Free Republic

Mystery solved, but we still do not understand why it was a big secret in the first place. For nearly a week, the media and political worlds have been wondering who paid $140 million to purchase Nevada's largest daily newspaper, The Las Vegas Review-Journal. The primary buyer had taken great pains to remain anonymous, but Fortune has learned from multiple sources familiar with the situation that it is Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of casino operator Las Vegas Sands ... So while the big question has been answered, plenty more remain.

“Sadly, the America alliance with Israel has never been more im­periled than it is today,” the U.S. senator from Texas said, speaking before the spring meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition. ---- The gathering is known as the “Sheldon Adelson primary” because of the role he plays in boosting GOP candidates. In 2012, Adelson donated more than $100 million to Republican candidates, including Newt Gingrich before he dropped out of the White House race and Mitt Romney, the eventual GOP presidential nominee. Cruz appeared to excite the crowd more than the other speakers. He noted that he called for Secretary...

Writing at Instapundit, Elizabeth Price Foley says she’s never seen anything quite like this blistering editorial. I have to agree. It’s astounding. Based on documents released by the committee, on the day of the attack the Pentagon dispatched a drone with a video camera so everyone in Washington could see what was happening in real time. The drone documented no crowds protesting any video. But around 4 p.m. Washington received an email from the Benghazi mission saying it was under a military-style attack. The White House, the Pentagon, the State Department and the CIA were able to watch the live...

Las Vegas copyright infringement lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC’s financial problems grew Tuesday when the federal court in Las Vegas commanded the U.S. Marshals Service to seize more than $63,000 in Righthaven assets to satisfy a creditor’s judgment and costs. Lance Wilson, clerk of the court, signed a writ of execution requested by attorneys for Wayne Hoehn, who was sued for copyright infringement by Righthaven — but then defeated Righthaven in court when his case was dismissed this summer. Righthaven since March 2010 has filed 275 lawsuits against websites, bloggers and message board posters claiming they infringed on material from the...

The owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal has for the first time been hit with a counterclaim over its online copyright infringement lawsuit campaign, with attorneys for the Electronic Frontier Foundation accusing the newspaper of entering a "sham" relationship with the Review-Journal's copyright enforcement partner Righthaven LLC -- and accusing Righthaven of copyright fraud. Attorneys for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an influential Internet freedom of speech and privacy group based in San Francisco, filed the counterclaim Monday in federal court in Las Vegas against Review-Journal owner Stephens Media as well as Righthaven. Righthaven is a company owned by Las Vegas...

Operators of four more websites were hit Thursday with copyright infringement lawsuits alleging material from the Las Vegas Review-Journal was posted on the sites without authorization. The suits bring to 107 the number of copyright infringement lawsuits filed since March over online postings of Review-Journal stories. The suits are filed by Las Vegas company Righthaven LLC, which looks for online infringements of Review-Journal stories, obtains copyrights for those stories and then sues the alleged offenders. The latest suits, like the others, were filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. They each seek damages of $75,000 and forfeiture of the...

Four more website operators were hit with copyright infringement lawsuits Wednesday and Thursday alleging they copied and displayed Las Vegas Review-Journal stories without authorization. In one case filed in Las Vegas federal court, Righthaven LLC sued Portside Inc., a New York City nonprofit, and Portside official Barry Cohen, alleging that in February they posted on Portside's website a Review-Journal story about layoffs. Righthaven is a Las Vegas company that this year obtained copyrights to Review-Journal stories and has now sued 18 website operators claiming they infringed on those copyrights by posting -- without authorization -- R-J stories.

Politics: The senator who called the president a liar and never apologized may have worn out his welcome in his home state. Harry Reid may be riding the liberal agenda into political oblivion.In 2004, Republicans defeated Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle largely on the theme that he neglected his home state in favor of national party interests. The GOP is hoping that in 2010 lightning will strike a second time, and Nevada polls indicate it may be more than wishful thinking. In 1998, Reid beat John Ensign by a hair-thin 428 votes. Ensign would go on to win Nevada's other...

Yeah, I’m sure he joking. He just happened to joke about a paper going out of business shortly after an editorial by that paper’s publisher, Sherman Frederick, outlined why he left the Democrat Party, and rumors started that Frederick might throw his hat in to oppose Reid.

Whenever US Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) turns up in the middle of yet another mouthing-off controversy, the Radio Equalizer feels the need to bring Americans up to speed on Reid's Nevada record. For those of us who knew Reid when he was a relatively obscure senator from the Silver State, his careless leak during a television interview is especially ironic, considering our ugly past run-ins. How unpleasant? In 1998, Sen. Reid told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he was "very happy" I'd left the state. Think of it as a reverse-Welcome Wagon effect. In Nevada, Harry Reid has a...