Free Republic

DHA photo A suspected suicide bombing has occurred in front of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, causing at least two deaths. Two people, including the suspected assailant, as well as a security guard, were killed in the explosion while two others were injured, according to initial reports. The explosion occurred at the entrance used by the embassy personnel and their visitors, CNNTürk reported. A security guard at the X-ray machine at the entrance was killed in the explosion that occurred as the suspected suicide bomber was passing through the machine, the report said. Bomb experts are at the scene of...

Turkish news reports say an explosion in front of the U.S. Embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara has injured several people.

Ed Koch, the brash, colorful and often confrontational mayor who helped to lead New York City out of its brush with bankruptcy in the 1970s, launching an astonishing municipal turnaround that continues to this day, has died. He was 88.

In a final regulation issued Wednesday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assumed that under Obamacare the cheapest health insurance plan available in 2016 for a family will cost $20,000 for the year. Under Obamacare, Americans will be required to buy health insurance or pay a penalty to the IRS. The IRS's assumption that the cheapest plan for family of five will cost $20,000 per year is found in examples the IRS gives to help people understand how to calculate the penalty they will need to pay the government if they do not buy a mandated health plan. “The annual national...

Israel conducted a rare airstrike on a military target inside Syria, foreign officials and Syrian state TV say, amid fears President Bashar al-Assad's regime is providing weapons to the Islamic militant group Hezbollah. A statement from the Syrian military read aloud on state TV confirmed the strike, saying the jets bombed a military research centre in the area of Jamraya, northwest of the capital, Damascus.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has selected his former chief-of-staff William "Mo" Cowan to serve as interim U.S. senator until a special election to fill the seat left vacant by Secretary of State designate John Kerry.

According to CNN, Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly and the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre will testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on America’s gun violence crisis. You can watch it below. It begins at 10:00 AM ET.

CHICAGO, Illinois, January 25, 2013 - A new Cold War is brewing here in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood and it has nothing to do with the frigid temperature. The apartment building at 832 E. 57th Street was once the Chicago home of a boy who would become a President. No, it’s not Barack Obama of Hawaii. It was at the apartment’s first floor window that a young Ronald Reagan looked out upon the world. But some powerful Chicagoans are planning to demolish Reagan’s historic home. Is it politically motivated? Is Mayor Rahm Emanuel behind the move? Reagan as a child....

A western diplomat and three regional security sources said Wednesday that Israel Air Force warplanes struck a target on the Syrian-Lebanese border overnight, hours after Lebanon reported a series of three overflights by Israel in its airspace. Israel has expressed increasing concern over the fate of Syrian chemical and conventional weapons as the country slides further into chaos after almost two years of civil war.

The U.S. economy posted a stunning drop of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, defying expectations for slow growth and possibly providing incentive for more Federal Reserve stimulus.

They’re not contributing members. They take away jobs from Americans, leech off the social benefits system and commit a number of crimes besides the whole “illegal entry” deal. Jails tend to be full of illegal aliens for a reason. "Every day, like the rest of us, they go out and try to earn a living. Often they do that in a shadow economy — a place where employers may offer them less than the minimum wage or make them work overtime without extra pay. And when that happens, it’s not just bad for them, it’s bad for the entire economy....

The Dale County Sheriff's Department has established a command post location at the intersection of 231 North and Private Road 1539 in Dale County, Alabama following a shooting Multiple agencies are present assisting with the incident where multiple reports are indicating that a bus driver was shot and a student on-board the bus was taken hostage. The incident started around 3:40pm Tuesday near Destiny Church The Sheriff's Department is confirming that one adult male was shot, though they could not say how serious the person's injuries were. There are no suspects in custody and officials would not confirm a child hostage situation Though there's no confirmed evidence of explosive devices,...

Senate Judiciary Committee Full Committee DATE: January 30, 2013 TIME: 10:00 AM ROOM: Hart 216 OFFICIAL HEARING NOTICE / WITNESS LIST: January 23, 2013 NOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing entitled “What Should America Do About Gun Violence?” for Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 10:00 a.m., in Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building. By order of the Chairman. UPDATED Witness List Hearing before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary “What Should America Do About Gun Violence?” Wednesday, January 30, 2013 Hart Senate Office Building, Room 216 10:00 a.m. Captain Mark...

Even as President Obama travels to Las Vegas Tuesday to call for legalizing illegal immigrants, the latest numbers from the U.S. Border Patrol suggest that the flow across the nation’s southwest border jumped by 9 percent up last year. The Border Patrol made 356,873 arrests along the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2012, up from 327,577 in 2011, according to figures obtained by the Associated Press and confirmed by The Washington Times. Border Patrol officials estimate that apprehensions are a good proxy for illegal crossings, so when the numbers go up, it means that the flow of illegal immigrants is...

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - The most awaited piece of data for today surprised investors negatively, as Consumer Confidence in the US fell from 65.1 to 58.6 in January. Actual data came in much lower than the 64.0 expected.

The Obama administration has developed its own proposals for immigration reform that are more liberal than a separate bipartisan effort in the Senate, including a quicker path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, people with knowledge of the proposals said.

<p>The Boy Scouts of America is considering dropping a longtime ban on gay members, according to a spokesman.</p> <p>“The BSA is discussing potentially removing the national membership restriction regarding sexual orientation,'' spokesman Deron Smith said in a statement obtained by FoxNews.com. "This would mean there would no longer be any national policy regarding sexual orientation, but that the chartered organizations that oversee and deliver Scouting would accept membership and select leaders consistent with their organization’s mission, principles or religious beliefs."</p>

Obama and his socialist-fascist regime now wants to take our guns. Like hell you say. America answers by buying guns in record numbers. Americans will never allow themselves to be disarmed. The founding fathers intended American citizens to be armed to defend themselves from just such runaway tyrannical government. America's response to Obama's attempted gun grab: FUBO!! You want my gun? Come and take it!! Never surrender!! Never retreat!! Never give up your guns!! Free Republic stands for God and country!! We defend Life, Family, Constitution, Liberty!! And we defend our God-given, constitutionally guaranteed right to keep and bear arms!!...

In an explosive exchange outside the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington, D.C., security guards for billionaire New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg accosted senior Talk Radio Network investigative reporter Jason Mattera when he asked the mayor about his strong support for gun control.

The Boy Scouts of America, one of the nation’s largest private youth organizations, is actively considering an end to its decades-long policy of banning gay scouts or scout leaders, according to scouting officials and outsiders familiar with internal discussions. If adopted by the organization’s board of directors, it would represent a profound change on an issue that has been highly controversial -- one that even went to the US Supreme Court. The new policy, now under discussion, would eliminate the ban from the national organization’s rules, leaving local sponsoring organizations free to decide for themselves whether to admit gay scouts....