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BEAVER FALLS, Pa. - A 17-year-old high school student said he was humiliated when a teacher made him sit on the floor during a midterm exam in his ethnicity class _ for wearing a Denver Broncos jersey. The teacher, John Kelly, forced Joshua Vannoy to sit on the floor and take the test Friday _ two days before the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Broncos 34-17 in the AFC championship game. Kelly also made other students throw crumpled up paper at Vannoy, whom he called a "stinking Denver fan," Vannoy told The Associated Press on Monday. Kelly said Vannoy, a junior...

In November Ford said it will work with Brookings, S.D.-based ethanol producer VeraSun Energy Corp. to convert more existing fuel pumps to E85. GM last week said it would lead a project in California to get the state Department of Transportation to use between 50 and 100 of its flex-fuel Impalas. Chevron Corp. plans to add ethanol pumps at some gas stations near the agency's offices.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 31, 2005 – This has been a year of strong progress toward a freer, more peaceful world and a more prosperous America, President George W. Bush said in his weekly radio address today. "This year we watched the Iraqi people defy the terrorists and suicide bombers and hold three successful elections, voting to choose the only constitutional, democratic government in the Arab world," Bush said." We also saw the people of Afghanistan elect a democratic parliament in a nation that only a few years ago was ruled by the Taliban. "These are amazing achievements in the history of...

(IsraelNN.com) Gush Katif refugees, many of whom are still dwelling in hotels awaiting permanent housing, lit a unique menorah tonight, one made of mortar shells fired by Arab terrorists into the heart of N’vei Dekalim, the largest community of Gush Katif. That special menorah commemorates the miracle of Jewish survival throughout the ages, and reminds us of the symbolic role Gush Katif has played in the saga of Jewish history: a community standing victorious despite constant attempts by Arab terrorists to wipe it out. 5000 mortars rained down on Gush Katif, from the onset of the Oslo War in September...

Cheaper than mink or sable - fur coats made from dogs that were skinned alive By Katy Duke and Elizabeth Day (Filed: 18/12/2005) It looks like the must-have item in every glamorous woman's winter wardrobe: a sleek, black fur coat dripping with opulence. But despite the seductive appearance, the coat is not mink or sable. Instead, it has been manufactured from dog fur - possibly from an animal that was drugged and skinned alive to preserve the fur's freshness. Heather Mills-McCartney with a rug made from cats' pelts Similar coats are selling rapidly in fashion boutiques across Europe. An undercover...

Elite Women Made Beer in Pre-Incan Culture Robert Roy Britt Mon Nov 14, 6:00 PM ET An ancient brewery from a vanished empire was staffed by elite women who were selected for their beauty or nobility, a new study concludes. The finding adds to other evidence that women played a more crucial role in ancient Andean societies than history books have stated. It may also in some ways reflect modern drinking traditions in the Andean mountains, where women get drunk as much as men, researchers say. The brewery, on a mountaintop in southern Peru, cranked out hundreds of gallons of...

Passport proposal a controversial security matter Bush administration reconsiders its plans By LARA JAKES JORDAN Associated Press Writer Traffic lines up on the Rainbow Bridge plaza for entry into the United States from Niagara Falls, Ontario, in Niagara Falls, N.Y. AP Photo/DON HEUPEL NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. -- Millions of Americans like Kathy Currier could soon run into trouble returning home from Canada because they don't have passports. On a recent trip back across the border, Currier, 49, cleared security screening with her driver's license and birth certificate. But if she needs a passport in the future to get back into...

ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) -- A judge ordered that an Evansville man charged with making methamphetamine in a motel room be held in jail under a $1 million cash bond. Robert E. Espy, 41, faces felony charges of possession with intent to deal methamphetamine, manufacturing methamphetamine and other drug charges. "I've read (the charges) and I just don't agree with any of it," Espy said during a court hearing Thursday. Madison County Magistrate Stephen Clase raised Espy's bond from $20,000 to $1 million cash after reading the probable-cause affidavit. "You rented a room in a motel in Madison County to manufacture...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Investigators said Thursday they have made an arrest in one of three recent alleged eco-terror arsons east of Sacramento. Ryan Daniel Lewis, 21, of Newcastle, was arrested at his home Wednesday and charged with the Jan. 12 attempted firebombing of a commercial building in the nearby Sierra foothills city of Auburn, northeast of Sacramento. The FBI and U.S. attorney's office said the arson attempt was believed to have been committed on behalf of the Earth Liberation Front, a shadowy environmental extremist movement. No arrests have been made in a similar attempted firebombing at a subdivision in nearby...

WASHINGTON - Enron Corp. profited more than $1.6 billion from Western states during the energy crisis, money the bankrupt energy company may be required to return, federal energy officials said Monday. It was the first federal accounting of Western energy crisis profits by Enron, whose traders are accused by California officials of gaming the state's power market and scheming to rip off consumers. The total was revealed in testimony Monday by a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission financial analyst in a case before a FERC administrative law judge. FERC ordered the judge last summer to determine the total amount Enron should...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

A San Francisco nonprofit group that touts its ties to Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, Assemblyman Leland Yee and other well-known politicians made thousands of dollars in illegal campaign donations during the past three years, state and local records show. Campaign finance reports show that America Education Foundation International, a corporate-funded charity set up to help low-income schools and students, made $3,665 in banned political donations from November 2001 to September 2004. The donations include $500 to former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown; $800 to Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante; $500 to San Francisco Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier; $500 to San Francisco...

<p>N E W  Y O R K, July 31, 2004? ABC News has learned that federal and New York City officials have received credible intelligence that al Qaeda has been plotting to carry out suicide attacks on corporations based in the city.</p>

It made us even stronger, says Giuliani By Marcus Warren in New York (Filed: 11/09/2003) Rudolph Giuliani, the former mayor of New York who became the best known of the heroes of September 2001, declared that the city had become "spiritually stronger" after surviving what he called an "attack on the modern world". True to form, Mr Giuliani also left the impression that he still believed the city - and much of the credit for its recovery from the collapse of the World Trade Centre - to be his. Many New Yorkers, still in awe of his inspiring leadership, would...

Setback for jewel industry is good news for high-tech Two companies are manufacturing gem-quality diamonds that may break the DeBeers cartel and set off a high-tech craze for diamond chips much heartier than silicon, reports Wired Magazine's September issue. The diamonds are flawless and can fool even the most expert of gemologists. The natural conditions that produce diamonds have long been understood – put pure carbon under enough heat and pressure and it will crystallize into the hardest material known. But evolutionists have suggested it would require millions of years to reproduce the precise set of circumstances. Some have suggested...

The Guantanamo Thirteen Packing on the pounds at America's toughest prison. By Manny Howard Posted Thursday, May 29, 2003, at 11:52 AM PT Is America the only country in the world that could run a prison camp where prisoners gain weight? Between April 2002 and March 2003, the Joint Task Force returned to Afghanistan 19 of the approximately 664 men (from 42 countries) who have been held in the detention camps at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay. Upon leaving, it has been reported, each man received two parting gifts: a brand new copy of the Koran as well...

German priest brews beer in washing machine A German priest has found a way to brew beer in his washing machine. Michael Fey, 45, of Duisburg built a computer interface into the machine to let it run an automatic brewing programme. It consists of turning and heating, but no spinning, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reports. "A priest without alcohol, that's the wrong combination," he argued. "Jesus didn't say, take this healthy camomile tea, he offered wine." The priest brews 30 litres every six weeks, the legal limit for home brewing, and says he was inspired by the tradition of monks who...