Free Republic

The left-wing advocacy group Media Matters for America is being bankrolled by some of the biggest Democratic megadonors in the country, according to a new report. The Washington Free Beacon reported Thursday that Media Matters, a liberal nonprofit often cited by legacy news organizations as a media watchdog, might have “mistakenly” identified some of its biggest donors in a November filing to the New Mexico attorney general’s office. According to the filing obtained by the Free Beacon, Media Matters’ biggest donor was Deborah Simon of the shopping mall giant Simon Property Group, who gave $4 million to the nonprofit. As...

Amazon is reportedly in talks with realtors to buy and remake the US locations of bankrupt Sears and JC Penney into Amazon fulfillment centers. The Wall Street Journal cites sources familiar in reporting that Simon Property Group, a commercial retailer specializing in mall locations, was in talks with the Bezos' bunch to sell the now-vacant department store buildings. These will then be used as smaller, local versions warehouses for Amazon to store products before shipping out to customers. Neither Amazon nor Simon Property Group responded to a request for comment on the report. Those unfamiliar with the 1970s-1990s heyday of...

Like homeowners walking away from mortgaged houses that plummeted in value, some of the largest commercial-property owners are defaulting on debts and surrendering buildings worth less than their loans. Companies such as Macerich Co., Vornado Realty Trust and Simon Property Group Inc. have recently stopped making mortgage payments to put pressure on lenders to restructure debts. In many cases they have walked away, sending keys to properties whose values had fallen far below the mortgage amounts, a process known as "jingle mail." These companies all have piles of cash to make the payments. They are simply opting to default because...

<p>At least three men reportedly were taken into federal custody in two Pensacola malls as the FBI and the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service initiated a nationwide sweep Wednesday.</p> <p>Witnesses said plain-clothes agents closed Intrigue jewelry vendors at Cordova and University malls, Wild Things at University and possibly other shops.</p>