Free Republic

NASHUA, N.H. — Mitt Romney, already under intense scrutiny for his leadership at venture capital group Bain, inadvertently gave his rivals new material today when he said that he likes “being able to fire people.” The remarks came during a speech to the Nashua Chamber of Commerce this morning in which he was trying to explain that he would like people to have the option to pick and choose their medical insurance and get rid of plans that don’t meet their needs. “I want individuals to have their own insurance,” he said. “That means the insurance company will have an...

Calling the Christmas Day fire that killed her three daughters and parents "incomprehensible," fashion ad exec Madonna Badger told hundreds of people packed in a Fifth Avenue church this morning that she'll never forget her family. "Why did this happen to my parents and my children and why now? Nothing will bring my babies back," Badger told mourners during an emotional eulogy at St. Thomas Church. Badger's parents and daughters died in the predawn blaze that swept through her Stamford, Conn. mansion. Badger, dressed all in black, wept as she bravely addressed the crowd of some 1,000 mourners to talk...

Smiles and even a bit of laughter mingled with tears and mournful hugs as members of the Somers Congregational United Church of Christ met Monday in wake of an overnight fire that destroyed their sanctuary. “It’s almost beyond comment,” said longtime parishioner and Somers resident Malcolm Chadbourne as he stared at the blackened rubble with his wife, Joanne Chadbourne ““We are just shocked and sad.” State and local fire officials continue to probe the cause of the Sunday night blaze that leveled much of the landmark church, sent its steeple tumbling into an inferno, left congregants numb with shock. No...

Electric car company that received a $529M federal loan recalls vehiclesBy Andrew Restuccia - 12/30/11 10:31 AM ET An electric vehicle manufacturer that received a $529 million loan from the Energy Department is recalling 239 vehicles. The Transportation Department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Thursday that the company, Fisker Automotive, will recall its Karma vehicles made between July 1, 2011, and Nov. 3, 2011, because of a faulty electric battery component that could cause a fire. “Within the high-voltage battery, certain hose clamps may have been positioned incorrectly during assembly. If positioned incorrectly, the batter compartment cover could...

The fire appears to have been caused by hot fireplace ashes and embers, which had been discarded," said Barry Callahan, the chief fire marshal in Stamford, Connecticut. He said the fire that engulfed the large waterfront Victorian home was accidental, according to preliminary findings, but an investigating is ongoing.

Democrat wants grants for women's restrooms in fire stationsBy Pete Kasperowicz - 12/26/11 10:50 AM ET Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.) has proposed legislation that would let fire stations around the country apply for grants of up to $100,000 to build women's restrooms, showers and changing facilities. The Fairness in Restrooms Existing in Stations (FIRE Stations) Act, H.R. 3753, says these grants would help promote gender equity in fire houses. The findings of the legislation says most were built with a "single-gender workforce" in mind, that 50 percent of all fire departments do not have any women employees, and that women...

Arab terrorism targeting Jews in Ramle is on the rise, but local residents say police are afraid to confront local Arabs and deal with the problem. Shortly after the car of a local religious school principal was torched on Thursday there was also a fire a nearby synagogue in the heart of the al-Grebe neighborhood in Ramle. The synagogue is located in a private house in the alley next to Jabotinsky Street, one of the main streets the city. It is headed by Rabbi Rafael Sheli, who is responsible for much of the Jewish outreach in Ramle. "The synagogue in...

Police say they are questioning a man in connection to the death of a New York City woman set on fire in the elevator of her apartment building. New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said Sunday that the 47-year-old man went into a police precinct a couple of miles from where the attack happened in Brooklyn and said he had started a fire. Authorities say the man has made statements implicating himself and came in overnight reeking of gasoline. He hasn't been charged. The unidentified man was waiting for the woman, who was in her 60s, when the elevator...

The last time this happened, our thread ran for more than 1,100 comments. To refresh your memory: The city charges a $75 fee up front for firefighter services throughout the year. Pay the fee and the F.D. will show up and douse the flames that are consuming your home. Don’t pay and the F.D. will show up and … watch it burn. I can understand a policy in which paying the fee gives you priority over a non-payer if your house and their house are on fire simultaneously and the department has to choose which to respond to. And I...

A Tennessee couple helplessly watched their home burn to the ground, along with all of their possessions, because they did not pay a $75 annual fee to the local fire department. Vicky Bell told the NBC affiliate WPSD-TV that she called 911 when her mobile home in Obion County caught fire. Firefighters arrived on the scene but as the fire raged, they simply stood by and did nothing. "In an emergency, the first thing you think of, 'Call 9-1-1," homeowner Bell said. However, Bell and her husband were forced to walk into the burning home in an attempt to retrieve...

It's the Chicago way. (AutoGuide)- Apparently, way back in June, General Motors heard about a Volt fire that happened three weeks after said vehicle was crash tested, yet it wasn’t until November that the company, nor NHTSA disclosed there was a potential problem, urging both dealers and customers to drain the battery pack immediately following an accident.

PORT ORCHARD, Wash. - A homeowner shot and wounded an intruder who burst into his home while running from police early Saturday in Port Orchard, the Washington State Patrol reported. The drama began when police responded to the area of Melcher Street and Tacoma Avenue at about 1:15 a.m. after receiving a 911 call from someone who hung up on dispatchers, said Krista D. Hedstrom of the State Patrol. Officers found a 47-year-old man in the street and two officers got into a struggle with him. Police fired a Taser to subdue the man, but it had no effect, Hedstrom...

(AP) - General Motors will buy Chevrolet Volts back from any owner who is afraid the electric cars will catch fire, the company's CEO said Thursday. In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, CEO Dan Akerson insisted that the cars are safe, but said the company will purchase the Volts because it wants to keep customers happy. Three fires have broken out in Volts after side-impact crash tests done by the federal government. Akerson said that if necessary, GM will recall the more than 6,000 Volts now on the road in the U.S. and repair them once the company...

General Motors will buy Chevrolet Volts back from any owner who is afraid the electric cars will catch fire, the company's CEO said Thursday. In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, CEO Dan Akerson insisted that the cars are safe, but said the company will purchase the Volts because it wants to keep customers happy. Three fires have broken out in Volts after side-impact crash tests done by the federal government. Akerson said that if necessary, GM will recall the more than 6,000 Volts now on the road in the U.S. and repair them once the company and federal...

PANAMA CITY — A recent cross burning at the home of a Panama City mixed-race couple does not signal the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan; it was the symptom of something understandable to anyone who’s ever been afraid of losing someone. LB Williams, a 50-year-old black man, his wife of nearly seven years Donna Williams, who is white, and their bi-racial daughter found a cross burning in their driveway Nov. 4. Their grandchild was home too. “When I saw that cross burning, I was scared to death,” Donna Williams said. “I was terrified…we all were.” They called police and...

Duke Energy urges electric car owners to stop using charging stations after fireUpdated: 1:37 pm EST November 9, 2011 CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Duke Energy officials are asking customers who own the company's electric car charging stations to stop using the product after a house fire in Mooresville last month. A representative from the company has confirmed to Channel 9 that an email was sent to about 125 customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Indiana who have the same type of charging station installed in their homes.

by John HillStand With ArizonaMore than 50,000 Americans have been killed by illegal aliens since 9/11.Think about that. More than 6,000 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since that same date. But nearly ten times that number have been killed right here at home as a consequence of the Federal government's failure to secure our borders and protect its citizens, in direct violation of the Constitution's Article IV Section 4: The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application...

Do the hot coals left over from a wood stove put in a metal bucket and left in my greenhouse give off CO2 or Carbon Monoxide or both? I do this to keep the temp above freezing - the greenhouse is not completely air-tight - due to my inept construction it cannot be :) - so there is some fresh air getting in. Will doing this kill my plants? I have done research but still am unclear.

Killer Russian heatwave product of climate changeLooking at local warming in the region from 1880 to 2010, Stefan Rahmstorf and Dim Coumou with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research found an 80 percent likelihood that the heatwave was due to climate change. "For July temperature in Moscow, we estimate that the local warming trend has increased the number of records expected in the past decade fivefold, which implies an approximate 80 percent probability that the 2010 July heat record would not have occurred without climate warming," Rahmstorf and Coumou write.

19-year-old St. Paul man who was set on fire by his mother's boyfriend has accused his uncle and mother of stealing thousands of dollars from a benefit for him, authorities say. Jeffrey Allen Stewart, 43, and Jodi Ann Stewart, 40, of South St. Paul, each face a felony of aiding and abetting theft by swindle in the theft, according to a Dakota County criminal complaint filed today. The brother and sister allegedly stole $2,500 from Antonie Willis. The money was taken from banks in South St. Paul and Woodbury, the charges said. Willis was burned by his mother's boyfriend, Curtis...