U.S. News

MONTPELIER, Vt. (BP)–Vermont’s governor on April 26 signed into law landmark legislation granting the full benefits of marriage to homosexual and lesbian couples in the state, prompting warnings from opponents that it could spawn similar legislation in other states.

WASHINGTON (BP)–The approval of same-sex unions by the Vermont House of Representatives could be the first step in undermining marriage and the family in the United States, said the head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics agency.

WASHINGTON (BP)–The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee approved March 28 a bill to provide legal protection for unborn children who are harmed during federal crimes against their mothers.

WASHINGTON (BP)–A bill to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from restricting religious speech on noncommercial educational channels passed the House of Representatives by a 264-159 vote June 20.

DEERFIELD, Ill. (BP)–The human embryonic stem cell debate has been at an impasse since the discovery of the unusual properties of unique precursor cells. In 1998 two teams of privately funded researchers were able to isolate and culture stem cells from human embryos. Some scientists believe these cells may be used to treat and cure a number of diseases, including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and diabetes.

(AgapePress) – Army officers, disappointed with eight years of Bill Clinton, are leaving the service in droves.

According to the Army Times, the Army is losing about 300 more captains per year than the planned 1,125. The exodus means that some captain posts go vacant–and in the long term, the talent pool for future majors and senior officers shrinks.

(AgapePress) – A coalition of pro-family groups is staging a demonstration against a national video rental chain, in opposition to the company’s stance on hard-core pornography.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (BP)–When Daryl Orman was invited to deliver the March 9 invocation for the Florida House of Representatives, he had no idea the invitation would put him in the middle of a statewide controversy. But that’s exactly what happened when Orman, pastor of First Baptist Church, Stuart, asked Jesus to instill in the lawmakers “the desire to protect the unborn.”

WASHINGTON – My wife and I are seriously considering and praying about starting a Christian recovery church in the metro Washington area. Why? Because my heart cries out for people just like me, or who were just like me: 1) Christians new to Twelve Step programs 2) Christians who stay away from Twelve Step programs because they have been badly hurt by some Twelve Steppers who don’t understand Christians, or Christians who resent the fact they can’t use Jesus’ name in meetings 3) Christians who stay away from church because they have been badly hurt by some Christians who do not understand addiction 4) seekers in Twelve Step groups who are not sure if Jesus Christ is the Higher Power, but can’t get past the church’s glaring imperfections to give Jesus a try, and 5) Christians, who are Twelve Steppers, but don’t go to church.

(AgapePress) – The White House is defending a decision to investigate whether it will punish the Boy Scouts for refusing to allow homosexuals to be leaders. Indications are that the controversy could become a major campaign issue.

As American, Israeli and Palestinian leaders converge in New York for the UN’s opening Millennium summit, there are no signs of an imminent breakthrough to the negotiating impasse over Jerusalem, only hardening Arab positions and gloomy forecasts of failed diplomacy.

WASHINGTON (BP)–Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Vice President Al Gore’s choice as a running mate, is known as a man who faithfully practices his Orthodox Jewish religion and who cries out against the evils of a coarse popular culture. He also, however, is one of the United States Senate’s leading supporters of abortion rights.

(AgapePress) – City officials and some residents of Hastings, Nebraska, are concerned that a monument featuring the Ten Commandments at a city cemetery could be the target of the American Civil Liberties Union.

(AgapePress) – In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prayer over public address systems at high school football games is illegal. As the football season opened across the country last weekend, many stadiums were the site of citizen- and student-led prayers. More prayers are expected at high school football games this weekend, continuing a campaign that pro-family groups hope will catch on across the nation.

A new public opinion poll shows that most Americans still favor Israel over the Palestinians after months of the renewed intifada.

In one of the first major foreign policy moves of the new Bush Administration, the US on Tuesday night vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an international observer force to “protect” Palestinians.

If thirty US Senators have their way, President George W. Bush will make sure he agrees to help visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon locate Israel’s MIA’s.

US President George W. Bush is poised to name Daniel Kurtzer, currently US envoy to Egypt and a veteran of the Middle East peace process, as the next American ambassador to Israel.

(AgapePress) – The Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders is into its second day in New York. The more than 1,000 participants say their goal is to come up with ways of ending armed conflict, poverty, and harm to nature.

Israeli and American Jewish leaders continue to figure prominently in the most controversial of a long list of last-minute pardons granted by disgraced former US President Bill Clinton, with three of his key White House aides telling Congress on Thursday that caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Barak played a decisive role in the appeal for clemency by fugitive financier Marc Rich.