http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/breaking-news/ en-us Tue, 29 May 2012 04:15:30 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2888937/posts Mitt Romney will officially clinch the Republican nomination for President when he secures the 1,144 delegates required to become the party's nominee in the Texas primary later tonight. Romney will also campaign today in two western battleground states, Colorado and Nevada. The former Governor will begin the day in the northwest Colorado town of Craig where he will hold a rally at Alice Pleasant Park and is scheduled to talk about the economy and energy policy. According to the Craig Daily Press, the owner of Deer Park Inn sent the Romney campaign a video called ”The Perfect Storm Over Craig,... C-Span http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2888937/posts#comment Tue, 29 May 2012 04:15:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2888929/posts Did Trump recently state that Obama was "born in Kenya and raised in Idonesia" ? SAN DIEGO (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney isn't taking a position on supporter Donald Trump's return to the controversy over where President Barack Obama was born. Romney said Monday evening that while he doesn't agree with all the people who support him, he appreciates their help to get him at least 50.1 percent of the vote in November. Romney's comments come about 24 hours before appearing at fundraiser in Las Vegas that Trump is hosting. Earlier this week Trump again stated that Obama... YAHOO NEWS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2888929/posts#comment Tue, 29 May 2012 03:01:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2888868/posts US and South Korean special forces have been parachuting into North Korea to gather intelligence about underground military installations, a US officer has said in comments carried in US media. Army Brigadier General Neil Tolley, commander of US special forces in South Korea, told a conference held in Florida last week that Pyongyang had built thousands of tunnels since the Korean war, The Diplomat reported. "The entire tunnel infrastructure is hidden from our satellites," Tolley said, according to The Diplomat, a current affairs magazine. "So we send (South Korean) soldiers and US soldiers to the North to do special reconnaissance."... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2888868/posts#comment Mon, 28 May 2012 23:07:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2888735/posts PRINCETON, NJ -- U.S. veterans, about 13% of the adult population and consisting mostly of older men, support Mitt Romney over Barack Obama for president by 58% to 34%, while nonveterans give Obama a four-percentage-point edge. These data, from an analysis of Gallup Daily tracking interviews conducted April 11-May 24, show that 24% of all adult men are veterans, compared with 2% of adult women. Obama and Romney are tied overall at 46% apiece among all registered voters in this sample. Men give Romney an eight-point edge, while women opt for Obama over Romney by seven points. It turns out... Gallup http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2888735/posts#comment Mon, 28 May 2012 13:57:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2888615/posts CBS's Bob Schieffer certainly wasn't in an Obama-loving mood Sunday. CBS's Bob Schieffer certainly wasn't in an Obama-loving mood Sunday. Having asked the President's senior campaign adviser "Whatever happened to hope and change" early in the program, the Face the Nation host in a subsequent segment laughed out loud after playing a clip of Obama bragging about his accomplishments on 60 Minutes last year (video follows with transcript and commentary):MRC TV video playerBOB SCHIEFFER, HOST: I want to play a little something for you. I think one of the lessons that probably all of us recognize is that if you--... News Buster.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2888615/posts#comment Mon, 28 May 2012 00:28:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2888454/posts The Talk Shows May 27th, 2012 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Catholic archbishop of Washington. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Former GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich; Gov. Martin O'Malley, D-Md.; Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind.; Ed Gillespie, adviser to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign; Robert Gibbs, adviser to President Barack Obama's re-election campaign.THIS WEEK (ABC): Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.; former New York Mayor Rudy... Various driveby media television networks http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2888454/posts#comment Sun, 27 May 2012 11:52:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2888220/posts Love is always being able to tell liberals I told you so. Ok, I don’t know if it’s love exactly, but man it sure does feel good.A few weeks ago, after West Virginia’s Democrat governor and US Senator both refused to endorse Obama for reelection in 2012, I wrote:Scores of Democrats running for reelection will defect from Obama before the campaign is done. And scores of Democrat voters will reject him too. Why? The same reason voters will likely vote to kick Obama out of the White House: self-interest, if not outright self-defense.      Democrat Governor Earl Ray Tomblin of West... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2888220/posts#comment Sat, 26 May 2012 11:05:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887948/posts CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The privately bankrolled Dragon capsule arrived at the International Space Station for a historic docking Friday, captured by astronauts wielding a giant robot arm. It succeeded in making the first commercial delivery into the cosmos. U.S. astronaut Donald Pettit used the space station's 58-foot robot arm to snare the gleaming white Dragon after a few hours of extra checks and maneuvers. The two vessels came together while sailing above Australia. "Looks like we've got us a dragon by the tail," Pettit announced from 250 miles up once he locked onto Dragon's docking mechanism. "You've made... Yahoo news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887948/posts#comment Fri, 25 May 2012 15:45:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887560/posts <p>If you enjoy reading and participating on FR and if YOU think it's a worthwhile endeavor and YOU would like to help us keep it going, please click the link above and donate via secure server. Make it a monthly if you can.</p> Click here to pledge your support! http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887560/posts#comment Thu, 24 May 2012 17:04:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887457/posts New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, government data on Thursday showed, suggesting the labor market continues to expand at a moderate pace. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 370,000, the Labor Department said. The prior week's figure was revised up to 372,000 from the previously reported 370,000. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims unchanged last week. Claims have barely budged in the past four weeks indicating a marginal improvement in the pace of job creation after April's disappointing 115,000 gain in nonfarm payrolls. Reuters via FOX Business http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887457/posts#comment Thu, 24 May 2012 13:42:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887430/posts The federal government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes monthly tallies for the employment-population ratio. That stat shows something rather straightforward: Among those who are living in America and are free to pursue employment, what percentage are employed? (The bureau excludes those who are under 16 years old, are active-duty military, or are — in the bureau’s own words — “inmates of institutions (for example, penal and mental facilities, homes for the aged),” from its tallies.) Over the past quarter of a century (a total of 300 months), dating back to May 1987 and the Reagan administration, here are the 30... weekly standard http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887430/posts#comment Thu, 24 May 2012 12:14:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887305/posts A letter from the Department of Justice (DOJ) caused the University of Arkansas at Ft. Smith (UAFS) early this month to reverse policy and allow a 38-year old anatomically male-student permant use of women's bathrooms on campus despite opposition from female students.The university made the reversal on "advice of counsel" after receiving a letter the DOJ sent in response to a complaint that a single, self proclaimed "transgender" student filed with the DOJ's Civil Rights Division. "Because of the stance we took, the individual filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Justice," Mark Horn... Campus Reform http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887305/posts#comment Thu, 24 May 2012 00:42:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887229/posts Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) unveiled plans to lay off 27,000 employees as the technology giant also reported its fiscal second-quarter earnings slumped 31% amid relatively flat revenue in its personal computer business and lower sales in its printing segment. However, shares were up 7% at $22.46 in recent after-hours trading as earnings beat the company's expectations and as the company raised its full-year view. The company said it plans to lay off about 8% of its workforce by the end of fiscal 2014. Its restructuring plans are expected to generate annualized savings of between $3 billion and $3.5 billion by 2014,... The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887229/posts#comment Wed, 23 May 2012 21:05:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887217/posts Abol Fotoh: Egypt's next president? By Paul Cruickshank, CNN The religious pragmatist who might be Egypt's next president By Paul Cruickshank, CNN May 23, 2012 -- Updated 1814 GMT (0214 HKT) (CNN) -- Abdelmonen Abol Fotoh, an independent moderate Islamist candidate for the Egyptian presidency, and one many tip to become the country's first freely elected leader, if he gets through this week's first round of voting, has been a busy man these last weeks. The Egyptian Erdogan? ... No friend of Israel One of the most striking features of Abol Fotoh's campaign has been his strongly worded depiction of... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887217/posts#comment Wed, 23 May 2012 20:36:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886974/posts The 41% of Americans who now identify themselves as "pro-choice" is down from 47% last July and is one percentage point below the previous record low in Gallup trends, recorded in May 2009. Fifty percent now call themselves "pro-life," one point shy of the record high, also from May 2009. Gallup began asking Americans to define themselves as pro-choice or pro-life on abortion in 1995, and since then, identification with the labels has shifted from a wide lead for the pro-choice position in the mid-1990s, to a generally narrower lead for "pro-choice" -- from 1998 through 2008 -- to a... Gallup.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886974/posts#comment Wed, 23 May 2012 10:33:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887000/posts Mitt Romney now leads President Obama in the race for Florida's 29 electoral votes, a significant reversal from earlier this spring, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released early on Wednesday. Romney leads Obama overall, 47 percent to 41 percent, the poll shows. Two percent of voters prefer another candidate, 7 percent are undecided, and 3 percent said they would not vote. Three weeks ago, in another Quinnipiac poll, the two candidates were statistically tied, with Romney at 44 percent and Obama at 43 percent. National Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887000/posts#comment Wed, 23 May 2012 11:45:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886943/posts The state of Hawaii has verified President Barack Obama's birth records to Arizona's elections chief after a nearly three-month back and forth that Arizona officials said could have ended without the incumbent's name on its November ballot. Joshua Wisch, special assistant to Hawaii Attorney General David Louie, told The Associated Press late Tuesday that the matter is resolved after Hawaii gave Arizona the verification it was looking for. Arpaio said health officials in Hawaii refused to talk to his deputy and posse investigator on Monday, though an assistant attorney general came out to talk to the investigators. "They won't have... SFGate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886943/posts#comment Wed, 23 May 2012 05:28:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886933/posts A Hawaii official announced late Tuesday that the state gave Arizona’s top elections official the verification he wanted showing President Barack Obama was indeed born there in 1961. The announcement came just hours after Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett backed away from his threats to keep Obama off the November ballot and apologized for embarrassing his own state with a conspiracy theory-fueled investigation into whether the president was really a natural born U.S. citizen. It also followed weeks of back and forth between Hawaii and Arizona, with Hawaii officials saying they weren’t sure Bennett was qualified to be investigating... Talking Points Memo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886933/posts#comment Wed, 23 May 2012 04:14:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886885/posts President Obama lost more than 40 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s Kentucky Democratic primary to the “uncommitted” option — the latest example of the incumbent president failing to win votes in an uncompetitive primary. With 99 percent of precincts reporting in the Bluegrass State, Obama led “uncommitted” just 58 percent to 42 percent. Obama trailed in more than 60 Kentucky counties. It was just the latest episode of the president taking less than 60 percent of the vote in a primary this year. He ceded 41 percent of the vote in West Virginia to an incarcerated man in Texas... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886885/posts#comment Wed, 23 May 2012 02:02:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886849/posts In a blistering new ad, the Republican National Committee catches the Obama Campaign lying to the press about their influence in strong-arming Newark Mayor Cory Booker into taking back his criticism of President Obama's attack on Bain Capital. Breitbart.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886849/posts#comment Wed, 23 May 2012 00:29:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886612/posts The chief investigator in the high-profile John Doe investigation into former Milwaukee County employees who worked for now-Governor Scott Walker has a Walker recall yard sign in his front lawn, and a pro-labor “Blue Fist” icon poster on the front door of his home. The news could call into question the present impartiality of the probe at a time when Democrat gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett and his allies have begun to use the issue as a top talking point. MediaTrackers.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886612/posts#comment Tue, 22 May 2012 13:49:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886703/posts BANGOR, Maine – A US Airways jet flying from Paris to Charlotte, North Carolina, has been diverted to Maine because of what an airline spokesman calls a "security issue." A North American Aerospace Defense Command spokesman says two F-15 fighters were scrambled to escort the plane. A person briefed on the incident said a passenger announced she had a surgically implanted device. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because it involved sensitive law enforcement information. US Airways spokesman Andrew Christie says the jet with 179 passengers was diverted around noon Tuesday to Bangor International Airport. He says there was... FOXNEWS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886703/posts#comment Tue, 22 May 2012 17:44:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886651/posts 'More than a million fake electronic parts from China have been found in US military aircraft, posing a risk to national security, an investigation has revealed. A report by the US Senate uncovered 1,800 cases of bogus parts - including some in special operations helicopters and the US Air Force's largest cargo plane. The total number of individual components involved in these cases exceeded one million, the Committee on Armed Services publication said. "This flood of counterfeit parts, overwhelmingly from China, threatens national security, the safety of our troops and American jobs," committee chairman Senator Carl Levin said. "It underscores... Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886651/posts#comment Tue, 22 May 2012 15:42:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886639/posts Two men who identified themselves as being from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Phoenix went to the Hawaii Department of Health Monday morning requesting verification of President Barack Obama's birth certificate, said a state spokeswoman. A Hawaii deputy attorney general gave the men information concerning the legal requirements to obtain such a document; the requirements are posted on the Health Department's website. The two men then left the office, Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said. The two men showed Maricopa County Sheriff's Office badges and identified themselves as Michael Zullo and Brian Mackiewcz, Okubo said. They are "authorized by... Star-Advertiser http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886639/posts#comment Tue, 22 May 2012 14:56:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886502/posts California's salary setting commission is bracing next week to consider a 5 percent pay cut for legislators and other statewide officeholders, in keeping with a similar cut proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown for state workers. Commissioner Chuck Murray said today that he is "100 percent" sure that the pay cut for elected officials will be on the table at the commission's May 31 meeting. He supports the reduction, though he didn't craft it, he said. Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2886502/posts#comment Tue, 22 May 2012 03:04:38 GMT