Free Republic

The working mom of a seven-month-old son alleges that she was detained for an hour by TSA officials at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field as they meticulously scrutinized the bags of breast milk she was carrying. The heavy scrutiny on a working mom’s breast milk and, as Breitbart News has reported, the lapses of scrutiny on illegal aliens who have been able to fly on commercial airlines without identification is mindboggling. ABC10 News reported that Nicole Moberg, a sales director for a medical company, travels extensively on her job, so she comes prepared with pre-pumped breast milk. She separates the milk...

The federal Highway Trust Fund, which provides transportation funding to the states, is projected to run dry in August. But with a technology-driven revolution underway in the way Americans use surface transportation, applying yesterday’s solution and simply replenishing the fund won’t solve the problem. According to the Obama administration, if the fund is exhausted, states will be forced to put off 112,000 highway construction and 5,600 transit projects, resulting in the loss of 700,000 jobs. When dealing with the government, there are always plenty of zeroes to go around. The traditional source of revenue for the trust fund is the...

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Neighbors are tattling on neighbors for wasting water and some are taking their drought shaming to social media. If you’ve ever had the feeling you’re being watched while you water your lawn, there’s a good chance you are during this historic drought. In Sacramento, water wasters can face fines, and the enforcer may be someone who lives right next door. Terrance Davis with the city department of utilities says he’s seeing a trend of drought shaming. “Our water use complaint calls have gone up exponentially from the last 2 years,” he said. Karen Halbo lives in River...

CHEYENNE, Wyo.—The ever-changing thermal geology of Yellowstone National Park has created a hot spot that melted an asphalt road and closed access to popular geysers and other attractions at the height of tourist season, officials said Thursday. As they examined possible fixes, park officials warned visitors not to hike into the affected area, where the danger of stepping through solid-looking soil into boiling-hot water was high.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is protecting consumer rights in a bold new way–by policing companies’ Facebook pages.Zarbee’s Naturals, a producer of “safe and effective natural [cough] remedies” for children, was sent a warning letter by the FDA for liking comments on its Facebook page implying that its products “are intended for use as drugs.”Zarbee’s products were designed specifically for children too young for FDA-approved medications and have not been reviewed by the FDA. Happy customers posted their approval on the company’s Facebook page, saying things like “Love Zarbee’s this is the only medicine we use for our 2...

SALINA, Kan. (KAKE) -- The Saline County Sheriff's Office was inolved in a bizarre, 43-minute chase Saturday morning. It began when a deputy clocked a passing car on Interstate 70, travelling at over 90 mph. The deputy began pursuit of the driver as he traveled west towards Salina. The car was spraypainted with derogatory statements about law enforcement. The suspect was able to drive around spikes that were set up at the junction of I-70 and Highway 81. Eventually, the suspect drove into a soybean field. Sheriff Glen Kochanowski says the suspect then drove the car in circles for 40...

California's drought is creating a deluge of tattletales, after government officials encouraged residents to snitch on their neighbors for wasting water. The state declared a drought emergency five months ago, but residents have only cut their water usage by about 5 percent, reports The New York Times, cutting back much less than the 20 percent Gov. Jerry Brown asked for in January. And since people aren't heeding the warnings from the state, cities in the state are asking residents to report their neighbors for wasting water, and are finding that people are all too willing to tell on each other....

The federal Highway Trust Fund is running out of money, and some senators have proposed to fix the problem by raising gas taxes. This, however, is the wrong solution because it treats the symptom, and not the underlying reason for the shortfall. Here are five reasons for not increasing gas taxes. 1. The problem is not a shortage of funds but an excess of spending. For more than 50 years after Congress created the Highway Trust Fund in 1956 it was able to avoid a shortage of funds by a simple measure: it didn't spend more than was collected in...

I mentioned two days ago the decision of schools to ban birthday cupcakes. Michelle Obama is essentially fighting with students to get them to change what they eat. But what is missing from this story is the proper context. The fact is that our bad eating habits are getting encouraged by taxpayer money. In fact, the government arguably changed our dietary habits to their present behavior. The Foundation for Economic Education came out with an article yesterday about dealing with “food deserts.”

An investigation has found that an elementary school principal in Baltimore who suspended a seven-year-old boy for chewing a Pop Tart into the shape of a gun acted properly in her decision. However the boy's family has lawyered up, and are threatening to take the case further. Josh Welch, a second-grader at Park Elementary School, said he was trying to nibble his strawberry breakfast snack into a mountain in March 2013. But when it started to take shape he reportedly told his classmates: 'Look, I made a gun.' Principal Sandra Blondell then removed Josh from school for two days. Andrew...

It looks like California chefs, bartenders and deli workers might be able to take off those hated rubber gloves. Gov. Jerry Brown was presented Thursday with AB2130 -- a "do-over" bill would repeal a law requiring those handling food that goes directly to diners wear gloves and mandating that they change those gloves with every new plate or fruit garnish on a drink. The law took effect in January, but following a backlash from the public and the foodservice industry, the state legislature voted to repeal the ban. "We're grateful the assemblyman was willing to roll (the bill) back, hit...

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden has proposed a three-month transportation bill. Three more months, he says, will give Congress a chance to figure out a long-term solution. The only problem is that Congress had three months three months ago and did nothing. Meanwhile, Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., have proposed to increase gas taxes by 12 cents a gallon. Considering that the gas tax hasn’t been increased in more than 20 inflation-filled years, this would seem to make sense.It doesn’t, however, because a gas tax increase assumes there is a shortage of funds for transportation. Instead, the real...

A 19-year-old University of Maryland lacrosse player was arrested at an outdoor concert in Virginia Sunday night after allegedly groping a 49-year-old mother passed out on the lawn. Prince William County Police say the woman fell asleep on the Jiffy Lube Live lawn during a Zac Brown Band concert, when she woke up to find teen Benjamin Chisolm touching her inappropriately. Chisolm walked away after the attack but was later arrested for public intoxication and now faces additional charges of aggravated sexual assault. The victim, identified as 'Donna', has come forward to dispute details of the police report and reveal...

Police in Maryland have charged three people in connection with manufacturing MDMA, commonly referred to as Molly or the drug ecstasy, including a doctor who has a long-standing history of drug problems. Baltimore County cops said a drug investigation led to a search warrant and the arrest of Dr. Priscilla Sheldon-Cost, 51, at a house in Towson. Detectives found chemicals that can be used to manufacture MDMA and ecstasy were being created in a lab in the basement. Some of the substances that were found had even been labelled with MDMA written on it. 'They found chemicals that, when mixed,...

The rapid decline in Americans' tobacco use has leveled off, and now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling for new taxes, regulations and warnings to force Americans to kick the habit. In a new report, the CDC found that 50 million, or one in five, Americans use tobacco every day or some days, and 60 million, or one in four, “every day, some days or rarely.”It also revealed that the use of electronic cigarettes is surging, and and e-cigarettes now account for nearly 5 percent of the smoking market.Worse: Americans aged 18-24 showed up as the top...

In the media, the conflict is portrayed as being between Michelle Obama and the food companies. The poor customer wants to do the right thing, but the food companies make it hard. But that’s not how it really works. Sadly, the Wall Street Journal story is behind a pay wall, but a summary is posted at Newser.com: “Fast Food’s New Trend: ‘Stealth Health.’”

The public will have more time to weigh in on a federal proposal to regulate electronic cigarettes and other tobacco products. The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that the public comment period slated to end July 9 is being extended an additional 30 days to Aug. 8 after getting lots of input on how to regulate e-cigarettes. Those are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution, creating vapor that users inhale. The FDA also proposed extending its authority to regulate cigars, hookahs, nicotine gels and pipe tobacco.

Many of the thousands of illegal immigrant children and teens crossing the United States border are carrying deadly contagious diseases that could easily create a major health crisis in this country, doctors say. In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Dr. Jane Orient, an internal medicine specialist and the Executive Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), said that by admitting these huge groups of children who come from countries where medical screenings are minimal and hygiene is poor, the United States is at risk for epidemics of serious diseases and viruses that the nation has not...

Obama has a plan to ruin the seafood supply chain with regulations and it’s gonna cost ya. Secretary of State John Kerry has found a new cause now that he’s fresh off his mid-East failures. He is directing federal agencies to work on developing a program to combat seafood fraud upon orders from the imperial president. This follows up Mr. Obama’s proclamation that he would implement his climate change agenda using a pen and a phone. It also follows Mr. Obama’s seizure of a huge swath of the Pacific Ocean for the government, making it inaccessible for drilling and fishing....

President Obama is hoping his latest executive action will create lots of buzz. Obama signed a presidential memorandum on Friday ordering the federal government to develop a plan for protecting pollinators such as honey bees, butterflies, birds and bats in response to mounting concerns about the impact of dwindling populations on American crops. "The problem is serious and requires immediate attention to ensure the sustainability of our food production systems, avoid additional economic impact on the agricultural sector, and protect the health of the environment," Obama said in the memo, which was sent to Cabinet secretaries and agency heads. According...