Free Republic

Three members Isis have reportedly been killed and five more injured by rampaging wild boar near Kirkuk in Iraq. The exact circumstances are unclear, but sources claim another Isis militant later "took revenge" against the feral pigs involved in the incident.

Honeywell has announced a new Wi-Fi-controlled thermostat that is intended to be distributed by municipalities instead of purchased at retail by consumers in order to better manage energy consumption across a town or city. South Sioux City, Neb., will be the first community to deploy the new thermostat to help its 13,000 residents manage electricity costs, which are said to have risen steadily there in the past three years. In the future, other municipalities will recruit residents to reduce energy consumption when demand spikes, a strategy known as automated demand response, or ADR. As part of this, the residents would...

POLK COUNTY, Wis. - A western Wisconsin man has been cleared of all charges after an 11-year-old girl who had accused him of sexual assault admitted fabricating the whole story. Paul Burritt of Turtle Lake is a driver for a handicapped transportation service. He was taken into custody and charged with sexual assault in mid-December after a client told authorities that Burritt drove her to his home and molested her before driving her home. The case was widely reported in the media, including on kare11.com, because the case was officially charged by the Polk County District Attorney. That is among...

The U.S. Air Force's B-2 stealth bomber would be able to attack and destroy an expanded set of hardened, deeply buried military targets using a new 30,000 pound-class penetrator weapon that Northrop Grumman has begun integrating on the aircraft. The company is doing the work under a seven-month, $2.5 million contract awarded June 1 by the Air Force's Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio. Northrop Grumman is the Air Force's prime contractor on the B-2, the flagship of the nation's long-range strike arsenal. The new Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), which is being developed by The Boeing Company, is a...

A member of the greatest generation will be honored Friday for service to his country during World War II. A flag will be raised in memory of Daniel Norkunas, a longtime Chaffey resident, in front of the Richard I. Bong World War II Heritage Center at 9 a.m. Friday as part of the Flags of Honor program. During WWII, Norkunas served in the U.S. Navy. Aboard the USS Laub (DD-613) he participated in convoys across the Atlantic. In July 1943, while bombarding the shore during the invasion of Sicily, Laub downed an enemy aircraft attacking the invasion fleet. He recalled...

Although they were outnumbered, two men fought off attackers in a south Minneapolis apartment robbery with a souvenir sword. At least one attacker left some fingers behind. Four men who broke into a south Minneapolis apartment early Wednesday had their hands full when two friends inside wrestled for the intruders' weapons and left at least one suspect minus fingers. Police were called to the apartment building in the 3100 block of Lyndale Avenue S. about 3:30 a.m. on a report of a stabbing. Four men, one with a handgun, forced their way into a third-floor apartment, apparently to burglarize it,...

For daring to create a new dance company in uncertain economic times, and for creative daring as choreographers and performers, we give the nod to Uri Sands and Toni Pierce-Sands.

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – YAL-1A, the Airborne Laser (ABL) aircraft, flew for 2 hours and 31 minutes over this installation on Thursday, December 9, completing an earlier flight cut short because of a faulty instrument reading. The flight was part of a continuing series to reestablish airworthiness – a requirement since the aircraft has been out of service for almost two years for modifications and installation of ABL’s complex beam control system. The plane first flew on Dec. 3, a shorter flight than originally planned. The mission was abbreviated when the crew decided to return to base to...

A Coon Rapids couple discovered the remains of a third infant Tuesday, a day after finding the bones of two others while sifting through storage trunks inherited from a deceased family member. The bones of the three infants, believed to have been dead for at least 10 years, were discovered by Michael and Kathleen Manning, authorities said. The storage trunks had belonged to Kathleen Manning's mother, who died four years ago, according to the Anoka County Sheriff's Office, which would not reveal the mother's name. The locked trunks had been kept at Manning Transfer, a Blaine storage facility run by...