Free Republic

Girl Afraid To Go Home After Dog Bite Dog Serving 10-Day Quarantine At Home Posted: 6:49 p.m. MDT July 1, 2002 ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- An Albuquerque girl who survived a vicious dog attack said Monday she is too scared to return home. Melissa Orozco, 5, was attacked Thursday by her neighbors' German shepherd in southwestern Albuquerque. Neighbors said the dog was apparently trying to protect its newborn puppies. Orozco had to undergo major reconstructive surgery to treat the lacerations on her face. The German shepherd that attacked her remains at the house across the street, where the attack happened....

"DID YOU ACQUIRE ANY CIGARS WHILE YOU were in the Bahamas, sir?" Little did he know-or perhaps he did-but with these few words the U.S. Customs agent in the Bahamas ruined my day. Of course I had bought cigars. Quite a few, in fact. Quite a few Cuban cigars that are still illegal to bring into the United States. It was one of my primary motives for taking the trip, now that the ravenous hordes of nouveau cigar aficionados have stripped Europe's duty-free shops of what are still the best smokes in the world. Now what was going to happen?...

<p>It was a simple, straightforward question for Chicago Cubs bomber Sammy Sosa.</p> <p>"You've said if baseball tests for steroids, you want to be first in line, right?" I asked him last Thursday at his Wrigley Field locker.</p> <p>"Yes," Sosa replied.</p> <p>"Well, why wait?" I said.</p> <p>"What?"</p>

— TEHRAN (Reuters) - A plane carrying U.S. government aid for earthquake victims landed in Iran on Tuesday in an unprecedented gesture by Washington to a country it has branded a member of the "axis of evil." President Bush's offer of aid and Iran's decision to accept it have raised hope of an easing of tensions between two arch-foes.The quake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale killed 235 people and left thousands homeless when it struck northern Iran on June 22.Despite the goodwill surrounding the flight, every effort was made to address political sensitivities between two countries that have not...

Police Dog Allegedly Attacks Sergeant Dog Attacked At Rest Stop, Police Say Posted: 9:05 a.m. MDT July 2, 2002 GALLUP, N.M. -- A Gallup police sergeant was attacked by his police dog Monday, according to a lieutenant for the department. According to Lt. John Allen, Sgt. Gabe Cebada suffered broken bones to one hand, puncture wounds on his right hand and severe lacerations. Allen said Cebada was attacked while taking the dog to Albuquerque for regular training. Cebada reportedly stopped at a rest stop on Interstate 40 near Acoma Pueblo to let the dog relieve itself. Allen said that's...

<p>Warriors of Prayer Say They Are Here to Protect D.C.</p> <p>WASHINGTON — Evangelical "warriors" say they think they can use prayer to win the war on terror — or at least that it will come in handy when they buck commonly held fears and head to Washington, D.C., for the Fourth of July celebrations.</p>

Ron Smith's Something to Say Weekday Mornings 6:50AM rsmith@wbal.com England and Gun Control -- What a Mess July 2, 2002 Ron Smith's Something to Say (July 2, 2002) Modern times have seen an ever-escalating effort on the part of Western governments to disarm their people. Gun control laws depriving individuals of their right to self-defense have gone terribly wrong if we are to believe that they have been enacted with public safety as their actual purpose. Armed crime has been skyrocketing in England and Wales ever since the government, with the Dunblane massacre as a rationale, virtually outlawed private ownership...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Layoff announcements by U.S. firms rose 12 percent in June, led by further job losses in the beleaguered telecommunications industry, said a report on Tuesday that suggested the labor market remains weak.Job cuts announced in June totaled 94,766, up from 84,978 in May, the employment outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas said on Tuesday. But there were 24 percent fewer job cut announcements compared with June 2001, and job cuts during the second quarter fell 34 percent compared with the first quarter.Planned job cuts among telecom companies more than doubled in June to 30,455, more than...

<p>As story after story breaks about scandal plagued corporations and questionable investor practices, many Americans say they are less confident about investing on Wall Street.</p> <p>Fifty-eight percent in the latest FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll say they are "much less" confident (27 percent) or "somewhat less" confident (31 percent) about investing their money on Wall Street given the barrage of stories about alleged misconduct by corporate America. The national poll was taken during a week that saw the multi-billion dollar Worldcom scandal revealed and congressional investigators began reviewing documents concerning Martha Stewart's sale of ImClone. Thirty-eight percent of respondents say the stories have had no impact on their investing habits.</p>

cigarette sales tax, state tax officials say they're stepping up efforts to be on the lookout for smugglers.      Taxation Department spokesman Gary Gundmundson says agents will be monitoring the state's borders for people bringing in cheaper cigarettes from states such as Kentucky, which has a three-cent cigarette sales tax.      Gudmundson says the department is training police agencies to check packs being sold at stores for Ohio tax stamps.      Possession of more than 60 dollars worth of cigarettes for sale in Ohio without paying the state's sales tax is a felony that carries jail time and a fine.      The Ohio sales...

John Paul II Won't Step Down, Says Journalist But That's Not News to Those Who Know the Pope VATICAN CITY, JUNE 30, 2002 (Zenit.org).- A journalist's contention that John Paul II has made the firm decision not to step down didn't come as news to the Vatican. On Saturday, journalist Vittorio Messori, who collaborated with the Pope in the 1994 book "Crossing the Threshold of Hope," published a story in the Milan-based newspaper Corriere della Sera asserting that the Holy Father would not retire for health reasons. The journalist said his information came from sources that could be trusted, "beyond...

UEBERLINGEN, Germany, Jul 02, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- A chartered Russian airliner had about a minute warning before slamming into a cargo plane over southern Germany, killing 71 people including 52 children headed for a beach vacation in Spain, officials said Tuesday. Swiss air traffic control, which was in charge of the flight path of both planes, initially said it had given the Tupolev-154 roughly two minutes advance notice and that the pilot did not begin descending to avoid the cargo jet until a third request. The Swiss revised their account after the German government agency for...

<p>LONDON, England (Reuters) -- A new satirical pop video shows a cartoon of United States President George W. Bush first tickling a poodle representing British leader Tony Blair on the White House lawn, then leading him in a tango dance in the desert.</p>

By Timothy P. Carney Beneath the headline, "Congress's Only Black Republican Will Quit," on Tuesday's front page, the New York Times reports that "in 1998, Mr. Watts was elected chairman of the House Republican Conference." It's good the Times reported that today, because in November of `98, when the GOP elected him to that post, the "paper of record" didn't mention it. Not once. The story is similar across the wasteland of the liberal media. When Republicans put a black man in the highest position of House leadership ever, the Times has a blackout on it, and CNN mentions it...

Water began dripping among the stones of the Western Wall several days ago, media reports say. The water was discovered on the upper right side of the Western Wall, on the men's side of the plaza, the Itim news agency says. Antiquities Authority and Religious Affair Ministry officials visited the site on Sunday, but published their findings only today. The water has so far dampened a 40 centimeter section of the wall. Shmuel Rabinovich, the rabbi of the Western Wall, urged the Religious Affairs Ministry and Antiquities Authority to trace the source of the water. They are considering an appeal...

July 2, 2002 Prosecutor's Letter in Torricelli Inquiry to Stay SealedBy THE NEW YORK TIMES EWARK, July 1 — A federal judge today ruled that a letter from federal prosecutors outlining evidence-gathering in the corruption investigation of Senator Robert G. Torricelli would remain sealed while Mr. Torricelli appeals a judge's order that parts of the letter be released. The letter seeks leniency in the sentencing of David Chang, a witness against Senator Torricelli in the investigation. Mr. Chang pleaded guilty to making illegal contributions to Senator Torricelli's 1996 campaign and to obstructing federal investigators. He also accused Mr. Torricelli of...

TAMPA, Florida - A former US Justice Department attorney has sued a suspended professor linked to terrorists, saying the academic is the No. 2 official in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The lawsuit claims University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian is a member of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network through the confederation of terror groups. John Loftus, a retired St. Petersburg attorney who is suing as a taxpayer and as president of the Florida Holocaust Museum, did not provide evidence to back up his claims in the revised suit filed Monday in Hillsborough County Circuit Court. Al-Arian's attorney, Robert McKee,...

July 2, 2002 U.S. Allies in Mideast Voice Doubts on Bush Peace PlanBy JOHN KIFNER ERUSALEM, July 1 — Two of the United States' main supporters in the Middle East urged the Bush administration today to clarify how it intends to pursue peace in the region, one week after President Bush called for the ouster of Yasir Arafat as a condition for any meaningful agreement.Mr. Bush's speech a week ago in Washington has left all sides wondering what the next move is, and they appeared today to be in a muddle trying to sort out the repercussions. President Hosni Mubarak...

July 2, 2002 Irradiating Mail to Congress May Be Making Workers IllBy CARL HULSE ASHINGTON, July 1 — The process used to sterilize Congressional mail after the anthrax attacks last fall could itself be making Capitol Hill workers sick, a report to be issued on Tuesday says. The Office of Compliance, which is responsible for Congressional workplace safety, said its inquiry into more than 200 complaints "concluded that handling irradiated mail for substantial periods" might cause or contribute to health problems reported by Congressional employees. The findings are the first to suggest that irradiation could be harmful. The report called...

July 2, 2002 Bush Calls Ruling About Vouchers a 'Historic' MoveBy ELISABETH BUMILLER LEVELAND, July 1 — President Bush today hailed last week's Supreme Court decision upholding the use of public money for religious school tuition as "just as historic" as the landmark 1954 ruling that school segregation was unconstitutioonal, and he declared that the United States could not have separate education systems for the rich and the poor. In his first public comments on the ruling, Mr. Bush plunged into the politically explosive issue of school vouchers that he had so far avoided as president. Although Mr. Bush had...