Free Republic

WASHINGTON – Sen. Ted Cruz is taking some time off from the Senate after his closely watched return to work last week... “After several months of a nonstop schedule, Sen. Cruz is taking some downtime this week with Heidi and the girls,” Cruz spokesman Phil Novack said... Where is Cruz going to unwind? Folks on Twitter say he’s been spotted relaxing in Mexico.

The Spanish Prime Minister has announced moves to cut the working day by two hours and bring an end to the siesta, in an attempt to bring the country into line with its European counterparts. Mariano Rajoy, the head of the centre-right coalition government, wants to scrap the universally-observed three-hour midday break.

ADOR, Spain, - A Spanish mayor has become the first in the country to issue a proclamation creating an official afternoon nap time for the entire city. Mayor Joan Faus Vitoria of Ador in Valencia declared 2 to 5 p.m. as the official time for the city's residents to take their afternoon siestas. The edict asks residents to keep quiet during the siesta hours and the mayor recommended children be kept inside to prevent noise from traveling into open windows. The mayor said the nap time was chosen due to the high afternoon heat making 2 to 5 p.m. the...

RALEIGH (AP) — A Mexican native jailed on a drug charge was offered a plea deal because a Raleigh-based federal drug agent made him wear a sombrero and hold a Mexican flag for a photo. Jorge Hernandez-Villalvazo, a native of Mexico with a permanent U-S residency, was arrested in April 2005 on a charge of conspiring to traffic cocaine. The photo from that year shows him wearing a sombrero and holding the flag. When it surfaced during a pretrial hearing last week, prosecutors offered a plea deal that avoided a trial and freed Hernandez-Villalvazo from the Wake County Jail, where...

The CEO of Hacienda Restaurant met with concerned citizens Thursday night to discuss a recent billboard campaign. The ads were removed after complaints they were insensitive to Mexicans. "I wish we hadn't done it. Like I said before I apologize," Hacienda CEO Bob Kill told the group. Kill says he's sorry this billboard was ever put up. "These stereotypes that we are sombrero wearing, taco wielding people who break pinatas. We are professionals people who have made so many positive contributions to this country," said Elias Moo of Notre Dame. The billboards sparked complaints from local Mexicans who say they...

The Germans and Italians meet in Dortmund on Tuesday (2:55 p.m. ET, ESPN) to play for the right to go to the World Cup Final on Sunday. The loser will play in the third-place game Saturday against the losing team of the other semifinal to be held Wednesday.