Free Republic

MINNEAPOLIS, - A Minneapolis man says the city mowed down the prairie grass he spent three years cultivating and stuck him with the $140 bill for the job. Environmentally conscious Michael Anschel said he planted the prairie grass three years ago as a no-water, no-mow alternative to his previous lawn and the city sent him a notice May 17 informing him the seed stalks that sprouted a few weeks ago and the length of the grass, more than 8 inches, violated city ordinances, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Friday. Anschel said he left a message with inspectors explaining that mowing...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- In a rare gesture, Gov. Ted Strickland on Friday spared an inmate who was scheduled to be executed next week, citing court decisions that questioned the death sentence and problems with trial testimony. Strickland announced he was granting clemency to Richard Nields, who strangled his girlfriend in 1997 during an argument in suburban Cincinnati. Strickland, a Democrat, said he made the decision after reviewing Nields' case.....

Snails on speed don't get speedier—but their supercharged brains do learn better and make memories that last much longer, a new study says. Scientists gave pond snails the amphetamine crystal meth to explore the memory-related brain processes that get humans so hooked on the drug. Human meth users experience sensations of happiness and high self-esteem that help make the drug extremely addictive. Scientists suspect that such cravings may be tied to powerful "pathological memories" that make such highs difficult to forget. "We were not trying to addict the snails," said study co-author Barbara Sorg, a biochemist at Washington State University...

A report of a dog crying in distress can constitute an emergency that justifies police entering a home without a warrant, a state appeals court ruled Thursday in upholding a Los Angeles County man's conviction for animal cruelty. In appealing Keith Chung's conviction and 16-month prison sentence, his lawyer argued that officers may disregard the normal requirement that they obtain a search warrant only if a human life is at stake. But the Second District Court of Appeal said that although pets are considered personal property, protecting them is a legitimate government concern.

ANGEL FIRE, N.M., -- Believers in visits to Earth by alien spacecraft say they have hard evidence of landings in a pasture in a sparsely populated area in northern New Mexico. The Alliance Studying Paranormal Experiences, based in the small village of Angel Fire, claims the region has received multiple visits, the Sangre de Cristo Chronicle reports. Alliance President Janet Sailor calls the area a "UFO hot spot." The latest discovery was last year when Judy Piper, an Angel Fire accountant, discovered circles on land she owns in the Moreno Valley outside town. She reported the find to Sailor, and...