Free Republic

A Decatur man accused of punching a 14-year-old girl in the face for running into his son on the slopes in Colorado has pleaded guilty to third-degree assault. The Vail Daily reported Tuesday that the plea from 41-year-old Scott Filler, a renowned malaria expert, was for a misdemeanor stemming from the December incident at Beaver Creek Ski Resort. Police reports say Filler thought the teen was skiing carelessly when she bumped into his 4-year-old son. Eagle County sheriff's deputies say that's when he jumped on the girl and hit her with his fist. The girl said she was swerving to...

BEIJING, China (AP) -- Chopped cardboard, softened with an industrial chemical and flavored with fatty pork and powdered seasoning, is a main ingredient in batches of steamed buns sold in one Beijing neighborhood, state television said.

2004 Year-Ender By Gwynne Dyer The world has been on hold this year. Interesting and important things have happened in many countries, and most people have scarcely noticed that international politics is becalmed - but it is. The normal business of the planet has pretty much slowed to a halt and we are all gently drifting downstream together while we wait to see what becomes of the United States - and, as a result, of the rest of the world, for the US is still a key player in almost every game. We may be waiting some time. The war...

Pop prince Michael Jackson's former plastic surgeon has reacted with horror at pictures of him in court this week showing his nose appearing to be held together by a sticking plaster. The surgically-altered star provoked gasps from onlookers at a Santa Monica, California court - where he is being sued for $21 million for allegedly pulling out of two millennium concerts - when he removed his face mask to reveal a swollen face and surgical tape covering a badly damaged nose. The extent of the damage to Jackson's face also sent the plastic surgery community into an uproar, prompting the...