Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) — After years of stymied efforts to address the nation's aging and congested highways and transit systems, Congress found the sweet spot for passage on Thursday — a 5-year, $305 billion bill laden with enough industry favors, parochial projects, safety improvements and union demands to gain overwhelming support. The bill was approved 359 to 65 in the House, and 83 to 16 in the Senate. The bill now goes to the White House for President Barack Obama's signature.

No matter how much experience you have, it's always a good idea for everyone to review boating safety rules before departures. Below you will find 10 basic boating safety tips to help you stay safe: 1.Be Weather-Wise Always check local weather conditions before departure; TV and radio forecasts can be a good source of information. If you notice darkening clouds, volatile and rough changing winds or sudden drops in temperature, play it safe by getting off the water. 2.Follow a Pre-Departure Checklist Proper boating safety includes being prepared for any possibility on the water. Following a pre-departure checklist is the...

There's a scene at the beginning of The Bourne Identity where the film's protagonist is sitting in a diner, trying to figure out who he is and why he has a bunch of passports and a gun stashed in a safety deposit box. Bourne also notices that he, well, notices things that other people don't. ~snip~ ...situational awareness is simply knowing what's going on around you. It sounds easy in principle, but in reality requires much practice. And while it is taught to soldiers, law enforcement officers, and yes, government-trained assassins, it's an important skill for civilians to learn as...

Texas lawmakers made carrying a concealed weapon in campus buildings legal as of next August, but opponents are already trying to forestall enforcement by creating gun-free zones. The resistance comes as similar measures are being debated in Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. Texas is among eight states that allow concealed carrying of weapons on public college campuses. The other states are Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

**SNIP** "I was like, 'I've had it,'" she said. "I said to my husband, 'I've got to do something. This is the one thing that I need to say something about. This is my responsibility as a parent.'" The actress said she went through her address book alphabetically to ask who wanted to be involved. The 80 Hollywood stars have signed a pledge that reads: "By signing our names to this statement, we commit to use our creativity and visibility in the months ahead to help drive real change. "While these are just the first steps, we pledge to use...

<p>Ten automakers have committed to the government and a private safety group that they will include automatic emergency braking in all new cars, a step transportation officials say could significantly reduce traffic deaths and injuries.</p> <p>But safety advocates were swift to criticize the effort as a backroom deal that allows automakers to avoid the possibility that the Transportation Department will impose a legal requirement for inclusion of the braking systems in cars and set binding standards for the technology.</p>

In Harris County, Texas, where Deputy Darren Goforth was recently killed execution style while he was pumping gas into his patrol car, a teenager’s act of kindness has gone viral. Early Thursday morning Deputy Constable Tommi Jones Kelley was pumping gas into her patrol car when a teen walked up to her and said, “ma’am, do you mind if I stand here behind you while u [sic] get ur [sic] gas?” Kelley explained on Facebook. “My initial response was “and why?” … his reply, “to make sure You [sic] stay safe!”"

A Different Kind of Reality Check… After 15 Years, Mainstream Media is Finally Catching Up to Me 15 years ago, I asked a very pointed question in a press release sent to the National Wire Service immediately following the killings at Columbine High School. A few days after the Virginia Tech Massacre, I again asked the same very direct question. After the Newton Connecticut massacre, I once again asked the very same pointed question… After all the latest mass shootings, I don’t have to ask the question anymore because the mainstream media has finally listened to me and are asking...

A massive explosion has ripped through a region in China. (snip) The explosion was seen and heard in the industrial zone of Lijin, Dongying City of Shandong, just before 11.30pm local time.

A drug dubbed the ‘female Viagra’ is set to be approved by a US watchdog this week – paving the way for its arrival in the UK. Industry experts claim flibanserin could be given the green light within days, making it the first officially sanctioned drug for low female sex drive on the market. Unlike its male equivalent, the drug combats a flagging libido not by targeting the genitals but the pleasure centre of a woman’s brain, with women who took the pill every day in trials having sex more frequently and enjoying it more.

Capital controls have been in place in Greece since the start of the month to protect the banks from mass withdrawals by nervous Greeks. They have rightly been concerned about their savings, the collapse of the banking system and the loss of their savings in deposit confiscations or bail-ins.

Last year, an Indian Jet Airways Boeing 777 accidentally dropped 2,500 feet while its captain was asleep and its co-pilot was absorbed in her tablet device. It was a serious mishap known as an “altitude bust” that put the plane in the wrong part of the sky where it could have collided with another jet. The pilots and airline never reported the incident to authorities. Word only reached India’s Director General of Civil Aviation a few days later when an anonymous tipster alerted officials. Jet Airways suspended the captain and co-pilot after regulators opened an investigation. An airline spokesman said...

Last time we looked at suppressor legality, it was up to 37 of the 50 United States. (They’re banned in DC and all the Territories if memory serves). But that was months ago, so it was time to check again, just in time to learn that Minnesota, which banned suppressors for many years, legalized them, becoming State #40 to allow citizens who comply with the Federal National Firearms Act to own them. Even Minnesota’s anti-gun, anti-2nd-Amendment governor, Mark Dayton, signed the bill. A similar bill is on Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin’s desk. It is a very small change in the...

It’s not a recent initiative, but as far as unusual – and effective – measures to improve road-traffic safety go, mime is still hard to beat. In the mid-90s, Bogotá’s then-mayor, Antanas Mockus, employed more than 400 mime artists to stand guard at pedestrian crossings, showing wordless displeasure to reckless pedestrians and drivers who violated traffic rules and put lives at risk. The experiment was included on the list of 100 Promising Practices on Safer Cities, a collection of global initiatives commissioned last year by UN-Habitat – the branch of the United Nations which looks at how to make an...

No matter how much experience you have, it’s always a good idea for everyone to review boating safety rules before departures. Below you will find 10 basic boating safety tips to help you stay safe: 1.Be Weather-Wise Always check local weather conditions before departure; TV and radio forecasts can be a good source of information. If you notice darkening clouds, volatile and rough changing winds or sudden drops in temperature, play it safe by getting off the water. 2.Follow a Pre-Departure Checklist Proper boating safety includes being prepared for any possibility on the water. Following a pre-departure checklist is the...

Rep. John Delaney was in Hagerstown Wednesday to pitch his proposal for long-term funding of transportation and other infrastructure projects by repatriating the overseas earnings of American corporations. "There hasn't been anything really transformative to put a lot of money into infrastructure," Delaney, D-Md., told a small group of businesspeople at Bulls & Bears restaurant. He pointed out that the federal gas tax — the primary source of revenue for the Highway Trust Fund — has not been increased since the early 1990s, in part, because it is politically unpopular. It also is a regressive tax that hits lower-income people...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) isn't just about hard hats and safer machinery anymore. The federal government agency charged with regulating workplace conditions has formed an "alliance" with a "national social justice advocacy organization for transgender people" primarily to promote gender-appropriate restroom access. The agreement, signed on April 27, is part of a larger OSHA program to partner with groups "committed to worker safety and health to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries, and illnesses."

By today’s safety standards, every baby boomer should have been dead by the time we were 12. We defied danger on a daily basis. We never knew that we were doing risky things, of course; we just thought that we were having fun. Nonetheless, we spent our days immersed in activities that we’d never for a second allow our children or grandchildren to do. Or even think about doing. Here are some of the ways we courted trouble:

On March 24 Texas state representative Drew Springer (R-Muenster) introduced legislation to abolish gun free zones throughout the state of Texas. Springer argued that so doing would not only protect but also “advance” the rights of Texas’s approximately 826,000 concealed handgun license holders.

When asked about new firearms legislation at an event in Saskatoon, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said there are too many restrictions on gun ownership, which he added is important for the livelihoods of rural people, recreation and personal safety according to CTV. “My wife’s from a rural area and obviously gun ownership wasn’t just for the farm, but was for a certain level of security when you’re a ways away from immediate police assistance,” he said during a question-and-answer session with the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.