Free Republic

House Democrats appear to be unconcerned about the optics of shutting down an effort to increase penalties for child sex traffickers in an election year. On Wednesday, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee unanimously shot down such a measure.

A Dallas toddler has died after police say he was dropped in a pot of boiling water. Dallas police told The Dallas Morning News in a story Tuesday that 16-month-old Jabraylon Bables appeared to have been dipped in boiling water. The toddler died Saturday from injuries and infections, 36 days after police say he was deliberately burned. Police say the burns covered the toddler's legs, feet, hands and buttocks. "It's a horrible case. It's heartbreaking for everybody involved," Dallas police Sgt. Brenda Nichols, supervisor of the child abuse unit, told the paper.

<p>New York — A type of neighborhood spy program launched by the Bush administration will be up and active this month in 10 cities across the country and some of the citizen spies recruited could be neighborhood truck drivers, utility employees and train conductors.</p>