Free Republic

<p>SHOW LOW, Ariz. (AP) — A massive wildfire that has destroyed more than 400 homes in the mountains of eastern Arizona was sparked in part by a contract firefighter who hoped to make money fighting the flames, prosecutors said yesterday.</p>

An elite Israeli military unit killed Hamas's military commander in Samaria, Muhanad Taher, in a raid in Nablus Sunday night. Israeli officials said Taher and his men were responsible for the deaths of 121 Israelis, including the suicide bombing attack on a Jerusalem bus on June 18, in which 19 people were killed. Military sources said the army did not "liquidate" Taher, but killed him in a gun battle...(more) Click here for more

<p>The almighty dollar has become the latest victim of the crisis of confidence on Wall Street.</p> <p>The greenback is nearing parity with the euro for the first time in two years, last quarter declining 10 percent against other major world currencies and signaling the end of a seven-year run during which it seemed to go nowhere but up, often despite adverse news.</p>

<p>RED HOUSE, Va. — Militant American Muslims operating out of rural communes in California and other Western states have targeted this rural Virginia community for an influx of members who have ties to Middle Eastern terrorists.</p> <p>Law-enforcement authorities said the Muslims — mostly converts — are expected to join with radical Muslims living on 45 acres in this small Charlotte County community, 25 acres near Meherrin in neighboring Prince Edward County and on other parcels of land owned by the group's members and supporters.</p>

<p>Last Tuesday's announcement that WorldCom Corp. understated its expenses by $3.8 billion over the last two years, thereby overstating its profits, is yet another blow to a stock market struggling to rise above its post-September 11 lows. Not only must investors deal with almost daily revelations about cooked books at major corporations, but they also have to figure out whether the economic expansion is for real or a temporary respite before relapsing into a double-dip recession.</p>

ARLINGTON, VA.(AP) - Screeners at 32 of the nation's largest airports failed to detect fake weapons in 24 percent of undercover tests by the Transportation Security Administration last month, USA Today reported. Citing documents it obtained, the paper said the tests, the first since the agency started overseeing checkpoint screening in February, were done by agents who did little to try to conceal the items as they passed through checkpoints. It said screeners at Cincinnati, Jacksonville and Las Vegas failed to detect fake weapons in at least half of the tests. At Los Angeles International Airport, there was a 41...

<p>The events of the past 10 months have certainly provided us with a lot of evidence about the U.S. economy's enduring resilience and strength. So maybe it's time to begin recognizing this as a fundamental and unarguable fact.</p> <p>Despite the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, fears that it could happen again soon, and a string of sordid corporate scandals that have undermined investor confidence and sent stocks into a nosedive, the economy is still growing at a healthy rate. Globally, free market, center-right governments are being elected all over Europe and emerging markets are expanding faster than ever.</p>

<p>Now that the decision of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to ban "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance has been protested all over the landscape, perhaps we might step back and consider the broader implications of the fact that such a decision could have been made in the first place.</p>

<p>One hand knoweth not what the other does, at least when it comes to the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). It seems no one told the parking-ticket enforcers about the new combined vehicle registration/parking permit stickers that the DMV has been issuing since last April. Instead of having separate registration and parking-permit decals on the car's license plates — where they can be easily stolen — the DMV came up with the idea of putting the parking permit and registration on a single sticker affixed to the inside corner of the windshield. This affords greater protection against theft and makes the parking permit itself more visible. The only problem is that D.C. parking enforcement personnel and DMV bureaucrats apparently haven't been clued in, and people are being issued tickets for not having valid registrations and the requisite parking permits when they most assuredly do.</p>

<p>This past legislative session, the Maryland House of Delegates passed a resolution, urging that the next governor complete an environmental impact study (EIS) for the Inter-County Connector (ICC). There has been confusion as to what this means for the region. Generally, before any construction project can be approved, there must first be an EIS. This has never actually been done for the current plans for the ICC. The people opposed to an ICC, who are primarily out of Montgomery County, know this.</p>

President Robert Mugabe gave warning yesterday that he was prepared to seize the assets of businesses, as well as farmers. He told Zimbabwe's largest food company that he would "take over their enterprises" if it did not sell its products at a price set by his government. Mr Mugabe, who is facing increasing discontent over severe food shortages and a real threat of famine, is threatening to take over the company, partly owned by London-based Anglo American plc, which he blames for the country's shortage of salt. Zimbabwe, in the midst of its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain...

<p>The Ninth Circuit strikes again. In the rush to out-patriot the next guy, however, we have to get straight what's really wrong with this decision.</p> <p>On June 27, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance is an unconstitutional "establishment of religion" because it contains the phrase "under God." Michael Newdow, a minister of atheism ordained by the Universal Life Church (which has also ordained dogs, cats and plants), sends his daughter to public elementary school in California. Under state law and school district policy, teachers begin each school day leading the Pledge of Allegiance.</p>

<p>Back in 1994, when the Democrats held a majority in both chambers, Congress thwarted President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton's power grab for control of America's health system. Since that political fiasco, advocates of a governmental takeover have shied away from such sweeping "reform" schemes, preferring instead to push for incremental steps toward more federal control.</p>

<p>Last Thursday the Supreme Court issued two decisions that could fundamentally alter our nation's public education system. In the first decision, the court upheld an Oklahoma school district's policy of testing students who participate in extracurricular activities for drug use. In the second, the court upheld a Cleveland program that provided parents of children in failing school systems up to $2,250 per year to pay for tuition at other schools, including religious schools. On the surface, perhaps, the decisions look unrelated. But upon closer examination, they reveal a return to the federalism and self-government upon which our nation was founded and from which we have drifted in recent years.</p>

Wildfire erupts in Provo foothills CALEB WARNOCK The Daily Herald on Monday, July 01 PROVO -- Nightfall over Utah Valley revealed a forest of glowing embers on the mountainside above the south end of Provo on Sunday, as Utah County's first major wildfire consumed more than 350 acres with no end in sight, said Mike Bledsoe, Provo area fire chief. "We received a call at approximately 7:20 this evening and we had a report of a fire off State Street (along the old Springville Highway)," he said. The blaze began within Provo city limits in the foothills just above State...

Civil libertarians and religious conservatives, who differ in many ways, have one thing in common at the moment: They don't know whether to laugh or cry. That's because of the startling juxtaposition last week of two court decisions. The first, from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional because of its religious content. The second, issued by the Supreme Court, upheld school vouchers that go mostly to religious schools in Cleveland. The ACLU applauded the former and deplored the latter, while the Bush administration did exactly the opposite. Across the spectrum, the verdicts produced intensely...

An elite Israeli military unit killed Hamas's military commander in Samaria, Muhanad Taher, in a raid on his home in Nablus Sunday night. Israeli officials said Taher and his men were responsible for the deaths of 121 Israelis, including the suicide bombing attack on a Jerusalem bus on June 18, in which 19 people were killed. Hamas vowed to avenge Taher's death. Military sources insisted that the navy commando unit did not "liquidate" Taher, but "killed him during an exchange of gunfire." Though security sources told Ha'aretz that the objective of the operation was to kill Taher, and that no...

Martha Stewart's embattled stockbroker Peter Bacanovic has been spending his days out of sight, chatting with friends on the phone, writing thank-you notes to well-wishers and huddling with lawyers, a new report says. Bacanovic, currently holed up at a friend's house as the ImClone scandal continues to brew, has also been fielding phone calls from friends and questioning why he ever hired Douglas Faneuil as his assistant, New York magazine reports this week. Bacanovic client Stewart unloaded 3,928 shares of ImClone stock on Dec. 27, a day before the Food and Drug Administration nixed a key application for Erbitux, the...

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Newsweek: Congressional Investigators Say There is No Credible Record of A Prearranged Sell Order Between Martha Stewart and Her Broker Over Selling ImClone Stock -- Feds Are Now Going After Daughter of ImClone CEO; Bacanovic Expected to Plead the Fifth if Asked to Testify Before Congress NEW YORK, Jun 30, 2002 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- As investigators begin focusing on whether Martha Stewart fabricated a cover-up over her sale of ImClone stock in December, congressional investigators tell Newsweek that Merrill Lynch documents they reviewed last week show no credible record of an arrangement between Stewart and her broker to sell...