Free Republic

Three accused eco-terrorists went on trial under heavy security in Switzerland's highest criminal court Tuesday for an alleged plot to blow up an IBM nanotech research center near Zurich. The trial in the Federal Criminal Court for an Italian couple and Swiss man living in Italy opened after a one-hour delay because of the extraordinary security taken by Swiss police, who cordoned off the area with metal barriers. The three defendants — 35-year-old Costantino Alfonso Ragusa, his 29-year-old wife Silvia Ragusa Guerini and their 26-year-old Swiss friend Luca "Billy" Cristos Bernasconi — had been detained after being arrested last year...

Tampa-Area District Made Infamous by Debra Lafave Racks Up Female Teacher Sex Arrests The arrest Thursday of a middle school teacher accused of having sex with a teenage student has thrust a Florida school district made famous by Debra Lafave into an uncomfortable yet familiar position. Stephanie Ragusa, a 28-year-old special education teacher, was arrested Thursday and charged with five counts of lewd and lascivious battery for what sheriff's deputies in Hillsborough County described as a consensual sexual relationship with a 14-year-old male student. Ragusa's alleged affair took place between January and May 2007 and included intercourse on at least...