Free Republic

A tree stump in New Zealand is very much alive, thanks to an interconnected root system that benefits both the stump and its neighboring trees. Scientists say this unusual symbiotic arrangement could change our very conception of what it means to be a tree. We tend to think of trees as individuals, but the roots of some species fuse together to allow the sharing of resources, such as water, carbon, mineral nutrients, and microorganisms. Leuzinger and Bader stumbled upon the stump while out for a hike. The woody stub caught their eye because callus tissue could be seen growing over...

Authorities confiscated guns, badges and several police cars while serving search warrants today as part of their investigation into a tiny San Gabriel Valley transit agency that finds itself at the center of a growing investigation into the crash of a Ferrari in Malibu. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies searched the headquarters of the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority in Monrovia, as well as the homes of four officials. Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said today that detectives and prosecutors are trying to figure out why the men were connected to an obscure private company that provided rides to disabled people...

LOS ANGELES - A man under investigation in the crash of an exotic $1 million Ferrari in Malibu has been booked on suspicion of grand theft, officials said Sunday.

Malibu -- The rich love their toys, and nowhere are such status symbols more plentiful or spectacular than in sun-kissed Malibu, where exotic sports cars are as common as double-decaf, low-fat lattes. So when a million-dollar Ferrari Enzo was wrecked here in February after a 160 mph joyride, it seemed little more than a celebrity smashup. And then the aliens turned up. Well, actually there were no aliens, at least not the little green kind. But there is a distinctly odd cast of characters from Sweden and elsewhere and a tale that has only grown more dense and bizarre as...