Free Republic

FOB MAREZ — Soldiers of the 3rd "Greywolf" Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, have begun packing for their return to Fort Hood, Texas, which will officially end their year-long deployment here. "Everyone is excited," said Cpl. Jennifer Nicholson, the supply non-commissioned officer for Forward Support Company G, 2nd Bn., 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd HBCT. "Everyone wants to pack to go home because it means it's getting closer to us leaving." In the face of that excitement, the packing process itself is a daunting task that requires attention to detail and a lot of hard work by the...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2009 – Deployed and hospitalized servicemembers are expected to make about 120,000 calls home this Veterans Day, and it won’t cost them one thin dime. The Veterans of Foreign Wars organization is once again offering “Free Call Day” through its Operation Uplink program. USAA, which offers financial services to servicemembers, is sponsoring the day of free phoning, which is expected to total some 1 million minutes. “We are very pleased to join forces with USAA, an association recognized as a devoted friend and advocate of the military community, to offer a special Veterans Day Free Call Day,”...

A Franconia Township homeowner who found a burglar in his home early Sunday morning grabbed a shotgun and fired several shots as the person fled. According to Franconia Township Police, the resident of a home in the 300 block of Oak Driver heard a noise in his kitchen at 2:30 a.m. The homeowner saw a man run out of the kitchen door after taking an undetermined amount of cash that was left on the kitchen table, police said. Wielding a shotgun, the homeowner chased the burglar through his backyard, firing several rounds in the direction of the suspect, police said....

PORT CHARLOTTE - Two men, armed with a knife and a tire iron, reportedly forced their way inside a Port Charlotte home Saturday night, only to find the occupants had guns. The botched home invasion robbery ended quickly when one of the suspects sustained a nonfatal gunshot wound to the stomach, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. Authorities have arrested one man and intend to charge the other upon his release from a Fort Myers-area hospital in connection to the attempted robbery at the 21000 block of Beaverton Avenue. The incident occurred around 10 p.m. at the home of...

U.S. Marines load an oversized floodlight onto a flatbed truck at Camp Taqaddum, Oct. 21. Marines and Sailors with CLR-27 (Fwd) are participating in the responsible drawdown by removing equipment and gear from Iraq. Photo by Gunnery Sgt. Katesha Washington, 2nd Marine Logistic Group Public Affairs. CAMP TAQADDUM — Marine Corps participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom is drawing to a close, and Marines and Sailors are preparing equipment for shipment back home or to other parts of the world. As part of the departure, one of the Marine Corps' largest bases in the country is on its way to being...

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C.-- Police have made an arrest after a team of robbers invaded a home in Rowan County twice in the same week. Timani Starks and Tiffany Horne have been charged with multiple counts of robbery and Starks is also being charged with attempted murder. Investigators say a home on Corriher Grange Road near Highway 152, was first held up Monday night. NewsChannel 36 spoke exclusively with the Deadmon family after the first home invasion. They told us how the robbers forced them to open the safe at gunpoint. Timani Starks and Tiffany Horne They reported the robbery to...

A man San Marcos police said was shot after breaking into a home on Oscar Smith Drive armed with a BB gun, is in stable condition today at University Medical Center Brackenridge, police Commander Penny Dunn said. Police released no names involved in the shooting as they continued their investigation, Dunn said. No charges have been filed in the case, she said. Officers were first called at 9:50 p.m. Wednesday from someone reporting a break-in in progress at the back door of a home in the 700 block of Oscar Smith Drive, Dunn said. One of three people in the...

NEW YORK (AP) - Signs of a weaker housing market gave stock investors another reason to be cautious. Stocks fell Wednesday after the Commerce Department said new home sales dropped for the first time in five months. Sales slid 3.6 percent in September to 402,000 from 417,000 in August, well below the 440,000 analysts had forecast. Investors also pulled back after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its expectation for the nation's economic output for the July-September period. Goldman Sachs expects third-quarter gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 2.7 percent, weaker than its earlier forecast of 3 percent....

Schroeppel, NY - When Deanna Candee and her son, Adam, returned from a shopping trip Saturday to their Schroeppel home, they suspected something was wrong when they saw the garage door open. Candee’s home had been ransacked. An intruder was still inside. As her 25-year-old son moved toward the cellar to check out a noise, Deanna, 48, started into the house, said Wilson Candee, Deanna’s father-in-law. The intruder confronted her and grabbed her by the hair, Wilson Candee said. Adam heard his mother scream, went to her aid and pulled the intruder off. He and the stranger began to struggle....

PINEVILLE, Mo. — A 39-year-old man, who reportedly shot and killed another man in self-defense Sunday night in Anderson, has been turned over to U.S. marshals in anticipation of a federal weapon charge. McDonald County Sheriff Robert Evenson said Matthew D. Robertson, 32, died of a single shotgun blast during an altercation with Michael J. Smith at the Wallain Court apartment complex in Anderson, where both men lived in separate units. Authorities received a call at 8:30 p.m. reporting the shooting at the apartments and found Robertson dead, the sheriff said. Evenson said deputies determined that Robertson was in the...

John Mckinnon at the WSJ reports: Home-Buyer Credit Is Focus of Inquiry The Internal Revenue Service is examining more than 100,000 suspicious claims for the first-time home-buyer tax break ... The tax credit is completely refundable, even if the homebuyer has no tax liability - and this makes it a target for fraud. From the IRS: "[The tax credit is] fully refundable, meaning the credit will be paid out to eligible taxpayers, even if they owe no tax or the credit is more than the tax owed." Also, the credit is separate from the closing, and the WSJ article suggests...

A man who broke into a home near Phoenix was shot and killed Saturday when the homeowners came home, said Oswego County Sheriff Reuel Todd. The owners of the home at 211 Hilltop Drive in Schroeppel fought with the intruder, Todd said. “There was a violent struggle,” the sheriff said. The intruder was shot once with a handgun and died immediately, Todd said. Where the gun came from is under investigation, he said. A source familiar with the case said a woman came home from shopping with an adult son and found the male intruder inside the home. The intruder...

SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) - Caddo Parish Deputies say they've made an arrest related to an early Thursday morning home invasion. Investigators say the break-in happened just after 3 am at a home in the 1100 block of Oak Grove Lane. According to deputies, the homeowner was awakened when he heard someone kicking in the front door of his house. The homeowner said he grabbed a handgun, and when the suspect came into the bedroom, the homeowner shot at the suspect several times. The suspect then ran from the house.

An intruder was shot dead by a resident in a northwest valley home Thursday night. Las Vegas police said four men broke into a house at 3025 Red Bay Way, near Cheyenne Avenue and Buffalo Drive, about 9:30 p.m. One of the four intruders was shot and killed. The other three fled the scene. Nobody else was injured, according to police, who gave no motive for the break-in.

Greensboro, NC -- Greensboro police say an 80-year-old man is not facing charges after he shot and killed a break-in suspect early Wednesday morning. Charles Haithcock called 911 immediately following the shooting of 19-year-old Michael L. Medley who he says broke into his home. Haithcock: "A man broke in on me and pulled a gun. i shot him and he's laying out in the yard." 911 Operator: "Is he breathing?" Haithcock: "I don't know. he broke in the window. He pulled the air conditioning out in the living room. And I heard something and he come back to the bedroom....

Tired from a long day at work, brothers Anthony and Peter Julien arrived home Tuesday night to find a bedroom light on and two bicycles in front of their Pine Hills home. Anthony Julien went inside through the garage, a 9mm gun in his hand. One intruder was in Julien's bedroom to the right. Another man was pointing a gun at him from the dining room on the left. Julien dropped to one knee, knowing it was the stranger or him. "When I saw he had a gun in his hand, I bent down and, 'pow,' I shot him right...

Home rescue plan delaying, not solving crisisTue Oct 13, 2009 12:23pm EDT By Nick Carey and Al Yoon ALBANY, Ohio/WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Within weeks of taking office, U.S. President Barack Obama rode to the rescue of homeowners resigned to financial ruin. Obama, grappling with the worst U.S. housing crisis since the Great Depression, pledged to help as many as 9 million families keep their homes by reworking their mortgages. Eight months later, the plan is plagued by delays, red tape and, some critics say, a reluctance by banks to do their part. Just 17 percent of eligible...

A pair of crooks picked the wrong Milford home to break into. They weren't attacked by the family dog or confronted by the police. Instead, they were confronted by a 13-year old boy. Josh Cichy came home Friday night to two men trying to rob his house. That's when the teen went straight for his spotlight, an airsoft pistol and his shotgun to scare them away. Cichy says he first shined the spotlight in their eyes then fired a warning shot. The thieves took off running. Fox 2's Simon Shaykhet spoke with the teen about how he defended his home....

A homeowner fires shots at a suspect outside their home in West Chester. Police say a man kicked in the door to Edward Honerlaw's home in the 8200 block of West Chester Road, shortly before 2 pm today. After a brief scuffle, the intruder fled to his pickup truck. Honerlaw fired a shot at the suspect's vehicle. Police describe the suspect as a male, white, around 35 years-old, six-feet, 175 pounds, with a gray beard. He was wearing a white hooded sweat shirt. Police are looking for a tan Ford F-150 pickup truck with an extended cab, Ohio license DDK3796....

Feng Shui can help you nurture yourself and bring more prosperity into your life while you get back to work or school this fall. In honoring seasonal changes, you clear out old and bring in new energies which connect you to the natural world around you. Welcome in the new season and get organized, too, with these fall Feng Shui tips: Warm Up Your Environment: Bring some warm tones into the house by switching out pillows and throws. Get your heating system checked; clean the chimneys and fireplace; and stock up on yellow and orange vegetables in your kitchen.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The top general in Iraq is sending home thousands more U.S. troops by the end of October as the American military pulls back from the six-year war. Army Gen. Ray Odierno said in remarks prepared for a congressional hearing Wednesday that the number of U.S. soldiers in Iraq will total about 120,000 over the next month. He said that will mean about 4,000 fewer troops than are in Iraq now—about the size of an Army brigade.

Acorn has been helping illegal aliens receive home loans for years. Finally the media is catching on that the government is complicit in helping the loans to go through. Fox report- video at link

If you've been waiting for home prices or interest rates to fall further before you buy a home, it's time to rethink your strategy. If you act soon, you'll be able to take advantage of historically low prices and interest rates that won't be around forever. And if you're a first-time buyer and you act very soon, you can still take advantage of an $8,000 tax credit. Here are five reasons to take the plunge now. 1. You may get a fat tax credit. The first-time home buyer's tax credit is worth 10% of the home's purchase price, up to...

TITUSVILLE -- Two burglars attempting to steal a car from a Brevard County home were held at gunpoint by the homeowners. Matthew Clark, 20, and Justin Sheppard, 19, are facing several charges including burglary and grand theft. Authorities say the pair was burglarizing a home near Titusville on Karen Drive when the homeowners confronted them with a 12-gauge shotgun. The woman and her son held the two until police arrived. Clark and Sheppard are now being held on $5,000 bonds.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Levi Johnston, the father of Sarah Palin's grandchild, said the former Republican vice presidential candidate wanted to adopt his child so that people wouldn't know her 17-year-old daughter was pregnant. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Johnston said Palin had a plan to deal with Bristol's pregnancy. "Sarah kept mentioning this plan. She was nagging — she wouldn't give it up. She would say, 'So, are you gonna let me adopt him?' We both kept telling her we were definitely not going to let her adopt the baby. I think Sarah wanted to make Bristol look good,...

A Nashville, TN man used his gun to fend off two robbers who broke into his home Saturday night. Police say that two robbers broke in to the man's home on Lindy Murff Ct. The homeowner grabbed his self defense gun and shot one of the home invaders in the chest. Both criminals then fled to a nearby gas station, and tried to claim that they were themselves the victims of a robbery. The wounded criminal was taken to a local hospital, and is expected to survive and face charges. The unwounded criminal has been arrested. The homeowner was unharmed....

CYPRESS, Texas, Aug. 31, 2009 – Hundreds of people arrived today at the home of retired Marine Capt. Dan Moran, a warrior severely wounded in Iraq, to see Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates present him the keys to his new home on behalf of the Helping a Hero organization. They came to see Moran lauded as a hero by a host of luminaries: Astros legend Craig Biggio, Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurt, U.S. Rep Todd Tiahrt from Kansas , and hundreds of others from the community. What most didn’t expect is that Moran would steal their hearts in the process,...

An 18 year old burglar was shot in self defense by the owner of an East St. Louis, IL home. Police reportedly say that just 18 year old Michael Holmes III and another person attempted to break in to a home. The home was being rehabbed by its owner, so that the owner, his wife, and their child could move in to the house. The owner, who is said to be a Navy service member, was working inside the house when the two men are said to have forced their way in. The homeowner opened fire in self defense, killing...

OK Guys/Gals. I have not had an attack in years but after attending a couple of Brewfests and relizing how good Ale is (I quit drinking beer do to gout years ago) and forgetting how crippling and excrutiating an attack of gout is well I have a whole foot invovled. As a careprovider I have to get up (I have an old wheelchair to use the pain is that bad). I dont want to go to the Doc and thought I would try some home flushing of the uric acid. Right now I have a combo in one ice pitcher...

Crook Vs tire iron. This from Today's THV, "Jonesboro police say a man was killed after being beaten by a homeowner during an apparent home invasion. Police say a man armed with a shotgun broke into the home about 11 p.m. Friday. Witnesses told police the homeowner scuffled with the intruder before striking him in the head with a tire iron. The suspected intruder was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — More than 160 Marines and sailors marched onto Victory Field Tuesday, where families sporting custom T-shirts and signs cheered and whistled at the prospect of their loved ones returning home from deployment. Animal Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, returned from their most recent deployment to Fallujah, Iraq, where the unit was responsible for supporting the Iraqi Security Forces, civil reconstruction and the draw-down of American forces in theater, said Maj. Jason Perry, the battalion’s executive officer, and a Flat Rock, N.C., native. Since Animal Co. was one of the...

A proposed resolution set to go before the Belleview City Commission urges the head of every household in the city to have a gun in order to protect their families and to keep the peace in an emergency. On Tuesday, the board will consider the plan, which has been introduced by Belleview resident Donny Barber, to encourage "all law abiding citizens to own a handgun, rifle or shotgun and receive adequate training to become proficient in the use of and safe handling of the weapon so they are prepared to protect themselves and their families." The resolution also calls on...

DIYALA — The small Diyala province village of Jiaffra was once a stronghold for insurgent groups, causing village residents to flee for their safety. After three years of displacement, 16 families returned home to a celebration marked with music and dancing, Aug. 15. During the celebration, residents thanked Iraqi and U.S. forces for their help in bringing safety back to the area. Though there are still struggles in the village for some basic needs, Iraqi government officials promised during the celebration to immediately bring the villagers water and work on providing other necessities as soon as possible. “What a great...

KNOXVILLE — A home invasion robbery last week in South Knoxville that left a teenage boy dead was motivated by the illegal drug trade, and the homeowner who shot the boy had illegal drugs in his house, according to a defense attorney. T. Scott Jones, who has been hired to represent 17-year-old Zahn Christopher Ealey, said that his client surrendered to police Monday after negotiations with the Knox County District Attorney General’s Office led to an agreement that Ealey will face only juvenile charges in connection with the case. “Nobody’s a virgin in this thing,” Jones said. “That goes to...

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A resident shot and killed an intruder in southwest Bakersfield after the suspect shot the resident twice, a Bakersfield Police official said. At 11:11 p.m. Thursday, police received a report of a shooting at an apartment in the 1800-block of Canter Way, police said. Police said they found an adult man outside the apartment suffering from two gunshot wounds to the torso. The man informed officers that the suspect was still inside the apartment. Officers entered the apartment and found Roosevelt Mitchell III, 21, dead with a gun. The victim told them he was home with his...

Despite signs that the real estate market is bottoming out, millions of homeowners are likely to find themselves in worse shape within the next two years. Nearly half of the nation’s 52 million mortgage borrowers will have negative equity by the end of the first quarter of 2011, up from the 14 million at the end of this year’s first quarter, according to estimates in an Aug. 5 report by Deutsche Bank (DB). With so many borrowers underwater – or owing more on their home than it’s worth – the risk is high that they’ll default and their homes will...

An 18-year-old man was fatally shot early Sunday morning at a far West Side home, authorities said. The man, who has not yet been identified, was shot once in the head around 4:30 a.m. at a home in the 5800 block of Cliff Path, said Sgt. Barry Smith with the San Antonio Police Department. Smith said the man and several others had been fighting near the home when another man, who officers said owns the home, came outside. He began to fight with the others, Smith said, and then is believed to have shot the victim on his front porch...

Police say a suspected burglar was shot early Thursday morning during a McCracken County home invasion. The incident happened at about 2 a.m. at a home in the Kevil area. Tthe McCracken county sheriff says a man was trying to break into the home when a burglar alarm went off. The home owner confronted the burglar, then shot him. The burglar's name and condition have not been released.

BRISTOL — Octavious Barnes died Sunday still clutching the $1,100 he took from an 82-year-old bar owner before he was shot. Now, three Blountstown women accused of helping Barnes, 24, face murder charges in connection to his death. “As we were processing the crime scene, it became clearer and clearer he (Barnes) didn’t do everything himself,” Liberty County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Brigham Shuler said Wednesday. Jessica Nicole Long, 19; Heather Marie Ammons, 22; and Mandy Allen, 43, planned and aided Barnes in the robbery of 82-year-old Bradley Harvil, owner and operator of the Slip N’ Slide bar, Shuler said. On...

"I thought he'd come in here and kill me," says Bradley Harvell. The 82-year-old Liberty County man got the shock of his life around 9:00 p.m. Sunday night when a man dressed all in black knocked on his door. Harvell lives off of State Road 12, near the town of Bristol, Florida. When Harvell opened the door, he says the man shocked him with a stun device. The intruder then pushed his way into the home. "He was saying give me your money," says Harvell. "All of it. I want all of it." Harvell says he gave the would-be thief...

Police say a suspected burglar was shot early Thursday morning during a McCracken County home invasion. The incident happened at about 2 a.m. at a home in the Kevil area. Tthe McCracken county sheriff says a man was trying to break into the home when a burglar alarm went off. The home owner confronted the burglar, then shot him. The burglar's name and condition have not been released.

PLAINFIELD, Conn.—Plainfield and state police are looking for an intruder who apparently was scared off when a homeowner fired his shotgun. Police say John Gold heard noises inside his home late Monday night and got out of bed to investigate and saw the movement of a flashlight. Police say when Gold couldn't immediately find his cell phone to call 911, he grabbed his shotgun and began loading it when the intruder confronted him. Gold told police he fired one shot and the intruder, who apparently was not injured, took off. ——— Information from: Norwich Bulletin, http://www.norwichbulletin.com

Orange County Sheriff's deputies say a robbery victim turned the tables on two robbery suspects. “I was in my bedroom sleeping and all of a sudden I heard a pow, pow, pow,” said eyewitness Barry Quintin. Deputies say Miguel Jimenez was walking into his apartment at Villa Tuscany near Ocoee when 18-year-old Andri Benjamin ran up, put a gun in his face and tried to rob him. But Jimenez was carrying a loaded revolver and a concealed weapons permit to go along with it. He pulled his gun out and shot Benjamin several times, killing him. Neighbor Barry Quintin says...

An attempted home invasion late Tuesday in North Las Vegas resulted in an exchange of gunfire and a woman and an intruder being shot. Police said someone tried to enter a home shortly before midnight in the 4100 block of Karma Drive, between West Craig and Alexander roads, when the homeowner opened fire. The intruder fired back and injured the woman, authorities said. Officers were dispatched to the home at 11:52 p.m. and upon arrival found a 31-year-old North Las Vegas resident with gunshot wounds to her leg. The injured woman said she had exchanged gunfire with unidentified men who...

The house was as big as a large barn, although in shape it in no way resembled a barn, being of some plain unadorned vague architectural style that has no name. It had been built in 1910, by the local banker, and had obviously been designed more for social entertaining, and not for the usual domestic sort of life. This was my childhood home alongside the Platte River of Nebraska, from the time I was a year old, until we moved away into the heart of Nebraska, the Sandhills, when I was ten years old. The house was perhaps the...

7/28/2009 - KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AFNS) -- As a 21-gun salute rang throughout Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery July 27, the sound meant a Vietnam War veteran who had been missing in action for more than 40 years was finally home to rest . Active-duty members, retirees and their families gathered at Chief Master Sgt. Quincy Adam's final resting place to pay their respects. Among them was Staff Sgt. Adam Blankenship, cousin of Chief Adam. "It's been a long road for our family waiting for this type of closure," said Sergeant Blankenship, 436th Security Forces Squadron at Dover Air Force Base,...

Daniel Ames reckons he dealt one for the good guys on Saturday night near Soldotna when he came home, found two burglars in his house, wrestled with them over a pistol, then took them down, telling them he was going to blow off their knees if they didn't start following his orders. One of the two 21-year-olds charged with the burglary turned out to be Ames' next-door neighbor, according to a report from the Alaska State Troopers. The young man registered a blood alcohol content of .418, which is more than five times the legal limit to drive. Ames called...

Dallas Richard Helton, 40, of Paint Lick was pronounced dead at 1:42 a.m. Tuesday at the scene of the shooting, Coroner Daryl Hodge said. The shooting occurred at 1524 Old Richmond Road North in Cartersville, about 8 miles east of Lancaster, Hodge said. At 12:46 a.m. Tuesday, the homeowner, Hurlin McQuerry, called 911 to report that a man had forcibly entered his home and that the homeowner had shot him with a .410-gauge shotgun, state police said in a release. Upon arrival, state police found Helton dead of a single gunshot wound to the chest. Helton was wearing a ski...

The Chicago Police Department has spent at least $2.2 million to secure President Barack Obama's Kenwood residence since he was elected in November, according to documents released Monday by the city. The department will be reimbursed by the federal government for more than $1.5 million of those costs. But the expense of protecting the president's home since his January inauguration -- nearly $650,000 through the end of April -- is not currently scheduled to be paid back, according to the city's response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Tribune.

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Garden City police say two men are dead from gunshot wounds in an apparent home invasion.. Police Chief David Lyons said a man and a woman were inside the residence about 1 a.m. Tuesday when two armed intruders broke in through a bedroom window. Lyons said the resident also was armed and gunfire erupted. He said one of the intruders was hit and ran from the house. He was found dead in some woods about 70 yards from the house. The chief said the male resident was alive when police found him in a bedroom, but he...