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FERGUSON, George What to say about George? Certainly, no one could accuse him of having been a loving son, brother, or father. He'd gladly have stolen the shirt off your back and he was generous to a fault with other people's money. Was he a small-time con-man with grandiose schemes? Probably. But another view of him is that he was the most exciting member of his family and of the families he married into. He was a poor man's rhetorician who beguiled certain woman into buying into his promises and dreams. This latter view is lent some support by the...

Vasectomy linked with aggressive prostate cancer risk Thursday 10 July 2014 - 3am PST Prostate / Prostate Cancer Men's Health Cancer / Oncology In the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, MA, find that vasectomy is associated with a small increased risk of prostate cancer, and a larger increased risk for advanced or lethal prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is a major cause of cancer-related deaths in men in the US, where vasectomy is a common form of contraception, with around 15% of American men having the minor procedure, which...

FULL TITLE: Killer who raped and murdered ex-girlfriend's 11-year-old daughter is executed after last meal of chop steak, cherry ice cream and Dr Pepper A man who raped and killed an 11-year-old girl was executed today with the victim's grandmother watching from the witness chamber on behalf of her deceased mother. Eddie Wayne Davis, 45, declined to say any last words before receiving a three-drug injection at 6:30pm at Florida State Prison. He was convicted in 1995 on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Kimberly Waters, whose mother briefly dated Davis. For his last meal, Davis ate...

Brushing aside criticism of Israel’s four-day-old aerial attacks on Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday he felt no international pressure to quit the operation and would not rule out a ground invasion to stop the barrages of rockets from Palestinian militants. “We are weighing all possibilities and preparing for all possibilities,” Mr. Netanyahu told reporters at a news conference in Tel Aviv. Mr. Netanyahu, who has spoken with the leaders of the United States, Russia and the United Nations among others since Israel began the aerial assaults, also said the Israelis had hit more than 1,000 targets in Gaza...

The solar panels that Idaho inventor Scott Brusaw has built aren’t meant for rooftops. They are meant for roads, driveways, parking lots, bike trails and, eventually, highways. Brusaw, an electrical engineer, says the hexagon-shaped panels can withstand the wear and tear that comes from inclement weather and vehicles, big and small, to generate electricity. “We need to rebuild our infrastructure,” said Brusaw, the head of Solar Roadways, based in Sandpoint, Idaho, about 90 miles northeast of Spokane, Washington. His idea contains “something for everyone to like.”

Trigger Warning: An unseasonable blast of cold air reminiscent of last winter's infamous Polar Vortex is headed our way next week. Tropical Storm Neoguri, off the coast of Japan, has initiated a chain reaction in weather patterns which, according to Weather Underground, will cause a ripple effect in the jet stream over western North America, resulting in a phenomenon "similar to the nasty 'Polar Vortex' pattern that set up during the winter of 2014." Guess we're still not done slurping up winter's blood from that snowman's skull. Fine, pass it over.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Customs and Border Protection are due to run out of funds by mid-August and mid-September, respectively, if the amount of migrants crossing the southwest US border from the likes of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador continues apace, US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Thursday. Should Congress refuse to offer emergency funding, "we will have to go to a harsh form of reprogramming that will take money away from some vital homeland security programs I am sure members of this committee care a lot about," Johnson said at a Senate Appropriations...

...ever been to the "Calgary Stampede" AND...

Men who have a vasectomy face an increased chance of developing prostate cancer and a higher risk of contracting the most aggressive form of the disease, a study has found. The Harvard research on 50,000 men, the largest study to examine the link between sterilization and cancer, found that those who had the procedure had a 10 percent greater chance of developing the disease. It also found a sharp increase in the risk of contracting the most aggressive form of prostate cancer, although this type of the disease is still relatively rare. The dangers appeared to be highest among men...

President Barack Obama can't keep children from entering the U.S. illegally, but he can jawbone big businesses into signing a pledge to pay their suppliers faster. So goes this "Year of Action" at the White House. The White House announced its SupplierPay initiative Friday morning. Large companies ranging from Apple to Westinghouse Electric Co. have committed to either accelerating their payments to their small suppliers or helping them access working capital at a lower cost.

A former Western Albemarle High School teacher already facing charges is back in jail. Waynesboro police arrested John Daniel Patterson Jr. for child porn and solicitation of a minor. This is round two of charges for Patterson. The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office arrested Patterson in April when he thought he was talking to a 13-year-old boy, but it was actually a police sting. After his first arrest, police say they discovered Patterson did have an online relationship with a real teenager. That's what Waynesboro police arrested him for Wednesday morning.

I just started a new Twitter hashtag, #TheOstrichIsLoose in reaction to the White House #TheBearIsLoose . Feel free to post your Ostrich I the White House observations there.

In response to why Hillary's book was not taken off the shelf...here is the reply: Dear XXXX, The decision to keep her book in stock in our locations is purely sales based as well. The books that are currently stocked in our stores have met our sales threshold, and so we continue to carry them. I might suggest visiting Costco.com for further information from our CEO regarding this matter. Thank you, Sarah S. Member Service Center Costco Wholesale Corporation I do know that there hare many copies of her books in the local Costco - habe neen since published....does not...

Federal regulators on Friday halted trading in CYNK Technology [ CYNK 13.90  +0.00 (+0.00%) ], the mysterious over-the-counter stock that ran from a few cents to over $21 in a month. The stoppage was ordered at 8 a.m. EDT by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for an "extraordinary event," according to the OTC Bulletin Board. Read More Penny stock soars to $6B, and even the auditor is perplexed

Quinn and Rose are off the air, and we await word that they are returning soon. (Stand by) Meanwhile, our friendly group of dedicated FReeper Q&R fans will meet in our usual spot - same time, same station - as we always have! So grab your coffee - or whatever you choose to start your day - and drop in for some political chit-chat, or just to shoot the breeze! We are all coming from - or going to - work, but we all stop in to say ‘hi!’ Feel free to join us!

Articles of Impeachment adopted by House Judiciary Committee on July 27-30, 1974 RESOLVED, That Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanours, and that the following articles of impeachment to be exhibited to the Senate: ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT EXHIBITED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN THE NAME OF ITSELF AND OF ALL OF THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AGAINST RICHARD M. NIXON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT OF ITS IMPEACHMENT AGAINST HIM FOR HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANOURS. Article...

A Newport Beach school teacher arrested earlier this year on suspicion of hoarding and neglecting hundreds of snakes pleaded guilty Thursday to one misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty. In January, animal control officers found at least 400 snakes inside William Buchman's Santa Ana home, the Daily Pilot reported. About 240 of the non-venomous pythons were dead or died soon after being collected from the house, and more than 150 of the still-living snakes were malnourished, authorities said at the time. After Buchman's guilty plea, an Orange County Superior Court judge sentenced him to three years of probation and 100 hours...

This presenter makes a clarinet out of a carrot. For real. And it sounds great! Click on the link in Reply #1 to see.

Arron Hendy and Ruari Barratt were dining at U.K. eatery Burger Off. Each took one bite of the “XXX Hot Chili Burger.” Minutes later, Barratt began suffering from severe stomach pain and soon lost feeling in his hands. His legs also began shaking and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, reports The Argus. The sauce uses a concentrated piri piri chili sauce from India. Gambardella estimated that the sauce measures between seven to nine million units on the Scolville scale. Tabasco sauce comes in around 2,500 – 5,000, while pepper spray ranks 500,000 to five million units.

A San Diego-based clothing company has landed in hot water over a photo showing its T-shirts featuring the body of a monkey paired off with a customized hanger depicting the face of an African-American boy. The offensive image was shared on Twitter Wednesday, sparking indignation among users who lambasted the manufacturer, Just Add A Kid, for allowing this to happen. The clothing brand, which is owned by the company Thanks A Million, quickly went into damage control mode, responding on Twitter that the incident was the result of a misunderstanding