Immigrants to France will be made to sign a declaration of values as part of a new campaign to define national identity, France's Prime Minister says. Francois Fillon announced the initiative after three months of public debates around the country. Other measures include the flying of the French flag and the singing of the national anthem, "La Marseilleise," at schools, to promote patriotism. Critics say the debate simply provokes anti-Muslim sentiment and racism. read more
Prior to their arrest at the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Laura Silsby's group of American missionaries had at least one prior run-in with Haitian police and were forced to release 40 children before they reached the border, a Haitian police officer told CNN. read more
Hannah Giles, the young Republican activist who dressed as a prostitute in the anti-ACORN sting videos with James O'Keefe last year, has mailed out a bizarre fundraising appeal for donations to her legal fund. "Obama's ally ACORN is trying to destroy me," claims Giles. Though she portrays herself as being in danger, the 20-year-old adds, "Since I was a young girl I've taken Brazilian ju-jitsu and know how to defend myself. And with a few sensible precautions, I don't think these cowards will show themselves."
A woman fell about to her death Sunday after she chased her dog off a 60-foot cliff in the Mendocino, California, headlands, police said. Witnesses saw Lisa Chapman disappear over the cliff while running after her dog. The dog was later rescued.
Religious people may have taken comfort from a number of studies over the past two decades showing those adhering to a faith tend to be healthier but a new study casts some doubt on this belief. A study of heart disease and clogged arteries finds that attending religious services or having spiritual experiences may not protect against heart attacks and strokes.
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Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. is releasing most of the 80 holds he placed blocking Senate action on Obama appointees to federal posts, a move he undertook to compel passage of a $40 billion tanker refueling project for Northrup Grumman and a $45 million earmark for a Terrorist Explosives Devices Analytical Center, both in his state. He declined a CBS News interview request to explain his actions.
Gerard Alexander: Every political community includes some members who insist that their side has all the answers and that their adversaries are idiots. But American liberals, to a degree far surpassing conservatives, appear committed to the proposition that their views are correct, self-evident, and based on fact and reason, while conservative positions are not just wrong but illegitimate, ideological and unworthy of serious consideration. Indeed, all the appeals to bipartisanship notwithstanding, President Obama and other leading liberal voices have joined in a chorus of intellectual condescension. read more
A 35-year-old Chicago man faces contempt of court charges after defying a court order by taking his three-year-old daughter to a Christian church Jan. 17. "I have been ordered by a judge not to expose my daughter to anything non-Judaism," Reyes told a reporter. "But I am taking her to hear the teachings of perhaps the most prominent Jewish Rabbi in the history of this great planet of ours. I can't think of anything more Jewish than that." read more
A billboard was recently erected on Interstate 35 near Wyoming, Minnesota, with a picture of former President George W. Bush. The caption reads: "Miss Me Yet?" NPR and other media outlets have been unable thus far to find the person who paid for it.
While Shon R. Hopwood was serving in a federal prison in Pekin, Ill., the former bank robber transformed himself into an accomplished Supreme Court practitioner -- getting two cases heard by the court and several others in lower courts. Regarding one filing, former U.S. solicitor general Seth Waxman said, "It was probably one of the best cert. petitions I have ever read."
ep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a longtime fixture on the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending, died after complications from gallbladder surgery, according to his office. He was 77. Although Murtha went in for "routine minimally invasive surgery," doctors at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, "hit his intestines," a source close to the late congressman told CNN. read more
William Saletan: I can't tell you what drugs Pam Tebow was given or how severe her [placental] abruption was. ... But remember, she was doing missionary work in the Philippines. The perinatal and maternal death rates from abruption in her area were probably closer to the rates in Pakistan or Burkina Faso than to the U.S. rate. She and her son are with us today not just because of courage but because of luck.
A new analysis of 100 commercial beers shows the beverage is a significant source of dietary silicon, a key ingredient for bone health. A drinker could get 30 mg of the nutrient from two beers, which may help fight osteoporosis.
Sarah Palin told FoxNews.com she "would be willing" to challenge him in the 2012 presidential race. "I would be willing to if I believe that it's right for the country," Palin said, adding that she sees other potential candidates "in as strong or stronger position than I am to take on the White House and if they're in a better position than I in three years, I'll support them."
The Obama administration is forming the Climate Service, a new government agency within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that will study and report on the changing climate. The NOAA also will be launching a web site to share climatic data from the agency and other sources.
