Free Republic

Police arrested more than a dozen people and used flash-bang grenades and pepper spray after apparent anarchists and May Day marchers converged in downtown Seattle, throwing pipes, fireworks and rocks, lighting flares and sparking confrontations with officers. Protesters met at Seattle Central Community College at the busy intersection of Broadway and Pine Street and then spilled into the street, blocking traffic.

Kansas Republican Sen. Pat Roberts has just introduced an amendment calling for the Senate to declare the recess appointment of Medicare and Medicaid chief Donald Berwick “an abuse of power.” The nonbinding “sense of the Senate” resolution also calls on Berwick to appear before the Senate Finance Committee to answer questions. The measure is designed to send a message to the White House that Republicans remain angry about President Obama’s decision to short-circuit the confirmation process, before a hearing was held for Berwick, and put Berwick in the job by recess appointment. The president blamed the GOP for its potential,...

Britain hits back at Russia as G8 tension escalates By Graeme Wilson (Filed: 14/07/2006) Tensions between Tony Blair and Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, over human rights and energy security surfaced yesterday as the Prime Minister prepared to fly out to this weekend's G8 summit in St Petersburg. Downing Street offered a robust response after Mr Putin criticised Anthony Brenton, Britain's ambassador to Moscow, for interfering in Russia's "internal" affairs by attending an opposition conference. Mr Putin criticised the ambassador for interfering in domestic affairs The Prime Minister's spokesman said that Mr Brenton had made clear he was not attempting...

Iran nuclear stand-off escalates Iran has broken the international seals at the Natanz plant Iran's dispute with the UN and Western countries has deepened after Tehran resumed nuclear research. As Iran removed UN seals from equipment at Natanz facility, UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Tehran would start small-scale nuclear enrichment. The move was condemned by the US and European countries, which fear Iran is seeking to produce atomic bombs. Tehran denies the accusation, saying it wants to produce nuclear energy only. In a statement from the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Mr ElBaradei said that as...

The escalating civil war over scarce transportation funds in California isn't just north vs. south. Now the battle is urban vs. rural on all matters - from gridlock to pavement repair. With the Schwarzenegger administration, state Legislature and Washington all battling over the hot-button issue of scarce transportation funding, a group of non-government experts has huddled to figure proper money distribution, given myriad political and technical variables. What they found was that everyone had pretty good arguments for a greater share of the funds. The independent re-searchers wound up calling for more road money to solve the problem, hardly a...

In major escalation of a simmering dispute, San Diego's retirement board filed suit yesterday in a bid to block City Attorney Michael Aguirre from taking control of the pension system's legal affairs and to retrieve documents he seized from current and former trustees. The Superior Court suit is an aggressive response to Aguirre's claim of jurisdiction over the troubled San Diego City Employees Retirement System and comes at a time of heightened scrutiny by federal investigators. Retirement Board President Frederick W. Pierce IV called Aguirre's actions "illegal, inappropriate and at times outrageous." Aguirre responded by calling the board a "rogue...

Kuwait to close its oilfields if fighting escalates By Jack Fairweather in Kuwait (Filed: 31/01/2003) Kuwait will turn off its oil taps, among the most productive in the world, if full-blown war breaks out against Iraq, said officials yesterday, threatening to sharply increase petroleum prices. Burgan oil field, which was rebuilt after its destruction by Iraqi forces occupying Kuwait during the Gulf War Kuwaiti officials have prepared an evacuation of the country's oilfields, many of which are near the border with Iraq where 110,000 US troops are gathering for military action. An official at the state-owned oil company, Kuwait Petroleum...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate is taking up what may be the most controversial of President Bush's judicial nominees, with Republicans calling for a quick confirmation of Washington lawyer Miguel Estrada while Democrats are demanding a thorough examination of his credentials. Attorney General John Ashcroft plans to personally call for Estrada's confirmation, showing the Bush administration's deep desire to get the Honduran native on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, a stepping stone for three current justices on the Supreme Court. Democrats plan to stand in Estrada's way. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., one of the leading opponents to...