Free Republic

REDWOOD CITY, California – A 27-year-old Redwood City woman won’t serve any time in prison for holding her newborn baby facedown in a toilet moments after giving birth at a McDonald’s restaurant restroom more than a year and a half ago, prosecutors said. On Friday, San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Garratt placed Sarah Jane Lockner on four years of supervised probation. Lockner was also ordered to complete parenting classes. Lockner was originally charged with attempted murder, but she pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of felony child endangerment on Jan. 14 after Garratt said she would consider...

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair stepped up his government's campaign against anti-social behavior on Tuesday, promising stiffer fines for offenders and special classes to coach parents struggling with unruly children. Blair has made restoring respect to British society a key priority for his third and final term in office and is targeting issues such as binge drinking, drug abuse, school truancy and petty crime in blighted urban communities. The carefully coordinated launch of his Respect Action Plan was seen as a bid to quickly set the political agenda as Parliament returned from its Christmas recess. New opposition Conservative...