The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (more commonly known as the Mormon church) recently reneged on its commitment to stay out of the gay marriage fight.
For those who need a reminder, the LDS church was the major force – financial and otherwise – behind California's Proposition 8 that passed five years ago to deny marriage equality to gay and lesbian couples. While the supreme court overturned Prop 8 this year, the issue is still very much alive in many states.
The Mormon church won't drop its opposition to gay marriage
French MPs vote to impose fines on prostitutes' customers
French MPs have voted to impose punitive fines on prostitutes' customers as part of a controversial new law going through parliament aimed at helping sex workers throw off the shackles of pimps and organised criminal gangs.
The measure, part of an anti-sex-trade bill, was approved by a show of hands in the Assemblée Nationale in the early hours of Saturday.
If the rest of the law is approved, customers of prostitutes will face a fine of €1,500 for a first "contravention", rising to €3,750 for subsequent offences, which will be considered crimes.
Montana rape case: Was 31-day sentence for teacher illegal?
Montana's attorney general has asked the state Supreme Court to further punish a teacher who served a month in jail for raping a 14-year-old girl. The girl later committed suicide.
The case drew national attention not just for the short sentence, but also for comments made by District Judge Todd Baugh of Billings. In explaining the sentence, Judge Baugh said in August that the girl was “older than her chronological age” and “as much in control of the situation as was the defendant.”
The appeal filed Friday by the state attorney general's office took issue with Baugh's reasoning, stating "there is no legitimate hypothetical that allows blame to be placed on a 14-year-old student who has been victimized by her 47-year-old teacher.”
World AIDS Day 25th Anniversary: See How Far We’ve Come
The 25th Anniversary of World AIDS Day will be commemorated on December 1, 2013 to raise awareness about the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Over the past 25 years, anniversary themes have generated support for programs promoting testing, treatment and care services.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) theme for 2013 Shared Responsibility: Strengthening Results for an AIDS-Free Generation urges communities to envision a day when there are no new HIV infections.
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), joins the World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) World AIDS Campaign, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in supporting the 2013 observance of World AIDS Day.
Israel’s Bedouin Resolve to Defy Government’s Resettlement Plan
Leaders of Israel’s 200,000 Bedouin Arab citizens called for civil disobedience against government efforts to resettle the traditionally nomadic population after weekend demonstrations erupted in violence.
The arrest of more than 40 protesters by police who used stun grenades and water cannons to quell the demonstrations will galvanize resistance to a proposed resettlement law, Taleb Abu Arar, a Bedouin member of parliament, said today. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to carry on with the so-called Prawer legislation and prosecute rioters.
Immune system may play crucial role in mental health
A growing body of research on conditions from bipolar disorder to schizophrenia to depression is starting to suggest a tighter link than was previously realized between ailments of the mind and body. Activation of the immune system seems to play a crucial role in both.
"We just didn't understand how much of a role the immune system plays in how we think and feel and act," says Andrew Miller, a professor of psychiatry at Emory University. "An overactive immune system or when there's something going on in the immune system, it can have consequences on the brain."
Thai protesters launch 'people's coup', PM forced to leave building
About 30,000 protesters launched a "people's coup" on Thailand's government on Sunday, swarming state agencies in violent clashes, taking control of a state broadcaster and forcing the prime minister to flee a police compound.
But after a day of skirmishes between protesters hurling stones and petrol bombs against riot police firing back with teargas, the demonstrators failed to breach heavily barricaded Government House, office of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Militants kill police officer guarding polio workers in Pakistan
Gunmen in northwest Pakistan attacked police officers guarding a team of polio vaccination workers, killing one officer, police said.
The attack occurred Saturday in Peshawar, Voice of America reported.
No group has claimed responsibility, but militants frequently attack polio workers in Pakistan, accusing them of trying to sterilize Muslims, the report said.
Governor: 4 dead, 63 hurt in NYC train derailment
A Metro-North train derailed on a curved section of track in the Bronx on Sunday morning, coming to rest just inches from the water and leaving four people dead and 63 injured, authorities said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the deaths at a news conference at the site of the crash near the Spuyten Duyvil station. He said authorities believe everyone at the site has been accounted for and that the National Transportation Safety Board is en route.
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