Free Republic

An American man who disappeared in Iran more than six years ago had been working for the CIA in what U.S. intelligence officials describe as a rogue operation that led to a major shake-up in the spy agency. Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent, traveled to the Iranian island of Kish in March 2007 to investigate corruption at a time when he was discussing the renewal of a CIA contract he had held for several years. He also inquired about getting re­imbursed for the Iran trip by the agency before he departed, according to former and current U.S. intelligence officials....

A top Republican senator demanded a deeper explanation from President Trump about his removal of the State Department watchdog while criticizing the ousted inspector general over a flawed investigation into British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s dossier.

Statement from the Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas B. Modly, regarding the relief of the Commanding Officer of USS Theodore Roosevelt. --------------- Good afternoon. Thank you again for your diligence and courage in keeping the American people informed as we all deal with the profound ramifications, and rapid developments, associated with this crisis. I am here today to inform you that today at my direction, the Commanding Officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, Captain Crozier, was relieved of command by the Carrier Strike Group Commander, Rear Admiral Stuart Baker.

Suspended Broward Sheriff Scott Israel lost his fight Tuesday to have the Florida Supreme Court return him to duty. Now, in all likelihood, it’s up to the voters of Broward County to return him to office — if they want him back. The court ruled that Gov. Ron DeSantis had the constitutional authority to suspend Israel in January for his agency’s failure to adequately respond to mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman High School in Parkland and the Fort Lauderdale airport. The decision all but ends Israel’s attempt to get his job back before the 2020 election — the Republican-led Florida...

This is shocking: Donald Trump just unexpectedly FIRED FBI Director James Comey. Add your name to demand an independent investigation of the Trump Administration’s ties to Russia >>

Link only.

White House announces President Donald Trump has fired FBI Director James Comey

WASHINGTON (AP) -- White House announces President Donald Trump has fired FBI Director James Comey.

Donald Trump Fires Acting AG For Putting American Citizens At Risk (Tommy's take on Sally Yates being fired, you'll love it!)

REAKING: President Donald Trump has fired Obama appointee, and acting Attorney General, Sally Yates for refusing to enforce a legal order. Yates has been replaced with Dana Boente, US Attorney for the Eastern District of VA who will now act as Attorney General until nominee Senator Jeff Sessions has been confirmed.

The director of the CIA says his spy agency will not engage in waterboarding or other so-called enhanced interrogation techniques even if ordered to by a future president. CIA chief John Brennan tells NBC News that he will not agree to carry out such techniques because “this institution needs to endure.” President Barack Obama banned waterboarding shortly after taking office in 2009. Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz have suggested they would not continue Obama’s ban. Trump has gone as far as to say that he would bring back waterboarding and “worse” tactics to get information.

NBC will name Chuck Todd the new host of "Meet the Press" as soon as Thursday afternoon, according to people with direct knowledge of the network's plans. The sources confirmed widespread speculation that David Gregory, who moderated the show for the past six years, will be replaced by Todd, and is expected to leave NBC. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the record. One said that the transition will be swift -- so swift that Gregory will not even host "Meet the Press" this weekend.

Russian police say a boss allegedly chained an employee naked to a tree in the forest for doing his work poorly. Last month, a 39-year-old man was found beaten and chained with handcuffs to a tree near Belogorsk in Russia's Far East, MosNews reported. There were conflicting reports to how long he had been there. Interfax said the man spent almost 24-hours in the forest before he was found by railway workers, while Regnum news agency reports he spent several hours at the tree. The man told the police he had been punished by his boss for refusing to engage...

STUART — About a month after an emergency room visit found Nina Kennedy had Stage 4 colon and liver cancer, her supervisors from Hilton Grand Vacations called her with more bad news. "They told her she was fired," West Palm Beach attorney Charles Thomas said Thursday. Kennedy had been the manager of the Plantation Beach Club on Hutchinson Island for 2 1/2 years when she was terminated in December after working 13 years with the company. Regional directors told her she had been fired because she violated company policy, she said. But in a lawsuit filed in Martin Circuit Court...

BRITONS have been warned: Stay away from riot-torn Paris. The Foreign Office says the French capital — which has been rocked by violent demos — is too dangerous. Protests against a new employment law have erupted into riots, with fierce fighting in the shadow of famous tourist spots like the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral. Cars have been set alight, shops looted and gangs of youths and masked men swinging baseball bats and wooden planks have had running battles with riot police who have used water cannon and tear gas.The Foreign Office alert is a huge blow to France,...

It might be a good idea for Keith Olbermann and Rick Kaplan to give each other a wide berth until things cool down. I hear that MSNBC staffers in the Secaucus newsroom-studio watched in horror Monday night as the volatile Kaplan, the president of the cable outlet, publicly laced into the eccentric Olbermann, anchor of the 8 p.m. show "Countdown," after the latter eulogized lung-cancer victim Peter Jennings with a graphic rant about his own cancer scare. Olbermann - a former pipe and cigar smoker - is said to have looked stunned as Kaplan raced onto the set and shouted...

U.S. Air Marshal Forgets Gun in Restroom Fri Apr 9,10:14 PM ET Add U.S. National - CLEVELAND - A federal air marshal accidentally left her gun in a restroom at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, an airport spokeswoman said Friday. A passenger found the semiautomatic handgun Thursday and notified an airport employee. The employee then told airport police, who secured the weapon, said the spokeswoman, Pat Smith. "They later found it belonged to a federal air marshal who apparently was using the restroom and put it up on the shelf while she was washing her hands and forgot about it," Smith...