Free Republic

2/7/2008 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations Feb. 6, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here. In Afghanistan, an F-15E Strike Eagle dropped a guided bomb unit-38 onto a position where enemy combatants were located. The on-scene joint terminal attack controller declared the mission a success. A Royal Air Force GR-7 Harrier conducted shows of force in the vicinity of Kajaki Dam in order to deter enemy activities in the area. The missions were confirmed successful by the JTAC. In...

MANCHESTER, Mo.- A music teacher who twice ordered a seven-year-old pupil to hit himself in the head with drum mallets will not return to the Parkway School District next year. The incident happened on February Ninth in teacher Paul Provencio's music class at Carman Trails Elementary School in suburban St. Louis. State officials say the 36-year-old teacher intended the head-banging as a lesson to Justin Barricklow about hitting the drums too hard.

SOUTHEAST Asian militant network Jemaah Islamiah has formed an assassination squad to attack police, prosecutors and judges, a Singapore newspaper said today, citing an Indonesian official. Ansyaad Mbai, head of the anti-terrorism division at Indonesia's security ministry, said the group planned to target a list of "infidels" including the rector of a Christian University and an official at the Attorney-General's Office in central Java, the Straits Times reported.

Hit, Feb 16, (VOI)- U.S. forces on Friday afternoon imposed a four-day curfew on the western Anbar city of Hit, city residents said. "U.S. army vehicles declared today afternoon through loudspeakers a curfew for four days on vehicles and persons in Hit city and warned residents against violating the order," a city resident told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) on the phone. Another resident told VOI, "the city residents kept indoors as shops were closed while the city streets were empty of vehicles and pedestrians save the U.S. vehicles that were roaming all parts of the city."...

An 11-year-old girl may be alive today because a Good Samaritan saw her being dragged underneath a moving van and took bold action to force the van's driver to stop. The girl, gravely injured in the hit-and-run accident about 6 p.m. Sunday, remains in Regions Hospital in St Paul. Police Chief Manila "Bud" Shaver, who spoke with the girl's parents on Sunday night, said the girl's injuries are severe. He was checking on her condition today. The accident happened near the corner of Wentworth Avenue and South Robert Street. "I think she would have been dead in another block or...

A bill that Senate Democrats have touted as a means to curb corruption in Washington could instead target some political bloggers with new regulations and even criminal penalties. The legislation, which began as an attempt to rewrite federal lobbying laws in the aftermath of the Jack Abramoff scandal, has ballooned to more than 9,000 words and a thicket of complicated rules. It was the subject of a failed attempt by Senate Democrats on Wednesday to defeat a Republican filibuster over a line-item veto, and debate is continuing Thursday afternoon. Much of the bill's wording is obtuse. But one section says...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A piece of space debris punched a small hole in one of space shuttle Atlantis' radiator panels during its recent 12-day spaceflight, NASA said on Thursday. Damage from debris has been NASA's top safety issue since the destruction of shuttle Columbia in February 2003, when insulating foam came off the ship's fuel tank during launch and punched a hole in the shuttle's protective heat shield. The radiator damage, which measures slightly more than one-tenth of an inch in diameter, was found during routine post-landing inspections at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA spokeswoman Jessica...

Fiestas hit by fear of offending Muslims By Fiona Govan in Madrid (Filed: 03/10/2006) Spanish villages are abandoning the centuries-old tradition of burning effigies of the Prophet Mohammed for fear of offending Muslims. The annual festivals, across Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands, feature locals donning medieval costumes to re-enact battles between "Moors and Christians" during the Reconquista (reconquest) period. The fiestas celebrate events in 1492, when the Catholic kings of northern Spain defeated and expelled Muslim forces, ending more than 800 years of Moorish rule in the Iberian peninsula. Traditionally the festivities have culminated with the burning of mannequins...

Nation's economic growth leaves some areas behindBy Liz Sidoti Associated Press Unemployment rates in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and West Virgiria are higher than the national average. Kentucky - 6.3 percent Ohio - 5.8 percent Indiana - 5.7 percent West Virginia - 5.4 percent FALMOUTH, Ky. - Used boots fetch $3 and old salt-and-pepper shakers bring in a buck at a makeshift flea market along U.S. 27, presumably not what President Bush and Republicans have in mind when they herald a vibrant economy. Times are "very good for the rich and very, very bad for the poor" who "can't afford to...

Soldier Hit by Anti-Tank Mine Praises Up-Armor Up-armored humvee saves the lives of soldiers hit by anti-tank mine. U.S. Army Pfc. Durwood Blackmon 25th Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs TIKRIT, IRAQ, Sept. 18, 2006 -- U.S. soldiers are issued cumbersome protective gear that they have to lug, carry and drag everywhere they go. With heavy steel doors and blast shields, vehicles in the Army are no exception either. For one soldier of the 25th Infantry Division, Combat Aviation Brigade, however, both of these security defenses helped to save his life and the life of his fellow comrades when their...

Mastermind of 9/11 had 'plot to hit Heathrow' By Duncan Gardham (Filed: 09/09/2006) The mastermind behind the September 11 attacks on America went on to plan a hijack plot to attack London, it was alleged yesterday. Ramzi bin al-Shibh was tasked by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to recruit operatives in Saudi Arabia for an attack on Heathrow Airport Four men in Saudi Arabia had already been recruited to fly aircraft into Heathrow airport when the plot was allegedly thwarted, according to United States sources. President George W Bush suggested that the Canary Wharf tower in London's Docklands might also have been...

China hit by strongest typhoon for half a century · 1.5 million evacuated, state of emergency declared· Summer of damage for storm-devastated region Jonathan Watts in Beijing Friday August 11, 2006The Guardian (UK) The most powerful typhoon to strike China for half a century tore into one of the country's manufacturing heartlands yesterday, killing at least two people, injuring 80 and forcing the evacuation of 1.5 million residents. With winds of up to 135mph, typhoon Saomai hit the coastal town of Mazhan in Zhejiang province, dumping a torrent of rain on a region still recovering from earlier floods. A dozen...

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2006 – Extremists in Afghanistan attacked coalition forces from a religious site yesterday, and targeted several civilian areas this week, including a bridge, a school and a wedding party, military officials in Afghanistan reported. Extremists began firing on coalition forces in the village of Nowzad in Helmand province yesterday. The sniper fire came from the direction of a religious shrine. There were no reported injuries to coalition forces or damage to equipment. In a separate incident in Kandahar province, a supply convoy received small-arms fire from a nearby mosque. While there were no casualties in this incident,...

PIMA — The Church of Cognizance, which has quietly operated here since 1991, has an unusual tenet — its worshippers deify and use marijuana as part of their faith. Until federal authorities charged them with possessing 172 pounds of their leafy green sacrament earlier this year, church founders Dan and Mary Quaintance say they smoked, ate or drank marijuana daily as a way of becoming more spiritually enlightened. But now, with added conspiracy charges, the Quaintances face up to 40 years each in prison in a case they call religious persecution. Federal prosecutors say religious freedom does not exempt the...

Germans hit road in search for jobs By Kate Connolly in Berlin (Filed: 08/07/2006) More Germans are emigrating than at any time since the war, driven from home by unemployment or the search for better job prospects. Around 145,000 mainly young people turned their backs on the country last year, more than at any time since 1945, and almost a three-fold increase since the 1980s, according to the Federal Office of Statistics. The favoured countries were America, followed by Switzerland, Poland, Austria, Britain and France. Doctors and academics constitute the largest groups of those leaving. Doctors in particular are choosing...

WASHINGTON, June 23, 2006 – The Missile Defense Agency and the Navy conducted a successful "hit to kill" missile defense test yesterday off the island of Kauai, Hawaii. The test involved the launch of a Standard Missile 3 from the Aegis-class cruiser USS Shiloh to hit a "separating" target, meaning that the target warhead separated from its booster rocket, officials said. "Hit to kill" technology uses direct collision of the interceptor missile with the target, destroying the target using only kinetic energy from the force of the collision. It was the seventh successful intercept test involving the sea-based component of...

HIT, Iraq (June 16, 2006) -- Four months into a year-long deployment in this poverty stricken city of 30,000, U.S. soldiers say they’ve gotten a hold of this insurgent-heavy region, and are confident the Iraqi Army will spearhead operations by year’s end. Iraqi soldiers are leading daily patrols through the town, interacting with the local populace, and even catching a few bad guys – solid proof to their American counterparts that an American-to-Iraqi military turnover in operations is only a matter of time. Just two weeks ago, an Iraqi-led patrol caught two men with 122 mm artillery rounds in a...

HIT, Iraq, June 4, 2006 – Bringing the Iraqi army to the lead in the country's beleaguered Anbar province is a tough assignment. But Marines assigned to the military transition team at Firm Base 4 here have taken it on. Vehicles return from a patrol in Hit, Iraq. Army troops work with Iraqi soldiers to maintain order in the Euphrates River city in Anbar province. Photo by Jim Garamone  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Along with soldiers of Battalion Task Force 1-36, they are working to train Iraqi soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Division. Anbar...

I could use a bit of help ! NBC is running another "Bush-bash" this weekend:the claim being the President thrice refused to act against Abu Musab Zarqawi in June 2002 "when he was vulnerable". NBC is relying on Michael O'Hanlon of the (liberal Democrat) Brookings Institution,and ROGER CRESSY , their Counter-terrorism "expert". I know Cressy once worked with Richard Clarke,on the Critical infrastructure protection board (computer security),and is said to have been a member of the National Security Council. I'm interested in learning when Cressy last worked for the gov't,and anything anyone knows about O'Hanlon. Thanks !

Federal prosecutors alleged Monday that Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano recently conspired with known mobsters in Chicago to put a prison "hit" on the man he allegedly hired to threaten a Los Angeles Times reporter. The hit, according to court papers, was allegedly aimed at Alexander Proctor, an ex-convict who was arrested for placing a dead fish with a rose in its mouth and a sign that said "Stop" on the windshield of reporter Anita Busch's car in the summer of 2002. When an FBI informant later surfaced with Proctor on tape boasting that he was working for Pellicano, federal...

Think Pompeii got hit hard? Worse eruptions lurk By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent Mon Mar 6, 5:03 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The preserved footprints and abandoned homes of villagers who fled a giant eruption of Mount Vesuvius 3,800 years ago show the volcano could destroy modern-day Naples with little warning, Italian and U.S. researchers reported on Monday. The eruption buried entire villages as far as 15 miles (25 kilometres) from the volcano, cooking people as they tried to escape and dumping several feet (metres) of ash and mud. New excavations show far more extensive damage than that...

Planet's Population to Hit 6.5 Billion Saturday By Leonard David LiveScience Senior Writer posted: 24 February 2006 A population milestone is about to be set on this jam-packed planet. On Saturday, Feb. 25, at 7:16 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the population here on this good Earth is projected to hit 6.5 billion people. Along with this forecast, an analysis by the International Programs Center at the U.S. Census Bureau points to another factoid, Robert Bernstein of the Bureau's Public Information Center advised LiveScience. Mark this on your calendar: Some six years from now, on Oct. 18, 2012 at 4:36 p.m....

Iran 'confident and ready to hit back at US' By Alec Russell in Washington and Anton La Guardia (Filed: 03/02/2006) Iran's clerical regime is supremely confident, has a firm grip on power and is ready to retaliate against attacks by America or Israel with missiles or by activating terrorist allies, according to the latest US intelligence assessment. In his first public address on the threats facing the US, John Negroponte, its national intelligence director, delivered an implied rebuke to those in Washington hoping the West can engineer regime change in Teheran. John Negroponte: 'Concern' But as the International Atomic Energy...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HIT, Iraq (Jan. 17, 2006) -- In the middle of a relaxed game of soccer, the frantic call for counter-fire brings the fun to an abrupt end. While the ball continues to roll, Marines of the 81mm mortar platoon race to their guns and scramble into Kevlar helmets and dusty flak jackets. “We [the 81mm mortar platoon] can do all types of missions,” said Lance Cpl. Jesse L. Evans, of Clifton Springs, N.Y., a mortarman with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines. “We fire counter-fire missions against insurgent mortar teams, fire illumination missions, or even mark...

HIT, Iraq (Jan. 6, 2006) -- Pushing out from their combat outposts, Marines from Battalion Landing Team, 1st Bn., 2nd Marine Regiment, recently began conducting foot and motorized patrols in the city of Hit, Iraq. During these patrols, Marines executed counter mortar and improvised explosive device sweeps on desert roads and in local neighborhoods to keep coalition forces and Iraqi citizens safe from insurgent attacks. The patrols are part of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable)’s ongoing counterinsurgency efforts in the Al Anbar province. “We are conducting these patrols to make our presence known to both the locals...

HIT, Iraq (Jan. 3, 2006) -- While many across the globe celebrated the first day of the New Year with traditional family and friend gatherings, the engineers of MEU Service Support Group 22 had a different way to start 2006; improving the roadways of Hit, Iraq. Working in the pitch black of a moonless night, the engineers of MSSG-22, the combat service support element of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), are doing their part to develop the area, filling seemingly endless lines of potholes that are scattered along main routes in and around the town. “It can...

Fraud trial will hit heart of American Right By Francis Harris in Washington (Filed: 17/12/2005) The days are gone when "Casino Jack" Abramoff could summon America's most powerful congressmen to his own restaurant near the White House, find jobs for their wives in public relations firms and arrange for their aides to fly business class to glamorous destinations. Mr Abramoff, 46, used to be one of the most influential people in Washington, the so-called "superlobbyist" whose contacts on Capitol Hill inspired awe. But now he is at the centre of political storm that is capable of sweeping the Republican majority...

FORT RILEY, Kan. (Army News Service, Nov. 30, 2005) -- Although no injuries were reported, the tornado that struck Fort Riley Nov. 27 displaced 17 military families and damaged nearly 33 sets of quarters to the point they were uninhabitable, post officials said. Garrison emergency crews and recovery teams responded to the tornado within minutes of touch down, establishing a command post in the Ellis Heights housing area, which bore the brunt of the tornado's wrath. Many of the displaced families were relocated to local hotels at no charge to the individuals, while several families elected to stay with friends...

Coalition forces have launched Operation Iron Hammer in the city of Hit. This is a multi-battalion operation consisting of one Iraqi and two to three U.S. battalions;:Approximately 500 Iraqi Army soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division and 1,500 Marines and Sailors from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit along with 500 Soldiers from 2nd Battalion-114th Field Artillery Regiment.” The Coalition forces currently occupy Hit, but Iron Hammer is directed at a portion of the city called the Hai Al Becker region which lies on the Eastern bank of the Euphrates River. Intelligence indicates the area is “an al-also believed...

HIT, Iraq (Oct. 13, 2005) -- Navy Seabees and Marines from Regimental Combat Team-2 and Soldiers from Task Force 2-114, Mississippi National Guard, repaired a section of bridge here yesterday that was heavily damaged by an insurgent car bomb September 4. The bridge spans the Euphrates River connecting Hit to the suburb of At Turbah on the eastside of the river. Navy Seabees conducted site surveys and assessments on the bridge and decided the best way to get the two cities connected again was by prefabricating a patch for the bridge to repair the damaged section. “They rehearsed the move...

Hurricane-Felled Timber Worth Billions United Press International U.S. timber companies are scrambling to harvest tons of timber felled by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The companies are moving as quickly as possible to recover the millions of trees before they rot, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Industry analysts estimate that more than 20 billion board feet are down, enough to build 1 million houses. Timber down in Louisiana is worth $900 million; in Mississippi, the felled timber is worth $2.4 billion, experts estimate.

UNDER THE COVERS, CONSERVATIVE-STYLE By Azi Paybarah Two new books for the kiddies are hitting stores—one that will help get them laid, and another to turn those one-night-stand spawn into good little conservatives. First up is the long-awaited The O'Reilly Factor for Kids. Those with strong visual imaginations will doubtless be pleased to learn that O'Reilly (as he frequently refers to himself) didn't get laid until he was twenty. But it's about the children, and O'Reilly gives spin-free lessons about teenage sex, drugs, and what kind of junior high school girls turns him on. The Long Island native spills the...

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. (Sept. 21, 2005) -- It was in Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 movie “Full Metal Jacket” that R. Lee Ermey portrayed Gunnery Sgt. Hartman, the quintessential Marine Corps drill instructor and for many Marines, a movie version of the nightmare they overcame in training. The movie is a staple on nearly every Marines shelf and has easily become the most quoted and re-enacted film in Corps history … for now. In the coming months and into 2006, the film industry will again turn its focus to telling the Marine Corps story. On Nov. 4, "Jarhead”...

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait (Army News Service, Sept. 8, 2005) -- More than 800 Soldiers on duty in Iraq and Kuwait have been directly impacted by the wrath of Hurricane Katrina, and the Army has sent a newly created “Tiger Team” to Camp Victory, Iraq, to help them. The Tiger Team, led by Brig. Gen. Sean Byrne, director of Military Personal Management for the U.S. Army, was established to identify Soldiers who have family and/or property in the affected regions. More than 545 Soldiers from the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Brigade Combat Team in Iraq were identified as having property and...

FEMA director arrives in BR Monday, August 29, 2005 FEMA Director Mike Brown arrived at the state Office of Emergency Preparedness in Baton Rouge shortly before 11 a.m. and joined a conference call with Gov. Kathleen Blanco and other federal and state officials. Brown will hold a press briefing with Blanco at 3:30 p.m., although state officials could also provide more information after a noon conference call with local officials who are tracking the storm damage. Researchers watching the storm from Baton Rouge have gotten reports of 6 feet of water at Jackson Barracks in the Lower 9th Ward, as...

ZHUKOVSKY, Russia, Aug. 21, 2005 – Staff Sgt. Christy Jeffreys isn't new to traveling. In the last nine years since she's been in the Air Force, her job as a boom operator on the KC-10 Extender has taken her to more than 10 different countries. But this was the first time her job has also made her feel like a celebrity. Jeffreys, a reservist assigned to the 79th Air Refueling Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., was part of a team of about 100 people representing the U.S. military at the Moscow International Air Show and Space Salon here...

SANDPOINT, Idaho -- Defendants in several misdemeanor drug cases that were thrown out of court for improper police procedure are now asking Bonner County to pay them damages totaling $130,000. Officials have not yet responded to four tort claims filed recently against the county, naming Sheriff Elaine Savage, Deputy Matt Hathaway and the members of the County Commission. Each of the four claims asks $25,000 in punitive damages and $7,500 in compensation for civil rights violations. The claims allege that poorly trained officers in the county routinely trample civil liberties. "A pattern of similar incidents in Bonner County patrolmen exhibiting...

HIT, Iraq (August 6, 2005) -- Marines with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, and soldiers from Company 1 Iraqi Security Force recently conducted a familiarization patrol in the surrounding area. The Marines and ISF soldiers are here to provide a permanent presence in the city after completing Operation Saif (Sword). “In the past multi-national forces have swept through cities and left after a week or so,” said Sgt. Oscar F. Aguilera, a 24-year-old squad leader with 4th platoon. “But now that we are here we showing the people that we won’t be leaving and we will stay and...

HIT, Iraq (August 5, 2005) -- Marines with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment have a new weapon in the war against terrorism and it is simple, effective and voluntary. The tip lines provided by Regimental Combat Team-2 allows citizens here and in surrounding communities to assist in the fight to make their city safe and secure while remaining anonymous and safe from reprisal from insurgents. Since March, a tip line was provided for the Hadithah area, which proved ineffective and unsecure. Two new lines were installed a few weeks ago and are ringing off the hook. “We have been advertising...

HIT, Iraq (August 5, 2005) -- “To know what freedom really is, you have to defend it,” said the soft-spoken machine gunner from Company K, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment. “I’m here doing my part because I know what it’s like to not have the freedom many take for granted.” Twenty-four-year-old Cpl. Andrei V. Chernyshev was born in Alma-aty, Kazakhstan in the former Soviet Union were he and his family was denied freedom to practice their faith as Christians, under communist rule. Despite this fact, Chernyshev remembers having a good childhood before moving to the United States with his family...

The Iraqi security forces backed by Marines started on June 28 an implementation of new security operations in the city of Hait [Hit] to root out terrorists’ strongholds, the operation called the sword [Saif]. The number of the arrested by the Iraqi security forces and the multi-national forces in the frame work of their security activities were 29 wanted, among them Arabs carried the Egyptian and Syrian ID, besides arresting a prince of terrorism group and seizing quantities of weapons and various ammunitions.

BAGHDAD, June 28 (Reuters) - U.S. Marines launched a major operation in western Iraq on Tuesday, dispatching 1,000 troops against suspected insurgents in the western Euphrates river valley. "Operation Saif (Sword) began early this morning to root out terrorists and foreign fighters living along the Euphrates River between the cities of Haditha and Hit," the Marines said in a statement. Marine and army units were backed by a company of 100 Iraqi soldiers, it said. The operation, in an area 200 km (125 miles) northwest of Baghdad, is at least the fourth battalion-sized operation the Marines have launched in...

LOS ANGELES - Leonardo DiCaprio was hit with a bottle while attending a Hollywood party given by Paris Hilton's ex-boyfriend and needed about a dozen stitches to close a wound near his ear, People Magazine reported on its Web site. The magazine said DiCaprio was at a party at about 4 a.m. Friday at the home of Rick Salomon when a woman struck him with what appeared to be a beer bottle. No ambulance was called but friends took the actor to a hospital where he received about a dozen stitches, People said. Los Angeles Police Officer Jason Lee, a...

May was a costly month in Iraq: 700 Iraqis and some 80 Americans died, making it one of the bloodiest months of the war. While bombings in Baghdad decreased over the last two weeks as the result of a major sweep by some 40,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen, backed up by 10,000 troops (Operation Lightning/Operation Thunder), insurgent attacks against Iraqi civilians and police have resumed. The continuing attacks have generated the usual sort of stories in the U.S. press: America is mired in a Vietnam-style quagmire. Thus a recent Boston Globe report began by claiming: "Military operations in Iraq have...

Los Angeles Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa got rock-star treatment Wednesday on his first trip to the nation's capital since his stunning election victory. In between standing ovations and signing autographs at a series of speeches, the city's first Hispanic mayor in more than a century told a liberal organization that Democrats are not succeeding nationally because their ranks are too homogeneous. "We need to look long and hard within our movement. You look around this room, and you don't see the kind of diversity we need," Villaraigosa told a mostly white audience at a Campaign for America's Future event. In his...

I remember reading several months ago about some drug they developed from a tree or plant in africa. When people take it they go through this introspective journey and meet with some sort of spiritual being that sets them straight...? No I dont buy it but a "friend" wanted to read it. Thanks

They are dedicated to a country without Arabs and democracy. They see themselves at war with secular Israeli society. They believe they are acting out God's will...An investigation of Israeli religious right wing extremeists who are girding for battle to stop Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from Gaza.

EXCELSIOR, Minn. (AP) - Carver County sheriff's deputies were stationed at Minnetonka Middle School West on Tuesday after the school was tipped to an alleged threat by one student against other students. Paul Moore, a district spokesman, said a parent called the school anonymously last week to tell them threats had been made via instant messaging. "The kids did a great job immediately being in tune to the danger and telling adults, and everyone has been fully cooperative," Moore said. The student has admitted the threats and is not in school, Moore said. Data privacy rules prevent the district from...

Infectious Evolution: Ancient virus hit apes, not our ancestors, in the genesMarch 5 Bruce Bower A vicious virus infected ancestral chimpanzees and gorillas in Africa between 4 million and 3 million years ago. Not only did it kill a great many of these primates, but it also infiltrated the surviving animals' genomes, altering the course of evolution. That's the picture emerging from a new analysis of modern-primate DNA. Around 1.5 million years ago, this virus of the class called retroviruses also infected ancestors of modern baboons and macaques, two African monkeys, reports geneticist Evan E. Eichler of the University of...

SAINT JOHN, N.B. - Three teenage boys have been arrested for allegedly conspiring to seize control of a school and methodically murder some of its students and teachers. Police found gunpowder and other material used for making pipe bombs at the boys' homes and believe the youths had practised making bombs. The boys, aged 15 to 17, were Saint John air cadets and their alleged plot was planned for April 20, the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre where 12 students and a teacher were killed. At a Saint John bail hearing for the two eldest teenagers on...