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And why not? After all, it’s a very quiet and peaceful day on the international front. Just be grateful Kerry didn’t show off an expensive water toy, such as a jet ski.

When "Transformers" hit the big screen in 2007, audiences knew to expect a turbocharged bunch of feuding robots, backed by an arsenal of CGI wizardry. What they also got was the impossibly hourglass-shaped Megan Fox bending over the engine of hero Sam Witwicky's bumblebee-yellow Camaro. The mechanically savvy Mikaela still holds the crown as every robotics nerd's dream date. But starting today, she better watch out. In "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," she faces competition that comes with sweeter weaponry than the average Decepticon. Australian hottie Isabel Lucas joins the franchise as Alice, an alluring classmate Sam (Shia LaBeouf)...

The actions of Pima County Legal Defender Isabel Garcia at a protest last month against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio are "under review" after top county officials were flooded with complaints. Garcia, who is active with the immigrant rights group Derechos Humanos, participated in a protest at a signing event at a Barnes & Noble bookstore promoting a book by Arpaio, who has a national reputation for anti-illegal-immigrant raids and tough jail conditions. Videos posted on YouTube show Garcia picking up the head of a piñata representing Arpaio after several teenagers smashed it, and carrying around the head. Photo:...

Our Monday post highlighting a Cuban flag with the super-imposed face of psychotic Marxist Che Guevara hanging in Barack Obama’s Houston HQ’s has caused quite a kerfuffle, which we are happy to inflame further with today’s update.

JAMES CITY -- Despite a staggering estimate of $11.4 million in damages, Colonial National Historical Park representatives insist that artifacts flooded in the Historic Jamestowne Visitor Center by Hurricane Isabel will be restored and ready when a new collections building opens by 2007. Let's hope so, because Congress is watching. “I'm going to be anxiously waiting to see what they find,” Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-1st) said this week, referring to a National Park Service investigation into the flooding. “I'm hoping we didn't do anything wrong, and we can learn from it if we were to have another disaster.” Elaine...

<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Hurricane Isabel flooded classrooms and laboratories at the Naval Academy, destroying electrical systems and computers and causing tens of millions of dollars in damage on the military college's waterfront campus.</p> <p>Half of the academy's classroom space was still unusable yesterday and midshipmen had to move to the auditorium, field house and basketball arena for some classes, said Cmdr. Rod Gibbons, an academy spokesman.</p>

Watch exclusive video of Hurricane Isabel hitting Hampton Roads - before, during and after the storm. Before the Storm: Locals hunker down for Isabel's onslaught (Requires Real Player Plug-in) During the Storm: Hurricane Isabel hits the region (Requires Real Player Plug-in) After the Storm: Local residents clean up after the hurricane (Requires Real Player Plug-in)

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

Mr D'Agata received a rare and special -- albeit mysterious -- gift on his porch from what was Hurricane Isabel Friday. About 10 a.m. he was sitting on his porch reading a newspaper when he heard a sudden burst. "I thought it was hail and I said to my wife, ‘Ginger, it’s hailing,’" he said. "I went back to reading my paper and then I saw the things were still there and were not melting. I went out and saw hundred of these white things." The ‘things’ appeared to be eggs of some sort, the size of a pearl, he...

Solomons Island, MDcenter right is the Tiki Bar, at low tide the next morning:Solomon's Pier -- there used to be a gazebo & bar at the end: Norfolk, VANaval base fleet parking lot: Anne Arundel County, MD St. Mary's County, MDColtons Point Marina -- yacht broke through Havre de Grace, MDWhat's left of the promenade: Baltimore Inner HarborHard Rock Cafe:Pratt St. crosswalk Old Town Alexandria, VA Northern VAD.C. Takoma Park, MD (downed power line)Portsmouth, VA

WHITE HOUSE LETTER President Bush spends hours each day of his Texas vacation with his trusty chain saw, happily cutting up the cedar trees that he is determined to clear one of these decades from his 1,600-acre ranch. Clearly, putting in time with the saw is recreation for Mr. Bush, a sweat-through-the-T-shirt kind of guy activity that clears his head and helps him relax. Because when it came to clearing the North Lawn of the White House last week of a big linden tree felled by Hurricane Isabel, Mr. Bush left the chain-sawing to the National Park Service and stayed...

As the tattered remains of Hurricane Isabel blew off over Canada last week, the once formidable Category 5 storm left in its wake not only flooded streets, downed power lines and grieving families but also a sense of rising menace. That's because a growing number of scientists believe that conditions favorable for brewing more and even bigger hurricanes in the Atlantic locked into place about eight years ago and will probably persist for at least a decade and maybe longer. "We're not talking about a minor little increase," says Stanley Goldenberg, a hurricane expert with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric...

With a brand of racing that is as intimate as it is intense, there's no wonder why people continue to flock to "The Monster Mile." Dover, with seating for more than 140,000, is one of the most popular race destinations in the Northeast and hosts some of the biggest crowds to see a sporting event between New York and North Carolina. This thread is dedicated to our Armed Forces members and their families worldwide and to the victims of Hurricane Isabel. God Bless America and God Bless FRee Republic.

<p>For such a large, messy storm, Hurricane Isabel picked its victims with precision, and Tormeka Daughtery was one of them.</p> <p>With the winds of up to 100 mph gone, Daughtery lined up with dozens of others in front of a Salvation Army kitchen staffed with Asheville workers.</p>

At about 12:17 p.m., a tree fell on the home of Ashley Stephenson, who lives in Pamlico Village off River Road, taking out the home's power box.

<p>RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Hurricane Isabel knocked out power to more than 4.5 million people as it weakened into a tropical depression after swamping tidal communities along Chesapeake Bay, uprooting trees, disrupting air traffic and shutting down the nation's capital.</p>

Guards at Tomb of the Unknowns Stand Tall Fri Sep 19, 3:03 AM ET By SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press Writer ARLINGTON, Va. - As the winds from Hurricane Isabel swept over Arlington National Cemetery, the soldiers who guard the Tomb of the Unknowns were given — for the first time in history — permission to abandon their posts and seek shelter. "They told us that. But that's not what's going to happen," said Sgt. Christopher Holmes, standing vigil on overnight duty. "That's never an option for us. It went in one ear and right out the other." The monument was...

Isabel Pounds Eastern Seaboard; 14 Dead By BOB LEWIS, Associated Press Writer RICHMOND, Va. - Hurricane Isabel knocked out power to more than 3.5 million people as it weakened into a tropical storm and raced up the Eastern Seaboard on Friday, swamping tidal communities along Chesapeake Bay, uprooting trees, disrupting air traffic and shutting down the nation's capital. The massive storm was blamed for at least 14 deaths: nine in Virginia; two in Maryland and one each in New Jersey, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The storm plowed into North Carolina's Outer Banks on Thursday night with winds of about 100...

KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. - Hurricane Isabel plowed into North Carolina's Outer Banks with 100 mph winds and pushed its way Thursday up the Eastern Seaboard, weakening to a tropical storm by evening but not before swamping roads and knocking out power to more than 2.5 million people. Isabel was blamed for at least two traffic deaths and the electrocution of a utility employee. The storm that had once threatened 160 mph winds and a 12-foot storm surge rolled in around midday just south of isolated Ocracoke Island with a 5-foot surge and gusts that rattled plywood boards spray-painted "Bring...

Isabel was downgraded to a tropical storm tonight after it left two dead, nearly 1.8 million homes and businesses without power. Air travel was disrupted across the East as the storm crossed North Carolina's Outer Banks and headed north of Roanoke Rapids. A utility worker with the Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative was electrocuted while restoring power. Harold T. Anderson Jr., 48, of Salter Path, left behind a wife and two children. In Virginia, a motorist on Interstate 95 near Richmond died in a crash blamed on heavy rains. "This is the worst I've seen in 35 years," said J.D. Brickhouse, Tyrrell...