Free Republic

The Israeli Air Force bombed 40 mosques in Gaza Tuesday night, July 30, in the most extensive operation against Hamas’ religious institutions-cum-military bases so far. In total, at least 50 mosques have been blown up along with their stockpiles of rockets and arms caches. These concentrated air strikes on rocket arsenals are as integral to Operation Protective Edge as the ground work in destroying tunnels. They have been stepped up in advance of the preparations launched by the government on Wednesday for the possible termination of the IDF ground operation in the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of troops. debkafile's...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- An explosion was reported at a closed gas station in the 1400 block of Dixie Highway. Louisville police said several people reported an explosion at the corner of Dixie Highway and Standard Avenue around 12:15 p.m. Thursday. The explosion damaged a truck. Officials said a man was using a chainsaw between the gas station and another building and the sparks set residual gas fumes on fire. There were no injuries reported. According to Louisville police spokeswoman Carey Klain, Steven Askew, the man with the chainsaw, was there to steal piping. Askew, 48, is charged with first-degree wanton...

<p>MOSCOW (Reuters) --A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying a research satellite exploded seconds after blast-off, killing one person in a setback that could hit the international space station program, officials said on Wednesday.</p> <p>The 300-ton unmanned Soyuz-U rocket exploded 29 seconds after take-off from Russia's Arctic Plesetsk cosmodrome late on Tuesday, its blazing debris showering onto the launchpad, an Emergencies Ministry spokesman said.</p>