Free Republic

Makenzie Noland celebrated her upcoming college graduation by posing in her cap and stole with her good friend "Big Tex" — a nearly 14-foot-long alligator that lives in a wildlife sanctuary in Beaumont, Texas. The soon-to-be Texas A&M University grad has been living at Gator Country for the past three months as she interns with the organization. During her time at the wildlife rescue, Noland has bonded with many of the 370 alligators on site, specifically Tex. Over the past several months, Noland has been training with Tex — under the careful supervision of alligator experts. "Tex is the one...

On August 1, 2018, The Daily Times in Blount County, Tennessee headlined: “Mysterious loud booms reported in Maryville. Police said several loud booms reported in the Sandy Springs and Pearson Springs area Monday night (July 30, 2018) remain unexplained. Maryville Police Chief Tony Crisp said several reports of the phenomenon, mostly described as four loud booms or explosions, came in around 9:30 PM Monday night. There was no weather and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) showed no recent earthquakes in the area.” “We checked and did not find anything and could never establish the cause of that boom. It’s just...

New w York City police say a man jumped out of a popular Upper West Side eatery’s walk-in freezer, grabbed a knife and started attacking employees, then died at a hospital on Sunday morning. The incident happened at the height of the brunch rush around 11 a.m. at Sarabeth’s Restaurant on Amsterdam Avenue at West 80th Street, New York television station WCBS reported. Police say the kitchen staff did not recognize the person, described by NYPD as a 54-year-old man who did not work at the restaurant; the man also wasn't a former employee. Sarabeth’s staff told police they did...

The smugger-than-thou PC Democrats at the State House were trying to add a third “gender” to the Massachusetts driver’s license — Gender X. But of course, as everyone knows, or would know, if they were “woke,” there are an infinite number of genders — literally. Ask any two-spirit that you know. Every neutrois understands this, you damn ’phobes!

Exculpatory evidence only recently obtained – after 39 long months – indicates that the state will use DNA markers from a sweatshirt and a swab of Mr. Mendez’ mouth to place him on the scene of a murder during the “melee” that was triggered when Aryan Circle members of the Cossacks MC confronted the Bandits with guns drawn over their intentions to park their scooters at the Confederation of Clubs meeting--- ---Metzger’s motion alleges Mendez was not wearing the sweatshirt. Secondly, the DNA swab obtained during a court appearance was not legally provided, according to the arguments of a lineup...

No words... Just give it a listen.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSfA0i6Typw        

Illinois government offices remained open Saturday as the home state of former President Barack Obama commemorated his birthday under a new state law. The bill marking Aug. 4 as “Barack Obama Day” throughout the state was enacted without making the date a full-scale holiday. The Illinois House narrowly rejected a plan to make Obama’s birthday a state holiday amid worries that the cash-strapped state could not afford to give state state employees another paid day off.Obama turned 57. The law hailed Obama’s efforts to protect the rights of Americans and build “bridges across communities.”

An investigation by Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe concluded this week that high-profile astrophysicist and atheist Lawrence Krauss violated the university’s sexual harassment policy by grabbing a woman’s breast at a conference in Australia in late 2016. (Krauss is a prominent member of the skeptics movement, which disputes the existence of a god or supernatural powers.)

Two customers of Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen were taken to a hospital Thursday night after being burned by a flaming drink. A spokeswoman for Caesars Palace, where the restaurant is located, confirmed the incident, but could not provide further information on their condition. She said the drink was a tiki-style cocktail called Rum Donkey. The online menu lists the ingredients as Cruzan Single Barrel Rum, falernum, brown sugar, ginger beer and torched passion fruit. Caesars Entertainment issued a statement that says, in part, “We stand ready to provide any assistance they may need to help them through this difficult time.”...

<p>Zombie Boy -- a model and artist known for his extensive tattoos, including of a skull and brain on his head -- has died of an apparent suicide, Canadian media reported.</p> <p>Zombie Boy, whose real name was Rick Genest, died around 5:00 pm (2100 GMT) on Wednesday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said, citing police sources. He was 32.</p>

A man arrested at the Texarkana Regional Airport on July 4th allegedly told investigators he intended to fly a stolen plane to a rap music concert in another state. Asked about his lack of training as a pilot, Zemarcuis Devon Scott, 18, allegedly told Texarkana, Ark., police that he didn't believe there was much more to the task than pushing buttons and pulling levers, according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account. It was about 2:30 a.m. when airport security personnel contacted police about seeing a man jump a fence and attempt to enter an American...

Today, we heard from CNN, who decried Trump and his supporters for insulting and heckling them ... and repeated the oft-inferred comparison to fascism and Nazism. Iexpected these headlines: CBS: “Trump Criticized For Resisting Our Narrative; Experts Shocked” NYT: “Evil Racist Ignorant Fascist Bastard Trump Accuses Media of Bias” NBC: “Without Any Provocation, Trump Wildly Lashes Out At News Groups” CNN: “DEATH TO ANYONE WHO ACCUSES US OF INCITING VIOLENCE!” MSNBC: “What A Nazi Trump Is. F&$^ Him. What A C*$&*$&#R.” I didn't make it a daily thing, that would be forced. I'll make a new episode when warranted.

A black woman says she had the police called on her by a female while she was sheltering from a thunderstorm in the doorway of a Brooklyn apartment building. Darsell Obregon filmed her encounter with the woman in the wealthy Park Slope neighborhood and posted the footage on Facebook last week. Obregon said she was on her way to a subway station when the rain started and sought cover in a small space outside the apartment building while she called an Uber. She claims the woman, identified as Arabella Juniper Torres, came out of the building and demanded that she...

Abortion-rights advocates are intensifying efforts to make it easier for women to get abortions amid a new wave of state-level bans and restrictions expected to occur under a reconfigured U.S. Supreme Court. The efforts include boosting financial aid for women needing to travel long distances to get an abortion, and raising awareness about the option of do-it-yourself abortions. The sense of urgency stems from the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who sometimes provided the decisive vote in support of abortion rights, and the possibility that Brett Kavanaugh, nominated by President Donald Trump to replace him, would give the...

Police in Indiana believe a pet pig might've thwarted would-be robbers from burglarizing a home in Indianapolis. The thieves broke into the home this week and "completely damaged [the back] door," the homeowner, who wished to remain anonymous, told Fox 59. Whoever broke in, however, didn't steal anything, and police apparently suggested the family's pet pig, named Dumplin, is to blame. "The officers were guessing when the person broke in they were probably surprised I had a pig and were like, 'We don't want to deal with this,'" the single mother of four said. "The cop was like we definitely...

So I am heading to Memphis for a week of training, I will be flying in Sunday evening and leaving Friday night. I will be staying at the Marriott East. If I'm in Memphis, I want BBQ! Are any freepers from there that can recomend some good BBQ joints and blues lounges nearby? One of these nights I plan to go to B.B.Kings Blues Club (My favorite blues man of all time).

A group campaigning for Californian independence now wants to give away half the state to make an 'autonomous Native American nation'. The long-running 'Calexit' effort was given the green light to collect the 365,880 signatures needed to get succession on the state's ballot in November. Handing over all the federal land in California - the entire eastern half of the state from the Mexico border to Oregon - will likely make that a tougher sell.

It is the secretive fraternity that has championed their male-only membership for centuries. But the Freemasons have decided to break from tradition by allowing women to join the brotherhood, but only if they were born male. In new guidance the United Grand Lodge of England, which was founded in 1717, has said transgender women - or men who have undergone gender reassignment surgery - may still join the Masonic Lodges. The dress code has also been slightly redefined allowing women who were born men to wear a ‘smart dark skirt and top’. The Freemasons have told their 200,000 members that...

 Darth Vader: "Lewk! Ah am yer Pappy! Bless yor heart, y'all KNOWS it t'be true!" Darth Vader: "Alla Y'all leave dat t'me!" Obi Wan: "Darth, if'n y'all knock me on my butt, Ima come back ELEVENTY times as powahful!" Luke: "Butter mah biscuits! Dat ain't sew hard! I usta shewt wamp-rats that were 'bout that big!" Darth Vader: "Alla y'alls lack of faith PISSES ME OFF!" ObiWan (offscreen): "Use that dang ol' force, Lewk! You inbred sumbitch!" C3PO: "Best let that dang Wookie win, Bubba. He'll tear yew up!" Yoder: "TRY? Bull flops, son. Git up an' DO that thang!"...

Two men have admitted to stealing a shark from a Texas aquarium over the weekend and using a baby stroller to smuggle the animal out of the building, officials revealed in an update on the bizarre case. Leon Valley Police Chief Joe Salvaggio told reporters Monday night that the men confessed to taking the 1.5-foot-long horn shark from the San Antonio Aquarium after officers showed up at one of their homes with a search warrant. The female shark, known as Helen, was brought back to the aquarium Monday evening and received a hero's welcome from employees. Salvaggio said the animal...