Free Republic

SACRAMENTO (AP) - University of California President Robert C. Dynes told a state Senate committee Wednesday that he made mistakes in overseeing the compensation awarded to top university administrators and pledged reform. The system is facing several investigations into its compensation practices, which included spending millions of tax dollars on bonuses, stipends and other cash benefits to employees without publicly disclosing the payments. Dynes promised senators that policies would be changed and accountability would be improved. "We need to correct these things and reinstall the trust in the University of California," Dynes said during an appearance before the Senate Education...

When a rock hits the calm surface of a pond, ripples form at the point of impact and travel outward in expanding circles. The story begins with a young man and his dream - a dream of overcoming his health problems and flying for the Air Force. The boy, Ryan Penne, 14, of Chico, Calif., stepped into dreamland last year at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., when he and his family were guests of Col. Darryl W. Burke - then the 9th Reconnaissance Wing's vice commander - for a comprehensive base tour as part of the Make-A-Wish program. Ryan suffers...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq, Nov. 8, 2005 — The mission of postal Marines in Iraq is vital to the morale of troops serving in operations, and one Marine here is helping in the fight, one package at a time. Cpl. Marcus D. Kibble, inspecting noncommissioned officer, Postal Detachment 6, Service Company, Headquarters and Service Battalion, 2nd Force Service Support Group (Forward), serves as a link between Marines here, and their families at home. The native of Columbus, Ga., became interested in the Marine Corps as an athlete in high school. “I was interested my freshman year,” he said. The sports enthusiast...

Care packages can make a soldier's day It's surreal, this war on terrorism. We at home are asked to go about our lives as usual, making no personal sacrifices, while our neighbors are called to arms. These usually part-time National Guardsmen and reservists from various military branches are fulfilling the terms of their service agreements. They're full-timers now. They're doing our nation's dirty work so life here may remain safe and fairly normal. It's time for more of us to get involved in the war effort. We need to man the cookie brigade. That's right - sending soldiers some very...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence analysts were alarmed over the mention of a "package" in several intercepted conversations because al Qaeda has used the term in the past as code for bomb material, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Messages from what the newspaper called "suspected terrorists" about delivering "packages" to American soil led officials to raise the country's terror-alert status last week, an official familiar with the new intelligence told the newspaper. After examining other intelligence that they declined to describe, U.S. officials concluded al Qaeda might be planning attacks with "dirty bombs" laced with radiological agents for...

<p>March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Four suspect packages sent to diplomatic addresses in London on Monday contained substances initial tests showed to be ``non-hazardous,'' a Scotland Yard spokesman said.</p> <p>Police said earlier the packages were being treated as ``suspicious,'' and were first examined by anti-terrorist officers as a standard precaution.</p>

Senate Powder Tests Positive for Ricin February 3, 2004 12:20 AM EST WASHINGTON - Preliminary tests of a white powder discovered in a Senate office building Monday were positive for the potentially deadly poison ricin, the U.S. Capitol Police chief said. Two out of three tests indicate ricin, Chief Terrance Gainer said at a late-evening news conference. The third test came out negative, and a fourth, more definitive test was under way, with results expected Tuesday. Sixteen people who were on the floor where the white powder was discovered on mail were being decontaminated and would be allowed to go...

Radioactive Parcel Bound for U.S. Seized in Ukraine KIEV (Reuters) - A radioactive package addressed to the United States has been seized at Ukraine's main airport in the capital Kiev, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday. The regional emergencies ministry said the package, discovered Tuesday, was emitting radiation at a rate thousands of times higher than the norm in Kiev of 0.05 milliroentgens an hour. "This material is being investigated," said Mykola Karabet, duty officer for the emergencies ministry in the Borispyl region of Kiev. "We do not know what it is. "It was a parcel in some luggage to be sent...

<p>Everyday items like these are coveted by troops fighting the war in Iraq. Americans who want to show their support can make sure soldiers get them by donating money to organizations that send care packages to the military.</p> <p>The Defense Department has recently prohibited mailings of parcels and letters to anonymous servicemembers, but has several suggestions of other ways people can contribute.</p>