Free Republic

CONCORD, N.H. -- Despite objections from law enforcement and a governor's veto, the New Hampshire House has passed a bill into law that allows people to use deadly force to defend themselves any place they have a right to be. The 251-111 vote Wednesday comes a week after the Senate voted to override Gov. John Lynch's veto. The deadly force bill is based on the Castle Doctrine, which says a person does not have to retreat from intruders at home before using deadly force. The bill expands that principle to public places, anywhere a person has a right to be....

Al-Qaida sources say group behind coordinated terror killing at least 17 TEL AVIV – Today's deadly attacks in Israel killing at least 17 were meant to avenge the death of Osama bin Laden, jihadist sources within an al-Qaida group in the Gaza Strip told WND. The sources come from inside two al-Qaida-affiliated organizations, Jihadiya Salafiya and Jaish al-Islam. The sources said both groups were planning to officially take credit for the attack but now delayed their announcement fearing major Israeli reprisals inside Gaza.

A six-month-old rescue puppy thought dead has given some hope to a family in tornado-ravaged Massachusetts, after he was miraculously found in a flattened home. The deadly twister struck Monson on Wednesday, killing at least four and leaving more than 200 people injured in the surrounding areas. Audrey Carabetta and her family feared the worst for her new family member Shadow after he escaped from refuge in their basement, and heard him crying for help. Ms Carabetta recalled the horrific incident, when the puppy unexpectedly pushed his way out as heavy winds circled their home. She told CNN: 'You could...

The top prosecutor in Dakota County doesn't like it. Neither do St. Paul police or Minnesota police organizations. Not to mention gun-control groups. But Republicans, backed by gun-rights groups, apparently do. And so, a bill that would give Minnesotans more flexibility in using deadly force to defend themselves and their properties cleared its first legislative hurdle Thursday. The Republican-controlled House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee voted 10-7 to send the measure to another committee. "It's a common-sense bill,'' said its chief sponsor, state Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Good Thunder. The measure would expand state laws on use...

Bowcock also said they have found much higher pollution levels than expected. Some areas, he said, are showing levels that are 400 times higher than the recommended public health goal. While the utility believes the contamination is affecting an estimated 100 households, he believes the number is closer to 250. "I don't think PG&E ever had their arms around the problem entirely," said Bowcock, adding that he was stunned by the results. PG&E said it has not seen Bowcock's water testing results but remained committed to working with the community and the water district.

A windswept, five-alarm fire that killed an elderly Brooklyn woman was started by candles placed on the floor near a bed while a man and woman were having sex after a voodoo ritual, sources said today. Fire marshals determined that the Feb. 20 blaze at 346 East 29th St. in Flatbush escalated to a fifth alarm because of an open door and delays, but that it was all started by black magic. "Time and time again we respond to tragedies that could have been so easily prevented," said FDNY Commissioner Sal Cassano. "This fire had so many of those elements...

Triggers protective immune response while preventing fatal inflammationFebruary 22, 2011 — (BRONX, NY) — Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed an experimental vaccine that appears to protect against an increasingly common and particularly deadly form of pneumococcal pneumonia. Details of the new vaccine, which was tested in an animal model, are reported in a paper published today in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. Pneumococcal pneumonia can occur when the lungs are infected with the bacterial species Streptococcus pneumoniae (also known as pneumococcus). "Like many microbes that cause pneumonia, pneumococcus is spread from person to...

Inspired by Albany Fire Chief Marc McGinn's passion and four years of research, City Council members voted unanimously Monday night to require a somewhat uncommon type of smoke alarm in many homes and businesses in the city from this point forward. In doing so, Albany became the first city in California, officials said, to take a public stand on the importance of photoelectric-only alarms, which use a light source to detect the presence of smoke, in saving lives. Ionization alarms, which use a different trigger, are much more common. Albany joins the state of Vermont in requiring photoelectric alarms. Vermont...

LONDON – Here's a new warning from health experts: Sitting is deadly. Scientists are increasingly warning that sitting for prolonged periods — even if you also exercise regularly — could be bad for your health. And it doesn't matter where the sitting takes place — at the office, at school, in the car or before a computer or TV — just the overall number of hours it occurs. Research is preliminary, but several studies suggest people who spend most of their days sitting are more likely to be fat, have a heart attack or even die. In an editorial published...

MADISON — The specter of a drug-resistant form of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza is a nightmare to keep public health officials awake at night. Now, however, a study published this week (Dec. 21) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) suggests that a new compound, one on the threshold of final testing in humans, may be more potent and safer for treating "bird flu" than the antiviral drug best known by the trade name Tamiflu. Known as T-705, the compound even works several days after infection, according to Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a University of Wisconsin-Madison virologist and...

LONDON - Swine flu is far less dangerous than originally feared, British officials said Thursday — about 100 times less lethal than the 1918 Spanish flu. To determine how deadly the virus is, the British health department tracked all reported swine flu patients hospitalized between July and November. In a paper published online in the British journal, BMJ, experts estimated that out of every 100,000 infected people in Britain, about 26 died.

The World Health Organization, the UN agency (ir-) responsible for declaring a Phase 6 “PANDEMIC” global alert over what it calls H1N1 Influenza A or Swine Flu, whose chief Dr Margaret Chan has repeatedly warned that while Swine Flu to date had been rather mild, that the emergency declaration was necessary because it “could mutate” aggressively into a deadly pandemic killing millions, now admits well into the flu season in the Northern Hemisphere that H1N1 has apparently not mutated. Margaret Chan, the head of the World Health Organization, at a meeting with health officials in her native Hong Kong has...

This was announced by the Obama administration last evening. President Barack Obama on Friday slapped punitive tariffs on all car and light truck tires entering the United States from China in a decision that could anger the strategically important Asian powerhouse but placate union supporters important to his health care push at home. Obama had until Sept. 17 -- next week -- to accept, reject or modify a U.S. International Trade Commission ruling that a rising tide of Chinese tires into the U.S. hurts American producers. A powerful union, United Steelworkers, blames the increase for the loss of thousands of...

ORLANDO, Fla. – There's more troubling news about hormone therapy for menopause symptoms: Lung cancer seems more likely to prove fatal in women who are taking estrogen-progestin pills, a study suggests. Hormone users who developed lung cancer were 60 percent more likely to die from the disease as women who weren't taking hormones, according to results reported Saturday. The new findings mean that smokers should stop taking hormones, and those who have not yet started hormones should give it careful thought, said Dr. Rowan Chlebowski of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. He led the analysis and presented results at...

Experimental vaccine used in Ebola exposure case BERLIN – It was a nightmare scenario: A scientist accidentally pricked her finger with a needle used to inject the deadly Ebola virus into lab mice. Within hours, members of a tightly bound, yet far-flung community of virologists, biologists and others were tensely gathered in a trans-Atlantic telephone conference trying to map out a way to save her life.

Big Bangs: 'Stirring' Secrets Of Deadly Supervolcanoes UncoveredSupervolcanoes are orders of magnitude greater than any volcanic eruption in historic times. They are capable of causing long-lasting change to weather, threatening the extinction of species, and covering huge areas with lava and ash. (Credit: iStockphoto/Koch Valérie) ScienceDaily (May 30, 2008) — Researchers from McGill University and the University of British Columbia (UBC) have simulated in the lab the process that can turn ordinary volcanic eruptions into so-called “supervolcanoes,” with potentially devastating worldwide impact. The study was conducted by Dr. Ben Kennedy and and Dr. Mark Jellinek of UBC’s Department of Earth...

PHOENIX (Reuters) - A Mexican smuggler responsible for an accident that killed 10 illegal immigrants in the Arizona desert two years ago was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison. Adan Pineda-Doval, 22, received the maximum sentence from Judge Stephen McNamee for the deadly incident in which he flipped over a vehicle packed with illegal immigrants while trying to flee Border Patrol agents near Yuma, Arizona. In October, Pineda-Doval was convicted of 10 counts of transporting illegal immigrants resulting in death, one count of placing lives in jeopardy and one count of re-entry after deportation. "This incident speaks to the...

Why the Cyclone in Myanmar Was So DeadlyMichael Casey in Bangkok, Thailand Associated PressMay 8, 2008 It was Asia's answer to Hurricane Katrina—though with a reported 100,000 killed, it was many times more deadly. Packing winds upward of 120 miles an hour (193 kilometers an hour), Cyclone Nargis became one of Asia's deadliest storms by hitting land at one of the lowest points in Myanmar (also called Burma) and setting off a storm surge that reached 25 miles (40 kilometers) inland. "When we saw the [storm] track, I said, 'Uh oh, this is not going to be good,'" said Mark...

New And Deadly Viruses Passed Through Sweet Food And Domestic Animals ScienceDaily (Apr. 6, 2008) — Nipah virus is a new and deadly brain and lung disease that emerged from Singapore and Malaysia ten years ago. It is now spreading into rural India and Bangladesh killing up to three-quarters of the people who become infected in some outbreaks, scientists heard April 3, 2008 at the Society for General Microbiology's 162nd meeting. "People are catching this disease by drinking date palm juice or probably by eating fruit contaminated by the virus, or through contact with infected animals. We have seen nine...

Food riots turn deadly in Haiti At least four people were killed and 20 wounded when demonstrations against rising food prices turned into riots in southern Haiti, officials say. Reports say scores of people went on the rampage in the town of Les Cayes, blocking roads, looting shops and shooting at UN peacekeepers. The UN said its personnel had opened fire at some of the armed protesters. For two days running, parts of Haiti have been erupting into violence triggered by the soaring cost of food. The prices of rice, beans and fruit have gone up by 50% in the...

BAGHDAD - An explosion ripped through an apartment building and surrounding houses in northern Iraq Wednesday shortly after police arrived to investigate a tip about a weapons cache, killing at least nine people. In a separate incident, a suicide car bomber targeted a police convoy near the northern city of Kirkuk, killing at least five civilians and injuring 11, police said. The cause of the apartment blast in the city of Mosul was unknown. Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim al-Jubouri said it occurred about 4:30 p.m. after the arrival of Iraqi police forces who went to the building after receiving a tip...

ISLAM HUNTS CARTOONIST While we're talking about the peaceful, serene, wonderfully loving religion of Islam, this item: The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq is offering money for whoever kills the Swedish cartoonist who dared to insult Islam! "We are calling for the assassination of cartoonist Lars Vilks who dared insult our Prophet, peace be upon him, and we announce a reward during this generous month of Ramadan of $100,000 for the one who kills this criminal." (See link below.) Ooo but get this. You will get $150,000 if you "slaughter him like a lamb." That, I guess, means slice...

Environmentalists, with the help of politicians and other government officials, have an agenda that has cost thousands of American lives. In the wake of Hurricane Betsy, which struck New Orleans in 1965, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed building flood gates on Lake Pontchartrain, like those in the Netherlands that protect cities from North Sea storms. In 1977, the gates were about to be built, but the Environmental Defense Fund and Save Our Wetlands sought a court injunction to block the project. According to John Berlau's recent book, "Eco-Freaks: Environmentalism is Hazardous to Your Health," U.S. Attorney Gerald Gallinghouse...

Merck & Co. is immediately suspending its lobbying campaign to persuade state legislatures to mandate that adolescent girls get the company's new vaccine against cervical cancer as a requirement for school attendance, the company said late Tuesday. The drugmaker had been criticized by parents and doctors' groups for quietly funding the campaign via a third party to require 11- and 12-year-old girls get the three-dose vaccine in order to attend school. Some had objected because the vaccine protects against a sexually transmitted disease, human papilloma virus, which causes cervical cancer. Vaccines mandated for school attendance usually are for diseases easily...

The detailed picture that emerged Friday about events that led to bandits shooting and killing three Central American illegal entrants in northwest Tucson provides a glimpse into the violent underbelly of human trafficking in Arizona where people are viewed as commodities. Here's how events unfolded early Thursday morning northwest of Tucson near the Silver Bell Mine Road area that took the lives of two men and one woman. Authorities have not yet released the nationally, age or names of the victims. Between 4:30-5 a.m., a Dodge pickup stolen out of Phoenix was driving north across the Tohono O'dham Reservation with...

The non-story of 2006 was also the non-story of 2005. It is a non-story every year going back decades. Yet the number of people who die in car crashes in the United States is staggering, even if it is absent from the agenda of most public officials and largely ignored by the public. When all is said and done and the ball begins to drop on New Year's Eve, 44,000 people, give or take several hundred, will have died in auto accidents this year. To put that number in perspective, consider that: At the 2006 casualty rate of 800 soldiers...

QANA, Lebanon - Israeli missiles crushed several buildings where Lebanese villagers were sleeping Sunday, killing at least 56 people, more than half of them children, in the deadliest attack of the campaign against Hezbollah. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice decided to return early to Washington with her diplomatic mission derailed after Lebanese leaders told her not to come. Lebanon's prime minister said his country would not talk to the Americans about anything but an unconditional cease-fire. Rice, in Jerusalem for talks with Israeli officials, said she was "deeply saddened by the terrible loss of innocent life" but stopped short of...

BALTIMORE - A long-standing feud over house rules at a seniors' high rise led one octogenarian resident to shoot and kill another, police said. The shooting on Monday apparently occurred after an 86-year-old desk clerk at the building refused to allow an 80-year-old resident's granddaughter to board an elevator without a visitor's pass, police said. Thomas Batty, 86, was shot once in the head as he sat behind the front desk, and Clyde Lewis, 80, was charged with murder. Both lived on the building's 12th floor. A bail hearing for Lewis was set for Tuesday afternoon. Police Officer Troy Harris...

MANILA (AFP) - The Philippines have put civil defense personnel on alert for possible deadly volcanic mudflows as a tropical storm began bearing down on a volcano that has been spitting ash for weeks. Just before she left for a visit to Europe, President Gloria Arroyo said the civil defense office had prepared contingency measures in case rain from the storm mixes with ash on the slopes of Bulusan volcano to form deadly mudflows. Arroyo said two C-130 cargo planes, eight helicopters including the presidential helicopter and a train were ready to travel to the Bicol peninsula south of Manila...

The Deadly VirusThe Influenza Epidemic of 1918 True or False? The Influenza Epidemic of 1918 killed more people than died in World War One.Hard as it is to believe, the answer is true. World War I claimed an estimated 16 million lives. The influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people. One fifth of the world's population was attacked by this deadly virus. Within months, it had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history. The plague emerged in two phases. In late spring of 1918, the first phase, known as the...

AL TAQADDUM, Iraq (May 1, 2006) -- More than 100 years have passed since the fastest pistol-drawing gunfighters dominated the saloons and streets of the American West. Halfway around the world, a different kind of gunfighter is leaving its own mark on insurgent forces in Iraq's own wild west, the Al Anbar Province of Iraq. Known as the Gunfighters, Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369, Marine Aircraft Group 16 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, have been patrolling the Iraqi skies with UH-1N Huey and AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters for nearly seven months, ready to fire their deadly suite of weapons...

In this war freedom should come first not after! In New Hampshire the Motto is Live free or Die! I don't need Bush spying on law abiding americans and taking our freedoms. Anyone who surrenders a square inch of freedom to the government in the name of saftey is a traitor and should be treated like one! Let the Bush Fashists all drop dead! Filthy Commys! LET FREEDOM RING!

Genes of deadly bird flu reveal Chinese origin 22:00 06 February 2006 NewScientist.com news service Debora MacKenzie The H5N1 flu virus has been circulating continuously in poultry in south-eastern China for a decade, scientists have found. A massive genetic analysis shows the virus has mainly been spread by poultry, but also that wild birds carried it from southeast China to Turkey. Yi Guan and colleagues at Shantou University, plus scientists in Xiamen and Hong Kong, say the only way to stop the virus is to control it in southeast China. The Chinese authorities have denied the country is the epicentre...

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey is among the states seeing an increase in deaths from an intestinal bacterial infection that most often strikes older hospital patients who have taken antibiotics. National occurrences are up as well because, officials say, an overuse of antibiotics for other ailments is killing off the "good" bacteria that used to control the growth of Clostridium difficile bacterium. In the Garden State, the number of deaths attributed to the infection has doubled since 1997. State hospital discharge data reviewed by The Record of Bergen County found the infection has sickened 10,000 New Jerseyans a year, killing...

Deadly bird flu found in Cyprus Turkish Cypriot authorities have slaughtered about 1,500 poultry The lethal H5N1 bird flu strain has been detected in birds in northern Cyprus, the European Commission says, the first cases on the island. The commission has ordered an immediate freeze on the transfer of live animals or animal products across the island's Green Line border or to the EU. Neighbouring Turkey has been battling with an outbreak of the H5N1 strain, which has killed at least four people. The lethal strain has killed about 80 people, mostly in Asia, since 2003. A mass cull of...

As bird flu cases rise at a disturbing pace in Turkey, new research offers a bit of hope - it's likely that many people who get it don't become seriously ill and quickly recover. Although not definitive, the new study suggests the virus is more widespread than thought. But it also probably doesn't kill half its victims, a fear based solely on flu cases that have been officially confirmed. "The results suggest that the symptoms most often are relatively mild and that close contact is needed for transmission to humans," wrote Dr. Anna Thorson of Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm...

A WOMAN desperately screamed for help as she was torn apart by a pack of sharks – but onlookers thought she was joking. Up to three sharks struck as Sarah Kate Whiley, 21, was swimming with friends at Amity Point, off Queensland's North Stradbroke Island, about 5.30pm on Saturday. Within seconds they had torn off her arms and mauled her torso and legs. Two fishermen were the first to react, dragging her out of the water on to the beach. Frantic bystanders scrambled for towels to stem the bleeding before a helicopter flew Ms Whiley to a Brisbane hospital, where...

Bush’s giant Right Wing Noise Machine (RWNM) loves to preach about the Bush economic miracle. In fact, the RWNM’s current thinking is Bush doesn’t spend enough time talking about his economic triumphs. If only he did, then everyone would fall in line and believe in the great Bush economic miracle. There is one problem with this argument: it’s a lie. Any way you look at the Bush economy, it comes up short. Today, I want to compare Bush’s job creation record with other economic recoveries. As usual, Bush comes up way short. The national Bureau of Economic Research has identified...

Cell phones prove deadly Contributor in 14 fatalities this year on Toll Road, police say By Joshua Stowe South Bend Tribune Posted on Sun, Dec. 25, 2005 ELKHART – Nick Vilders sees his cell phone as a lifesaver. The Orland man said he’s placed countless calls to stay awake while driving home after a day’s work as a building maintenance employee on the Indiana Toll Road. “I have a cell phone, I ain’t gonna lie,” Vilders said. Police and safety experts say Vilders’ attitude, while common, puts him at risk. They say it’s a mistake to think a person can...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2005 – More than 150 Indiana Army and Air National Guard troops remained on state active duty today supporting recovery operations after the devastating tornado that roared through the southwestern part of the state early Nov. 6. The Guard troops, most of whom already were on duty for weekend drills when the tornado struck at about 2 a.m., responded immediately, said Army Capt. Lisa Kopczynski, Indiana National Guard public affairs officer. About 80 members of the Jaspar-based 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry Regiment, are focusing on security duty, assisting local law enforcement workers and helping manage the site,...

BAGHDAD – After a rocket attack in east Baghdad Oct. 31 killed one Iraqi and wounded three others, U.S. Soldiers arrived at the scene to determine from where the rocket may have been launched. Local Iraqi police evacuated the wounded and secured the site as Iraqi firefighters doused fires caused by the explosions. Task Force Baghdad Soldiers investigated the scene and questioned local residents at the suspected launch site of the rockets. “The Iraqi Police responded very quickly to this terrorist attack,” said Lt. Col. Edward Chesney, deputy commanding officer, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. “It is impossible...

ARLINGTON, Va. (Oct. 23, 2005) -- Marines and family members gathered under sunny skies Sunday at the Arlington National Cemetery to remember service members killed in a terrorist attack at a Marine barracks in Lebanon 22 years ago. The somber ceremony took place where 21 of the 241 servicemembers killed were laid to rest. A memorial stone marking the site sits alongside a Lebanese cedar symbolizing the nation in which they died. The Marines of First Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment were stationed in Beirut, as part of an international peacekeeping force in a nation torn by war. On Oct. 23,...

<p>In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, open wounds exposed to brackish seawater along the Gulf Coast have led to six deaths and 24 other severe infections from Vibrio bacteria, report researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.</p>

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Sept. 29, 2005) -- Think female Marines are any safer than their male counterparts in Iraq? Tell that to Sgt. Alisha J. Harding. “It just wasn’t our day,” said Sgt. Alisha J. Harding, reflecting on the fateful day when she and 12 other servicemembers be-came the target of a car bomb in Fallujah, Iraq, June 23. Harding, along with 11 Marines and one sailor, were traveling to Camp Fallujah in a 7-ton truck when the vehicle was hit. “We were on the way back … from working entry control points searching Iraqi women,” said...

Gun control advocates want to stop Michigan legislators from passing a law allowing people to use deadly force to defend themselves without fear of prosecution.The bills were introduced this month in Michigan. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Million Mom March are calling lawmakers in an attempt to keep the bills from getting out of the House Judiciary Committee. The battle in Michigan over the so-called deadly force legislation is an important one for both sides. It could open the doors to similar laws across the country, a top priority for the National Rifle Association, or stop...

The decade-long debate over what has caused this country's frightening spike of childhood autism once again is exploding… Reigniting the debate is the much-publicized book "Evidence of Harm" by David Kirby, as well as the report titled "Deadly Immunity" by environmental attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In brief, Kirby and Kennedy argue that federal health officials, with the help of vaccine-makers and some in Congress, have deliberately downplayed, even covered up, evidence that thimerosal - a preservative containing mercury - in childhood vaccines is the prime trigger behind the explosion of autism in U.S. children the last 15 years. Although...

As Senator Dick Durbin’s hollow non-apology continues to ring in our ears and Senator Ted Kennedy’s braying, “Iraq is an abysmal failure…,” is replayed daily, is it any wonder that Islamic groups gain in boldness and confidence? Once again, an Islamic publication called “The Party for Islamic Renewal” has published an editorial that smelled up my e-mail box from the second it arrived. In this editorial, by someone apparently afraid to put his name on it, the writer protects himself even more by planting the word “alleged” before everything he says because he knows everything he is saying is a...

An AP Story that ran in USA Today said that Weise posted information about his own mental state in the months before he killed nine people and himself. But the story failed to note that his comments included favorable references to using marijuana or MJ. Weise said, "MJ is my gal of choice." A March 25 Washington Post article by Blaine Harden and Dana Hedgpeth said Weise had serious mental problems but ignored the pot connection. A March 24 Post article by Ceci Connolly and Dana Hedgpeth described "a deeply disturbed youth who had been treated for depression in a...

A towering young loner who always wore a dark trench coat to Red Lake High School went on a shooting spree Monday, killing nine people, including his grandfather and a woman at their home and five students, a teacher and a security guard on campus before turning a gun on himself. At least a dozen other students were wounded by the teenage gunman, identified by tribal members as Jeff Weise, a sophomore who enjoyed Marilyn Manson music and had expressed his admiration for Adolf Hitler on various online forums.

CHINO, Calif. (AP) -- Herds upon herds of Southern California dairy cows are mired udder deep in a thick stew of water, manure and mud - a consequence of record rainfall that has brought economic disaster to farmers. Dairy farmers said this month's deluge in an important region of the nation's top milk-producing state has cost at least $38 million - or at least $2,000 per day per dairy - in lost milk production, dead and sickened animals and damaged infrastructure. The economic hit to the region is the worst since 1997, an infamous El Nino year when dairy farmers...