Free Republic

Ever since, McCain has added compelling details at key points in his political career. When his stories are placed beside documented evidence from other sources, significant contradictions often emerge. One such case involves McCain’s experience in the devastating fire and explosions that killed 134 sailors on the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal during the Vietnam War three months before he was shot down over North Vietnam. McCain has made claims about this accident that differ dramatically from parts of the official Navy report and accounts of reliable eyewitnesses.

-- Consumers spent more in April, but most of their money went to pay higher food and gas prices. The rising cost of basic necessities is threatening to slow economic growth in the coming months. But hiring gains are the best in five years, commodity prices are easing, and gas prices could follow in the weeks ahead. Economists say the stronger job market will offset the impact of inflation and drive the economy in the second half of the year. "If this is the full hit from the rise in gas prices, it is no big deal," said Ian Shepherdson,...

The left's police-hating chickens are coming home to roost. While partisan liberals have gone out of their way to blame conservative media and the Tea Party movement for creating a "climate of hate," they're silent on the cultural and literal war on cops that has raged for decades -- and escalated tragically this year. The total number of law-enforcement officers shot and killed this year is up 19 percent over last year, reports the Christian Science Monitor. More officers have died in ambush incidents this year than in any other since 2000. The Lakewood, Wash., massacre on Thanksgiving weekend claimed...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Living in the suburbs may have once been part of the American dream but it can lead to nightmares such as high blood pressure, arthritis and headaches, researchers reported on Monday. An adult living somewhere like Atlanta, with its spread-out suburbs and car-heavy culture, will have a health profile that looks like that of someone who lives in Seattle -- but who is four years older, the study found. And the culprit seems to be exercise, or the lack of it, the researchers report in the October issue of the journal Public Health. "This is the first...