Free Republic

A swarm of “masked tough guy wannabe thugs” trapped a Virginia cop inside her patrol car as they jumped on the hood and tore it apart — before one driver mowed down another cop who was coming to her aid. Shocking bodycam video from the out-of-control “street takeover” showed hundreds of people retaliating against the officers for breaking up their 3 a.m. Sunday car meet-up, according to Fairfax County police. “I’ve got a huge crowd. They’re hitting the car,” the distressed officer can be heard saying as she radios for backup.

Ask anyone in Massachusetts: the best place to live out your last few years on Earth is Worcester. Or Springfield. This week, U.S. News & World Report released its ranking of Best Places to Retire, and the only two to crack the top 100 in Massachusetts were Worcester and Springfield. Keep in mind this is a list that ranked Harrisburg, PA, No. 1, and put Flint, Mich., ahead of cities surrounded by natural beauty, culture and attractions like Boise and Las Vegas. This year’s list is based on the evaluation of the nation’s 150 most populated metropolitan areas based on...

Fairfax County police want residents to be aware of a robbery scheme called "bank jugging." According to investigators, suspects scope out people walking to ATMs, banks, and other financial institutions. They observe them withdrawing a significant amount of cash. The suspects then follow the victim as they drive away and park their cars at another location, leaving the money in the vehicle. The thieves then break the window of the car and steal the money. According to Sgt. Jonathan Epperson, the most recent bank jugging case happened back on Friday, Sept. 15 around 3:13 p.m. A victim withdrew $9,500 from...

A driver in Colorado tried to avoid being arrested for a DUI by swapping seats with his dog after being pulled over. The unknown man was stopped by police in Springfield, Colorado, just before midnight on Saturday for allegedly driving 52 mph in a 30-mph zone. Springfield Police Department said that they conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle which had been traveling near 7th and Main Street in the town. In a post to Facebook, the department said: 'The driver attempted to switch places with his dog who was in the passenger seat, as the SPD officer approached and...

As a seventy-year resident of Springfield, Ill, I was amazed and amused that there was an article in the Wall Street Journal, a supposedly reputable, savvy business newspaper touting Springfield as a great place to buy a house. It is as if the reporter doesn’t know how to read, think, analyze, and ask questions before regurgitating something. WCIA TV writes:Springfield was featured in a national publication as one of the best housing markets.An article in the Wall Street Journal published earlier this month listed Springfield, Illinois as number 17 out of 300 for towns on the WSJ/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets...

An investigation is underway and two dogs are dead after an Amazon driver’s body was found in someone’s yard just outside of Excelsior Springs. Ray County Sheriff Scott Childers said that they received a call around 8:30 p.m. Monday regarding an Amazon van that had been outside a residence for several hours, KCTV reported. Deputies said when they arrived at the scene, they found a deceased male in someone’s front yard. It appears that he was an Amazon driver. At this point, Childers was told that there were two dogs at the scene who had been aggressive toward deputies and...

The impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision on firearms is reverberating throughout Massachusetts and in particular in Springfield where the Police Department found its decades-old practice of routinely restricting — or even denying — licenses to carry firearms was suddenly unconstitutional. “With the new changes from the Supreme Court decision, that’s all gone,” said Deputy Police Chief William Cochrane. ... The concern among lawmakers is that Bruen will chip away at Massachusetts’ gun laws, considered among the toughest in the nation, that have been on the books for decades and longer in some instances. The first law...

Bond was set at $5 million for a man arrested and charged with the murder of an Illinois welfare worker who was stabbed to death while conducting a home visit Tuesday. Benjamin Reed, 32, was arrested on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery, and unlawful restraint for allegedly stabbing and killing 36-year-old Diedre Silas, a state Department of Children and Family Services investigator.... ...Silas was allegedly conducting a welfare check on at least one of the children living in the home when she was attacked... ...DCFS Director Marc Smith said...Staff members decide whether to go alone, in pairs, or summon...

BOSTON — The man accused of killing three people during a notorious New England crime spree has died, surrounded by the prison walls he’s been staring at since 2001. Gary Lee Sampson was convicted in the murders of two Massachusetts men, Jonathan Rizzo and Phillip McCloskey, during carjackings in 2001 and for the killing of a New Hampshire man, Robert Whitney. The Bureau of Prisons shows Sampson, inmate number 23976-038, died on December 21 at the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. In a statement, the BOP said “For safety, security and privacy reasons, this office does not...

Baystate Health is 20% over capacity for hospitalized patients and 14% of its staff positions are vacant during a COVID-19 wave that isn’t expected to peak until the second week of January. Dr. Mark A. Keroack, president and CEO of Baystate Health, isn’t shying away using from the word “crisis” and urged today the state reinstitute a mask mandate. “It feels like (a crisis) right now to me,” he said. “We don’t have the people. We don’t have the space. We always find a way to take just one more.” He cautioned Baystate’s ability to admit that next patient —...

The family of a fully vaccinated Illinois woman who died from COVID-19 has blamed the millions of unvaccinated Americans for her death. Candace Ayers, 66, of Springfield, was vaccinated with the Moderna shot in March along with her husband Terry before being infected with the virus. She died six months later, on September 3 at HSHS St. John’s Hospital. Her family published an obituary which stated: 'She was preceded in death by more than 4,531,799 others infected with Covid-19. She was vaccinated but was infected by others who chose not to be. The cost was her life.' Her son Marc...

A Missouri middle school teacher is no longer employed by Springfield Public Schools after a video surfaced showing her berating a male student as a "straight jerk," "butthead," and "weasel," apparently over his LBGTQ objection, the Springfield News-Leader reported. Cellphone video of the May 27 incident begins with the unnamed teacher angrily addressing the student, apparently after he interpreted the unicorn cupcakes she brought to the Pershing Middle School classroom for the last day of class as pro-LBGTQ, the paper said. Indeed, the LGBTQ community has adopted the mythical animal as a symbol of sorts in recent years. The clip...

On March 23, Mohammad Anwar of Springfield, Virginia, a 66-year-old immigrant from Pakistan earning his living as an Uber Eats driver, was killed by two girls, ages 13 and 15. They carjacked Anwar, Tasered him and then, as he held on to the car (the source of his livelihood) in an attempt to stop them from stealing it, floored the gas pedal and crashed the car, killing him when he was thrown from the vehicle.As reported the next day in The Washington Post:"Anwar tried to force his way back into the car by climbing on top of the teen in...

The News-Faker of the Week Award goes to… – Well, it goes to CNN, because of course it does. We’ve all heard by now of the tragic story out of Washington, DC last week of the Uber Eats driver who was murdered by two teenage girls who tased him and attempted to rob him in a carjacking incident. After being tased, the driver, a 66 year-old resident of Springfield, VA named Mohammad Anwar, lost control of the car and ran off the road. He died at the scene, and the girls were arrested by DC cops and charged with felony...

Far-left DC Mayor Muriel Bowser shamed the Uber Eats driver who was murdered by two teenage girls for not taking the proper precautions to ‘prevent auto theft.’ Two young teenage girls were charged with felony murder after killing a man in DC in broad daylight during an armed carjacking. Instead of fleeing the scene after the car crashed and rolled on its side, one of the girls began looking for her cellphone that was in the vehicle — while walking nonchalantly past their victim’s body. The girls, both black, are only 13 and 15 years old. Their Pakistani victim, Mohammad...

Two young teenage girls have been charged with felony murder after killing a man in DC during an armed carjacking. Instead of fleeing the scene after the car crashed and rolled on its side, one of the girls began looking for her cellphone that was in the vehicle — while walking nonchalantly past their victim’s body. The girls, both black, are only 13 and 15 years old. Their Pakistani victim, Mohammad Anwar, 66, of Springfield, Virginia, was driving for Uber Eats when the girls attempted to steal his car and tased him.

I’m certainly hoping that newly elected Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch has the leadership skills, the wisdom, the guts and the character to help yank the state back from the economic abyss and promote legislation that will improve our quality of life. Does he? “A 2002 police report indicates that officers in west suburban Hillside were called to Welch’s home, where an ex-girlfriend told them that Welch slammed her head into a kitchen countertop numerous times after she called him ‘a loser.’ The woman did not press charges after talking it over with a relative of Welch’s.” “Welch also faced...

Here's What You Need To Remember: The Smith & Wesson M&P (Military and Police) was first introduced in 2005 and as a hybrid of two previous guns, the Sigma and the SW99. Like the rest of the guns on this list, it has polymer frame and steel slide, a large internal magazine (seventeen rounds) and a striker-fired operating system.The 9mm Luger, invented before the Great War, is one of the longest-serving gun calibers in history. Introduced in 1901, it has served in virtually every conflict since then up until today. From World War I’s German army to the British army...

Police have asked the public for help identifying multiple drivers suspected of intentionally defacing a Black Lives Matter street mural in Springfield, Massachusetts, in September. The Springfield Police Department shared several videos of drivers doing burnouts and leaving tire tracks on the words, which are painted near the Springfield City Hall. Police said they have been investigating one incident from September 14 and two from September 20. The Springfield Police Department said it requested a criminal complaint, with felony charges of defacement of real or personal property, for a suspect involved in the September 14 incident. Police said they were...

When John Delaney saw anti-police slogans painted all over memorials at a park dedicated to two police officers killed while on duty, the retired police sergeant said he just started crying. Delaney, who said he visits the park named in honor of Michael Schiavina and Alain Beauregard often, said he was horrified to see ACAB sprayed in red on the entrance sign the park that bears the name of the two men and again on a bench and FTP across a stone monument that bears plaques honoring the two men when he visited the park on North Branch Parkway Sunday....