Free Republic

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Verona-based Epic Systems, alleging the company runs an illegal monopoly and blocks parents from accessing their children's medical records. Paxton's suit alleges that Epic uses its electronic health records (EHR) software to effectively control how and when that data can be accessed. Additionally, the suit alleges that Epic makes it nearly impossible for health care providers to switch EHR providers by imposing huge financial penalties for doing so. "Epic publicly admits it does not "own" those records," Paxton wrote. "But Epic has used its position as an EHR software database architect to insert...

Benjamin Erickson has been identified as the person authorities detained after the Brown University shooting at Providence, Rhode Island on December 13. (snip) Now, many social media handles have speculated about Erickson's political affiliation and whether he is MAGA and a Donald Trump supporter. To be sure, these are speculations from unverified profiles. Erickson's actual political leanings are not known since his details have not been publicly shared by authorities. He only remains a person of interest, and authorities have clarified that he is not in custody, merely in detention, as a person of interest in the case. Is Benjamin...

The person of interest taken into custody Sunday in connection to the deadly mass shooting at Brown University has been identified as Benjamin Erickson, law-enforcement sources told The Post. Erickson, 24, was nabbed at a local hotel room after a gunman opened fire at the Ivy League institution’s Providence, RI, campus during a final-exam study session Saturday. The shooter was armed with a handgun and fired more than 40 .9mm rounds during the chaos, law-enforcement officials said.

The man arrested in connection to the deadly shooting at Brown University drove from Wisconsin to Rhode Island with a laser-equipped firearm, according to law enforcement. Aged in his 20s, the unidentified gunman killed two Ivy League students and injured several more before FBI agents snared him at the Hampton Inn hotel in Coventry. Sources told CNN he drove from Wisconsin to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island - a journey which would have taken around 17 hours. The person of interest also had two guns in his possession at the hotel and one of them had laser sight, sources...

Madison Metro Transit is grappling with nearly a $6 million budget shortfall that has forced the city to more than double its transit subsidy and implement emergency spending restrictions. The transit system's initial 2025 budget called for a $18.4 million in planned spending. However, fare revenue fell short of projections while salary and benefit costs increased following a new contract with the union representing bus drivers. Operational costs also exceeded expectations. Jamie Acton, Metro's general manager announced a non-essential spending freeze Monday to address the financial crisis. "Effective, just on Monday, I put in a non-essential spending freeze. So non-essential...

The last time gasoline was this cheap, 4% inflation seemed alarming, JD Vance was still a private citizen and the United States had only just begun its messy withdrawal from Afghanistan. Gas prices dropped below an average of $3 a gallon in the United States on Tuesday for the first time in four-and-a-half years, according to AAA. The milestone represents a rare feel-good story in a years-long affordability crisis marked by high prices for necessities. The national average for regular gas dipped to $2.998 a gallon, compared with $3.001 on Monday. Pump prices are down about six cents in just...

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Wisconsin Republicans are circulating a bill that would require doctors prescribing at-home abortion pills to also give their patients catch kits, medical waste bags and instructions on how to return the medical waste afterwards. “Anytime we’re pushing back against the abortion industry, there’s gonna be pushback,” State Rep. Lindee Brill, R-Sheboygan Falls, one of the bill’s sponsors, said. Brill said she’s worried at-home abortion pills are contaminating Wisconsin’s waterways. The proposal is part of a nationwide push by Students for Life Action to promote the Clean Water for All Life Act, including in Wisconsin. “There’s two...

KENOSHA, Wis. -- Twenty people were arrested in Kenosha and Illinois as part of a human trafficking investigation. Federal teams from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI staged portions of the operation at the Kenosha Public Safety Building. The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office and the Kenosha Police Department were not asked to assist with the investigative or enforcement phases of this operation. Local participation was not required due to the sensitive nature and scope of the federal investigation. The sheriff's office denied claims of large law-enforcement presences at local establishments. ICE was not involved in the original...

One of the “Slender Man stabbers” — who viciously ambushed and hacked a classmate when she was 12 years old in an effort to please a made-up internet boogeyman — has vanished, and cops are now hunting her. Morgan Geyser, 23, cut off her ankle monitor and escaped from the group home where she was living — and she’s currently on the run, according to cops in Madison, Wisconsin. “Her whereabouts are unknown as of Sunday morning,” police said. Geyser, along with her friend Anissa Weier, lured a fellow sixth-grade girl into a Waukesha, Wisconsin park in 2014 and stabbed...

The act’s supporters said it would achieve the long-sought goal of universal health insurance while preserving the high quality and freedom of choice that are the hallmarks of America’s health care system. Peter Ferrara says the act’s supporters are wrong. “Obamacare,” he writes in the conclusion to this Heartland Policy Study, “is a disaster. Rather than liberate the American health care system from bureaucracy and waste, it blankets it with more of both, suffocating innovation and destroying freedom. The result is a system that is inconsistent with the freedom, prosperity, high living standards, and traditions of the American people.” Ferrara...

An immigrant who was arrested after a Milwaukee judge allegedly helped him dodge federal agents has been deported. Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, pleaded guilty in September to illegally reentering the United States after he reached a deal with prosecutors. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security tweeted Friday afternoon that he has now been deported. The tweet did not say whether he was transported back to his native Mexico or some other destination. The Associated Press sent an email message to his attorney, Martin Pruhs, seeking more details but he did not immediately respond. Flores-Ruiz is at the center of a case...

Woodman's grocery stores have implemented new cash handling policies in response to a nationwide penny shortage, joining other regional retailers adapting to the end of U.S. penny production. The employee-owned grocery chain began rounding all cash transactions to the nearest nickel on Monday. Purchases ending in 1¢, 2¢, 6¢, or 7¢ are rounded down, while totals ending in 3¢, 4¢, 8¢, or 9¢ are rounded up. A more significant change takes effect Dec. 8, when Woodman's self-checkout registers will no longer accept cash payments. The self-service stations will only process card payments, including debit and credit cards, Discover, Mobile Pay,...

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — The ongoing government shutdown is creating challenges for healthcare providers across the country as they enter flu season without access to updated federal disease tracking data. CDC dashboards that normally help healthcare providers prepare for illness spikes have not been updated for weeks due to the shutdown, forcing doctors to adjust their approach to patient care and illness prevention. Dr. Aaron Olson, medical director of La Crosse Area Neighborhood Family Clinics, said the missing data affects how his practice prepares for seasonal illness patterns. "Some of the ways we might use the CDC data is...

DODGEVILLE, Wis. — The Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program will close its nine preschool Head Start classrooms on Monday as the federal government shutdown stretches into its fourth week. The closure affects 145 preschool-aged children in Iowa, Lafayette, Grant, Green and Richland counties. The Head Start program serves low-income families by providing access to childcare and food services. SWCAP will lose $3 million in federal funding when the grant supporting the program is not renewed Nov. 1, due to the shutdown. Without a federal budget, the government cannot fund the grant. "I was one of these kids, as a kid....

Forty-two million Americans are days away from losing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, including more than 1.1 million people in Minnesota and Wisconsin.The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Services recently notified states that if the government shutdown continues, “there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits.”More than 440,000 Minnesotans — roughly 8% of the population — use SNAP benefits.In Wisconsin, nearly 700,000 people — or 12% of the state’s population — rely on SNAP through the state’s FoodShare program.RELATED: Food shelves brace for expected lapse in SNAP benefitsOpen Cupboard Executive Director Jessica Francis...

<p>The FBI’s Washington Field Office requested the senior officials’ authorization before looking into “an apparent effort to obstruct Congress’ certification of the Electoral College” and “fraudulent certificates of electors’ votes were submitted to the Archivist of the United States, purporting to represent the actual elector votes from the states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin,” the files show.</p>

Federal agents launched a high-impact gang takedown in Wisconsin this morning, arresting 22 suspects and seizing a cache of drugs, guns, and vehicles in a coordinated strike dubbed “Operation Chalkline.” Backed by 14 SWAT teams and dozens of law enforcement partners, the FBI Milwaukee-led operation targeted violent criminal networks operating in Milwaukee and Racine, Wisconsin. FBI officials released information on Wednesday about a multi-agency takedown of cartel-connected gangs operating in Wisconsin. The coordinated action led to the arrest of 22 people on federal charges. Agents and other law enforcement officials executed 24 federal search warrants, leading to the seizure of...

The Democrats have named their price to end the government shutdown — an additional $350 billion for health care over the next decade. Critics say a big chunk of that money may go to ghosts. At issue are the generous subsidies the Biden administration created for Affordable Care Act policies, sweeteners that are slated to expire in December. Making health care essentially free for millions of Americans, those policies have sent enrollment in Obamacare plans skyrocketing. But a recent study found they have also sparked a curious phenomenon: an estimated 12 million enrollees “without a single claim — no doctor...

MADISON, Wis. -- Madison police said an estimated 15,000 people attended Saturday's "No Kings" protest downtown. The group gathered at McPike Park at around 2 p.m. then marched up East Washington Ave. to the Wisconsin State Capitol. Police said the march was briefly rerouted after a K9 indicated the possible presence of explosives in a vehicle on West Washington Ave. near the Capitol. The vehicle was investigated and no explosives were found. There were no reported arrests as of 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Cyndi Greening has a distinct memory of when Donald Trump won the presidency last November. It’s from her living room floor. The former college professor from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, said she cried there for days until her 37-year-old son interjected: “Get up and do something. What’s the matter with you?” That’s when the Chippewa Valley Indivisible group was created. At the first meeting in January, 28 people showed up. At the next, it was 68. It then grew to 124. Today, membership is nearing 1,900. On Saturday, they’ll be among the millions of people marching in nationwide “No Kings” protests,...