Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) - Tighter limits on the amount of lead the government allows in children's products and a requirement for new tracking labels are stirring fear among small business owners, already hurting in a tough economy. Starting Friday, the new limits and labels are required as part of a consumer product safety law passed by Congress last summer in the wake of dozens of recalls of lead-tainted toys. Consumer advocates hailed the measures. But some small businesses, like American Educational Products in Fort Collins, Colo.—it sells classroom teaching aids like flash cards, animal models, globes and relief maps—say the testing...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6, 2009 – Iraqi soldiers and police serving in the southern part of their country are performing the lion’s share of security duties, a senior U.S. military officer posted in southern Iraq told reporters today. “Iraqi security forces are fully in the lead to secure their country and their population,” Army Maj. Gen. Richard C. Nash, commander of Multinational Division South and the 34th Infantry Division, a National Guard unit from Rosemount, Minn., told Pentagon reporters during a satellite-carried news conference. Nash said his troops support Iraqi soldiers and police in operations that span across nine provinces in...

Washington — Late in the morning on Thursday, April 30, three officials serving under President Barack Obama got on a telephone conference call with members of Congress and Capitol Hill staffers. Steve LaTourette, a former Lake County prosecutor and current Republican lawmaker, was on the other end of that call. So, too, on another phone, was Dennis Kucinich, the Cleveland Democratic congressman who has built a career as a champion of the little guy. Staffers who help inform Sherrod Brown, a Yale graduate and Democratic U.S. senator, were on it. So were staffers for Sen. George Voinovich, a multi-decade Republican...

Taking aim at the way news is spread across the Internet, The Associated Press said on Monday that it will demand that Web sites obtain permission to use the work of The A.P. or its member newspapers, and share revenue with the news organizations, and that it will take legal action those that do not.

CHICAGO — The U.S. Supreme Court will consider Friday whether to take up a lawsuit challenging President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship, a continuation of a New Jersey case embraced by some opponents of Obama's election. The meeting of justices will coincide with a vigil by the filer's supporters in Washington on the steps of the nation's highest court. The suit originally sought to stay the election, and was filed on behalf of Leo Donofrio against New Jersey Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells.

  U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas By James Wright AFRO Staff Writer(December 3, 2008) - In a highly unusual move, U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has asked his colleagues on the court to consider the request of an East Brunswick, N.J. attorney who has filed a lawsuit challenging President-elect Barack Obama’s status as a United States citizen.Thomas’s action took place after Justice David Souter had rejected a petition known as an application for a stay of writ of certiorari that asked the court to prevent the meeting of the Electoral College on Dec. 15, which...

CHICAGO — The U.S. Supreme Court will consider Friday whether to take up a lawsuit challenging President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship, a continuation of a New Jersey case embraced by some opponents of Obama's election. The meeting of justices will coincide with a vigil by the filer's supporters in Washington on the steps of the nation's highest court. The suit originally sought to stay the election, and was filed on behalf of Leo Donofrio against New Jersey Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells. Legal experts say the appeal has little chance of succeeding, despite appearing on the court's schedule. Legal...

Melbourne: Tried everything but can’t seem to get rid of your post-marriage love handles? Well, don’t question your determination for the failed plan, for the real culprit behind all weight worries is your hubby. Yes, you heard it right. According to health experts, a husband is more of a hindrance than help in a wife's battle with the bulge. "For some women, marriage definitely can be fattening," the Courier Mail quoted Dr Brian Steadman, a leading British authority on nutrition, as saying. "It's hard enough for them to stick to good eating habits when they're single, but they can find...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi citizens are taking back their streets from extremists by taking security into their own hands. The Iraqi Security Volunteer program, an Iraqi project funded by the government of Iraq, allows volunteers from local communities to protect their own neighborhoods. The ISVs receive a three-day training program at Coalition Outpost War Eagle where they learn some basic vehicle checks and how to conduct themselves on the streets, as well as weapons training with an AK-47. “When you have local citizens patrolling their own streets, they have a sincere interest in keeping it safe,” said 1st Lt. John Suh,...

Source: University of Chicago Press Journals Date: October 4, 2007 When Taking A Long Time Is Seen As A Good Thing Science Daily — Consumers often use the length of time a service takes as a measure of its quality. The longer a session lasts, the better the value. Indeed, a new study shows that this holds true even when judging something primarily by its duration can backfire -- for example when a longer exercise program is actually less effective than a shorter regimen or for a lock-picking service. In a series of real-world and lab studies, the researchers reveal...

Iraqis Take the Lead Army troops excel during joint cordon, search operation. By Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs ATH THA' ALBA, Iraq, March 15, 2007 -- When troops from the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Military Transition Team, and soldiers from the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, pulled up to the site where they teamed with Iraqi army soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division (Mechanized), the Iraqi troops had already dismounted their vehicles and were ready to take down suspected insurgents. "Working with the IA...

FALLUJAH -- The war in Iraq is changing gears and taking a new direction; the battles are now fought by Iraqi forces with Coalition assistance. Coalition forces are working on a daily basis with Iraqi Security Forces on patrols, as well as conducting operations in support of ISF. The Iraqi Army’s 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, patrolled its area of operation recently to gather intelligence for future operations. The IA was supported by a fire team of Marines from a Military Transition Team during the patrol. “We did a dismounted patrol and headed south to one of...

On September 29,2006 at 11:30 AM, Mr. Yousuf N. Shaikh & Mr. Kamel H. Fotough came to my office to introduce themselves to me as the new neighbors. These two gentlemen informed me that they had purchased the adjacent house along with the 11-acre tract of land from the Sacco family on 09/22/06. They asked that I remove my cattle from this 11-acre tract & remove my electrical fence. They said they were going to use the existing house as a community center. Children would be coming to play on the grounds, and as an engineer, Mr. Fotough felt it...

Scientists bid to take Neanderthal DNA sample KARL MANSFIELD SCIENTISTS are attempting to extract DNA for the first time from the fossilised bones thought to be of a Neanderthal man who roamed Britain 35,000 years ago. Experts plan to use a tooth from an upper jaw to establish whether the closest relative of modern humans lived on the British Isles later than it was once thought. The fragment of an upper jaw, which was found in 1926 at Kent's Cavern in Devon, was originally thought to be human, but experts now think it could date back even further. Chris Stringer,...

USC should forfeit the 2004 national crown after reports that Reggie Bush and his family appear to have accepted financial benefits from prospective agents. LOS ANGELES – The would-be agents who provided the house, the money for the tricked-out car, the luxury hotel rooms and the tens of thousands in cash used to roll right into the Southern California locker room after the game, right past security, to meet and greet the triumphant Trojans. The marketing agent who provided the cash allowance, the plane flights, the limo rides and the designer suits used to hang around Trojan practices, filed paperwork...

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (Sept. 7) - A bartender who last week was left a $10,000 tip by a regular customer now has more than the excitement of the offer: she has the cash. Cindy Kienow received a check Tuesday from Applebee's franchise owner JS Ventures Inc. for about $6,300, her share of the tip after taxes. The customer gave Kienow the hefty tip Aug. 27 on a $26 meal. But since he paid by credit card, the restaurant wanted to make sure it was a valid charge before giving Kienow the money. "I've had a lot of fun," Kienow said of...

Iraqi Soldiers Take the Lead Two battalions of the Iraqi Army assume responsibility of security for the majority of Kirkuk Province. By U.S. Army Spc. Michael Alberts 1st Brigade Combat Team, (Air Assault) KIRKUK, Iraq, Sept. 1, 2006 -- Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division transferred responsibility of security for the majority of the Kirkuk Province to two battalions of the Iraqi Army during a ceremony at an Iraqi military compound just outside of Kirkuk, Aug. 31. “With this ceremony, we complete the transfer of security responsibilities from our friends, the Coalition Forces, to our...

Education Minister (Labor) Yuli Tamir announced her decision on Monday to fund long school days at kindergartens in public schools – but not in the hareidi preschool system. Tamir told the Knesset Education Committee that the public school system would take priority over non-governmental education associations, most of which are hareidi Orthodox schools. United Torah Judaism (UTJ) Knesset member Rabbi Moshe Gafne responded angrily to the decision, accusing Tamir of declaring “war against the hareidi Orthodox education system.” “The former education minister didn’t do this, [Meretz education ministers Shulamit] Aloni and [Yossi] Sarid didn’t do this,” noted Gafne. He asked...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, Aug. 24, 2006 -- Seeking a unified province free from terrorism and sectarian violence, leaders of groups in Babil came together Aug. 20 in Hillah, Iraq, to reconcile and denounce sectarian violence. Tribal sheik leaders from the Babil province sign an oath in Hillah, Iraq, Aug. 20, declaring their pledge to work hand-in-hand with all sheiks and leaders from the province, regardless of religion or affiliation. The reconciliation conference was organized by Iraqi Maj. Gen. Qais Hamza, Babil provincial police chief, in an effort to unify the province and make a commitment to stop...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2006 -- Two military relief agencies received a total of $30,000 here yesterday, the proceeds of a July clay shooting event in New York. John O'Connor (center), president of the Pawling Mountain Club, presents a check to Retired Sgt. Maj. Steve Broadway (left), of Army Emergency Relief. John Alexander, a representative of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, looks at the check he just received. O'Connor's club sponsored the Pawling Mountain Invitational sporting clay event, which raised about $30,000 in donations for the two organizations. Photo by Samantha L. Quigley  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The...