The Maine State Prison chapter of the NAACP is one of its only predominantly white chapters. "Colored people come in all colors," said the group's president Benjamin Todd Jealous.
Senior Congressional Democrats told ABC News today it is highly unlikely that a health care reform bill will be completed this year, just a week after President Barack Obama declared he was "absolutely confident" he'll be able to sign one by then. Read More
A Louisiana justice of the peace who drew criticism for refusing to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple has resigned, the secretary of state's office said Tuesday. Keith Bardwell, a justice of the peace for Tangipahoa Parish's 8th Ward, was widely criticized after he refused to grant a marriage license to Beth McKay and Terence McKay, an interracial couple who ultimately got a marriage license from another justice of the peace in the same parish. Read More
Democrat Bill Owens defeated conservative independent Doug Hoffman in the race for New York's 23rd Congressional District, the first time since the 19th century that a Democrat holds the seat. Hoffman was endorsed by Sarah Palin and other national Republicans, who drove Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava from the race. Read More
Voters in Maine on Tuesday repealed the state's same sex marriage law. With 87 percent reporting, a Yes vote for repeal led 53 to 47 percent. Maine's gay marriage law passed the Legislature in the spring but was never allowed to take effect. "God has given us this victory," said the Rev. Bob Emrich. Read More
A Republican Party that struggled in the wake of recent Democratic landslides sprang back to life Tuesday with wins in hotly contested races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, according to CNN projections.
In a bad mood? Don't worry - according to research, it's good for you. An Australian psychology expert who has been studying emotions has found being grumpy makes us think more clearly. In contrast to those annoying happy types, miserable people are better at decision-making and less gullible, his experiments showed. While cheerfulness fosters creativity, gloominess breeds attentiveness and careful thinking, Professor Joe Forgas told Australian Science Magazine.
A Saudi court upheld a ruling to behead and crucify a 22-year-old man convicted of raping five children and leaving one on three-year-old to die in the desert, newspapers reported on Tuesday. The convict was arrested earlier this year after a seven-year old boy helped police in their investigation. Read More
A bear killed two militants after discovering them in its den in Indian-administered Kashmir, police say. Two other militants escaped, one of them badly wounded, after the attack in Kulgam district, south of Srinagar. The militants had assault rifles but were taken by surprise.
Heated referendums over same-sex partnership laws in Maine and Washington powered voter turnouts today in an off-year election that included closely watched races in New Jersey, Virginia and New York.
In a deal to avoid jail time, a 56-year-old Pennsylvania woman and her 35-year-old daughter were forced to carry signs revealing their theft from a nine-year-old girl. Evelyn Border and Tina Griekspoor took a girl's gift card at Wal-Mart. Their signs read: "I stole from a 9-year-old girl on her birthday! Don't steal or this could happen to you!"
A young Iraqi woman whose father allegedly hit her with his car because she had become too Westernized died from her injuries Monday after laying in a coma for nearly two weeks. Noor Faleh Almaleki, 20, underwent spinal surgery and had been in a hospital since Oct. 20, when police say her father ran down her and her boyfriend's mother with his Jeep as the women were walking across a parking lot in the west Phoenix suburb of Peoria. Read More
TheHill: Sen. Joe Lieberman has reached a private understanding with Majority Leader Harry Reid that he will not block a final vote on healthcare reform, according to two sources briefed on the matter. Read More
The tiny state of Delaware beats Switzerland in a contest for the most secretive financial jurisdiction, a tax justice rights group said on Saturday. The United States, led by the eastern seaboard state, took in $2.6 trillion in deposits from non-resident corporations and individuals in 2007, according to the Tax Justice Network. A survey of laws, practices and size of inflows in 60 jurisdictions found Delaware coming in first, followed by Luxembourg and then Switzerland.
Meb Keflezighi, a 34-year-old runner who emigrated to San Diego, Calif., in 1987 from war-ridden Eritrea, became the first American to win the New York Marathon since 1982. Keflezighi, who became a U.S. citizen in 1998, also medaled for the country at the 2004 Olympics. But he's only "technically American," CNBC reporter Darren Rovell blogged on Monday. "He is an American citizen thanks to taking a test and living in our country. Nothing against Keflezighi, but he's like a ringer who you hire to work a couple hours at your office so that you can win the executive softball league."
CNN political consultant Ed Rollins, the architect of President Reagan's landslide 1984 re-election campaign, owes more than $1.33 million in state and federal taxes, according to tax lien filings and warrants in New York City and Oklahoma. Read More
