Free Republic

New United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday, and the two had "a very positive discussion on U.S./U.N. relations," said a U.N. spokesman, a week after Trump slammed the world body on Twitter.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bucky Covington, the latest contestant voted off "America Idol," says the comments of judge Simon Cowell are no longer helpful. "It seems like he used to give advice, but now he doesn't give advice as he does try to put you down," said Covington, 28, a country singer from Rockingham. On Tuesday, Covington sang a version of rock band Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls." Cowell called his performance "mediocre." The following night, Covington was booted off the Fox network show. Covington said Cowell will never like singers like himself or contestant Taylor Hicks. "For him to like someone...

KINSHASA, Congo -- The United Nations pulled its remaining peacekeepers out of the national park where eight Guatemalan peacekeepers were killed in an apparent gunbattle with Ugandan rebels, a U.N. spokesman said Tuesday. Hans-Jakob Reichen, U.N. military spokesman for eastern Congo, said the peacekeepers were withdrawn because they had completed a two-week mission to clear Garamba National Park of rebel forces. "It was decided to pull peacekeepers out of the park since any suspected rebels had melted into the jungle," Reichen said. The park straddles Congo's remote northeastern border with Sudan. Monday's violence marked the second-biggest single loss of life...

I need the opinions of North Carolina Freepers. I'm looking to move to "friendly territory" and the Hickory/Morganton/Charlotte area keeps coming up. That is, basically, western NC. (That and south central Texas near Austin.) So I'd like some local opinions of the state and area. Basically, I'm looking at the following areas: Laws - liberal or no? How long does it take to get a gun license in NC? Does NC use the death penalty? Does social services inject themselves into everyone's life? Values - as South Park put it, "tolerant" means you put up with something, not embrace it...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate approved a plan to give the government broad new powers to regulate the cigarette industry, including the ability to eliminate harmful ingredients in tobacco products and forbid advertising that appeals to children.The measure empowering the Food and Drug Administration to oversee the sale, marketing and manufacturing of cigarettes was linked on the Senate floor Thursday to a $12 billion buyout of tobacco farmers.An unlikely coalition of anti-smoking advocates and tobacco-state senators pushed to secure the 78-15 vote to add the twin measures to a massive corporate tax bill that the Senate then passed on a...

North Carolinians generally like John Edwards more than John Kerry or President Bush. But that doesn't mean they're ready to reverse 28 years of supporting Republicans for president. A new Gallup poll done for CNN and USA Today suggests that Edwards' addition to the Democratic ticket has done little to help Kerry's chances in the Tar Heel state. "I still would not put North Carolina into the tossup category," said Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup Poll. "North Carolina is still firmly a red (Republican) state." Newport's pollsters interviewed 848 registered voters in North Carolina after Kerry's announcement...

GOP feud playing out in primaries Many of the contests pit supporters of state House Speaker Richard Morgan against his critics By LYNN BONNER, Staff Writer PINEHURST -- Peggy Crutchfield left a deli in this quaint village to a chorus of customers and employees calling her "a wonderful person." She built her reputation raising money for charities as head of the Moore County United Way, but the refined 64-year-old is now on the front lines of a nasty fight between factions of the state Republican Party. A first-time political candidate, she is challenging one of the most powerful Republicans in...

HOME STATEIn North Carolina, Some Areas of AgreementBy SHAILA K. DEWANPublished: July 7, 2004 REENSBORO, N.C., July 6 - At the lunch counter of the Brown-Gardiner drugstore here, there were registered Democrats and registered Republicans, the undecideds and the decidedly decideds, but when the subject turned to the sudden ascension of their one-term senator, John Edwards, to the No. 2 spot on the Democratic ticket, they were in agreement on quite a few points.Principally, they agreed that Senator Edwards was a wise choice as running mate for Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, a perfect...

County Spotlight: Union County Republican activity in Union County has recently accelerated with the addition of a new Young Republicans organization. Building on a solid foundation of strong leadership in the Union County GOP and other auxiliary clubs, Young Republicans Chairman Nick Polyzos took the initiative in forming this new organization, which recently held its first meeting. With over a dozen people in attendance for the initial meeting, the Young Republicans are building a solid club focused on helping to elect as many Republicans as possible.

North Carolina Judge Ordered to Restore Reference to God in Courtroom Entrances, Oaths The Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. June 29, 2004 — The state Supreme Court ordered a judge Tuesday to restore references to God in the words used when he enters the courtroom and when witnesses swear to tell the truth. The high court sided with angry officials from two counties who complained that District Judge James M. Honeycutt had taken it upon himself to change courtroom procedures. The high court ordered Honeycutt to stop using a revised oath missing the phrase "so help you God," and administer the...

Before Congress left town Friday for its Fourth of July recess, Rep. Bill Thomas of California pulled off one of his patented legislative assassinations. Washington's most cunning parliamentarian, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Thomas eradicated the Freedom of Speech in Churches Act without openly opposing it. In the process, he fired an early shot in a destructive civil war looming for Republicans. The bill would stop the Internal Revenue Service from using existing statutes to muzzle clergymen who talk politics in their churches. That stoppage is pressed by Christian conservatives, who say they have been discriminated against by federal...

A Raleigh church is devoted to an anti-gay mission, but some question congregants' tacticsOn a recent midweek afternoon, 75 church members marched into the office of state Senate leader Marc Basnight to show their support for a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage Basnight wasn't there to greet them, but that didn't stop the group. Members passed out the senator's phone number and agreed to go home and start dialing. "We need to bombard him and make him listen to us," said Elder William Cooper of Raleigh's Upper Room Church of God in Christ. "We want him to get tired...

Bush leads in North Carolina media poll Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. - President Bush would win North Carolina by a slim margin if the presidential election was held today, according to a new statewide poll. In the poll, 47 percent of likely voters chose Bush, a Republican, while 42 percent selected presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry. The margin would be smaller if Kerry picks Sen. John Edwards as his running mate, according to the survey, conducted June 13-16 for The News & Observer, WRAL-TV and WUNC radio. "Kerry doesn't have to win North Carolina to win the presidency. Everybody knows...

Men seek to establish Tuscarora nation in N.C. The Associated Press June 17, 2004   1:43 pm ELM CITY, N.C. -- Three Tuscarora Indians have settled in tents in eastern North Carolina and decided to seek land, artifacts and self-governance they say are due to them under treaties made with their ancestors.Timothy Jacobs, Harless E. Smith Jr. and Billy Mac Locklear, bought about 10 acres near Elm City for their self-declared nation."This is something we didn't start yesterday," Smith said. "We've been working on this all our lives."They plan to add permanent buildings, such as a cookhouse and sweat lodge,...

Fayetteville native escorts first lady By Greg BarnesStaff writer Cathy Jackman Somehow, somewhere in the hustle and bustle of preparing for a funeral, Cathy Jackman found the time to call her mother in Fayetteville on Thursday. Within a few hours, Jackman was expecting to again be on national television, wearing a black suit and Army wives' scarf while walking arm-in-arm with first lady Laura Bush. Jackman, a 1970 Terry Sanford High School graduate, has escorted President Bush and his wife at all of President Reagan's funeral proceedings. Jackman's husband has had an even bigger job. Maj. Gen. Galen B. Jackman,...

Military exercise will test GPS jamming, affect boaters The Associated Press June 11, 2004   8:16 am WILMINGTON, N.C. -- Boaters may have to rely on dead reckoning to get around for the coming week because a military exercise will test and evaluate a system designed to jam signals from navigation satellites.The exercise starting Friday and continuing through most of next week will gauge the military's ability to interfere with global positioning systems from about 50 to 60 miles off the North Carolina coast and in parts of Florida.Testing may affect cell phones as well and will take place during...

Six vie to challenge EasleyCandidates try to tone image, hone message Are Republicans tired of Richard Vinroot? Is Bill Cobey too strident on social issues? Does Patrick Ballantine have what it takes to govern? And, most important of all: Which GOP candidate for governor has the best chance of defeating Gov. Mike Easley this fall?The six Republican primary candidates have broadly similar platforms. All say they would deliver lower taxes, smaller government, less regulation and more jobs to North Carolina. But all are working hard to distinguish themselves. The goal is to appeal to primary voters July 20 as the...

Politician's campaign tactics questionedFormer N.C. GOP leader accused of unfairly using party resources to bolster bid for governorThe Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. — GOP rivals are accusing former N.C. Republican Party chairman Bill Cobey of unfairly using the party's common resources and staff to boost his bid for governor.Supporters or aides to three other Republican candidates for governor — Southern Pines insurance executive George Little, former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot and former state Sen. Patrick Ballantine of Wilmington — complain Cobey is using party mailing lists and e-mail lists in his campaign to win the party's nomination in the July...

Freightliner adds 600 workers to meet growing demand for trucks The Associated Press June 4, 2004   1:45 am CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Freightliner LLC will add nearly 600 workers to its assembly plant in Rowan County to meet demand for 18-wheelers, the company said Thursday.The new workers will push employment at the Cleveland plant to 3,600, the most since the late 1990s.Jeffrey Fisher, a spokesman at Freightliner's headquarters in Portland, Ore., said the economic recovery means more freight is being moved."That's putting great demand on freight forwarders and trucking organizations," he said. "They need the trucks and need the drivers...

Republican says party leader taking sidesBy LYNN BONNER AND ROB CHRISTENSEN, Staff Writers> Charles Taylor, a Sanford Republican, had such an unpleasant experience at the state party convention last month that he resigned from its executive committee. Taylor says GOP political director Bill Peaslee needlessly barred him from the committee's meeting. Now he wants Peaslee to resign from his job. Taylor found that Peaslee registered two Internet sites, www.billcobey.com and www.billcobey.org, on July 16 -- five days before Cobey, who was state GOP chairman, announced he was running for governor. They are addresses for Cobey's campaign Web site. The party...