Free Republic

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — In recent years, the Trump Marina Hotel Casino has been wasting away in Atlantic City's ultra-competitive casino market, searching for its lost shaker of salt, if you will. Now, it's about to be reborn with a tropical theme under new owners who are bringing singer Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville" brand to the Northeast in hopes of reviving a property that had become as listless as the hero of Buffett's hit song. Coastal Marina LLC, an affiliate of Coastal Development LLC, said Thursday it is buying the casino from Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., the casino company founded...

Britain has joined the US, Japan and Australia's condemnation of China after the communist country destroyed a satellite in space using a ballistic missile.The British embassy in Beijing said it had raised the test, the first of its kind for 20 years, with the Chinese foreign ministry noting that the Government believed it was “inconsistent” with China’s opposition to the development of space weapons. A spokesman refused to elaborate on the form the protest took or on the Chinese government’s response. Later, a Downing Street spokesman said: "We are concerned about the impact of debris in space and we expressed...

It seems the leader of the Parrotheads doesn't like being parroted. Jimmy Buffett has filed a trademark infringement suit against a man who allegedly operates an online shop that sells Margaritaville-flavored merchandise without the singer's permission. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Galveston, Texas, accuses Robert Akard of running the Website UnderOneHut.com, which sells some of the same clothing and CDs available through Buffett's own Website, margaritaville.com and in his chain of stores and restaurants. The "Cheeseburger in Paradise" singer complains that Akard wrongly bills himself as Jimmy Buffett's Online Store for Merchandise. A (very) cursory comparison of...

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (news, bio, voting record) crashed his car near the Capitol early Thursday, and a police official said he appeared intoxicated. Kennedy said he had taken sleep medication and a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness. Kennedy, D-R.I., addressed the issue after a spate of news reports. His initial statement said: "I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident."'Later, however, he issued a longer statement saying the attending physician for Congress had prescribed Phenergan on Tuesday to treat Kennedy's gastroenteritis.Kennedy said he returned to his Capitol Hill home on Wednesday evening after a final series of votes...

<p>President Bush stepped into the middle of a confrontation and pulled his lead Secret Service agent away from Chilean security officials who barred his bodyguards from entering an elegant dinner for 21 world leaders Saturday night.</p> <p>Several Chilean and American agents got into a pushing and shoving match outside the cultural center where the dinner was held. Bush noticed the fracas after posing for pictures on a red carpet with the summit host, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos and his wife and first lady Laura Bush.</p>

Oh no, the Parrotheads are coming. The Parrotheads are coming. Lock your doors. Put bars on the windows. Call the cops! Why is it that Boston, which has delusions about being a world-class city, every now and then behaves like East Podunk? Latest case in point: two proposed Jimmy Buffett concerts at Fenway Park. Now it's no great secret that for Buffett fans - Parrothead Nation - the concert itself is only half the fun. The real event simply must include a little tailgating in the Margaritaville spirit. (How else to properly show off those wild and crazy Hawaiian shirts?)...