Free Republic

Kenneth Byrd and his family were settled in their North Carolina home Monday night when there was a knock at their door. A stranger claimed his car was having mechanical problems and asked for water, according to a statement released by the Robeson County Sheriff's Office and obtained by PEOPLE. Suddenly, two more men appeared and demanded money. They were dressed in black and wearing ski masks. The suspects were armed with handguns and attempted to rape Byrd's 19-year-old granddaughter. "Mr. Byrd retrieved a weapon and several shots were fired between Mr. Byrd and the suspects in the house," according...

CONWAY, SC (WIS TV) - A man accused of sexually assaulting a victim Thursday was beaten by an acquaintance of the victim before the police even arrived. William Mattson's mugshot clearly shows the result of what happened to him early Thursday morning before officers with the Conway Police Department came to the scene around 12:57 a.m. Police found the mangled Mattson, 52, at the Highway 905 residence with the victim claiming the sexual assault. Investigators stopped short of saying who exactly beat Mattson, but said the person was "acting in defense for the victim." Mattson was then arrested and taken...

...Initial reports say the officer was not hit and is uninjured. The suspect has taken off on foot, and authorities in the area are searching for him

TEXAN LOOKING TO SHORE UP “CONSERVATIVE” SUPPORT IN PALMETTO STATE. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz will attend the 2015 South Carolina Tea Party convention next month, sources close to the event tell FITS. The Texan – who along with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is seeking to emerge as a leading alternative to the GOP “establishment” – is the third presumptive “Republican” presidential prospect to commit to the event, which is being held in mid-January in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Also attending? Social conservative Rick Santorum – who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination in 2012 – and neurosurgeon/ author Ben Carson, who...

Fox News anchor Sean Hannity, also a nationally syndicated radio host, is tripling down on his calls to demand new blood in House GOP leadership. In the wake of Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) rebuffing his call to run against Speaker John Boehner after the white supremacy scandal that has rocked Boehner’s ally, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, Hannity is calling on every Republican member of the House of Representatives to reconsider whether Boehner is in fact an effective leader. “Every Republican member needs to ask themselves if John Boehner is really the best person to lead the conservative movement at...

Conservative members of Congress are frustrated with House Speaker John Boehner’s (shown) leadership and are expected to opt for a change on January 6, when the official speaker’s election is held. While this vote is typically just a formality, conservative lawmakers are hoping to use the opportunity to remove the Ohio Republican, who has served as speaker since 2011. After the November elections, Republicans had decided behind closed doors that they would be nominating Boehner (R-Ohio) for speaker and did not offer any other nominees. “Rep. Boehner was selected as the House Republican Conference’s choice for Speaker last month,” Boehner...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Saturday that the Senate will take up an Iran sanctions bill in January, setting up a tough vote for Democrats. During an appearance alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, Graham said there will be a vote on legislation drafted by Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) in January. The measure would impose additional sanctions on Iran if it violates the interim nuclear agreement or walks away from talks. "I’m here to tell you, Mr. Prime Minister, that the Congress will follow your lead," Graham said. "In January...

What is it about conservatives anyway? Not only do they keep picking fights they cannot win, but they keep dragging the rest of us down with them. You might say it started with the Civil War, and it is still going on as lawyers seek payment from the state of South Carolina for their work defending the right of a gay couple to marry against the political ambitions of state Attorney General Alan Wilson. Attorneys for Colleen Condon and Nichols Bleckley have asked a federal judge to order the AG to pay $152,710 for their time and service. As The...

H. 3087, “Registration by Party” Pre-filed by Chip Limehouse It is time to begin asking YOUR representative to support this bill. We know Senator Shane Martin is on board, and I believe our Senators Lee Bright and Tom Corbin will also support this when the time comes. The Spartanburg County Republican Party sent out a press release in September 2014 urging our Spartanburg Delegation to support Registration by Party legislation. Therefore, the Spartanburg County Republican Party calls on Representatives Rita Allison, Doug Brannon, Bill Chumley, Derham Cole, Mike Forrester, Eddie Tallon and Donna Wood, Senators Lee Bright, Tom Corbin, Shane...

The Jerusalem Post reports: Secretary of State John Kerry would not guarantee the US will veto unilateral Palestinian actions at the United Nations, speaking to reporters on Tuesday. “We’ve made no determinations about language, approaches, specific resolutions, any of that,” the secretary told the press in London. “This isn’t the time to detail private conversations. or speculate on a UN Security Council resolution that hasn’t even been tabled.” Tabled yet or not, Jordan and France have publicly declared their intentions to move forward with resolutions that would set a UN-mandated timeline for Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank, without approval...

Alexander (R-TN) Ayotte (R-NH) Barrasso (R-WY) Coats (R-IN) Cochran (R-MS) Collins (R-ME) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Enzi (R-WY) Flake (R-AZ) Graham (R-SC) Hatch (R-UT) Heller (R-NV) Johnson (R-WI) Kirk (R-IL) McCain (R-AZ) McConnell (R-KY) Murkowski (R-AK) Toomey (R-PA) Wicker (R-MS) Not Voting Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK)

It’s a question that will prove crucial next year when Mitch McConnell takes the reins of a new Senate: Just how big is the Ted Cruz caucus? Three votes on the “cromnibus” late Saturday night suggest it could be as large as 22 senators — a dangerously high number for McConnell — or as few as a handful. Let’s break down the three votes — on filibustering the $1.1 trillion package, on Cruz’s point of order aimed at targeting the president’s immigration action, and final passage. The high-water mark for the Texas Republican came on his point of order vote,...

Did you know that there’s been a massive uptick in white thugs setting black folks on fire, yet the media has been virtually silent on this horrendous subject? Sure, we all have heard of Darren Wilson's shooting Michael Brown, but there has been no coverage of the aforementioned. Like in zero… nada… nothing… zilch. What kind of racist “news outlets” would be so heinous to cover up such gross and unspeakable evil? Why haven’t the most powerful people in our government and the entertainment industry spoken out and condemned this obvious xenophobic act of viciousness? How come there has been...

<p>A soldier returning home for the holidays to see his wife and newborn baby in Central is being kicked out of his wife's apartment after the landlord said he is overstaying the time allowed for visitors.</p> <p>Sergeant William Bolt is stationed in Missouri, but his wife has been in Central. She gave birth to their daughter two weeks ago.</p>

Ebony Wilkerson to plead not guilty by reason of insanity to three counts of child abuse

GOP members have released their draft amendment to defund President Barack Obama’s national amnesty. “None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available, including any funds or fees collected or otherwise made available for expenditure, by this division or any other Act, or otherwise available to the Secretary of Homeland Security, for any fiscal year may be used to implement, administer, carry out, or enforce the [amnesty] policies,” says the short amendment. The new anti-amnesty language is being pushed by Arizona Rep. Matt Salmon, South Carolina’s Rep. Mick Mulvaney and Virginia Rep. Dave Brat, who unseated the GOP’s pro-amnesty majority...

The GOP’s draft 2015 “omnibus” spending bill reportedly includes $948 million to help poor and unskilled Central American migrants establish themselves in the United States, but includes no effective restrictions on President Barack Obama’s plan to provide work permits and tax payments to millions of resident illegal immigrants. That new spending works out to $16,928 for each of the 56,000 youths, young adults and children who crossed the border during the 12 months up to October 2014.

House Speaker John Boehner announced Monday that he is reappointing Rep. Trey Gowdy as chairman of the House Select Committee probing the Benghazi attack. Boehner said in a statement that there are still many unanswered questions about the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in Libya. U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans died in the attack. “I look forward to the definitive report Chairman Gowdy and the Select Committee will present to the American people,” Boehner, R-Ohio, said. Boehner said that he is also re-appointing all the Republican members of the committee.

Trey doing what he does best!

On Thursday "Inside the NBA" on TNT, panelists Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith discussed the issues of Garner, race and Ferguson in light of Barkley's recent remarks on police and accusations of police brutality motivated by race.