A retired Air Force colonel who photographed mysterious, colorful lights hovering over western Arkansas last week has ignited a frenzy of interest in unexplained airborne phenomena, as WND has received numerous reports of similar sightings across the U.S., while a digital expert has filtered the pictures to reveal startling images of what he says could be the "pilot" of the unidentified craft.

"I believe these lights were not of this world, and I feel a duty and responsibility to come forward," said Col. Brian Fields, who spent nearly 32 years in the military piloting F-16 fighter jets. "I have no idea what they were."

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Opening arguments begin next week in the trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, and, regardless of the verdict, it is our firm belief that this is a case that should never have been brought. While a tragedy for Mr. Libby and his family in personal terms, the case is among the most egregious examples we can recall of criminalizing political differences.

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A group of women are fighting the growing problem of human trafficking. They say they're concentrating their efforts on, of all things, feminine products. The Florida Council of Catholic Women is writing letters to the makers of Tampax and other feminine products.

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Urban Outfitters, a popular American clothing store, on Thursday halted sales of a range of keffiyehs, the traditional Arab headdress, which it had been marketing this month as fashionable "anti-war woven scarves."

The firm's CEO, Dick Heyne, e-mailed a pro-Israel activist who had complained about the items earlier this week to stress that the company had not intended "to imply any sympathy for or support of terrorists or terrorism" in selling the keffiyehs and was pulling them.

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This is great... Ridiculously funny...

The National Assembly has given initial approval to a measure that would let President Hugo Chavez enact laws by decree for 1 1/2 years, a key step in what the leftist leader calls an accelerating march toward socialism.

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British military bases in Iraq have been "blotted" out from Google Earth maps at the request of the Government to hinder terrorist attacks, it can be revealed.

Sensitive installations such as the Trident nuclear submarine pens in Faslane, Scotland, and the eavesdropping base at GCHQ Cheltenham have also been obscured, a search of the site shows.

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Mike Bloomberg, a name difficult to keep out of conversations about national politics, has been known to make visits elsewhere in the country on what we political gamesters would call "exploratory" trips. Let me suggest that the mayor explore a Southern strategy in Little Rock, Ark., where five grade schools are continuing an experiment in linking teacher merit pay to student test scores, first described in this space in October 2005.

That column, "How One School Found a Way to Spell Success," described how teachers at the MeadowcliffSchool, formerly full of student underachievers, were promised bonuses linked to improvements in the standardized test performance of each student. (The column is available on OpinionJournal here.) The size of the bonus increased relative to the student's year-over-year test gains. A 4% improvement earned a $100 bonus, rising to $400 if the student gained 15% (some did). Everyone in the school was in the bonus plan, including the cafeteria ladies, who started eating with the kids rather than in their own lounge. It worked. Scores improved. Twelve teachers got bonuses from $1,800 to $8,600. The checks were handed out in a public ceremony. Oprah would love Meadowcliff.

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A Palestinian militant group involved in abducting an Israeli soldier said on Friday it will try to seize more soldiers and settlers to secure the return of the bodies of Palestinians it says Israel is holding.

"The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) warns the Zionist enemy it will use all means of capturing soldiers and settlers alive and will keep the remains of their dead until (Israel) releases the bodies of our holy martyrs," spokesman Awni Zannoun said in a statement.

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About four years ago, Jay introduced me to Congressman Ron Paul of Texas. I spent a bit of time with the Congressman when I was in Washington D.C. last year and then again in San Francisco, where I introduced him as a keynote speaker at the Hard Assets Investment Conference sponsored by International Investment Conferences.

Jay and I both agree that Congressman Paul is “spot on” in his views regarding government. We believe that he is honest and has the best interest not only of his own constituents at heart but the best interest of all Americans who greatly value individual freedom. He has declared himself a candidate in the 2008 election for President of the United States.

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These guys would have loved this bill...

This is the amendment which would have required registration from anyone getting paid to communicate on policy matters to 500 or more members of the general public. Some interpreted the amendment as a draconian attempt to stifle political blogging.

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As the Ohio State Buckeyes pummeled the Northwestern Wildcats on Ryan Field last November, senior Amir Siddiqui and his friends slipped below the bleachers, removed their shoes and knelt on pieces of poster board to pray.

As the sea of purple cheered and jeered above, Siddiqui tuned out the world around him to perform salaat, the Islamic ritual prayer that faithful Muslims recite five times daily.

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Federal agents in California and Washington state have raided several medical marijuana distribution centers, seizing thousands of pounds of the drug, marijuana-laced edibles, weapons and cash. There were no arrests.

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Ralph W. Partridge, who heads the agency's Los Angeles field office, said his agents served 11 federal search warrants yesterday at marijuana distribution centers located throughout Los Angeles County, including five locations in West Hollywood, four in the San Fernando Valley, as well as locations in Hollywood and Venice.

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