Free Republic

Read a smattering of national and even international news headlines and you can see it: San Francisco has an image problem. It’s not just conservative media slamming the city. The New York Times, the Economist, even British-based publications like the Independent and Sunday Times have run recent stories on the state of San Francisco, ranging from its highly visible housing issues to its shoplifting problems. “Why San Francisco’s city government is so dysfunctional,” reads a headline from the Economist. “Crime is basically legal in San Francisco,” says another headline from the Daily Mail. The New York Times, meanwhile, just ran...

Actor Michael K. Williams died of acute drug intoxication in what New York City’s medical examiner said Friday was an accidental death. Williams, known for playing Omar Little on “The Wire” and an Emmy Award nominee this year, had fentanyl, parafluorofentanyl, heroin and cocaine in his system when he died Sept. 6 in Brooklyn. Williams, 54, was found dead by family members in his penthouse apartment. Police said at the time that they suspected a drug overdose. The city’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner said it would not comment further. A message seeking comment was left with Williams’ representative. Williams...

“The Wire’’ actor Michael K. Williams was found dead of a suspected drug overdose in his Brooklyn penthouse Monday afternoon, law-enforcement sources told The Post. Drug paraphernalia was found in the five-time Emmy nominee’s apartment, suggesting the acclaimed 54-year-old actor may have fatally OD’d, possibly from heroin or fentanyl, sources said.

The BBC's diversity chief has claimed Idris Elba's TV detective Luther 'isn't black enough to be real' because 'he doesn't have any black friends and doesn't eat any Caribbean food'. Miranda Wayland said the hit crime drama, which won plaudits for having a strong, black lead character, was only superficially diverse and that corporation bosses are now looking to portray minority groups in a more convincing and rounded way. Elba, who first made his name across the Atlantic starring as Stringer Bell in The Wire, cemented his status as a worldwide star by picking up a Golden Globe, among other...

Baltimore Police Sunday morning reported four separate incidents from overnight including the killing of a 65-year-old man and three shootings that left two teenage boys and an 18-year-old woman injured. The 65-year-old man was found suffering from stab wounds in the 300 block of West Saratoga Street around 1:21 a.m. before he was transported to Shock Trauma where he later died, police said. Police did not name the victim Sunday morning. Authorities said he was attacked by two men, but did not provide a thorough description of the suspects.

As the protests condemning the tragic death of George Floyd continue and the opportunistic riots rage on, the media has turned against the entire concept of the police with a vengeance. As such, several media outlets have decided to attack a staple of the American television landscape – police procedurals. With recent unjust demonization of the police as a whole becoming a popular political stance from the woke crowd, their positive portrayal on television has come under fire. Some have argued that the issue with this sub-genre of shows is their focus on the perspectives of their police protagonists at...

David Simon, creator of the HBO crime series “The Wire,” accidentally proved that President Trump’s tweets about West Baltimore being dangerous were correct when he said Trump would “wet himself” if he “actually visited West Baltimore for five minutes.” Like other liberals suffering from pathological Trump Derangement Syndrome, Simon accidentally dunked on himself yesterday while trying to dunk on Trump.

Harvard students will be able to watch the “The Wire” for class credit next year. At a panel last night, stars of the HBO hit series joined Harvard professors in discussing the applications of the show—which depicts the struggles of urban life in Baltimore—in understanding and combating real urban social issues. “‘The Wire’ has done more to enhance our understanding of the systemic urban inequality that constrains the lives of the poor than any published study” Sociology Professor William J. Wilson said. African American studies chair Professor Evelyn B. Higginbotham said that there would be a new course in which...