Free Republic

It's a new poll, but the numbers are much the same. An automated telephone survey conducted last month found 51 percent of potential West Virginia voters would pick Rep. Shelley Moore Capito over Secretary of State Natalie Tennant in the race for retiring U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller's seat. The poll found 34 percent of potential voters would support Tennant, while 15 percent are not sure who would get their vote. Pennsylvania-based Republican polling firm Harper Polling conducted the survey, which included 640 likely voters. The poll has a 3.9 percent margin of error. In a question directed only to potential...

WHEELING -- The ex-police officer who opened fire on a federal courthouse in West Virginia was a trained shooter who knew how to kill, yet federal officials said Thursday that he waved people away moments before he started spraying bullets into the glass facade and was later shot dead by law enforcement. Neither the FBI nor federal prosecutors would discuss the motive for 55-year-old Thomas J. Piccard's assault. But two possible theories emerged as investigators gathered evidence and neighbors revealed that Piccard had recently told them he was dying of cancer. U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld said the building being the...

Sen. Joe Manchin III said Tuesday that Democrats should negotiate a debt deal as part of the debt limit increase — a break from Democratic leaders and President Barack Obama. The West Virginia Democrat said he personally is “looking for a bigger plan” to reduce the debt as part of the discussion to authorize payment of the government’s bills. Manchin talked to a group of reporters before Democrats’ weekly luncheon Tuesday and said he supports using the debt limit debate as a vehicle to attach deficit reduction, such as the Bowles-Simpson plan — Democratic leaders and the president have vowed...

Those of you who are supposedly outraged or indignant over the partial government shutdown, or have friends or neighbors who are outraged or indignant, I can tell you all how YOU can fix it. All you have to do is tell pollsters who call that you think Obama and the Democrats are responsible for the shutdown. As soon as that hits the papers, the shutdown will be over before the end of the day. That is because it is Obama and the Democrats who shut down the government, because they are so certain that the Republicans will be blamed for...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A national gay rights organization sued the state of West Virginia over its ban on same-sex marriages Tuesday, declaring its Defense of Marriage Act a violation of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. New York-based Lambda Legal filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in Huntington on behalf of three same-sex couples and the child of one couple. It filed a similar lawsuit last month challenging Virginia’s ban on gay marriages. In the West Virginia case, Lambda Legal argues the state’s ban unfairly discriminates against same-sex couples and their children. The organization says its clients are...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: I have received e-mails today from people who have heard about West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. What Joe Manchin has said today is that he might break ranks from the Democrats and vote for a funding measure that delays the individual mandate. Now, the employer mandate has been delayed until 2015, but the individual mandate has not been. The employers got a one-year waiver from being required to provide insurance for their employees. But the individual citizen is still required, mandated to have insurance, or pay a fine. And Manchin has said that he is willing to...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A former church custodian was sentenced to 15 to 35 years in prison for the sexual abuse of a young family member. Charles Brainard Hogan, 58, of Cross Lanes gave a lengthy statement to Kanawha Circuit Judge Paul Zakaib, telling a courtroom full of people that they had all sinned. "Romans 3:23 says 'for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,'" Hogan said. "So nobody in this court can say they have not committed any kind of sin, because if they do they are a liar." Hogan said he engaged in sexual acts...

For decades, coal from West Virginia’s vast deposits was mined, loaded on rail cars and hauled off without leaving behind a lasting trust fund financed by the state’s best-known commodity. Big coal’s days are waning, but now a new bonanza in the natural gas fields has state leaders working to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself. West Virginia’s Senate president, Jeff Kessler, is pushing to create an oil and natural gas trust fund to support core government functions decades from now. His goal: a cushion of funds long after the gas is depleted to buoy an Appalachian mountain state chronically vexed...

Hamlin, WV - The mayor of Hamlin, WV was asked to resign as pastor of his church after he let Lincoln County Sheriff's deputies use the church bus in a drug bust. Chris Wilkinson has a few jobs in Lincoln County. He's the mayor, the Chief of Police, and up until Monday, was the pastor of Morningstar Community Church. After being pastor for ten years, he said his congregation asked him to resign. He said the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department asked him if they could use the church's bus last Thursday. Nine officers needed to get to a meth bust...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is searching for a man who they believe robbed banks in several states. The FBI believes the man may have robbed 10 banks and attempted to rob two others in five states. The bank robberies happened in Illinois, Missouri, Maryland, West Virginia and Tennessee. In most of the robberies, the suspect showed a note and implied he was armed but no one has been hurt during the crimes. The amount of money taken has not been released. The suspect is described as being in his mid-20s, between 6'0" and 6'3", with short brown or strawberry...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia nonprofit has turned down a federal grant it received to help residents navigate new health insurance options under the Affordable Care Act after it received an inquiry from Attorney General Patrick Morrisey about how it would protect consumer information.Clarksburg-based West Virginia Parent Training Inc. did not respond to a letter it received from Morrisey directing it to answer 26 questions about the group's personnel and hiring practices, including employee background checks and employee monitoring programs, the Sunday Gazette-Mail (http://bit.ly/17M1QVe) reported.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- An 8-year-old boy was taken into custody after police say he stabbed his four-year-old sister in the neck. It happened Sunday afternoon at the family's home on Hunt Avenue in Charleston. Police say the boy was stabbing his sister's baby doll with a steak knife. The girl tried to get the doll back, but police say her brother got upset and stabbed her. The girl was taken to the hospital. Her injuries are non-life threatening, but she is being kept overnight for observation.

We already know Manachin, a Democrat, sold out West Virginia with his gun-control antics and sucking up to Obozo. Is the Republican party that stupid.

Union leaders are joining the growing chorus of opposition to the “war on coal” being waged by President Obama through the Environmental Protection Agency. Raymond Ventrone, who represents more than 2,000 members of the Boilermakers Union in Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, voiced his opposition to the EPA’s latest coal regulations in a letter to the editor in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Ventrone said that he and his fellow boilermakers helped install EPA-approved pollution-control equipment at a coal-fired power plant three years ago. But now, those upgrades have been “deemed insufficient by the very same agency by virtue of new...

Three months ago, the Obama administration made a little-noticed but potentially pivotal move in the stepped-up fight against climate change: it boosted the U.S. government's official estimate of the future economic damage caused by carbon pollution. The move should make it much easier for the EPA and other federal bureaus to enact tougher measures to crack down on emissions by showing that the greater benefits of such measures will justify their costs. "This has all the characteristics of a stealth approach toward making a greenhouse gas rule more justifiable by exaggerating the social benefits," said Luke Popovich, a spokesman for...

uckwild cast member, Joseph "Joey" Patrick Mulcahy, was arrested in Kanawha County Tuesday evening and charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, and failure to report an accident, according to court documents. It happened Tuesday evening. He was arranged just before 11 p.m. According to court documents, West Virginia State Police Troopers were dispatched to the 5300 block of Sissonville Drive to investigate a roll-over style accident. Sissonville firefighters told the arriving Trooper that the driver of the vehicle was taken home by Joe Mulcahy, the defendant's father. Authorities advised Mulcahy Sr. to go get his son. He did,...

It seems our efforts to shine the light on the abortion industry in West Virginia has not been well received by those in the spotlight. Our goal is to protect women and children from the harms of abortion. Sure, we’d like nothing more than to see abortion ended in this “wild, wonderful” state of ours. But as long as it is legal, we want to make sure women are protected and given the best medical care possible. Oddly, the abortion industry thinks such reasonable standards are unnecessary. It all started when Tia Gravely filed a lawsuit against the largest abortion...

Attorney General Morrisey has initiated an effort that requires the help of all of us. He believes that the women of West Virginia deserve to be protected by state regulation and inspection of abortion clinics. He has called for public comment on this issue, and he needs to hear from the pro-life majority in the state. While we might occasionally feel that we have no influence on the pro-life policy of the state, now is a time that we really can make a difference. The politicians of our state need to know that we are here and that we care....

West Virginia state Sen. Evan Jenkins announced Wednesday that he is switching from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party and will challenge longtime Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) in 2014. “West Virginia is under attack from Barack Obama and a Democratic Party that our parents and grandparents would not recognize,” Jenkins said. “I am proud to join the Republican Party in fighting Washington’s assault on our state, our freedoms, and our jobs.” Jenkins is the latest in a growing number of Democrats from Southern state legislatures to make the switch — with many of them coming in Louisiana and Mississippi,...

The legal charges against the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia are not the only challenge that it faces if it wants to continue performing unregulated abortions. The Family Policy Council of West Virginia has launched an “Illuminate” campaign to urge West Virginia to begin ensuring that its abortion centers are maintaining proper medical standards. The Illuminate campaign seeks to show West Virginia the urgent need to increase the regulation of the abortion industry and ensure the safety of women. The campaign is based upon the Bible verse Ephesians 5:11-13: “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but...

Known as The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, the 10,600-acre park opens Monday, when 30,000 scouts are expected to visit for the quadrennial National Jamboree. The Summit will have more than 5 miles of zip lines, a whitewater-rafting circuit, a 120-foot tree house and a stadium for 85,000 people.

NICHOLAS COUNTY, Wv. - UPDATE: Two Nicholas County deputies are recovering at the hospital following a deadly standoff with an elderly man over the weekend. As of Monday morning, Deputy Buddy Stapleton is listed in satisfactory condition. Deputy Tommy Allison is listed as 'under evaluation', according to Charleston Area Medical Center. Stapleton was shot in the leg and Allison was shot in the face during a four-hour long standoff, according to West Virginia State Police. On Saturday, deputies responded to complaints of an argument between a neighbor and 84-year-old John Evans. Stapleton was the first deputy on scene. Investigators said...

Analysts looking through the new border security deal in the Senate say it includes waivers that would let Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano refuse to build any new fencing or install the new technology the plan lays out in close detail. The senators who struck the deal late this week said they were trying to take the decision-making away from the Obama administration and ensure that new fencing and technology would be deployed, but the latest version gives Ms. Napolitano or her successors the ability to waive or ignore those requirements. ... A number of Republicans said they didn’t trust...

Two women are in jail following a bizarre child abuse case that started with violent cell phone pictures. Cecile and Meleny Kranwinkle are charged with felony child neglect and threats by phone. Charleston Police said this started after they got a 911 phone call from a man in New York. The man said his children were being held hostage here in Charleston. He told police someone was texting him violent pictures of his 4-month-old-baby. He said in the pictures, someone was holding a knife to the baby's throat and there appeared to be blood on the baby's clothes.

A parent contacted 13 News reporter Jessie Shafer Wednesday evening, saying his son had turned himself in for the vandalism to 30 Braxton County school buses. That suspect is underage, and as a result, his name will not be released. The father said he is extremely disappointed in his son, and asked for privacy following the confession. We have numerous calls into the Braxton County detachment of the West Virginia State Police and the Braxton County Sheriff's Office, and will update this story as new details arise.

In April 8th grade student Jared Marcum was SUSPENDED and ARRESTED for wearing a NRA T-shirt to school. Local law enforcement officials confirmed Jared Marcum was arrested over the T-shirt. It was offensive. WOWK 13 Charleston, Huntington WV News, Weather, Sports Now it looks like Jared could face up to a year in jail. Guns Save Lives reported: According to a report by WTRF the prosecuting attorney is moving forward with that charge and a judge is allowing the case to move forward. Fourteen year old Jared Marcum could face up to a $500 fine and up to a year...

CHARLESTON, WV, June 11, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The allegations of Itai Gravely, the 26-year-old who is suing a West Virginia abortionist for performing a forced abortion on her without sufficient anesthesia and leaving the baby's head inside her uterus, have drawn attention to a little-known fact: West Virginia is the Wild West of the abortion industry. Jeremiah Dys, Gravely's attorney, said that the state “as a matter of public safety, needs to know that...the abortion industry of West Virginia is unregulated." “That means the state of West Virginia is not inspecting this clinic, licensing its activities, or in any way...

CHARLESTON, WV, June 11, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An attorney for Itai Gravely says that his 26-year-old client, who filed a lawsuit last week in which she claims she underwent a forced abortion at the hands of abortionist Dr. Rodney Lee Stephens, is now expecting another child. Dys made the announcement at a press conference on Monday, according Charleston (WV) Daily Mail. Jeremiah Dys, president and general counsel of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia, who is affiliated with the Alliance Defending Freedom, filed the lawsuit last Friday on behalf of Itai Gravely. Gravely says after she repeatedly told Dr....

News Print Article | Email Friend | Reprint Permissions Abortionist left head in womb, forced woman to go through with abortion: lawsuit by Ben Johnson Mon Jun 10, 2013 15:29 EST Comments () Tags: botched abortion, forced abortion, rodney stephens, west virginia CHARLESTON, WV, June 10, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – West Virginia abortionist Rodney Lee Stephens forced a 26-year-old woman to go through with an abortion she did not want and failed to properly anesthetize her, putting her through excruciating pain, according to a lawsuit filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court. Dr. Rodney L. Stephens Dr. Rodney L. Stephens After the...

On the third-to-last day that Senator Frank Lautenberg ever voted in the Senate, he joined with 53 of his colleagues to support a compromise on new gun regulations. His vote wasn't enough. Now, Lautenberg's death makes the prospect of revisiting that issue — and a number of other Democratic priorities — substantially trickier. Take the gun legislation. The compromise proposal, which would have expanded background checks to include gun show and online sales, was part of a package that was postponed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid after the failed vote. It's expected to come back before the Senate at...

Marshall University Journalism Professor Christopher Swindell, who wrote in a recent commentary that the National Rifle Association (NRA) was guilty of treason and “worthy of the firing squad,” is apologizing for his remarks, telling CNSNews.com on Monday that he was “waaayyy too angry to comment on gun safety” and that he had learned that “American freedom is best served with an armed populace.” … In a May 30 commentary published in The Charleston Gazette, Swindell had harshly criticized the NRA and expressed disappointment in Congress’ failure to pass some form of expanded background check legislation. …

The formation of the Teays River took place about five million years ago during the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era, after the age of the dinosaurs. Tucked away securely inland, and no longer buffeted by waves or crashing continents, the plains of Ohio and the craggy peaks of the nearby Appalachian Mountains were most profoundly impacted by the power of running water... the water flowed south to north, east to west until it found its ultimate outlet in the young Gulf of Mexico, which had lapped up over several southern states in a thick finger that traces today’s Mississippi...

FULL TITLE: Shock as 16-year-old confesses to stabbing classmate who was missing for two months 'just because she didn't like her anymore' Emerging details of a 16-year-old's murder confession, who claimed she acted out a preplanned stabbing last summer, have shaken a small West Virginia community. On May 1, Rachel Shoaf, of Morgantown, pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Skylar Neese and she awaits sentencing in a juvenile detention center. Another unnamed girl is also facing charges. Now, a newly released transcript of a secret plea hearing reveals that Shoaf said she and the second girl carried out a...

What some are calling a local high school prank left one school a smelly mess and students out of the classroom on Friday. A worker at Wayne High School said when staff arrived early Friday morning they found a mess in the school. Someone broke a window and opened a fire escape, then trashed a classroom. The school employee told 13News that deer urine was spilled all over the floor and a desk. Workers also found rancid dead deer parts in the hallway and blood on the floors.

Wherever Lynda Farley goes, she gets the same reaction: an expression between shock and amusement. Farley drives the "Liberty Van"--it's traveled to 48 states over the past 7 years. Her ornate decorations detail her every political opinion (she describes herself as a conservatarian). On Wednesday, her vehicle brought her to some place very new. "They took me over to the jail, made me take my boot off, so they could put a shackle around my leg, they shackled me to a cot," Farley said. According to the criminal complaint, Farley appeared in Preston County Court on Wednesday after receiving a...

Democratic leaders are wooing staunchly pro-gun candidates to run in pivotal Senate races at the same time they are discussing a strategy for bringing gun control legislation back up for debate. The two-pronged effort has prompted Republicans to accuse the Senate Democratic leadership of hypocrisy, but Democrats say it is simply smart politics. The question is whether two of the Democrats’ most promising potential candidates in Montana and South Dakota will pay a price for the leadership’s political maneuverings in Washington. Or will recruiting candidates who do not support President Obama’s gun control agenda have any effect on Democratic fundraising...

His gun-control bill may have fizzled, but Senator Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, isn’t giving up hope. “I was with Pat [Toomey] last night, and Pat’s totally committed to this bill. And I believe that with all my heart,” he said on Fox News Sunday. Manchin predicted that their legislation to expand background checks will “absolutely” come up for another vote. ”We’re going to work this bill,” he said. “I truly believe that if we have time to sell the bill,” it can pass, he said. In an interview last week with NR, Toomey shared Manchin’s perspective. “If we...

Posted from an Android. The fight is not over.

2014 retirements: Dems heading for the hills By: Alexander Burns April 23, 2013 04:49 PM EDT Doesn’t anyone want to run for Senate in 2014? Midway through candidate recruitment season, the bad news for Democrats is this: They are watching a generation of talent leave the Senate and head for retirement. The less-bad news: So far, few marquee-name Republicans are interested in these seats either. When Montana Sen. Max Baucus called it quits on Tuesday, he became the latest in a long series of senior legislators to announce that they’ve had quite enough of life on the Hill. National Democrats...

President Barack Obama delivered an impassioned speech Thursday at the memorial service for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. But that was to be expected. We all know Obama can give a stem-winder. What wasn’t expected was that this would be by far the toughest week of the Obama presidency—the first time I can remember the president being dealt an unequivocal policy defeat. Only the “shellacking” of the 2010 midterm comes close, and even there a case can be made that achieving the decades-old progressive dream of universal health care was worth losing the House of Representatives and a filibuster-proof...

The White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are shy of the 60 votes they need to move the bipartisan compromise bill on background checks for gun sales. Vice President Joe Biden has been personally calling senators to urge them to support the measure, Democratic aides say. Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) began a whip count on Monday, Democratic aides said, and Biden has been pressuring his fellow Democrats to fall in line. Biden’s office did not return an email seeking comment. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) are co-sponsoring the proposal that would expand background checks...

Senator Joe Manchin was on FOX News today to discuss his proposed gun control legislation. Joe Manchin admitted his bill will not prevent another Newtown massacre, “This is not a universal background check. This is a criminal and mental background check at gun shows and internet sales. It does not infringe on your right as a family… It protects the rights of our veterans… They (families of Newtown shooting victims) even recognized that this legislation we’re working on, which is the background checks on criminal and mental illness would not have saved their little babies.” Then why are Democrats in...

Sen. Mark Kirk says the real driving force behind the gun deal that was hatched by bipartisan work was booze and boat retreats. The Illinois Republican said to reporters that visits to the Black Tie, a yacht owned by Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin, played a large role in the Democratic-Republican come-together over background checks and other legislation related to gun control, Roll Call reported. “You guys really ought to go out to National Harbor and see the Black Tie, which has been much of the reason for much of the bipartisan cooperation around here,” he said, as quoted in Roll...

MSNBC host Touré tore into both artists LL Cool J and Brad Paisley over the release of their lighthearted duet “Accidental Racist,” which tackled persistent racial tensions through song. Touré, an experienced music critic as well as an outspoken expert on race relations, found no redeeming value in their song. RELATED: LL Cool J Defends ‘Accidental Racist,’ Compares Confederate Flag With Pirate Flag Co-host S.E. Cupp said that she could “appreciate” the effort made by both artists in the effort to cool racial tensions though verse. “I like the effort… maybe,” Cupp said waveringly. “Okay,” Touré interjected. “No, I’m not...

Senators Joe Manchin (R) and Pat Toomey (D) today announced a so-called "compromise" bill/amendment which they claim would increase gun safety through improving "background checks," but is in truth a flawed piece of legislation, WHICH IS WHY YOU SHOULD ACT NOW TO STOP THE MEASURE (or click here for more options). The title of their bill is Orwellian: "The Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act." It is double-speak, as their measure infringes on the Second Amendment -- it doesn't "protect" anything. It will in fact push the U.S. towards the establishment of a national gun registry, the eventual...

A bipartisan group of senators has struck a deal to expand gun background checks to all commercial sales — whether at gun shows, via the Internet or in any circumstance involving paid advertising, according to Senate aides familiar with the talks. The proposed agreement would be more stringent than current law, which requires checks only when purchases are made through a licensed dealer, but less than originally sought by President Obama and congressional Democrats, who were seeking to expand background checks to nearly every kind of sale. The agreement should secure enough bipartisan support for the Senate to proceed to...

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) told reporters on a conference call moments ago that his compromise bill with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on gun background checks “doesn’t change in any way” his “conservative record or views.” The former Club for Growth president acknowledged he was out of his usual legislative area on the issue, but “it became clear to me a bill of some sort was very likely to reach the floor” that would be “badly flawed,” so he reached out to his friend and neighboring state senator Manchin to sit down and talk. “You’re probably used to hearing me talk...

The National Rifle Association will oppose the background check bill introduced by Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) and Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) Wednesday, the pro-Second Amendment group told the Free Beacon. Manchin and Toomey held a press conference Wednesday morning announcing a bipartisan bill that would expand background checks for all commercial firearm sales, including gun shows and Internet sales. The bill is the latest effort by the Senate to introduce background check legislation, after negotiations between Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) and Democrats broke down earlier this year. Manchin’s office told BuzzFeed Wednesday that the senators had been...

Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey is close to a deal with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia on background checks for gun show and Internet gun sales, his office said Tuesday night. The two are planning a joint press conference for Wednesday morning. A Toomey spokesperson on Tuesday told NBC News that the two senators have agreed on all but the final details of a compromise. Manchin told reporters Tuesday that the compromise would close the gun show loophole by mandating background checks for those transactions and also require background checks for all Internet gun sales.

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller, one of the towering architects of Obamacare, on Tuesday openly criticized program managers for not moving quickly enough to build the system, warning that if it gets off to a bumpy start it will just get worse. Decrying the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as way too complex, he warned the acting Medicare director that Obamacare is "so complicated and if it isn't done right the first time, it will just simply get worse."The retiring senator also told Marilyn Tavenner at her Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing to be administrator of the Centers...