Among the great joys of writing a book is the discovery, as you go, of what it really is about. Rarely does an author know from the beginning what she will discover before it ends. So it was for Phyllis
The horrifying statistics from the Chinese government’s latest ecological survey find that a land area the size of Belgium is now too polluted to grow crops in and 28,000 of the country’s rivers have disappeared since 1990. With China’s population
The Marine Corps has delayed implementation of its new fitness plan requiring women do three pull-ups because a majority of female recruits failed to pass the standard. Why not delay the roll out of women in combat instead? “I don’t
TMZ accused Baltimore Ravens wide receiver of being “homophobic” for jokingly calling his little brother a “queen” on Friday. Smith memorably had one of his games for the ages last year when he played for his family after one his
A transgender golfer is again trying to qualify for the women’s LPGA tour. Bobbi Lancaster is 63 years of age and played amateur golf when she was a man named Robert Lancaster. He then had “gender-reassignment surgery to become Bobbi Lancaster in
KABUL (Reuters) – Violent crime against women in Afghanistan hit record levels and became increasingly brutal in 2013, the head of its human rights commission said on Saturday, a sign that hard won rights are being rolled back as foreign
Two Facebook users, Matthew Campbell and Michael Hurley, have filed a class action lawsuit accusing Facebook of mining and intercepting private messages between users that contained URLs in order to profit from the information. The complaint, which was filed in the
Firearms accessory manufacturer Magpul Industries is pulling out all of its operations from Colorado due to the state’s new restrictive gun control laws. The company announced Thursday that its new headquarters will be in Texas while its manufacturing, shipping, and
With the deadlines behind us, the first wave of Obamacare problems is, thankfully, over. Unfortunately, this only means that the coming months will open up a whole new world of problems with HealthCare.gov, including the site’s inability to place new
After Oklahoma beat Alabama 45-31 in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday, the Red Cross of Oklahoma’s Twitter account tweeted out some smack talk, saying they understood Alabama’s “need for relief and privacy” during this difficult time. The tweet got mixed
George Lynn Cross, the longest serving president of the University of Oklahoma, famously answered a skeptical state legislator’s query about why the school needed a boost in allocations by explaining, “I would like to build a university of which the
Green Bay, already host to four of the ten coldest games in NFL history, prepares for what may become the most frigid contest in the league’s 94 years of existence. Sunday’s game between the Packers and ’49ers, scheduled for 3:40
A 20-year-old California man discovered he was overcharged $45,000 for an appendectomy after consulting the Healthcare Blue Book. Reddit user Zcypher posted photos of the statement his insurance company sent to him that shows a $55,029.31 charge for a surgery
In what you can interpret as either an act of corporate altruism, corporate lobbying, or a mix of both, two giant retailers — Walmart and Walgreens — have agreed to save the Obama Administration from who knows how many horror-story
Minnesota Vikings special teams coach Mike Priefer on Thursday denied allegations by former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe that he was a bigot who made threatening and homophobic comments that Vikings players had said were “messed up.” “I vehemently deny today’s
Amid a $35 billion effort to clean up the damage wrought by nuclear fallout from the Fukushima nuclear plant, Japan is recruiting homeless people and paying them minimum wage to help. They are being paid to work in “an area
As sentencing draws near for Colleen LaRose, a Pennsylvania woman who calls herself Jihad Jane, the U.S. is seeking “decades” of imprisonment for her and a Maryland accomplice. Since her arrest, LaRose has provided “very significant” information to U.S. authorities
One of President Obama’s constant refrains during the battle over health reform has been that expanding coverage would reduce inefficiency in the system. In particular, he often cited expensive expensive emergency room visits as something that reform could help reduce.
Over 16 percent of the weddings held in Maine in 2013 were those of same-sex couples. According to the Maine Office of Data, Research and Vital Statistics, 1,530 same-sex “marriages” were performed in the state since such weddings were made
Will Johnny Manziel, the most hyped college football player since Tim Tebow, also soon find himself experiencing the NFL on his couch rather than on the gridiron? The pair appears at first glance as an odd couple. The former is
Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family is teaming with Mossberg to launch a line of shotguns, .22 rifles, and a pistol. The line of guns is branded Duck Commander, and includes nine different shotguns, two semi-automatic rifles and a semi-automatic pistol. According
The New Years’ Day gay wedding on a float has passed. Most likely to some, it will remain fodder for conversation for both those who oppose and those who advocate same-sex marriage. Indeed, many opposed to gay marriage have criticized
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who used his authority to permit the implementation of Obamacare, robbing Americans of their freedom and their money, used his end-of-the-year report to lament the effect of sequestration on the judicial system. Calling for
India’s president signed laws against corruption and crony capitalism after state elections showed how much citizens in India were punishing those elected officials who became associated with graft and corruption. President Pranab Mukherjee’s signed the anti-corruption laws after the “Common
The ironic fate of the Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy, which has been stuck in the Antarctic ice since Christmas Eve, may soon be resolved by a helicopter rescue. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA) Rescue Coordination Centre, supervising the
