Free Republic

oadside robber masquerading as a stranded motorist killed a University of Central Florida student when he fought back, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office in Alabama. The 22-year-old victim was identified as Adam Simjee of Apopka, Florida, and he was traveling with his girlfriend, Mikayla Paulus, 20, who witnessed the killing, the sheriff’s office said in a press release. It happened around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 14, as the couple were driving through Talladega National Forrest, a mile from Cheaha State Park, officials said. The park is about 80 miles east of Birmingham, Alabama. The two were flagged down...

After reading a couple of favorable reviews of The Highwaymen at blogs that I am usually given to trust, I took a flyer on watching the movie – streaming video, of course, on my home computer. I can count the number of movies that I have made a deliberate effort to see in a theater over the last couple of years on the fingers of one hand and … well, wow. Just wow. Kevin Costner isn’t any Kenneth Branagh, or even a John Wayne – but he can act, especially given an intelligent and nuanced script, spare and understated direction,...

Singer, songwriter and actor Kristoffer Kristofferson was born on June 22, 1936, in Brownsville, Texas. Son of a military officer, Kristofferson was equal parts intellectual and athlete growing up. He was an award-winning short story writer as well as a Golden Gloves boxer. He graduated from Pomona College in 1958 with a degree in creative writing and went on to attend Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. While in England, he performed under the name Kris Carson, playing country and folk music. After leaving Oxford, Kristofferson joined the United States Army in 1960. He served as a helicopter pilot in...

National City, Calif.—A San Diego-area boxing gym that serves at-risk kids is showing what it takes to fight for what is right and to win.  A trial is scheduled to begin on Monday, March 14, 2011, to decide whether National City, Calif., may declare nearly 700 properties—including the gym—“blighted,” thus freeing the city to bulldoze these properties and make way for luxury condos among other private developments.  The trial will be held before the Honorable Steven R. Denton, Superior Court of California, Hall of Justice, 330 W. Broadway in San Diego, Calif. The Community Youth Athletic Center (CYAC) has had...

Jurors returned a not guilty verdict Friday evening in the aggravated assault of Central Texas singer-songwriter Billy Joe Shaver, 70, who was accused of shooting Billy Bryant Coker in 2007 outside of Papa Joe’s Saloon in Lorena, Texas. Shaver, however, still faces a charge for unlawfully carrying a firearm in a licensed premises, which is a third-degree felony. The judge required him to post a $7,500 bond by next week and told him he was free to go. Shaver left the courthouse to head to Houston, where he was scheduled to perform Friday night. Coker’s family declined comment, although Coker’s...