A group of truckers protested high gas prices in Washington D.C. Monday the Associtated Press reports.
The members of Truckers and Citizens United drove around the national mall using bullhorns and signs to make their complaint known.
The truckers are doing this pre-rally drive by before they park their rigs at RFK stadium the Washington Post reports.
A rally against rising gas prices is being held at the Capitol at 11 a.m.
RedOrbit.com reports that there have been a series of earthquakes occurring off the coast of Oregon recently.
In the past 10 days more than 600 earthquakes have been recorded off the coast of Oregon about 150 miles from Newport.
Many of the tremors have not been very big at all but some have reached magnitudes of 5.0 or higher.
Most of the quakes cannot be felt on land. So hydrophones are being used to listen to the shaking.
The earthquakes are strange because they are not following the pattern of quakes and aftershock.
Scientists listening to the tremors say they are unlike anything they have heard in 17 years of listening.
The earthquakes are not in danger of causing a tsunami because the plates are rubbing horizontally and not vertically Oregonlive.com reports.
Researchers hope to get a research ship in the area this week so they can do water tests to figure out what is going on.
A bill has passed through the Minnesota House Commerce and Labor Committee Tuesday that would allow bars to stay open till four a.m. during the Republican National Convention the Pioneer Press reports.
The new proposal addresses concerns previous bills neglected.
Minneapolis had already voted in favor of the earlier proposal while St. Paul said no.
Lawmakers did not want this to turn into a city versus city battle.
The new bill broadens the areas where bars can remain open. Instead of only downtown bars, the new legislation would grant bars from seven-county metro areas the ability to stay open late.
Also it cuts the run of four a.m. closing from 11 days down to five, eliminating the Friday and Saturday.
Another selling point of the bill is the cities right to choose which bars are granted permission to stay open KARE 11 reports.
Additionally the talk of a possible permit fee has some eager bar owners unhappy with the idea, “When you tack on an extra $2500 that I wasn't expecting to spend, it can hurt," Sam Bergstrom, general manager at Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub, said.
A raid on a polygamist compound in West Texas Friday was prompted by reports of underage sexual relationships The Associated Press reports.
The compound was raided and searched after an unidentified 16-year-old girl said she wanted to get out ranch because she was being beaten and raped by her 50-year-old husband.
Since the raid 416 children have been taken from the ranch but it is not known if the girl who made the call is among them.
The Yearn for Zion or YFZ Ranch near Eldorado is a member of The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The ranch's founder, "prophet" Warren Steed Jeffs, is in prison.
The sect forced young girls of "child-bearing age" to enter into spiritual marriages with much older men and are expected to be sexually active and bear children CNN reports.
Three Californian prison guards were stabbed on Thursday The Associated Press reports.
The guards were attacked by two inmates who rushed the guards at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi.
They were all taken to the hospital where there were listed in stable condition.
The two attacking inmates also needed to have their injuries treated at the hospital because of the force the guards used to stop the attack.
Two homemade weapons were found and recovered from the scene.
The two inmates are members of the Southern California prison gangs The Associated Press reports.
All state prisons are in lockdown as a precaution until they can figure out if the attack was isolated.
The Mayor of Detroit was charged with perjury on Monday the Associated Press reported.
Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick, 37, has been charged with eight felony charges including perjury and obstruction of justice. While many had known an investigation was going on since the start of the year, people from the city were left shocked by the scale and seriousness of the charges. "I was not expecting to hear 12 counts. I almost fell out of my chair," Sen. Tupac Hunter said the Detroit Free Press reported.
The problems arose when text messages between Kilpatrick and his then chief of staff Christine Beatty were published and raised questions about the accuracy of some under oath testimony.
In the end prosecutor Kym L. Worthy made the lesson very clear, lying is bad. "Even children understand that lying is wrong,� she said.
Kilpatrick had been heralded as a "Hip-Hop Mayor" who was bringing life back into the struggling Detroit area.
“He had the potential of being a very effective mayor over many, many years, and he has wrecked any future political career over a sexual dalliance," University historian Charles K. Hyde said.
The New York Times reports that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has been linked to a prostitution ring Monday.
Spitzer held a brief news conference today talking about failing his family and the public. “I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family," Spitzer said.
The scandal was part of a ring of prostitutes run by the Emperors Club, a prostitution service.
The last known incident occurred on Feb. 13th in Washington D.C. when Spitzer paid to have a prostitute come to his hotel room.
The issue may not be that Spitzer had sex with prostitutes but rather how they were paid for ABC News reports.
The investigation into Spitzer initially had nothing to do with prostitution but suspected bribes.
Only after the latest meeting was the Governor found to be spending money for sex.
The question of legal action has been raised because of a possible attempt to hide the spending.
The obscure statute called "structuring" is most likely what Spitzer would be charged with.
Structuring, which is the process of financial moves intended to hide the true purpose of the spending, is punishable by up to five years in prison.
A man opened fire in a West Palm Beach, Fla. Wendy's Monday leaving one dead and four injured The Associated Press reported.
The shooter was identified as Alburn Edward Blake, 60. He came into the Wendy's just after noon.
The well dressed shooter first shot firefighter Rafael Vazquez, 42, who came back into the restaurant and was standing at the counter to get the free toy that was supposed to come with his child’s meal.
The shooter then randomly and silently sprayed bullets around the restaurant injuring four people before turning the gun on himself. All of the injured were brought to area hospitals and are being treated for non-life threatening wounds.
Another person was injured when they fell trying to escape. People all around the restaurant tried to get away when they heard the shots. People in the drive through abandoned their cars and a lady who was about to walk in and heard the shots turned and ran.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that this Wendy's has had issues with violence before.
The drive-through was held up with an automatic weapon last year and in 2006 two men broke a glass window and forced employees into the storage cooler.
A Texas girl and three of her friends are in custody for the murder of her family the Assoctiated Press reports.
The girl, whose name had not been released because she is a minor, killed her family because she was not allowed to date one of the guys who helped in the killing. The father Terry Caffey was shot in the head but managed to crawl to the neighbor’s house and get help.
The rest of the girl's family, her mom and two brothers were all shot and stabbed before the house burned down with them inside.
The attack occurred in the small town of Alba in East Texas according to CNN. The murders rocked the rural area where the family was well known and called "good Christian people" by neighbors.
The USDA has issued the largest recall of beef in history the Las Angeles Times reported Monday.
The historical recall of 143 million raw and frozen beef comes after a secret video was given to the Humane Society of the United States which then passed it on to the USDA. The video shows numerous health violations and mistreatment of cattle by employees according to The Washington Post.
The Hallmark Meat Packing in Chino was the site of the violations and has been closed since February 4th, after inspectors confirmed what the video showed.
Much of the food was used in school lunches which are believed to have already been consumed. The other locations are two fast-food restaurants that have announced they will not use meat from Westland, a partner of Hallmark Meat Packing.
Despite the recalls size the issue of public safety is much lower in this case. The USDA has said that the chance of health problems related to use of the meat is remote.
Five students died after a former student opened fire on a university campus Thursday the Washington Post reported.
Stephen Kazmierczak, 27, a former Northern Illinois University student opened fire on that same campus Thursday morning leaving five dead and many injured. Witnesses say the victims were random.
The whole ordeal did not last long according to police. Only a matter of seconds before the gunman turned the gun on himself.
Kazmierczak had three weapons with him including a 12-gauge shot gun and a 9-millimeter Glock.
Kazmierczak was remembered as a good student. He was noted to have been acting erratic in recent weeks after not taking medicine according to The New York Times .
Police response was quick and the whole ordeal was isolated to only Cole lecture hall where an introductory geography class was taking place.
The campus was shut down in December after some threats were found written on campus bathrooms however, authorities do not believe the two are related.
The campus was closed Friday and a candle light vigil will be held Friday at 9 p.m.
Tornados swept through the Southern United States on Tuesday night Reuters reported.
The unusual winter storms produced a slew of twisters that ripped through Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky.
As of Wednesday at least 50 deaths and thousands of injuries had been linked to the tornados the Agence France-Presse reported.
While the tornado season typically starts in March the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that tornados occur at this time about once a year.
The major difference about this incident is the high death toll and massive area of destruction.
USA Today reports that Republican Rudy Giuliani and Democrat John Edwards both annouced they have ended their bid for president. Both candidates made the decision to drop out of the presidential race following weak results in the Florida primary.
Immediately after dropping out Giuliani backed fellow GOP candidate John McCain and offered support for McCain saying he is "prepared to be the president of the United States at a time of great peril." Edwards has not yet chosen a Democratic candidate to back. He plans to meet in private with both Obama and Clinton before he chooses to back someone or remain neutral.
In both Party's the exit of Giuliani and Edwards leaves a two horse race. In the case of the Republicans they are left with McCain, who is now the favorite for the GOP, and the well financed Mit Romney. Mike Huckabee is maintaining a down but not out stance but, with only one victory in Iowa and a low money supply, he is not expected to be a factor.
The remaining Democratic candidates are much more defined and even. The question now, asked by Larry Eichel of The Philadelphia Inquirer is, who gains from Edwards departure? While it remains unknown who, if anyone Edwards will back.
Early suggestions point to a boost for Obama because he will now be the lone recipiant of the "anyone but Hillary" vote. One advantage for Hillary is that she shares with Edwards a much more traditional Democratic view and will likely absorb many of the Edwards issue supporters.
The streamlining of the candidates sets the stage for super Tuesday which will more than likely determine the nominee for each party.