Free Republic

A homeless man living in a Seattle tent allegedly attacked and strangled a tourist visiting the Space Needle with his family earlier this month. The tourist was visiting Seattle from Arizona with his family on June 2. On the way to the Space Needle, a homeless man from a nearby tent encampment allegedly began to harass the family. According to the police report, the homeless man punched one of the tourists from behind before trying to strangle him with a rope. The tourist was able to escape. But the homeless man caught up with him, running at “full force,” and...

An outbreak of gang violence has turned Los Angeles into the nation's murder capital and prompted LAPD officials to launch an all-out war Wednesday against street violence. Police Chief William Bratton ordered dozens of officers, backed by state and federal authorities, to hit the city's toughest streets after a war between rival gangs in South Central claimed eight lives in the last two weeks. With police supporters chanting "Stop the killing" outside the 77th Division headquarters, Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell vowed at a news conference to end the bloody rampage. "The message to all communities in Los Angeles is that...