Free Republic

SACRAMENTO The secretary of state's office said Friday that it would investigate allegations that signature gatherers paid to sign up voters for the California Republican Party submitted registration forms containing fake names. "If credible evidence of wrongdoing is found, we will work with local law enforcement to vigorously prosecute to the fullest extent of the law," Secretary of State Bruce McPherson said in a statement. McPherson announced his investigation after the GOP said a routine screening of registration forms yielded some "questionable patterns." "Together with the vendor, we figured out some kind of fraud was being perpetrated," said party spokesman...

A congressional panel is calling for an investigation and hearing into reports that applicants for green cards, work visas and other immigration documents were not properly screened against the U.S. terrorist watch list. Employees at the National Benefits Center in Lee's Summit, Mo., said they did not know that a simple key stroke would have allowed them to fully check the background of applicants against the terrorist database, according to the report first published by the Daily Bulletin this past week. That report was based on federal documents obtained by the newspaper and interviews with employees at the Missouri center....

SACRAMENTO Triple digit temperatures smashed records across California Saturday, straining thermometers and air conditioners and prompting dozens of scattered electricity outages that left residents sizzling. A major Northern California power plant tripped off line as temperatures climbed, trimming electricity reserves below acceptable levels and prompting the state's grid manager to declare a "stage one emergency" while calling for conservation. No relief was expected until at least midweek from a weather front that sent temperatures soaring even along the normally cool California coast and brought Midwest-style humidity steaming into the usually arid Central Valley. Heat records were set throughout the San...

BOSTON — Three specially designed tugboats yank the hulking pale green liquefied natural gas tanker from its dock near Boston Harbor. More than 1,000 feet long, with an odd color and sets of pipes sticking out the top, it’s apparent that this is no ordinary ship. And with three Coast Guard boats, and four others from state, city and port authority law enforcement agencies surrounding it, this is no ordinary departure. Bringing up the rear is the Pendant, a 65-year-old, 65-foot-long ocean-going tugboat, and one of the oldest platforms in the service’s inventory that pulls double duty in the winter...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The recent arrest of a prison parolee in Southern California illustrates a potential terrorism danger that federal officials have been warning about for months - that inmates in state prison systems are particularly susceptible to radical Islamist ideology. Prison officials across the nation say they so far have seen more potential for recruitment than real threats, but said they have been monitoring Muslim groups since the 2001 terrorist attacks. Federal officials arrested three men since early last month in a plot that targeted Jewish and National Guard sites. Authorities said they believe the plan originated among a...