Free Republic

McDonald's MCD +0.6% worldwide sales fell a more than expected 1.7% in February, marking nine consecutive months of declines. This comes a week after new CEO Steve Easterbrook assumed the top job. Easterbrook, who has said he considers himself an ‘internal activist,’ is faced with reviving the lagging sales that cost previous CEO Don Thompson his job. U.S. sales fell 4%, as the fast food giant continues to face heavy competition from fast casual chains like Chipotle and Panera. “Consumer needs and preferences have changed,” said the company in a statement. “McDonald’s current performance reflects the urgent need to evolve...

Dinesh D’Souza is a disgusting man. He shocked the conscience in November 2013 when he tweeted, “I am thankful this week when I remember that America is big enough and great enough to survive Grown-Up Trayvon in the White House!” Today, the vile right-winger added to his racist repertoire. YOU CAN TAKE THE BOY OUT OF THE GHETTO…Watch this vulgar man show his stuff, while America cowers in embarrassment pic.twitter.com/C9yLG4QoOK — Dinesh D’Souza (@DineshDSouza) February 18, 2015 D’Souza’s slam of the president caused gasps across the Twitterverse because “ghetto” has long been negatively synonymous with African American in popular culture...

Larry Elder at Real Clear Politics breathes essential statistical insight into the ongoing fight over whether or not white cops have a predilection for shooting black men: In 2012, according to the CDC, 140 blacks were killed by police. That same year 386 whites were killed by police. Over the 13-year period from 1999 to 2011, the CDC reports that 2,151 whites were killed by cops — and 1,130 blacks were killed by cops.Police shootings, nationwide, are down dramatically from what they were 20 or 30 years ago. The CDC reported that in 1968, shootings by law enforcement — called...

Che Cafe at UCSD must close, judge rules SAN DIEGO — The student-run Che Cafe at UC San Diego will have to close its doors after a judge ruled Tuesday in favor of the university in its eviction lawsuit. UCSD filed suit after the student collective refused to vacate the 1940s- era building on campus. University officials said the building needs $700,000 in repairs to stay open. Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal ruled in favor of UCSD after a bench trial.

The guy wearing the red bandanna didn’t mess around. Measuring, cutting and hammering away, he made sure the siding was just right for the new house in Oak Cliff. Nothing like having a seasoned leader on the job. Former President Jimmy Carter didn’t let a little heat and his age (90) get in the way Wednesday morning at the house on Exeter Avenue.

On Tuesday #Anonymous released the private information of St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar and his wife and children. The group posted a link to the information in a tweet.

A pencil-necked geek harasses thugs in the ghetto who in response gets beat up. This insane individual then does it again and again and again, despite how often and severe he gets beat up.

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)During a town hall with young people, President Obama explained how he deals with people who criticize him. “I just don’t watch TV,” Obama joked, after he was asked about his critics during a town hall promoting the White House "My Brother's Keeper" initiative. Obama advised young people to listen to critics who actually had their interests at heart. “Who gives you constructive criticism because they’re invested in the same things you are but maybe can see the things you can’t, versus folks who are just -- what’d someone say -- hatin’? Somebody just hatin’, just haters?” Obama said. Obama...

Contrast and compare the years since 2009 in Detroit according to Google and Bing: [Photos]

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Friends of a 21-year-old man fatally shot by a Jefferson County sheriff's deputy one week ago have recorded a video lashing out at police, and some law enforcement officers countywide are on a heightened alert. The three-minute video produced by BLACK DISTRICT is a tribute to Devante Kyshon "Red Man" Hinds, who died May 9 near Walmart and Milo's on Parkway East. Authorities said Hinds tried to run a deputy over with a car and then was shot to death by lawmen. Authorities said Hinds was involved with a heroin deal when he was shot. He was...

A gun pointed at his gut, the off-duty sheriff's sergeant digs through his pockets with his left hand, fumbling for money, as the three robbers surround him at the Far South Side gas station. The sergeant is surer with his right hand, quickly drawing his own gun and firing point-blank. The gunman, 16, drops at his feet as the two others scatter, according to surveillance video that captured the robbery Monday night at a Citgo station at 103rd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, across the street from Gately Stadium. The sergeant swings around at the fleeing robbers, then points the...

Society crumbles when it takes cues from the underclass When Snooki, whose talents include getting sloppy drunk and throwing up on camera, made Barbara Walters’ “Ten Most Fascinating People” list a few years back, one could only ask: Was Octomom not available? Last year, “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” which features a cornucopia of social ills, was TLC’s highest-rated show, attracting more cable viewers than the Republican National Convention, which had the misfortune to share the time slot with the charmers from Georgia. The show’s matriarch, June Shannon, has four daughters by four men, one of whose names she can’t...

As in cockroaches. But vermin is nothing new in a building that is 213 years old--and roaches aren't the worst of it...

Ghetto Tracker” was the name of an application that exploded with controversy on its launch. So much controversy in fact that it’s already changed the name to “Good Part of Town” and apparently been taken down. The application was proposed for savvy consumers to avoid dangerous parts of town by showing which ones are ghetto, or unsafe. As a response to the public backlash the site has been removed with a picture stating that “It’s not worth the trouble.” The app reportedly didn’t even work properly. Critics had pointed out that the site listed areas such as Greenwich Village in...

Hot or Not? Rihanna Instagrams her gold AK-47 grill In a recent Instagram post, controversial pop-star, Rihanna, shows off her new, golden AK-47 grill. Her fan reviews are mixed. Some seem to love the new dental bling while others cast it off as just another attempt to maintain her “bad girl” image. What do you think?

Federal judge blocks lawsuits against Detroit’s bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes stopped three lawsuits threatening to undo the city’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing. Detroit retirees had argued that the bankruptcy could dimish their pensions. DETROIT — A federal judge agreed with Detroit on Wednesday and stopped any lawsuits challenging the city's bankruptcy, declaring his courtroom the exclusive venue for legal action in the largest filing by a local government in U.S. history. The decision by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes was a major victory for Detroit, especially after an Ingham County judge last week said that Gov. Rick Snyder ignored the...

Doctors with black patients need to think twice before indulging in humor, as a Tennessee doctor recently learned: A Mid-South woman has filed a complaint with the Tennessee Department of Health after she said the doctor she went to see for back pain gave her an insulting diagnosis. “He said ‘I know what the problem is. It’s ghetto booty,’” said 55-year-old Terry Ragland about what she was told by Dr. Timothy Sweo in April. “I think I blacked out after he said ghetto booty. I think my mind was just stuck on the phrase because I couldn’t believe he said...

Hey folks, We’re trying something different for today’s mid-day update. Rather than write a bunch of text, I’ve imbedded below some of the more key tweets I’ve made over the course of the morning. (This has the benefit of giving me a few minutes to each some lunch.) Hopefully, the tweets below will give you a sense for how West’s cross-examination of Rachel Jeantel has gone so far this morning. We’ll have a detailed analysis, of course, in this evening’s end-of-day wrap-up post. Enjoy, and be sure to check back in to our live coverage page at 1:14PM (EST), here:...

<p>NEW YORK — A company that promised sightseer tours to the Bronx that included a New York City "ghetto" has stopped the bus rides under protest from an outraged neighborhood.</p> <p>Real Bronx Tours, which took mostly European tourists from Manhattan to see life in the South Bronx "from a safe distance," issued a statement this week saying it would immediately cease all tours there.</p>