Free Republic

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks dropped on Wednesday as bleak economic data fed worries that despite all the efforts to unlock credit markets, the economy is unlikely to avoid recession. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke further fueled those concerns when he said the economy faced a significant threat. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 stock index slid more than 7 percent to its intraday low, while the Dow shed more than 500 points to its lowest point for the session so far. U.S. retail sales in September dropped the most in more than three years, while a measure of New...

Water For Visiting Soccer Team Drugged In Athens, Greece POSTED: 2:03 pm EDT June 9, 2004 ATHENS, Greece -- Bottled water given to a visiting soccer team by an Athens squad was found to have been spiked with a powerful depressant, after tests conducted when mystery illnesses struck two other teams at earlier games. Olympics organizers quickly ruled out the possibility of such an incident occurring at the Aug. 13-29 Athens Games, saying all food and water for athletes would be subject to random inspections for poisons or substances that might enhance performance. When Akratitos played Kalithea, another Athens team,...