Free Republic

A man taking time lapse images of the Milky Way also captured a series of odd light swirls in the sky, and the resulting footage has ignited talk of UFO activity off North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Artist Wes Snyder is well known in the Southeast for his coastal photography — particularly images taken at night — but even he is at a loss for what the rotating red trails might be. The lights are seen multiple times in his video — always along the horizon — and they appear to be circling something. Snyder says the movement defies easy explanation,...

A patient, believed to be having a stroke, says an officer with the Chattanooga Police Department blocked her husband from taking her to the emergency room at Erlanger Wednesday night. Aline Wright is a cancer survivor, amputee and a newlywed. Wednesday night she began to show signs she was having a stroke. "I started feeling some left arm numbness and a facial droop," said Aline. "It appeared to me that I was probably having a stroke." That's when her husband of four days, Jesse Wright, put her in the car and rushed her to the Erlanger Medical Center. Wright knows...

Traffic lights are often the reason for serious accidents. Here is a suggestion on how to correct this.

White is right: Cameras at traffic lights can save lives Clay Robison writes that red light cameras can help protect us from some of the most dangerous people we will ever encounter Whom do you fear the most? A two-time ex-convict on the prowl for easy money to feed a drug habit? Or a suburban soccer mom running late for a movie? How about a deliveryman with too many stops on his morning route, or a salesman with too many appointments on his daily calendar? The addicted ex-con probably would cause most people the most anxiety because he clearly is...

Mayor Bill White's plan to use cameras to monitor red-light violations stalled today, when a scheduled vote before the City Council was delayed a week so that questions about the plan could be answered. White has touted the proposal as a way to improve traffic enforcement without overtaxing Houston police, and supporters on the council had hoped to vote on it today after discussion on Tuesday. The discussion ran long, however, ensuring that there wouldn't be time today for the vote. The administration wants to hire a company to mount cameras at 50 or more of the city's most dangerous...

continue(sic) to receive numerous reader e-mails concerning problems with traffic signals. Let's tackle a bunch of those questions today: Q: Is anything in the works to do something about this situation of so many drivers running red lights? — Peggy Garcia, Houston A: Houston plans to install cameras beginning next year to monitor red-light violations at up to 50 intersections with high collision rates. Mayor Bill White announced his support for the idea earlier this month and is expected to ask for City Council approval this week. The city attorney has concluded Houston may issue civil citations for motorists captured...

Texans are generally gung-ho for law and order. They support the death penalty for capital crimes and tough prison sentences meted out to drug users and multiple offenders. That enthusiasm doesn't seem to extend to automated traffic enforcement systems that can videotape cars zooming through red lights and then mail tickets to the vehicle owner later. It's the rare Houston motorist who hasn't narrowly escaped being struck by an impatient driver trying to beat a red light. Police officers joke that Houstonians believe a red light means only three more cars can go through the intersection. Places of business as...