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A state pension fund used by more than 820 Texas cities – including most of those in North Texas – faces a $1.7 billion funding shortfall. And fixing the situation will force some cities to raise taxes, cut future retirees' benefits or both. (story continued at link here.

I have received word that the Walmart near I-40 and Coors at Albquerque was robbed of over $40,000 this morning by masked robbers. Customers were in the store. I can't find any news on this story. Does anyone have additional information?

I would like to request Freepers' prayers for my elderly mom who was just taken to an emergency room in Beaumont, Texas for what appears to be excessive internal bleeding. She already suffers from dementia but this is something new. We almost lost her during Hurrican Rita when she fell and broke her arm during her displacement ordeal. At the moment my sister is with my mom at the hospital and x-rays are being taken. I am about 750 miles away on the opposite corner of Texas. All I can do is to pray and request your prayers as well....

Chile Bus Crash Kills 12 American Tourists SANTIAGO, Chile A bus carrying cruise ship tourists plunged 300 feet down a mountainside in northern Chile Wednesday, killing 12 Americans, U.S. and Chilean officials said. Two other Americans and two Chileans _ the driver and the tour guide _ were hospitalized in serious condition following the crash along a rugged highway near the Pacific port city of Arica, 1,250 miles north of Santiago, said Juan Carlos Poli, an Arica city hall spokesman. See rest of story here.

MANY IN LA., TEXAS LAMENT RITA 'AMNESIA' By DOUG SIMPSON Associated Press Writer LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) -- A steady procession of congressmen and U.S. senators have visited the Gulf Coast this month, inspecting Hurricane Katrina damage. But they didn't show up here, one of the places devastated by Hurricane Rita, Louisiana's "other" storm. Four months after Rita caused $4.7 billion in damage, people in southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas say they're concerned the storm has been erased from the country's memory, overshadowed by Katrina's assault on New Orleans. While New Orleanians fret about "Katrina fatigue," people here say they've...

It is a mystery in the desert hills near Los Lunas, New Mexico. It has puzzled experts for more than 50 years. It has been referred to by many different names -- Ten Commandments Rock, Mystery Rock, The Los Lunas Decalogue Stone. It is most commonly known as the Mystery Stone. Mystery Stone is located at the base of Hidden Mountain, on New Mexico state trust land, about 16 miles west of Los Lunas. It is a boulder weighing an estimated 80 to 100 tons and is about eight meters in length. Nine rows of 216 characters were chiseled at...

After many months of not being able to login to FR from my west Texas server, everything now seems to be okay. For many months, whenever I typed in my user name and password at FR and clicked on the "Log In" button, I got only a "dead" response from the server. After trying MANY things, i.e., reformatting, changing my op system, and even changing PCs, I finally wrote to my ISP asking if they had the FR site blocked. After checking, my ISP decided the problem was their "Intrusion Detection" (software?) which was blocking perl script access. The problem...

IRS Instructions Make It Clear That That Income From Sources Like EBay Sales Can Be Taxed WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hawking baby and children's clothes -- along with some garage sale and thrift store bargains -- on eBay helps Sunni Wojnarowsky bring in some extra money so she can afford to stay home with her two young boys. The additional dollars are great, but does she really need to hassle with the paperwork and report her small profit to the Internal Revenue Service? Her question, posed to the online auction site's discussion board for sellers, generated much advice -- and more...

For the second evening in a row, large wildfires are being fought along the Rio Grande in Albuquerque. This one broke out about 8:30 pm around the Montano Bridge and are threatening several areas. Evacuations are now occurring on the east and west sides of the River. Arson is suspected as was the fires last night. Muleteam1

A very large fire is now burning in the river bosque in Northwest Albuquerque. It was discovered about 3:45 pm this afternon and fire crews are now on the scene. The fire is moving north from the area of I-40 and Coors. Callers to KKOB (770 AM radio) have reported structures are on fire and a large number of customers lost electrical power for a period. The Governor is now on his way back from Mexico City where he just met with Mexican President Fox. State resources are standing by and U.S. Forest Service has dispatched a helicopter. Muleteam1

Ever wonder how Osama keeps his whites so white while everyone else in Afghanistan looks like dirty dish towels?