Free Republic

After weeks of a shutdown-inspired filibuster, some Senate Democrats relented Monday and joined Republicans to advance a bill to give state and local governments a green light to penalize companies that boycott Israel. The Senate voted 74-19 to head off an initial blockade and clear the path for the bill to reach the chamber floor later this week. The vote also signals that barring a major dust-up, the legislation likely has enough support to pass. Democrats had been filibustering for weeks, with some objecting to the bill on policy grounds and others arguing they didn’t want to deal with any...

Jazz Great Lionel Hampton, 94, Dies Sat Aug 31, 6:56 AM ET NEW YORK (AP) - Lionel Hampton, the vibraphone virtuoso and standout showman whose six-decade career ranked him with the greatest names in jazz history, died Saturday at a Manhattan hospital. He was 94. Hampton, whose health was failing in recent years, died at Mount Sinai Medical Center at about 6:15 a.m., said his manager, Phil Leshin. Hampton worked with a who's who of jazz greats, from Benny Goodman to Charlie Parker to Quincy Jones. But over the last decade, Hampton battled health problems and a fire that destroyed...