Free Republic

CORPUS CHRISTI — Officials were trying to nurse a manatee back to health in an aquarium today, the day after using a net and crane to hoist it from warm waters near a Citgo refinery. It was the first time one of the endangered animals was rescued by wildlife officials off the Texas coast, far from the warm waters they usually frequent off Florida and Mexico. "I would say it was in probably critical condition," said Allan Strand, field supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in South Texas. "It was not difficult to rescue. It was hugging the...

Huge 'launch ring' to fling satellites into orbit 16:00 03 October 2006 NewScientist.com news service David Shiga A ring of superconducting magnets fires a projectile off a ramp at 8 kilometres per second, fast enough to reach orbit (Artist’s conception: J Fiske/LaunchPoint) A cone-shaped shell would protect the payload during its passage through the atmosphere into space, and includes a rocket at the back end to adjust its trajectory (Illustration: J Fiske/LaunchPoint Technologies) An enormous ring of superconducting magnets similar to a particle accelerator could fling satellites into space, or perhaps weapons around the world, suggest the findings of a...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2006 – Amid national debate about whether or not to stay the course in Iraq, President Bush today firmly placed himself in the “stay” category. It’s imperative America continues to support the new Iraqi government in its struggle against an insurgency that seeks to divide and topple it, Bush told White House reporters here. “A failed Iraq would make America less secure,” Bush declared. The end of democracy in Iraq, he said, would provide a haven for terrorists and extremists in the heart of the Middle East. Bush acknowledged that some Americans are saying it’s time...

BAGHDAD -- Soldiers from 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, detained two suspected terrorists and seized a large weapons cache in a warehouse during a search of Nur and Ghazalyia Friday in support of Operation Together Forward. The weapons and munitions seized included more than 580 mortar rounds, about 39,000 rounds of small-arms ammunition, more than 100 rocket-propelled grenades, more than 270 rockets, two landmines, a shape charge, a crater charge, 11 fragmentation grenades, several machine guns, ammunition drums, 5,000 feet of detonation cord, mortar tubes and bipods, land mines, more than 50 rocket motors and...

Pakistan launches huge nuclear arms drive · Satellite images reveal major building site· US and China embroiled in buildup of rival arsenals Randeep Ramesh, Julian Borger in Washington Tuesday July 25, 2006 The Guardian (UK) A satellite image showing Pakistan's Khushab plutonium production reactor. Photograph: EPA Pakistan appears to have embarked on a dramatic expansion of its nuclear arsenal with the construction of a new heavy water reactor capable of producing enough plutonium for up to 50 warheads a year, according to a report released yesterday by a US thinktank. The report by the Institute for Science and International Security...

Scores dead as huge tsunami slams into Java By Marianne Kearney in Jakarta and Sebastien Berger (Filed: 18/07/2006) An undersea earthquake sent a tsunami crashing into the Indonesian island of Java yesterday, killing at least 86 people and flattening homes and beach huts in resorts and villages along its south coast. An Indonesian survivor searches for his relatives among 41 bodies at Pangandaran health centre in West Java Scores more people were missing last night and the toll was expected to rise after areas of the densely-populated shore were destroyed by waves several yards high. Thousands fled to higher ground...

Democrats rip GOP on Social Security planBy MIKE WILSON, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 21 minutes ago DES MOINES, Iowa - The Republican plan to privatize Social Security could cause huge debt for decades, a Democratic candidate seeking a House seat in Iowa, a state with a high concentration of elderly residents, said Saturday. "If the Republican plan is allowed to pass, future generations both here and across the country will be saddled with decades of debt and no guaranteed retirement security," Bruce Braley said in the Democrats' weekly radio address. Braley, 48, a lawyer from Waterloo, faces Republican Mike...

New Trojan asteroid hints at huge Neptunian cloud 19:00 15 June 2006 NewScientist.com news service Kelly YoungThe four known Neptune Trojans are shown in their position 60 degrees ahead of Neptune. The known clusters of Trojan asteroids on either side of Jupiter are also shown (Illustration: Scott Sheppard) A newly discovered asteroid in Neptune's orbit indicates the existence of a much larger, but as-yet-unseen, cloud of rocks in that region. The asteroids in Neptune's orbit might even outnumber those in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, the new research suggests." The asteroid was discovered by Scott Sheppard of...

The Dixie Chicks appear to be more popular than the president these days. President Bush's approval rating has plummeted, but the Chicks are on top of the pop and country charts with their first album since publicly criticizing Bush three years ago. They did it without the support of country radio, which largely ignored the Dixie Chicks after lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience in 2003 that the group was ashamed Bush was from their home state of Texas. The new album, "Taking the Long Way," took the No. 1 spot Wednesday on the country albums chart and...

A gaping security flaw in the latest versions of Symantec's anti-virus software suite could put millions of users at risk of a debilitating worm attack, Internet security experts warned May 25. Researchers at eEye Digital Security, the company that discovered the flaw, said it could be exploited by remote hackers to take complete control of the target machine "without any user action." "This is definitely wormable. Once exploited, you get a command shell that gives you complete access to the machine. You can remove, edit or destroy files at will," said eEye Digital Security spokesperson Mike Puterbaugh.

SAN DIEGO -- An American teenager was caught sneaking two illegal immigrants in the trunk of a stolen Acura in September 2004. Chances are he wasn't too worried: It was the third time in two weeks he had been caught smuggling migrants, one or two at a time. After that, the 19-year-old might have given up smuggling, but a fourth arrest two months later suggests he simply got better at it, or luckier. Again, he was released without criminal charges. "This is an example of a kid who knows the system," states an internal Border Patrol document that decries the...

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2006 – The steps taken last week to form a unified Iraqi government were a huge accomplishment, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today. "This is THE government of Iraq," Rumsfeld told Pentagon reporters. "It's their government in a sovereign nation. And it's a thrilling accomplishment." Four months of tough negotiations and politicking bore fruit April 22, when the Iraqi parliament elected several high-ranking officials, including its president, Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, who then named Jawad al Maliki, a Shiite, as prime minister-designate. The new leadership has a month to pull together an Iraqi cabinet that...

Australia bears onslaught of huge cyclone 11:22 20 March 2006 NewScientist.com news service Emma Young, Sydney A devastating tropical cyclone has ripped through north-eastern Australia, injuring people and destroying homes with gusts of up to 290 kilometres (180 miles) per hour. And another cyclone – the Southern hemisphere's hurricane equivalent – is on its way.The first cyclone, named Larry, reached maximum (Category 5) intensity at about the time of landfall. It hit the coast at the town of Innisfail, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Cairns, at 0700 Eastern Standard Time (AEST) on Monday. Larry is now weakening as...

Meehan leads US House with campaign funds Representative Martin T. Meehan has gained national exposure in recent years as a champion of efforts to reduce the influence of money in politics. Now, the Lowell Democrat is poised to achieve a new distinction: He is days away from becoming the only House member in the nation with a campaign war chest that tops $5 million, with an eye on a possible run for the Senate. some $2 million more than any of the other 434 House members, and $2.7 million more than any of the nine other representatives from Massachusetts.... With...

Scientists have discovered a huge crater in the Saharan desert, the largest one ever found there. The crater is about 19 miles (31 kilometers) wide, more than twice as big as the next largest Saharan crater known. It utterly dwarfs Meteor Crater in Arizona, which is about three-fourths of a mile (1.2 kilometers) in diameter. In fact, the newfound crater, in Egypt, was likely carved by a space rock that was itself roughly 0.75 miles wide in an event that would have been quite a shock, destroying everything for hundreds of miles. For comparison, the Chicxulub crater left by a...

Bush plans huge propaganda campaign in Iran · Congress asked for $75m to fund programme · Rice to visit Gulf states as nuclear crisis deepens Ewen MacAskill and Julian Borger in Washington Thursday February 16, 2006 The Guardian (UK) The Bush administration made an emergency request to Congress yesterday for a seven-fold increase in funding to mount the biggest ever propaganda campaign against the Tehran government, in a further sign of the worsening crisis between Iran and the west. Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, said the $75m (£43m) in extra funds, on top of $10m already allocated for...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Jan. 13, 2006) — While conducting an air-insertion mission into the village of Shakaria, Iraq, Task Force Ironhorse Soldiers killed several insurgents, detained one and discovered a significant weapons cache Jan. 11. As part of Operation Falcon Sweep, Black Hawk helicopters landed near Shakaria Wednesday morning and Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment swept the village to identify terrorists. The 2-502nd Soldiers received small arms and indirect fire from insurgent forces at approximately 10:45 a.m. The Soldiers returned fire, killing six terrorists and wounding one other. Following the firefight, Soldiers discovered two dead insurgents...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2005 – Iraqi and U.S. forces have removed more than 4,200 mortar rounds from a major weapons cache found Nov. 27 outside of an abandoned military base near Kirkuk, Iraq, military officials reported. Iraqi soldiers discovered the buried rounds that morning. The soldiers removed about 800 mortar rounds before realizing the cache was much larger than originally thought. U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team were called in to help excavate the munitions and secure the area. The ammunition was buried under concrete blocks with dirt mounded on top. All ammunition removed so...

News Tip: Upcoming Supreme Court Case 'Huge' for Abortion Rights, Law Professor Says “The question in this case isn’t whether Roe v. Wade is going to be overturned, but whether it is going to be severely undermined,’’ says Neil Siegel Monday, November 28, 2005 Durham, N.C. -- On Nov. 30, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider a challenge to a New Hampshire law that could significantly affect abortion rights, a Duke University law professor says. In Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, the Court will consider, among other things, how courts should analyze abortion restrictions and whether a...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2005 – The U.S. commander in chief today dismissed talk of any major withdrawal of American troops from Iraq before victory over insurgents there is achieved. "We've heard some people say pull them out right now. That's a huge mistake. It'd be a terrible mistake," President Bush told reporters during a visit to U.S. Border Patrol headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Bush said a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq would damage military morale, encourage the enemy, and send a bad message to the Iraqis. "And I want our troops to come home, but I don't...