Free Republic

At least two of the 9-11 hijackers probably had a U.S.-based support network, according to a former FBI agent. Danny Gonzalez worked on “Operation Encore,” the still-secret investigation into the two Saudi hijackers who were based in San Diego. Gonzalez told CBS News he’s confident the records of that operation will show the hijackers had help. “19 hijackers cannot commit 3,000 mass murders by themselves,” Gonzalez told the network.

A glass vial stopped with a cork during the Civil War has been opened, revealing a coded message to the desperate Confederate commander in Vicksburg on the day the Mississippi city fell to Union forces 147 years ago. The dispatch offered no hope to doomed Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton: Reinforcements are not on the way. The encrypted, 6-line message was dated July 4, 1863, the date of Pemberton's surrender to Union forces led by Ulysses S. Grant, ending the Siege of Vicksburg in what historians say was a turning point midway into the Civil War.

Many readers will rejoice - fittingly on this Gaudete Sunday - to learn that last Thursday, 10 December 2009, the Cause of Beatification of the Servant of God Zita, last Empress of Austria and wife of Blessed Emperor Charles, was solemnly opened by His Excellency Msgr. Yves Le Saux, Bishop of Le Mans, France. The process was opened in Le Mans, and not in the Swiss diocese of Chur, where the Empress died 20 years ago in 1989 in Zizers, with the consent of Msgr. Huonder, the Bishop of Chur, and the permission of the Congregation for the Causes of...

The fact that the Al Qaeda plot to detonate car bombs in London and Glasgow was carried out by doctors working for the National Health Service has shocked the British public far more than the fact that they were Muslims.

Chicago Voting Spots Open For New Orleans ElectionCenters To Help Displaced Hurricane Katrina Victims Vote Mar 22, 2006 8:08 am US/Central (AP) CHICAGO The NAACP has opened two voter assistance centers in Chicago to provide displaced Hurricane Katrina victims with information on the New Orleans city election. The Chicago centers will help Katrina victims by providing voter registration and absentee ballot information for the April 22 election. The last day to cast an absentee ballot is today if displaced New Orleans residents were registered as of Sept. 25. After today, voters will only be able to vote in New Orleans....

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO (Jan. 13, 2006) -- The Marine Corps is a cornucopia of people. It's an array of black, white, brown, red and yellow, and its varied folk practice a plethora of religions. In the last year, two recruits, who happen to be brothers, came separately from perhaps the Corps' most uncommon origin - the Amish Order. "It's a very small world within the Amish community," said Pvt. Abner A. Miller, Platoon 1152. "Usually it's a 20-mile circle. We go as far as the horse and buggy take us." Miller grew up in a sheltered environment....

Hamas Victory Rally Erupts Into Shootout 57 minutes ago Palestinians chant Islamic slogans, as they participate in a Hamas movement rally in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, Saturday Jan. 29, 2005. The Islamic group won an overwhelming victory in local elections in 10 Gaza towns, in a setback for the Fatah Party of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The Hamas victory reflected widespread support in Gaza for the movement, which provides welfare, schools and kindergartens to the impoverished residents of the territory. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) JERUSALEM - A political rally by the militant Palestinian group Hamas turned violent Saturday, as...