Free Republic

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wept Friday as he recalled his late mother's end-of-life illnesses, a moment of poignancy in a notably negative Republican presidential Iowa caucus campaign with four unpredictable days yet to run. "I do policy much easier than I do personal," Gingrich told an audience of women as he tried to regain his composure. The tears flowed as the former speaker was responding to questions about his mother from a pollster and longtime political ally. Gingrich's emotional moment came as his rivals engaged in traditional campaign tactics, and as polls suggested large...

OK, so the RNC know-it-all RINO establishment bluebloods want to protect their precious little states for retail politics. And they want their precious Mitt Romney moderate as the nominee, this is no secret either. Here's the irony: Romney is a likely winner in MI (like in 2008) and will need this state to stay in the race. But Michigan won't count if Romney wins. Who knows who will get the remaining only delegate. Michigan passed legislation to move back the primary date six weeks to coincide with other state elections to consolidate and save costs to taxpayers. A state of...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- President Barack Obama criticized Venezuela's rights record and its ties to Iran and Cuba, telling a Venezuelan newspaper in comments published Monday that he is concerned about threats to democracy in the country. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has long feuded with Washington, though Obama's remarks, published by the newspaper El Universal, were some of his most critical to date. "We're concerned about the government's actions which have restricted the universal rights of the Venezuelan people, threatened basic democratic values, and failed to contribute to the security in the region," Obama said in written responses to questions...

USINSK, Russia (AP) -- On the bright yellow tundra outside this oil town near the Arctic Circle, a pitch-black pool of crude stretches toward the horizon. The source: a decommissioned well whose rusty screws ooze with oil, viscous like jam. This is the face of Russia's oil country, a sprawling, inhospitable zone that experts say represents the world's worst ecological oil catastrophe. Environmentalists estimate at least 1 percent of Russia's annual oil production, or 5 million tons, is spilled every year. That is equivalent to one Deepwater Horizon-scale leak about every two months. Crumbling infrastructure and a harsh climate combine...

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Rescuers battled high waves Sunday as they searched for 200 asylum seekers still missing after their wooden ship sank off Indonesia's main island of Java. So far only 33 people have been plucked alive from the choppy waters alive. Survivors told authorities they had been trying to reach Australia, said Lt. Alwi Mudzakir, a maritime police official who was heading rescue operations. He blamed Saturday's accident on overloading, saying the vessel - packed with 250 men, women and children from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Turkey - appeared to have been carrying more than twice its capacity....

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- Australia's prime minister said Wednesday that President Barack Obama impressed her as a "good person" through his acknowledgment of attendants and security staff during his recent visit to Australia. "I always think the way you can best judge people's attitudes is not necessarily how they treat me, the prime minister of Australia, but how you see them interact with others, and as President Obama moved through Parliament House, he said hello to every attendant and every security guard he walked past," Gillard told Sydney Radio 2SM. "He doesn't have to do that - nothing makes him...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Unionized teachers and retirees, local government officials, and veterans are among public workers running for office in an effort by Ohio Democrats to take control of the state House after a successful fall campaign to repeal a collective bargaining overhaul championed by Gov. John Kasich and fellow Republicans. Without the option of a gubernatorial recall like Wisconsin's, a 2012 takeover of the Ohio House, where Republicans hold a 19-seat advantage, is Democrats' best next step for capitalizing on voter anger over the union-limiting law. A total of 21 House districts will be without an incumbent next...

TORONTO (AP) -- New Canadian citizens must remove any face coverings, such as the Islamic niqab or burqa, while they take the oath of citizenship, the country's immigration minister said Monday. Jason Kenney said most Canadians have misgivings about Islamic face coverings and said new Canadians should take the oath in view of their fellow citizens. He said he has received complaints from lawmakers and citizenship judges who say it's difficult to ensure that individuals whose faces are covered are actually reciting the oath. The Conservative minister called the issue a matter of deep principle that goes to the heart...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday tossed out a death row inmate's murder conviction and said he deserves a new trial because one juror slept and another tweeted during court proceedings. Erickson Dimas-Martinez's attorneys had appealed his 2010 murder conviction because a juror sent tweets despite the judge's instruction not to post on the Internet or communicate with anyone about the case. The lawyers also complained that another juror slept. In one tweet, juror Randy Franco wrote: "Choices to be made. Hearts to be broken...We each define the great line." Less than an hour before...

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- The wife of ex-Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky said Thursday her husband is innocent of the child sex abuse allegations made against him and that his accusers are making up their stories, including one suggesting she was home while Sandusky attacked a boy who screamed for help. Dottie Sandusky's comments defending her husband were the first she has made since Sandusky was arrested last month and accused of molesting boys he met through a charity he founded for troubled youth. He faces more than 50 charges and has maintained his innocence. She released the...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The number of major U.S. companies covering the cost of gender reassignment surgery for transgender workers has more than doubled in the past year, according to a new scorecard compiled by the nation's largest gay rights group. The Human Rights Campaign said in a report to be published Thursday that 207 of the 636 businesses it surveyed for its annual Corporate Equality Index either are already providing transgender- inclusive employee health benefits or plan to at the start of the new year. Last year, 85 companies had insurance plans that paid for sex transformation surgeries, and...

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) -- The once-powerful former executive of a suburban Washington, D.C. county was sentenced Tuesday to more than seven years in prison for extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes during a tenure that prosecutors say was rife with greed, corruption and an unchecked pay-to-play culture. The investigation into Jack Johnson, who led Prince George's County, Md., from 2002 to 2010, came to light last year when federal authorities tapping his phone heard him direct his wife to flush down the toilet an illicit $100,000 check from a developer and to stuff nearly $80,000 in cash in...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House voted Tuesday to end per-country caps on worker-based immigration visas, a move that should benefit skilled Indian and Chinese residents seeking to stay in the United States and the high-tech companies who hire them. The legislation, which passed 389-15, was a rare example of bipartisan accord on immigration, an issue that largely has been avoided during the current session of Congress because of the political sensitivities involved. The measure would eliminate the current law that says employment-based visas to any one country can't exceed 7 percent of the total number of such visas given out....

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- U.S. authorities said they discovered a major cross-border tunnel Tuesday, the latest in a spate of secret passages found to smuggle drugs from Mexico. "It is clearly the most sophisticated tunnel we have ever found," said Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego. She did not provide details. The tunnel links warehouses in San Diego and Tijuana, authorities said. Mexican soldiers found the entrance on the south side of the border at a Tijuana warehouse after the U.S. opening was discovered. A photo released by U.S. authorities shows a hydraulic...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- New fires involving the lithium-ion batteries in General Motors Co.'s Chevrolet Volt have prompted an investigation to assess the risk of fire in the electric car after a serious crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday. One Volt battery pack that was being closely monitored following a government crash test caught fire Thursday, the safety administration said in a statement. Another recently crash-tested battery emitted smoke and sparks, the statement said. GM, which was informed of the investigation on Friday, said in a statement that the Volt "is safe and does not present undue risk...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Most Americans spent Thanksgiving snug inside homes with families and football. Others used the holiday to give thanks alongside strangers at outdoor Occupy encampments, serving turkey or donating their time in solidarity with the anti-Wall Street movement that has gripped a nation consumed by economic despair. In San Francisco, 400 occupiers at a plaza in the financial district were served traditional Thanksgiving fixings sent by the renowned Glide Memorial Church to volunteers and supporters of the movement fighting social and economic inequality. "We are thankful that we are, first and foremost, in a country where we...

CLEVELAND (AP) -- An Election Day poll worker tried to bite off a voter's nose during an argument Tuesday over a campaign sign, police and election officials said. "This is absolutely unacceptable behavior that we do not tolerate," Cuyahoga County elections director Jane Platten said. The elections board identified the worker for Cleveland police, who are seeking to arrest him, she said. Greg Flanagan, 49, who had just voted, said he was bitten when he went to the aid of a campaign worker who was in an argument with an election employee over a sign posted near the polls. Flanagan,...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- President Hugo Chavez called again for sweeping reforms of Venezuela's troubled prisons Friday, saying the country's sluggish judicial system has prompted violence by leaving inmates languishing for years without trial. Chavez praised his newly appointed prisons minister, Iris Varela, for preparing a list of inmates who have spent long periods in prisons without going to trial and for leading negotiations with rebellious prisoners who have staged violent protests. "The procedures must be accelerated to impart justice," said Chavez, speaking to Varela and a group of prisoners on state television. "I congratulate you, Iris, for the tremendous...

See this circular scar on Obama's head as he reaches for a poppy pin.

BOSTON (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Friday overturned the Federal Aviation Administration's ruling that Cape Wind's turbines present no danger for local air traffic. The decision could further delay construction of the wind farm first proposed a decade ago. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the FAA misread its own rules when assessing Cape Wind, which aims to be the nation's first offshore wind farm. The court said the FAA did not adequately determine whether Cape Wind's 130 turbines - each 440-feet tall - would pose a danger to pilots relying on sight...