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TOMBSTONE — There were a few tears, but there also were many memories. Memories of a man who was known for his ability to make others laugh, but who was always apparently amazed by the effect his alter ego had on the people he met. Emmett Kelly Jr., otherwise known as Weary Willie, the world’s most famous circus clown, was laid to rest on Tuesday, following his death at the age of 82 last Wednesday. A resident of Tombstone, friends and family gathered to remember and say farewell to the seasoned entertainer at the town’s First Baptist Church. The group...

FORT HUACHUCA — He was loved. He was mourned. He was buried. So it was Wednesday for Army Cpl. Casey Lee Mellen, who was killed in action in Iraq on Sept. 25. It was the last day of public remembrances for the 21-year-old Case, as his family called him. Their private grief will continue, but Wednesday his wife, father, mother, sister and nephew were surrounded by many people in a comforting embrace at the Main Post Chapel and later at the committal area of the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery. Led by Pastor Tommy Simpson, who read passages from the...

FORT HUACHUCA — The final journey of Cpl. Casey Lee Mellen begins today with a noon funeral service at the Main Post Chapel on Fort Huachuca, followed by his burial at the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery at 2 p.m. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has ordered all flags in the state to be lowered to half staff today to honor Mellen. On Tuesday, the flags were ordered to half staff by the governor to honor Army Lt. Col. Douglas Mann, of Sierra Vista, who was killed in an accident in San Antonio, Texas, as he was preparing for deployment to...

AFTER the destruction of America’s Columbia space shuttle three years ago, the final frontier was in danger of becoming a frontier too far. The shuttle programme began to be wound down, aspirations for the International Space Station were scaled back and scientific projects such as the Hubble telescope were decommissioned. However, beyond the shuttle, space is a booming market and, for the first time, much of the drive is coming from the private sector. The multibillion-dollar satellite business continues to be very important to companies including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and EADS, which builds the Ariane rocket. Russia, China and Japan...

JOHN BATCHELOR LIVE AT 10 PM (until 1 AM) Global & Domestic Click to Read Today AgendaWABC RADIOWMAL RADIO A bigger list of streaming for John Batchelor

Camp Pendleton Marines Make Final Preparations for DeploymentBy Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., Aug. 25, 2006 -- Just three weeks before they deploy for six months as U.S. Central Command’s theater reserve force, Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit here say they’re ready to get on with the mission despite pulls at their heartstrings over leaving home. Marine Corps Sgt. Bobby Savicke, motor transportation mechanic, retrieves his tool cart from a storage unit to inspect vehicles in preparation for an upcoming deployment at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Aug. 23. This will be Savicke’s second “float” with...

The World Cup Final will be held Sunday in Berlin at 2 p.m. ET (ABC). Germany will face Portugal to play for third place on Saturday in Stuttgart at 3 p.m. ET (ESPN).

CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (April 22, 2006) -- The Marines and sailors boarded the train and were ready for its final departure at 2100 hours (9 p.m.). This train; however, was going nowhere. The Camp Al Qa’im Chapel, or “Soul Train” – a name adopted by the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment – is an Iraqi passenger boxcar converted into a chapel and was decommissioned as the camp chapel on April 10. A newly constructed chapel for the battalion marked the end of the Soul Train’s nearly three-year stretch as a house of prayer. The boxcar served as a chapel...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Embattled Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari cleared the way Thursday for Shiite leaders to withdraw his nomination for a second term, a step that could break a months-long standoff that is blocking the formation of a new government

NEW YORK - In the eyes of her stepfather, 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown was an out-of-control troublemaker. She stole money from her parents and broke her siblings' toys, she stole milk from a younger sibling and broke their computer printer, he said. And when he found that she had gone into the refrigerator and taken a cup of yogurt she wasn't supposed to have, he flew into a rage. Police say Cesar Rodriguez beat the little girl to death, then tossed her on the floor of what was known in the family's apartment as the "dirty room," a rodent-infested room where...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2005 – Operation Shank wrapped up today, officials in Iraq announced. The operation, conducted in central and southern Ramadi, was the fifth in a series by the Iraqi army and coalition forces engaged in combined clearing operations to disrupt terrorism and set conditions for a successful Dec. 15 election in the provincial capital of Anbar. Shank primarily involved targeted raids conducted by Iraqi soldiers and U.S. forces against terrorist safe houses in the area. The raids resulted in the detention of four suspected members of al Qaeda in Iraq, who were held for questioning. About 200 Iraqi...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Final results from Iraq's landmark referendum on a new constitution will likely not be announced until Friday at the earliest because of delays getting counts to the capital and a wide-ranging audit of an unexpectedly high number of "yes" votes, election officials said. The returns have raised questions over the possibility of irregularities in the balloting. With the delays, the outcome of the crucial referendum will remain up in the air possibly into next week, at a time when the government had hoped to move public attention to a new milestone: the start of the trial of...

Fired New Orleans city workers get final paychecks 20 minutes ago Final paychecks were issued to thousands of New Orleans city workers laid off in the wake of ruinous hurricanes, according to city officials. A message posted on the city website provided further details of the layoffs from Mayor Ray Nagin, seen here 6 October(AFP/Getty Images/File) NEW ORLEANS, United States (AFP) - Final paychecks were issued to thousands of New Orleans city workers laid off in the wake of ruinous hurricanes, according to city officials. "In addition, all employees who are part of the layoff are asked to turn in...

Highlights of final N.C. House budget 8/10/2005 8:43 AM By: Associated Press & News 14 Carolina Web Staff The figures reflect reductions or increases to base budget expenses, some of them based on projected rises in recurring spending. Salaries and benefits: • Salary increase of two percent or $850, whichever is greater, and one week extra vacation for most state workers; average 2.24 percent raise for public school teachers. Community college faculty and professional staff also would receive an additional 2 percent raise: $237.3 million. • Ensure all employees under State Personnel Act receive a minimum salary of $20,112: $750,000....

ISFAHAN, Iran - Iran removed the final seals from equipment at a uranium conversion plant as U.N. inspectors watched Wednesday, paving the way for Tehran to fully open the facility despite European and U.S. calls for it to maintain the suspension of its nuclear program. The move came as Europe and the United States were struggling to find leverage to stop Iran from forging ahead with its nuclear program, which Washington says secretly aims to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its program is peaceful, intended only to produce electricity. Board members of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy...

We can all rest easy. Clearly the judges have everything under control, including who is worthy of a right to life finally. Now that they have successfully protected and preserved our right to die, we can rest assured that they will tend to all our other rights with equal vigor… It was close there for a while, some judges taking almost 24 hours to decide to defend our right to be starved and dehydrated to death once we have lost our usefulness to society. But in the end, they all stood tall, even in the face of enormous pressure from...

"What's coming will be more devastating to the U.S. economy than any nuclear strike..." - The Asia Times I. Unrestricted War Unrestricted War: China’s Master Plan to Destroy America is a treatise for world domination written in 1999 by People’s Liberation Army Colonels Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui. In order for China to become a dominant global power over the United States, the PLA emphasizes “The Final War over Resources”, must be won.

GLEESON EXCLUSIVE -- Must credit Gleeson The long-awaited "FINAL REPORT" on the forged Rathergate memos by the unflappable David E. Hailey of Utah State University is finally out. (Or is it? It says final report, but it also says "completed 3 December 2005," which is almost a year from now.) The report, titled "Toward Identifying the Font Families in the Bush Memos," is a 29-page exploration of the inner mental processes of a disturbed and frustrated fellow, trying any way he can to persuade whoever will listen that the fake memoranda were produced on a typewriter. (Any way except actually...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

I just finished talking with Ken Blackwell’s office, the Ohio Secretary of State. Here are some official answers to some of the issues of the 2004 Presidential vote count: 1. There are and estimated 155,000 provisional ballots that have been counted. These are still at the 88 county Election Boards and are not official counted by the state until the Election Boards submit them to the SoS. The Election Boards in each County have equal representation from both parties. Provisional ballots must be submitted to the State by 11 days after the election, which would be tomorrow, they will be...