Michigan Court Delays Decision on Gay Marriage Ban

  A federal judge decided on Thursday that he will wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on two landmark gay marriage cases before deciding on whether Michigan’s ban on gay marriage is constitutional.    “I think we must wait,” said U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman in a hearing brought ...

German Chancellor Gives-in to Conservatives on the Issue of Gay Rights

  German chancellor Angela Merkel has decided not to endorse an expansion of gay rights, even as many members of her Christian Democratic party are willing to embrace change.    The chancellor is under pressure to take a stand after the nation’s high court ruled that same-sex couples should be legally permitted ...

Throng of Hundreds of Thousands March in Puerto Rico against Gay Rights

  Roughly 200,000 religious Christians marched to voice their anti-gay sentiment in Puerto Rico on Monday afternoon. The march is considered the largest anti-gay demonstration in the commonwealth’s history.   Forming around San Juan’s Capitol building, hundreds of thousands religious Puerto Ricans halted ...

Jobless Benefits May be Cut by 10%

  Forced federal budget cuts initiated by Congress could cost the jobless up to 10% in their unemployment benefits. This proposal would take place March 1st if the budget proposal passes.   Aside from unemployment benefits, many other safety net programs, including Medicaid and food stamps, are protected from the $85 ...

French Lawmakers Approve Same-Sex Marriage Bill

Same-sex marriage in France is now one step closer to legality, as lawmakers in the lower house of parliament approved a bill that extends the right to adopt and marry to same-sex couples. The initiative secured approval in the National Assembly by a vote of 329 to 229 and 10 abstains. Before it can be placed into law, the bill ...

Texas Mayor Arrested for Stealing Money from Toyah

On November 30, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas announced that Bartolo Sanchez, the mayor of Toyah, Texas, was arrested for fraud and identity theft charges.  He is suspected of stealing $300,000 from the city through fraudulent mileage reimbursement claims and personal expenditures while using ...

Baylor University Medical Center to Pay over $900,000

On November 27, 2012, the Department of Justice announced that Baylor University Medical Center, Baylor Health Care System, and HealthTexas Provider Network agreed to pay the federal government $907,355 for submitting false claims to Medicare. False claims were also submitted to the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) ...

The “Fiscal Cliff” will Certainly Affect States’ Budgets

The fiscal cliff is the expiration of federal tax provisions and implementation of spending cuts scheduled for January 2013.  If the fiscal cliff occurs, states—especially those connected to the federal tax code and federal spending—will see fewer federal deductions.  A recent report by Pew Center on the States ...

Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed Against City of San Jacinto

On November 13, 2012, the Justice Department announced that it filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of San Jacinto in California for violating the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act.  The lawsuit was filed for the city’s treatment of group homes for disabled persons.   According to the ...

United States to Become Energy Independent by 2035

On November 12, 2012, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that North America will become the largest net oil exporter by 2035.  In a time where fuel and energy costs are at the center of most debates, there is finally good news for the United States.   The IEA reports that global demand for oil will reach ...

Most Popular News