Free Republic

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — This Easter, Americans will devour more than 1 billion Peeps — those radiant marshmallow chicks whose appearance on store shelves each year is as much a herald of spring as azaleas at the Masters. What makes the treats so vibrant is erythrosine, a chemical that shows up on ingredient labels as Red No. 3. It's one of several chemicals, along with titanium dioxide, used to color some of the most popular candy in the country — including Skittles and Hot Tamales. Both chemicals have been linked to cancer. More than 30 years ago, U.S. regulators banned Red...

RALEIGH -- Police arrested a woman Thursday, thinking she lifted her dress and exposed herself to an assistant high school principal, according to reports. Donna Maria Thomas, 42, of 1619 Trently Court was charged with indecent exposure, simple assault, communicating threats and harassing a police officer over the telephone. She was in the Wake County jail Thursday night in lieu of $2,000 bail. Her daughter attends Millbrook High School, where Darnell Bethel is an assistant principal, said Jim Sughrue, spokesman for the Raleigh Police Department. There have been past disputes between Thomas and school officials, he said. Police think she...

BERLIN (Reuters) - Thieves have stolen scantily clad garden gnomes from a gnome peepshow in an eastern German amusement park, park manager Frank Ullrich said on Thursday. "The gnomes display naked body parts -- the same ones you'd expect to see in a human peep show," Ullrich said of his missing stars. The adults-only attraction at Dwarf-Park Trusetal, where visitors peep through keyholes to see the saucy German miniatures in compromising poses, was smashed open early on Thursday morning. Ullrich said he feared the gnomes would not be traced. "I doubt they're standing in someone's garden, they'll have to have...