Free Republic

BBC is reporting that an ex-Boeing employee known for raising concerns about the firm's production standards has been found dead in the United States — John Barnett had worked for Boeing for 32 years, until his retirement in 2017 — In the days before his death, he had been giving evidence in a whistleblower lawsuit against the company. According to BBC, Charleston County coroner said the 62-year-old had died from a "self-inflicted gunshot wound" on 9 March and police were investigating.

Chief Patrol Agent Lloyd Easterling called the decision 'unfortunate' and 'disheartening' Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says the Biden administration's border policies have 'unilaterally destroyed' the country on 'Special Report.' The school district in Spokane, Washington voted unanimously to ban U.S. Border Patrol agents from entering schools, saying that it could be traumatizing for immigrant students. The movement to bar U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) personnel from the classrooms came after members of Latinos En Spokane, an advocacy group that supports the Latino community, said that immigrants seeing Border Patrol agents in their school could be traumatizing. "They could be...

The trial is underway for a man accused in a 2021 quadruple murder in Tacoma. Maleke Pate is charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of Raymond Williams, Natasha Brincefield, Emery Iese, and Maria Nunez. The shooting victims were identified in court documents and by the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. "Nothing, honestly, is going to bring any closure because our loved ones were taken," Lauvale Iese told KOMO News. Iese lost his wife, son and brother-in-law in the October 2021 shooting. It was an emotional day of opening remarks in a Pierce County courtroom Tuesday that...

SEATTLE — The suspect accused of hitting and killing a Washington State Patrol (WSP) trooper on I-5 in Marysville early Saturday morning is a citizen of Mexico living in the United States "unlawfully," according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The 32-year-old man, with a Lynnwood address, is being held on charges related to vehicular homicide. He "entered the U.S. at an unknown date and time, without admission or parole by an immigration officer, and was first encountered by (Enforcement and Removal Operations) Seattle Oct. 28, 2013, at the South Correctional Entity, Burien, WA, following his arrest for failure...

A city council meeting in Seattle became so unruly with far-left activists that councilmembers had to take several recesses and a handful of people wound up in handcuffs. On Tuesday, hundreds of activists, many of them wearing face masks, marched outside Seattle City Hall and flooded the chamber inside, demanding that local leaders allocate more resources toward immigrant housing rather than fund "racist" police equipment. The protestors included members of far-left groups such as Stop the Sweeps Seattle and Comunidad Sin Fronteras. "We need housing now!" they chanted in unison before one ringleader, believed to be Rosario Lopez Hernandez, rattled...

TUKWILA, Wash. — The victim of a random drive-by shooting on Interstate 5 in Tukwila suffered serious injuries after a bullet struck his spinal cord. Evan Hershey was shot multiple times on southbound Interstate 5 in Tukwila on Monday, Feb. 19. According to Washington State Patrol (WSP) Trooper Rick Johnson, the victim was driving a 2015 Ford Mustang on southbound I-5 near I-405 when they were shot around 11 p.m. "We don’t know what to say, so we will do our best to share what we can," the Hershey family said. "Evan, our son, brother, and friend, needs our help."...

JBLM Army doctor was formally arraigned on Friday in what has been described as the largest sexual assault case of its type in military history. Michael Stockin said little during the brief arraignment at the Cascade Courthouse Complex as part of an Article 120 hearing. He stands accused of sexually assaulting at least four dozen men during his time as a pain management doctor at Madigan Army Hospital at JBLM. Stockin deferred entering a plea during his first court appearance Friday, which is allowed in military court. A charging sheet obtained by KOMO News claims that Stockin abused the soldiers...

A Seattle area bar association is apologizing after publishing an article calling for a genocide of Jews in its newsletter. The King County Bar Association Board of Trustees apologized after printing an article from one of its members and former director, Dua Abudiab, entitled From The River To The Sea, a phrase that calls for the destruction of Israel and the ethnic cleansing of its residents. Abudiab’s antisemitic screed was printed on the front page of the King County Bar Bulletin above the fold. Abudiab equated claims of "white nationalism" occupying North America to justify Palestinian claims to Israel despite...

Joe Kent, a Republican 3rd Congressional District candidate, believes the Yelm and Rainier communities are a crucial factor in his second attempt running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. That’s why he visited Mr. Dougs in Yelm on Thursday, Feb. 8 for a meet and greet with approximately 50 supporters in attendance. Despite only a portion of southern Thurston County being represented in the 3rd District, Kent said the region is “key” to his candidacy. “Yelm and Rainier and this little sliver of Thurston County is very important because it’s a very conservative district. We did very...

The owner asked to remain anonymous for fear of being targeted by activists ... A Seattle, Washington restaurant owner .. has lost faith in city leadership after his business suffered what he claims is its 23rd break-in since the "defund the police" movement started three years ago. "I have lost all faith in the city of Seattle, SPD, Council members, and state elected officials ... The owner of the establishment asked to remain anonymous over fear that activists would target him ... he was previously inundated with a slew of negative Yelp reviews after speaking out against the crime crisis...

Students in a Seattle English class were told that their love of reading and writing is a characteristic of “white supremacy,” in the latest Seattle Public Schools high school controversy. The lesson plan has one local father speaking out, calling it “educational malpractice.”Lincoln High School in Seattle teachings on white supremacy leads to controversy. (School photo courtesy of the school district website; quiz images provided by a parent in the school district)As part of the Black Lives Matter at School Week, World Literature and Composition students at Lincoln High School were given a handout with definitions of the “9 characteristics...

House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) announced he will not be seeking a fourth term in Congress. This decision follows his prominent role in leading the impeachment efforts against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Green released a powerful retirement statement criticizing the Washington elites and explaining his decision to retire from Congress. “At the start of the 118th Congress, I promised my constituents to pass legislation to secure our borders and to hold Secretary Mayorkas accountable. Today, with the House having passed H.R. 2 and Secretary Mayorkas impeached, it is time for me to return home....

Students in a Seattle English class were told that their love of reading and writing is a characteristic of “white supremacy,” in the latest Seattle Public Schools high school controversy. The lesson plan has one local father speaking out, calling it “educational malpractice.” As part of the Black Lives Matter at School Week, World Literature and Composition students at Lincoln High School were given a handout with definitions of the “9 characteristics of white supremacy,” according to the father of a student. Given the subject matter of the class, the father found it odd this particular lesson was brought up....

Progressives spent last year torturing home cooks by threatening gas stoves and dishwashers in pursuit of energy efficiency. Now the climate brigade is going after drivers. A new bill in Washington state would give regulators the ability to ban tires that create a drag on fuel efficiency. The proposal would give the state Department of Commerce authority to prevent the sale of replacement tires that the state says have too much “rolling resistance,” which decreases the fuel efficiency of the vehicles. Rolling resistance depends largely on the weight and depth of a tire tread, the grippy thick part that keeps...

A Seattle library worker suspected of sex-trafficking two girls aged 11 and 15 has been charged with one count of third-degree child rape, two counts of encouraging the commercial sexual abuse of a minor, as well as second-degree trafficking. Ezra Wimana, 25, was arrested following an investigation into a human trafficking case involving two Oregon minors, according to the Bellevue Police Department. According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked part-time in the Library Page fellowship in the King County Library System. "Wimana, who appeared before a judge on Wednesday, faces multiple charges, including two counts of Trafficking in the Second...

Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed one of the nation’s most restrictive gun laws in 2023, and now highway shootings are surging in the state. Over 50 models of guns are banned under the legislation, including popular rifles such as AR-15s and M-16s, and the Democratic Legislature wants to crack down further with several more gun control bills in the body. The state is now seeing a surge in highway shootings, with more than a dozen reported on state highways since the beginning of the year, according to KOMO News. There have been over 190 reported “shooting incidents” in the...

Washington GOP Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers on Thursday announced that she would not seek reelection in 2024, marking the latest such announcement for the GOP. McMorris Rodgers currently chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "It’s been the honor and privilege of my life to represent the people of Eastern Washington in Congress. They inspire me every day," she said in a statement. "They are part of the strength and soul of America — the greatest experiment in self-governance the world has ever known. After much prayer and reflection, I’ve decided the time has come to serve them in new...

SEATTLE — A new Seattle City ordinance designed to give food delivery app drivers a more livable wage is "backfiring," according to several drivers. You may have noticed that new $5 fee on Doordash and Uber Eats orders, but it is not just causing frustrated customers to delete their apps, as we reported. We are now learning the people the ordinance was designed to help are hurting. What used to be considered "hotspots" for workers on those apps, feel a little colder since Jan. 13, according to several drivers we heard from. That includes Gary Lardizabal, a longtime, app-based, food...

A new report is highlighting how federal COVID funds were used in Washington state to give $1,000 checks to illegal immigrants who were ineligible to receive federal economic impact payments during the pandemic due to their immigration status. The report, by the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC), points to money administered by the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF), which was created by the American Rescue Plan Act and was intended to help state and local governments with their response and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Washington state received $4.4 billion in funding overall from that program. The...

A new report is highlighting how federal COVID funds were used in Washington state to give $1,000 checks to illegal immigrants who were ineligible to receive federal economic impact payments during the pandemic due to their immigration status. The report, by the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC), points to money administered by the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF), which was created by the American Rescue Plan Act and was intended to help state and local governments with their response and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Washington state received $4.4 billion in funding overall from that program. The...