Free Republic

Join us this weekend for some racing on hallowed ground. God bless our troops, families and this nation under God. This thread is dedicated to the men and women in our country's armed forces defending our freedoms. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

Lebanon - A woman is recovering in a Boone County hospital after injuring herself with a three-foot sword over the weekend. Katherine Gunther put a hole in her left foot in a cemetery early Saturday with a sword she was wielding as part of a Wiccan ceremony...

INDIANAPOLIS— For the first time in the state's history, Indiana's credit rating has been raised to AAA, the highest rating assigned by the independent credit rating agency Standard & Poor's Ratings Service (S&P). The upgrade from AA+, the state's rating since January 2006, "reflects the state's continued strong management that has led to the property tax reform that has realigned state and local spending and is not expected to impact the state's long-term financial performance.

FRANKLIN, Ind. -- He was trying to protect his family during a home invasion when a Franklin man said he was shot with his own gun Wednesday night at the family's home. James and Amber Duncan told 6News' Renee Jameson they were upstairs when they heard a loud noise in the garage. While Amber Duncan called police, James Duncan said he grabbed his rifle and went to investigate. He said when he walked into the garage, he was attacked. "He just took the gun from me, hit me in the stomach, knocked me back and then pointed it at my...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – It was a cross between "The Dating Game" and "24" as Sen. Barack Obama was flanked by two potential running mates Wednesday while criticizing President George W. Bush's efforts to confront emerging forms of potential terrorism. As experts talked about dirty bombs, anthrax and attacks on the nation's computer infrastructure, many eyes were trained on Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana and former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia. Both have been listed as potential Obama running mates and both live in key red states that Obama's campaign has targeted for the general election. Although Obama has expressed...

Indianapolis - A great grandmother believes a higher power helped her and three family members survive a Monday night shooting. Before stray bullets from a gun battle at Sherman Drive and 38th Street ripped through her car, Charlotte Thompson didn't even know what gunfire sounded like. "I'd never heard a gunshot," she said. She was sitting at a red light around 7:00 pm Monday when the fight broke out. "We heard this pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow," Thompson said. "Then Shyann said 'Oh! I'm shot!'" Her 10-year-old great granddaughter was sitting in the back seat, shot in the stomach....

...Also standing along Obama's route to the summit were organized supporters of Obama's Republican rival, John McCain. Students for John McCain at Purdue University displayed campaign signs in front of Purdue Memorial Mall. Ross McMullin said the group is rallying for McCain because they said he has the experience needed to lead the country, especially in national security issues. ... The group said, even on a day centered around Obama, they see support for McCain, including the honks they received from passersby.

Invoking the spirit of the 1858 debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas that started in Ottawa, Steve Sauerberg, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Monday challenged Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, to a series of debates. "What better way is there to honor Abraham Lincoln's brilliant legacy than by following his example and participating in a robust conversation on the issues that impact Illinoisans?," Sauerberg asked in a press release. He noted this year marks the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Sauerberg proposed he and Durbin follow the general schedule of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. He sent a formal request...

INDIANAPOLIS, July 13 (UPI) -- The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq was motivated by revenge for an assassination attempt former President George H.W. Bush, a former GOP member of Congress says. John Hostettler of Indiana also says the invasion was intended to aid Israel. Hostettler -- one of six House Republicans to vote against the 2002 resolution authorizing use of force in Iraq -- makes the claims in a new, self-published book, "Nothing for the Nation: Who Got What Out of Iraq," the Indianapolis Star reported Sunday. "It cannot be debated that toppling Saddam was accomplished by means of a...

"INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - An Indianapolis Metro Police Department officer is currently fighting for his life after being shot while trying to serve a warrant on a possible homicide suspect Thursday night. Officer Jason A. Fishburn, 29, is in critical condition at Wishard Hospital in a medically induced coma. He was shot twice, one bullet hit his torso and was stopped by his bulletproof vest. The second bullet hit Fishburn in the head. Surgeon press conference Doctor Ben Rodgers at Wishard Hospital told reporters that they are very "guarded" about Fishburn's prognosis. Rodgers said, "At this point anything can happen at...

Indianapolis - A witness in a murder trial is missing, leading to an extensive hunt to find him...

In an election today in Indiana, Barack Obama takes 48% of the vote, John McCain 47% of the vote -- a statistical tie -- according to this latest SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for WHAS-TV Louisville and WCPO-TV Cincinnati. Obama's 1-point lead is within the survey's 4 percentage point margin of sampling error,

INDIANAPOLIS -- One of the fireworks bursting above the city this year will contain a bit of cremated remains -- a fitting tribute, organizers say, to the man who ran the annual event for 40 years. Meredith Smith died in February at age 74. About a half-teaspoon of his ashes will be in a fireworks shell that will create a white burst in the sky for the finale of the show, set for Thursday night. "I can't think of a better way," said family friend Kevin Moss. He also will be memorialized through hundreds of T-shirts referring to the tribute...

Seven women pile out of a massive white Chevrolet Suburban and unload the vacuums, mops and buckets of their trade. Gasoline may cost $4 a gallon, but the Chevy's driver and business owner Leesa Baldwin has no intention of downsizing to a smaller vehicle. "I love my Suburban. I don't like paying for the gas, but it simplifies my life," said Baldwin, who bought the used 7,000-pound SUV two years ago for her cleaning business and hasn't looked back. As many Americans abandon SUVs and light trucks for more fuel-efficient vehicles, analysts and automakers alike are scrambling to gauge how...

In an election today in Indiana, Barack Obama takes 48% of the vote, John McCain 47% of the vote -- a statistical tie -- according to this latest SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for WHAS-TV Louisville and WCPO-TV Cincinnati. Obama's 1-point lead is within the survey's 4 percentage point margin of sampling error, and these results should be reported as a tie. Among men, McCain leads by 5; among women, Obama leads by 7 -- a 12-point gender gap. Among voters age 18 to 49, Obama leads by 5; among voters 50+, McCain leads by 3. Obama leads by 22 points...

CROWN POINT | A 20-year-old man is accused of breaking into a Gary home, holding a knife to three children inside and then raping their 16-year-old baby sitter. Cornelius Hines, of Gary, was lying naked, with a pair of socks on his feet and a rag on his head when Gary police arrived, Lake County Criminal Court records state. The 16-year-old girl stood nearby crying, wearing only a white button-down shirt given to her by a neighbor. Hines faces five felonies -- rape, criminal deviate conduct, confinement, burglary and battery. The teen had just given the two young girls and...

BUTLERVILLE, Ind., June 23, 2008 – The scene in Building 7 at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center here was chilling. Marines from Battalion Landing Team 2/6, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, move between buildings during training, June 10, 2008, at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, in Butlerville, Ind. The Marines were using the facility during the 26th MEU's realistic urban training exercise, part of the MEU's predeployment training period. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Aaron J. Rock  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Visitors were greeted by the sounds of a screaming man, covered in blood and missing his legs just...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Allegations of racism and privilege cloud the arrest of a City-County Council member Sunday evening after a scuffle involving police at a house on Indianapolis' west side. Doris Minton-McNeill, 51, was taken into custody on preliminary charges of battery on a police officer and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors. According to a police report, officers were called to Minton-McNeill's home in the 200 block of Medford Avenue at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday after a woman called about an alleged sexual predator armed with a knife at the home. Police said that when they arrived and tried to get information...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Chaos erupted outside Family and Social Services Administration offices in Indianapolis Friday as storm victims lined up to receive emergency food stamps. The state has been giving out the stamps for the last six days, but police were called to some offices Friday as people waited in line for hours, Call 6's Rafael Sanchez reported. The FSSA office at 4720 Keystone Avenue was overwhelmed by demand, and several people got confrontational. Lines began forming as early as 5 a.m. "I was seriously affected by the storm. I lost everything, and I'm listening to people in line and they...

Indianapolis - Police announced the arrests Friday of two men in connection with an April bank robbery and shooting. The high-profile case triggered a massive manhunt after a pregnant teller was shot at the Huntington Bank on 21st and Post Road. The woman survived, but her unborn twin girls did not...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Three Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers accused of running a marijuana distribution ring resigned from the department Thursday evening. A statement released by IMPD said the three submitted their handwritten resignations in jail after being served with notices that the chief was moving to fire them. Federal investigators said James D. Davis, 33, Robert B. Long, 34, and Jason P. Edwards, 37, used their jobs as police officers to divert marijuana and the cash from illegal drug sales for their own use. An indictment unsealed Tuesday charged the three with using fake search warrants to enter private homes and...

To slow its production of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, the Toyota plant in Princeton, Ind., is letting employees decide if they will come to work on six days between now and August. The company announced today that it would refrain from producing the Tundra pickup truck and Sequoia SUV at the Princeton plant on six days before the end of August. Both vehicles are made in the west side of Toyota's factory in Princeton. The "nonproduction days" will affect about half of the 4,500 employees at the plant. The other half works in the east side of the...

The following is a press release issued by Republican Congressional Candidate Jon Elrod: "Today I announce my decision to forego my candidacy for Congress, and to seek re-election to the statehouse. Much has happened in the past eight months since I announced last November. Our campaign reached out to voters with a positive message, fresh ideas, and a vision of a government that works. We ran on issues: balanced budgets, fully funded social security, and an end to earmarks. Two elections have passed, and the voters have chosen the victor. In the meantime, none stepped forward to continue my efforts...

6/16/2008 - INDIANAPOLIS (AFPN) -- Some Indiana National Guardsmen began returning to their homes on June 15, while others began the next phase of their flood duty in the southwest part of the state -- recovery. Joint Task Force - 81 will have 60 of its 1,300 deployed Soldiers stay behind in the vicinity of East Mount Carmel and New Harmony, Ind., said Lt. Col. Deedra Thombleson, the state public affairs officer. These Soldiers will work with local responders to observe the water level at local levees. "The water levels are receding, and the rain coming doesn't look like its...

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2008 – Governors in four of six Midwestern states affected by heavy rains and subsequent flooding called out more than 2,000 National Guard members this week as flood waters forced residents from their homes, left thousands without power and damaged infrastructure. Army Spc. Joseph Stamm, 1st Battalion, 151st Infantry, helps residents load sandbags into their vehicle in Martinsville, Ind. Flash floods tore through the area after more than 10 inches of rain poured over the already saturated land. U.S. Army photo by Spc. William E. Henry, Indiana National Guard  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The...

INDIANAPOLIS, June 10, 2008 – The Indiana National Guard is preparing to continue a long flood fight across the southern part of the state. Flooding resulted when more than six inches of rain dumped into the Wabash Valley on the evening of June 6 and well into the morning of June 7. Guardsmen and equipment are moving to counties in southwestern Indiana, and officials are working with the county emergency management director to ensure they know the most efficient means of requesting Indiana National Guard support. More than 900 soldiers and airmen from across the state have been activated, and...

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. — Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit began to aid local and state civil authorities yesterday after storms dumped more than 10 inches of rain on southern central Indiana in less than 24 hours. At the local agencies’ request, the Marines began their assistance around 4 p.m. by providing video and photographs from CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters to the Morgan County Department of Emergency Management. Marines also liaised with Federal Emergency Management Agency representatives for an initial assessment of the damage in the area. Later that night, Marines dispatched two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters carrying 50...

TERRE HAUTE, Ind., June 9, 2008 – As members of the Air National Guard's 181st Intelligence Wing and the Army National Guard's 519th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion made their way toward Hulman Field here, they had an idea what their mission was going to be during June's drill weekend. Members of the Indiana National Guard’s 181st Intelligence Wing, from Terre Haute, Ind., fill sand bags June 8, 2008, to stem the flow of flood waters that hit the state June 6-7. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Chris Jennings  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. More than six...

Brazil, Ind, native Spc. Ean Blakley of the Indiana National Guard’s 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team registers an Iraqi worker at the host national workforce program center. Blakley has been has been working to identify workers with developed trade skills in order to provide Iraqis with more employment opportunities and Logistical Support Area Anaconda with a more developed host nation workforce. Photo by Staff Sgt. Lesley Newport. BALAD — Hundreds of local Iraqis arrive each work morning at the pedestrian gate of Logistical Support Area Anaconda, bustle through security inspections then are bussed to the directorate of public works’ local...

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL 614 PM CDT SAT JUN 7 2008 ILC031-197-080015- /O.CON.KLOT.TO.W.0024.000000T0000Z-080608T0015Z/ COOK IL-WILL IL- 614 PM CDT SAT JUN 7 2008 ...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 715 PM CDT FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN WILL AND SOUTHEASTERN COOK COUNTIES... AT 613 PM CDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A LARGE TORNADO ON THE GROUND ONE HALF MILE WIDE APPROXIMATELY 1 MILE WEST OF MONEE. NUMEROUS REPORTS HAVE DAMAGED HAVE BEEN RECEIVED FROM THIS TORNADO. THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR MONEE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 26 MPH. THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR... MONEE...UNIVERSITY PARK...AND FRANKFORT BY 620 PM...

INDIANAPOLIS – The private operator of the Indiana Toll Road has sent devices to numerous lawmakers in Indiana giving them a free ride on the highway, and all legislators can get the same deal if they choose. But several lawmakers who have received the “non-revenue� I-Zoom transponders are not using them, saying it is only fair that they pay the same amount as other motorists. “When I got it, I was in a state of disbelief,� said Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City. “I can’t describe it as anything other than a perk. Mine is in the possession of solid-waste authorities.�...

Parts of Terre Haute, West Terre Haute being evacuated Staff report The Tribune-Star TERRE HAUTE — Last night's and this morning’s heavy rains and severe thunderstorms have left many Wabash Valley counties in a state of emergency with all roads closed except to emergency traffic. Vigo County has declared a state of emergency due to wide-spread flooding. Numerous roads are flooded throughout the city of Terre Haute and Vigo County. J.D. Kesler, Terre Haute pubic information officer, told The Weather Channel, that there have been more than 100 water rescues in the eastern and southern parts of the city and...

Pulaski County, Indiana, is typical only if you consider a “typical” American county to be 170 years old, have just over 13,000 folks and its largest town’s population to be 2,500. There’s not even a Wal-Mart in the entire county. Named for a Polish hero of the American Revolution, who died at the famous Siege of Savannah in 1779, the two main towns (Pulaski, and the county seat of Winamac) sit along the Tippecanoe River, named for the famous 1811 Indiana battle that preceded the War of 1812. On Memorial Day Weekend, while driving a circuitous route from Indianapolis to...

Scott Dixon beat Vitor Meira out of the pits on the last stop for fuel and stayed in front the final 29 laps to win the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. It was the first win at Indy for Dixon, who started on the pole and led most of the race despite an early challenge by teammate Dan Wheldon and a late pass by Meira. Marco Andretti was third, and two-time winner Helio Castroneves was fourth. Meira had passed Dixon for the lead after a crash by rookie Alex Lloyd, but the leaders made their final pit stops after a spin...

The 92nd "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday, May 25. The race will be broadcast live on ABC and the IMS Radio Network beginning at noon. ESPN2 will air an additional hour of pre-race coverage beginning at 11 a.m.

NDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Police made an arrest in a robbery that turned deadly. Police said 18-year-old Keith Chandler lured a lock smith to the 600 block of West 31st Street early Wednesday morning...

On the evening of Monday, May 19th, the newly formed River City Animal Defense League (ADL) and friends made our public debut. We took to the neighborhoods, and more specifically the houses of executives and contractors of Gohmann Asphalt and Construction, Inc. Gohmann Asphalt and Construction, Inc. is a disgusting company that has decided to proceed with business in the construction of Interstate-69 (I-69) which is the North American Free Trade Agreement's (NAFTA) superhighway. NAFTA’s superhighway has already been built from Ontario to Indianapolis. It is planned to extend into Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. Once in Texas...

Two people protesting the construction of Interstate 69 have pitched a tent roughly 30 feet off the ground in a cluster of trees near the Gibson-Warrick County line. The two men who appeared to be in their 20s caused a headache Monday for Indiana State Police and Indiana Conservation officers, who considered removing them from the tree before ultimately deciding to leave them there. State police received a tip around 1 p.m. and used a helicopter to spot the men, with several patrol officers assisting on the ground. The land, located near the intersection of Indiana 57 and Indiana 68,...

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Senator Barack Obama has joined fellow Illinois Democratic Senator Richard Durbin in opposing the Canadian National Railway Co.’s $300 million purchase of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway. In a letter to Barrington Village President Karen Darch released Monday, Obama says he is concerned about the potential hardships for communities associated with increased freight traffic. The Democratic presidential candidate cited the impact that increased freight trains will have on traffic and on emergency responders. There are more than 130 at-grade crossings along the rail line. The EJ&E skirts the Chicago area from Waukegan to Joliet and...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis police found something more than they bargained for during a traffic stop on the city's west side, police said. Officers stopped a car during a drug investigation on West Washington and Belleview streets at about 10:30 a.m. When they searched the driver, officers found two grenades in his coat pocket, authorities said. Bomb experts were called to the scene to retrieve the grenades. They were taken to a safe place and detonated, police said. The driver, Sherwin Lester, 25, was arrested on charges of possession of an explosive device and criminal recklessness.

INDIANAPOLIS, May 18, 2008 – While race car drivers sped around the track trying to bump slower competitors out of next week’s 92nd Indianapolis 500 lineup, 55 military recruits took a step to shift their lives into high gear. Mindy Andrews, right hand raised, takes the oath of enlistment from U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana during a ceremony at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Andrews was one of 55 Hoosiers to take part in the annual "Bump Day" tradition. Defense Dept. photo by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Coinciding with “Bump Day,” the last day...

I just read in The New York Times about an incident in a diner somewhere in Indiana. I can just see this whole scene playing out as described: Barack Obama campaigning and walking up to a white, older man who waves him off dismissively and calls him a Muslim who doesn't love his country. The key element is the inability of this man to meet the eye of Mr. Obama. His head goes down and an arm waves out to the side for the offender to please remove himself right away. Of course, the man is in a panic of...

INDIANAPOLIS -- A high school teacher was arrested and suspended after allegations of sex with a student surfaced this week. A 15-year-old male student at The Renaissance School in Warren Township told police that he had sex with Sheila Vazquez during a "lunch" outing during school hours, police said. The incident is alleged to have happened on May 1 following several months of conversation that included sexual innuendo, the student told police. According to a police report, the student indicated that the conversations began innocently in February when he told her that he was bored in school. The student told...

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The May 9 edition of the New York Post carries a short article by an Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis student named Keith John Sampson. He tells a story of how he was charged with "racial harassment" simply because he was "caught" reading an anti-Ku Klux Klan book. I'm not kidding.  Sampson tells his story: The book was Todd Tucker's 'Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan'; I was reading it on break from my campus job as a janitor. The same book is in the university library . . . . But that didn't...

INDIANAPOLIS — Thank you, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Love, Barack Obama. Obama ended the worst two weeks of his presidential run with a razor-thin loss to Hillary Clinton in Indiana. His salve came earlier in the evening in North Carolina where he trounced Clinton, and the result stands to open the superdelegate floodgates in coming days. The nomination fight is essentially over. But the fact remains that Rev. Wright couldn’t have picked a worse time to speak out and get some national media action. CNN reports that exit polling showed that 48 percent of Hoosier Democrats said the Rev. Wright controversy...

It's that time of year again and this here's a thread to discuss the events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for those of you interested in that sort of thing.

Even as Barack Obama's campaign celebrated Tuesday's primary results, aides charged yesterday that they would have had an even stronger showing were it not for meddling by an unlikely booster of Hillary Rodham Clinton: the popular conservative radio host and longtime Clinton family nemesis Rush Limbaugh. The impact of Limbaugh's "Operation Chaos" emerged as an intriguing point of debate, particularly in Indiana, where registered voters could participate in either party's primary, and where Clinton won by a mere 14,000 votes. As he had before several recent primaries, Limbaugh encouraged listeners to vote for Clinton to "bloody up Obama politically" and...

It was midnight and the nation was still awaiting results from the Indiana primary, one of the biggest remaining prizes of the epic Democratic presidential battle between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. But as the clock ticked, the questions and accusations grew louder: What was wrong in Lake County? Was this more politics as usual in a county often suspected of harboring Chicago-style corruption? A day after Clinton eked out a narrow victory in the primary, no one raised allegations of illegal activity. But some say old-school politics were certainly at play in the state's second-largest county, at the...

CROWN POINT | The nation watched Tuesday night as Lake County election officials held the fate of the Democratic presidential primary in their hands -- and held it, and held it and held it. The delay provoked a broadside of allegations from national, state and local pundits of election trickery in a county infamous for vote fraud and political corruption. The firestorm continued into Wednesday -- long after election tallies were finalized -- with national news crews storming the Lake County Government Complex in Crown Point, demanding answers to the county's delayed results. To one Lake County political leader, the...