Free Republic

PITTSBURGH — Allegheny County Police are considering charges against an Oakland Raiders football player for taunting a K-9 officer. The incident occurred after the Steelers game ended Sunday afternoon, according to officials.

Students studying Spanish in a Texas public high school were asked to recite the Mexican national anthem and Mexican pledge of allegiance as part of an assignment, and when one student refused, stating that it upset her, the school district maintains there was nothing wrong with the lesson, writes Madeleine Morgenstern at the Blaze. The incident happened last month at Achieve Early College High School in McAllen, Texas — a city located about 10 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. 15-year-old sophomore Brenda Brinsdon refused to participate, stating that she was particularly offended because the presentations in teacher Reyna Santos’s class...

DULUTH, Minn. - The driver of a 1997 Honda Civic that struck and killed a dog near Cloquet is suing the dog's owners for damage done to his vehicle. Jeffery Ely was driving on the night of Jan. 4 when Fester, a miniature pinscher, squeezed past owner Nikki Munthe as she was letting in her other dog and ran out onto the road. Ely's car struck Fester, killing the 13-pound dog instantly. Now Ely is suing the Munthes for about $1,100 for damage to his car, time he had to take off from his two jobs to get the car...

ABC News' Christine Byun Report: At a post-debate campaign stop, Republican candidate Fred Thompson explained his reason for refusing to answer a debate question by a show of hands, calling it "monkey business." "I just decided that I wasn't going to engage in any of this monkey business that they like to engage us on sometimes -- making us look like trained monkeys reaching for peanut or something ... 30 seconds is brief enough and when they try to reduce your answer to just a hand raise -- I 'aint going to play that game," the former Tennessee senator said....

Radio Show Host's Actions 'Self-Defense,' DA Says...

There's hardly a topic these days on which President Bush isn't asking the Democratic-controlled Congress to avoid "a reflexive partisan response." That's certainly the case with Iraq, but it also applies to the domestic priorities of health and energy that he set in his State of the Union address. "I have asked Congress to take several vital steps to address these issues," Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address. "Some members gave a reflexive partisan response." He praised the few Democrats who had "welcomed this opportunity to reach across the aisle." "This is a good start," he said. In...

AUSTIN - Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Phillips, the first Republican to hold that post in modern times, announced today he will resign, effective Sept. 3, to teach at the South Texas College of Law in Houston.