Free Republic

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - A northeastern Pennsylvania restaurant co-owned by a state legislator has made just one partial payment in the last three years on a decade-old state loan. State Rep. Ken Smith is the co-owner of Smith's Restaurant in Scranton. Records show the business has not a made a full monthly payment on the loan since July 2006. That's two months after Smith won the Democratic nomination in the 112th District. Smith says the restaurant is a victim of the economic downturn. The $125,000 loan at 5 percent interest was made in 1998. The last partial payment was $1,000...

Having a large number of children is bad for parents' health - particularly that of mothers, a study suggests. US researchers looked at 21,000 couples living in Utah between 1860 and 1985, who bore a total of 174,000 children. It was found the more children couples had, the worse their health and the more likely they were to die early. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Science study is historical, but the experts say it helps explain both the menopause and modern family planning. In other species, the high physical costs of bearing and raising offspring explain why having...

It's not easy being green Many questions arise about a giant tortoise found in Cheyenne: Is it OK, and exactly how did it get here? By Michelle Dynes rep2@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE - Terri Smith said she was walking her dog behind Sapp Bros. Big C Truck Stop on the Interstate 80 Service Road when she made her discovery Sunday morning. At first she thought it was a big rock or a pile of dirt that her dog, Bud, was sniffing. After a closer look, though, she realized it was a giant tortoise. She said the tortoise...