Free Republic

NEW YORK (AP) -- A man slashed to death a 56-year-old psychologist at her Upper East Side office clinic and seriously injured another therapist who tried to help her, police said.< >On her Web site, she described herself as a specialist in cognitive behavioral therapy, which focuses on changing thoughts that cause feelings or behaviors.

HALLE, Germany (AFP) - A German chef armed with a meat cleaver and pans chased away two armed men who were trying to rob his cash till, police said. One of the robbers brandished a gun and demanded the cook hand over cash, but his accomplice found that the till was broken and jammed shut. The would-be thieves eventually fled empty-handed from the restaurant in the eastern city of Halle when the 48-year-old chef started throwing pots and keys. sh till, police said.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - On Sundays, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver retires the power suits and ties he wears to work in Congress and dons the ornate robes of a pastor. The Missouri Democrat is among the few members of the House to hold a second job. He spends up to 30 hours a week preaching and managing affairs at St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City, where he has been senior pastor for three decades. Cleaver, 60, has been in the pulpit every weekend since he began his first House term in January, and he says he intends to...

MIAMI -- Police say an alert airport security screener stopped a man from boarding a plane with a large knife at Miami International Airport. The Transportation Safety Administration screener detected the 12-inch meat cleaver wrapped inside a newspaper that was passed through an X-ray machine, according to police. The security checkpoint was on Concourse G. The knife was in the possession of Joseph Jarvens Almeida, a Sri Lankan citizen who was traveling from Miami to New York and then taking a connecting flight on to Germany, according to airport officials. Miami-Dade police were called to the security checkpoint. After questioning...