Free Republic

A small plane crash that killed a Jordanian national and injured another man in Connecticut on Tuesday was "an intentional act," The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement on Wednesday. The unnamed man who survived the crash also told investigators the wreck was not an accident, the mayor of East Hartford said Wednesday. That man was in critical condition at Bridgeport Hospital, but was able to speak to detectives, officials said.

An arraignment hearing has been set for a former BYU-UVU part-time faculty member charged with sexual abuse. Michio Zushi, 55, is set to appear on July 14 on charges of aggravated sexual abuse of a child after the victim recently came forward to talk to investigators. According to 4th District Court records, Zushi inappropriately touched her beneath her clothing. The incidents occurred between August 2010 and August 2011, and police arrested Zushi in March. Zushi taught Japanese calligraphy at both BYU and UVU but is no longer employed by either university following his arrest. If he is convicted, the presumptive...

It took two and a half years, but Port Colborne, Ont., resident Ian Thomson is finally done defending himself. First he fought the men who tried to murder him. Then, his own government. Mr. Thomson had long been involved in an increasingly angry property dispute with his neighbour. Early one August morning in 2010, four masked men shouting death threats began hurling firebombs at Mr. Thomson’s home. One of his pet dogs was injured; several fires in and around his home were set. Mr. Thomson, an experienced firearms instructor, called 911 immediately. He also armed himself with a .38 calibre...

An Army lieutenant colonel who was on the fast track until Muslim groups complained about a course he taught on radical Islam has a legal foundation in his foxhole. Attorneys for Lt. Col Matthew Dooley, a West Point graduate and highly-decorated combat veteran, was an instructor at the Joint Forces Staff College at the National Defense University, where by most accounts he won praise from students and faculty alike. But when Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey excoriated Dooley during a Pentagon press conference in May, characterizing his course, “Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism” as objectionable,...

A college instructor in Nevada allegedly required students to masturbate and publicly reveal personal sex-fantasies in order to pass a “human-sexuality” class, reads a federal complaint filed in U.S. District Court late last month.Former Western Nevada College student and aspiring social worker, Karen Royce, filed the complaint against college administrators and instructor Tom Kubistant saying freshman and late-high school students were ordered to “openly discuss their orgasms” and masturbate. Kubistant “locked the classroom door” and played a “90-minute movie… depicting females engaging in sex and having an orgasm,” states Royce’s complaint.The complaint also alleges that Kubistant demanded female students turn...

The face of Utah's gun-rights lobbyUtah won't ban out-of-state instructors from qualifying people for a concealed weapon permit despite worries from the gun-rights community about abuses that could erode the value of a Utah permit in other states. Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield, originally was going to push an outright prohibition, but substituted his bill after speaking with lobbyists from the National Rifle Association. Now, his HB204 creates a formal complaint process to address issues with nonresident instructors. An instructor who has complaints is entitled to a hearing, and if found guilty, could lose his or her teaching license and concealed...

TUCSON, Ariz., Nov. 7, 2008 – A little boy from Flagstaff, Ariz., touched the lives of Guardsmen at the 162nd Fighter Wing here last year when he visited the wing to be a fighter pilot for a day, and he continues to inspire unit members today. Air Force Lt. Col. Scott Reinhold, then a major, puts the 162nd Fighter Wing patch on 6-year-old Dominic Magne’s flight suit during the boy’s visit to the Arizona Air National Guard unit April 17, 2007. U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Gabe Johnson  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. At the age of...

TAJI AIR BASE, Iraq, Oct. 20, 2008 – When he graduated from Air Force basic training six years ago, he knew he'd be back one day, "pushing" his own flight of fledgling airmen through their first military paces. Air Force Staff Sgt. Matthew Coltrin, left, watches Iraqi air force Lt. Ali explain the importance of military bearing to a warrant officer during parade practice Sept. 28, 2008, at Taji Air Base, Iraq. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Paul Villanueva II   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. But Air Force Staff Sgt. Matthew Coltrin didn’t know he...

Soldier to 'shoot Afro Americans'From correspondents in Berlin April 15, 2007 02:29am THE German Defence Ministry is investigating an amateur video clip of a German army instructor ordering a recruit training with a machine gun to imagine he is firing at "African Americans" who are insulting his mother. German television networks yesterday aired the video clip. “You're in the Bronx, a black van pulls up in front of you and three African-Americans get out and start really insulting your mother ... now do something!” the instructor says in German while a recruit lying on the ground starts firing his gun.

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Jeremiah Workman Drill Instructor Receives Navy Cross for Bravery in Iraq By Lance Cpl. Heather Golden Parris Island PARRIS ISLAND, S.C., May 26, 2006 —The Marine Corps has a long tradition of excellence in the line of duty. Marines stretching from 1775 to present times are recognized and remembered for their selfless acts and quick thinking on and off the battlefield. On May 12, another Marine was recognized for his actions. Sgt. Jeremiah Workman, a drill instructor with Delta Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, and native of Richwood, Va., received the Navy Cross, second in...

A Roseville Area High School employee was arrested today on charges he molested two students while working as an after-school instructor in the South Washington County School District. Prosecutors claim Richard Parnell Rucker Sr., 42, of St. Anthony, had sexual contact over a two-year period with a Cottage Grove Junior High School student and with a student at Lake Junior High School in Woodbury. The contact occurred between 2003 and last August, according to a Washington County criminal complaint

Gym Instructor Mocks Bush In Front Of First Daughters Tue Apr 25 2006 10:32:05 ET A spinning instructor at Washington, DC's Sports Club/LA mocked President Bush without realizing (believe it or not) that a first daughter was in his class! ROLL CALL reports: The instructor, Glenn Makl, is said to be horrified to learn after class that the president's daughter Jenna was there to hear his making fun of President Bush and handing out of a video clip compilation of some of the president's more memorable gaffes and malapropisms. Jenna Bush was working out at the club with her boyfriend,...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (April 24, 2006) -- In Iraq, leaders have sought the recipe for building a viable police force capable of maintaining the peace and security of a nation torn at the seams. Last year, Capt. Thomas “Tad” Douglas and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Force Reconnaissance Marines cooked up something special by throwing 12 members of the Iraqi Police into combat and ultimately creating one of the finest fighting organizations in Iraq – the 500 member Hilla Special Weapons and Tactics team. In addition to his work in shaping Hilla SWAT, Douglas was responsible for...

U.S. Marine Cpl. Tavonne Douglas, left, poses with his former senior drill instructor, Gunnery Sgt. Alvin Bassfield at Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan. Douglas, from Harlem, N.Y., is a food service specialist with Headquarters and Service Company of the1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Bassfield, from Crewe, Va., is the company gunnery sergeant for B Company.  U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Joe Lindsay U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Tavonne Douglas Gunnery Sgt. Alvin Bassfield Former Drill Instructor, Recruit Reunite in Afghanistan By Marine Sgt. Joe Lindsay Task Force Lava Public Affairs JALALABAD AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, April 13, 2006 — The expression “It’s a...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2006 – A Marine instructor accused of negligence in the 2005 drowning of a recruit was found not guilty by a military court at Parris Island, S.C., late yesterday. The court-martial of Staff Sgt. Nadya Lopez, 27, began Feb. 21, Maj. Guillermo Canedo, a spokesman at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, told American Forces Press Service today during a telephone interview. "The court found that there was not sufficient evidence to sustain a conviction under the charge of negligent homicide against Lopez," Canedo said. Lopez, a 12-year Marine veteran, pleaded not guilty in the events surrounding...

Recruit Daniel Murphy, who in college was a 325-pound offensive lineman protecting quarterbacks and opening holes for running backs, lost 100 pounds to join the U.S. Marines, the military's swift-moving, expeditionary shock troops.

FORT HUACHUCA - Four soldiers, a sailor, Marine, airman and civilian were honored Friday as the best of the best for 2004 by post officials. Setting the tone for the awards banquet, Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Voss told the audience of more than 275 people that the event was to recognize "our superheroes." With every branch of America's armed forces stationed on the post, the annual event ensures each service and the civilian work force receives recognition. The winners in the Navy, Marine, Air Force and civilian categories knew before the banquet who had been chosen. The soldiers had...

From: XXXXXXX To: OReilly@foxnews.com ; Hannity@foxnews.com Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2004 2:45 PM Subject: The pilot who taught G W Bush how to fly Received this link from a friend, please read this story:  http://www.hillnews.com/york/090904.aspx I have a high school classmate (Missouri, 1949) who taught Bush how to fly and the following is his e-mail to me last year.  He has been ill and was unable to attend the funeral of another classmate this year.  My prayers are with him and I am sure he would be sending this and more information if he was able. THUS, YOU HAVE TO...

<p>JONESBORO - Louisiana Tech University English instructor Stephanie Pepper Sims died from a single gunshot wound to the chest, law enforcement officials in Jackson Parish said Friday.</p> <p>As first reported at www.thenewsstar.com, Jackson Parish Sheriff's Office chief deputy Andy Brown said at a Friday morning press conference that investigators haven't found a weapon, but they are searching for Sims' personal gun.</p>

<p>SAN FRANCISCO — At 240 pounds, San Francisco aerobics teacher Jennifer Portnick says her heft unfairly weighs her down.</p> <p>"Everyone deserves a chance who has the skills to do the job," she said.</p> <p>But though she may have the skills, she didn't have the shape that Jazzercise Incorporated wanted for fitness instructors. They rejected her job application, saying that instructors must "look leaner than the public, set the example and be the role models for Jazzercise enthusiasts."</p>