Free Republic

Any political convention will bring protesters. However, those at the Democratic National Convention might very well take the prize for head-scratching, eye-popping and, most notably, nose-pinching moments. The convention brought some baffling, disturbing sights and spectacles that would make anyone ask, "Did that just really happen?" Outside the convention freedom of speech protests mingled with the aroma of marijuana. Protesters, angry with the corruption of the Democratic National Committee, angry with wealth inequality, angry with….just about anything related to America, gathered in raucous, sneering, unbathed crowds demanding they have their voices heard. The largest faction consisted of Bernie Sanders' supporters...

--SNIP-- ICE wanted to deport Aguirre-Ochoa/Vasquez in 2015 after charges of domestic aggravated assault were dismissed, according to police. But they couldn't because Philadelphia is a Sanctuary City that does not cooperate with the feds, violating the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. The foreign felon, who does not belong here, was released into the wind, free to do whatever he wanted.

Keep an eye on this one.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdYAcsj5Lw0    

Five family members, including a 2-year-old toddler, were found dead in their home in a small Pennsylvania town in what authorities are describing as an apparent murder-suicide.

The FBI carried out investigations Friday, spanning across several locations throughout Philadelphia. FBI agents seized dozens of cartons of files and computers at International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 at 18th and Spring Garden Streets.

Donald Trump on Monday spent part of his July 4th with Sen. Joni Ernst -- fueling speculation that the Iowa freshman senator could be on the short list of his vice presidential picks. Ernst told Fox News they had a "good conversation," adding, "I will continue to share my insights with Donald about the need to strengthen our economy, keep our nation safe, and ensure America is always a strong, stabilizing force around the globe." Earlier, Trump tweeted, "I look forward to meeting (Ernst) today in New Jersey. She has done a great job as Senator of Iowa!"

The mayor of Fairfax City has been arrested and charged in connection with what authorities say was a methamphetamine-for-sex scheme. Richard “Scott” Silverthorne, 50, was arrested as part of an undercover operation by police, authorities announced Friday. The scheme involved offers of meth in exchange for group sexual encounters with men, police allege.

A West Philadelphia neighborhood has lost its block party privileges, and others around the city will have to find an alternate form of aquatic entertainment after the Philadelphia Department of Licenses & Inspections came down with a firm – if obvious – edict: Residents are not allowed to tap into fire hydrants to turn dumpsters into swimming pools. "We are not screwing around, Philly," the Department of Licenses & Inspections wrote, listing several reasons why "you shouldn’t swim in a receptacle most often used for waste." City officials said they were obliged to make that declaration after several residents in...

The conservative tea party challenger who was narrowly beaten in the Republican primary by U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster says he will run against the eight-term incumbent -- as a Democrat. Art Halvorson, a retired Coast Guard captain from Bedford County, received more than the 1,000 write-in votes in the Democratic primary. ... Halvorson has called Shuster too moderate, and the challenger touts himself as a tea party-backed conservative Christian. Shuster is the House Transportation Committee chairman and is Pennsylvania's highest-ranked member of Congress. He beat Halvorson in the 2014 Republican primary, but his second victory over Halvorson in April was...

Saudi Arabia knew that North American shale production could potentially torpedo their hold on the energy market via oil. So, they decided to trounce the natural gas market by opening the floodgates with petroleum. It didn’t work. The Telegraph now reports that shale production has cut prices so low that they can produce at prices that are lower that what’s required to keep Saudi Arabia’s socioeconomic fabric healthy: Opec's worst fears are coming true. Twenty months after Saudi Arabia took the fateful decision to flood world markets with oil, it has still failed to break the back of the US shale...

Clinton has narrow lead in Pennsylvania PPP's newest Pennsylvania poll, conducted entirely after the Democratic convention, finds Hillary Clinton with a narrow lead in the state. She's at 45% to 42% for Donald Trump, 4% for Gary Johnson, and 2% for Jill Stein. In a head to head match up just with Trump she leads by 4 points at 49-45. Both polls- in Pennsylvania and nationally- PPP has done since the Democratic convention basically suggest that the race is back where it was in June. In late June we had Clinton up 46-42 on Trump head to head in Pennsylvania...

An accused burglar is dead in an unusual turn of events after a homeowner caught him breaking into his Leroy residence on Friday night, Washington County Sheriff Richard Stringer said. In an attempt to stop a string of burglaries at his mobile home, Stringer said Nathanial Johnson, 68, of Spurgeon Road set a trap. Johnson parked his vehicle at a neighbor's place on Friday night, went back to his home and waited. Sometime before midnight, Johnson told sheriff's deputies he heard someone knock on the front door of his home. When he didn't answer, the person went to the backdoor...

Why people buy weapons Steve Wier holds one-on-one firearm safety courses for first-time gun buyers at Enck’s Gun Barn in Myerstown, and always asks his students why they wanted the training. One man had agreed to learn to shoot as a bonding activity with his son. After his son passed away, he decided to become trained in firearms anyway in his son’s memory. Couples have told Wier they are looking for a sport they can do together when one of them has a physical problem that prevents other activities. The most frequent reason is a desire to get involved in...

Two weeks ago at the Republican National Convention (RNC) a grieving mother blasted Hillary Clinton for the debacle of the 2012 Benghazi attack. Last Thursday, at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), grieving parents gave a speech criticizing Donald Trump for his statements against Muslims. While all the grieving parents deserve sympathy, the Big Three (ABC, CBS, NBC) network evening and morning shows seemed to only care about the parents that showed up at the Democratic Convention. Khizr Khan and his wife Ghazla’s DNC appearance earned 55 minutes, 13 seconds of Big Three network coverage, nearly 50 times more than Pat...

The New York Times published a great piece Sunday headlined "Electoral Map Gives Donald Trump Few Places to Go." Here's the crux of the article, which was written by the terrific Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman: Even as Mr. Trump has ticked up in national polls in recent weeks, senior Republicans say his path to the 270 Electoral College votes needed for election has remained narrow — and may have grown even more precarious. It now looks exceedingly difficult for him to assemble even the barest Electoral College majority without beating Hillary Clinton in a trifecta of the biggest swing...

Three men were killed in separate incidents in Philadelphia overnight, bringing a violent end to a weekend in which at least eight people were killed between Friday and early Monday.

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Police say that a Clinton supporter lit a flag on fire near a group of Trump supporters and attacked a man near the Clinton-Kaine event downtown Saturday afternoon. The incident happened at the intersection of 10th Street and Penn Avenue around 4 p.m. According to a criminal complaint, police were told Joshua Sturman was in the area to support Hillary Clinton, who spoke at a rally at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center later that afternoon. A group of Trump supporters had gathered on the opposing sidewalk in what police say was a peaceful assembly. Sturman crossed...

Donald J. Trump, confronting a daunting electoral map and a significant financial disadvantage, is preparing to fall back from an expansive national campaign and concentrate the bulk of his time and money on just three or four states that his campaign believes he must sweep in order to win the presidency. Even as Mr. Trump has ticked up in national polls in recent weeks, senior Republicans say his path to the 270 Electoral College votes needed for election has remained narrow — and may have grown even more precarious. It now looks exceedingly difficult for him to assemble even the...

Up until very recently, billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wasn’t sure which candidate he was going to support, but at a Hillary Clinton rally in Pittsburgh Saturday, he removed all doubt, and probably made history in the process. Cuban spoke at length about his own biography, peppering in a few shots at Donald Trump, like saying “Hello” to him in Russian, bragging that his Shark Tank reality show “kicked the apprentice’s ass,” and slamming Trump’s “hardscrabble” beginnings: That was just the warmup, though, as Cuban went on to become perhaps the first person ever to use this particular word...

Hillary Clinton has received a small convention bounce, lifting the Democratic nominee back into a narrow lead over Donald Trump across 11 swing states, according to the latest wave of the YouGov/CBS News 2016 Battleground Tracker. The findings are part of the latest installment of a panel study polling likely voters in competitive states before and after each party’s nominating convention. In the latest survey, Clinton receives the support of 43% of likely voters, a two-point post-convention bounce equal to the two-point bounce Donald Trump received last week. Clinton gained most of her new support from undecided and third-party voters,...