Free Republic

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is eyeing a change to the United States Constitution. The state's legislature on Thursday approved a resolution in support of Newsom's call for a 28th Constitutional amendment, according to the Los Angeles Times. The amendment would enshrine a list of Democratic gun-control policy priorities into federal law. California is requesting a Constitutional convention to enshrine the amendment. For the amendment to be considered, two-thirds of state legislatures would have to vote in favor of a convention, according to the Times. The proposed "Right to Safety Amendment" would limit legal gun ownership to adults 21 and older,...

A gay man has spoken of his joy after his mother gave birth to his child, following a surrogate pregnancy. Anne-Marie Casson, 46, gave birth to baby Miles via C-section, after a donor egg was fertilised with the sperm of her 27-year-old son, Kyle. Kyle, 27, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire is believed to be the first single man in the UK to have a child through surrogacy, and also the first man to use his own mother as a surrogate host. But after a High Court ruling, he can now become the child’s legal father, despite also legally being the...

A new program in San Francisco will pair carefully selected dogs from shelters with panhandlers in an effort to steer the latter away from asking for money on the streets and keep the animals from being euthanized. The temporary guardians (the words "pet" and "owner" are frowned upon in San Francisco) will receive weekly stipends of $50 to $75 and must agree to jettison their cardboard signs in the pilot project believed to be the first of its kind in the country. The program, scheduled to start in August, is called WOOF, short for Wonderful Opportunities for Occupants and Fidos....

The hippo is most dangerous animal in the whole of Africa. But they're not all bad - as these incredible pictures show. A South African farmer has developed a friendship with one that is so trustworthy, the hippo helps him cross lakes on his 400-acre farmstead. Marius Els breeds 20 different species of wildlife on land near Petrus Steynlakes, including giraffe, buffalo, rhinos and antelope. But he has a real soft spot for Humphrey, whom he bought aged just five months and allows to roam free. He even built a dam to create a 200m wide and 18m deep lake...

Pet dog? Cat? Maybe a goldfish? Not for naturalist Casey Anderson, who adopted a grizzly bear cub seven years ago after the furry one-month-old was found orphaned in an overpopulated wildlife park. Anderson named his new pet Brutus, and the two have been inseparable ever since — together, they've set out on a yearlong mission to chronicle the lives of Yellowstone's vulnerable grizzly bears. The pair star in the National Geographic special “Expedition Grizzly featuring Casey Anderson,” airing Sunday, May 3 at p.m. ET/PT.

PHOENIX -- An Arizona man is betting that a chance at $1 million will bring more people to the polls. Dr. Mark Osterloh is a Tucson, Ariz., ophthalmologist and political activist who headed and bankrolled the campaign to get a proposal on the state's November ballot that would give one lucky voter $1 million. Under the proposal, anyone who actually casts a ballot would be eligible. Osterloh and other supporters submitted petitions Monday bearing what they said were more than 185,000 signatures of registered voters. That's well over the 122,000 required to put a proposed state law on the 2006...

Eventually, the school district acknowledged it had no policy preventing a student from praying during free time, and allowed Yasmeen to use an empty classroom to unfurl her prayer rug, face Mecca and touch her head to the floor in a few moments of worship. Her case was part of a nationwide grass-roots effort by Muslim parents to make public schools more friendly and accommodating to Muslim students. The movement has gained strength since the September 11 terror attacks. "The reality for many Muslim students in public schools is very difficult," said Ingrid Mattson, vice president of the Islamic Society...