Free Republic

WASHINGTON - If you were born in 1974, the year that Gerald Ford took office as America’s first unelected president, his time in the White House isn't even a memory to you. Even for people older than age 32, the headline events of the Ford era may now be only vague recollections. Remember the Mayaguez? That was the American merchant ship captured by the Cambodian navy, prompting Ford to order an attack to retake it. How about Sara Jane Moore? She was the woman who fired a shot from her .38-caliber revolver at the president in 1975 as he was...

CHESTER, England - As Christmas approaches, a virgin mother is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her offspring. She’s Flora, the Komodo dragon. In an evolutionary twist, Flora has managed to become pregnant all on her own without any male help. It would seem the timing is auspicious: The seven baby Komodo dragons are due this festive season.

As the debate over the official BCS results started to heat up Sunday evening, I glanced at a nearby TV monitor and saw the Seahawks and Broncos about to kick off. It was one of the more meaningful matchups of Week 13 in the NFL, but the stakes weren't nearly as high as they had been when USC and Florida took the field in college games the previous day. So, I started thinking, "How much different would a game like this be if the NFL decided its championship the same way college football does?"

A 68-year-old man who almost accompanied Cory Lidle on his fatal flight in New York City last month died in a plane crash in California on Tuesday.

Airline stocks jumped into the spotlight today after US Airways Group (LCC, news, msgs) proposed a surprise merger with Delta Air Lines (DALRQ, news, msgs), in a move that would create the nation's biggest airline. The deal, which would take effect after Delta's emergence from bankruptcy protection, is worth $8 billion in cash and stock.

Gauging by the attack ads flowing from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the party's House contenders are running against Exxon, Pfizer and Bush. The ads tie Republican House candidates to unpopular industries and an unpopular President. Some of these ads are exaggerations. At times DCCC ads run completely off the rails of factual accuracy. One falsely implies that an Illinois candidate tried to ban Dr. Seuss books from schools. Another correctly states that an Ohio candidate was investigated "for abusing her position," but fails to mention that the investigation found "no substance" to the allegation. Others claim Republicans voted to...

LONDON - Unchecked global warming will devastate the global economy on the scale of the world wars and the Great Depression, according to a major British report released Monday that seeks to quantify the costs and benefits of action as well as inaction. British Treasury chief Gordon Brown, who commissioned the report and who could very well become Britain's next prime minister when Tony Blair steps down next year, said former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who has dedicated himself to warning about global warming, would advise the British government on climate change. (see link for rest of article)