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(Javonnie McCoy and Atlanta attorney Catherine Bernard after his acquittal) Javonnie McCoy was growing marijuana when the cops came to his Middle Georgia home. He was caught red-handed with it. Almost a pound of it, in fact. He admitted it to police, and later he looked jurors in the eye and said, yep, it was mine. I used it as medicine. The jurors let him go. He was minding his own business and wasn’t hurting anybody, they reasoned. He just doesn’t belong in prison. The jury’s decision earlier this month in Dublin, Ga., may have been due to a...

Bender's NFL LIVE THREAD Week 15 Thursday, Dec 14, 2017 (All times Eastern) Denver at Indianapolis 8:25 pm NFLN (& NBC) Lucas Oil Stadium Saturday, Dec 16, 2017 Chicago at Detroit 4:30 pm NFLN Ford Field L.A. Chargers at Kansas City 8:25 pm NFLN Arrowhead Stadium Sunday, Dec 17, 2017 Arizona at Washington 1:00 pm FOX FedEx Field Baltimore at Cleveland 1:00 pm CBS FirstEnergy Stadium Cincinnati at Minnesota 1:00 pm CBS U.S. Bank Stadium Green Bay at Carolina 1:00 pm FOX Bank of America Stadium Houston at Jacksonville 1:00 pm FOX EverBank Field Miami at Buffalo 1:00 pm CBS...

NANUET, N.Y. - A 290-pound New York man is steaming mad at the White Castle fast-food chain, which he claims repeatedly broke promises to make the booths in his local eatery bigger. Martin Kessman, 64, filed a lawsuit against the fast-food giant last week in Manhattan federal court, claiming that the uncomfortable booths violate the civil rights of fat people. Kessman's lawsuit came more than two years after he complained to White Castle about the size of the booths at the Nanuet, N.Y., eatery and reportedly received a pledge that renovations would be carried out to cater for larger customers....

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Afghanistan to encourage President Hamid Karzai to continue efforts to reconcile with the Taliban. Mr Karzai has expressed frustration at the process after the assassinations of several key Afghan leaders. US officials say Mrs Clinton also wants to convince Afghans that Washington is committed to a long-term relationship with their country. The US is planning to withdraw troops and hand over security to the Afghans. "She wants to signal US support for a secure and stable Afghanistan," a US official told journalists travelling with Mrs Clinton. Her visit to Afghanistan was not...

Scott Pelley, CBS "Evening News" anchor: How do you create jobs in this country? Robert Johnson, founder of BET: Unfortunately now, I don't think we have the leadership either in the White House or the Congress to end what I call a zero-sum game mentality towards the U.S. economy. And until both parties agree that the goal is to rebuild the American economy to reflect the 21st century on a global environment - we're going to be stuck. And it's a little bit frightening from the standpoint of a business person and particularly an African-American business person. Pelley: What do...

Two American hikers who were detained in Iran have been sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of "illegal entry" and "espionage," the state TV website says.

SAN FRANCISCO – Olivia Crowther left her London flat last month to become a statistic in San Francisco.The 23-year-old college graduate surfed suicide Web sites, bought a plane ticket for California and, at 9:24 a.m. on June 25, leapt to her death off the Golden Gate Bridge, at light pole No. 105.Her body was retrieved from the water nine minutes later – one of the latest among at least 1,300 suicides at the majestic span since it opened in 1937. The debate over what to do about the deaths goes back nearly as far, though the pace is quickening this...

At least 34 people leapt to their deaths from the Golden Gate Bridge in 2006, a sharp increase from the average of 19 people who commit suicide from the majestic span each year, authorities said Wednesday. Another 70 people tried to jump last year but were stopped by police or bridge officials, an increase of 20 from the annual average, said Mary Currie, spokeswoman for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Marin County Coroner Ken Holmes released the number of 2006 bridge deaths on Wednesday, a little more than a week after a 16-year-old Mill Valley boy jumped...

Israel's rude awakening caroline glick, THE JERUSALEM POST Jun. 27, 2006 It is painful to watch Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni try to contend with the terrible outcome of the Palestinian terror strike against the IDF on Sunday morning. They use so many fancy and angry words. They sound so resolute. And yet, they have nothing useful to say. Two soldiers are dead, a third is now the prisoner of jihadist killers, seven are wounded, an IDF border post has been overrun, and a world view and a security doctrine have been...

Disengagement delusion By Frank J. Gaffney Jr. March 28, 2006 Today, even more than is usually the case, Israel is the Free World's "canary in the mine shaft." Its voters are poised to vote for a policy approach their American counterparts are being tempted to embrace in the months ahead. Call it the "disengagement delusion." ..... If Israel's voters do, in fact, give a mandate to Ehud Olmert, the man who now leads the Kadima Party created by Mr. Sharon in the months before his illness, they will actually be indulging in not one delusion, but two.

Kassam Rocket Hits Ashkelon Industrial Park 21:30 Mar 25, '06 / 25 Adar 5766 (IsraelNN.com) A Kassam rocket launched on the Sabbath struck and damaged a building in the Ashkelon Industrial Park. There were no injuries. A second rocket landed in an open field, once again, without resulting in injuries. A third rocket landed in the hothouse area of the community of Netiv Ha’Asarah. No injuries were reported. On Friday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz stated a solution to the ongoing Kassam rocket attacks would be found, adding that he does not believe they will be eliminated totally...

Column One: Israel's uninformed electorate Caroline Glick, THE JERUSALEM POST Mar. 20, 2006 On the eve of the Knesset elections, Israel faces multiple challenges. Hamas, in appointing technocrats and terrorists to run its new government is showing that it is possible to learn from the Nazi model of governance. Even genocidal mass murderers who seduce their societies with delusions of racial and religious supremacy can receive international acclaim if they make the trains run on time. Israel's political spectrum is divided between the Left, represented by Kadima and the Right represented by Likud. Kadima wishes to contend with the Hamas...

Column One: Kadima vs. Israel Caroline Glick, THE JERUSALEM POST Mar. 9, 2006 US President George W. Bush is immersed in a political crisis of his own making. For the first time in his presidency, Americans trust the Democrats more than the president on issues of national security. There is an Israel angle to Bush's current misfortunes. In fact, the nature of the mess in which Bush now finds himself explains a great deal about the nature of Israel's relationship with America. It also shows how that relationship is harmed by the expedient interests of both the Bush administration and...

After first stroke PM's doctors concealed his condition By Ran Reznick The general medical condition of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was more critical than his doctors and advisers have reported since his first stroke on December 18, 2005. In addition to the heart problem they disclosed, Sharon was suffering from cardiac and cerebral diseases that the doctors kept from the public. Sharon remains in critical but stable condition following the major stroke and massive cerebral hemorrhaging he suffered on January 4. Following Sharon's hospitalization for the minor stroke, the doctors of the prime minister told the public he had a...

I have friends who refused to watch, listen to or even read Bush's speech to the RNC last week -but I just had to see it. I was working that night, so I set my VCR and came home to the tape at around 1 a.m. It's hard to describe the mixture of nausea and fear that gripped me as I watched this speech. I was offended at the use of the tragedy of 9/11 as political leverage - but, in a strange way, it was almost a relief. The Republicans have finally fully embraced the position they've been hinting...

Carolinian - Opinions Issue: 9/14/04 OUT OF MY HEAD: Everything to Live For '04 By Joe Killian I have friends who refused to watch, listen to or even read Bush's speech to the RNC last week -but I just had to see it. I was working that night, so I set my VCR and came home to the tape at around 1 a.m. It's hard to describe the mixture of nausea and fear that gripped me as I watched this speech. I was offended at the use of the tragedy of 9/11 as political leverage - but, in a strange...

Man Falls To Death From Helicopter Over Grand Canyon POSTED: 9:43 am EDT June 11, 2004 PHOENIX -- A helicopter tour company said a man took off his seat belt, opened a door and intentionally fell to his death during a sightseeing flight over the Grand Canyon National Park Thursday. Authorities say the investigation of the man's death continues. They've offered few details on what led up to his exit from the helicopter about 90 miles northwest of Flagstaff, Ariz. The man fell about 4,000 feet. Officials don't know if the man had any connection to the others on board...