Free Republic

<p>Hendrik Poinar is holding a small plastic vial containing some of the oldest DNA ever extracted from human remains. The snips of genetic material are from a native American who made his home 8,000 years ago in a massive cliff-side rock shelter in southwestern Texas.</p>

(KSL News) -- A man walks into a crowded bar in Idaho Falls, and chucks a rattlesnake into a crowd of people. That's what 28-year old Rodger Hunter Jr. is accused of doing on Monday. Hunter has since been charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon. Police say he walked into the bar, pulled a three-and-a-half foot long rattler from his large pocket and threw it into a crowd and ran away. Bar patrons used a crutch to sweep away the angry snake, then threw a t-shirt over it before picking it up. No one was hurt. Hunter could...

Court watchers needed a scorecard to keep up with the Houston divorce case of Carter v. Gonzales. Linda Gail Carter, it seems, wanted out of her marriage to Constance D. Gonzales. For starters, she tried to get an annulment on the basis that neither Nevada, the state in which the couple was married, nor Texas, the state in which they resided, recognizes same-sex marriages. But was this a same-sex marriage? Linda Gail Carter, it turns out, was formerly James H. Murphey, an ordained minister who had performed marriages for others and decided he-she now wanted to be legally recognized as...

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - A judge Wednesday sentenced Timothy Lucie to 50 years to life in prison for raping his 11-year-old daughter, who later hanged herself. Lucie, 46, was convicted last month of first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy and endangering the welfare of a child. He was accused of sexually assaulting his 11-year-old daughter, Valerie, in the shower at their Syracuse home Sept. 30. Hours later her 8-year-old brother found her hanging from her bedpost by a dog collar and leash in what police said was an apparent suicide.

Upcoming title at Amazon.com. Here is the editorial comment Watching Michael Moore in action -- passing off manipulating facts in Bowling for Columbine, spinning statistics in Stupid White Men and Dude, Where's My Country?, shamelessly grandstanding at the Academy Awards, and epitomizing the hypocrisy he's made a king's fortune railing against -- has spurred authors David T. Hardy and Jason Clarke to take action into their own hands. In Michael Moore Is a Big Fat Stupid White Man, Hardy and Clarke dish it back hard to the fervent prophet of the far left, turning a careful eye on Moore's use...

  MEDIA CONTACT: Jonathan Sherwood (585) 273-4726   June 9, 2004 Top Quark Measurements Give ?God Particle? New Lease on Life Researchers from the University of Rochester have helped measure the elusive top quark with unparalleled precision, and the surprising results affect everything from the Higgs boson, nicknamed the ?God particle,? to the makeup of the dark matter that comprises 90 percent of the universe. The scientists developed a new method to analyze data from particle accelerator collisions at Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory, which is far more accurate than previous methods and has the potential to change the dynamics...

Here is a cultural mystery to solve: It has sold over 7.5-million copies in just over a year. The author has claimed on national TV interviews and on his web page that this piece of fiction contains fact when it comes to theories about art and the Christian faith. It has spawned more than a dozen response books. What is it? Of course, it is the best-selling mystery thriller, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. This novel is a good read. The mystery, which I will not give away, is tied to the idea that the church suppressed the...

LOS ANGELES (June 1) - "Curb Your Enthusiasm," an HBO show known for its acerbic wit, accidentally helped deliver a happy ending to a man who had been charged with murder. Juan Catalan spent 5 1/2 months in jail on murder charges before his attorney found video footage taken by the show at Dodger Stadium that backs up his client's claims of innocence. Police arrested Catalan in August, alleging he killed Martha Puebla, 16, in the San Fernando Valley on May 12, 2003, because she had testified against his brother in another case. Catalan insisted he and his 6-year-old daughter...

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Minister Louis Farrakhan is considering organizing another national march next year – the 10th anniversary of the Million Man March – to encourage African Americans to keep a larger share of their $688 billion annual spending in the Black community. That disclosure was ignored last week after the Nation of Islam leader held a 2-hour speech/news conference at the National Press Club here that dealt primarily with the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the Middle East and foreign affairs. “I’m not so much interested in a march,” Farrakhan said, replying to a question. “I’m not too much interested...

Man charged with chasing men with chain saw 5-14-04 From Staff Reports Posted 7:45 a.m. WINST0N-SALEM — A man was charged with terrorizing the public after chasing men into a grocery store with a chain saw, police said. About 7:30 p.m. Thursday, officers responded to the Stanleyville Grocery at 3990 Patterson regarding a report of a man with a gun, Winston-Salem police said. The investigation revealed Darrell Alson Steed and Michael Steven Allen, both white, had been involved in threatening four African-Americans with a chain saw, police said. Steed began using racial slurs while threatening to kill the victims, police...

Marriage is between one man and one women. Period. With Massachusetts, San Francisco and now the California Legislature pushing homosexual "marriage" upon us with AB 1967, now is the time to stand up for marriage. Campaign for California Families is holding two Rallies to Protect Marriage. CRA has joined both efforts as a Co-Sponsor. Details are below. Please take time out of your day and participate. Join the Protest to Protect Marriage in Los Angeles Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 11:00 a.m. (two-hour event) Outside Assemblyman Fabian Nuñez' Office 320 West 4th Street (at Broadway) in downtown Los Angeles Download...

Europe took a step towards creating an unmanned space shuttle on Saturday when a prototype landed autonomously after a test flight in Sweden. The shuttle prototype, called Phoenix, is one of several proposals for a European reusable launch vehicle (RLV) planned to cheaply ferry satellites into orbit by 2015. In Saturday's trial, Phoenix glided to a perfect landing 90 seconds after a helicopter released it from a height of 2400 metres. The prototype is being used to test ways of landing without the intervention of human controllers. Phoenix uses cues from GPS satellites, radar and laser altimeters, as well as...

frame grab taken from web site video footage May 11, 2004, shows a man, who identified himself as Nick Berg of Philadelphia (C) seated in front of his five masked captors moments before he was executed. Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq beheaded an American civilian and vowed more killings in revenge for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, an Islamist Web site said on Tuesday. After one of the masked men read out a statement, they pushed Berg to the floor and shouted 'God is greatest' above his screams as one of them sawed his head off with a large knife...

DEXTER, Mich. (May 7) - Russell Tanner better stay inside during a thunderstorm, because if somebody has a chance of being struck by lightning, it's him. The 78-year-old Dexter resident won his second $1 million scratch-off lottery game last week - the only known two-time winner of the game in Michigan. The retired custodian and factory worker who still lived in a manufactured home following his June 2002 winning ticket, said he was stunned to win again. "I couldn't believe that I could be so blessed. It just feels great to win," he said. The odds to win the game...

Saddam's man takes over in Fallujah By Toby Harnden in Baghdad (Filed: 01/05/2004) A former senior general in Saddam Hussein's army made a triumphant entry into the besieged city of Fallujah yesterday and was greeted by flag-waving locals celebrating the departure of US marines. Maj Gen Jassem Mohammed Saleh, who headed Saddam's infantry forces, is to take over as head of what American officials are calling the "1st battalion of the proposed Fallujah Brigade". Maj Gen Jassem Mahmood Saleh arriving in Fallujah This is a new force to police the Sunni stronghold. His appearance came as two marines were killed...

Shell Beads From South African Cave Show Modern Human Behavior 75,000 Years Ago ARLINGTON, Va.- Perforated shells found at South Africa's Blombos Cave appear to have been strung as beads about 75,000 years ago-making them 30,000 years older than any previously identified personal ornaments. Archaeologists excavating the site on the on the coast of the Indian Ocean discovered 41 shells, all with holes and wear marks in similar positions, in a layer of sediment deposited during the Middle Stone Age (MSA). "The Blombos Cave beads present absolute evidence for perhaps the earliest storage of information outside the human brain,"...

A few days back I was involved in a discussion about character traits. In my post I'm Selfish, Are You? I mentioned that I don't agree with the rather common position that man is inherently evil. I wanted to expand on why I disagree. As I mentioned in one of my very first posts on this blog, I tend towards a libertarian political view. Not an anarchist libertarian, but a reasonable one. I want a small government. I want people to leave me alone unless they have good reason to interfere in my life. Sure, it opens me up to...

Scientists Win New Battle Over Skeleton Tue Apr 20, 7:34 AM ET PORTLAND, Ore. - Anthropologists seeking to study the ancient Kennewick Man skeleton scored another victory when the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a request by four Northwest tribes for a rehearing in the lengthy dispute. Tribal lawyers sought to have the case reheard by the full court after a three-judge panel ruled in February that the tribes had no right to the 9,300-year-old remains under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. A brief order issued Monday by the court denied the request from the...

By PHILIP CARDY and ANDY RUSSELL A SUICIDE bomb plot to kill thousands of soccer fans at Saturday’s Manchester United-Liverpool match was dramatically foiled yesterday. Armed cops seized ten terror suspects in dawn raids. Intelligence chiefs believe al-Qaeda fanatics planned to blow themselves up amid 67,000 unsuspecting supporters. A source said: “The target was Old Trafford.” The Islamic fanatics planned to sit all around the ground to cause maximum carnage. They had already bought the tickets for various positions in the stadium, cops revealed last night. But armed cops foiled the horrific plot - which could have killed thousands watching...

Hong Kong: A man has bitten a dog to death in eastern China after it attacked him as he walked home with friends after a night out, a news report said. The man, who was drunk, pounced on the dog when it nipped him on the fingers and cheek in Shanghai. He repeatedly bit it until it died, according to the South China Morning Post.