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The FBI says an unidentified man was seen in the vehicle along a highway near the victims' home during the early morning hours of Aug. 15, 2002. The bodies of Michael and Mary Short were found in their home later that day, and 9-year-old Jennifer was missing. Her body was found about six weeks later.

Video at link State Police are investigating the death of a 17-year-old after Martinsville (VA) Police used a stun device on a teenager Thursday night. It happened at 307 Rives Road. When 10 On Your side came to the apartment on Friday afternoon, the door was already open, but nobody was inside. What appears empty now, was swarming with police and investigators Thursday night. Justin Gregory, 15, says his friend, 17-year-old Derick, died after a Martinsville officer used a taser on him. Gregory told us Derick and Derick’s mother had only lived in the home for about a week; however,...

Virginia State Police are investigating the death of a 17-year-old boy who was shocked with a Taser by a Martinsville police officer on Thursday night.

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Map, News) - Todd Palin, husband of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, will be the honorary race official at this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Martinsville.

FREE REPUBLIC NASCAR THREAD TUMS QuikPak 500 Welcome to the Sprint Cup Chase Race #6 of 10 atMartinsville Speedway (Click on the Pics, Graphics, & Links for related news & info.) Current Cup driver standings Burton, Johnson Poised For TUMS QuikPak 500 Showdown New Scoreboard Almost Complete PHOTOS: TRACKING NASCAR'S WIVES Track Schedule for the TUMS QuikPak 500 TUMS QuikPak 500 Entry List Qualifying: Friday 10/17 3:30 pm Sprint Cup Qualifying ~ ESPN2Race: Sunday 10/19 1:30 pm SPRINT Cup Race ~ 's NASCAR Raceday Pre-Race Show: 11:00 am/etScheduled Green Flag (approx): 1:37pm/et Jayski.com TV listings Track Details with Current...

Around Martinsville, in eastern Nacogdoches County, country roads trail past farms and ranches. It's a place where people used to talk about hay yields. Now discussion has turned to politics. Protest signs reading, " No Trespassing to Trans Texas Corridor hang on their fences and gates. This week's discussion centers around a rally on the day Governor Rick Perry will be in Nacogdoches delivering a commencement speech. He may need more luck than the graduates. Trans Texas Corridor opponent, Larry Shelton said, " We want to send a message loud and clear to the governor that we are tired of...

FREE REPUBLIC NASCAR THREAD Goody's Cool Orange 500 Welcome all to the Sprint Cup race atMartinsville Speedway (Click on the Pics, Graphics, & Links for related news & info.) Current Cup driver standings VT's Beamer Cool Orange Grand Marshal Virginia Tech’s Military Marching Bandwill Perform National Anthem for Goody’s Cool Orange 500 Fans In South Terrace Seats Will Get Martinsville Hotdogs Delivered Track Schedule for the Goody's Cool Orange 500/Kroger 250 Goody's Cool Orange 500 Entry List Qualifying: Friday 3/28 3:40 pm Sprint Cup Qualifying ~ SPEEDRace: Sunday 3/30 1:30 pm SPRINT Cup Race ~ FOX Speed's NASCAR Raceday...

The Nacogdoches County commissioners court voted Tuesday to support numerous community members who have recently turned out in droves opposing the proposed I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor by adopting a resolution against the project. The resolution is expected to be sent to the Texas Department of Transportation and to the governor's office. Precinct 4 Commissioner Tom Strickland said that it's apparent most people in Nacogdoches County approved of the original project — a standard Interstate roadway. But now most are opposed to the large TTC structure. 145th District Court Judge Campbell Cox II submitted a map that showed several oil and gas wells...

NACOGDOCHES — The rows of extra chairs brought into the The Fredonia's biggest meeting room Thursday night were not enough to accommodate more than 750 people who attended an open house and public hearing on the proposed TTC-69 highway. Texas Department of Transportation officials heard hours of public testimony that continued late into the night overwhelmingly opposed to the construction of new roadways through East Texas. Applause throughout the hours-long meeting never swelled as loudly as it did when the first speaker of the night, state Rep. Wayne Christian, told TxDOT representatives emphatically that "our answer is 'no' on the...

HOUSTON -- It did not take long Tuesday for the Texas Department of Transportation to find out what the Houstonians at a public hearing thought about the proposed 600-mile Trans-Texas Corridor, KPRC Local 2 reported. "George Washington, Sam Houston would vomit on you people," one attendee said. Chris Zora, who opposes the plan, attended the hearing at the Arabia Shrine Center in Southwest Houston. "I'd like to see a show of hands here of anybody that approves of this corridor," Zora said. "Is there anyone in this room who approves of this corridor? Raise your hands if you approve of...

Local residents who want to add their two cents about the proposed Interstate 69 construction won't have to fill their tanks to do it. TxDOT is coming to Longview. The Texas Department of Transportation is holding 46 public hearings this month in East and South Texas along the planned corridor, including Tuesday's meeting in Longview. The hearings will give Texans a chance to comment and ask questions about the proposed Interstate 69/Trans-Texas Corridor, a collection of passenger and freight roadways, utility and rail lines from Texarkana to the Rio Grande Valley. A draft environmental impact statement released in November suggests...

The majority of residents from Walker and area counties made it clear Wednesday night how they feel about the proposed I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor. They are strongly opposed to it. An estimated 800 people took action on the controversial issue. The second town hall meeting in Huntsville, offering a chance for open dialogue between residents and the Texas Department of Transportation, took on a different tone than the initial meeting Jan. 23 at the Walker Education Center. With the main building at the Walker County Fairgrounds able to accommodate the large crowd, property owners and other residents expressed their dissatisfaction with Gov....

Welcome to the weekly Nascar at FR thread! This week - the Subway 500 on October 21 and Craftsman Truck Kroger 200 on October 20. The Busch Series is off this week-end.

FREE REPUBLIC NASCAR THREAD Goody's Cool Orange 500Martinsville Speedway Welcome all to the the 6th Nextel Cup race at Martinsville Speedway!(Click on the highlighted links for related news & info.) Earnhardt, Gordon On Tap For Martinsville Spring Fan Zones Petty named Martinsville Cup race Grand MarshalGoody's Cool Orange 500/Kroger 250 Weekend Schedule Jayski's NASCAR Related TV Listings Current & Historical Track infoAnd even more track history & infoTrack Details:Degree of Banking: Turns: 12 degrees Straights: 800 feetGrandstnd Seating: 91,000Pit Stalls: 43 pits, 14-feet wide by 28-feet long Ridgeway Clock Helps Martinsville Speedway Celebrate 60th BirthdayThe long tradition will continue...

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - Henry County Sheriff Frank Cassell and 12 of his employees have been indicted on federalcharges in an alleged drug-related racketeering conspiracy. A U-S Postal Service employee, a probation officer and five citizens were also charged in the 34-count indictment, which wasunsealed today. Charges in the indictment -- which was handed down on Tuesday --include racketeering, narcotics distribution, obstruction ofjustice and perjury. A spokesman for the U-S Marshal's Service in Roanoke says federal agents arrested most of the defendants early this morning. The indictment alleges that beginning in 1998, drugs seized bythe sheriff's office were sold to...

We're halfway through the Chase, and coming into the sole short track of the Chase season, here's how the standings look: 1. Jeff Burton - 5763 points 2. Matt Kenseth - 5718 (-45) 3. Kevin Harvick - 5674 (-89) 4. Mark Martin - 5661 (-102) 5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 5657 (-106) 6. Denny Hamlin - 5626 (-137) 7. Jimmie Johnson - 5617 (-146) 8. Kasey Kahne - 5603 (-160) 9. Kyle Busch - 5568 (-195) 10. Jeff Gordon - 5547 (-216)

Here's what now passes for "news gathering" at the NBC television network in the brave, and still relatively new, world of 24/7 electronic news broadcasting: Last weekend, a crew working for the NBC News magazine program "Dateline" showed up in Martinsville, Va. for the NASCAR stock car races. With the crew were some "Muslim-looking men" - whatever that means - as part of a "Dateline" effort to show how people in this country would react to "Muslims" in their midst. In a recent statement, NBC News said it was pursuing the issue because it was "intrigued by the results of...

If one was to find anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States, where would one go to look? This was the question "Dateline" producers pondered for an upcoming show. The answer apparently, as Michelle Malkin reported on her blog, is a NASCAR racetrack. So the producers decided to recruit willing Muslims to be filmed at a race. After all, Southern white males are, if anything, bigots who hate everyone else not like them.

Racing circuit was angered by crew visiting Martinsville track for story NBC tried to dispel rumors that it was investigating NASCAR for a segment on anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States, saying the focus of the story will be a widespread look across the country. "Dateline is not planning a story about NASCAR," the network said in a release Thursday. "We are following up on a recent poll and other articles indicating an increase in anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States. ... The NASCAR race at Martinsville was a stop we have made in our research on this story, which...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR said it was "outrageous" that "Dateline NBC" targeted one of its racetracks last weekend for a possible segment on anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States. NASCAR said NBC confirmed it was sending Muslim-looking men to a race, along with a camera crew to film fans' reactions. The NBC crew was "apparently on site in Martinsville, Va., walked around and no one bothered them," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Wednesday. "It is outrageous that a news organization of NBC's stature would stoop to the level of going out to create news instead of reporting news," Poston said....