(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chair of the Democratic National Committee, said Thursday that for states to enact constitutional amendments that say human life begins at conception is “an extreme and radical step.”
“For the vast majority of Americans, including people on both sides of the abortion issue, this is an extreme and radical step,” she said.
The skeletal remains of a Roman-era couple reveal the pair has been holding hands for 1,500 years. Italian archaeologists say the man and woman were buried at the same time between the 5th and 6th century A.D. in central-northern Italy. Wearing a bronze ring, the woman is positioned so she appears to be gazing at her male partner.
"We believe that they were originally buried with their faces staring into each other. The position of the man's vertebrae suggests that his head rolled after death," Donato Labate, the director of the excavation at the archaeological superintendency of Emilia-Romagna, told Discovery News.
The tender discovery was made during ordinary construction work in Modena and was announced this week. Labate explained the dig revealed three layers of scientific interest.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded Planned Parenthood of New Hampshire $1 million after the state legislature voted to cut off the stream of taxpayer money to the largest operator in the nation's abortion industry.
It's just one of a number of states where local managers and officials have decided against providing tax money to Planned Parenthood, only to see their work overturned through what one critic calls government by fiat.
Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser says the New Hampshire dispute is just another example of the Obama administration's abuse of states' rights.
And this happened in a state that prides itself on its love for the 10th Amendment.
"A place like New Hampshire is central to states' rights. It's part of their heritage and history," Dannenfelser said. "Obama and Planned Parenthood know that the only place they can exert their will when it comes to funding is to overstep in the way they just have in New Hampshire."
from: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6974381/tim-tebow-thanks-fans-support-says-wait-turn-complaint
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Save your bankroll and your breath Tim Tebow fans, the object of your desire and the target of your dislike both agree this is Kyle Orton's offense.
Tebow said Thursday that while he's honored his fans are cheering for him to take over as the Denver Broncos' quarterback, he trusts his coach and will bide his time without complaint.
"Well, I guess I appreciate the support, you know, but we got people in charge here that we trust and (I) trust they're going to do the right thing," Tebow said.
A group of Tebow supporters have said they'd like to buy two billboards in downtown Denver urging coach John Fox to bench Orton in favor of the former Florida star.
Tebow said he'd rather they donate the $10,000 to his charitable foundation.
Nearly half of American voters believe in the Biblical account of creation, and even more think prayer can literally help people recover from medical problems.
A Fox News poll released Wednesday found 77 percent of voters believe prayers can help someone heal from an injury or illness, while 20 percent don’t believe that. The remaining 3 percent are unsure.
Click here to view the full Fox News poll results.
Those groups most likely to believe prayer literally heals include those who regularly attend religious services (93 percent), white evangelical Christians (91 percent), blacks (89 percent), conservatives (85 percent), and those who are part of the Tea Party movement (84 percent).
Women (82 percent) are more likely than men (71 percent) to believe in the healing power of prayer.
Some 45 percent of voters accept the Biblical account of creation as the explanation for the origin of human life on Earth, while 21 percent say the theory of evolution as outlined by Darwin and other scientists is correct. Another 27 percent say both explanations are true.
Van der Sloot was widely known before the May 30, 2010 killing of 21-year-old Stephany Flores as the prime suspect in the unresolved 2005 disappearance in Aruba of the American teenager Natalee Holloway.
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq – A car bomb outside a Christian church wounded 23 people on Tuesday morning, police said, as security forces found and disabled vehicles packed with explosives outside two other parishes in northern Iraq.
The bombing and the two averted attacks in the northern city of Kirkuk signal continued violence against Iraqi Christians, nearly 1 million of whom have fled since the war began in 2003.
"The terrorists want to make us flee Iraq, but they will fail," said the Rev. Haithem Akram, the priest of one of the churches that was targeted. "We are staying in our country. The Iraqi Christians are easy targets because they do not have militias to protect them. The terrorists want to terrorize us, but they will fail."
The Minnesota Vikings agreed Tuesday to acquire quarterback Donovan McNabb in a trade from the Washington Redskins, pending McNabb agreeing to new contract terms, league sources said.
McNabb would be dealt for a late-round pick -- Jay Glazer of Fox Sports and NFL Network reported that it would be sixth-rounders in 2012 and 2013 -- but he must restructure his contract, and those talks are scheduled for Wednesday. It isn't expected to be a lengthy process, but nevertheless, it would be required before a trade could be completed.McNabb was due to make $12.5 million with the Redskins, including a roster bonus, but the Vikings made it clear they couldn't take on that salary. Still, McNabb's desire to be in Minnesota will lead to the deal being fully agreed to, pending the new contract terms, sources said.
from: http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/113173/states-pay-most-least-taxes-247wallst
New York
Taxes paid by residents as pct. of income: 12.1%
Total state and local taxes collected: $243.9 billion
Pct. of total taxes paid by residents: 71.4%
Pct. of total taxes paid by non-residents: 28.6%
New York places much of its tax burden on residents from other states. Consider, for example, the amount of state revenue derived from New York City tourism, or those who commute to the city for work. Despite this, state residents maintain the second largest tax burden in the country. The state has one of the highest state and local tax collections per capita, an average of $6,884. It has one of the highest combined averages local and state sales tax rates — 8.3%. The Big Apple also has a number of exceptionally high excise taxes, such as its $4.35 tax on each pack of cigarettes, the highest rate in the country. Additionally, the state has exceptionally high property tax rates. According to the Census Bureau, the top ten counties in the U.S. with the highest property taxes as a percentage of home values are all in New York.
