Free Republic

A judge in Texas earlier this year effectively denied a U.S. citizen her constitutionally protected due process rights, choosing instead to order her to appear before an Islamic tribunal where her testimony is considered inferior. And when her lawyers sounded the alarm — the judge doubled down. What are the details? In March, Collin County District Judge Andrea Thompson ordered a Muslim woman seeking a divorce from her husband to undergo arbitration not through regular channels but through an Islamic court, also known as a Fiqh Panel — a move that the woman’s lawyers argue is an obvious and unconscionable...

As the planet warms because of excess heat trapped by human-emitted greenhouse gases, the atmosphere can hold more moisture.

Highly efficient fluorescent light bulbs are widely touted as environmentally friendly, but they have created a recycling headache for the Environmental Protection Agency and local governments. More often than not, their toxic ingredients simply end up in landfills, where the chemicals can leach into soil and water and poison fish and other wildlife. The bulbs contain mercury and should not be tossed in the trash as are regular light bulbs. "They're very efficient, but once they're used up, they become a ticking toxic time bomb," said Leonard Robinson, chief deputy director of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. "They...

Ex-'NYPD Blue' star Andrea Thompson leaves CNN Headline News Andrea Thompson, who left her role as a detective on "NYPD Blue" to become a journalist, has resigned from CNN Headline News, where she'd been the prime-time anchor since the channel was revamped and relaunched last year. The resignation is effective immediately.Ms. Thompson had not been kindly reviewed, but she had won many praises -- and even some affection -- inside CNN with her hard work.The word late Thursday at CNN was that Ms. Thompson herself had concluded that she was not growing into the anchor role. Prior to joining CNN...