Hans Küng fought his whole life for the reforms being weighed by the Vatican today. In a SPIEGEL interview, the elderly Swiss theologian discusses Pope Francis' chances to revolutionize the church, why John Paul II shouldn't be canonized and what he hopes to learn in heaven.Swiss theologian Hans Küng has been a voice for reform in the Catholic ( Read more... )

‘Personhood’ Measure Defining Fertilized Eggs As People Will Be On Colorado’s Next Ballot

Far-right abortion opponents in Colorado have successfully collected enough signatures to put a “personhood” measure on the next state ballot. The initiative, which would redefine “person” and “child” in the state’s criminal code to include unborn fetuses, ( Read more... )

Anti-Obamacare Conservatives Took A Page From The Anti-Choice PlaybookWhile the budget showdown is getting the lion's share of the attention, another conservative strategy to derail Obamacare is quietly forming on the right. The idea is to keep people from actually going to their computers and signing up for health insurance through the health care ( Read more... )

Federal health officials are warning that measles - a highly-contagious respiratory infection that the U.S. virtually eradicated back in 2000 - is making a serious comeback. This year is on track to have the highest number of measles cases in the past 17 years, and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) researchers say that’s likely because of pervasive ( Read more... )

Whooping cough reaches epidemic level in Texas: official

Whooping cough has reached epidemic proportions in Texas and could hit a 50-year high, a health official said on Thursday.

Nearly 2,000 cases of whooping cough have been reported in Texas this year. [Note: According to CBS NEWS the number is "more than 2,100 cases."] Two infants, who were ( Read more... )

Make Them Eat Cake
How America is exporting its obesity epidemic.

With this summer's news from the United Nations that Mexico has surpassed the United States in adult obesity levels -- one-third of Mexican adults are now considered extremely overweight -- U.S. foreign policy has come into sharper, or perhaps softer, focus. Despite first lady ( Read more... )

A measles outbreak in Texas traces to a congregation of a megachurch whose leader, Kenneth Copeland, reportedly has warned followers away from vaccines, advocating for faith healing and pushing the debunked notion that vaccines cause autism. One of Copeland’s churches, Eagle Mountain International Church in North Texas, is the epicenter of the ( Read more... )

TRENTON, N.J. - Gov. Chris Christie plans to sign a bill Monday barring licensed therapists from trying to turn gay teenagers straight, making New Jersey the second state to ban so-called conversion therapy, along with California.The bill passed both houses of the New Jersey Legislature with bipartisan support in June. Assemblyman Tim Eustace, who ( Read more... )

By CARL ZIMMER
Published: August 7, 2013


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Authorities in New Zealand have told a South African chef he is too fat to be allowed to live in the country ( Read more... )