Free Republic

Pressure is building on Ontario's anti-smoking police to give Hollywood star Sean Penn a ticket after he was pictured lighting up at a news conference. "He should be charged," Health Promotion Minister Jim Watson said today at his own news conference to herald the first 100 days of the province's tough new anti-smoking law. Almost 500 tickets have been issued to smokers and establishments but, so far, not to Penn or the hotel where he appeared during a news conference to promote his new movie, All The King's Men, at the Toronto International Film Festival. Critics said it will appear...

NEW YORK -- A group of lesbians pummeled and stabbed a DVD bootlegger in the West Village early Friday after he tried to pick up one of the women -- and then spat on her when she rebuffed his advances, police and witnesses said. Wayne Buckle, 28, was jumped by the women at 2 a.m. in front of an IFC movie theater after allegedly cursing a 19-year-old gay woman because she rejected him. "She's my girl, and no one hits on my girl!" one of the women yelled during the altercation, a police source said. The women -- all from...

Help! I found an article that I cannot post because it's the DM register. But this is so hidden, there is nothing but one result for this man, "Abdel Mageed Fadl" 3 paragraphs at the bottom of the "dateline" page... here is link to link to this hidden news: http://tinyurl.com/p2nkt

A recent fundraising letter from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is seeking re-election this year in New York, does not mention the state, but it slips eight references to "America" or "Americans" into two pages. The letter points to a fact of life in the world of New York's junior senator, who many think may be a contender for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination: The national stage is there, and she is making use of it. In recent weeks, the wife of former President Bill Clinton has begun a series of national policy addresses. The economy was the topic in...

Beaver shot in downtown Larvik A man who called police to help rescue a beaver watched in horror as the animal was gunned down instead. ------------------------- Joakim Moltzau was delivering newspapers early in the morning when he found a somewhat worn out beaver wandering in downtown Larvik. After failing to lead the animal down to the local river, he called police for assistance to move the beaver to safety. Police arrived, before getting a handgun and shooting the animal three times. "Two men came out, one went over to the beaver, the other got the pistol and loaded it. They...

A federal judge yesterday struck down a new D.C. law that tied the cost of patented prescription drugs sold in the District to wholesale prices in foreign countries. The Prescription Drug Excessive Pricing Act of 2005 sought to permit civil sanctions against drug companies if patented drugs were sold for more than 30 percent above prices in Australia, Canada, Germany or the United Kingdom. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon yesterday ruled in favor of two trade groups that sued the District in October to block the law. "Punishing the holders of pharmaceutical patents in this manner flies directly in...

Employee's at the Lady Luck Casino and Hotel have run out of luck. From front desk clerks, to card dealers, 125 employees were terminated from their jobs on Monday and hundreds more will lose their jobs in the coming weeks. The Lady Luck casino says the terminations are necessary because of a massive remodeling and renovation project that will close the entire hotel and casino for at least one year. Dozens of employees were called together Monday morning to attend a mandatory meeting. Many of them left with their walking papers. At the meeting, 125 employees were told they were...

Los Angeles Leaders Call for Peace if Crips Gang Co-Founder Williams Is Executed LOS ANGELES Dec 9, 2005 — Community leaders Friday called for peace in the city if convicted killer and Crips gang co-founder Stanley Tookie Williams is put to death next week as scheduled. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger heard arguments this week from Williams' lawyers seeking to spare his life but hasn't said if he will grant clemency to the death row inmate condemned for the 1979 killing of four people. Williams' supporters, from political leaders to the rapper Snoop Dogg, say Williams has turned his life around and...

"Teacher's plea deal for sex with boy rejected" http://www.cnn.com/

Ohio imam arrested for deportation Imam Fawaz Damra was convicted in June 2004 CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- Federal authorities arrested an Islamic religious leader Friday as they began the process of deporting him for lying about ties to terrorist groups. Imam Fawaz Damra, the spiritual leader of Ohio's largest mosque, was convicted in June 2004 of concealing ties to three groups that the U.S. government classifies as terrorist organizations when he applied for U.S. citizenship in 1994. That conviction was upheld in March, clearing the way for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to begin deportation proceedings. Damra, 44, was arrested...

When asked if she has decided to run for President, Senator Hillary Clinton has a stock response: She’s focused on her re-election fight here in New York in 2006. But on Oct. 14, when Mrs. Clinton revealed her early 32-to-1 financial edge over her likely rival next year, another unspoken answer crystallized: Mrs. Clinton is already running for President, and next year’s election is just part of that campaign. Campaign-finance regulations encourage members of Congress to store up money in Congressional accounts for use in a Presidential race. From Mrs. Clinton’s perspective, then, her prospective Republican opponent, Jeanine Pirro, is...

NEW ORLEANS - Three Louisiana towns allowed people to come home on Wednesday for the first time since Hurricane Katrina struck,...

Article published Sep 12, 2005 Katrina Leaves La. Budget in Worser Shape With New Orleans' industries devastated and many of its individual taxpayers scattered across the country, Louisiana faces huge new budget problems in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Those new problems are adding to old ones across a state where nearly one in five residents lived in poverty before the storm, and even more depended on government social and health services. It's clear that Katrina created a huge hole in Louisiana's $18.7 billion state budget, but there's no consensus on how big that hole is or how to plug...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Virtually everything that has happened in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina struck was predicted by experts and in computer models, so emergency management specialists wonder why authorities were so unprepared. "The scenario of a major hurricane hitting New Orleans was well anticipated, predicted and drilled around," said Clare Rubin, an emergency management consultant who also teaches at the Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management at George Washington University. Computer models developed at Louisiana State University and other institutions made detailed projections of what would happen if water flowed over the levees protecting the city or if...

PINE VALLEY – California Highway Patrol officers intercepted a large SUV Wednesday night on Interstate 8 that had been heavily modified to smuggle both drugs and illegal immigrants. Five of the seven people inside the white Chevrolet Suburban were taken into custody and nearly 700 pounds of marijuana was confiscated, but not before the driver fled the wrong way on Interstate 8 and deliberately rammed a CHP patrol car head-on, said CHP Officer Brian Pennings. The driver was one of the two occupants of the vehicle who escaped, he said. There were no injuries reported in the incident.

Man shot in self defense in court Posted 08/19/05 BAKERSFIELD - A man who was shot in the thigh Wednesday by a homeowner made his first court appearance Friday in a wheelchair. Jonathan Heade pleaded not guilty to charges of cruelty to animals, assault with a deadly weapons other than a firearm, and possession of PCP. Investigators said a Bakersfield couple found Heade standing in their yard, beating their dogs with a belt. The wife confronted the man and told him to leave, but the man refused and then attacked her husband. That’s when police said the woman fired two...

Charges may be filed against a family which manipulated photos of their missing daughter to spur rescue efforts, according to Texas officials. "It has become apparent that this family has provided false information to law enforcement and to the media for the purpose of extorting a greater level of assistance in the search for Francine Keyes," said Texas governor Rick Perry. "I can only say that this news is deeply disturbing to all of us, and that we are not ruling out the possibility of legal action." Francine Keyes, age 11, went missing from a camping trip with family friends...

Agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency raided a poultry plant in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, this week, arresting 119 plant workers the agency said were illegal aliens, the Siftings Herald News has reported. Ronnie Farnam, manager of the Petit Jean Poultry operation, was quoted as saying the company had to cut production by about 70 per cent due to the loss of workers, but he believes many of the workers actually have the necessary paperwork to stay in the United States. He said the federal agents entered the plant without warning. "It was disturbing. There was no reason for...

Remains of prehistoric plant found Shandong Chinese archaeologists said Tuesday that they found remains of 30 kinds of plants dating back 8,000 years in east China's Shandong province. The remains were found near the construction site of an international exposition center in the coastal city of Qingdao. Zhang Zhigang, expert with China Paleontology Society, said a team of archaeologists had been digging for ancient plant remains since the end of last year when they first found remains of a 10-cm-long reed at the site. He said the discovery is a breakthrough and will provide evidence for human evolution research. The...

The driver of an 18-wheel tractor truck fled the scene of an automobile accident Thursday afternoon, shortly after colliding with a small passenger vehicle. One of two injured in the collision is currently in critical condition, police said. Authorities investigating the scene subsequently found eight undocumented immigrants inside the cab of the tractor truck. The immigrants were questioned and released to the custody of U.S. Border Patrol agents. The intersection of McPherson and Saunders was blocked off by Laredo police officers as traffic investigators worked the scene of the automobile collision just after 6:15 p.m. Two were transported to the...