Free Republic

<p>The deaf-mute man charged last year with killing and raping a 16-year-old James City girl may never gain the needed language skills to face trial.</p> <p>Authorities say Martinez, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, sexually assaulted Brittany Binger in January 2005 after grabbing her from behind and cutting off her air supply. Police found the girl's body under a tree near Whispering Pines Mobile Home Court, not far from the tool shed where Martinez lived.</p>

CAMP MERCURY, Iraq (April 3, 2006) -- Lance Cpl. Jason Willis has a new look on life after recovering from injuries he incurred just over a month ago. While driving a seven-ton truck on a late-night re-supply mission in late February, the heavy equipment operator attached to Headquarters and Support Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, was struck by an improvised explosive device. “I remember it quite well,” said the 23-year-old from Lakeland, Fla. “It went off right next to my door and blew it in three spots, through the window, gun port and through the floorboard.” At first he...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, March 31, 2006 – Afghan and coalition forces engaged an insurgent group this morning, killing one and seizing munitions in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province, military officials reported. A combined Afghan National Army and coalition patrol saw and engaged a small group of insurgents carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers in the province's Chora district, officials said. A subsequent search uncovered assault rifles, pistols and ammunition, mortar sights, a homemade bomb and materials for making more, and rocket-propelled grenades. "This operation is another fine example of how the ANA and coalition are working together to rid Afghanistan of the perpetrators...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, March 29, 2006 – Gunmen killed one U.S. servicemember and a coalition servicemember from another country during an enemy attack on a forward operating base in the southern Afghanistan province of Helmand today, military officials reported. One U.S. servicemember, three other coalition servicemembers, and an Afghan National Army soldier were injured in the attack. At least a dozen enemy insurgents reportedly were killed when coalition forces counterattacked with combined arms, including close-air support. "Coalition forces fought bravely and defeated a significant enemy element," Army Brig. Gen. Anthony J. Tata, deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force...

n the name of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate. To whom it may concern: I am writing this letter to inform you of my reasons for premeditating and attempting to murder citizens and residents of the United States of America on Friday, March 3, 2006 in the city of Chapel Hill, North Carolina by running them over with my automobile and stabbing them with a knife if the opportunities are presented to me by Allah. I did intend to use a handgun to murder the citizens and residents of Chapel Hill, North Carolina but the process of receiving a permit...

MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan - Pakistani security forces backed by helicopter gunships killed at least 15 suspected Taliban sympathizers Friday in the latest flare-up of violence near the Afghan border, the Pakistani army said. One soldier also was killed. The top army spokesman described the continuing bloodshed in the North Waziristan tribal region as "disturbing" and said efforts to control it were costing the Pakistani military "heavily." "Eighty percent of the people in the area are sitting on the fence and watching for which side buckles, either the government or the militants, and they will go with the winner," Maj. Gen....

The red-hot power of chillies can kill cancer By Roger Highfield, Science Editor (Filed: 16/03/2006) The substance in chillies that causes the tongue to burn also drives prostate cancer cells to kill themselves, according to research that could pave the way for new treatments. The pepper component capsaicin makes the cells undergo programmed cell death or apoptosis, says a study published in the journal Cancer Research. High intake of hot chillis has been linked to stomach cancer Tests found that it induced approximately 80 per cent of cancer cells growing in mice to follow the molecular pathways leading to apoptosis....

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2006 – Scores of Iraqis have been killed or injured in terrorist attacks in the Baghdad area over the last two days, military officials reported. Last night, three blasts reportedly exploded in various parts of the Sadr City neighborhood, killing 52 residents and wounding 78, according to Iraqi police reports. More than 10 military ambulances responded, along with Iraqi soldiers who assisted in assessing the situation, securing the area and transporting the wounded to medical treatment facilities. The soldiers also helped provide traffic control around the stricken area. "Iraqi security forces showed great compassion responding to this...

Taleban 'kill foreign hostages' The Taleban says it has killed four foreigners kidnapped at the weekend in southern Afghanistan. A spokesman for the group, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, said the bodies of three Albanians and a German had been dumped "between Helmand and Kandahar". The authorities have not confirmed the claim. A spokesman for the company which employed the four foreigners says they were all Albanian Muslims. Four Afghans seized at gunpoint along with the foreigners have been freed. There have been several incidents in recent months involving the kidnapping of foreigners in Afghanistan. Some have been killed, including a Briton...

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2006 – A detainee died today of natural causes at Camp Bucca, Iraq, and coalition forces killed two suspected terrorists during combat operations near Baghdad March 5, military officials reported. Camp Bucca guards were notified about an unconscious 36 year-old male security detainee, and medical staff immediately began procedures to revive the man. He went into cardiac arrest while in the intensive care unit and died after all efforts to resuscitate him failed, officials said. His remains will be transferred to family members upon completion of an autopsy. In other news, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers killed two...

Democrat for Senate: Kill practicing 'gays' Candidate says incumbent Republican not advocating biblical values enough Posted: March 7, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com A Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Ohio wants to make homosexual behavior a capital crime punishable by the death penalty. Merrill Keiser Jr. is a trucker with no political experience, but he hopes to beat fellow Democrat Rep. Sherrod Brown in the May primary. The winner will try to unseat Republican incumbent Sen. Mike DeWine, assuming he wins the GOP primary. "Just like we have laws against murder, we have laws against stealing,...

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2006 – Two car bombs have killed six Iraqi civilians and wounded 34 in the past two days in Iraq, and troops from Multinational Division Baghdad discovered a roadside bomb and detained suspects who fled from the scene. Six Iraqis were killed and 23 were wounded today when a car bomb detonated near the Baqubah mayor's office. Iraqi army and police provided security and initial medical attention to the wounded on the scene, officials said. The wounded were taken to Baqubah General Hospital for treatment. Community leaders were meeting with Baqubah Mayor Khalid Al Seniary at the...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2006 – Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers killed four terrorists and uncovered weapons caches in multiple recent incidents, military officials reported. Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, spotted insurgents launching a mortar round and requested support from attack aviation aircraft southwest of Baghdad yesterday. After firing the mortar round, the terrorist team placed the mortar system into a white pickup truck and drove away, officials reported. A coalition forces fixed-wing aircraft later observed five men digging on the side of a canal. The individuals digging were confirmed as the same men who had fired...

GERMANTOWN, Md. -- Some members of a Maryland church are dismayed that hunters were allowed to shoot some of the deer that roamed the property. On Monday, hunters used shotguns to kill deer that were stripping vegetation from the Dayspring Church's 206-acre property in Germantown. Dayspring is part of the nondenominational Christian Church of the Saviour, whose 10 congregations are known for their commitment to the environment and opposition to war. One member objected that culling the deer was an act of violence on holy ground. But Dayspring's pastor, the Rev. Jim Hall, said officials estimate the number of deer...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2006 – Terrorists killed an Iraqi army major and his son during an attack in the Taji area today, and wounded several Iraqi police officers elsewhere in separate incidents yesterday, officials in Baghdad reported today. Remains of the slain Iraqis were taken to a Baghdad hospital. Iraqi authorities are investigating the incident. In Iraq's Nasir district, several police officers were injured and three suspected terrorists were detained in connection with a spate of bombings yesterday. Police officers wounded in the three separate attacks were taken to a local hospital for further treatment and are listed in fair...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2006 – Iraqi and U.S. soldiers killed two terrorists and captured 16 in the Tikrit area, and Iraqi police and American troops captured eight suspected terrorists and destroyed two weapons caches in the Baghdad area, officials reported today. Stacks totaling 502 82mm mortar rounds lay behind rows of 26 cases of 50 caliber ammunition, just part of a large weapons cache discovered by soldiers from 1st Battalion, 67th Armor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, in Babil province Feb. 13. Army photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Iraq's National Police working with Multinational...

TAORMINA, Italy, Feb. 10, 2006 – Terrorists have racked up failure after failure in their efforts to keep democracy from taking root in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today. The secretary spoke at a news conference wrapping up two days of informal meetings among NATO defense ministers. "The terrorists tried to stop them from having an election in January (2005), and they failed," Rumsfeld said. "They tried to stop them from drafting a constitution, and they failed. They tried to stop them from having a referendum on the constitution, and they failed. They tried to stop them...

ELGIN ¡ª The federal government took to the air to kill 200 coyotes in Southeast Arizona over the past three weeks, in response to ranchers' concerns they were eating calves. Wildlife Services, a federal program formerly known as Animal Damage Control, wrapped up aerial gunning Friday. It hunted on private and public land, including national forest land, used by 10 to 15 ranchers in Cochise and Santa Cruz counties, said a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the program. A rancher from the Elgin area said every calf lost to a coyote ultimately costs him $500 to...

ARLINGTON, Va. (Army News Service, Jan. 24, 2006) -- Fewer people would know about a deployment or operation if you screamed it out at the Superbowl than if you posted it on a Web log or blog. Common sense will tell you not to discuss sensitive subjects on the streets of Baghdad. The same common sense should apply on the highways of cyberspace. Soldiers need to keep this in mind, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it could land them in a world of trouble. The technology of communication is a double-edged sword and...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2006 – Coalition forces found dead bodies, killed several insurgents and detained one other, and discovered numerous weapons caches throughout Iraq this week, U.S. military officials in Iraq reported today. Coalition forces found seven murdered bodies at the Rustimiyah sewage plant today. All the bodies showed evidence of torture, officials said. The bodies were taken to the local police station. Officials provided no other details. While conducting an air-insertion mission in Baghdad today, Task Force Ironhorse soldiers killed several insurgents, detained one and discovered a significant weapons cache. Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, received small-arms...