Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP)--A South Korean man who met with John Kerry's fund-raisers to discuss creating a new political group for Korean-Americans was an intelligence agent for his country, raising concerns among some U.S. officials that either he or his government may have tried to influence this fall's election. South Korean officials and U.S. officials told The Associated Press that Chung Byung-Man, a consular officer in Los Angeles, actually worked for South Korea's National Intelligence Service. A spokesman for the South Korean consulate office said Chung was sent home in May amid "speculation" he became involved with the Kerry campaign and...

AUSTIN -- A much-criticized plan to allow individuals without formal education training to teach high school classes narrowly won tentative approval Friday night from the state Board for Educator Certification. The 5-4 vote followed five hours of emotional debate and left some teachers in the audience in tears. The proposal next goes before the state Board of Education. "It waters down certification standards significantly," said Lauren Whelan, a government affairs attorney with the Association of Texas Professional Educators. "It's a slap in the face to current teachers who have taken the time to get this training." Board member Adele Quintana,...

ORLANDO, Fla. - A couple that held a fund-raiser Thursday for Bill McBride, Florida's Democratic nominee for governor, have fought for years to end the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba and once had Elian Gonzalez over for dinner. Elizabeth Bagley, President Clinton's ambassador to Portugal, and her husband, Smith Bagley, an heir to the R.J. Reynolds tobacco fortune, were expected to raise more than $100,000 for McBride at their home in Washington, D.C. When told about the Bagleys' anti-embargo background, McBride campaign manager Cathy Kelly said, "I don't know about this." McBride could cost himself votes among Florida's Cuban-American community...