remains slow and federal aid even slower. This week, up to six inches of snow were predicted for western North Carolina. For hurricane victims still living in tents, that’s yet another natural disaster. A Fox News reporter recently went down to the area affected by snowstorms in North Carolina to talk to some of the Americans living in tents. Meanwhile, the U.S. taxpayer funds hotel rooms, flights, and other freebies for illegal immigrants across the country, to the tune of millions of dollars. ......