Free Republic

U.S. Army Ranger Sgt. Martin A. Lugo Jr. led his squad through a fierce firefight with the Taliban in Logar province, Afghanistan, almost 18 months ago. His team killed 14 enemy fighters on Aug. 19, 2010, in a clash that left the 24-year-old Tucson native mortally wounded. Lugo's heroics were remembered Friday when he was awarded the Silver Star. The medal was presented to his father, Martin Lugo Sr., at a ceremony in Savannah, Ga. The Silver Star is the nation's third-highest award. He also has been posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal and Purple Heart. Awards...

One of the Washington D.C. snipers confessed to killing a man on a Southeast Side golf course four years ago, Tucson police said Friday. The confession from Lee Boyd Malvo on Thursday brings a sense of closure to Jerry Taylor's family, who for many years have believed that Malvo and fellow sniper John Allen Muhammad were behind the slaying on March 19, 2002. Taylor's daughter, Cheryll Witz, said she was ready to forgive Malvo for his crime. "I really do need to forgive him and I do believe he was brainwashed" by Muhammad, Witz said Friday. For several years, Tucson...