Free Republic

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Parishioners of Brighton Heights Reformed Church in St. George helped find and furnish a new apartment in New Brighton for a family with a disabled girl that was living in squalid conditions. Alice Frett, a single mother of daughter Moasia, 9, who has cerebral palsy, and sons Tyrik, 18, Molike, 14, and Cyril Sheppard, 2, were renting an apartment in Tompkinsville that was badly in need of basic repairs and infested with vermin. A walk through the old unit by the pastor and an Advance reporter and photographer showed broken windows, holes in walls and floors,...

A video of Marilyn Monroe allegedly smoking marijuana has been made public some 50 years after it was filmed. The film was recently bought for $275,000 (£166,000) by US collector Keya Morgan, who is making a documentary on the death of Monroe in August 1962. He tracked it down to an attic in New Jersey - the person who filmed it said it was taken at an informal gathering in 1958 or 1959. The film shows a personal side rarely seen in public since the actress achieved stardom. At one point in the film, Marilyn points her nose toward her...

Two Indiana teenagers have sued their school district after they were punished for posing suggestive photos on MySpace. The girls, 10th-graders at Churubusco High School in Churubusco, Indiana, say they were humiliated after the school banned them from fall semester extracurricular activities and forced them to apologize to the all-male Athletics Board (composed of varsity coaches). The girls also had to attend three counseling sessions. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed the proposed class-action suit on behalf of the girls and all present and future students at the school who participate or may participate in extracurricular activities. The ACLU...

Nowhere is Michigan's brain drain on greater display than in the Detroit City Council chambers. My hopes for Detroit's future faded as I watched the tape of last Tuesday's council meeting, the one that considered the Cobo Center expansion deal. It was a tragic circus, a festival of ignorance that confirmed the No. 1 obstacle to Detroit's progress is the bargain basement leaders that city voters elect. The black nationalism that is now the dominant ideology of the council was on proud display, both at the table and in the audience. Full article on detnews.com . FR does not allow...

Just a hilarious video I found. Spliced together newscasts of a super spoiled teenage beauty queen. What happens when parents don't say no. http://www.todaysbigthing.com/2008/02/15

Some women laugh about turkey basters replacing Mr. Right. The ongoing debate over going it alone. "Sex And The City's" Carrie Bradshaw once asked, "What if Prince Charming had never shown up? Would Snow White have slept in that glass coffin forever? Or would she have eventually woken up, spit out the apple, gotten a job, a health-care package and a baby from her local neighborhood sperm bank?" Though it's hard to say how Disney would have grappled with a no-show prince, if Ms. White were to awaken alone today, it's possible she'd take the advice of Louise Sloan, author...

Baltimore County police say a 45-year-old Baltimore man was hit by a train and killed as he sat on a lawnchair on the tracks. It happened around 8 p.m. Saturday near Martin Boulevard in Rosedale. Police say the man was visiting his brother, who is homeless and hangs out at a camping spot near the train tracks. They say the conductor spotted the man sitting on a lawnchair on the tracks and said he did not appear to realize a train was coming. Police are calling the incident an accident.

HARRISON, N.Y. (AP) - Even the dead apparently have to pay the fines on their overdue books at one Westchester County library. Elizabeth Schaper said she was charged a 50-cent late fee while turning in a book that her late mother had checked out of a Harrison Public Library branch. "I was in shock," Schaper said. "This has rocked me to my core." Schaper's mother, Ethel Schaper, died at the age of 87 on Sept. 16 after suffering a massive stroke. A few days later, Schaper said she found a library book, "The Price of Silence," by Camilla Trinchieri, that...

You have to be kidding right? Unfortunately this is really happening! The Next Magazine, a weekly publication from Hong Kong, reported that infant corpses and fetuses have become the newest supplements for health and beauty in China. Not only is the placenta considered a beauty remedy, but also aborted fetuses are much sought after delicacies. In Guangdong, gourmet body parts are in high demand and can even be purchased through hospitals. The magazine's investigations into this form of cannibalism took them to Liaoning province. According to The Next Magazine, during a banquet hosted by a Taiwanese businessman, a servant Ms...

NEW YORK -- A law enforcement source told WNBC.com's Jonathan Dienst that Cho Seung-Hui fired at least 168 times during his rampage on the Virginia Tech campus that ended with 32 people dead on Monday.

(Bangkok, Thailand-AP, Aug. 17, 2006 Updated 8:08 AM) _ A former American school teacher said publicly Thursday he was with JonBenet Ramsey when she was killed and called the 6-year-old's death "an accident," a stunning admission that should help answer 10 years of questions in the unsolved murder case. "I am so very sorry for what happened to JonBenet," he told The Associated Press. John Mark Karr, 41, will be taken within the week to Colorado, where he will face charges of first degree murder, kidnapping and child sexual assault, Ann Hurst of the Department of Homeland Security told a...

Just breaking on KUSA-TV in Denver that the suspect arrested today in the case matches the DNA at the crime scene. Nothing on the web yet...

Understanding International Conflict This update was posted on Monday, August 7th, 2006. Nick Rogers Israel fires rockets into Lebanon; Hezbollah condemns the attacks; Lebanon condemns Hezbollah; the United States condemns everyone except Israel. After nearly three weeks of violence and mounting casualties on both sides, the conflict in the Middle East has left many college students, well, confused. For those of use outside of a poli-sci degree (and typically those inside it as well) the Middle East can be difficult to understand. Fortunately there is an easier way. Consider this: what if the Middle East was college? United Nations...

SUFFOLK - A naked man clutching a pigeon was arrested over the weekend after beating the bird against a car. Two Whaleyville residents had just pulled into their driveway Friday night when Juan Lopez, 30, of Kellam Road in Virginia Beach came up and repeatedly pounded the pigeon on the car, police said. The people got out of the car and went to a neighbor's house, where they called the police.

Just saw on CNN that 23 tons of explosives were dropped on a Hezbollah bunker. Top Hezbollah officials are believed to have been inside. No story on the website yet.

ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) - Ross Savedra fought aliens to rescue his girlfriend, then popped the question in an out-of-this-world proposal. Savedra, 32, staged his elaborate proposal Sunday afternoon for Ariana Ash, 23, with the help for family members and Roswell's UFO Museum. Savedra and Ash were touring the museum when a silver-suited, masked alien from an exhibit called "alien autopsy" suddenly abducted Ash from in front of a group of tourists. Savedra dashed through the crowd, fought two aliens and rescued her. Then he dropped to his knees, presented her a ring and asked her to marry him.

Jorge Rivera lost his life Sunday over $2, police said. The Hollywood butcher, 34, was in a car accident and needed a tow truck, and when it came time to pay a $78 bill, Rivera only had four $20 bills. When the driver said he could not provide change, Rivera demanded it, and the 1:30 a.m. argument escalated as Rivera's nephew joined him in yelling at the driver. The driver became nervous and drove off with Rivera's 1999 Chrysler Sebring still on the flatbed, police and family members said. Rivera jumped onto the truck cab, hanging off the passenger-side window,...

OTTAWA (AFP) - Canada's biggest city will host what is believed to be the world's first "feminist porn" awards ceremony, to highlight "really great" female erotica. "There is so much bad porn out there. A lot of it is really, really bad -- not just sexist but racist, too," organizer Chanelle Gallant told AFP by telephone from Toronto. "We wanted to celebrate filmmakers who are making really great porn, the kind that makes us feel good about sex, makes us feel good about our bodies and treats sex as something fun and good," she said.

KEY WEST, Fla. -- A man wearing a purple women's bathing suit and carrying a flare gun was arrested after he told a bartender he was going to "get rid of all the dirt bags in Key West," authorities said. The bartender, who was not identified, was working in the downstairs bar of The Bull and Whistle, a popular Key West watering hole located on Duval Street. "She reported she had seen a man, later identified as Anderson, dancing in the street showing tourists his private parts, and asking people for money when they took his picture," the news release...

WESTON, Fla. - If any female juniors at Cypress Bay High School weren’t aware of classmate Paul Kim — they know him now. The 17-year-old junior ordered 500 red roses and had them delivered to nearly all his female classmates on Valentine’s Day. A card attached to the roses said, “To all the lovely ladies of 2007, here’s wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day. Affectionately, Paul Kim.”