Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Mayor Muriel Bowser is threatening residents of Washington, DC, with 90 days in jail and a $5,000 fine if they leave their homes during the coronavirus outbreak. The threat of jail is alarming residents and civil libertarians who point out that at least five inmates tested positive for COVID-19 in the city’s 1,700-inmate jail near Capitol Hill. “Our message remains the same: stay home,” Bowser, a Democrat, said in a statement Monday. The stay-home order has exceptions for grocery shopping and work deemed essential. Outdoor recreation such as running is allowed, but cannot involve people outside of a...

President Trump on Sunday issued a major disaster declaration for Washington, D.C., as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread in the city and the country. The declaration allows the city to access federal funds to help D.C.’s efforts in combating the coronavirus. The president’s declaration for D.C. marks the 22nd territory that has received a major disaster declaration and federal assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Nineteen states, Puerto Rico and Guam have received the other designations. The funding will be available to the city government and certain private nonprofit organizations for "emergency protective measures." The declaration follows...

Some states and local governments are ordering businesses to close down and placing other restrictions aimed at reducing the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.  Chicago Tribune reporter Gregory Pratt says Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker will be ordering restaurants to stop serving dine-in customers in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. The order will take effect at the close of the business day on Monday.  BREAKING: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker will order all restaurants across the state to be closed to dine-in customers in a further attempt to curb the coronavirus. Delivery and drive up will remain open....

Lee Boyd Malvo, half of the two-man D.C. sniper team that killed 10 people in 2002, has found his “soul mate” in a wealthy political activist who spent a short amount of time in jail herself following a Black Lives Matter protest. Malvo, 35, married Sable Noel Knapp, 30, in a low-key civil ceremony in Virginia’s Red Onion State Prison on March 6, according to a marriage certificate filed in the Wise County Circuit Court. Knapp, part of a prominent Iowa family of property developers and power brokers, has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to political causes. However, the...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Gregory has indicated Masses open to the public, in ALL archdiocesan parishes, missions, and campus ministries will not be celebrated starting this Saturday, March 14th until further notice. Archbishop Gregory has indicated Masses open to the public, in ALL archdiocesan parishes, missions, and campus ministries will not be celebrated starting this Saturday, March 14th until further notice. “Archbishop Gregory has indicated Masses open to the public, in ALL archdiocesan parishes, missions, and campus ministries will not be celebrated starting this Saturday, March 14th until further notice. Weddings and funerals may proceed but attendance should be limited to immediate...

A controlled burn occurring at Marine Corps Base Quantico Sunday afternoon near the Stafford and Fauquier county line is causing moderate to heavy smoke conditions in Prince William County and other areas of Northern Virginia, Maryland and D.C. The U.S. Forest Service is conducting the controlled burn of about 2,000 acres in the area. Individuals with respiratory illnesses or medical conditions that are aggravated by smoke should remain indoors until smoke conditions clear, according to the Prince William County Police Department. The controlled burn is expected to last two days. The controlled burn appears to have caught local jurisdictions off...

Amtrak announced Friday it would temporarily suspend its Acela Nonstop trains between Washington and New York beginning March 10 amid concerns about the coronavirus. The company said in a statement that demand for direct routes between the cities has decreased and that nonstop service will be suspended through May 26. "As we are experiencing some reduced demand for our service, we are making temporary adjustments to our schedule, such as removing train cars or cancelling trains when there is a convenient alternative with a similar schedule that will have minimal impact to customers," Amtrak said in a statement. The statement...

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has lost more than half of its Washington-based employees who were slated to move out West as the agency pushes ahead with a controversial plan to relocate staff. New internal numbers from the Interior Department obtained by The Hill show 69 employees have left the agency rather than accept the new assignment. Another 18 left after the plans were announced but before they could be reassigned. Those 87 employees outnumber the 80 who have agreed to the move. The figures are at odds with the ones referenced in December by acting BLM Director William...

D.C. has long been considered one of the most onerous places in the country for traffic fines, seeing a steady climb year to year in tickets issued and revenue generated. But recently the District broke into stunning new territory, issuing more than $1 billion in tickets in just three years. I don't know another local jurisdiction in the entire nation that has generated as much money from traffic tickets, parking tickets and moving violations," said John Townsend, Public Relations Manager of AAA Mid-Atlantic. “That tells us that things are out of control and out of hand in the District of...

The DC Cover-up That’s As Big As Spygate… _______ Former U.S. Attorney for DC, Jessie Liu, is scheduled for a Senate confirmation hearing this upcoming Thursday at 10:00am. There’s also an unreported background story connected to the DOJ, Rod Rosenstein and Ms. Liu so controversial, it’s as big as Spygate.

Margot Robbie’s “Birds of Prey” is set to open well below forecasts, with about $34 million at 4,236 North American sites, early estimates showed on Friday. Estimates for “Birds of Prey,” a spinoff of 2016’s “Suicide Squad,” had been in the $45 million to $55 million range, with Warner Bros. projecting an opening closer to $45 million. “Birds of Prey,” which carries a reported $80 million price tag, touched down with $4 million on Thursday night. Reviews have been strong, earning the film a 84% rating on Rotten Tomatoes — a reversal from “Suicide Squad’s” 27%. The film made $7.8...

Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, February 4, 2020   Filed False Returns for Herself and Clients A tax return preparer pleaded guilty today to aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. According to court documents and statements made in court, between 2013 and 2016, Renita Jenifer, 52, of District Heights, Maryland, operated RAJen Business Tax Service (RAJen), a return preparation business in D.C. During those years, Jenifer prepared false tax returns for clients that included...

Attending a meeting near Union Station in Washington, D.C., requires me to park a few blocks away and then walk under a bridge to an office building. People in business attire, like me, step carefully around the homeless men and women who have pitched tents under the bridge. They look filthy and miserable, especially in winter. The persistence of large numbers of homeless Americans is one of the signal policy failures of the past two generations. A 2015 survey found that more than half a million people are homeless on any given night. According to Mentalillnesspolicy.org, about 45 percent of...

"The owners of DC Solar, a Benicia-based company, pleaded guilty today to charges related to a billion dollar Ponzi scheme— the biggest criminal fraud scheme in the history of the Eastern District of California. The government’s investigation has resulted in the largest criminal forfeiture in the history of the District with over $120 million in assets forfeited that will go to victims, and has returned $500 million to the United States Treasury, with more to come, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. Jeff Carpoff, 49, of Martinez, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. His...

Months after it was first reported that Colin Farrell will be playing The Penguin in Warner Bros.' The Batman, director Matt Reeves has confirmed the news. The director took to Twitter on Monday to confirm that Farrell is indeed playing the Penguin, sharing a GIF of Farrell from the 2008 movie In Bruges with the caption, 'Wait - Is that you, #Oz?' along with a bat emoji. 'Oz' is a reference to The Penguin's given name, Oswald Cobblepot, and the tweet comes hours after the first photos of Farrell leaked from the London set.

Federal government is closing early because of threat of snow. It’s 43 degrees outside in the nation’s capitol now.

DC has released a new teaser for Frank Miller and Rafael Grampá's Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child that features The Joker showing his true colors: red, white and blue. The image sees the Clown Prince of Crime straightening the necktie on his American flag-themed suit, and behind him are posters bearing the unmistakable face of the President of the United States Donald Trump (though the text on the posters is implied to say "Trust" instead of "Trump.")

Two mass shootings at U.S. military installations in one week, including one in which the perpetrator was a foreign national, have prompted questions over firearm use on American bases. .... To have two shootings clustered one after another on military bases is unusual. In the past two decades, there have only been about seven other active shootings on bases; the deadliest was a November 2009 shooting spree in Fort Hood, Texas, which killed 13 and injured 32. ... Government-issued firearms are locked in an arms room on base and only distributed when they are needed for training ,... This regulation...

Left-wing activists plan to use Friday in Washington, DC, to march and “shut down business-as-usual” for the banks and financial institutions they say profit from “the climate crisis and immigrant detention.” This is the fourth time this year a group of hard-left D.C. protesters has planned to cause gridlock during the morning commute to draw attention to its climate cause.

The helicopter flying at the Second Amendment rally at the Capitol in D.C., was there to surveil the crowd with aerial photography. At the 2019 rally for the Second Amendment on the west lawn of the Capitol, in Washington, D.C. about 2,000 freedom activists were listening to speakers orate about the necessity of restoring the Second Amendment. Most attendees noticed a helicopter orbit around the capitol a couple of times, starting around 2:30, as I recall. Several people thought it might be President Trump having a look at the crowd. I did not think so. The helicopter was too small...