Free Republic

TIRASPOL, Moldova -- In the ethnic conflicts that surrounded the collapse of the Soviet Union, fighters in several countries seized upon an unlikely new weapon: a small, thin rocket known as the Alazan. Originally built for weather experiments, the Alazan was transformed into a terror weapon, packed with explosives and lobbed into cities. Military records show that at least 38 Alazan warheads were modified to carry radioactive material, effectively creating the world's first surface-to-surface dirty bomb. The warheads are not known to have been used. But now, according to experts and officials, they have disappeared.

Redistricting foes bash move GOP-fueled bid sparks outcry at Lubbock hearing By JOHN FUQUAY AVALANCHE-JOURNAL Some of the harshest remarks at a congressional redistricting hearing Thursday in Lubbock were an attack on the process rather than the boundaries. Speakers at the daylong hearing, one of six across the state, accused Republicans of gerrymandering and wasting tax dollars. Gov. Rick Perry has called a special session on redistricting that will convene Monday. The issue has been hotly contested and led 51 Democratic House members to walk out of the regular session in May, busting a quorum and blocking a vote on...

Getting to bottom of crater mystery 06/22/2003By ALEXANDRA WITZE / The Dallas Morning News ODESSA – It took two hours for Vance Holliday to travel back thousands of years. For a time machine, he drilled into the dirt of the meteor crater just west of Odessa. The deeper he went, the closer Dr. Holliday got to his goal – discovering the crater's age. When the Odessa meteorite hit, some tens of thousands of years ago, it would have been a fearsome sight. An iron rock nearly 50 feet across fell screaming from the sky, hitting with energy roughly equivalent to...

Attorney subpoenas 57 sex offenders June 17, 2003 08:43 AM CDT Associated Press ODESSA, Texas - A defense attorney has subpoenaed 57 sex offenders in the trial of a man accused of an attack on a child. Attorney Michael McLeaish is defending David Means of Odessa in a trial scheduled to begin Tuesday afternoon in Judge Tryon Lewis' 161st District Court. Means is accused of aggravated sexual assault of a child in December 2002. "Hopefully, it can be demonstrated to the jury that there are successful probationers out there," McLeaish said. McLeaish said the names of those serving probation after...