Free Republic

JPMorgan Chase is seeking to get out of its legal obligation to pay a staggering $115 million in attorney fees racked up by two former business partners who were convicted of scamming the banking giant out of $175 million. The nation’s largest lender filed legal papers in Delaware on Friday demanding that a judge reverse an earlier ruling that required it to pay the lawyers for Charlie Javice and her convicted co-conspirator Olivier Amar. According to the filing, Javice’s team of lawyers across five law firms have billed JPMorgan approximately $60.1 million in legal fees and expenses, while Amar’s lawyers...

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, October 20, 2025. Evaristo Sa / AFP. The persecution of ordinary citizens on behalf of the LGBT movement will be funded by the state—that is, by the taxpayers being targeted. President Lula da Silva’s Brazil has taken another step towards totalitarianism with the launch of a massive platform designed to streamline the prosecution of those who criticize LGBT ideology. With Orwellian irony, it has been called the ‘Platform of Respect.’ “The Ministry of Human Rights, in partnership with the NGO Aliança Nacional LGBTI+, launched a platform aimed at holding legally accountable authors of...

The Chester County District Attorney said the violence may have included multiple shooters. One person alleged to have a gun was in custody, the D.A. said. One person is dead and at least six others were wounded in a shooting amid homecoming festivities Saturday night at Lincoln University, one of the nation's first historically Black colleges, authorities said. One person alleged to have a gun has been taken into custody, Chester County District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe said during an overnight news conference on campus. He said it was possible someone else may have opened fire as well, but investigators...

The Big Apple’s hotly contested mayoral race sparked a massive first-day voter turnout Saturday, with about five times more voters hitting the polls compared to 2021 as early voting kicked off, according to the Board of Elections. The increase comes as a high-stakes showdown to replace Mayor Eric Adams pits former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, running as an Independent, against Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Party nominee and beret-wearing Republican Curtis Sliwa. The New York City BOE reported a total of 79,409 early voter check-ins as the polls closed Saturday night – a sharp jump from the 15,418 who showed up when...

Taylor Parker | Image by Bi-State Detention Center ======================================================================== (Texas Scorecard) – A Texas woman convicted of one of the most gruesome murders in recent memory is now appealing her death sentence, arguing that prosecutors improperly introduced humiliating and prejudicial evidence against her during her trial. Taylor Rene Parker, 32, was sentenced to death in 2022 for the murder of 21‑year‑old Reagan Hancock and Hancock’s unborn daughter, Braxlynn, on October 9, 2020, in New Boston. Parker’s appeal was heard by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on September 17, 2025, where her attorney, Caitlin Halpern, argued that the State’s evidence...

The manager of a McDonald’s in Riverside, California called 911, concerned that a guy had been in their bathroom stall for an hour. His name was Peter Villalobos. He was not alleged to have committed any crime. So how and why did he end up dying in the custody of the Riverside Police Department that morning? The police department apparently is having difficulty figuring it out. Perhaps we can find some clues in the recently released bodycam footage… Details:

A Laois Fine Gael Councillor said he believed people who spoiled their vote shouldn’t be entitled to State benefits. Councillor John King made the comment at the Laois Presidential Election Count Center in Scoil Chríost Rí (Christ the King School) in Portlaoise this morning. In Laois, more than one in ten voters chose to spoil their vote rather than select any of the candidates on the paper. In total there were 4,156 spoiled votes, representing 14.6 percent of the Laois vote. “I am disappointed with the spoiled votes because our forefathers fought to get those votes,” Councillor King said in...

The Justice Department on Thursday warned California officials, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), against engaging in an “apparent criminal conspiracy” to arrest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued the letter to Pelosi, Gov. Gavin Newsom, state Attorney General Rob Bonta and San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins after the former House speaker suggested Wednesday that local police could arrest ICE agents if they violate state laws while carrying out immigration enforcement operations. “Rather than supporting and working with federal law enforcement professionals, California politicians, including U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco District Attorney...

She described growing up amid violence, referencing the murders of family members and her father’s suicide. Jones went on to explain her blunt approach, saying she would not retaliate by “punching” an opponent in the face. Instead, Jones warned that she would “go across your neck” so the opponent “won’t come back.” She said similar language was used in a conversation with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, urging Democrats to “wipe out every Republican in New York, in California, in Illinois.”

Let’s put the events of the last 72 hours into context.On Monday and Tuesday, Russian oil refineries in NATO countries Hungary and Romania suddenly, and simultaneously, have mysterious explosions and catastrophic fires {citation}}. On Wednesday, NATO head Mark Rutte comes to visit President Trump in the White House, and at the end of the day, the same Russian company, Lukoil, whose refinery exploded in Romania, suddenly becomes sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury. These events are not disconnected.President Trump then disputes a Wall Street Journal report, further saying he did not give approval, nor does he know where NATO long-range missiles...

The man suspected of being under the influence when he crashed his tractor-trailer into a crowd of vehicles on the 10 Freeway Tuesday afternoon has been identified as a 21-year-old resident of Yuba City. Authorities say Jashanpreet Singh was under the influence of drugs when his speeding truck crashed into several slow-moving vehicles caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic in the westbound lanes of the 10 Freeway. Bill Melugin, a correspondent for Fox News, reported Wednesday that Singh is an Indian immigrant who is in the country illegally. Singh, according to the California Highway Patrol, did not hit his brakes prior to...

A blind man protesting in front of a South Portland ICE facility was brutally detained by federal agents who allegedly dropped him on his head as they hauled him away. Quinn Haberl wore a neon vest as he sat on the side of the building's driveway during a protest on Saturday. While he was right beside a thick blue line painted on the ground to indicate where federal property begins, suggesting he had not passed the boundary. Gut-wrenching footage from the incident showed officers swarming Haberl - who was seated on the ground, holding his walking stick. Agents grabbed each...

Furloughed federal workers in Maryland stood in a food bank line Tuesday as the government shutdown continues and families try to figure out how to put food on the table. The Capital Area Food Bank began free food distributions for federal workers and contractors this week in Hyattsville. With an hour to go before food was handed out, a long line of people waited for help.

HAMDEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A Hamden homeowner whose Halloween display has been called offensive by some community members said he will not take it down despite pushback from the mayor and the local NAACP chapter.Eric Andrewsen said he always wanted to be the one to deliver an experience when it comes to decorating for Halloween. For close to a decade, he has been displaying over-the-top decorations in his front lawn, often drawing in hundreds of trick-or-treaters as a result.

MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- The 30-year-old mother of a baby girl found abandoned at Penn Station in Midtown earlier this week has been arrested. Assa Diawara was located in Queens just before 3 a.m. on Wednesday and arrested by police. She is facing charges of abandonment of a child and endangering the welfare of a child. She expected to appear in court sometime Wednesday. Police released a photo of her carrying the baby who was found at Penn Station on Monday. An anonymous tip led police to the child at the station on W. 34th Street and 7th Avenue just...

Ireland has officially joined the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) as an associate member state. CERN is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world on the Franco-Swiss border, just outside Geneva. The main focus of activity in CERN is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a 27-km (17-mile) underground ring in which protons are accelerated and collided into one another. Associate membership will allow Ireland’s researchers to participate in CERN’s scientific programs and will make Irish citizens eligible for staff positions and fellowships at CERN. …

On a sunny day in St. Cloud, Florida, police officers gathered, like storm clouds, around an upscale residential neighborhood. They were heavily armed, quick response teams waiting around every corner; helicopter on overwatch. K9 at the ready. They were prepared for anything. Everyone involved had been briefed on the operation. It was go-time. They converged on their suspect with clock-like precision. But why were they there? They were about to foil a terrorism plot? Armed and dangerous fugitive? Escaped serial killer? Or was it an innocent guy in his home who wasn’t under arrest, and they just had some questions...

MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- Police released a photo and video of the woman last seen with an abandoned newborn baby girl at Penn Station. An anonymous tip led police to the child at the station on W. 34th Street and 7th Avenue just before 9:30 a.m. on Monday. The baby girl, described as a newborn, was found wrapped in a blanket at the bottom of a staircase leading to the 1/2/3 train platform. Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- An investigation is underway after a baby was found at the Penn Station subway station in Manhattan on Monday morning. An anonymous tip led police to the child at the station on W. 34th Street and 7th Avenue just before 9:30 a.m. The baby girl, described as a newborn, was found wrapped in a blanket at the bottom of a staircase leading to the 1/2/3 train platform. The baby was taken to a local hospital by police and was said to be conscious and alert. Her condition was described as stable. New York City Transit President...

A San Antonio man is facing criminal charges after a series of social media posts in which he allegedly threatened to kill protesters attending the "No Kings" rally downtown, advising them to "say goodbye to your loved ones." Robert Flores, 66, was arrested Saturday and charged with making a terroristic threat. Authorities identified him as the user behind a Threads account used to threaten protesters, according to an affidavit supporting his arrest. ~snip~ "I'll run you (expletive) over and then go have coffee and breakfast at Jim's. You are the insignificant," read one post made Friday night. "All of you...