Free Republic

WASHINGTON — One day after 14 people were slain in a mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid on Thursday blamed lawmakers for not acting on an "epidemic of gun violence" and described the National Rife Association as the Republican Party's "quasi-militant wing." "Republicans must decide if they are more scared of gun violence or the NRA," the Nevadan said. Delivering his comments on the Senate floor, Reid ticked off a list of some of the nation's deadliest mass shootings in recent years that included the young students killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown,...

I had always looked upon my six-year-old son as a blessing. But now I realize that he is a disease. My wife, my parents, my grandparents, and every member of my family, both living and deceased, are likewise a disease. But if you are reading this right now, and you are white, you should know that your children and all of your loved ones are also a disease. So implies a University of Colorado education professor, Cherly E. Matias, in the most recent edition of Teaching Education, a peer-reviewed journal.

Chicago protesters pulled down barricades and tore light strands off the city Christmas tree Wednesday night in Millennium Park, WGN-TV reported. It was the second night of protests over the death of Laquan McDonald, a black 17-year-old who was fatally shot by a white police officer.

Clark County's largest employee union is taking the county to court in effort to overturn an arbitrator's ruling that eliminates hundreds of millions of dollars in longevity pay for future hires. The Service Employees International Union Local 1107 filed a motion to vacate the arbitrator's contract award this week in Clark County District Court. To prevail, the union would need a judge to find that the arbitrator disregarded state law when issuing his final, binding decision. The arbitrator, Ross Runkel, also gave county employees 4.5 percent in retroactive pay increases in his Aug. 25 award. The key sticking point, however,...

SUN VALLEY, Nev. (AP) — One of the first, actual on-the-ground disruptions caused by new U.S. efforts to protect the greater sage grouse isn't on a cattle ranch in Oregon or an oil field in Colorado. It's in the backyard of a residential neighborhood north of Reno, Nevada, where plans to acquire federal land to build a badly needed school are on hold because the government considers it sage grouse habitat. On Tuesday in Reno, U.S. District Judge Miranda Du is scheduled to hear from opponents who are suing to block the new regulations. They say the rules will cause...

A Utah judge removed a foster child from a lesbian couple, saying the 1-year-old girl would be better off with a heterosexual couple.

The National Park Service announced Monday that the use of electronic cigarettes is now banned anywhere tobacco smoking is prohibited in the national parks. Existing National Park Service policies regarding tobacco smoking were originally issued in 2003 and later revised in 2009, according to a National Park Service internal memo. The new policy was issued in an effort to "protect employees and park visitors from the health hazards and annoyances associated with exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, commonly known as secondhand smoke, which is a known human carcinogen," the memo stated. The use of e-cigarettes will not be allowed in...

Jami Rodman makes it sound as if she were born for high-priced prostitution. "I was addicted to it. I was working every day," she told me over midday coffee in a bustling convention hall. "It's very liberating. I enjoyed the sex part. I enjoyed the sociology part. "It's a great way to meet really cool people," she said. "You're basically dating but without the hassles." Rodman even rose to madam of VIP sex workers, but it wasn't emotionally or financially fulfilling: "That was so much work — 60 women at any given time that were having issues and problems." Two...

An arbitrator has awarded a contract in favor of Clark County, ending the county's two-year stretch of negotiations with its largest union. The arbitrator sided with the county, agreeing to end longevity pay for future hires. The Service Employees International Union Local 1107, which represents more than 4,000 county workers, had sought to preserve longevity pay for future employees. Under the decision, county employees get a cost-of-living increase of 2.5 percent retroactive to July 1, 2014; and a 2 percent cost-of-living increase retroactive to July 1. The decision, which the county received Tuesday, almost entirely ends a longevity system for...

State officials are investigating a complaint that raises this question: Should a man who was convicted of poisoning children on his son's football team in 2000 be in charge of an entire city's water? Jerome M. Breland is interim utilities operations manager for North Las Vegas, meaning he's head of the city's water and sewer system, though he's been safeguarding the water for the city of 230,000 for several years as a water systems supervisor. State law says a water operator's certificate, issued by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, can be revoked if the operator "has demonstrated disregard for...

The woman, a 22-year-old college junior named Kim, who did not give her last name on air and was allowed to use a voice disguiser to even further shield her identity, came to the three hosts with a confession: in just short three years she had managed to blow through a $90,000 college fund left to her by her grandparents. Kim has one year left of school and no way to cover her remaining $20,000 tuition balance. The show’s hosts try to give Kim the benefit of the doubt. She’s come to them (for some untold reason — perhaps a...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The family of an unarmed man fatally shot by police in suburban Los Angeles called for a federal civil rights investigation into the police department involved Wednesday, saying newly released video of the shooting raises significant questions. Newly released videos of the shooting show Diaz-Zeferino with his palms open at waist level when officers shoot him eight times. A second man who had his hands up, Eutiquio Acevedo-Mendez, survived a gunshot wound to the back.

LAS VEGAS (KSNV News3LV) – Teachers who work for the Clark County School District may not get a pay raise in the upcoming school year. They are not happy about it and they are making sure the district hears them loud and clear. Teachers say they feel under valued at a time when the district is offering a sign-on bonus to new teachers of up to five thousand dollars. They say the district should focus on retention, rather than recruitment. "My stomach just dropped. It was just another punch to the stomach," said Elizabeth Harris.

BALTIMORE —The Baltimore City Police Department has launched an internal investigation after a WBAL-TV 11 News viewer shared four photographs of a sign inside a city police wagon. The photos show the doors of the parked police van left open. On the inside of the back door is a sign, attached or possibly stenciled on, that reads: "Enjoy your ride, cuz we sure will!" The pictures were taken Tuesday near the Central District Police Station on Baltimore Street.

A veteran New York state corrections officer rolled out the red carpet for two convicted murderers who have made a spectacular prison break -- giving them art supplies, tools and access to the catwalks behind the walls of their cell to do electrical work, stunning court documents say. Gene Palmer, 57, of Dannemora, was arrested Wednesday and hit with promoting prison contraband and tampering with physical evidence, both felonies, and official misconduct, a misdemeanor in connection with the "Shawshank Redemption"-style June 6 escape of Richard Matt and David Sweat from Clinton Correctional Facility

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Three Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were convicted Wednesday in federal court in the beating of a bloody, handcuffed jail visitor and an attempt to cover it up. Sgt. Eric Gonzalez and deputies Sussie Ayala and Fernando Luviano were found guilty of deprivation of civil rights and falsification of records in the 2011 beating of Gabriel Carrillo. Gonzalez and Ayala were also convicted of conspiracy to violate constitutional rights. The three face at least six years in prison when sentenced Nov. 2. "An individual who carries a badge and a gun and who uses their authority...

CARSON CITY — State employees and covered family members will have health coverage for gender reassignment and other transgender procedures under a new insurance policy that takes effect July 1. The Public Employee Benefits Program board voted in November to remove language in the state’s self-funded and HMO plans that specifically excluded therapy for gender dysphoria. Brock Maylath, president of the advocacy group Transgender Allies Group, on Wednesday hailed the change as a “significant step” for the transgender community. Previous language in the state insurance design plan excluded treatment designed to alter physical characteristics and any other treatment related to...

Drought-stricken California is not the only place draining underground aquifers in the hunt for fresh water. It’s happening across the world, according to two new studies by U.S. researchers released Tuesday. Twenty-one of the world’s 37 largest aquifers – in locations from India and China to the United States and France -- have passed their sustainability tipping points, meaning more water is being removed than replaced from these vital underground reservoirs. Thirteen of 37 aquifers fell at rates that put them into the most troubled category. “The situation is quite critical,” said Jay Famiglietti, senior water scientist at NASA’s Jet...

A blind man in Arkansas sustained a back injury after being assaulted by Little Rock police who failed to identify themselves before lying about the incident. After missing the bus from his job at Lighthouse for the Blind on June 1, Eric Wilson was walking home when he was approached by police and ordered to walk over to them. Wilson is legally blind and says that he can only see shadows. He complied, despite not knowing if he was about to be robbed or about to be confronted with actual police officers as they did not identify themselves.