Free Republic

Authorities in Florida called for help from an animal handler when deputies were unable to wrangle a loose bull that took an overnight tour of a city. The Broward County Sheriff's Office confirmed deputies responded Tuesday night to search for a bull seen running loose through the streets of Cooper City. The bull was caught on video by witnesses and doorbell cameras. A police helicopter and an animal handler were called in to assist with efforts to locate and capture the bovine. The bull was seen still wandering loose at 4 a.m. Wednesday, but reports indicated the animal was captured...

A Cooper City commissioner, one of several facing a state inquiry for allegedly drinking booze on the taxpayers' tab before public meetings, now has a more immediate problem: Bartlett ''Bart'' Roper was busted on a DUI charge Tuesday night after police said they found him slumped over the wheel of his truck on a public road. When they roused him with a rap on the window, he flashed an obscene gesture at paramedics, police said. Roper, 69, was stopped in Davie and taken to the Broward Sheriff's Office's main jail in Fort Lauderdale. Bond was set at $500, which he...

The city of Cooper City, Fla., has given itself the power to seize residents' personal property in times of emergency. Officials deemed this new law necessary because of what is expected to be a busy hurricane season. But don't worry, they say. The law would never be enforced unless there were no other options – presumably meaning that the city could not persuade private citizens to permit the government to borrow, rent or buy their equipment. Think of it as eminent domain for generators, power tools, trucks and anything else local czars determine they need. Not surprisingly, this plan has...