Free Republic

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen killed the son of Iraq's top judge Saturday as the country's prime minister-designate struggled to form a national unity government that could eventually open the way to stability. Attacks outside Baghdad killed five Iraqis and a U.S. soldier, part of the undercurrent of daily violence marring the slow-moving political process. Frustrated with such violence in the south, the governor of oil-rich Basra, Mohammed al-Waeli, asked his provincial council to fire the regional police chief and the defense ministry to sack an Iraqi army general. Al-Waeli, a member of the dominant Shiite coalition, demanded the dismissal of...

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - A son of the controversial late leader of a black Muslim group here was shot and killed in what police described as a botched carjacking. Antar Bey, 24, was shot at an Oakland gas station Tuesday. Bey was the appointed successor to Yusuf Bey, a leader in the Bay area's Muslim community who died of colon cancer in 2003. The 67-year-old was best known as the founder of Your Black Muslim Bakery, famed for its bean and carrot pies and known as having an open door to struggling families. But Yusuf Bey's reputation took a hit...