Trial to be in military court. The FBI and the military investigated contacts between an Army psychiatrist accused of last week’s deadly shooting rampage at FortHood and a Yemen-based militant over the past year but concluded he didn’t pose a terrorist threat, senior law enforcement and military officials said Monday. The members of two Joint... Continue Reading

Gov. David A. Paterson said Nov. 5 that he would include gay marriage on the agenda of an extraordinary session he is calling for Tuesday, potentially setting up the first vote on the issue in the State Senate and a dramatic floor debate. Senate Democratic leaders could still block the issue from coming to the... Continue Reading

Bryan Derballa High-school seniors in Brooklyn, N.Y., sending text messages after school. A 17-year-old boy, caught sending text messages in class, was recently sent to the vice principal’s office at Millwood High School in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The vice principal, Steve Gallagher, told the boy he needed to focus on the teacher, not his cellphone.... Continue Reading

Thousands storm Capitol to protest health care bill’s abortion funding, immigration issues Although House leadership had vowed to set a vote on the health care overhaul for Saturday evening, Nov 7, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer indicated Friday that the vote may have to wait as they endeavor to scrape up enough support for the... Continue Reading

The fight, pitting religious freedom against the right to be comfortable in one’s own home, started in March 2008 — on Palm Sunday. After opening in a new location in Phoenix, Ariz., the Cathedral of Christ the King started playing a recording of church bells every half hour — every day — from morning to... Continue Reading

By Simon Clark and Caroline Binham Barclays Bank Chief Executive Officer John Varley stood at the wooden lectern in St. Martin-in-the-Fields on London’s Trafalgar Square on Nov 3 and told the packed pews of the church that “profit is not satanic.” The 53-year-old head of Britain’s second-biggest bank said banks are the “backbone” of the... Continue Reading

An IllinoisState board voted Wednesday to allow the enforcement of a long-debated Illinois law requiring notification of a teenage girl’s parents before she has an abortion. But hours later, a judge issued a temporary restraining order putting the measure back on hold. The order will remain in effect until the judge can hear arguments on... Continue Reading

Note to hotel managers: unless you want it to be altered forever, remove that Bible from Sir Ian McKellen’s bedside drawer before he shows up. In a Q&A with Details magazine, the openly gay ‘Lord of the Rings’ star admits to a habit of tearing out the Bible passage that condemns homosexuality — Leviticus 18:22... Continue Reading

An Ohio village’s Christmas parade has been canceled amid concerns over possible lawsuits, protests, and logistical problems. Amelia Mayor Leroy Ellington says the village solicitor told council members that Amelia could be sued for using public money to sponsor an event linked to celebrating the birth of Jesus. But when the village considered changing the... Continue Reading

At the beginning of an evening worship service at the First Assembly of God Church in Steele, MO, the Rev. Ryan Harris pitted teens against adults in a trivia game called Battle of the Generations. “The gift of the Holy Spirit is placed upon you, it’s placed inside you,” Harris told his congregation, his voice... Continue Reading