Free Republic

Republican Adam Laxalt’s lead in the Nevada Senate race against incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto (D) narrowed to less than 800 votes on Friday night as party control of the upper chamber still hangs in the balance. Cortez-Masto is trailing Laxalt by just 0.1 percent with only about 7 percent of the vote left to be counted.

Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden and President Donald Trump are statistically tied in Pennsylvania, a Restoration PAC/Trafalgar Group survey released Monday — nearly two weeks out from the presidential election — revealed. The survey, taken October 13-15 among 1,041 likely voters, showed Trump narrowing the gap in Pennsylvania, with Biden leading by just 1.1 percent — 47.5 percent to the president’s 46.4 percent. As has been the emerging theme in several recent surveys in key Rust Belt states, Biden’s lead is within the margin of error, which is +/- 2.96 percent.

INGLESIDE — Naval Station Ingleside came one step closer to shutting its gates Tuesday, decommissioning the base’s Mine Warfare Training Center. The center served to train more than 42,000 sailors for shipboard mine counter measures. The facility was decommissioned as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure round, which ordered the consolidation of the center with Fleet Anti-submarine Warfare Training Center San Diego, Calif.

TACOMA, Wash. — Ambulances, police cars and fire trucks might have to pay tolls when crossing the new Tacoma Narrows bridge. Some Pierce County officials, including Sheriff Paul Pastor and Executive John Ladenburg, are lobbying against the idea. "It is silly to have us pay an admission fee to save lives," Pastor told The Tacoma News Tribune. "I understand they want to pay the bridge debt, but they are, by this policy, creating a far more urgent problem and creating a potentially dangerous situation."

Source: JAMA and Archives Journals Date: March 17, 2007 Black-white Life Expectancy Gap Narrows, But Remains Substantial Science Daily — Reductions in the death rate from homicide, HIV disease, unintentional injuries - and among women, heart disease - have contributed to narrowing the life expectancy gap between blacks and whites in the United States, although substantial inequalities and challenges remain, according to a study in the March 21 issue of JAMA. Life expectancy at birth has generally been increasing in the United States since at least the late 19th century. For as long as data have been reported by race/ethnicity,...

Racial IQ Gap Narrows: Blacks gain 4 to 7 points on whites Eric Jaffe A statistical analysis of four national intelligence tests indicates that the difference in scores between blacks and whites decreased by about a third between 1972 and 2002. The findings challenge a century-old argument that the racial gap in performance on IQ tests is primarily genetic and therefore invulnerable to social change, say the researchers who performed the new study. They examined data that have only recently become available to researchers, says William Dickens of the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Using test results from a random...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit narrowed more than expected in November to $64.2 billion as shipments of aircraft, cars and other capital goods propelled exports to a new record and lower oil prices helped trim imports, a government report showed on Thursday. The monthly trade gap fell 5.8 percent from the record set in October and was significantly below Wall Street's median forecast of $66.25 billion. October's record deficit was trimmed slightly to $68.1 billion from an initially reported $68.9 billion gap. Separate reports showed new claims for jobless benefits rose less than expected last week, while import...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A federal judge said Monday he is inclined to dismiss part of a lawsuit brought by a Sacramento atheist who claims the Pledge of Allegiance is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton said he would allow Michael Newdow, a doctor and lawyer, to sue four Sacramento-area school districts where children he is representing attend and recite the pledge. The judge said Newdow could not challenge the pledge itself and the words "under God," which Congress inserted in 1954. "What I'm doing is cutting out a whole lot of your case and making it...

The field of potential candidates for Democratic National Committee chairman shrank by two yesterday when former White House deputy chief of staff Harold Ickes and former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk announced they had decided not to enter the competition. Kirk, the 2002 Democratic candidate for Senate in Texas, gave a boost to former House member and fellow Texan Martin Frost by endorsing his candidacy, while Ickes, a veteran party strategist, said he would defer supporting another candidate. The decisions did only a little to clarify a contest that party leaders say remains wide open, with several Democrats energetically competing to...

Thune narrows fund-raising gap with Daschle Mike Madden Argus Leader published: 07/16/2004 WASHINGTON - Republican John Thune raised more money than Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle in the year's second quarter, narrowing Daschle's financial edge in one of the nation's most closely watched Senate campaigns. Thune raised $3.8 million from April 1 to June 30, while Daschle raised $3.1 million, according to campaign finance records due Thursday to federal officials. Daschle still finished the quarter with more cash in the bank, with $5.5 million. Thune had $3.9 million. Thune's campaign said the second-quarter performance proves the former House member will...

Gene study narrows source of SARS 19:00 04 September 03 NewScientist.com news serviceThe SARS-like virus found in a food market in Guangdong, China jumped from animals to people - and not the other way around - suggests new research. The study represents an important step in tracing the original source of the virus. However, the work still leaves many important questions about the route of transmission of the SARS virus to people unanswered. In May, the researchers, led by Yi Guan at the University of Hong Kong, revealed initial results of tests on a SARS-like coronavirus isolated from market animals...