Free Republic

Edwards not guilty on one count, mistrial on 5 other counts. Just headline for now on Yahoo. Pending video conference at link.

President Obama and Mitt Romney are running neck-and-neck in three key battlegrounds -- Colorado, Iowa and Nevada -- according to a new slate of NBC News/Marist polls of registered voters. A majority of voters in each state feel optimistic about the state of the economy, and say the worst of the storm is in the rearview mirror...

it intends to fight the guerilla warfare of a presidential campaign with a new aggressiveness and combativeness. The first signal came in Boston, where top Obama adviser David Axelrod organized an anti-Romney event on the steps of the Massachusetts state house. The event, which Team Obama wanted to keep under wraps until shortly before it happened, was to feature remarks from Axelrod and Democratic state officeholders who would attack Romney's record as governor from 2003 to 2007. But it didn't work out as planned. First, word of the event leaked last night, and the Romney campaign quickly scheduled an event...

For the first time in five-and-a-half years of regular tracking, half of voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats when it comes to the economy, the issue they rate by far as most important to how they will vote. Voters now trust Republicans more on six of the 10 major issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports, Democrats more on two, and they're tied on two.

A self-proclaimed Nazi dad and his wife cannot have back their four children, three of whom have Nazi-inspired names, a court has ruled. Adolf Hitler Campbell, six, and his younger sisters Joycelynn Aryan Nation, five, and Honszlynn Hinler, four, were taken into custody in January 2009. State officials also took another son, Hons Campbell, from his parents Heath and Deborah Campbell just hours after he was born in November. A New Jersey Supreme Court judge has now ruled that the four children will not be returned to their parents, who have since separated. The Nazi-inspired names came to light after...

After a lengthy deliberation, a North Carolina jury has reached a verdict in the John Edwards mistress-and-money trial. The verdict is expected to be read shortly. The jury began deliberating on May 18 after a month of testimony, which at times sounded more like a steamy soap opera than a trial on the intricacies of campaign finance rules. Charged with six counts of violating federal campaign laws, Edwards was accused by the government of soliciting nearly $1 million from wealthy backers to finance a cover up of his illicit affair and illegitimate child while running for president in 2008.

An appeals court has ruled that a law that denies a host of federal benefits to same-sex married couples is unconstitutional

U.S. economic growth was a bit slower than initially thought in the first quarter as businesses restocked shelves at a moderate pace and government spending declined sharply.

Mitt Romney has inched ahead of President Obama in Ohio, taking the lead in the key battleground state after the president has led there for several months. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Ohio Voters shows Romney with 46% support to Obama’s 44%. Six percent (6%) like some other candidate, and five percent (5%) remain undecided.

Developing. Analysts expect to see 370K weekly claims. That would exactly be in line with last week's 370K. The number is one of the best high-frequency predictors of the economy and the market, so this is big. If this stays tame, it will do a lot to assure that things aren't deteriorating too badly. UPDATE: The number is 383K, a miss from an upwardly revised.

Christians Should "Convert, Pay Tribute, or Leave," Says Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Candidate by Raymond Ibrahim May 30, 2012 at 4:00 am "They need to know that conquest is coming, that Egypt will be Islamic, and that they must pay jizya or emigrate," Morsi reportedly said.

Well it was a good first mission.. Now for the ultimate test. Can they send humans into space with no problems.

Republican super PACs and other outside groups shaped by a loose network of prominent conservatives – including Karl Rove, the Koch brothers and Tom Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – plan to spend roughly $1 billion on November’s elections for the White House and control of Congress, according to officials familiar with the groups’ internal operations. That total includes previously undisclosed plans for newly aggressive spending by the Koch brothers, who are steering funding to build sophisticated, county-by-county operations in key states. POLITICO has learned that Koch-related organizations plan to spend about $400 million ahead of the 2012...

Just a little way to go to the green. We can do it today. Let's make it happen!! 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. Or mail checks to Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794. Free Republic is funded solely by contributions made by liberty loving grassroots conservatives like you who enjoy and use it. We take no money...

Planned Parenthood, endorsing President Obama Wednesday morning, went after Mitt Romney out of the gate with a new ad buy in crucial swing states accusing the Republican candidate of undermining women's rights. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/30/planned-parenthood-targets-romney-with-new-swing-state-ad-buy/#ixzz1wNMGXP3G

Contracts to purchase previously owned homes unexpectedly fell in April to a four-month low, undermining some of the recent optimism that the housing sector was touching bottom. The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in April, fell 5.5 percent to 95.5, its lowest level since December. Economists polled by Reuters had expected signed contracts, which lead existing home sales by a month or two, to rise 0.1 percent after a previously reported 4.1 percent gain. The housing market has been one of the U.S. economy's weakest links as it recovers...

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has now secured at least 88 of the 155 delegates at stake in the Texas Primary, bringing his secured delegate total to 1174, 30 more than necessary to win the majority of the delegated needed for the GOP nomination. With 4% of Texas precincts now reporting, Romney has consistently maintained or increased a 60 point lead over his nearest competitor, Congressman Ron Paul. In the contested race for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, David Dewhurst is holding a 48% to 31% lead over his nearest rival Ted Cruz in a nine person contest.

The president referred to “Polish death camps” while awarding a posthumous Medal of Freedom to Polish professor Jan Karski, a hero of the anti-Nazi resistance. Poles believe they're blamed unfairly for the Nazi Holocaust, and the Foreign Minister led the outrage in a late night tweet. The remark, which barely drew notice in America, is all over the Polish news today. On the country's largest television station:

Erik Erickson, editor-in-chief of RedState.com and a CNN political contributor, reports that he is the latest conservative to be "SWAT"ed. Local police received a call from an individual claiming to be Erickson, stating that an accidental shooting had occurred at his home. Says Erickson, "Tonight, my family was sitting around the kitchen table eating dinner when sheriffs deputies pulled up in the driveway."

The US military Tuesday vehemently denied a media report that special forces had been parachuted into North Korea on intelligence-gathering missions, saying a source had been misquoted. Current affairs magazine The Diplomat quoted Brigadier General Neil Tolley, commander of special forces in South Korea, as saying soldiers from the US and South Korea had been dropped across the border for "special reconnaissance" missions. But Colonel Jonathan Withington, public affairs officer for US Forces Korea, said some reporting of the conference had taken Tolley "completely out of context". "Quotes have been made up and attributed to him," he said, denying that...

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,...

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...

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."...

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...

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--...

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...

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...

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...

<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>

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.

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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...

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...

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.

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.

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...

'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...

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...

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.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Amid signs that the effort to oust Republican Gov. Scott Walker is losing ground, Wisconsin Democrats and union leaders are preparing a fundraising and get-out-the-vote push to regain momentum in the final weeks before the June recall election. Opponents of Walker are concerned that the governor, aided by a huge influx of money from conservative supporters nationwide, has opened a lead in a race that had been dead even in the polls. Walker, who has raised $25 million, has been blanketing Wisconsin with broadcast advertising touting his handling of the economy. His Democratic opponent, Tom Barrett,...

Let's face it: This spot became 100 percent inevitable the moment Cory Booker opened his mouth on Meet the Press, but its still nice to see the alacrity and skill with which Team Romney executed.  Behold, the official 'Democrats dissent from Obama's stupid anti-Bain demagoguery' campaign ad:   Big Bain Backfire David Axelrod has slapped back at Booker, who hastily cut a hostage video-style (partial) retraction of his MTP remarks, but the damage has been done.  Every time The One comes after Romney on Bain, Republicans can cite three significant Obama supporters who have explicitly condemned his line of attack. ...

Good luck again.. I'm sure they will make it..

<p>We're now over EIGHTY-NINE percent of the way to our current quarter FReepathon goal!! Less than $9k to go!! We're now approaching the yellow light and then it won't be long after that until we're racing to the green!! We can do this. Let's make it happen!!</p>