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WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional aides say the Obama administration has chosen a Colorado natural resources official to be the new agriculture undersecretary in charge of the U.S. Forest Service. Harris Sherman, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, is to be nominated as soon as Thursday. The congressional aides familiar with the decision spoke on condition of anonymity because the White House had yet to announce it.

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday formally nominated Ellen Tauscher, a seven-term member of Congress who is considered an expert on defense, as his top arms control official. Tauscher, who represents a California district, has a record of introducing arms control and counter proliferation legislation and has campaigned for greater oversight of the US Missile Defense Agency. She said in a statement in March, after details of her impending appointment emerged, that she

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will nominate former pilots' union chief Randy Babbitt to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

Minnesota 5-5 at Jacksonville 4-6 - 1:00 PM (Line: Jaguars by 2.5) Jack Del Rio is going through his change of life. (By that I mean he's been moody, not that he's experiencing vaginal dryness or loss of breast fullness.) RJ's Pick: Jacksonville by 7 RJ's Game Of The Week: New York Giants 9-1 at Arizona 7-3 - 4:15 PM (Line: Giants by 3) The Cardinals are undefeated at home. Kurt Warner is having his best season since at least 2001, maybe ever. The Super Bowl champion Giants have the best record in the NFC, the second-best defense in the...

A preview of the NFL's Week Six, with predictions.

Washington 2-1 at Dallas 3-0 - 4:15 PM (Line: Dallas by 11) Last Week: Washington beat Arizona, 24-17. Jason Campbell was very efficient, completing 22 of 30 passes for 193 yards, two TDs, and no interceptions. Dallas defeated the Packers at Green Bay, 27-16. Marion Barber rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. What To Expect: Redskins DE Jason Taylor is out for at least a week after having emergency surgery on his injured calf. The Cowboys lead the league in total yards per game. On paper, this looks like a relatively easy win for Dallas. But...

In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and irate Chargers fans...

4:15 p.m. - New England Patriots (1-0) @ New York Jets (1-0) [Line: New York Jets by 2] New England beat the Chiefs last week, but lost QB Tom Brady for the season. Now all the hopes and dreams of Patriot Nation rest on the shoulders of his backup, Matt Cassel, who has never before started a single NFL game. (What could possibly go wrong?) The Jets beat the Dolphins last Sunday. RB Thomas Jones rushed for 101 yards and a TD on 22 carries. But the real story was QB Brett Favre's debut with his new team. Favre completed...

Welcome back, NFL football fans. This is now the fourth consecutive year in which I have committed myself to picking every single NFL regular season game.

Yahoo Pro Football Pick'em Returns to Free Republic. Information you need to know is as follers: located at Yahoo.com, find fantasy sports and click on Pro Football pick'em --- look for "join a group" and click on that Group ID# is 29924 password is reagan it'll aks you for a name ... PLEASE: no R or X rated names, youngsters are invited to play, too. You are allowed to write comments on the msg board , but the same rules apply: no R or X rated comments we are doing confidence point (you assign a # of points on a...

Yahoo Pro Football Pick'em Returns to Free Republic. Information you need to know is as follers: located at Yahoo.com, find fantasy sports and click on Pro Football pick'em --- look for "join a group" and click on that Group ID# is 29924 password is reagan it'll aks you for a name ... PLEASE: no R or X rated names, youngsters are invited to play, too. You are allowed to write comments on the msg board , but the same rules apply: no R or X rated comments we are doing confidence point (you assign a # of points on a...

Yahoo Pro Football Pick'em Returns to Free Republic. Information you need to know is as follers: located at Yahoo.com, find fantasy sports and click on Pro Football pick'em --- look for "join a group" and click on thatGroup ID# is 29924password is reagan it'll aks you for a name ... PLEASE: no R or X rated names, youngsters are invited to play, too. You are allowed to write comments on the msg board , but the same rules apply: no R or X rated commentswe are doing confidence point (you assign a # of points on a game based on...

*Saturday, December 29, 2007* New England 15-0 at New York Giants 10-5 - 8:15 pm (Sheridan's line: New England by 14) On the one hand, this is a meaningless game. New England has wrapped up home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, and the New York Giants are locked into the fifth seed in the NFC. On the other hand, this game is destined to go down in the record books regardless of the result. If the Patriots win, their victory here will cap the first 16-0 regular season in NFL history. And if the Giants win, I predict Belichick will...

*Thursday, December 20, 2007* Pittsburgh 9-5 at Saint Louis 3-11 - 8:15 pm (Sheridan's line: Pittsburgh by 8½) The Steelers have dropped two in a row, and so now Cleveland is tied with them for the division lead in the AFC North. Pittsburgh holds the head-to-head tiebreaker, however, so they are still in control of their own destiny. They are just 2-4 on the road this season. Saint Louis has also lost two in a row, and now find themselves alone in last place in the NFC West. The Rams are an embarrassing 1-6 at home on the season. Marshall...

*Thursday, December 13, 2007* Denver (6-7) at Houston (6-7) - 8:15 pm (Sheridan's line: Houston by 1) [Worth Watching!] Denver crushed the Chiefs last week, 41-7. The Broncos are just 2-4 on the road this season. Houston beat Tampa Bay last week. They are 4-2 at home this year. Sure thing first-ballot Hall of Famer Sage Rosenfels will start under center again this week for the Texans. RJ's Pick - Houston by 11 *Sunday, December 16, 2007* Atlanta (3-10) at Tampa Bay (8-5) - 1:00 pm (Sheridan's line: Tampa Bay by 12) [Worth Missing] It's been an interesting week for...

Dallas 11-1 at Detroit 6-6 - 1:00 pm (Sheridan's line: Dallas by 10) Dallas has won six straight and is undefeated on the road. Detroit has dropped four in a row, but is 4-2 at home this season. Only a barking madman would pick the upset. RJ's Pick - Detroit by 1 Miami 0-12 at Buffalo 6-6 - 1:00 pm (Sheridan's line: Buffalo by 7) The Dolphins are four losses away from the worst regular season in NFL history. Buffalo really needs to win this one if they are to have any chance of making it to the postseason. (Their...

*Thursday, December 6, 2007* Chicago 5-7 at Washington 5-7 - 8:15 pm (Sheridan's line: Washington by 3) Both teams need a win in order to stay alive in the race for an NFC Wild Card spot. The Bears are 3-3 on the road this season, while the Redskins are 3-3 at home. Washington has lost four straight, and I think last week's heart-breaker was a back-breaker as well. RJ's Pick - Chicago by 3

RJ'S GAME OF THE WEEK THAT YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SEE BECAUSE IT'S ON THE NFL NETWORK, WHICH OUGHT TO REALLY GRIND YOUR GEARS: Green Bay 10-1 at Dallas 10-1 - 8:15 pm (Sheridan's line: Dallas by 7) Dallas has won five in a row, and Green Bay has won six straight. The Cowboys are 5-1 at home, and the Packers are 5-0 on the road. The winner of this matchup will almost certainly wind up with home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. The loser will have to console themselves with a playoff bye and a Divisional Round home...

*Thursday, November 22, 2007* RJ'S GAME OF THE WEEK: Green Bay 9-1 at Detroit 6-4 - 12:30 pm (Sheridan’s line: Green Bay by 3.5) The Packers are looking ahead to their big matchup next week against Dallas. The Lions, who have dropped two straight, simply need to win this one more. RJ’s Pick: Detroit by 3 New York Jets 2-8 at Dallas 9-1 - 4:15 pm (Sheridan’s line: Dallas by 14) Congratulations to the Jets for getting their first win since September last week. They only have a few days to savor their one-game winning streak, however, before they get...

Washington 5-4 at Dallas 8-1 - 4:15 pm (Sheridan's Line: Cowboys by 10½) The Redskins lost at home to the Eagles last week, 33-25. In the five games they've played since crushing the Detroit Lions back in Week Five, they have lost three games, barely beaten the 4-5 Cardinals at home, and barely beaten the 1-8 Jets in overtime. Now WR James Thrash is out with a high ankle sprain, and safety Sean Taylor is out for at least two weeks with a knee sprain. Dallas beat the Giants last week, 31-20. They've won three in a row, and have...

Oakland 2-7 at Minnesota 3-6 - 1:00 pm Oakland lost at home to the Bears last week, for their fifth loss in a row. I have nothing else worthwhile to say about the team. The Vikings were crushed by Green Bay last week. Worse than the loss, though, was the knee injury suffered by rookie superstar running back Adrian Peterson. His lateral collateral ligament is torn in his right knee, so he is expected to never walk again^^^ miss a few games. And even worse than that for Vikings fans, Tarvaris Jackson is expected to start under center this week....

Jacksonville (5-3) at Tennessee (6-2) The Jacksonville Jaguars lost badly last week in New Orleans. The defense allowed 538 yards (most in franchise history), 445 of it through the air. QB Quinn Gray struggled, throwing 3 INTs. Thankfully for Jaguars fans, QB David Garrard might return this week. Even if he's on crutches, or in a wheelchair, or an iron lung, or whatever, this team needs him back out on the field ASAP. The AFC South can be a pretty unforgiving place to play in. You know you're in a tough division when a 5-3 record is just good enough...

RJ'S GAME OF THE WEEK YEAR EON: New England 8-0 at Indianapolis 7-0 - 4:15 pm (Sheridan's line: New England by 4½) New England demolished Washington last week to stay undefeated. They have scored at least 34 points in every game, and they have won every game by at least 17 points. To put this in perspective, only two other teams have scored more than 200 points this season, Dallas with 227 and Indianapolis with 224. New England has put 331 points on the board. The difference between the number of points the Patriots have scored and the number of...

Washington (4-2) at New England (7-0) - 4:15 pm (Sheridan's Line - Patriots by 16½) The Redskins edged out Arizona last week, 21-19. They have given up the fewest points in the NFC. Unfortunately, their offense is pretty anemic. Washington's top two rushers, Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts, are averaging 3.9 and 2.9 yards per carry, respectively. QB Jason Campbell has as many INTs as TDs (5), and his quarterback rating is just 78.5. They are going to have to do better than their average of 189.8 passing yards per game to beat the Patriots. New England won at Miami...

Chicago (1-3) at Green Bay (4-0) - 8:15 PM (Sheridan's Line: Green Bay by 3½) Chicago blew a 4th quarter lead and lost to the Lions last week, 37-27. QB Brian Griese had no more success than benched QB Rex Grossman, throwing 3 INTs in the loss. So far this year, the Bears have allowed 95 points, or 23.75 per game. They've scored just four offensive touchdowns. Weak. The Packers won again last week, 23-16 in Minnesota. Despite an almost nonexistent running game, Green Bay is third in the NFC in points scored. And Packers fans can thank Brett Favre's...

Chicago (1-2) at Detroit (2-1) *Ford Field* - 1:00 PM (Sheridan's line: Chicago by 3) The Bears were spanked at home by Dallas on SNF last week. Their offense was anemic, but that's expected with Rex Grossman at QB. What was surprising, however, was that their defense couldn't stop either the run or the pass. Detroit was utterly destroyed by Philadelphia last week, 56-21. The Lions defense was embarrassing to watch, as Eagles receivers were left wide open and RB Brian Westbrook seemed to break at least five tackles every time he had the ball. QB Jon Kitna put up...

Atlanta (7-9) at Minnesota (6-10) - 1:00 PM The Falcons missed the playoffs last year by losing their final three games. And now they've lost noted animal-lover and PETA spokesman Michael Vick for 12 to 60 months due to a self-inflicted injury. Vick will be replaced at QB by the lovable Joey Harrington, who won't throw for many touchdowns, but he won't be flipping off the home crowd/spreading herpes/killing dogs with his bare hands, either. The Falcons are going to need their defense to overachieve and RB Warrick Dunn to rush for 1,500+ yards just to avoid losing double-digit games...

First game, Thursday, September 6th, New Orleans at Indianapolis. The NFL season is nearly upon us as the preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseason schedule finally winds down. Year after year, we meet around the FreeRepublic electronic fireplace and place our picks to decide, ultimately, who is the best guesser of us all. This year we have two Yahoo Pro Football Pick'em Leagues. One is found here....College and Pro Football Pick'Em Leagues sponsored by RonPaulLives. The other league's (Freeper Football) information is listed below... It doesn't cost anything. There is no draft. Just come up with a favorite name for your team and spend the...

The Bush administration selected Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's design for a new generation of atomic warheads, two officials familiar with the decision said Friday. The decision, to be announced later in the day, came a year after the administration ordered a competition between Lawrence Livermore near San Francisco and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because it had not been formally announced. The administration decided the design submitted by Lawrence Livermore, with engineering assistance from Sandia National Laboratories, could be built with greater confidence without underground testing because it was more closely...

Pittsburgh (7-8) at Cincinnati (8-7) - 1:00 pm The Bengals can still make the playoffs with a win and some help. But the Steelers stand in their way, and the Super Bowl champs aren't going to just roll over for a division rival in their last game of the season. RJ’s Pick - Steelers by 6 Seattle (8-7) at Tampa Bay (4-11) - 1:00 pm Seattle has nothing to play for since they wrapped up the NFC West last week. They've lost three in a row, and will probably rest some of their starters in this one. I believe we...

Philadelphia (8-6) at Dallas (9-5) - 5:00 p.m. If the Eagles can pull out a win here, they will be in the driver's seat in the NFC East. Winning their division seemed out of the question back in Week 11, when McNabb went down with a season-ending injury. But Philadelphia has rallied with backup QB Jeff Garcia under center. They've won three straight games, and are 4-1 when playing divisional opponents, including a victory in Week 5 against the Cowboys. As for Dallas, look for Terrell Owens to come out of the tunnel wearing some phat Hannibal Lecter-style mouth gear....

Detroit (2-11) at Green Bay (5-8) @ 1:00 p.m. The Lions are a sad little team. They are 0-6 on the road. Their offense is well below the league average in points/game, and their defense has given up more points than all but three other teams. They have lost five in a row. Their own fans show up at home games largely just to chant denunciations of the team president, Matt Millen. They haven’t made the playoffs, or even had a winning season, since Clinton was in office. Personally, I blame this all on Bush. The Packers are 1-5 at...

Picking the winners for 10 years. Had a off week last week was only 14-0.. Hope to do better this week..

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Amazon.com has dropped Google as its search provider in favor of Microsoft, an important victory for the Seattle software maker as its battle with the 400-pound gorilla of search heats up, according to a report Tuesday. Searches on Amazon.com are now powered by Windows Live Search, Microsoft's new search engine that's still in the testing phase, the Washington Post said Tuesday. The news is significant for Microsoft (Research) because moves by Amazon (Research), one of the world's largest Web-based retailers, are closely watched by other Internet shopping sites, according to the article. The battle between Microsoft,...

Here are the picks from several college football dignitaries along with Clucko the Chicken. Put down two feed dishes, one representing one team and one representing another and whichever dish the chicken goes to first is the team that's going to win. You'll do just as well. (Really, the pick is a coin flip. Don't laugh; Clucko won the 2000 Bowl Pool among 24 entrants.) You can get to the Expert Picks in the above dropdown under Predictions. For the Bowls, each "expert" not only gives his pick, but also his confidence in his pick ranking the bowl picks against...

Here are the picks of several college football dignitaries along with Clucko the Chicken. Put down two feed dishes, one representing one team and one representing another and whichever dish the chicken goes to first is the team that's going to win. You'll do just as well. (Really, the pick is a coin flip. Don't laugh; Clucko won the 2000 Bowl Pool among 24 entrants.) You can get to the Expert Picks in the above dropdown under Predictions. The pickers: Pete Fiutak - CFN, Rich Cirminiello - CFN, Matthew Zemek - CFN, Mark Risley - CFN, John Harris - CFN,...

Phindile Nkambule, 17, was revealed to the public when she took part in a traditional Reed Dance ceremony, in which girls perform before the king. The announcement comes just weeks after Mswati III ended an official ban on sex for women under 18. The ban was aimed at curbing the spread of HIV/Aids. According to custom, King Mswati, 37, will marry Phindile Nkambule once she becomes pregnant. She is reported to have caught the king's eye during the main annual Reed Dance in late August, when tens of thousands of bare-breasted girls took part in a traditional rite of Spring.

WASHINGTON - Chief Justice-nominee John Roberts, his confirmation secure, picked up support from fractured Senate Democrats Wednesday as President Bush met lawmakers to discuss a second, probably more contentious, vacancy on the Supreme Court. The Judiciary Committee's senior Democrat, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, announced his support for Roberts shortly after leaving the White House, guaranteeing bipartisan backing for the nominee in Thursday's vote by the panel. But Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, longtime liberal stalwart Edward Kennedy and former presidential candidate John Kerry all are opposing Roberts, underscoring a split in the Senate's 44 Democrats on whether they can or...

Passing Buck on Schiavo Cheats Public By JOYCE PURNICK Published: March 24, 2005 THE House of Representatives acted quickly over the weekend in the wrenching case of Terri Schiavo, so quickly that maybe those who opposed the special bill allowing the federal courts to take over the case might have missed the Senate's role - conspicuous for its silence. The debate was confined to the House, for nearly four hours late Sunday night and early Monday. In the Senate, home of Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California, and, of course, Hillary Rodham Clinton and...

WASHINGTON - House Democratic leaders on Thursday sought removal of two recently appointed Republicans from the ethics committee, questioning whether their judgment would be influenced by contributions to Majority Leader Tom DeLay's legal defense fund. The committee last year deferred action on investigating any role played by DeLay, R-Texas, in a corporate campaign donation controversy in Texas that led to indictments of three of his political associates. Rep. Lamar Smith (news, bio, voting record) of Texas contributed $10,000 to the defense fund and Rep. Tom Cole (news, bio, voting record) of Oklahoma donated $5,000, according to an analysis by the...

Chris Matthews is interviewing Andrea Lafferty from the Traditional Values Coalition and Martin Kaplan from the Annenberg USC school of Communications.

SACRAMENTO - With his historic election in last year's recall, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger infused California's languishing Republican Party with a new, muscle-bound vigor. Many party stalwarts dreamed of a resurgent GOP -- aided by members of ``Arnold's Army'' gaining a stronger foothold in Golden State politics. But the dream hasn't proven quite so vivid, in part because Schwarzenegger has selectively picked which issues and candidates to campaign for. The governor has largely pleased his Republican base with an anticipated campaign trip to Ohio for the president, GOP endorsements and prodigious fundraising. But he has also bolstered his maverick reputation --...

Betting he can use his continued popularity to make or break an array of ballot measures in the Nov. 2 election, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is launching a $2 million mail campaign telling Californians how to vote. The endeavor represents an unparalleled effort by a governor to influence the state's initiative process. Five million of these voter guides are expected to be mailed the first week in October, as absentee voting gets under way. Booklets will feature photographs of Schwarzenegger, explain why he supports or opposes several of the 16 measures on the ballot, and provide wallet-sized summary cards voters can...

RICHMOND, Va. (Aug. 31) - Republicans selected state Del. Thelma Drake Tuesday to replace U.S. Rep. Edward L. Schrock on the November ballot, a day after he dropped out of the race amid claims that he is gay. The Republican Committee for Schrock's district gathered Tuesday to hastily vote for a nominee who could take on Democrat lawyer David B. Ashe in the Nov. 2 election. Drake, a real estate agent, is a reliable member of the state House's conservative GOP majority. Schrock, 63, a married retired Navy captain who was popular among conservatives, cited unspecified ''allegations'' for his surprise...

<p>SACRAMENTO – Republican Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger is shaping his administration with a mix of Democrats and moderate Republicans - dismaying some Republicans who sparked the recall against Gov. Gray Davis and who now see their influence dwindling in the new administration.</p>

<p>JERUSALEM (AP) - Yasser Arafat, meeting in the West Bank with the leadership of his Fatah party, made clear Sunday he intends to ask parliament speaker Ahmed Qureia to become the new Palestinian prime minister, a Palestinian political source said.</p>

<p>PASADENA, Calif (AP) - NASA unveiled the landing sites today where it hopes to land twin rovers on Mars next January to look for geological evidence that the Red Planet was once a warmer, wetter place hospitable to life.</p> <p>Data gathered from NASA satellites orbiting the planet suggest both sites once abounded in water.</p>