Free Republic

April 23, 2007 issue - The room went dead silent as the North Carolina attorney general, Roy Cooper, began to speak. The three Duke lacrosse players and their families were gathered in front of a TV at the Raleigh Sheraton Hotel to learn how the state would proceed in a criminal investigation that had appalled and titillated the nation for more than a year. Reade Seligmann was praying, and so was Collin Finnerty, heads bent down, bobbing slightly as the attorney general spoke slowly. The families were pretty sure, based on signals from the attorney general's office, that the case...

RALEIGH, N.C. — Three members of Duke University's lacrosse team could learn Wednesday whether state prosecutors will drop the remaining charges accusing them of sexually assaulting a stripper at a team party more than a year ago. "I think it's likely that they will do that," said Wade Smith, an attorney for charged player Collin Finnerty. "We certainly hope that would be true. But until we hear it, we're not going to acknowledge that's the truth. We'll wait and see." The state Attorney General's Office has scheduled a 2:30 p.m. news conference to discuss the case. It is unclear whether...

Chapel Hill ? Presidential hopeful John Edwards canceled an appearance in Iowa on Tuesday evening to be with his wife. According to a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Elizabeth Edwards was expected to have a "follow-up medical appointment" Wednesday to a routine test she had on Monday. "She's had similar follow-ups in the past, and they've all resulted in a clean bill of health, but Sen. Edwards has gone with her to these appointments, and he wanted to be with her tomorrow, too,? the statement said. Calls Tuesday evening to Edwards' campaign headquarters in Chapel Hill were not immediately returned. Edwards,...

RALEIGH — The U.S. House on Thursday passed a bill that would simplify the process in which workers could indicate their desire to unionize, but opponents of the measure say the changes would leave other employees vulnerable to pro-union intimidation tactics. The legislation, the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007, would enable unions to collect worker signatures on cards — called a "card-check" — to determine whether a majority in the workplace want to unionize. The change would replace the current secret ballot system, which maintains the anonymity of employees. Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, Republican chief deputy whip, led the...

MANHASSET, N.Y. - Jimmy Regan followed a calling to the military, becoming a U.S. Army Ranger and serving double tours of duty in both Afghanistan and Iraq, earning a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and several other medals. Mourners gathered at the Regan home in Manhasset on Sunday to remember the 26-year-old, former member of the Duke University lacrosse team, who was killed in combat last week in Iraq. Regan's fiancee, Mary McHugh, told Newsday that the couple planned to marry in 2008, after Regan's stint with the army ended. They hoped to move to the Chicago area, closer to...

THIS IS AN OLD STORY; A MISTRIAL WAS JUST DECLARED! But this story has the basic facts:

On right now...

110th U.S. Congress (2007-2008) H. J. Res. 8: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second... HJ 8 IH 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. J. RES. 8 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve as President. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 4, 2007 Mr. SERRANO introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United...

Evidently they have evacuated the press area........(Snicker)

BOSTON -- Four "hoax devices" were found at several Boston locations Wednesday, hours after officials detonated a suspicious package on an elevated structure above the Sullivan Square Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority station. The additional packages were found at the Boston University Bridge, the Longfellow Bridge and near the intersection of Stuart and Columbus streets. A device described by officials as a pipe bomb was found in the basement of the Tufts New England Medical Center at 185 Harrison Ave. A spokesman for the Boston Police Department said that all of the packages appeared to be similar. "Our device was not...

NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Mississippi on Friday refused to endorse part of a proposed settlement that calls for insurance payments to thousands of Mississippi policyholders whose homes were destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Katrina. U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. would not sign off on a deal between State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. and Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood for at least $50 million in payments to policyholders whose claims were denied but didn't sue the company. The Bloomington, Ill.-based insurer also had agreed to pay about $80 million to more than 600 policyholders who sued...

Just breaking.......he's suppose to announce this today!

Comments here!

<p>PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Opinion Research Corporation, a leading provider of global market research and consulting services, today announced the establishment of a formal polling partnership with CNN, one of the world's most respected and trusted sources for news and information. The CNN Poll will become the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll.</p>

CBS) The forensic expert hired by the prosecutor in the Duke rape case says he made a "big error" in judgment by not stating in his report that the only DNA he found on the accuser was from several men who were not on the Duke lacrosse team. Dr. Brian Meehan speaks with 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl in his first interview about the controversial case this Sunday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Meehan acknowledged that he has never omitted potentially exculpatory evidence before. "We haven't done that before," he tells Stahl. "In retrospect, I should have done a...

01/09/07 -- DURHAM) - More charges have been dropped against one of the suspects in the Duke Lacrosse case. Colin Finnerty, one of three suspects charged with assault and kidnapping in the March 13, 2006, off campus party. Finnerty was found guilty of an assault charged in July 2006 in Washington D.C. The charges stemmed from allegations that Finnerty punched a man outside a bar in the Georgetown community in November 2005. Last month a judge in Washington said he would remove the charge from Finnerty's record and the court confirms to Eyewitness News the conviction has been vacated. The...

The President's plane is arriving at Andrews Air Force Base at this moment.

A private laboratory hired by the prosecution in the Duke lacrosse case failed to report that it found DNA from multiple males in the accuser's body and underwear, according to a defense motion filed today. The lab, DNA Security of Burlington, found that the DNA did not match the three defendants, their lacrosse teammates or anyone else who submitted their DNA to police, including the accuser's boyfriend. The new evidence emerged in thousands of documents handed over to the defense in October.

WILMINGTON, N.C. -- A day after authorities announced that a former New Hanover County deputy had been indicted in the shooting death of a Durham teen during a raid on a Wilmington home, members of the grand jury now say the indictment was a mistake. The grand jury never intended to charge Cpl. Christopher Long with second-degree murder, but the foreman checked the wrong box on the indictment, authorities said Tuesday. Peyton Strickland, 18, a Cape Fear Community College student from Durham, was shot to death Dec. 1 at his Wilmington home by deputies serving arrest and search warrants. Strickland...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A congressman wants a federal investigation into Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong and the way he has handled a rape investigation involving three Duke University lacrosse players. Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to review the case, having accused Nifong of making prejudicial statements to the media and telling police to violate identification procedures. In a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Jones also highlighted the fact that Nifong has never spoken directly with the accuser, a 27-year-old exotic dancer, about the case.