Free Republic

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - The Regional Transportation Commission reported it has been defrauded of $1.4 million and is working with law enforcement and its financial institution to get the money back. A statement released by the RTC said it discovered the incident on Oct. 27. It didn’t say when it happened. “The incident involved an email purportedly sent from one of the RTC’s vendors requesting an electronic funds transfer,” the RTC statement said. “RTC honored the supposed vendor’s request and processed the electronic payment in the amount of $1.4 million. The fraudulent transfer was limited to a single payment for...

A 19-year-old from Paragould, Arkansas is in critical condition after a shooting at Cloud 9 Ranch Saturday night in Caulfield, Missouri. Cloud Nine Ranch provides family camping with ATV trails. The Ozark County Sheriff says six people witnessed Logan Rosewell playing around with a gun earlier in the day. They say Rosewell pulled a bullet out of his pocket, rolled the chamber and said, “Watch this”. The bullet went into his temple. The gun used in the shooting was an Aussie 38 revolver. Rosewell was taken to Ozarks Medical Center and later transferred to Mercy Hospital in Springfield.

(IraqiNews.com) Kirkuk – Iraqi media outlets reported on Wednesday that a malfunction caused an explosive belt to explode and kill 16 members of the Islamic State (ISIS), including senior leaders, during their meeting in Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk. Alsumaria stated, “Today, an explosion took place amid a meeting of ISIS members in al-Mahawes village in Hawija district (55 km southwest of Kirkuk),” adding that, “The explosion resulted in the killing of 16 members of the Islamic State group, including senior leaders, as well as wounding of 16 others.” “A number of the ISIS members were wearing explosive belts during the...

Two professors, one of them an American citizen, were reportedly abducted at gun point near the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul this weekend, ABC News reported. The other man was Australian, according to ABC. Men wearing National Security forces uniforms reportedly kidnapped the men at about 8:30 p.m. Kabul time, according to the Voice of America. The Kabul police have begun an investigation into the incident. A U.S. State Department official said the department is "aware of reports of a U.S. citizen kidnapped in Kabul." "Due to privacy considerations, we have no information to offer," an official told Voices...

Note to self: do not pet lions. A Michigan woman lost her middle finger to a caged lion after trying to pet the wild cat at a zoo last Saturday — now she might claw for some cash. Renae Ferguson says she learned the hard way that getting close to the ferocious carnivore isn't the brightest idea, but insists she's not to blame. The woman plans to sue Sunrise Side Nature Trail and Exotic Park near East Tawas in Mid-Michigan for alleged negligence, reported WNEM. "I would like to see more precautions taken to protect the people as well...

An accused burglar is dead in an unusual turn of events after a homeowner caught him breaking into his Leroy residence on Friday night, Washington County Sheriff Richard Stringer said. In an attempt to stop a string of burglaries at his mobile home, Stringer said Nathanial Johnson, 68, of Spurgeon Road set a trap. Johnson parked his vehicle at a neighbor's place on Friday night, went back to his home and waited. Sometime before midnight, Johnson told sheriff's deputies he heard someone knock on the front door of his home. When he didn't answer, the person went to the backdoor...

Picture of Luke Akins during a training run View Images Luke Aikins is training his body to be able to maneuver through the unpredictability of the wind. PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDY FARRINGTON By Andrew Bisharat PUBLISHED JULY 29, 2016 Luke Aikins, 42, has deployed a parachute around 18,000 times over the last two and a half decades of his skydiving and BASE jumping career. But this Saturday, he’s going to find out if he can get away without one. After two years of training, planning, and preparation, Aikins plans to jump out of a Cessna airplane at 25,000 feet (7,620 meters)....

Sixteen people died this morning when a large hot air balloon struck a high-voltage power line, caught fire and crashed in a pasture near Lockhart, Texas, according to Texas authorities and the Federal Aviation Administration said.

One woman died and another was severely injured after a tiger attacked them when they exited their vehicle while at the Beijing Badaling Wildlife World this weekend, according to Yanqing County government. The incident, caught in part on surveillance video, took place on Saturday at an outdoor, drive-through animal park in China, where visitors can drive around in their cars and view exotic animals as if on a safari. The tragedy occurred when one woman exited her vehicle while in the Siberian tiger enclosure part of the animal park. Surveillance footage shows a woman exiting the passenger side of the...

Police in Tobermory, Ont., pulled a red car from the harbour early Friday morning after a Kitchener woman followed instructions from her GPS and drove down a boat launch and into the water. Ontario Provincial Police said the woman was following her GPS "when she took a wrong turn into Little Tub Harbour" late Thursday night. It was raining, dark and foggy at the time. Combining "weather conditions and the driver being new to the area, a fully submerged vehicle was the result," police said in a release.

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A homeowner shot and killed an alleged would-be thief this morning in northwest Harris County. It happened in the drive way of a home in the 12000 block of Oak Park Drive and Long Oak Drive. Harris County detectives say the homeowner shot and killed the suspect who may have been breaking into a pickup truck. The suspect died in an ambulance after being picked up by paramedics. Deputies say around 4:30am the homeowner opened fire on the suspect. Eyewitness News watched as Harris County Deputies took a hunting rifle with a scope out of the home...

'World peace' hitcher is murdered Ms di Marineo was hitch-hiking to the Middle East with a fellow artist An Italian woman artist who was hitch-hiking to the Middle East dressed as a bride to promote world peace has been found murdered in Turkey. The naked body of Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo, 33, known as Pippa Bacca, was found in bushes near the northern city of Gebze on Friday. She had said she wanted to show that she could put her trust in the kindness of local people. Turkish police say they have detained a man in connection with the killing....

A teenage Austrian girl who fled to Syria along with her friend is believed to have been beaten to death after being caught trying to flee the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa. Samra Kesinovic, 17, and her friend Sabina Selimovic became 'poster girls' for ISIS after they arrived in Syria in April 2014. A number of Austrian newspapers have reported that Samra has been beaten to death for attempting to leave Raqqa, although official government sources are refusing to comment on individual cases.

Teenage Islamist 'poster girl' who fled Austria to join ISIS 'is beaten to death by the terror group after trying to escape from Syria' A teenage Austrian girl who fled to Syria along with her friend is believed to have been beaten to death after being caught trying to flee the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa. Samra Kesinovic, 17, and her friend Sabina Selimovic became 'poster girls' for ISIS after they arrived in Syria in April 2014. A number of Austrian newspapers have reported that Samra has been beaten to death for attempting to leave Raqqa, although official government sources are...

A 20-year-old man who police say was driving recklessly was ejected onto a 5 Freeway sign near Griffith Park following a rollover crash Friday morning. The fatal crash happened near Colorado Street around 7 a.m. when Richard Pananian of Burbank was driving on the southbound side of the freeway at high speeds, hitting one vehicle with three passengers, according to the California Highway Patrol. The people in the second vehicle were OK, police said. Authorities said the Pananian's Ford Focus rolled several times, and the driver was catapulted onto the sign. CHP said he was not wearing a seatbelt. Pananian...

LITTLETON, Colo. - Denver Water says Waterton Canyon is still closed because of bear activity. The popular trail was closed Aug. 28 because two momma bears, each with twin cubs, and other bears were actively foraging in the canyon. Denver Water said part of the problem is not the bears, but people trying to get the perfect picture of them. "We’ve actually seen people using selfie sticks to try and get as close to the bears as possible, sometimes within 10 feet of wild bears," said Brandon Ransom, Denver Water’s manager of recreation. "The current situation is not conducive for...

A 19-year-old Houston, Texas, man accidentally killed himself Tuesday while taking selfies with a gun, according to police. The gun blast hit Deleon Alonso Smith, a day ahead of starting community college, in the throat, CNN affiliate KPRC reported. Family members were shocked. "It's the worst feeling in my life," Eric Douglas, the victim's uncle said. "It's a numb feeling. It's still unbelievable," Smith's grandmother Alma Douglas told the station.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A Tennessee man was arrested for illegally climbing the Brooklyn Bridge back in July. According to WTVF, 21-year-old David Karnauch was arrested Sunday in Hamilton County after a warrant was issued by the New York Police Department. NYPD said Karnauch illegally climbed the bridge and then took a selfie while perched on the railing. He was arrested on reckless endangerment charges and is being held in Tennessee as a fugitive from New York. Karnauch however told CBS News he didn’t know climbing the bridge was illegal as no one tried to stop him from doing it.

DALLAS (AP) -- Authorities say a Dallas man accidentally killed himself while firing his gun in celebration at his 21st birthday party. Joseph Perez was pronounced dead early Saturday after being taken to Methodist Hospital. Police say Perez was celebrating having turned 21 years old on Thursday when he grabbed a gun and began shooting. His family took the gun from him, but Perez later retrieved it and accidentally shot himself.

The mother of a man who tried to launch a firework off the top of his head for July Fourth and was killed instantly said Monday she's advocating for stricter controls about who can use the explosives. Devon Staples, 22, and his friends had been drinking and setting off fireworks Saturday night in a backyard in Staples' eastern Maine hometown, Calais, when the accident happened with a reloadable fireworks mortar tube, police have said.