Free Republic

Kansas City had its chance on Friday to show members of the Republican National Convention committee that it has what it takes to host the 2016 convention. Members of the mayor's task force for the Republican National Convention met with members of the RNC Committee during their first visit as they narrow down the list of contenders to host the 2016 convention.

Griff Jenkins investigates. Video only.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval on Tuesday blasted the Bureau of Land Management for its "offensive" conduct in a bitter dispute with a farmer whose cattle graze on federal land — including the bureau’s designation of a "First Amendment area" where people can protest. In a scalding statement, Sandoval jumped squarely into the middle of a 20-year-old feud between farmer Cliven Bundy and the BLM — focusing his wrath specifically on a penned-in area that the federal agency considers the only place where people can speak freely. "Most disturbing to me is the BLM's establishment of a 'First Amendment area' that...

State and university employees may see a temporary 2.5 percent salary reduction solidified into a permanent pay cut. Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget director Jeff Mohlenkamp told a legislative committee Saturday that the administration may amend a bill to make those salary reductions permanent. As written now, Senate Bill 483 extends current 2.5 percent salary reductions until June 30, 2015, at which time they’d go away and employees would get 2.5 percent of their salaries back. “We would seek to modify that bill to make the pay cut permanent, and then we would make the affirmative decision to restore the pay...

Caught on audio and video, State Senator Martin Sandoval went on an anti-Catholic rant from the well of the Illinois State Senate as he promoted gay marriage in the Land of Lincoln.

Arturo Sandoval with be performing along with singer Omara Portuondo and other members of the Buena Vista Social Club this Wednesday at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. However, the trumpet player emphatically rejected any possibility of performing together with the artists from the island because of ideological differences. "Since I left Cuba, I do not present myself as artist who represents Cuba," Sandoval said in an interview with the AP. "We may be in the same program, but we are not together. Period. I will do my show in my own way, and they will do theirs." When asked...

CARSON CITY, Nevada (AP) Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval has named Republican Rep. Dean Heller to replace John Ensign in the U.S. Senate. The appointment announced Wednesday sets in motion a political scramble on how Heller's seat in the House will be filled. State law says a special election must be held within 180 days of a vacancy.

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Hundreds of Nevada college students and supporters waved signs decrying looming state higher education budget cuts during a peaceful protest on the Las Vegas Strip. A crowd of more than 500 demonstrators gathered Sunday in front of the fountains of the Bellagio casino resort. They chanted and urged passing motorists to show support by honking vehicle horns. One sign read "Education Cuts Don't Heal." Another said, "True Life: My College is Broke." The protesters were escort by Las Vegas police as they marched less than a mile off the Strip to the Palms hotel-casino, where MTV...

Poll: Sandoval has 50 percent to Rory Reid's 31 percentSunday, August 1, 2010 LAS VEGAS (AP) — Republican Brian Sandoval has a double-digit lead over Democrat Rory Reid in the Nevada governor's race, according to a statewide poll released Saturday. The poll, conducted for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and KLAS-TV, found that Sandoval had 50 percent to Reid's 31 percent. Fourteen percent were undecided, 3 percent were for “none of these candidates” and 2 percent were for others. Sandoval's 19 percentage-point lead compares with an 11 percentage-point margin he held in a similar poll two weeks ago and his 14...

Brian Sandoval, fresh off his Republican Primary win on Tuesday, now leads Democratic nominee Rory Reid 54% to 31% in the race for governor of Nevada, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state.

Several states with competitive Senate races saw their unemployment numbers drop in April, but that trend was bucked by Nevada, where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) faces low approval numbers and is a top target for Republicans. Unemployment in Reid’s state, one of the hardest hit by the housing crisis, jumped from 13.4 percent in March. The state had 40,000 fewer jobs in April 2010 compared to April 2009, according to statistics released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Nine of the Republican candidates for governor and U-S Senate face off in a debate in Reno tonight.Both races present unusual matchups. A sitting Republican governor facing an uphill battle in his own party. Governor Gibbons has seen his numbers rise following the special session of the legislature, but will it be enough to catch former attorney general and federal judge Brian Sandoval and will the third man in the race play spoiler? Longtime political observer Dr. Eric Herzik says this race isn't over."Gibbons' message is very clear. 'I didn't lie, at least about taxes, and Brian Sandoval is a...

An important candidate's forum is taking place this Friday, April 23rd - organized by the good people at Action Is Brewing.The complete details follow below - admission is $15 at the door: April 23rd: Candidate Forum, Debate, and Reception / Reno What:  Conservative Nevada Candidates for Governor and US SenateWhere: The Grove at South Creek, 95 Foothill Road, Reno, NV 89511When: April 23rd, 6-9pm. Ticket purchase begins at 4:00pm, Doors open at 5:00pm.Cost: Earlybird Registration is CLOSED / Admission is $15 at the door, $0 for candidates.Send inquiries to event@angerisbrewing.com or call Debbie at 775-530-2694This is the most comprehensive...

Three political sources told me Friday U.S. District Judge Brian Sandoval wasn't as interested in challenging U.S. Sen. Harry Reid as he was in running for governor -- putting him at loggerheads with Reid's oldest son, Rory. Previous reports that Sandoval, a Republican, was interested in the U.S. Senate were no longer accurate. Sandoval's eye was on the Governor's Mansion in Carson City. Most Popular Stories Political climate for energy policies cools More leaving Las Vegas, but Nevada's population remains steady Victim called innocent bystander in shooting that killed two, wounded one Poll: Reid would lose if Lowden were to...

Sandoval, who represents the city's Excelsior district as the supervisor for District 11, will challenge Judge Thomas Mellon, who has served on the bench since 1994. Mellon, 65, was appointed by then-Gov. Pete Wilson, a Republican. Sandoval, a supervisor since 2000, was a deputy public defender in San Francisco and previously worked for former Mayor Art Agnos.

BAGHDAD -- Here they were, hardened combat soldiers, grounded on a military base far from the palm groves, canals and marshes where they once prowled. But at least for a moment this week, they were still the Painted Demons, the elite sniper unit that struck fear in the so-called triangle of death south of Baghdad. That couldn't be taken away: not by breaking them up, as the Army had done, and not even by the murder trials of three of their members at Camp Victory. snipInterviews and court transcripts portray a 13-man sniper unit that felt under pressure to produce...

BAGHDAD - A military panel on Saturday sentenced an Army sniper to five months in prison, a reduction in rank and forfeiture of pay for planting evidence in connection with the deaths of two Iraqi civilians.

BAGHDAD - A military panel Friday acquitted U.S. Army Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval on charges he killed two unarmed Iraqis, but it convicted him of planting evidence on one of the men in attempt to cover up the shooting. Sandoval, 22, of Laredo, Texas, had faced five charges in the April and May deaths of two unidentified men. He was found not guilty of the two murder charges, but the panel decided he had placed a detonation wire on one of the bodies to make it look as if the man was an insurgent.

Spec. Jorge Sandoval lay face down in the foot-high grass, staring through his sniper rifle scope at the Iraqi man holding a rusted sickle. The man had crouched down, only his head was visible. Sandoval's spotter, Staff. Sgt. Michael Hensley, relayed the order to kill. On April 27, in dangerous terrain south of Baghdad, Sandoval pulled the trigger to fire a bullet hundreds of yards into the man's skull, killing him instantly. Moments earlier, the man, according to testimony and court documents, had been fleeing an attack on U.S. soldiers and was holding the sickle to masquerade as a farmer....

A U.S. soldier pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of killing Iraqis and then trying to cover it up by planting weapons on their bodies. Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval, of Laredo, Texas, has been charged with premeditated murder, wrongfully placing weapons with the remains of the Iraqis and obstructing justice. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. Military prosecutors said the deaths occurred separately between April and June near Iskandariyah, a mostly Sunni Arab city 30 miles south of Baghdad. The investigation began after military authorities received reports of alleged wrongdoing from fellow soldiers, the Army...