Free Republic

Explanation: Sixty years ago, near the dawn of the space age, NASA controllers "lit the candle" and sent Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard arcing into space atop a Redstone rocket. His cramped space capsule was dubbed Freedom 7. Broadcast live to a global television audience, the historic Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3) spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral Florida at 9:34 a.m. Eastern Time on May 5, 1961. The flight of Freedom 7, the first space flight by an American, followed less than a month after the first human venture into space by Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The 15 minute sub-orbital flight achieved...

Bill Dana, who created and starred as the earnest character at the center of the "My Name … Jose Jimenez" routine that made him one of America's most beloved comic performers of the 1960s, has died. He was 92.Dana, who first appeared as Jimenez on The Steve Allen Plymouth Show, where he also worked as an Emmy-nominated head writer, died Thursday at his home in Nashville, Emerson College announced.

'Devious Maids,' the new television series produced by actress Eva Longoria that tells the story of five Latino housekeepers, is being criticized for portraying Hispanics in demeaning and stereotypical roles. The maids, who on the upcoming Lifetime show face scorn and condescension from their wealthy Beverly Hills employers, have been accused of 'degrading' Latino women. Damarys Ocana, executive editor of Latina magazine told ABC News: 'There probably wasn't a Latina in the country who didn't initially roll her eyes of "oh great, here we go again. Another Latina character that's a maid."' Eric Deggans, a media critic for Tampa Bay...

BROWNSVILLE — A federal judge has postponed Monday’s sentencing of former Willacy County commissioners Israel Tamez and Jose Jimenez amid an ongoing investigation expected to lead to further charges. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen reset the sentencing hearing to Aug. 25. Tamez and Jimenez face as many as 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine after they pleaded guilty to taking more than $10,000 in bribes in a $14.5 million federal prison project. As part of a plea bargain struck in January, Tamez and Jimenez agreed to cooperate in the investigation in exchange for possible lighter sentences. "Usually judges...