Free Republic

IN the most decisive move of its kind in the history of the wrestling business, the WWE have suspended many of their biggest name wrestlers for breaking drug rules. The action came after the 10 men – allegedly including former world champions Edge, King Booker and Randy Orton as well as Mr Kennedy and ECW champ John Morrison – were identified as clients of Signature Pharmacy in Orlando. That company was busted by cops in February for the distribution of steroids and other prescription drugs to clients who had not been examined by a doctor. It has now been established...

ACAPULCO, Mexico - President Felipe Calderon announced Friday that 7,600 soldiers have massed in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero to go after drug gangs that have committed beheadings and other violence in the resort city of Acapulco in recent months. Calderon had already sent more than 10,000 troops to two other states since taking office on Dec. 1, promising a tough response to organized crime that claimed the lives of at least 2,000 Mexicans last year. The soldiers, who arrived Sunday, joined more than 1,000 troops that started conducting random checks on vehicles throughout Acapulco last week. The operation...

ATLANTA - Five men convicted in Miami for being unregistered Cuban intelligence agents are not entitled to a new trial, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. The five argued on appeal that pervasive community prejudice against the Cuban government and publicity surrounding the case prevented them from receiving a fair trial. A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit threw out all the convictions last August, ruling that pretrial publicity combined with pervasive anti-Castro feeling in Miami didn't allow for a fair trial. The government asked the full appeals court to reconsider. The entire 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, with...

MEXICO CITY - Wracked by violent drug crime and too poor to arm its police properly, the Mexican state of Guerrero is seeking a $24 million bank loan to buy more guns and security equipment. The local government plans to use the credit, approved by its Congress, to get guns, communications gear and police cars for the most cash-strapped parts of Guerrero, one of Mexico's poorest states, the state government said on Friday. "We want to seek a credit line to acquire transportation and arms," a state government spokesman said. Guerrero, whose craggy hills hide numerous marijuana and poppy fields,...

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) - For generations, leftist activists have fought the Institutional Revolutionary Party in the southern state of Guerrero through the ballot box and the rifle. After skirmishes, massacres and hundreds of martyrs, they were celebrating victory Monday with dancing and the honking of horns in the state's famous resort, Acapulco. Official state election results showed former Acapulco Mayor Zeferino Torreblanca with a stunning victory, 55 to 42 percent, over the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which has run Guerrero for 76 years. "After nearly 50 years of social struggle, we have achieved the miracle of the vote," said...

Vladimir Guerrero pulled ahead of a crowded field to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award. The free-swinging right fielder outclassed the others in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, receiving 21 out of a possible 28 first-place votes.

Laredoan writing about Latina politicians By Tricia Cortez Times staff writer St. Mary’s University professor Sonia Garcia, a Laredo native, is leading a groundbreaking project to write the first book that will document the lives and contributions of the first Mexican-American female political office holders in Texas. After toying with the idea for five years, Garcia and four other Latina Ph.D’s in political science have teamed up to write “Politicas: Latina Trailblazers in the Texas Political Arena.” These five professors are the only Latinas with doctorate degrees in political science in Texas. Their book will be published by University of...

Redistricting foes bash move GOP-fueled bid sparks outcry at Lubbock hearing By JOHN FUQUAY AVALANCHE-JOURNAL Some of the harshest remarks at a congressional redistricting hearing Thursday in Lubbock were an attack on the process rather than the boundaries. Speakers at the daylong hearing, one of six across the state, accused Republicans of gerrymandering and wasting tax dollars. Gov. Rick Perry has called a special session on redistricting that will convene Monday. The issue has been hotly contested and led 51 Democratic House members to walk out of the regular session in May, busting a quorum and blocking a vote on...

It took Lena Guerrero close to a minute to answer the door of her two-story brick home in Southwest Austin. Through a pretty leaded-glass window, I watched the former Texas Railroad commissioner, once the classic young woman in a hurry, as she methodically made her way down the hall with the help of a walker. She greeted me warmly, but her words came in a careful cadence, as if her full-throttle personality had downshifted to a more cautious pace. These days, Lena is saving her energy for the most important fight of her life—against brain cancer. "It is inoperable," the...