Free Republic

Bobbie Hardee, 63, had the fright of her life Wednesday morning. The Horry County woman fought off a rabid bobcat outside her home with a garden hoe for more than 15 minutes until a neighbor came and shot it. "I didn't have time to get scared. I was out there and didn't know what else to do," she said. S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control officials are warning residents to be on the lookout for animals acting strangely or aggressively, especially wild animals approaching humans. It's more common in the spring for people to run into rabid animals because...

Non-violent protestors will plan to try and blockade the TransAmerica Pyramid, the Pacific Exchange and other 'war making' corporate and federal headquarters in San Francisco the first day after a prospective United States attack on Iraq.Nobody-not police nor activists who have participated in planning sessions for weeks-know how many people will show up.Still, mindful of the ability of free form groups as the Critical Mass bicyclists to tie up downtown-and of the protests in San Francisco after the start of the 1991 Gulf War that resulted in 1,000 arrests-police and some of the events intended targets are preparing for some...

BEECH ISLAND S.C. - An early morning shotgun attack left one man wounded and police searching for clues of the identity of the camouflage-clad gunman who wore a ski mask. Just before 4:40 a.m. at Dorchester Dirt Company, at 1520 Sand Bar Ferry Road, a driver reported for work and was in the process of washing his rig behind the business, according to Aiken County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Capt. Michael Frank. "A man wearing a ski mask, dressed in full camouflage and armed with a shotgun approached the driver,'' Frank said. "He ordered the driver to lie on the ground,...