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WASHINGTON, DC (AP) –Doubts over the proposal to bail out the USC Trojan football program continue to slow the progress of the bill through Congress. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers object to portions of the package, and are asking for more time to allow for further debate on the issue.

Here's a line you'll either recognize or you won't: "This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather." If you don't recognize this little gem, you've either never seen Groundhog Day or you're not a fan of what is, in my opinion, one of the best films of the last 40 years. As the day of the groundhog again approaches, it seems only fitting to celebrate what will almost undoubtedly join It's a Wonderful Life in the pantheon of America's most uplifting, morally serious, enjoyable, and timeless movies.

"Brokeback Mountain," the story of two male ranch hands who become romantically involved, led all films with eight nominations for the 78th annual Academy Awards. "Brokeback," based on a short story by E. Annie Proulx, picked up nods for best picture, best director (Ang Lee), best actor (Heath Ledger), best supporting actress (Michelle Williams) and best supporting actor (Jake Gyllenhaal). Its screenplay adaptation, by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, also received a nomination.

DEDHAM, Mass. — A prosecutor said Tuesday that a dominatrix waited too long to call for help as a client died of a heart attack during a bondage session, then dismembered and disposed of the body rather than report the death. But the woman's lawyer said in her opening statement that the man never visited Barbara Asher's makeshift dungeon and that police made up the story and bullied Asher into confessing.

SAN FRANCISCO, California (Reuters) -- Internet users share many common interests, but men are heavier consumers of news, stocks, sports and pornography, while more women look for health and religious guidance, a broad survey of U.S. Web usage has found.

Tomorrow for Christmas dinner I would like to make a spice cake. I am having trouble finding a good recipe for the frosting. FR is a treasure trove of knowledge so I figure someone on here could help! Basically I just want to make a simple white icing/frosting. The trick is, my husband is allergic to whey. If the frosting has milk, cream, or cream cheese in it, he will not have a very merry Christmas. Butter is fine though. Does anyone have a simple recipe for a frosting that doesn't use any dairy products except for butter? Thanks and...

Mr sassbox and I would like to donate a car of ours. He's been looking on the internet for charities in central NJ that will take a car donation. This hasn't been as easy of a search as you'd think. He thought the Red Cross sounded like a good bet. However I've heard some conservatives aren't fans of the Red Cross - I remember hearing a lot of this during Katrina. What is the cause for concern regarding the Red Cross? Would fellow freepers donate to them? Basically we don't want our donation to be used to fund something like...

NEW YORK - In the early months of 2006, expect a few novels with some very familiar story lines. "Labyrinth," by Kate Mosse, features a rival sect to the Catholic church and a search for the Holy Grail. In "The Templar Legacy," a thriller by Steve Berry, a former government agent attempts to unravel a mystery about an order of knights whose power rivaled the Pope's. Matilde Asensi's "The Last Cato" features the head of the Vatican's secret archive and his efforts to solve a murder with clues dating back to biblical times.

A 2-year-old profanity-laced recording that denigrates women and minorities surfaced on the Web on Tuesday, putting the University of Miami's athletic department on the defensive about its image. Miami's carefully cultivated image as a school well-past the days that earned it the reputation as a program lacking institutional control may have taken a blow when the rap song, which sources told ESPN.com includes the voices of several football players, surfaced on the Internet. A group calling itself the 7th Floor Crew -- the name reportedly comes from the seventh floor of the Mahoney Residential College, campus housing at Miami --...

Notre Dame 17 Michigan 10 Who's your daddy?

While New Orleans officials were saying that Hurricane Katrina's death toll would likely be in the thousands, the city's animal centers fared better, with only a pair of river otters reported dead at the Audubon Zoo and a whooping crane lost at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species. "From what I understand, we didn't take any water," zoo spokeswoman Sarah Burnette told CNN. Most of the damage to the zoo -- which houses about 1,200 animals in natural habitats -- appeared to be limited to uprooted trees and plants, she said.

In some weddings, "'til death do us part" is going the way of "to honor and obey" — that is, out the window. Vows like "For as long as we continue to love each other," "For as long as our love shall last" and "Until our time together is over" are increasingly replacing the traditional to-the-grave vow — a switch that some call realistic and others call a recipe for failure.

For the past several weeks, my upstairs neighbor and friend has been having a very rough time. He is suffering from some mental illness, the after effects of drug use, gambling and financial problems - in short, he's quite a mess right now. Mr sassbox and I were sitting out on our porch earlier this evening, when this young man came out. He struck up a conversation with us - the first time in weeks he has spoken to anyone in our house in a friendly manner. Although he has not been religious at all, he talked alot about God...

Just a quick question...I've noticed several articles on FR with the keyword "CARY." The articles seem to cover a very diverse range of topics. What does CARY mean? Is it an acronym? Curious.....

Graduate student arrested Mathematics student admits to about 60 incidents of lewd behavior toward Asian females on campus By Chanakya Sethi Princetonian Senior Writer A graduate student in the mathematics department has been charged by Borough police with reckless endangerment and harassment in connection with more than 60 incidents targeting Asian women on campus. President Tilghman has barred the student from campus. Michael Lohman, a third-year student in the applied and computational mathematics program, was charged last week by Borough police with two counts of reckless endangerment, two counts of tampering with a food product, one count of harassment and...

New Brunswick 'hostage' incident probed Building resident talks out his kids after rape call causes standoff Wednesday, March 23, 2005 BY TOM HAYDON AND SULEMAN DIN Star-Ledger Staff A 911 call from a girl who claimed she was raped and held hostage in a New Brunswick apartment house sparked a six-hour police standoff in the heart of the city yesterday that ended when three people were taken into custody. By evening, however, police had not made any arrests and would not say whether a rape occurred in the third-floor apartment at 226 Seaman St.

WEDNESDAY IN HOLY WEEK Station-St. Mary Major Could we have a more powerful leader to Jesus Christ on this, the last day of preparation, than Mary, our Most Holy Mother? Into thy hands, dearest Mother, we place the humble efforts we have made since Ash Wednesday. Mother of Our Savior, carry them, together with thy own most worthy and most pleasing merits, to the throne of divine mercy. Petition the eternal Father that through the infinite merits of His Son and through thy powerful intercession, He would "look down on this His family for which our Lord Jesus Christ hesitated...

TUESDAY IN HOLY WEEK Station-St. Prisca The last Lenten Station is that of Saint Prisca on the Aventine Hill. It is only a short way from the church of Saint Sabina, from which the procession left forty days ago to visit the tombs of the Martyrs. It is significant that the point of departure and the final arrival of the Lenten stations are on the Aventine Hill, for it was considered particularly sacred by the early Christians. It was in fact here that St. Peter and St. Paul lived for some time in the house of Saints Aquila and Priscilla,...

MONDAY IN HOLY WEEK Station—St. Praxedes The spirit of this second day of the holiest of all weeks may be summed up in four words: Jesus, a supper, a penitent and an impenitent. Jesus—Holy Savior, You are the center of our thoughts and love. Accept our thanks for all that You have done for our salvation. The Last Supper—A supper for Jesus! In a few days, Jesus will make a supper for us, a "sacred banquet in which Christ is eaten," "symbol of that One Body of which He is the Head and to which He willed that we should...

PALM SUNDAY Station—The Archbasilica of St. John Lateran Today, begins the greatest and holiest week of the year, a week opening with triumph and closing with triumph; a week commencing with the Hosanna, continuing with the Cross and terminating in the Alleluia. This week is a picture of our Christian life, which began with the "Hosanna to our King" on that day when, at the font, Christ our Redeemer took possession of the city of our soul. At that blessed spot He made us His disciples and gave us the Cross. "If thou will be My disciple, take Thy cross...