Free Republic

Rather than running away from the police, an alleged shoplifter ended up running into them — with grave results. Scott Everette Blake, 46, of Mounds View allegedly tried to steal more than $200 in men's accessories Saturday night from a Marshalls store near the Northtown shopping center in Blaine, said Anoka County Sheriff's Detective Jeff Rokeh. Store security guards watched as he removed watches, wallets and key chains from their packaging, bit off the security tags and stuffed the items in his pockets, Rokeh said. The guards called Blaine police and asked them to stand by as Blake prepared to...

Border Patrol agents discovered 91 illegal entrants who had been smuggled into the country in the back of a panel truck Thursday night southwest of Sonoita, an official said Friday. The Border Patrol received a call around 10 p.m. from someone concerned about possible illegal activity, said Jesus Rodriguez, a spokesman for the agency's Tucson Sector. The caller suspected the truck was picking up illegal entrants. When Border Patrol agents from Nogales and Sonoita pulled the truck over on Arizona 82 around Milepost 26, about 35 miles south of Tucson. the driver got out and ran into the brush, Rodriguez...

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2006 – It took running 26.2 miles for Lt. Cmdr. Richard Ryan, a Navy pilot, to decide how to spend his free time while preparing for his next assignment as an attaché in the Middle East. Navy pilot Lt. Cmdr. Rick Ryan is planning to run 28 races of marathon length or longer to raise awareness and financial support for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, British Legion, and Childhood First. The first three organizations offer support to servicemembers, their families, or both. The last is a British organization that helps...

Two million Darfur refugees face food ration cut as aid cash runs out By David Blair, Africa Correspondent (Filed: 29/04/2006) The suffering of at least two million refugees in Darfur worsened still further yesterday when the United Nations said their food rations will be halved. The UN's World Food Programme explained that a 50 per cent cut was necessary because donors had failed to provide enough money. Over two million refugees in Darfur depend on the WFP "This is one of the hardest decisions I have ever made," said James Morris, director of the WFP. "Haven't the people of Darfur...

PHOENIX ¡ª State election officials are scrambling to interpret a ruling that Arizonans do not need to show proof of citizenship when they register to vote with a federal registration form. Issued Monday by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the ruling amounts to a potential loophole in Proposition 200, the voter-approved initiative that made Arizona the first state in the nation to require proof of citizenship for voter registration. The ruling says "Arizona may not refuse to register individuals to vote in a federal election for failing to provide supplemental proof of citizenship," as required under Prop. 200. In a...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2006 – A radio station is saying thanks to a few lucky troops by interviewing them on the air and giving them a romantic night on the town this Valentine's Day. Howard University Radio, which reaches almost a half million listeners around the nation's capital, began the program of interviews yesterday, said Renee Nash, WHUR's director of information and public affairs. "We wanted to do something a little differently this year for Valentine's Day," Nash said. "We thought, 'What greater way to let the troops know that we are thinking about them and that we love and...

Strom Thurmond wins S.C. 3A title Associated Press Posted on Sat, Dec. 03, 2005 COLUMBIA, S.C. - Coco Hillary passed for one touchdown and ran for two more scores Saturday night to lead Strom Thurmond a 21-3 victory over Clinton for the state Class 3A championship. Hillary completed 13-of-19 passes for 174 yards and ran for 63 yards as the Rebels finished with a 14-1 record and won their first state title since 1968. Hillary's touchdown pass came on the last play of the first half on a 50-yard toss to Jarrell Taylor that gave Strom Thurmond a 14-3 lead....

Putin in charge as time runs out for sub's crew By Nick Holdsworth in Moscow (Filed: 07/08/2005) Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, moved yesterday to take control of the mission to rescue a stricken naval submarine as the race to save its crew entered its final, desperate stages. Mr Putin, who had been criticised for failing to make a public statement about the crisis, dispatched his defence minister, Sergei Ivanov, to the scene of the accident, 45 miles off the coast of the Kamchatka peninsula in eastern Russia. A USAF C-5 is loaded with personnel and machinery from the Deep...

Statewide Hunting Proposal Runs Into Unfriendly Fire Proposal Would Make 16 Minimum Age To Hunt POSTED: 5:22 pm EST December 10, 2004 In North Carolina, you must be 16 years of age to get a driver's license, but there is no age requirement to hunt deer, turkey and other game. There is now a push to change that. VANCE COUNTY, N.C. -- A hunting accident is prompting a call for a minimum hunting age, but the proposal has run into some unfriendly fire. State law allows a child of any age to shoot game as long as a parent or...

South Bend, IN - A South Bend man is dead after his 10-year-old son accidentally ran him over with the family's truck. Police say 47-year-old Gregg Vanavermate and his son were using the truck to pull bushes out of the ground Friday afternoon. The boy got behind the wheel to pull the truck forward and accidentally reversed the vehicle, pinning his father to the house. The man later died at the hospital.

<p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, his debt-reduction bond trailing in the polls, has just six weeks to raise the $8 million to $12 million aides say is needed to come out victorious in the March election.</p> <p>While he's just starting to ask for the cash, a well-known Los Angeles consumer group has stepped up its attacks on Schwarzenegger's fund-raising approach, calling him a hypocrite who is far worse than deposed Gov. Gray Davis when it comes to trolling for contributions.</p>

A Dutch prisoner claims he is running an escort service for other inmates. The inmate of De Geniepoort jail in Alphen aan de Rijn told De Telegraaf that his business is a big success. He says he arranges for prostitutes, posing as prisoners' girlfriends or wives, to have conjugal visits. And the inmate, who's serving 14 years for murder, says the inmates can even get condoms and viagra from the prison doctor. He said: "It's all very legal. Every prisoner is allowed to have visits from their girlfriend or wife without supervision. In prison there are special rooms for it....

Stock Rally Runs Into Sand Tue Jul 30, 6:01 AM ET By Gerrard Raven LONDON (Reuters) - A spectacular stock market rally shuddered to a halt in Europe on Tuesday, leaving investors divided over whether the tide has finally turned on the grimmest bear run for decades. But with Wall Street staging a dizzying revival overnight, the dollar pushed ahead to erase more of its recent losses. The 24 hours before European markets opened had provided investors despairing at their dwindling fortunes with the recently elusive elixir of hope. The FTSE Eurotop 300 index ended Monday 5.9 percent higher, its...