Free Republic

Fed chief Bernanke issues debt warningBy North America correspondent Jill Colgan, ABC February 3, 2012, 11:08 am United States Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has warned that the US economy could face the same fate as troubled European countries if it fails to curb its growing debt. Mr Bernanke delivered a sobering assessment of the economy that defies recent attempts by the Obama administration to talk up the economic turnaround. Testifying before a House Budget Committee, he said the pace of recovery had been "frustratingly slow". He urged lawmakers to be more aggressive in reducing the nation's $15 trillion debt...

DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - Safety inspectors are on site of the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Cleveland. This after rescue crews were called Friday to Ontario and Prospect for a collapse near the Horseshoe Casino construction site. According to officials with Rock Gaming LLC the collapse happened across from Higbee building, on the site of the parking structure that is currently being erected. The collapse happened around 3:00 PM. There were 22 workers below when the floor with tons of steel, iron, and concrete, came crashing down above them. "They were pouring the concrete in the second floor and there...

Consider yourselves warned. @GridlockSam, our favorite source of New York City traffic information, calls today "the gridlock alert day of the decade." It's going to be a traffic nightmare today as President Barack Obama is in town for three fundraisers, coinciding with the annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. Obama is landing at JFK around 5 p.m., choppering in Marine One to Wall Street, and then attending three events in Greenwich Village, the Upper East Side, and West Midtown. Each neighborhood will be subject to a traffic freeze while the President is on the move. Plus, the area...

FULL TITLE: 'This isn't a party town!' Mayor warns Prince Harry not to 'fornicate the night away' as he settles into sleepy Arizona township He has already made a splash in the States, drinking until dawn and kissing a heavily tattooed cocktail waitress. But party loving Prince Harry has been ordered to be on his best behaviour while he trains in a heavily Christian desert town. Indeed the Mayor of Gila Bend, a tiny community in the heart of the Arizona desert, has warned that the lively British royal risks being taken to task by more than one angry father...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama hailed Muammar Gaddafi's death on Thursday as a warning to authoritarian leaders across the Middle East that iron-fisted rule "inevitably comes to an end," and as vindication for his cautious strategy toward Libya. Obama joined U.S. politicians and ordinary Americans in welcoming the demise of Gaddafi, who was for decades regarded as a nemesis of American presidents, and also claimed some of the credit for the Libyan strongman's downfall. ... "This marks the end of a long and painful chapter for the people of Libya who now have the opportunity to determine their own...

An unknown number of the over 1,000 terrorists who are to be freed in exchange for Gilad Shalit will be allowed to return to Jerusalem. A group of concerned residents has responded by announcing the creation of an informal “terrorist warning system.” The system is simple: activists will keep tabs on freed terrorists, and will alert the public if they attempt to enter public areas or use public transportation. In addition, the terrorists’ pictures and personal information will be made available.... “The public does not know them, and they could wander freely. People do not realize that these are terrorists...

Funny, Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel just can’t remember a darn thing about White House involvement in the $535 Department of Energy loan to bankrupt solar company Solyndra. In an interview with Chicago radio station WLSAM on Tuesday, now-Chicago Mayor Emanuel said that, while he can’t remember anything about Solyndra because he’s so terribly focused on being mayor of Chicago, the investment had nothing to do with “warning signs.” Emanuel originally dodged questions about Solyndra when asked by WSLAM about it several weeks ago, saying, “I don’t actually remember that or know about it.”

Nearly three years into President Obama’s first term in office, Michelle Obama finally said something with which I can agree. At a recent fundraiser for President Obama’s re-election campaign in Providence, Rhode Island, the first lady told her audience: “We stand at a fundamental crossroads for our country. You’re here because you know that in just 13 months, we’re going to make a choice that will impact our lives for decades to come … let’s not forget what it meant when my husband appointed those two brilliant Supreme Court justices … let’s not forget the impact that their decisions will...

Federal authorities are warning that the killing of American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in a CIA-led strike on his hideout in Yemen early Friday may trigger revenge attacks ....

New Zealand, like most Western countries has had socialized health care for decades. It is a constant source of public dissatisfaction and bitching. The system is in perpetual crisis, with overworked and underpaid doctors and nurses, more bureaucrats than health professionals in the system, long waiting lists, rationed care and restricted access to drugs and treatment. Families regularly have take their cancer stricken children to other centers or even Australia for treatment. People mortgage their houses to pay private hospitals to administer treatments not available in the public sector. if waiting lists get too long, you get a letter telling...

Wari Dir Bala, 21 August 2011, Militants have threatened to doctors, mobile dealers through written poster in Dir Bala. In which they warned the local Mobile Dealer that they don’t download songs in mobile phones. According to local media unknown militants has put on wall the written warning in Darora Market. It’s the second warning in the same area in which they warned also the local community, that they didn’t download hot pictures and songs in their cell phones. Militants also warned the shopkeepers that they didn’t allow those people who are not goes for pray to mosque. They threatened...

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa -- A Marshalltown homeowner faces felony charges after shooting at a trespasser Sunday afternoon. Officials said the trespasser has been charged with a misdemeanor. Clayton Jensen told officials he had just come home from running an errand when he looked out his back window and saw a man in his backyard. Jensen said he was concerned for his family's safety. "He was kind of heightened alert because one of his family members had seen someone outside the house at night and then they took off when they were confronted," said Brian Batterson, Marshalltown assistant police chief. Several homeowners...

The no's came from both sides of the aisle. Two Illinois Democrats and three Republicans voted the deal down. ... Jackson Jr. voted against the bill saying the cuts will do nothing to get Americans back to work. Evanston Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky says she couldn't vote for a bill that opens the door to entitlement cuts and does not include tax increases for the wealthy. "I really couldn't in the consciousness do this, which raises $1 trillion in spending cuts[?] of the middle class, the poor, seniors, while millionaires and billionaires are still not asked to pay a single penny,"...

WASHINGTON—Ushering in the largest decrease in auto fuel consumption since the 1970s, President Barack Obama and automobile manufacturers Friday announced a deal that will save drivers money at the pump and dramatically cut heat-trapping gases coming from tailpipes. The agreement pledges to double overall fuel economy to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, bringing major under-the-hood changes for the nation's automobiles starting in model year 2017. Cars and trucks on the road today average 27 miles per gallon. "This agreement on fuel standards represents the single most important step we have taken as a nation to reduce our dependence on...

The state of Texas is warning Americans to avoid travel to the Mexican border town of Nuevo Laredo this holiday weekend because of an anticipated surge in drug cartel violence aimed at Americans. In a news release Saturday, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Webb County Sheriff's Office said their sources indicated that the Zetas drug cartel was "planning to target U.S. citizens who travel to Nuevo Laredo this weekend." Steven C. McCraw, the department's director, also said in the statement: "According to the information we have received, the Zetas are planning a possible surge in criminal activity,...

German Security in charge of protecting Angela Merkel should be prepared to protect her from an Al Qaeda 'Swarm Attack' similar in tactics to the Mumbai hotel hlaughter.

FAITH UNDER FIREWarning issued that Islam is coming Goal is 'grand jihad eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within'Kamal Saleem -Editor's Note: This is the last of a three-part series about Kamal Saleem, a onetime terrorist who abandoned violence for Christianity. "Islam is like a cancer. It grows and expands until it eventually consumes and suffocates the host." Those are the words of warning from Kamal Saleem, the former terrorist who left Islam and converted to Christianity. Saleem was raised by his parents to be an angry, West-hating terrorist and he eventually came to the U. S. to work for...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Asia Vanderwege said she never saw the signs that said "No Soliciting" and "Beware of the Dog." The 14-year-old was attacked by two dogs on Thursday when she went to a home selling candy. "I rang the doorbell and heard dogs barking," said Vanderwege. "I stepped back a little bit and then they burst through the screen door and came at me. Then they were biting me." The bite on Vanderwege's wrist has healed, but she said she has a deeper gash on her hamstring. The American bulldog and boxer mix have been taken to the...

Do you know why America is in a better state than Europe? Because you enjoy more freedom than Europeans. And do you know why Americans enjoy more freedom than Europeans? Because you are still allowed to tell the truth. In Europe and Canada people are dragged to court for telling the truth about islam. I, too, have been dragged to court. I am an elected member of the house of representatives in the Netherlands. I am currently standing in court like a common criminal for saying that islam is a dangerous totalitarian ideology rather than a religion. The court case...