Free Republic

The Biden administration is planning to temporarily house about 2,500 Afghans fleeing unrest in their home country at Fort Lee, Va., with expansion to other military bases possible in the future, U.S. officials said Monday. The Army post, about 25 miles south of Richmond, will serve as a way-station for Afghans who have passed the State Department’s screening for special immigrant visas, said John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman. The group includes interpreters who worked alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan and their family members. “These people and their families are in the very final stages of the SIV process, so there’s...

The doctor’s voice was filled with distress. Dr. Suraj Saggar didn’t have much time to talk. At times, he even sounded almost out of breath. Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck is under siege from the coronavirus, and he needed to get back to his patients. But first, he had a desperate message he needed to send. They need help. “It looks likes a war zone,” said Saggar, Holy Name’s chief of infectious disease. The hospital is in such dire need, it took the unprecedented step of pleading to the public for donations to buy critical supplies. Holy Name is...

The Supreme Court returned Monday for oral arguments after a lengthy holiday break. During the court’s January sitting, the justices will hear arguments in eight cases, including ones dealing with school choice and the “Bridgegate” scandal. The justices already have heard arguments in cases involving the Second Amendment, Obamacare, and whether federal law covers claims of discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Later in the term, the court will take up cases involving the president’s ability to fire the head of an “independent” agency, regulation of abortion providers, and the dispute over a subpoena for President Donald Trump’s...

Welcome to Independence Day weekend, New Jersey. It's a time to cast aside all the aspersions brought on by the Turnpike's industrial corridor and celebrate our proud Revolutionary War history. Simply put, New Jersey, more than any other state, was the place where the battle was fought, nearly lost, and ultimately won. With a four-day holiday weekend, it's a chance to make a historic scavenger hunt to put New Jersey's legacy in perspective. That is, if the state lawmakers can play nice on the budget impasse and get the parks they're supposed to run reopen. Here are some stops along...

NEW YORK (AP) — Police say a security guard has died after a man walked into a federal building in Manhattan and opened fire. The guard, identified by his union as Idrisa Camara, died shortly after the shooting Friday evening. Police say the gunman walked through a side entrance of the building that houses an immigration court and other government offices. Chief James O'Neil says the gunman later shot himself in the head. He was found dead in the building. A law enforcement official identified the shooter as Kevin Downing, of Fort Lee, New Jersey.

A female soldier who sparked an "active shooter" alert on a Virginia military base on Monday died after shooting herself in the head, military sources said. ... The soldier, who has not yet been publicly identified, reportedly did not harm anybody else during her morning rampage in an office in a four-story building on the base, which is located about 45 km (28 miles) south or Richmond, Virginia. ... Maj. Gen. Stephen R. Lyons, the commanding general of the support command, said that the soldier was a sergeant 1st class who had been in the Army for 14 years and...

<p>An “active shooter incident” has been reported at the Army base in Fort Lee, Virginia, according to multiple reports.</p>

Chris Christie offered a challenge to critics who allege the New Jersey governor created a culture of intimidation that led to so-called “Bridgegate”: Prove it. The Republican defiantly made his case Thursday at a town hall meeting in Ocean County after an attendee told the governor that his friends and family believe that Christie must have cultivated a toxic environment that allowed such an abuse to take place. Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. resident Len Ludovico, 71, said he wanted to know what argument he could make to such critics, insisting he knows Christie would not risk his “political career and...

Stunning a crowded convention, NJ Chris Christie announced to a group of supporters with former President Clinton that he would seek reelection in 2014 as a democrat. The move comes after months of odd behavior from the former NJ republican. Tensions have been mounting between the NJ Governor and the GOP. At this year’s CPAC Convention, which hosts some of the greatest names in the conservative party Christie was denied entrance. Christie struck a sour note with conservatives for palling up with Obama during Hurricane Sandy. The bill to send money to victims was full of pork and republicans wanted...

Stunning a crowded convention, NJ Chris Christie announced to a group of supporters with former President Clinton that he would seek reelection in 2014 as a democrat. The move comes after months of odd behavior from the former NJ republican. Tensions have been mounting between the NJ Governor and the GOP. At this year’s CPAC Convention, which hosts some of the greatest names in the conservative party Christie was denied entrance. Christie struck a sour note with conservatives for palling up with Obama during Hurricane Sandy. The bill to send money to victims was full of pork and republicans wanted...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: After the president met with Pope Francis, Il Papa, he then went over to the Villa Madama, the headquarters of the Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi. They had a joint press conference that was interrupted. The cable nets actually cut away from this for news about Governor Christie. I kid you not. Here is what we got of Obama's joint presser (not all of it, but some of it) with the Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi. OBAMA: My day started with the great honor of meeting His Holiness, Pope Francis. I've been incredibly moved by his compassion,...

Actually, although I have video of his speech, I don’t have video of the reception he got. You’ll have to trust David Freddoso and Eliana Johnson on that: The crowd gathered at the Conservative Political Action Conference rose to its feet as Chris Christie exited stage left…Christie’s remarks were highly anticipated, not only because of the lingering scandal but also because CPAC brass dinged him last year by leaving him off of the guest list. Today, the governor was greeted with murmurs and some quiet cheers; he drew more excitement from the audience as he proceeded…Christie returned to a familiar...

News organizations often disagree about what Americans need to know. MSNBC, for example, apparently believes that traffic in Fort Lee, N.J., is the crisis of our time. Fox News, on the other hand, chooses to cover the September 2012 attacks on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi more heavily than other networks. The American people, for their part, disagree about what they want to watch. But everyone should agree on this: The government has no place pressuring media organizations into covering certain stories. Unfortunately, the Federal Communications Commission, where I am a commissioner, does not agree. Last May the FCC...

WASHINGTON, February 21, 2014 – Hang around Republican circles long enough and you will hear, “We have got to stop these circular firing squads.” The logic is simple; Republicans are killing themselves with internecine wars instead of going out and defeating liberals. It is a great theory. Perhaps the best word for it is theory. As conservatives are discovering, though, what Republicans who complain about the circular firing squad really want is a semi-circular firing squad. These voices in the Republican Party want conservatives to stop shooting at them, while they try to take out insurgent conservatives. Texas Senator...

Imagine watching the man marching in front of you taken out by snipers. Scott Walker must know the feeling, having seen what the media did to Chris Christie.Bridgegate did its work. Last December we read this:"Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are in a dead heat in a hypothetical 2016 presidential matchup with the recently reelected governor leading by 1 point in a new poll.""Christie leads Clinton 42 percent to 41 percent in a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday. Christie’s 1-point lead is the same as Quinnipiac’s poll in November, but a far cry from...

Moving cautiously to repair his image, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is maintaining a low profile this weekend as the nation’s governors gather in Washington. Republican officials have been eager to change the subject as Democrats link Christie’s troubles to vulnerable GOP governors in a challenging election season. The usually outspoken Christie is scheduled to attend just one public event over the three-day annual meeting. He avoided a media-sponsored forum on Friday, wasn’t granting interviews, won’t attend a White House dinner and was skipping a news conference hosted by the Republican Governors Association, an organization he heads. …

he notion that MSNBC is now the most controversial gaffe-a-minute cable news network has been ratified by the Associated Press. AP media reporter David Bauder wrote a story headlined “Loose lips give ammunition to MSNBC foes.” “Since MSNBC is in the political ring, its opponents are always on the lookout for things to attack,” Bauder wrote. “Lately, NBC's left-leaning cable news sister has offered plenty of ammunition.” The firing of a staff member over an obnoxious tweet that the “rightwing” would hate a Cheerios ad with a biracial family comes after Alec Baldwin and Martin Bashir were let go. Now...

Democracy is starting to get me down. Oh, I know what you're thinking: I write regularly about American politics, and democracy is only just starting to get me down? Okay, good point. Maybe I should say that democracy is starting to get me down even more than it usually does. And why is that? Because it's beginning to dawn on me that Jeb Bush is probably going to be the Republican Party's nominee for president in 2016. Consider: With the ongoing implosion of Chris Christie's political career, the GOP establishment has lost its best hope for a candidate who could...

One of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's (R) bodyguards was charged with shoplifting in Berks County, PA. He has since been suspended without pay.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, after a low-key initial response to Friday’s explosive allegations about his involvement in a bridge-closing scandal, mounted an aggressive defense late Saturday afternoon, attacking The New York Times and a former political ally in an email to friends and allies obtained by POLITICO. “Bottom line — David Wildstein will do and say anything to save David Wildstein,” the email from the governor’s office says, referring to the former appointee who reignited the controversy.