Free Republic

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Some Florida cities would like to throw a dog a bone _ or maybe a burger and some fries. Dogs would be able to sit with humans at outdoor restaurant tables in some communities under a measure advancing in the Florida Legislature. The bill, approved by a House committee Wednesday, would create a three-year test program to allow cities to grant restaurants that want to host dogs special permission to do so under certain conditions. Rep. Sheri McInvale, an Orlando Republican, filed the bill after some restaurant owners complained because they were threatened with fines for allowing...

Editor's note: The Supreme Court announced Feb. 17 that it would again hear arguments in the free-speech case of a whistleblower, apparently so that Justice Samuel Alito can break a tie. That case is Garcetti v. Ceballos. WASHINGTON — New Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr. was sworn in Jan. 31, giving him five months to serve during the Court’s current term. But during that period, Alito will likely have only one chance to show his First Amendment stripes. That chance will be in an important one, and it begins Feb. 28, when the Court hears a trio of First...

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Thousands of fans surged through security barriers Saturday at an autograph session for a wildly popular Mexican band, leaving three people crushed to death and 38 injured, mostly teenagers. The incident came only weeks after police in New Jersey and Texas also struggled to contain unexpectedly large turnouts of fans for the RBD band, which stars in the television show "Rebelde." The show has made RBD one of the most popular groups in Latin America and among Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. Between 10,000 and 15,000 fans gathered outside a shopping center in Sao Paulo...

MANILA, Philippines A stampede broke out early Saturday outside a stadium near Manila, killing at least 88 people, and injuring 280, the Philippine Red Cross reported. About 30,000 people were waiting to get inside the stadium for the program "Wowowee" when the mayhem erupted, said Vicente Eusebio, the mayor of Pasig, the Manila suburb where the stampede occurred. The mayor said the melee erupted as the crowd pushed and surged toward the gates, thinking they were open, pinning and trampling those in front. One survivor said some people in the crowd became rowdy when they could not enter. "The gates...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Jan. 20, 2006) – Among more than 900 Soldiers watching the Washington Capitals beat the St. Louis Blues, 5-4, Thursday night in an overtime shootout, was a wounded warrior who aspires to one day play competitive hockey again. Spc. Tim Taylor played hockey 14 years in high school and city leagues before most of his left hand was blown off in Iraq. Now he says Walter Reed Army Medical Center will provide him with an adaptive hand so he can compete again. Taylor said he was his team’s leading scorer in Savannah, Ga., before he deployed...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2006 – The American people must remind themselves every day that the United States is at war, a top Army general said today. Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, speaking at the American Enterprise Institute here, said that 21st century warfare is more about "will and perception, than taking territory or enemies killed." The will of the American people and people around the world to confront the terrorists and defeat them is the center of gravity in what Pentagon officials are calling "the long war," Odierno, assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said. The...

TOKYO - Gohan and Aochan make strange bedfellows: one's a 3.5-inch dwarf hamster; the other is a 120 yard-long rat snake. Zookeepers at Tokyo's Mutsugoro Okoku zoo presented the hamster _ whose name means "meal" in Japanese _ to Aochan as a tasty morsel in October, after the snake refused to eat frozen mice. But instead of indulging, Aochan decided to make friends with the furry rodent, according to keeper Kazuya Yamamoto. The pair have shared a cage since. "I've never seen anything like it. Gohan sometimes even climbs onto Aochan to take a nap on his back," Yamamoto said....

The Palestinian film "Paradise Now," which explores the lives of a pair of suicide bombers and just won the Golden Globe for best foreign film, got two thumbs down Tuesday in this tough West Bank city where it was filmed. Although the film which snared the Golden Globe in Los Angeles on Monday has never been screened in Nablus, residents here said the clips they saw on satellite television portrayed the bombers as godless and less than heroic. "This movie doesn't help the Palestinian cause," said an armed Palestinian militant who would not give his name because he's on the...

USS RONALD REAGAN, At sea (NNS) -- Sailors from USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), civilian mariners from USNS Rainier (T-AOE 7) and the pilots and aircrew of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 4 helped rescue a man who suffered from chest pains while aboard a civilian fishing vessel in the middle of the Pacific Ocean Jan 9. The victim, described only as a 35-year old Filipino male, had been suffering from chest pains while aboard the 85-foot fishing vessel Princess Jasmine. The vessel, along with its seven crew members, was located approximately 815 nautical miles northeast of Oahu, Hawaii, when they...

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Army News Service, Jan. 5, 2006) -- Even for a city known by many as "military city USA," the welcome ceremony for the Soldier Heroes of the upcoming "All-American Bowl" football game stood out as one they'll very likely never to forget. Close to 80 Soldiers, who will represent the Army in this Saturday's premiere high school football contest, were honored with a fanfare celebration at the Sheraton Gunter Hotel in San Antonio. With the U.S. Army Field Band's "Brass Quintet" providing a musical background, each of the Soldier "heroes" were introduced to the cheering crowd outside...

1/5/2006 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The Air Force will reactivate the 65th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jan. 12. In a letter to Airmen, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air Force chief of staff, cited the history of the unit as “legendary” and said the aggressors will “directly contribute to the combat capability of our Airmen.” “The 65th and other aggressor units will provide realistic adversary training in air, space and information operations that make us even better,” General Moseley said. “Their training will keep us innovative as we fight this global war on terror and defend this...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HIT, Iraq (Jan. 5, 2006) -- While on a long deployment overseas, Marines look forward to from letters from home, the occasional phone call or photos sent from their loved ones. These are the times where it’s the little things that matter so much – showers, a warm place to sleep and hot chow. To add one more item to this list, Marines from the 2nd Marine Logistics Group’s Food Service Company recently set up a Field Food Service System to support the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) at the unit’s base of operations, Forward...

TIKRIT, Iraq (Army News Service, Jan. 4, 2005) – U.S. Soldiers responding to an indirect fire attack against a coalition base near Balad killed one suspected terrorist and captured another Jan. 2. A coalition aircraft operating near Logistics Support Area Anaconda spotted two people running away from the site where the fire originated and helped guide a nearby patrol to the area. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Soldiers quickly captured one suspect, but the other fled on foot. The man led the Soldiers on a two-hour long chase that finally ended when the Soldiers cornered him in...

Center>Murder at Kroger's Tired of constantly being broke and stuck in an unhappy marriage, a young husband decided to solve both problems by taking out a large insurance policy on his wife, with himself as the beneficiary, and arranging to have her killed. A "friend of a friend" put him in touch with a nefarious underworld figure who went by the name of "Artie." Artie explained to the husband that his going price for snuffing out a spouse was $5,000. The husband said he was willing to pay that amount but that he wouldn't have any cash on hand until...

(IsraelNN.com) Gush Katif refugees, many of whom are still dwelling in hotels awaiting permanent housing, lit a unique menorah tonight, one made of mortar shells fired by Arab terrorists into the heart of N’vei Dekalim, the largest community of Gush Katif. That special menorah commemorates the miracle of Jewish survival throughout the ages, and reminds us of the symbolic role Gush Katif has played in the saga of Jewish history: a community standing victorious despite constant attempts by Arab terrorists to wipe it out. 5000 mortars rained down on Gush Katif, from the onset of the Oslo War in September...

It's tough to feel warm and fuzzy about Christmas with the sound of car bombs exploding in the distance. But Southern Arizona troops serving in Iraq are doing their best to muster the holiday spirit in one of the least festive places on Earth. Their efforts are often humble. Cutout snowflakes and dollar store bows adorn their overseas offices and "hooches" — soldier slang for wartime sleeping quarters. Santa Claus makes the occasional appearance in these parts. So does the Grinch — in the form of a Halloween-surplus skeleton wearing a red hat and combat fatigues. The rituals and decorations...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 2005 – A Task Force Baghdad soldier was killed Dec. 22 by roadside bomb while on patrol in Baghdad, and 10 Iraqis, including a policeman, were killed and four others were wounded in a suicide bombing today in Balad Ruz, military officials announced. The name of the soldier killed in the roadside bomb attack is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The suicide bomb victims were at a Shiia mosque when the bomber rode his bicycle into the mosque's courtyard. Unable to get into the building, he detonated the bomb in the courtyard. The blast...

SIERRA VISTA — A man robbed, kidnapped and threatened to kill the owner of a local eatery Saturday morning before fleeing into Mexico, Sierra Vista police said. The man was able to get away when he forced the store owner to give him a ride to the Naco Port of Entry. Police said the incident began at about 4 a.m. when the store owner heard a strange noise while working in the Bread Basket Bakery, 355 W. Wilcox Drive. After going outside, he was robbed by a man with a black-colored, semi-automatic pistol. The robber also took an undisclosed amount...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2005 – The Army and Marine Corps are recalling about 18,000 protective vests, but officials emphasize that troops wearing them aren't at risk and that the recall has nothing to do with ballistic plate protection. The recall, announced Nov. 17, affects 18,425 Outer Tactical Vests - 8,083 from the Army and 10,342 from the Marine Corps, defense officials said. Officials call the recall a precautionary measure, ordered because the 14 affected lots of vests may not have met contractual specifications regarding ballistic performance when they were produced and fielded between 1999 and 2001. An administrative review conducted...

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday morning – and was urged on behalf of U.S. President Bush to enable the opening of crossings for Gaza’s Arabs. Rice said that although the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria was a positive and important step, Israel must continue to empower the Palestinian Authority and assist in establishing a Palestinian state. "I expect to continue to work with you and your camp,” Rice told Sharon a the start of the meeting, “and to progress toward the two-state solution in which Israel and the Palestinian state...