Free Republic

Credit: USGS A moderate earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 has struck Delaware, with shaking felt as far away as Baltimore, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and New York City, seismologists and residents say. Only few details were immediately available. The earthquake, which struck at around 4:47 p.m. on Thursday, was centered about 6.4 miles northeast of Dover, or 11 miles southeast of Smyrna. It struck at a depth of 5 miles, making it a very shallow earthquake. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.1. People across the region - as far...

I just felt an earthquake and checked the USGS. Sure enough: Strength: 5.1 Time: 2017-11-30 21:47:30 (UTC) Location: 39.184°N 75.378°W Depth: 8.1 km

In what was certainly one of the stranger exchanges on cable news Wednesday, Democratic Sen. Tom Carper (DE) claimed on CNN that White House economic adviser Gary Cohn followed his advice and faked a bad connection to get off the phone with President Trump earlier this month.The discussion, Carper claimed, was over tax reform. According to Carper, 30 minutes into the meeting, Cohn got a call from Trump in Asia, which Carper said was "nice," but he said, "15 minutes later, the president's still talking.""I said, ‘Gary, why don't you do this? Take your cell phone back and just say,...

Five states are going to court to try to preserve an Obamacare mandate that forces employers and insurance plans to offer free birth control.California, Delaware, Maryland, New York and Virginia late Thursday filed a request for a preliminary injunction to stop federal regulations that weaken Obamacare’s birth control mandate. California had sued to stop the rollback after it was announced by the Trump administration in early October. “These backwards rules will deny millions of women across the U.S. access to healthcare, unconstitutionally permitting discrimination against women,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Thursday about the new court filing. “The Affordable...

(CNN)A suspect in shootings in Maryland and Delaware on Wednesday that left three people dead and three others injured was caught in Delaware after a manhunt, authorities said. Radee Labeeb Prince, 37, is accused of killing three people and wounding two others at his job in Maryland on Wednesday morning. Police say he shot a sixth person about two hours later at a Wilmington, Delaware, car dealership. In the late afternoon, authorities zeroed in on the suspected gunman's vehicle -- a 2008 black GMC Acadia SUV -- about 15 miles from the scene of the second shooting. A tipster saw...

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A sweeping multistate manhunt that kept the Mid-Atlantic region on high alert for more than 10 hours ended when law enforcement officers on foot chased down a man they say shot six people, killing three, in two separate shootings. Radee Prince, 37, of Elkton, Maryland, shot five co-workers early Wednesday at a granite company in Maryland, then drove to Wilmington, Delaware, and shot an acquaintance in the head at a used car lot, police in Maryland and Delaware said. Wilmington Police Chief Robert Tracy said at a news conference Wednesday night that police and federal agents...

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., criticized "half-baked, spurious nationalism" as he accepted the National Constitution Center Liberty Medal in Philadelphia on Monday night for his lifetime of sacrifice and service to the nation. . . . Former Vice President Joe Biden honored McCain by speaking at the event and shared that not only were the two of them close, but their families were close as well. "I can think of no better description for the man we're honoring tonight," Biden said, praising McCain's "courage and loyalty."

Our political establishment always eagerly supports reform as long as it is no more than theater meant to fool the voters, an entirely phony exercise. In the early 1990s, I held in my hand a small-run book, “Lip Service,” by Richard Viguerie, which highlighted the attempts of Republican leaders to fool conservatives. Finally, after years of conservatives ignoring the obvious need, Steve Bannon, former Trump White House adviser and Breitbart editor, is launching a sustained war to eject Democrats pretending to be Republicans and elect actual, genuine Republicans to the U.S. Congress. Our country is lost without this. But many...

A second Dover Air Force Base airman charged with sexually abusing a teenage runaway has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. Court records show a change-of-plea hearing is scheduled Wednesday for 25-year-old Dalian Washington of Philadelphia. Washington is charged with sex abuse of a minor and sex trafficking of a child.

An argument broke out at a Delaware restaurant this week after a woman complained to a veteran that service dogs inside eateries are “nasty.” The video shows Ciara Miller standing inside of Kathy’s Crab House arguing with a small group of people, including a man holding a leash of a Great Dane wearing a vest that read: “PTSD service dog.” At one point a woman off camera is heard telling Miller the dog’s owner is a military veteran, the News Journal in Wilmington reported. Miller is heard responding the point is irrelevant and having an animal in a restaurant is...

A video of a woman screaming about a veteran’s service dog being inside a Delaware restaurant has caught the attention of the internet. It happened at Kathy’s Crab House in Delaware City. The unidentified woman was filmed screaming about how disgusting she thought it was that an animal was inside the eatery.

Former Vice President Joe Biden has leveled harsh words at President Donald Trump for placing blame on “both sides” for the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. In a commentary published Sunday in The Atlantic, Biden wrote: “Today we have an American president who has publicly proclaimed a moral equivalency between neo-Nazis and Klansmen and those who would oppose their venom and hate.” He said Trump has “emboldened white supremacists with messages of comfort and support.” …

WASHINGTON — Two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are moving to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller's job, putting forth new legislation that aims to ensure the integrity of current and future independent investigations. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware plan to introduce the legislation Thursday. The bill would allow any special counsel for the Department of Justice to challenge his or her removal in court, with a review by a three-judge panel within 14 days of the challenge. The bill would apply retroactively to May 17, 2017 — the day Mueller...

The new house is on the edge of Cape Henlopen State Park, just north of the boardwalk: three stories, six bedrooms, three fireplaces and an expansive view of the Atlantic Ocean. The new owners are Joe and Jill Biden, rich for the first time in their lives, thanks to a three-book publishing deal - two by him, one by her - that allowed them to purchase the $2 million vacation home in this beachiest of beach towns. Red, white and blue bunting hangs from the second-floor balcony. There's a small wooden sign, "A Promise Kept," over the entrance, and two...

Former Vice President Joe Biden deflected questions from Katie Couric about his 2020 ambitions at OZY Fest on Saturday, saying his current focus is working toward electing a Democratic Congress in 2018. Biden introduced his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, who was one of several speakers at the event Saturday in New York City. Biden was later spotted in the audience, watching while his wife Dr. Jill Biden was interviewed by Katie Couric.

WILMINGTON, Del. — Former vice president Joe Biden already has a train station in Wilmington named for him. Now, local officials are making a splash by naming a swimming pool for him. Gov. John Carney was scheduled to join Biden and community members on Monday, when the aquatic center at the Brown-Burton Winchester Park will be renamed in his honor. As a teenager, Biden worked as a lifeguard at what was known as the Prices Run swimming pool.

The University of Delaware teacher who stirred outrage with her comments about an American student who died after a year of imprisonment in North Korea won’t return to teaching at the school, officials said. Katherine Dettwyler, 62, taught at the school’s anthropology department in the spring as an adjunct professor. She “will not be rehired to teach at the University in the future,” according to a statement released by the school. Dettwyler could not be reached for comment Sunday.

A University of Delaware professor claimed Wednesday that Otto Warmbier was typical of “rich, white, clueless males” and “got exactly what he deserved” at the hands of the North Koreans.When other readers challenged her comment on a National Review article about Warmbier's death, Kathryn Dettwyler doubled down, saying Warmbier fit the mold of a student who would "rape drunk girls" and "snort cocaine." A University of Delaware professor claimed Wednesday that Otto Warmbier was typical of “rich, white, clueless males” and “got exactly what he deserved” at the hands of the North Koreans.Katherine Dettwyler, an anthropology professor at UDel,...

Former Vice President Joe Biden tops a list of prospective Democratic candidates for the 2020 presidential race in a new survey. Seventy-four percent of Democrats in the Morning Consult/Politico poll out Monday view Biden favorably. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), with a favorable rating from 51 percent of Democrats, follows Biden in second place. [Snip] Other contenders in the new poll included Democratic Sens. Al Franken (Minn.), Cory Booker (N.J.) and Kamala Harris (Calif.).

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday slammed a comment from former Vice President Joe Biden about how budgets reflect priorities. "Don't tell me what you value; show me your budget and I'll tell you what you value," Biden had said. Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.) mentioned Biden's quote during Tuesday's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing with Tillerson. Coons used the quote to reference the Trump administration's proposed funding cuts to the State Department's budget. Tillerson said that results gauged values more than funding. "Having the funds are certainly appreciated and needed, but then we have to be able to...