Free Republic

CHILMARK - President Obama made the most of his first day of vacation, playing 18 holes at the chi-chi Vineyard Golf Club after taking daughters Sasha and Malia book shopping in Vineyard Haven. The prez, who has played more than 40 rounds of golf while in office, continued his links roll at the private, 18-hole course in Edgartown where he teed off with his favorite golfing companion, White House aide Marvin Nicholson, Chicago BFF Eric Whitaker and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn.

Police have a tough job, especially when it comes to vice-squad details. They have to keep areas free of predators in order to allow law-abiding citizens to enjoy public places. However, they also have to take care not to entrap people in behavior that they ordinarily wouldn't commit. In Columbus, Ohio, it seems very clear they crossed that line: Robin Garrison, an off-duty 42-year-old firefighter, was walking in Berliner Park in Columbus, Ohio, in May when he saw a woman sunbathing topless under a tree. He approached her and they started talking and getting comfortable, the woman smiling and resting...

A Florida surfer said he acted as ''bait'' to try to distract the shark while he wrestled the 14-year-old girl onto his surfboard: ''I've never been so scared in my life.'' The teen later died. Off Miramar Beach on the Gulf Coast of Florida's Panhandle, longtime surfer Tim Dicus has seen the dark, lithe shadows dart beneath the water -- the glistening gray fins split the waves. He was once even bumped by a shark, he said. But Saturday was different. Dicus tussled in the water with what experts say was most likely an 8-foot-long hungry bull shark hellbent on...