Free Republic

<p>RALEIGH, N.C. -- A federal grand jury is preparing to investigate the 2000 campaign finances of Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps, whose campaign already has been fined by state elections officials.</p> <p>Phipps spokesman Mike Blanton said Tuesday he received a subpoena to testify Sept. 4, as did Alan Foster, a former Phipps campaign aide who also works at the department.</p>

Good afternoon North Carolina FReepers!I sent out an e-mail to members of the Old North State Chapter back on August 10th.I only got a handful of responses and someone suggested I should post an announcement on the main board, as well.So, here are the particulars: WHAT: First chapter meeting of Old North State Chapter. WHERE: Howlin's house (see directions & Yahoo map link when you log into Freeper.org)YOUR FR SCREEN NAME /PASSWORD WILL NOT WORK UNLESS YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE FORUM! WHEN: 6:00 P.M. on Saturday, August 24th, 2002 WHY: Get-acquainted meeting, along w/ discussion of upcoming NC...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina threw out the disappointing results of a statewide writing test for schoolchildren Thursday, in part because the exam wasn't written clearly enough. The 9-1 vote by the state Board of Education will ensure that teachers and schools are not penalized for the bad marks. The state has the authority to clean house at schools that get low ratings. The test was given to more than 200,000 fourth-graders and seventh-graders. Only 47 percent of fourth-graders passed the single-essay test, down from 69 percent the previous year; 63 percent of seventh-graders received passing scores, a decline...

Weekday Commentary from Jim Puplava Home Unemployment DropsSource: CNNmoneyThe Week in GraphsArchived WrapUpsWarning: Earnings l Pro Forma Economics nbsp;Friday's Market Scoreboard nbsp;March 8, 2002 nbsp;Dow Industrials 47.12 10,572.49 nbsp;Dow Utilities .78 298.93 nbsp;Dow Transports 10.03 3010.24 nbsp;S amp; P 500 6.77 1164.31 nbsp;Nasdaq 48.04 1929.67 nbsp;US Dollar to Yen 128.38 nbsp;US Dollar to Euro .8741 nbsp;Gold .20 290.3 nbsp;Silver .025 4.505 nbsp;Oil .13 23.84 nbsp;CRB Index 1.07 200.87 nbsp;Natural Gas .044 2.8 All market indexes Storm Watch Geopolitical News in Focus Global Analysisnbsp;with J. R. Nyquist Precious Metals Jim Puplava's NEWPerspectives Seriesnbsp; Introduction to Powershift: Oil, Money amp; War...