Free Republic

A 40-year-old Colorado woman is lucky to be alive after she plunged 200 feet down a trail in California’s San Gabriel Mountains during a Christmas Eve hike. Ruth Woroniecki, of Thornton, had left her campground in Lytle Creek to hike up to Cucamonga Peak and was making her way back when she took the terrifying tumble... Another hiker spotted the badly injured woman and contacted authorities...Using crampons and an ice ax, the hiker reached Woroniecki and stayed with her along with other hikers until rescuers arrived to hoist her to safety... Woroniecki suffered a serious head injury and a fractured...

"We have broken through the partisanship and the gridlock," Sen. Patty Murray, one of two chief budget negotiators, said of Tuesday's deal to avoid another government shutdown. Murray, a Democrat from Washington state serving her fourth term, is considered a steady hand in the Senate who shuns grandstanding and garners respect from both sides of the aisle. She is a liberal, but can be pragmatic and has some conservative thoughts on budget issues. Like her negotiating partner, Murray loves the outdoors and fishing, something she alluded to as they announced the deal and their ability to find a compromise. "We...

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., won a leadership post Tuesday as Senate Democrats organized their new majority following last week's elections. Murray, who is in her third term, was named secretary of the Democratic caucus, replacing Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who is stepping down to lead the Senate Democratic Steering Committee. The secretary's job is the third-ranking post in the Senate hierarchy, behind Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill. "It is tremendous honor to join this leadership team," Murray said at a Capitol news conference. She pledged to work to help young people go...

When 17-year-old Steve Terrett was found shot to death and shoeless in a South Side alley last week, his mother feared he was killed for his new $110 Nike Air Jordan shoes. Sunday it turned out she was right, Chicago Police said. Jordan shoes were a motive for many robberies in Chicago, but police could not recall anyone being killed for a pair before the Terrett youth was slain.