Free Republic

The federal government collected a record $2,121,987,000,000 in taxes for the first half of fiscal year 2022, according to the U.S. Treasury’s monthly statement. The $2.1 trillion collected from October 2021 to March 2022 is the most the federal government has collected in the first half of a fiscal year and the first time government tax collections surpassed $2 trillion for that period. Before the first half of fiscal year 2022, the highest taxes ever collected during the first six months of a fiscal year came in fiscal year 2021, when the government collected $1,849,508,090,000 in taxes.

Stephen "Stippo" Rakes, a possible witness in the murder trial of alleged crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger, has been found dead, authorities said. The body of Rakes, 59, had "no obvious signs of trauma" and an autopsy is being performed to determine the cause of death, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Lincoln, Mass., Police Chief Kevin Mooney announced today. The corpse was found on Mill Street in Lincoln yesterday at 1:30 p.m., police said.

The body of a key witness in James 'Whitey’ Bulger's racketeering trial was found dead on the side of a road Wednesday by a jogger in Lincoln, Mass., which is just west of Boston. The body belonged to Stephen "Stippo" Rakes, 59, who was allegedly extorted by Bulger and considered one of the most determined alleged victims who waited a decade to testify, The Boston Globe reported. The Globe reported that Rakes has been a fixture for six weeks at Bulger's trial and was told recently that he would not get the chance to testify. The Middlesex County district attorney's...

Dan Rather will be on Larry King in a few minutes to gin up interest in his full-hour interview with former pres. Clinton (7:00 sunday, cbs) "Veteran newsman Dan Rather discusses the beheading of an American hostage, and his interview with former President Bill Clinton. Tune in at 9 p.m. ET. "