Free Republic

TAMPA - A Wimauma 15-year-old was sentenced to 15 life sentences today for his part in the robbery, abduction and rape of two Apollo Beach waitresses in August 2008. Circuit Judge Chet A. Tharpe meted out one life sentence for each year of Jose Walle's age, saying he had no intention of the teen ever leaving prison. "This is one of the most disturbing cases I have ever come across," Tharpe said while passing sentence. He said it didn't matter that Walle was only 13 when he held a gun on the women during the attack. Walle and two men...

Dan Erickson waited for his chance to infiltrate the rolling protest against illegal immigration. The Chisholm, Minn., man watched as a caravan of 13 motorcycles dubbed the 21st Century Paul Revere Ride pulled up to the Minnesota State Capitol on Tuesday afternoon, on their national protest ride. Erickson — who favors immigrant rights — wedged his Harley Dyna Glide into their line of parked motorcycles. But he put his machine in backwards, with the tailpipes facing the Capitol steps. "That's so if any of them spoke I would rev up my engine so you couldn't hear them," Erickson said, an...

MURRIETA ---- Councilman Doug McAllister is proposing that Murrieta become one of the first cities in California to have its Police Department enforce federal immigration laws. McAllister is asking the council to allow Murrieta police to have the authority to be able to question suspects about their residency once they are detained or arrested. He's not getting much support from the rest of the council, though. The program is already being used in a few states and being pursued in Costa Mesa, which would be the first city in California to have an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement...

MIAMI (Reuters) - Latin Americans have a dismal opinion of President Bush (news - web sites) after he ignored world opinion to wage war in Iraq (news - web sites), and against a backdrop of mistrust over U.S. aims in pushing for regional free trade, a poll published on Tuesday showed. The University of Miami School of Business/Zogby International poll of Latin American elites found that only 12 percent of those questioned rated President Bush's performance on Latin America as positive. In Brazil, Latin America's largest country, 98 percent gave the U.S. leader a negative mark. In Mexico, where President...