Free Republic

Jane Withers, an actress known as a foil for Shirley Temple as a child actress, as a star of the movie classic "Giant," and as larger-than-life Josephine the Plumber on a long-running series of TV spots, has died at 95.

Bill Withers, who wrote and sang a string of soulful songs in the 1970s that have stood the test of time, including “ Lean On Me, ” “Lovely Day” and “Ain’t No Sunshine,” has died from heart complications, his family said in a statement to The Associated Press. He was 81. The three-time Grammy Award winner, who withdrew from making music in the mid-1980s, died on Monday in Los Angeles, the statement said. His death comes as the public has drawn inspiration from his music during the coronavirus pandemic, with health care workers, choirs, artists and more posting their own...

Near the end of World War II, Lt. John Withers, the leader of an all-black convoy, hid two young Holocaust survivors among his truck company -- a violation of Army orders. They stayed with his unit for more than a year as their health improved. "Peewee" and "Salomon" grew close to Lt. Withers and his unit. Over the years, he told and retold their tale to his two sons. One son set out to find them. He discovered that Salomon had died in 1993. But Peewee, he learned, was alive, a successful businessman in the U.S. Five decades later, Lt....

There are signs that the leaders and activists of the Hamas movement are feeling a sense of strength, an intoxication with power. The reasons are clear: Their political rivals have been weakened considerably. Their chief rival, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's government, is continuing to crumble. In the West Bank, PA institutions function only partially and Palestinian security organizations were effectively broken up about a year ago in Operation Defensive Shield. In Gaza, too, there are now signs the Palestinian security forces are being neutralized, as the Israel Defense Forces' incursions into the Strip become deeper and more frequent. Arafat...