Free Republic

UPDATE 1:38 PM EST, 9/14/13: In response to our inquiry, Alternet reporter Rod Bastanmehr apologized for the “potential inaccuracy” in his report which alleged that Dr. Shiping Bao claimed George Zimmerman shot Trayvon in the back. —————————————– Dr. Shiping Bao, the recently fired Florida medical examiner who performed Trayvon Martin‘s autopsy, is allegedly claiming that George Zimmerman shot Martin through the back, reports Alternet’s Rod Bastanmehr. “According to the former assistant coroner, the results of Martin’s autopsy clearly showed that, despite Zimmerman’s statements regarding their altercation, there was no feasible way for Martin to have been on top of Zimmerman...

Beware of the monkeys! Hundreds of rare wild monkeys — some carrying herpes — are on the loose in Florida after a tour guide brought the spunky critters to the state long ago. Wildlife officials said that three pairs of Rhesus monkeys were transported to a park near Ocala in the 1930s by tour operator Colonel Tooey after a “Tarzan” flick sparked a fascination with the creature. But the breed has since boomed and more than 1,000 of the monkeys now live in the state, wildlife officials say. State officials have caught more than 700 of the monkeys in the...

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A robber who was running away with his hands full of loot from a Florida church was caught when his baggy pants started slipping off, a sheriff's spokeswoman said. She said the man, Anthony Jason Garcia, 31, had been praying in the sanctuary of a large Catholic Church near Walt Disney World on Wednesday when he arose, went into the gift shop, grabbed the cash drawer and ran toward the courtyard with church maintenance director Joe Larkin in pursuit. As they ran, Garcia's baggy pants began to fall down, said Orange County Sheriff's spokeswoman Jane Watrel....

A 25-year-old woman faces child neglect charges after posting a photo on social media that showed her dangling her baby over an apartment balcony, 12 feet off the ground. Friends of Aisha Jean Clark called Tampa police on Tuesday after spotting the photo on Instagram. Police said when they arrived at her apartment on Nuccio Parkway, they asked Clark if she knew why they were there. They said she laughed and went inside the apartment to get her iPad, pulled up her Instagram account, and showed them the picture. Police then arrested Clark and she allegedly told them, “I was...

A little thin-skinned, aren't we? One thing the press can't stand is criticism. And sometimes the reaction of members of the press to criticism goes so over the top that the results are absolutely hilarious. Such was the case of Marci Shatzman, a reporter for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel Forum Publishing Group who was covering a routine meeting of the West Boca Community Council in Florida. What set Marci off to act completely unprofessional at the 43 second mark of this video was guest speaker Andre Fladell daring to criticize  members of the press for acting...unprofessional.

September 11, 2013Florida Man, 51, Arrested For Chicken Wing Assault On Wife Meet Patrick Arthur.The Florida man, 51, was arrested last night for battering his wife with a bowl of chicken wings, police report.Cops were summoned to the Myakka City home Arthur shares with his wife Darlene. The couple, who have been married three years, had been fighting, Darlene’s daughter told a 911 operator.After a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived at the Wingate Road residence, Patrick--who appeared to be enjoying a glass of wine--explained that he was “tired of the marriage and all the fighting so he tried to...

Freshmen students at the University of Rochester may have had a terrifying start to their college career, courtesy of a prankster posing as their professor. The video has quickly gone viral, approaching seven million views in just four days. The prankster -- a member of the "Chamber Boys" radio program at the university -- showed up a few minutes early with a briefcase. He erases the chalkboard, writes the name of the real professor and addresses the class. "I'm Dr. Hafensteiner and I'll be your professor for Chemistry 131," he tells the class. The fake professor -- whose real name...

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — At Florin High School, every student gets a free lunch, even if they can afford to pay for it, and CBS13 has discovered that a lot of that free food ends up in the trash. Throwing away food is just the beginning of a drain on your taxpayer dollars. Last year, 14 percent of students paid for their own meals because they didn’t qualify for free lunch. “The federal government [now] allows, if 80 percent or more of the school is eligible for free lunch, the paid students, we would feed them for free,” said Michelle Drake...

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) said Monday that the administration's argument that letting Syria's use of sarin gas last month go unchecked would hurt U.S. security was "not logical" and did not "make any sense." Administration officials have argued that the U.S. should respond to the attack because the failure to do so would send a message to other regimes — and terror groups — that the use of chemical weapons was acceptable. But in an interview with CNN's "New Day," Grayson said that too few countries had chemical weapons for that to be a concern. "There's only four countries in...

Forty-one days after legendary Motown singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder vowed to boycott Florida, Miami Beach’s sultry sultry summer evenings called out to him and he couldn’t resist. Jose’ Lambeit’s Gossip Extra broke the story Tuesday that the legendary recording artist spent the weekend in South Florida’s legendary South Beach before jetting off to Los Angeles. During a Canadian performance on July 14, Wonder told the audience he would boycott Florida, saying, “for those of you who’ve lost in the battle for justice.. we can’t bring them back. What we can do is we can let our voices be heard.” He made...

A mix up over an order of iced coffee ended with a Dunkin' Donuts worker being pistol whipped in a vicious brawl, police say. The wife of the alleged attacker screamed 'shoot him, shoot him' as diners looked on at the terrifying incident, which was caught on CCTV. It began after Jeffrey Wright, 27, and his wife Alexis Longo, 22, went through the drive-thru section of the Dunkin' Donuts branch in Lauderhill, Florida. After discovering they had vanilla in an iced coffee and not caramel they parked up and went into the restaurant. Police said they wanted to complain to...

FULL TITLE: Lesbian high school cheerleader offered plea deal on her 19th birthday to avoid jail for having sex with classmate, 14, after thousands sign petition to support her A high school cheerleader arrested on felony sexual assault charges for her relationship with a 14-year-old female classmate has been offered a plea deal on her 19th birthday. Kaitlyn Hunt is being urged to accept the new deal which would keep her out of jail and prevent her from being registered as a sex offender - if she pleads no contest to two misdemeanor battery counts and one felony count for...

‘I have an opportunity to explain firsthand what racism means and what injustice means,’ said the Miami artist, who plans to respond to each piece of hate mail on her website. Huong reveals George Zimmerman lookalike in painting is really her assistant. She unveiled the mural at Florida state capitol and plans to take it on the road. The Miami artist behind the controversial “We Are All Trayvon Martin” mural says she won’t back down despite threats and volumes of hate mail. “This is not new to me,” Huong told the Daily News. Huong’s mural shows a George Zimmerman look-alike...

<p>A Christian children's entertainer who allegedly plotted to kidnap, cook and eat a child has been jailed for 20 years.</p> <p>Ronald William Brown, from Largo, Florida, was handed the sentence for possession of child pornography.</p> <p>This was despite him regularly warning children about the sin of pornography on his long-running Christian Television Network show.</p>

Cops: Mom said 'You will have to shoot through the baby to get me' PENSACOLA, Fla. - A Pensacola woman has been arrested after authorities say they tried to arrest her for shoplifting and she threw her baby at a deputy as she tried to escape. Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said Ashley Taylor Wright tried to smuggle about $260 worth of clothing from a Dillard's dressing room. Deputies approached her car in the parking lot Monday night and asked her to get out. Authorities said the 23-year-old told the deputy, "You will have to shoot through the baby to get...

One man told on himself by “butt dialing” police. Another man surrendered to police after they found him at a friend’s house. And now a third man, connected the May 5 murder of Nicholas Walker while he drove on Interstate 95 in Oakland Park, has turned himself into police. The Broward Sheriff’s Office says Michael Depre, 25, of Pompano Beach, surrendered at the Broward County Judicial Complex Monday. Depre joins Scott Simon, 24, and Ronel Desinor, 27, in facing first-degree murder charges for Walker’s death. In the early morning of May 5, a fight broke out at the Waffle House...

Officials are currently investigating two burglaries at local cell phone stores with similarities that are leading police to believe they might be linked.... Wearing black hoodies, baggy clothes and white latex gloves, the burglars squeezed their way inside by smashing a hole in the wall of a vacant, neighboring business. The footage shows...

Just turned on the Miami TV, and am thoroughly disgusted. NEARLY every local story appears to be a boo-hoo about how Trayvon was murdered..... NO ONE in Miami, according to the news, thinks Zimmerman was justified in defending himself. Little children, some looked as young as six, were posing for cameras with "no justice, no peace" signs....and "PASTORS" in black churches were reciting the mantra that St. Skittles was hunted..... And the media in Miami is stoking the fire. Agitating, just like their hero.

A man, who was low on money, decided to apply for a job. Instead of waiting to be hired, work and get paid, the man robbed the place. Florida Police said that Anthony Thomas, 33, filled out a job application at a gas station in Ocala, Florida, immediately before robbing the place. He made off with $130. Apparently, he included his real name, contact information and other personal information, in the application, which made it easy for police to track him down by using the information he provided before the robbery.

Parking near the beach on a holiday weekend is certainly a challenge. It appears Florida now has lesbian-only designated parking spots. Violators apparently get a free heavy cocktail glass hurled through their vehicle's window. Just ask these two women about it. On Saturday evening a woman, age 36, driving a 2012 Ford truck, and her friend, age 38, turned down a street near St. Augustine Beach and parked the truck. As they exited the truck, a woman who had been sitting on the upper deck of a residence along the street shouted down to them "Hey! Only lesbians can park...