Free Republic

Robert Durst’s lawyer said Tuesday that his 71-year-old client “was tricked” while filming the HBO documentary in which the millionaire was recorded saying "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course." “The editing was designed for good television, but it wasn’t designed to get to the truth," attorney Dick DeGuerin said in an interview on the "Today" show. "The Jinx" chronicled the life of the eccentric and controversial real estate heir, including the 1982 disappearance of his first wife, Kathleen, the 2000 death of his friend Susan Berman and the 2001 shooting death and dismemberment of Durst’s...

This Texas police officer is accustomed to making traffic stops, but he’s never been through one like this one. Galveston Police Officer Gregory Parris arranged for other officers to pull over his girlfriend, Sara Wolff, so that he could propose to her in an elaborate ruse caught on dashboard camera.

The story of millions of Lego pieces washing up on beaches attracted huge interest when first told by the Magazine. The list of places where the toys have been spotted is still growing. Beachcomber Tracey Williams has been picking up Lego along the Cornish coastline ever since a container spill dumped millions of the toy pieces into the sea in 1997. Since the curious tale was reported by the Magazine, dozens of people have contacted Williams to say they, too, have found parts of the much-loved toy scattered on shores. Snip Most of the people who've contacted her found Lego...

Iraq wants an international dispute over a tanker of crude floating for more than three months off Galveston’s coast to remain in U.S. courts because Kurdistan refuses to resolve the matter on Iraqi soil, according to recent court filings. “It appears to be Iraqi Kurdistan’s position that no court in the world may adjudicate this matter,” Baghdad’s attorneys argued in court filings Thursday. “While the issues should be decided in Iraq, they certainly may be decided here.” The Kurdistan Regional Government two months ago asked U.S. District Judge Gray Miller to dismiss Iraq’s pleases to seize more than 1 million...

In 1900 Galveston was the largest and fastest growing city in Texas. Prospects were bright for the shining city by the sea. The port was important and growing as both exports and imports were rising rapidly with the move westward in America. Houston, on the other hand, was a smaller city still trying to find the path to destiny. The 1900 hurricane season had been unusually quiet through most of August – no storms at all in the Atlantic or Gulf. In late August a disturbance moved into the Atlantic from Africa and began its trek to the west. The...

FULL TITLE: EXCLUSIVE: HHS Bankrolled Catholic and Baptist Church from 2010 to 2013 to Prepare for Obama’s 2014 Invasion!//// A month or two ago news broke that Obama’s HHS was calling for private contractors to help transport illegal aliens throughout the interior United States. What made this already big news even bigger is the fact that the original call for proposals came out in January, long before the bulk of the illegal alien surge began. The breaking news you’re about to read is ten times bigger, because the following proves the Obama administration was bankrolling America’s churches back in 2010....

A dozen wedding guests were beaten, tased, pepper sprayed, and arrested. GALVESTON, TX — More than a dozen wedding guests were brutalized by police officers during a raid on a wedding party at a hotel. Cops fired tasers, used batons, and generously applied pepper spray to the guests of a bride and groom hours after their wedding. Among them was former pro-baseball star Brandon Backe, who said the shoulder injuries that he received from police caused his pitching career to end. After causing a gaping head wound, bruises, hair pulled out, a broken nose, and pepper spray on numerous individuals,...

The city of Galveston turns a ripe 175 years old in 2014 and they are planning to celebrate a vital part of its growth each month by spotlighting some of the things that have kept the city humming since 1839. Galveston was the home to many firsts for Texas, including our first newspaper, telegraph, grocery store, hospital, and national bank, just to name a few. ..."Each month, we will be highlighting a unique characteristic of Galveston," said Rogers. "The hurricanes and weather that have shaped our island will also be a big focus of the anniversary."

Mr Mitchell was the embodiment of the American dream. His father was a poor Greek immigrant, a goatherd who later ran a shoeshine shop in Galveston, Texas. Mr Mitchell had to work his way through university, but graduated top of his class. He left a fortune of more than $2 billion and a Texas landscape studded with examples of his philanthropy: he was particularly generous to university research departments and to Galveston. Mr Mitchell was also the embodiment of the entrepreneurial spirit. He did not discover shale gas and oil: geological surveys had revealed them decades before he started. He...

Politics: President Obama threatened Social Security checks would be delayed if Congress didn't play ball on the debt ceiling. Once again, he turned pensions into a political football. There are ways to stop this. Americans should know: Social Security payments won't be affected by debt-ceiling talks, and Obama knows it. Still, it's not as if the Social Security system is healthy. In a Page 1 story Monday, IBD's Jed Graham reported that 2013 marks the first year new Social Security retirees will outlive the trust fund. Their benefits will be slashed 25% as the system goes bust in 2033. So...

Galveston County has extended voting hours until 8:54 pm. Votes after 7:00 will be counted as provisional. County will have further details available at the polling location and on Galveston County website. Any idea what caused this extension?

More photosGALVESTON — Several thousand onlookers will crowd Pier 21 in Galveston next week, eager for a glimpse at a new breed of Navy warship and the crew that will man her. The vessel is a football field in length and so fast designers compare her to a sports car on supersized steroids. She’ll arrive at Port 21 as the Fort Worth and gain the official title of the USS Fort Worth after commissioning ceremonies Sept. 22. Ernie Connor, U.S. Navy retired, director of the Galveston Naval Foundation, described how events will take place during the ceremony. “Congressman Kay...

The 2012 Republican Primary is just over a month away and there are a number of races where lifelong liberal Democrats have decided to change parties in a desperate attempt to hoodwink Texas voters. After watching every Democrat in Galveston County lose to a Republican challenger in the 2010 midterm election cycle, Judge Wayne Mallia saw the writing on the wall. In a desperate attempt to hold on to his seat as Judge of the 405th District Court in Galveston, Mallia decided to roll the dice and see if he could steal the Republican nomination.

<p>Galveston, TX – On Saturday, April 14th the Galveston Tea Party will be holding their annual Tax Day Rally. The event will be held from 1:00 PM to 3:00 at the Old County Courthouse located at, 722 Moody Avenue, Galveston, TX 77550. Guest Speakers include County Judge Mark Henry, Paul Bettencourt and local Republican favorite Chery Johnson who is the county’s longtime tax collector. The event will be emceed by talk radio host George Lee and will feature music by the Monument Baptist Church Quartet. There is sure to be plenty of Tea Party and Republican candidates on hand to talk with voters. Event organizers suggest that attendees bring chairs to sit on. For more information please visit Galveston Tea Party.com or email galcoteaparty@yahoo.com.</p>

Misinformed and mendacious attacks on Social Security have become such familiar conservative shibboleths that it can be hard to muster the energy to beat them down anymore. Then along comes Rick Perry, the Texas governor. He's suggested that it's unconstitutional (a notion the Supreme Court disposed of in 1937) and after announcing his candidacy he called it a "monstrous lie." Perry's solution is to return the sponsorship of government retirement programs to the states, which he insists can handle the job better than the federal government. As evidence he points to an alternative retirement plan set up by Galveston and...

The Rickster has been fending off his “Social Security-as-criminal-enterprise words” ever since he tossed his revolver into the ring, but it turns out our neighbors in Galveston County have been the “test tube babies” of a brave new alternative social security universe. Back in the 70s, county workers used a short-lived federal provision and voted to opt out of social security. Instead, they decided to place their retirement cash into one of Dubya’s favorite pet policies: Personal savings accounts. It’s been forty some years, so how did that bold maneuver work out for these intrepid Gulf coasters? For the majority,...

GALVESTON, Texas – A Texas man was behind bars Monday after breaking into a stranger's apartment and biting her neck, claiming he was a 500-year-old vampire who "needed to feed," the Houston Chronicle reported. Lyle Monroe Bensley, 19, is being held on a charge of burglary with intent to commit assault after the incident, which occurred early Saturday in Galveston, Texas, about 50 miles southeast of Houston. Wearing only boxer shorts, Bensley forced his way into the apartment of a woman he did not know and made growling and hissing noises while biting and hitting his victim in her bed,...

A Galveston man is under arrest following a bizarre incident in a woman's apartment over the weekend. Lyle Bensley, 19, is accused of breaking into a woman's apartment in the 7800 block of Seawall Boulevard early Saturday morning. According to Galveston Police Captain Jeff Heyse, Bensley, who was wearing only boxers at the time, hissed and growled at the resident while biting her. The woman managed to get away and called 911. Bensley was arrested a short time later and reportedly told police he was a vampire. He has been charged with burglary of a habitation, intending to commit a...

The Perez family's agony and ecstasy: From abortion to ordination When Victor (hereafter referred to as Vic) and Karen Perez’s son was ordained a Roman Catholic priest on June 4 in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Texas, the Perez family was all together and shed tears of joy at this blessed moment. Everyone, that is, except the oldest sibling. However, Vic and Karen believe that the child they named Joseph Manuel was with them in spirit, and that his presence filled the cathedral-and their hearts-with gladness rather than sadness.Joseph is the child and sibling the Perez family never had the privilege...

GALVESTON — A jogger on Galveston Island discovered a bag in the surf Tuesday containing 25 bricks of cocaine with an estimated street value of $2 million. The jogger, whose name police are withholding, discovered the bag about 9:30 a.m. near Indian Beach, police spokesman Cpt. Jeff Heyse said. He lugged the heavy bag to his residence and slashed it open to find 25 bricks of cocaine, each weighing 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds, bundled in plastic wrap and rubber, Heyse said. Recognizing the packages as cocaine from television programs, the jogger phoned police, Heyse said.