Free Republic

After a weekend of driving that took it about 10 feet across the surface of Mars, the Spirit rover was parked on Monday in front of a rock that NASA scientists plan to study for much of the next week. Though Spirit is capable of moving more quickly across the rugged surface of the red planet, the six-wheeled craft spent 30 minutes traveling to the rock, nicknamed "Adirondack" by project managers, because like any Earth-bound tourist it stopped repeatedly to take pictures. "We went for a little Sunday drive," joked mission manager Mark Adler. The scientists believe that the pyramid-shaped...

A federal judge in Albany Tuesday refused to dismiss Equal Protection and Due Process claims in a lawsuit in which an Adirondack woman who was stabbed by her husband is accusing the town police of shortchanging victims of domestic violence. Clark v. Ticonderoga, 01-CV-1168, arose after Diane Clark's husband stabbed her with a hunting knife in front of her three children. Clark, whose husband committed suicide after the 1999 incident, had repeatedly expressed her fears to police and had an order of protection. Her suit alleges a pattern of discriminatory treatment of abused women, in violation of the Equal Protection...