Free Republic

MEXICO CITY - Mexico, the United States and Canada will announce a special alliance to improve security while protecting the flow of trade across their borders, a Mexican official said Monday. The alliance represents "a big step" toward promoting economic development in the three countries, which belong to the North American Free Trade Agreement, and making their markets more competitive with Europe and Asia, Geronimo Gutierrez, Mexico's deputy secretary for North America, told reporters. President Vicente Fox (news - web sites) also hopes to broach immigration reform during Wednesday's meeting in Waco, Texas, although he has said previously that chances...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Four leading GOP House members and senators announced a joint effort Thursday to rewrite the Endangered Species Act to toughen up habitat and scientific provisions. Environmentalists immediately criticized the plan as the latest attempt to gut the landmark law. The lawmakers said it was the first time members of the House and Senate had banded together at the beginning of a congressional session to amend the 1973 act. Previous attempts to change the law have failed, but they said this time they hoped to produce a single Endangered Species Act reauthorization bill that could be introduced in...

Braving bullets and bombs, millions of Iraqis cast their ballots yesterday in Iraq's first free elections in half a century. First reports suggested turnout in excess of 70%. While the Independent Election Commission of Iraq will not announce the official results for another two weeks, the encouragingly high voter turnout undercuts the cynicism of a press corps that questioned the election's legitimacy before the first ballots were even cast. The Associated Press, for example, opined, "If the vast majority of the Sunnis shun the polls--either out of fear or lack of confidence in the process--it would undercut the new government's...

NEW YORK - The Rev. Al Sharpton (news - web sites) and his wife, Kathy Jordan Sharpton, have announced their separation after 23 years of marriage. The Sharptons said in a statement Friday that they "will remain on the best of terms." The pair "have extremely active careers and their separation allows them to continue pursuing their work interests," the statement said. "They will continue to work together in their civil rights work and in their other business ventures, including those in the entertainment industry." "Together they have successfully raised two daughters, one of whom started college this year, and...

Astronomers have discovered four new planets in a week's time, an exciting end-of-summer flurry that signals a sharper era in the hunt for new worlds. While none of these new bodies would be mistaken as Earth's twin, some appear to be noticeably smaller and more solid — more like Earth and Mars — than the gargantuan, gaseous giants identified before. Planet-hunting is the hottest field in astronomy, with hundreds of researchers joining a race that just a decade ago was reserved for a few dreamers. This past week has been a dizzying one with three teams in the United States...

SANTA FE, N.M. - Governors of U.S. and Mexican states announced an agreement Monday to improve security along their borders. "One of the best ways to secure our individual homelands is by working together — sharing information, technology and personnel," New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said at a news conference opening a two-day border governors' conference. Richardson is chairing the conference, which drew governors from four U.S. states and six Mexican states. The governor of the Mexican state of Baja California, Eugenio Elorduy Walther, said law enforcement agencies in each border state would create units to improve the exchange of...

Kerry to Announce Running Mate in E-Mail 22 minutes ago CLOQUET, Minn. - Democrat John Kerry plans to announce his vice presidential running mate in an e-mail to the 1 million subscribers to his campaign Web site. But he didn't say when. Kerry is expected to make the announcement before the July 26-29 Democratic National Convention. Typically, a presidential candidate announces a running mate at a carefully crafted campaign event. But Kerry told KSTP, an ABC affiliate in Minneapolis, that his Web site would be the first vehicle. "The folks who are going to learn first about my choice are...

Four people have been killed and 20 injured in a grenade attack on a shop in south Baghdad said to be selling alcohol on the Muslim day of rest during the holy fasting month of Ramadan. More later...

<p>LOS ANGELES — Potential candidates in California's Oct. 7 recall election are eyeing one another nervously, waiting for someone to break the tension over who will run to succeed Democratic Gov. Gray Davis if voters oust him. With Saturday's deadline to file for a spot on the ballot approaching fast, "this reminds me of the scene in Gunfight at the OK Corral right before the first shot is fired," Republican campaign consultant Dan Schnur says. "As soon as the first one draws, there'll be bullets flying in every direction."</p>

Who Is Joe Lieberman? “The Lieberman persona is so inventive, has been so creative, has been so gymnastic in its many shapes and forms, that only he can even begin to explain it. . . . Many politicians look a bit oily, a bit uncomfortable moving across and around the political spectrum, but our Joe looks as comfortable as if he’s merely changing clothes.” (Laurence D. Cohen, Op-Ed, “The Chameleon Who Came To Dinner,” The Hartford Courant, November 3, 2002) The Facts About Joe Lieberman (D-CT) On School Vouchers, Lieberman Betrayed His Beliefs To BECOME GORE’S RUNNING MATE In The...

U.S. TREASURY AND FEDERAL RESERVE ANNOUNCE PLANS FOR REDESIGNED NOTESNexGen notes are latest in series to add anti-counterfeiting features In keeping with their strategy of maintaining the security of Federal Reserve notes by enhancing the design of U.S. currency every seven to ten years, the Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing (Bureau) and the Federal Reserve Board today announced plans to release the next generation of redesigned notes, with improved security features to deter counterfeiting. The new design, referred to as NexGen, affects the $100, $50, and $20 notes. Circulation of the NexGen series could begin...