Free Republic

“Judge Jeanine” isn’t holding court Saturday night. Fox News Channel replaced tonight’s broadcast of Jeanine Pirro’s weekly program with a repeat episode of its documentary series “Scandalous,” just days after the 21st Century Fox-owned cable-news network said it condemned remarks the outspoken host made about Minnesota Democrat Ihan Omar. The change in Fox News’s schedule was evident in an on-screen cable guide. But a Pirro broadcast had been placed in newspaper TV listings for this evening.

The case of a Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed an Australian woman in July has been handed over to prosecutors for possible charges, investigators and prosecutors announced Tuesday. Officer Mohamed Noor fatally shot Justine Damond, a 40-year-old life coach who was engaged to be married, on July 15 after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her home. Noor's partner, Officer Matthew Harrity, told investigators that he was startled by a loud noise right before Damond approached the driver's side window of their police SUV. Harrity, who was driving, said Noor then...

Women in Saudi Arabia have challenged one of the kingdom's social mores by forming a committee to lobby for the right to drive cars. At present, all women are banned from driving... But the issue arouses intense emotions ... Pious male Saudis argue that allowing women to drive would begin a general collapse of morality. Following a strict interpretation of Islam, Saudi Arabia enforces an almost total segregation of the sexes. If women drove, they would come into contact with petrol pump attendants. No longer reliant on male relatives to shuttle them around, they would be able to leave the...

Rowan Atkinson defended the right of comedians to poke fun at other people's religion last night as he joined the campaign against Government plans to create a new offence of incitement to religious hatred. The star of the BBC's Blackadder television series lined up with leading barristers, writers and politicians to oppose the proposed law. Ministers say the Bill will protect faith groups - particularly Muslims. Under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill, which will have its second reading in the Commons today, anyone judged to have stirred up religious hatred through threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour, would be...

Banking regulators say they have given permission for the first British-based Islamic bank to start operating. The Islamic Bank of Britain will for the first time give the country's two million Muslims access to banking in accordance with Islam. The bank's headquarters will be in Birmingham, home of one of Britain's biggest Muslim communities. The bank will forbid the paying or charging of interest, which is considered usury and banned under Islam. It has promised not to invest in companies associated with tobacco, alcohol or pornography. British banks have recently started offering products tailored for Muslims but they are all...