Free Republic

Another Post Office whistleblower.

(CBS) SEBASTIAN, Fla. - A Florida state attorney says the charges against Kaitlyn Hunt, an 18-year-old high school student who engaged in a same-sex relationship with a 14-year-old classmate, will not be dropped, despite petitions from the public, CBS affiliate WTSP reports. Hunt has been expelled from Sebastian River High School in Sebastian, Fla. and is charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious battery of a child 12 to 16 years of age as a result of the relationship. The case began in February when Hunt was arrested and charged after the younger girl's parents notified authorities, reportedly when...

SARATOGA, Calif. (AP) — Three boys arrested last week on suspicion of sexually abusing a 15-year-old Northern California girl who later took her own life were initially cited on misdemeanor allegations in the case, authorities said. The investigation in September turned up only enough evidence to support citations for misdemeanor sexual battery, Santa Clara County sheriff's Lt. Jose Cardoza told the San Jose Mercury News (http://bit.ly/17ahlHh ) on Saturday. Deputies arrested three 16-year-old boys last week on suspicion of sexual battery against Audrie Pott, a Saratoga High School sophomore who hanged herself last fall after an explicit photo was circulated...

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – Across a remarkable couple of hours Thursday, JoAnn Gibb, a slight but tough-minded forensic specialist for the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, sat on a witness stand in a small, third-floor courtroom here and read the contents of hundreds of teenage text messages – explicit and vulgar, at times celebratory and at other moments desperate and pathetically sad. They were culled from the cell phones of 17 kids, seized in the investigation that led to two Steubenville High School football players being charged with the August 2012 rape of a 16-year-old West Virginia girl after...

What if I told you police in your town could desensitize themselves to the idea of shooting a (armed) child, pregnant woman, or young mother, for just a couple of bucks? The "No More Hesitation" series from Law Enforcement Targets Inc. offers exactly that. For less than 99 cents per target, police can shoot at real-life images "designed to give officers the experience of dealing with deadly force shooting scenarios with subjects that are not the norm during training." Update: The marketing team at Law Enforcement Targets, Inc. sends along this helpful explanation for the "No More Hesitation" series: "The...

In a blatantly partisan move, the staff of the North Carolina State Board of Elections (SBE) successfully subverted state law to facilitate online voter registration in North Carolina by the 2012 Barack Obama campaign. In doing so they coordinated with partisans behind closed doors, lied about the NC Attorney General’s Office concurring with the SBE staff on the issue, and dodged oversight by their own board and the legislature. The end result was to add thousands of people to the North Carolina voter rolls illegally. The SBE staff’s audacity is so breath-taking that it’s hard to believe, so let us...

Due to Reed Exhibitions' refusal to reconsider their decision to ban Modern Sporting Rifles from the February 2-10 Eastern Sports Show in Harrisburg, PA, the National Rifle Association has decided to withdraw from the show. We had called on Reed Exhibitions to reconsider their decision; unfortunately they have steadfastly refused to do so. As a result, the NRA will not be participating in the upcoming show in Harrisburg or in any other shows hosted by Reed Exhibitions that maintain this policy. We are disappointed that Reed Exhibitions has ignored the concerns expressed by attendees, the outdoor industry and the NRA...

The April verdict by a Frederick County jury that awarded $620,000 to a Taneytown family after their dog was shot by a sheriff's deputy was upheld by a Montgomery County judge. An attorney for the Frederick County Sheriff's Office argued that the jury's verdict should be set aside because it went against the weight of the evidence presented during the seven-day trial. Michael B. Rynd asked Judge Marielsa Bernard to either set aside the verdict or grant his motion for a new trial. Bernard heard the case after Frederick County judges recused themselves. She denied Rynd's motion, saying it would...

The man who was seen being sexually assaulted in the Penn State showers by Jerry Sandusky in 2001 has come forward and identified himself to attorneys, who say that he plans to sue the university. A man claiming to be Victim 2, whom assistant coach Mike McQueary saw being molested in the shower by Sandusky, is being represented by four attorneys, including Joel Feller and Matt Casey of Philadelphia and Justine Andronici and Andrew Shubin of State College, according to a statement released by the attorneys today. The man's name is not being released to the public, but his attorneys...

since I joined up, and I'm hoping there will be another 10 great years in the future. :)

<p>The passengers who prompted a terrorism scare on a Detroit-bound flight on Sunday, the tenth anniversary of 9/11, were not joining the Mile High Club in the airplane bathroom as initial reports suggested, the FBI said in a statement Monday.</p>

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The timing was just right for saving the life of a 6-year-old girl and for turning a 24- year-old mechanic and father of two young daughters into a hero. (SNIP) Diaz Chacon is credited with saving the girl after chasing the van through a maze of neighborhoods to the edge of where Albuquerque's sprawling housing developments meet the desert. It was there where the van crashed into a pole, the suspect fled and Diaz Chacon was able to rescue the girl and take her home. (SNIP) Hidden under a rock just 25 feet from the van was packing...

LONG BEACH, Wash. (AP) — As Charles Ostrander flailed in the turbulent waves of the Pacific, it was another 12-year-old who put her life on the line to save him — the first in a series of responders who eventually pulled Ostrander back from the brink of death. Nicole Kissel's daring actions provided rescue crews with what turned out to be a crucial extension of time. Ostrander, who goes by his nickname Dale, ended up spending several minutes lost in the water, was found lifeless in the surf but has since been revived in a remarkable recovery that defied even...

Thank you Senator Lucio. President Nevarez, UT-Pan American is to be commended for its vision and leadership in hosting this unprecedented border summit in the beautiful Texas town of Edinburg. My friends from Mexico, including Governor Tomas Yarrington Ruvalcaba of Tamaulipas, and Governor Fernando Canales Clariond of Nuevo Leon, it is an honor to be in your presence. I want to extend my gratitude to our Mexican neighbors for hosting me this July as I sought to learn one of the world’s great languages, Spanish. I enjoyed your hospitality, and was grateful for your patience as I worked on my...

Praises up!! After being diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia a little over a month ago, my sister Cheryl returned home yesterday, apparently in remission. The doctors said they had never seen anyone's blood return to normal so quickly. She coped beautifully, although losing her hair was hard to deal with. Cheryl wanted desperately to be a good witness while in the hospital, and she seems to have accomplished that. There was a nurse who prayed with her every day. The miracle is very obvious to everyone. She has to return for a check-up in a month. If there are any...

My sister was diagnosed with acute leukemia last week. It was totally unexpected. They started her on radical chemotherapy immediately. She was doing extremely well for a few days, but is starting to get nauseated, and is running a high fever. The doctors don't know why she has the fever, and are giving her massive doses of antibiotics. My family and I would so appreciate prayer for her. She asks for healing, and that she would be a good witness to the medical personnel who care for her. Her name is Cheryl. Thank you. Cindy

For nearly two months, the animated political cartoon sat on npr.org virtually unnoticed. And then someone discovered it, was disgusted and launched it into the blogosphere -- making it a raucous rallying point for conservatives. The conservative tom-tom was extremely impressive. When the "Learn to Speak Tea Bag" cartoon making fun of "Tea Party" activists was published on Nov.12, there were 5 comments. By 6 p.m. this past Monday, there were 258. By Wednesday night, over 1,100 people had commented and it was still the most-recommended link on NPR's web site. On Monday and Tuesday, calls came in every 10...

Two frequent political rivals are joining forces to pursue radical changes to the nation's voter-registration system, a bid aimed in part at eliminating massive voter drives by groups such as ACORN that last year saw people fraudulently registering under the names of cartoon characters and sports figures. The two prominent election lawyers - who advised Sens. John Kerry and John McCain during their respective presidential campaigns - want states to place the name of every eligible citizen on the voter rolls, rather than having people affirmatively register to vote, as they do now.

Child advocate Laura Chapman is not afraid to take risks. Nine years ago Laura rescued two teenage girls from an FLDS branch outside Salt Lake City, and she risked kidnapping charges and even death threats to do it. "I could relate to them. I could see myself in them," says Laura, who was once herself a member of the FLDS community in Hilldale, Utah. "My father had four wives, I have 31 brothers and sisters," Laura tells correspondent Erin Moriarty. She was 18 when she was forced to marry a man she barely knew. "We had never kissed. We never...

LISTER, British Columbia May 14, 2008, 02:42 pm ET · Fluorescent lights cast a yellow-green pall on the posted student artwork. Children's voices recite lessons behind closed doors. A group of seventh-grade girls giggle and whisper as they wander back to class. But instead of a smiling portrait of an elected official, Bountiful Elementary-Secondary School displays a photograph of a smiling Warren Jeffs — the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who is doing time in a Utah prison, convicted of being an accomplice to rape. The principal puts an affectionate arm around a...