Free Republic

The oldest known gorilla to be born in captivity, a female named Colo, has died in the US aged 60. Colo passed away in her sleep overnight at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio, less than a month after celebrating her birthday. She was born at the zoo in December 1956 and is believed to be the first gorilla ever born in captivity. Colo, a Western lowland gorilla, lived for more than 20 years longer than the average captive gorilla. Despite recently having a malignant tumour removed, zookeepers said that she had been recovering well and the cause of...

Iowa high school science teacher John Cisna weighed 280 pounds and wore a size 51 pants. Then he started eating at McDonalds. Every meal. Every day. For 180 days. By the end of his experiment, Cisna was down to a relatively svelte 220 and could slip into a size 36. Cisna, who is Birmingham today and Wednesday to speak at a rally for area McDonald's managers, earned a new nickname, too. "In all those (previous) years, my nickname with my buddies was 'Snack Bar,''' Cisna said. "You know what they call me now? 'Snack Bar Jr.'" What turned out to...

With just a few clicks on an ancestry website, I recently traced my own U.S. immigration story to 1650 - just 30 years after the Mayflower's landing - when my nine-times great grandfather, John Whitlow, stepped off a boat into what would later become Virginia. Undoubtedly, he did not have permission or a visa from the Rappahannock Indians, so truth be told, he was an "undocumented" arrival. Considering the complexity of my own family tree, alongside my experiences growing up in central Texas, I have to ask myself: How should I respond as an evangelical pastor to the current immigration...

The outcome of today’s historic recall elections are about more than the jobs of embattled Democratic state Senators John Morse and Angela Giron. They will also speak volumes about the influence of unlimited amounts of special interest money on Colorado’s elections. Will those special interests succeed? Or will voters see the left wing smear machine for what it is – crass, dishonest, willing to say anything to preserve their power. Recall opponents, floating on oceans of money funneled into the recall contests by billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, outspent recall backers by a whopping 7 to 1 margin. The...

Si, buenas tardes?" Miriam Ceja chirped into the microphone at La Nueva Mix's studio in Glenwood Springs, Colo. It was 5 p.m., "prime drive time," on a Wednesday evening in late March. La Nueva Mix is primarily a music station, playing Norteño ballads and other Latin American tunes. But since its debut six years ago, program director Axel Contreras has also introduced talk shows on health, real estate and dealing with police encounters. By far the most popular, though, is Punto Legal, a weekly immigration law call-in. Ceja, an assistant at the law firm Hess and Schubert, is one of...

DENVER (AP) -- Police on a cold case hunt have finally identified a woman whose nude and battered body was found along a Boulder creek 55 years ago. But it's not over - they want to name the killer. She was buried under a headstone that read "Jane Doe" and remained anonymous until a DNA test revealed that she was Dorothy Gay Howard of Phoenix, officials announced Wednesday. Howard had been reported missing in March 1954 when she was 18. The ID was resolved by the Boulder County Sheriff's Department, Internet research and the persistence of local historian Silvia Pettem....

The mother of a U.S. Marine was grieving for her dead son when she found that his savings account had been claimed by the director of the funeral home. It was money that he had no right to and despite a court ruling, the funeral director refused to pay. What's even more puzzling is that he's not just any debtor, he's the mayor of the small town and a member of a City Council that has financial responsibility for the city's budget. 7NEWS also found that he has other debts as well, something his constituents may want to know. Jason...

CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Dec. 3, 2005) -- Holding an AN/PRC-119 field radio to his ear, a Marine communicates with the lead vehicle about the status of the convoy. Whether it’s providing communication for convoys or units inside the wire, field radio operators directly contribute to the success of the Marine Corps mission while in Iraq. Lance Cpl. John A. McLaughlin, with Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), routinely ensures Marines within his unit have continuous radio accessibility. “Being a radio operator I also make sure convoys have [communication],” McLaughlin said. “Without Communication the mission would be virtually...

DENVER (AP) - A man accused of killing a Denver police officer can be extradited to the United States, the Consulate General of Mexico said. Raul Gomez-Garcia was charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder in the death of Detective Donald Young and the wounding of Detective John H. Bishop in May while the men were working off-duty as security for a party. He has been jailed in Mexico since he was captured there in June. Gomez-Garcia has 15 working days to appeal, the Mexican Consulate said in a news release Thursday. If he does not, he could be returned...

Amber Alert Issued Monday July 14. Jonathan Marquez-Ruiz 8 months old, seen wearing a red shirt and gray shorts. He and his mother were abducted from their home in Colorado Springs CO on Monday July 14. His mother is Elizabeth Ruiz. She was last seen wearing a red shirt, white tank top and blue jeans. Police are looking for Jose Angel Marquez. He was driving a late nineties model dark blue Ford Expedition with beige trim. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's department at 719-390-5555 or dial 911