Free Republic

Justices to decide whether to take up case on strict limits approved in D.C. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will discuss gun control today in a private conference that soon could explode publicly. Behind closed doors, the nine justices will consider taking a case that challenges the District of Columbia's stringent handgun ban. Their ultimate decision will shape how far other cities and states can go with their own gun restrictions. "If the court decides to take this up, it's very likely it will end up being the most important Second Amendment case in history," said Dennis Henigan, the legal...

The Houston Chronicle is now the sixth-largest metropolitan newspaper in the nation on Sundays — up from seventh — and remains at seventh-place weekdays, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported Monday. Chronicle Publisher and President Jack Sweeney said the Chronicle was outperforming most major markets in the country. "We virtually held steady in daily circulation and showed a gain on Sunday," Sweeney said. Sunday circulation ticked up .09 percent, from 692,593 to 693,228. Daily circulation dipped .13 percent, from 508,091 to 507,437. "We want more of our readers engaged in the paper seven days a week, so we've worked hard...

Does the highlight of America's pastime have to be played so late at night and last so long? Dear Mr. Selig: As baseball commissioner you are no doubt aware that baseball is — or is supposed to be — America's pastime. No exception was made for young children on a school night, or older Americans who turn in early. That being the case, why on earth are World Series games running until after 11 p.m.? In this era of video games and the Internet, baseball will have a hard enough time attracting the young fans it will need to prosper...

OCEANSIDE, CALIF. — The Marine Corps is taking on the role of fashion police. Earlier this year, the Marine Corps commandant updated the regulations on what Marines can and cannot wear, on duty and off, in the United States. Among the fashion don'ts: No shiny metal or gems on your teeth, no designs carved in your hair, no flashy jewelry and no bare midriffs or excessive cleavage (Damn). But it is Gen. James T. Conway's ban on the wearing of camouflage uniforms, or "cammies," off base that is getting the most attention, changing not only the appearance of the Marines...

In the beginning, black activist Quanell X pledged a protest like those in the civil rights era. He would bus students from Key Middle School to the tony, tree-lined neighborhood of Houston Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra, and they would demand an equal education. Instead, on Friday afternoon, the activist offered free food and a visit from a "surprise platinum hip-hop artist" to persuade about 50 students to board a chartered bus pointed toward Montrose. But the bus never moved. And the artist never showed. Quanell X said he canceled the plan to bus the children from Key to Saavedra's Montrose-area house...

Probe into corruption in Dallas snares 16 Indictment names legislator, ex-councilman and former mayor pro tem DALLAS — A meeting behind a church with $10,000 cash changing hands, five-figure gifts for a city councilman's "birthday party" and a mistress funneling bribes through a sham consulting company were among details spelled out Monday in a federal indictment alleging corruption at Dallas City Hall. The 166-page indictment accuses state Rep. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas, and former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill of extortion and bribery in soliciting and taking payments from affordable housing developers. Former City Councilman James Fantroy was indicted separately on...

He says blacks have a particular duty to serve but no one excluded PHILADELPHIA — The city's embattled police chief, acknowledging that police alone cannot quell a run of deadly violence, has called on 10,000 men to patrol the streets to reduce crime. Sylvester Johnson says black men, in particular, have a duty to protect more vulnerable residents. He wants each volunteer to pledge to work three hours a day for at least 90 days. "We are definitely encouraging black men to be involved in it," Johnson said Thursday. "We have an obligation to give back. We have an obligation...

LAW OF THE LAND Order for emergencies apparently gives authority without congressional oversight President Bush has signed an executive order granting extraordinary powers to the office of the president in the event of a declared national emergency, apparently without congressional approval or oversight. The order was signed May 9 without any announcement, says Jerome R. Corsi in a WND column. Titled, "National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive," it was issued with the dual designation of NSPD-51, as a National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20, as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive. The order establishes under the office of the president...

This lawmaker counts his grandmother among reasons In my community in Houston, thousands of first- and second-generation Americans came of age in the "greatest generation." They volunteered to protect our freedom in World War II. Many who came home had to fight to build a life for their families and exercise the rights they earned with their blood and tears. As a firefighter, I was trained to protect their lives and property. As a state senator today, it's the least I can do to honor their sacrifices by being in Austin to protect their right to vote. Every nonpartisan, academic...

Higher demand, lower subsidies driving costs Milk prices worldwide are rising at the fastest rate ever and won't be falling anytime soon because of growing demand in China and Latin America and dwindling government supplies. Dairy farmers have failed to keep pace with a 3 percent increase in annual milk consumption, according to Rabobank Groep in the Netherlands, the world's biggest agricultural lender. Reduced subsidies eliminated milk surpluses in Europe and slowed production growth in the U.S., government data show. The rally started last year after Australia reduced exports because of its worst drought in a century. "Over the next...

Houston Comical Editorial Cartoon Contest Winners View the winners and honorable mentions of the 2007 Editorial Cartoon Contest.------click here for cartoons

Two members of the Ottaway family, a minority partner in Dow Jones & Co., released scathing statements on Sunday saying that a takeover by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. would ruin Dow Jones and its crown jewel, The Wall Street Journal. The controlling Bancroft family said last week that family members representing 52 percent of votes opposed Murdoch's $60-a-share bid. But their statement was vague. The Ottaways' statements left no ambiguity, questioning the journalism and ethics of Murdoch and of News Corp. properties like Fox News Channel and the New York Post. James H. Ottaway Jr., a trustee and formerly Dow...

The overall acceptance rate at the rest of the nation's 2,500 four-year colleges and universities, which accept an average of 70 percent of applicants, has not moved. "That overall 70 percent acceptance rate hasn't changed since the 1980s," said David Hawkins, a director at the National Association of College Admissions Counsellors. Harvard turned down 1,100 student applicants with perfect 800 scores on the SAT math exam. Yale rejected several applicants with perfect 2400 scores on the three-part SAT, and Princeton turned away thousands of high school applicants with 4.0 grade point averages. Needless to say, high school valedictorians were a...

One of four men accused in the so-called Houston Taliban case was found guilty Tuesday of unlawful possession of a firearm. Shiraz Syed Qazi, 26, waived his right to a jury trial, opting for a decision from U.S. District Court Judge Lee Rosenthal. The trial lasted 15 minutes. Qazi and the others arrested last year are accused of material support of terrorism by training to fight with the Taliban against U.S.-led forces. A July 2005 camping trip in Willis, north of Conroe, was part of the conspiracy, FBI officials have said. Agents used Qazi's acknowledgment that "he overheard statements...

Flu shots available at select voting sites Clinics target Hispanics and blacks who are 50 and older Residents who catch the political bug this week may be able to avoid another kind. The city and Amerigroup Foundation will offer flu vaccinations to people 50 and older through Friday at four early voting sites around Houston. The "Vote and Vaccination" clinics are in Hispanic and black neighborhoods because studies show these ethnic groups are less likely to get flu shots, said Porfirio Villarreal, a spokesman for the city's health department. "This has nothing to do with politics," he said. "It's an...

The idea of taking a DNA test first came to me in August, after I read a Time magazine article entitled "Diving into the Gene Pool." The author, Carolina A. Miranda describes herself as an "olive-skinned Latina," but a DNA analysis test uncovered connections to places likesuch as Poland and Mozambique. Intrigued, I decided to order my own analysis kit from DNA Tribes, a company that promised to trace my ancestry back to ancient times. I didn't expect my experience to be anything like Miranda's. For starters, I was fairly certain of my ethnic heritage: Irish on my mother's side,...

Look closly at the pix...Mike Guthrie, right, a worker at Ford's Maumee, Ohio, stamping plant, watches TV coverage of the closing of the plant on Friday in the plant's break room. "I don't know what else we could have done to keep it open," he said. "We're not going to walk out with our heads down." J.D. POOLEY: AP MAUMEE, OHIO - Robert Liley uprooted his family for this Toledo suburb four years ago when Ford Motor Co. shut down an assembly plant in New Jersey. Now he's facing another shutdown and moving again. He just hopes the automaker offers...

New fees discourage noncritical patients from using emergency rooms Larnita Booker sat patiently in the waiting room at Ben Taub General Hospital's emergency room Tuesday morning, as she always does when she needs to renew a prescription. But when her name was called, she learned the hospital no longer offers that service for free. She could go to one of a dozen community health clinics suggested by Ben Taub counselors, she was told, or she could pay $80 to be seen by a physician at the hospital. "I'm going to have to go somewhere else because I don't have the...

Sherriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona is now playing National Anthem and God Bless America played for the entire jail facitily. The inmates are also wearing pink underwear to prevent theft, but eating high on the hog with a balogna brunh and hot meal in the evening. All meals cost the inmates 14 cents a piece.I wish he was running Harris County Texas.....

TUCSON, ARIZ. - An empty casket with a military seal was discovered in a desert area south of Tucson, and sheriff's deputies were looking for the body. ADVERTISEMENT "Obviously it had the smell, and there was other evidence that it had been inhabited recently," Deputy Dawn Barkman said Sunday. Forensic investigators took DNA samples, and a nationwide alert was issued in hope of finding out who was the casket, Barkman said. Deputies were called to a desert area near Interstate 10 Saturday after two people playing paintball found the casket. The casket was metallic silver with a U.S. Army insignia...