Free Republic

The district director of Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) has been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury in the federal investigation that has been dogging Jefferson since last year. The district director, Stephanie Butler, notified the Clerk of the House that she has received a subpoena to appear before a grand jury meeting in the Eastern District of Virginia, which is headquartered in Alexandria. Butler’s announcement was read on the floor Wednesday evening. Subpoenas issued by executive branch agencies, like the Justice Department, must be reported to the House Clerk because of separation of powers and speech-and-debate clause issues. Jefferson...

In reaction to the Virginia Tech shooting spree, a Louisiana state lawmaker and higher education officials plan to unveil legislation Wednesday (April 18) to make clear that the state’s public universities can ban guns in student dorm rooms. Legislation by Louisiana state Rep. Richard Gallot (D) seeks to remove any doubt that guns are banned from college dorm rooms, despite a conflict between a state law allowing Louisiana residents to keep guns in their homes and one banning firearms at universities. The Louisiana proposal is the latest illustration of the collision between gun-free policies at state-run universities and state laws...

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BARABOO, Wis. - The teen accused of gunning down the Weston school principal last September told his grandmother afterward that "something snapped" in his head, she testified. Irene Hainstock took the stand Tuesday at a hearing on whether Eric Hainstock, who turned 16 last week, should be prosecuted in juvenile court instead of adult court, where he is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Principal John Klang. The charge carries a mandatory life prison term. If prosecuted as a juvenile, he could be incarcerated only until the age of 25, his lawyers have said. According to prosecutors,...

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Hollywood police said officers have arrested a woman who is accused of killing her 77-year-old mother. Carmen Santiago's decomposing body was found on Tuesday at a home on Funston Street in Hollywood. Police arrested Santiago's daughter, 39-year-old Martha Walker, on Wednesday. Police said Santiago and Walker got into a fight that ended with Walker using an ax to strike her mother in the head.

South Bend council president accepts apology, calls words 'wrong.' INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana's secretary of state asked forgiveness Monday for evoking images of slavery in describing black voting trends during a Republican event in southern Indiana last week. During a Thursday speech at the Daviess County annual Lincoln Day Dinner, Republican Secretary of State Todd Rokita said 90 percent of blacks vote Democrat and questioned why. "How can that be?" Rokita was quoted as saying by the Washington Times-Herald. "90 to 10. Who's the master and who's the slave in that relationship? How can that be healthy?" Several black lawmakers expressed...

Ling Liu and Wen Zhang own a restaurant in Carthage. Two hispanic men that are employees in that restaurant are living with the couple and their 4 year old child. Sunday morning, Carthage police responded to a call from their home in 100 block of Woodmill Lane. When police arrived, a man was standing over a lifeless child. Officers tried to resuscitate the child, but had no luck. The child was taken to the hospital, where an initial autopsy was performed. The child had bruises to the neck, jaw, arm, and ear. There was also evidence of sexual assault. After...

NEW ORLEANS—Members of the U.S. House of Representatives convened a congressional panel at Dillard University last Tuesday to investigate the state of the New Orleans criminal justice system. Local officials requested millions in federal assistance to help rebuild damaged infrastructure and install programs to reduce violent crime. The subcommittee could help back those requests. Its purpose was to pinpoint problem areas in the New Orleans criminal justice system and gather evidence to take back to Washington, D.C., in hopes of securing federal dollars. Mayor C. Ray Nagin asked for $17 million for police vehicles, equipment and recruiting efforts, $4 million...

The theme of "Bittersweet Memories" given to a prom for Higgins High School seniors turned out oddly appropriate, thanks to a flap about whether dresses were too revealing. Many West Bank families were fuming Saturday after a teacher refused to allow dozens of girls into the prom Friday night because of alleged violations of the Jefferson Parish Schools dress code, most of them related to excessive display of cleavage. "I was embarrassed," said Miranda Melerine (right), 17, a senior at the Marrero high school, who was among those barred by teacher Judy Gardner, an advisor to senior activities. "We can't...

ATLANTA – Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said the war in Iraq is a product of President Bush’s “stubbornness and obstinacy.” “The war is about an administration that is trying to preserve its own political viability,” Obama told a crowd in Atlanta. “We have to keep up ratcheting up the pressure every way and every week to tell the president it’s time to change course, to tell the president it’s time to bring the troops home.” The Republican Bush administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress are at a standoff over $100 billion in emergency funding to pay for the wars...

Some universities¡¯ decision to allow female students to be absent for classes during their menstruation period is stirring debate among professors and students. After Chung-Ang University first decided last year to allow female students to be absent as long as they report they are suffering from menstruation to their professors, other major universities such as Kyung Hee University and Cheju National University adopted the system. This year, Yonsei and Sogang University followed with similar systems. According to the schools, a maximum of two days¡¯ absence is allowed for a single period, and no more than four times in a semester...

LUTCHER - The Rev. Jesse Jackson announced Tuesday a march and rally to be held in New Orleans April 28 to help evacuees of New Orleans and South Louisiana return home. During the town hall-style event at First Community Antioch Baptist Church, Jackson also jumped into the storm of controversy surrounding radio talk show host Don Imus and Imus' recent comments regarding the Rutgers University women's basketball team. Jackson addressed a crowd of supporters from Ascension, St. James, St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes. The rally is set to call attention to what Jackson termed the "log jam...

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NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel is going back to court this week in a bid for a new murder trial, adding yet another twist to a case that has spawned decades of intrigue. Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy, is serving 20 years to life in prison after he was convicted in 2002 of bludgeoning Martha Moxley to death with a golf club in their wealthy Greenwich neighborhood when they were 15. Skakel, 47, is seeking a new trial based on a claim by one-time schoolmate Gitano ``Tony'' Bryant implicating two of his friends in Moxley's...

BEIJING - Residents were reminded again: Spitting must stop, starting now. With the 2008 Beijing Olympics less than 500 days away, officials say they are prepared to take harsh measures against people who spit in public if appeals do not work. "Very soon you will see action to stop spitting," said Jin Dapeng, director general of Beijing's municipal health department. He hinted that fines might be involved. Residents say the habit is a reaction to Beijing's dirty, dry air. Bad manners have been a constant worry for Chinese officials. At a discussion panel on the subject, one adviser, Zi Huayun,...

WASHINGTON D.C. Think global warming will raise the oceans enough to submerge Cape Hatteras? Want to bet on it? An online gambling service has started taking bets on global warming, including whether it can submerge some of the East Coast's top vacation spots. The odds that Virginia's Cape Henry will be under water by 2015 - 200-to-1 at BetUs.com. Its odds for Cape Hatteras flooding by the same date - 300-to-1. Don't bet on it, says Phil Roehrs, a coastal engineer for the city of Virginia Beach. Roehrs said although sea levels are rising along the East Coast, scientists are...

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The Lord appears to people in many ways -- but along a country road in Plain Dealing, La.? An image has appeared in the ground across the road from Ann Stromile's home. To her, it looks like an image of Jesus. "I can just feel him," said the 75-year-old Stromile, who has been staring in awe at the image across the road from her house on Blankenship Road. Her niece noticed it first, just before Easter. "She said, 'I've got something to show you. This face.' And then I just froze," Blankenship said. In the dirt at the foot of...

NEW ORLEANS - To better protect the nation from flooding and hurricanes, the Army Corps of Engineers, and by extension politicians who push pork-barrel projects on the agency, need to acknowledge that the world is heating up and seas are rising, a report by two environmental groups said. The report, released Thursday by Environmental Defense and the National Wildlife Federation, was a compendium of complaints against the agency that have gained momentum since its catastrophic engineering mistakes caused about 88 percent of the flooding of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. The policy analysis said that unless the corps prioritizes its...

A substitute teacher's tool for silencing chatty kindergartners doesn't wash with school officials in Ohio. The teacher has admitted disciplining four boys by placing clothespins on their upper or lower lips. The boys were reportedly talking too much in class. The principal of Amanda-Clearcreek Primary School in Mason, Ohio, says he won't hire Ruth Ann Stoneburner to teach there again. She's also being reported to the state education department. Officials found out about the discipline after a parent complained. The students weren't hurt. The punishment isn't condoned by the district.