Free Republic

When Nicholas Grunke last week spotted a newspaper photo of Laura Tennessen, the Wisconsin man apparently became so smitten that he plotted a rendezvous with the 20-year-old woman. But the photo Grunke saw accompanied an August 27 obituary of Tennessen, who died in a motorcycle accident. Undeterred, Grunke allegedly plotted with his twin brother Alex and a friend, 20-year-old Dustin Radke, to rob Tennessen's grave so that he could have sex with her corpse. Details of the trio's degenerate scheme are contained in a criminal complaint filed yesterday in Grant County Circuit Court. A copy of the document can be...

LONDON (Reuters) -- Oil prices tumbled more than a dollar Wednesday, falling below $68 a barrel and breaking a key support level. U.S. light crude for October delivery fell $1.15 to $67.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For U.S. crude, the 200-day moving average, considered a funds buy/sell trigger, was effective around $67.50. Prices have fallen by more than $11 from a record of $78.65 hit on Aug. 8 when concerns of supply disruption ran high. Since then, diplomatic efforts to try to resolve Iran's dispute with the West have eased worries of possible disruption of the...

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) - The Florida Supreme Court has thrown out a $145 billion punitive damage award against cigarette makers - and decertified the case as a class action -- in a huge victory for the tobacco industry. "We unanimously conclude that the punitive damages award is excessive as a matter of law," the court said in a ruling handed down in the Engle case on Thursday. The news sent shares of No. 1 tobacco company Altria , +6.6%) up 5.5% to $77.44 while Reynolds American (RAI : reynolds american 119.21, +4.85, +4.2%) gained 4.8% to $119.79. ) U.S. stocks boosted...

Steelers' Roethlisberger is in accident Associated Press PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been in a motorcycle accident in Pittsburgh this morning. Witnesses are telling authorities that the player's motorcycle collided with a car near a downtown intersection and that Roethlisberger's head hit the windshield and was bleeding. Roethlisberger has said in the past that he prefers not to wear a helmet when riding. One witness told KDKA television that Roethlisberger was conscious but appeared disoriented before he was taken from the scene to Mercy Hospital. A Steelers spokesman is at the hospital and confirmed Roethlisberger is being...

After 10 years and $23 million, Independent Counsel David Barrett's report on an investigation of Henry Cisneros, a former Bill Clinton housing secretary, will reveal additional details of the particularly slimy nature of Slick Willie & Co. According to The New York Sun, citing specifics from a report set to be released Thursday, "there was a coordinated effort by Clinton administration officials to first block and then limit the probe as a way of taking pressure off an administration that was already beset by scandals." Among those said to be implicated -- then-Attorney General Janet Reno.

Are you a Republican or conservative? Want to get invited on a morning MSM show? No problem! Just be prepared to do one thing - criticize the Bush administration. We've seen the pattern in recent weeks at the Today show. First there was Bill Kristol, fiercely attacking the Miers nomination. Yesterday, GOP congressman-turned-MSNBC-host Joe Scarborough upped the ante, accusing VP Cheny of a "lie." And this morning brought an appearance by conservative uber-celebrity Ann Coulter. The first hint that a warm reception was planned for Ann was the fact that Today chose Matt Lauer to interview her, rather than Katie...

WASHINGTON - The federal grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA officer's identity met for three hours Wednesday with Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald and adjourned for the day without announcing any action. Fitzgerald is known to be putting the finishing touches on a two-year criminal probe that has ensnared two senior White House aides. After the grand jury left for the day, federal prosecutors conferred for about an hour in the grand jury area of the federal courthouse. There was no word on whether Fitzgerald planned to make any announcement or whether the grand jury planned to meet again.

NOT NECESSARILY THE (BREAKING) NEWS ... Please feel free to join in prayer for the protection of those serving our Country in the White House, in Iraq and elsewhere. And if you have any schadenfreude comments, well, you DO have the First Amendment. But the totalitarians are working on this problem. Meanwhile, John Podesta had no comment. Had to borrow that image, TiredofLaundry ;^)

has anyone seen this before? How does this happen?

BEIJING — A new line of condoms is grabbing headlines in China even as its sparks a debate about trademark law and promotion campaigns. The products' brand names: "Clinton" and "Lewinsky." The condoms are sold in boxes of 12, with the brand named after former President Bill Clinton priced at $3.70 and that of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky at $2.25. Guangzhou Haojian Bioscience Co. said it registered both trademarks and is pricing the brands differently to reflect the higher quality of the Clinton line. "We chose the name because we think Clinton is a symbol of success and...

That’s a CROC !! A French-sponsored 12 member Peruvian exploration team has discovered the fossil remains of a 46 foot crocodile – deep in the Amazon jungle. It is believed the entire Amazon Basin was once an inland sea – stretching from Atlantic to Pacific, and inhabited by creatures such as this monster and a relatively demure and petite giant armadillo – whose fossil was also found nearby. The crocodile fossil, which included skeleton, jaws, and very large teeth , indicates the creature may have had a head measuring four feet across ; and it probably weighed “about 9 tons...

JUNE 23--A Kentucky woman who thought she won $100,000 in a radio station giveaway is suing for breach of contract after learning that her prize was actually a Nestle's 100 Grand candy bar. According to the below June 22 Circuit Court complaint, Norreasha Gill, 28, claims that she was listening to Lexington's WLTO-FM on the evening of May 25 when host DJ Slick announced that he would award "100 Grand" to the tenth caller. When Gill, the pregnant mother of three children, was that tenth caller, the radio host told her she could pick up her prize the following day...