Free Republic

An attorney in Washington state promised "miracles" to tens of thousands of immigrants seeking legal status in the United States. Instead, Alexandra Lozano created fake stories of domestic abuse and human trafficking to apply for humanitarian visas without her clients' knowledge, according to several lawsuits and a legal ethics investigation. They say she preyed on immigrants' desperation to drain their bank accounts while leaving them at risk of deportation. She is accused of hiring workers who didn't have proper legal credentials and building an assembly-line system to rush through applications, even copying clients' signatures onto documents they never saw. "I...

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FIFA has confirmed that rainbow flags will be permitted inside Lumen Field when Iran face Egypt in Seattle's designated "Pride Match" on Friday, dismissing lobbying efforts from both Muslim-majority nations. The world governing body stated that the 2026 World Cup is "an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds," adding that "fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events."

Local moratoriums spring up after state inaction, while New Mexico and Utah fight “hyperscale” data polluters .... Local governments in Colorado are moving quickly to slap moratoriums on new data center development in reaction to a public backlash against rising electricity prices, heavy pollution and lucrative tax breaks. Denver, Jefferson County and Longmont have all moved in recent weeks to limit data centers, which house servers for mass computation that demand enormous amounts of electricity and cooling water. Cities and counties are moving in part because the state legislature failed to act in 2026, eventually letting two competing bills die...

* Iran and Egypt have both criticised the branding of their World Cup group-stage meeting as a "Pride Match" * Egyptian football officials formally lodged objections with FIFA over LGBTQ+ themed activities surrounding the fixture * The June 26 match in Seattle was designated by local organisers as part of Pride Month celebrations Iran and Egypt have expressed opposition to branding of their upcoming World Cup meeting as a "Pride Match," with both football federations raising concerns ahead of the Group G fixture in Seattle. The two nations were drawn together for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after the tournament...

Beacon Hill homes burned as a fast-moving blaze raced through trees and into the Northwood neighborhood near Spokane Valley on Tuesday. The wildfire torched over 250 acres with no containment as strong winds continued to push it east during the afternoon. Spokane County Fire District 9 Chief Matthew Vinci said 12,000 residents were under evacuation orders and 2,300 structures were threatened. He did not have an estimate for how many buildings were lost. No injuries were reported. Malek Chreiki stood in the grass at the Pasadena Park Church of the Nazarene, watching the smoke plume from above the trees. “I...

A Washington high school wrestler and her mother have filed a federal lawsuit after Pierce County prosecutors declined to file charges against a transgender competitor accused of assaulting the student during a girls' wrestling match. The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, seeks damages and policy changes related to transgender participation in girls' sports, reporting of sexual assault allegations, and parental notification requirements. Defendants include the Puyallup School District, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), state education officials, and others, facing allegations that officials failed to respond appropriately after the reported assault. The complaint stems from a...

King County didn’t just lose residents. It lost billions of dollars in income. Newly analyzed IRS migration data shows more than 68,000 tax filers left King County in 2023, taking approximately $2.19 billion in adjusted gross income (AGI) with them, according to reporting by the Puget Sound Business Journal. The findings raise new questions about the long-term health of the region’s tax base as Seattle-area leaders continue expanding public spending while businesses, jobs, and higher-income residents increasingly look elsewhere. According to the Business Journal’s review of IRS county-to-county migration records, nearly one-third of departing King County tax filers relocated to...

A Washington school board director who owns a sex shop is helping host a sex education event for children as young as 9 years old, drawing scrutiny over the program's content and the role of an elected education official in promoting it. Jenn Mason, the owner of WinkWink Boutique, which describes itself as a "woman-owned, inclusive, ‘not creepy’" sex shop in Bellingham, WA, about half an hour from Seattle, is hosting an "Uncringe Academy" for 9- to 12-year-old children on June 24. The event will cover gender and sexual identities, puberty, periods, the "paths to parenthood: the many ways to...

Spokane, WA – On May 28, 2026, a jury of twelve people from across the Eastern District of Washington convicted Defendants Jac Archer, Justice Forral, and Bajun Mavalwalla II of violating federal law by conspiring to impede law enforcement officers or injure property used in the execution of their duties. After 8 days of trial and over a day of deliberations, the jury found Defendants guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, of the crime. Sentencing has not yet been set by United States District Judge Rebecca L. Pennell, who oversaw the trial. In the summer of 2025, a federal Grand Jury...

Justice Clarence Thomas delivered a scathing dissent Tuesday as the Supreme Court refused to let Florida sue California and Washington over their lawless practice of handing out commercial driver’s licenses to illegal aliens who cannot read English road signs. The Court denied Florida’s motion for leave to file a bill of complaint in the original jurisdiction case, leaving the state with “nowhere else to bring” its claims, Thomas wrote. He was joined by Justice Samuel Alito. This decision comes after the horrific August 12, 2025, crash on the Florida Turnpike. Illegal alien Harjinder Singh, an Indian national who entered the...

The Cheyenne Police Department says a man living under a bridge in a city park armed himself with a 5-foot stick, clubbed a police K-9, and took multiple swings at four officers in waist-deep water. The bizarre showdown unfolded Friday near Martin Luther King Jr. Park, where officers were dispatched after getting reports of a man believed to be experiencing some sort of “psychosis." Police say city compliance workers were trying to clean beneath the bridge, but the man refused to leave the area. He identified himself as Casey Donavin Ragnarok Lothrar Ott, wrote Cheyenne Police Officer Noah Rodgers in...

A chemical tank ruptured at a facility in Washington state, resulting in multiple critical injuries and an unknown number of fatalities, authorities said. The "hazardous materials incident" was reported Tuesday morning at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging, a pulp and paper mill in Longview, fire authorities said. A tank containing white liquor ruptured at approximately 7:15 a.m., according to a joint statement from local authorities and Nippon Dynawave Packaging. Authorities initially referred to the incident as a chemical explosion and then an implosion, before referring to it as a rupture.

Democrats will tell you crime is getting better in blue cities around the country. Does anyone actually believe that? Just ask residents of Los Angeles, where Mayor Karen Bass touts statistics showing that crime rates have lowered when, in reality, there’s been a home invasion wave, and street takeovers are as regular as the sunshine.Or you could ask the beleaguered residents of Seattle, where some residents feel forced to put up barricades to keep the perps out. They argued that they were getting no help from the police in the rainy leftist enclave where a Democratic socialist with virtually no...

SEATTLE — Following an increase in shootings around the Aurora Avenue corridor, homeowners and residents in the area have grown extremely frustrated and are calling upon city leaders to take immediate action. The most recent eruption of gunfire came on Saturday morning, when the Seattle Police Department (SPD) reported around 4 a.m. that around 40 shell casings were recovered near the Burgermaster at 101st Street and Aurora Avenue N. SPD is reported to be immediately implementing an increase in emphasis patrols within the Aurora Avenue corridor. On Saturday afternoon alone, KOMO News crews did note several SPD SUVs parked in...

Seattle’s official LGBT Commission is calling on socialist Mayor Katie Wilson to declare a formal “state of emergency” over what it calls a “trans relocation crisis,” and is demanding the city provide free housing and taxpayer-funded salaries for trans activist groups to support thousands of transgender-identifying individuals allegedly fleeing red states. The commission claims “tens of thousands” of “trans refugees” have fled to Seattle in order to escape “genocidal and vile legislation” passed in Republican states that restrict sex change procedures for minors. In an official statement, the advisory body demanded the city immediately step up with housing “run by...

Ifirst saw Seattle when I was a child. It was during the height of the hippie era, and I remember being struck by how clean Seattle was compared to San Francisco. My two or three subsequent trips to Seattle, all before 2012, didn’t change my mind. Now, though, Seattle has become a crazed left-wing bastion—but it turns out that even crazed left-wing bastions have their limits. In Seattle’s case, the problem is the massive number of migrants flooding the city. But don’t be fooled into thinking that these are the same third-world illegal aliens destroying cities across America. These aren’t...

US President Donald Trump has indicated that an agreement with China for 200 Boeing commercial aircraft could rise to 750, if the planemaker does a “good job”. President Trump was speaking to reporters on Air Force One as he left China following an official state visit to meet with President Xi in Beijing. The US president first announced that he had secured an order from China for 200 Boeing aircraft on May 14, 2026, but his latest comments went much further. Speaking on May 15, 2026, President Trump said: “We made a lot of great trade deals, including over 200...

A special education instructor placed on paid leave for allegedly abusing an autistic third-grader was elected president of the Seattle teachers’ union on Friday. Ibijoke Idowu-Holiday, a former Black Lives Matter organizer and special education teacher at Rising Star Elementary, won the election to lead the union representing 6,000 staffers in the Seattle Public Schools system. The educator rose to the top in spite of the disturbing accusations against her. Idowu-Holiday was accused of repeatedly abusing a disabled boy over the last school year by the student’s family, including one instance that was witnessed by his therapist. The child, who...

Federal authorities charged more than 25 alleged members and associates of Tren de Aragua (TdA), seizing more than 80 firearms, roughly 18 kilograms of drugs and more than $100,000 in cash as part of a sweeping crackdown on the violent transnational gang. President Donald Trump has helped unleash the full power of federal authorities by designating TdA a foreign terrorist organization last year. Now, more than 260 members and associates of TdA have been charged. "This FBI and our interagency partners continue to break violent gang networks all over America, and today’s massive takedown of 25 Tren de Aragua members...