Free Republic

TAMPA — Julie Schenecker was suspected of abusing her teenage daughter just three months before police say she shot her children to death, according to a police report released Monday. The case was closed about two months later after police determined Schenecker had hit Caylx, 16, for "back talking" and the girl didn't receive any injuries, the Tampa police report states.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar lied in order to give political cover for Obama administration’s arbitrary six-month moratorium on deep-water oil drilling. The Wall Street Journal breaks the news on its editorial page: In the wake of the oil spill, President Obama asked Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to produce a report on new drilling safety recommendations. Then on May 27 Mr. Obama announced a six-month deep water drilling ban, justifying it on the basis of Mr. Salazar’s report, a top recommendation of which was the moratorium. To lend an air of technical authority, the report noted: “The recommendations contained in this...

"Conclusion: Sarah Palin Speaks Like A Toddler." Such is the title of a Mediaite piece published Tuesday which badly cherry-picked a rather comprehensive analysis of the former Alaska governor's speech patterns. To make her demeaning point about Palin, author Glynnis MacNicol offered her readers a grand total of six sentences from John McWhorter's 2500-word piece published at The New Republic.

On Twitter/Facebook/Myspace I blast out 1-2 satire headlines everyday and collect them for my headlines archive at the middle and end of every month. Below are a couple of examples of the latest update DEMS SUPPORTING OBAMACARE BECOME UNDECIDED WHEN THEY REALIZE THE PROCEDURE IS "DEEM AND PASS" NOT "DEMON PASS" - March 19 OBAMA DELIVERS ULTIMATUM TO KARZAI TO STOP AFGHAN CORRUPTION OR ACCEPT A POSITION IN HIS ADMINISTRATION - March 29 View all the headlines from this March 15-31 update here. The Looking Spoon is a conservative humor/satire/art/commentary blog, visit www.thelookingspoon.com to see more posts and art

Coal may be the dirty man of the energy world, but it isn't the only fossil fuel trying to clean up its act. A Canadian startup says that it has developed a way to strip carbon out of methane, resulting in hydrogen-enriched natural gas that burns cleaner and more efficiently. Atlantic Hydrogen, based in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, is betting that its "greener" natural gas will appeal to utilities and industrial customers looking to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions under an impending cap-and-trade regime. But an added financial benefit would come from the powdery carbon black that's extracted from the...

ELKTON, Md. (AP) -- The Cecil County Sheriff's Office said a deputy about to take a bathroom break at a gas station smelled crack cocaine and made a quick arrest. Police spokesman Lt. Bernard Chiominto said Deputy John Lines was waiting to use the bathroom Friday at a Wawa convenience store when he smelled crack cocaine from outside the bathroom.

Now, 2 Obama backers, Bernie Mac and Morgan Freeman,hospitalized A bad day for Barack Obama donors. Morgan Freeman, the iconic voice of God in several films and reliable good-guy co-conspirator of Christian Bale's Batman in "The Dark Knight," is in serious condition in a Memphis hospital after a late-night car accident near his home in Mississippi. The popular Freeman, who is 71, gave the Obama presidential campaign $2,300 on March 8. And comedian Bernie Mac, popular TV-film funnyman who got a little vocally naughty at a recent Obama fundraiser, is seriously ill with pneumonia in a Chicago hospital.

How much can an ambitious Congress and a bunch of journalists shake Wall Street? On Jan. 25, stock prices of several credit card companies took a beating. Shares of Mastercard tumbled 3 percent from their previous closing price. American Express dropped $1.16, and JP Morgan Chase fell 15 cents before plunging a further 51 cents the following day. In a hearing that Thursday, the Senate Banking Committee had assailed the industry for its aggressive marketing practices and the steep penalties it slaps on borrowers. The committee chairman, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)[candidate for President], delivered a warning: “I would like to...

Record-breaking heat and oppressive humidity made people across the eastern half of the country miserable Wednesday and sent tourists in the nation's capital scrambling for relief in the cool marble halls of Capitol Hill.

Newspaper of spiritual leader, Khamenei, claims that government bodies in Israel have been evacuated to Jerusalem and that it even has proof. Tuesday Hizbullah flag flown above Iranian parliament Iranian conservative newspaper, Kayhan, claimed Thursday in its top story that "Tel Aviv has been evacuated." The newspaper, associated with the spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, tends to exaggerate about anything connected to reports on Israel. It seemed Thursday that the imagination of the Iranian editors spilled over. According to the newspaper's editors, "Following the recent threats of Hassan Nasrallah, some of the Israeli government bodies were evacuated from Tel Aviv...

Christian County commuters traveling into Springfield's east side can look forward to three levels of highway driving if a proposed redesign of the U.S. Highway 60/65 interchange north of Ozark is approved. The Missouri Dept. of Transportation released its plans for the redesigned interchange at a public meeting July 13 at its offices in Springfield. Visitors were able to view numerous conceptual designs for the project and discuss the work with MoDOT planners. The preferred plan introduced at the meeting features two directional fly-over ramps which will replace two of the ramps in the current cloverleaf pattern. The older pattern...

U.S. Economy Adds Fewer Jobs Than Expected in October (NYT) Payrolls Expand in Oct.; Jobless Rate Dips (AP)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Stockard Channing, who plays the fictional president's wife on the NBC political drama "The West Wing," has been charged with drunken driving, police say. Channing, 60, was stopped on a Los Angeles freeway last month in her black Porsche after driving through a roadblock by highway patrol officers to clear away an accident. Officers said they smelled alcohol on her breath and when she failed a sobriety test, she was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. A February 9 court date has been set in the case. Channing, a prolific film and television...

A PC virus has started to spread through e-mail, luring potential victims by disguising itself as a headline newsletter from CNN, an antivirus company said Thursday. E-mails laden with the virus, dubbed "Crowt.A" by Sophos, do not have a typical subject line and other characteristics, Sophos said. Instead, the virus sends out e-mail messages with subject lines, message content and attachment names drawn from the latest news headlines on CNN's Web site, which it gathers as it spreads. Very few Sophos customers have reported that they been affected by Crowt.A so far, the company said. "Virus writers are always looking...

Hungry, Homeless Figures Increase in U.S. Tue Dec 14, 6:05 PM ET U.S. National - AP By SAM HANANEL, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - Requests for emergency food and shelter increased in many large U.S. cities this year, but not by as much as in recent years, according to a survey released Tuesday. AFP Photo Requests for food rose by 14 percent, while appeals for shelter increased by 6 percent, said the annual report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, based on surveys of 27 large cities. The numbers have risen every year since the conference began the survey 20...

RAPPER Eminem’s new album Encore has been leaked on to the internet. The Real Slim Shady star’s hotly-anticipated fourth album was stolen nearly two weeks before its release date. The theft has sparked panic at his record label Interscope who have brought forward the worldwide release date. An illegal website called RNS put the entire album on the net two days ago. Thousands of fans instantly downloaded it and could pass it on to countless others. It could lose the 32-year-old rapper MILLIONS of pounds in royalties from CD sales. Interscope bosses were locked in meetings all day yesterday. They...

OK..here's your assignment. You're the editor of a major metropolitan TABLOID, like the NY POST, or DAILY NEWS. You're getting ready for Wednesday's paper, and you need a headline for the front page....Remember this is a TABLOID..so it's got to be SHORT, ( with brief words as well)and SNAPPY, and humor is desirable. Give it your best shot....Suggestion: Ten words MAX ( less is better)

Guns take 5 lives over weekend 2 police cars are smashed in 1 incident By Carlos Sadovi Tribune staff reporter Published October 25, 2004 Chicago police were investigating a series of shootings over the weekend that left five people dead, including a 20-year-old man who was shot in a car that later smashed into two police cars parked near a hospital emergency room. Gregory Boarden of the 4100 block of West West End Avenue died of multiple gunshot wounds at 2:24 a.m. Sunday, according to a spokeswoman for the Cook County medical examiner's office. Boarden was sitting in a car...

Top Stories Impressive, but Misleading Remarks Washington Post - 30 minutes ago Sen. John Edwards and Vice President Cheney clashed repeatedly in their debate last night, making impressive-sounding but misleading statements on issues ranging from the ... Instant polls show Edwards wins vice presidential debate Xinhua Edwards, Cheney selectively interpret facts during debate San Jose Mercury News (subscription) ABC News - USA Today - Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscription) - Newsday - all 1,679 related » Daily Star Brazil condemns Israeli offensive on Gaza Strip Xinhua - 45 minutes ago The Brazilian government on Tuesday condemned Israeli incursions into the Gaza...

Lou Gelfand: Some question political direction of 'left's turn' in headline   Published June 29, 2003 RR29 "The left's turn," read the headline at the top of page one June 21.The story was about six of the nine top Democratic Party presidential candidates who made pitches to 200 members of the Association of State Democratic Chairs who were meeting in St. Paul.George Farr, DFL state chairman from 1961-67, asked: "Did a Republican copy editor write the headline? The only reference in the article to the word 'left' was a quote from a Republican politician."Ed Gillespie, senior adviser to the Republican...