Free Republic

In a memo to the college community on Tuesday, President Audrey Bilger said she first learned of the incident through media reports and confirmed that an independent third-party investigator will conduct the review. According to a report by OregonLive, a federal affidavit revealed that investigators identified alumnus Robert Jacob Hoopes as a suspect accused of throwing a rock that struck a federal officer in the face. The incident occurred during a June 14 protest outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland. According to the affidavit, FBI investigators used facial recognition software along with images from OregonLive and...

Americans from out of state still would have to pay higher tuition price Anyone who has lived in Pennsylvania for at least 12 months “regardless of immigration status” would be eligible for in-state tuition under a new bill. Introduced by state Rep. Greg Scott, D-Conshohocken, House Bill 1762 would include illegal immigrants among those eligible for the lower cost tuition price at public colleges and universities, Campus Reform reports. Last week, the bill was referred to the House Education Committee for consideration. Scott described the current in-state tuition law as “exclusionary” in a co-sponsorship memo with state Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz,...

A teacher convicted of sexually abusing an underage boy was able to have a baby with his husband through a surrogate, potentially exploiting a loophole in state law. The issue recently came to light and sparked outrage after a video circulated online showing Brandon Riley-Mitchell, 39, and his husband holding their infant boy and blowing out candles on a series of cupcakes. Riley-Mitchell, a former chemistry teacher at Downingtown West High School in Pennsylvania, was convicted in 2016 of sexually abusing a student and possessing child pornography. He had a sexually inappropriate relationship with the 16-year-old student between May 2013...

A bronze statue of a man who lost his life during an attempted assassination of Donald Trump during a campaign rally in western Pennsylvania in July 2024 has been placed at the site. Corey Comperatore, 50, a volunteer firefighter and former chief, was shot and killed when Thomas M. Crooks, 20, opened fire during a Trump campaign rally in Butler July 13, 2024. Secret Service agents shot and killed Crooks less than 30 seconds after he opened fire. A statue of Comperatore was installed near the entrance to the 77th annual Butler Farm Show. The statue shows Comperatore wearing his...

Two Pennsylvania state troopers were shot on Thursday morning in northeastern Pennsylvania. The troopers were taken to a local hospital. Their conditions are not known. “Pennsylvania state police are investigating the incident that saw two state troopers shot while responding to a call in Northeastern Susquehanna County,” Fox 29 reported. “About an hour ago in Susquehanna County, two state troopers were shot. Lori and I are praying for those troopers,” Pennsylvania’s Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro said, according to the Associated Press. WATCH: VIDEO AT LINK................ DEVELOPING…

— Former Mayor Jim Kenney violated the City Charter when he signed a 2021 executive order replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day, a Commonwealth Court panel said Wednesday. In a unanimous decision, the seven appeals court judges found that by eliminating a city holiday and creating a new one, Kenney engaged in “lawmaking” that is reserved to City Council. “It therefore runs afoul of the separation of powers inherent in the Charter and, accordingly, is invalid,” Judge Patricia McCullough wrote in the opinion. The judges pointed out that federal holidays are established by Congress, and state holidays by the...

Several other states are also facing new scrutiny as the Trump administration refocuses election-law enforcement... The U.S. Department of Justice is asking Pennsylvania for a wide range of information on how it manages voter registration and voter rolls, as part of what it calls “nationwide efforts” to monitor compliance with a key federal voting statute. In a June 23 letter to Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, the department asked for 14 categories of information on the state’s voter registration activities, including how voters are added to and removed from the voter roll, and how the state prevents unauthorized...

A 4-year-old boy who was found dead in Lorton, Virginia, more than 50 years ago, and whose name has remained a mystery, has finally been identified after a flood of tips, a series of DNA tests and decades of twists and turns. Fairfax County police Chief Kevin Davis announced the breakthrough Monday, saying the child’s identification has led police to two people who are believed to have been involved in his killing, and another missing boy whose body has never been discovered. The case of the boy, identified as 4-year-old Carl Matthew Bryant, confounded police and the public for decades....

A pedestrian died after being struck by a vehicle Sunday night in Coraopolis. Police say it was a hit and run incident in the 800 block of 4th Avenue a few minutes before 8:30 p.m. The driver was arrested later in Ambridge and that person is also under an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer. This is the sixth time in the past year an undocumented migrant has been involved in a traffic accident that caused another person's death.

Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Thousands of frozen hot dogs spilled across Interstate-83 in Pennsylvania, closing the busy highway in both directions after a multi-vehicle collision. State police and four separate fire departments responded to the crash this week at an exit in Shrewsbury, Pa., the Shrewsbury Volunteer Fire Company confirmed on Facebook.

A Change.org petition is calling for Cheltenham High School in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, to remove Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from its Hall of Fame. The petition, which the Cheltenham High School Alumni Association started, says, "Benjamin Netanyahu's presence in Cheltenham's Hall of Fame sends the wrong message to current students — many of whom have spoken out against his continued recognition." "Netanyahu has been indicted on corruption charges and now faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Gaza," the petition reads. "These are not credentials that belong in a school hallway." Netanyahu...

A Philadelphia landlord is fighting to evict squatters who broke into her rental property and have been living there for over two months. Naydia Smith tells The Daily Wire that a couple with five young children broke into the house in April or May, at which point they began trashing the home. She was first made aware of the squatters in June, when her business partner Richard Watson’s parents received an anonymous call about the intruders. On June 7, Watson’s parents confronted and filmed a man in the house. The man — whose documents found in the house appear to...

Toby Atwood was a member of the Thiel College women's tennis team.. Toby Atwood, a rising senior at Thiel College and a member of the women’s tennis team, suddenly died over the weekend after collapsing during a half-marathon in Pennsylvania, school officials confirmed. The 21-year-old Pennsylvania native was participating in the Presque Isle Half Marathon in Erie on Sunday when she collapsed and died. Atwood’s cause of death was not immediately known. "Toby was entering her senior year at Thiel College and was an accomplished student, athlete, and leader throughout her time at the College. Her presence touched the lives...

Arno Michaelis, a reformed neo-Nazi, told guests at Chabad of the Main Line in Merion Station, Pa., on Tuesday night that he is “committed” to his support of the Jewish community and Israel.

Though she has claimed the DIGNITY Act is not amnesty legislation, her own words undercut that defense.Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., admitted in a recent interview that her DIGNITY Act could serve as a launchpad for eventually granting citizenship to hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals currently in the United States.The DIGNITY Act, according to a press release from Salazar’s office, “allows certain long-term undocumented immigrants to earn legal status, without amnesty or a path to citizenship” so that illegal aliens who broke the law can have an “opportunity.” The bill would create a “7-year earned legal status program allowing”...

Politician says his family member’s mafia ties allowed him to walk free. APennsylvania Democrat made a chilling confession during a Wednesday city council meeting that may invite a criminal investigation. The Erie City Council held its bi-monthly meeting earlier this week, during which council members addressed the recent death of Marchello Woodard, a man who was fatally shot. 'You know, Nick, I could blow your head off.' During the meeting, council President Mel Witherspoon (D) explained why he had not attended the man's funeral or the rally held in his honor, claiming that the events "brought some things back to...

Two Delaware County, Pennsylvania students are the recipients of $666 in scholarship money each courtesy of the local Satanic club, Satanic Delco. The award was part of Satanic Delco's "Outsider Achievement Award" program.

As more businesses go cashless, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) wants to make it illegal to refuse legal tender. Fetterman, along with Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), introduced the Payment Choice Act on Thursday. It would require businesses to accept cash without “It’s simple,” Fetterman said, “if you’re open for business in America, you should take U.S. dollar.” Under the proposed legislation, businesses must either accept cash or provide a device that converts cash to a prepaid card so long as it does not charge a fee. Businesses could refuse payments made with $50 bills or larger. Failure to comply would come...

---snip--- A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement that federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service, along with Enforcement and Removal Operations Officers, “conducted a federal court-authorized search” of the store. The spokesperson said agents took 14 people without legal status into ICE custody pending removal proceedings. Denisse Agurto, executive director of Unides Para Servir Norristown, said 17 people were detained in the raid, and as many as 23 were taken into custody.

I’m leaving Pittsburgh, on a flight to Denver, reflecting on the last 36 hours. The Energy and Innovation Summit has just concluded, where I was invited to sit on a panel and address a room full of big shots. When my mother learned I’d be attending an event with dozens of billionaires as well as the President of the United States, she asked me if I’d be wearing something appropriate. “I’ll be wearing a suit,” I said. “Good,” she said. “Do you have one that isn’t made of rubber?” “Yes, mom. I have several suits made from cotton and wool.”...