Free Republic

The man who shot and killed former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith after an April 9 traffic accident has been found guilty of manslaughter. NOLA.com reports that a New Orleans jury reached the verdict Sunday night against Cardell Hayes. The 29-year-old tow truck driver faces 20-40 years in prison on the charge. He was also found guilty of attempted manslaughter, in the shooting of Smith's wife, Racquel, who survived.

A federal judge on Thursday denied a mistrial for accused white South Carolina gunman Dylann Roof, who a day earlier was described as "evil" in testimony by a survivor of the deadly June 2015 attack on a historic black church. Lawyers for Roof, 22, argued eyewitness Felicia Sanders had offered prejudicial and improper opinion about what penalty he should face. During her testimony on Wednesday, the first day of Roof's trial, she called the defendant "evil, evil as can be" for appearing to sit innocently through a Bible study meeting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston before opening...

The suspect sought in the fatal shooting of a south Georgia police officer is confirmed dead after he was surrounded by police Thursday in a house in Americus, Ga., according to the local police chief, WSB-TV reports.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Police have arrested four Virginia men who they say were part of a conspiracy to smuggle guns from their home state into New York City for sale on the street. Prosecutors say 28-year-old Clive Dixon, the suspected ringleader of the group, was apprehended along with three of his suppliers following an investigation into the "iron pipeline" of illegally trafficked firearms. Emmanuel Dentmond, 22, and Teal Holt, Jr., 27, were arrested at separate Virginia Beach residences and are currently in the Virginia Beach City Jail awaiting extradition. According to court documents, between March 28, 2016 and November...

Charlottesville Vice Mayor Wes Bellamy published several tweets between 2009 and 2014 using gay slurs, comments against white people, lewd slang for female genitalia and other profanities. Many of the old tweets show a stark contrast between his more recent posts lauding women’s and LGBTQ rights. Bellamy made his Twitter account private this Saturday.

As many Democrats cope with their shock and dismay at Donald Trump’s victory, former U.S. Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia on Tuesday saluted the president-elect, railed against elitism and accused his party of abandoning “white working people.” http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/article_632741ab-b3ec-546d-af5c-585d8c483e87.html

Author Elmore Leonard, whose ear for gritty, realistic dialogue helped bring dozens of hard-bitten crooks, cops and cowboys to life in nearly 50 novels, died on Tuesday several weeks after a stroke. He was 87. link: http://www.newsmax.com/newswidget/obit-elmore-leonard/2013/08/20/id/521297?promo_code=13E39-1&utm_source=13E39Boston_Herald&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1