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Letters revealing Mother Teresa’s half-century-long “crisis of faith” have many pondering what to make of the secret life of one of the most revered figures in modern history. Yet as theologians and psychologists offer interpretations for her deep “darkness,” a preeminent American theologian used Mother Teresa’s struggle to remind believers to trust Christ and not their feelings. Whether it be an average Christian or a saint, doubts on the existence of God and turmoil over the inability to feel His presence is something every Christian has wrestled with. Yet more important than dwelling on human emotions is securing one’s faith...

GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.) said Friday it is “time the taxpayer gravy train left the New Orleans station” and urged an end to the federal aid to the region that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina two years ago. “The amount of money that has been wasted on these so-called ‘recovery’ efforts has been mind-boggling,” said Tancredo, who is running a long-shot presidential campaign. “Enough is enough.” Citing administration figures, the lawmaker said that $114 billion has been spent on the effort to rebuild a large stretch of the Gulf Coast after the storm hit New Orleans in...

Source: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Date: August 31, 2007 Disease Resistance May Be Genetic Science Daily — According to a study in Evolution, resistance to certain infectious diseases may be passed genetically from parent to child. The genetic resistance may be beneficial to families as those with the gene are both unlikely to suffer from disease and unlikely to carry the disease home. Paul Schliekelman, author of the study, says the research was inspired by personal experience after catching stomach flus from his daughter three times over a six-month period. Schliekelman used mathematical models to calculate the possible effect of “kin...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 08/31/2007 Pelosi and Reid Announce Series of House and Senate Hearings on Iraq Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today announced that the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives’ Committees on Armed Services and Foreign Relations and the Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a series of hearings during the first two weeks of September examining the war in Iraq. The hearings will focus on three upcoming reports as well as the recently published National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq and feature testimony by the Government...

"We've killed over 400,000 of their citizens." That's what actor Tim Robbins thinks U.S. troops have been doing in Iraq. He made the claim last week in an appearance on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. He's wrong, of course. American soldiers have not been slaughtering 300 Iraqis a day for the last four years. Even for one of Hollywood's most feculent personalities, this is an appalling slander of U.S. troops. The Iraq Body Count is an antiwar website that tallies all civilian deaths in Iraq as reported in the news media. Theirs is a comprehensive count that seeks to...

CORONA, Calif. -- Leslie Van Houten, the former Charles Manson follower convicted of taking part in a murderous rampage that terrorized Los Angeles 38 years ago, was denied parole Thursday for the 18th time. The two-year denial issued by the parole board means Van Houten, 58, must wait until 2009 to petition again for her release. Van Houten, who is serving time at the California Institution for Women in Corona, was last denied parole in September 2006. "We still feel she's a considerable risk to society," said Patrick Sequeira, a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles County, who attended the...

WALTER CRONKITE'S "WE ARE MIRED IN STALEMATE" BROADCAST, FEBRUARY 27, 1968 But it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could. This is Walter Cronkite. Good night.

VIENNA, Aug. 30 — Iran is expanding its nuclear program in defiance of United Nations’ resolutions, even as it has promised to answer questions about an array of suspicious nuclear activities in the past, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday. The assessment by the nuclear agency states that Iran is now simultaneously operating nearly 2,000 centrifuges, the machines that produce enriched uranium, at its vast underground facility at Natanz, an increase of several hundred machines from three months ago. More than 650 additional centrifuges are being tested or are under construction, the agency said. But the program is running...

  Indicted USF Student has Terror Past in Egypt by IPTIPT News August 31, 2007Two Egyptian students enrolled at the University of South Florida have been indicted for carrying explosive materials across states lines. One of the defendants also is charged with teaching the other how to use them for violent reasons.Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 24, an engineering graduate student and teaching assistant at the Tampa-based university, faces terrorism charges for teaching and demonstrating how to use the explosives.According to officials familiar with the case, Mohamed has been arrested previously in Egypt on terrorism-related charges. He is said to have...

"Mass disturbances" are up sharply at the Guantanamo Bay prison this year despite a security overhaul and the release of dozens of prisoners, according to a new U.S. military report. A one-page report titled "Danger Inside the Wire" said there were 385 mass disturbances in the first six months of 2007 compared to 201 for all of 2006, an increase of more than 90 percent with half the year still to go. The military declined to provide details about the incidents. A Guantanamo spokesman, Army Lt. Col. Ed Bush said the category includes assaults or "other acts" involving at least...

Events on this day in music history, August 31st: 2006 - Lil' Kim appears at the 2006 MTV Video Music awards fresh from prison, wearing a business suit that is a far cry from the skimpy getups of her past. 2004 - Carl Wayne, the former lead vocalist for the hit-making '60s U.K. band the Move and the latter-day singer for the Hollies, dies at his home in England after a battle with cancer. He is 61. 2002 - Steve Wariner receives the 2002 Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award during the Grand Ole Opry's tribute to Minnie Pearl. The previous year's...

She spent her life praising God at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church - but Carmen Gonzalez's funeral will be held on the sidewalk outside the East Harlem building today because the Archdiocese of New York shuttered it last winter. Gonzalez, 72, a nearly life-long Our Lady parishioner who died Monday after a bout with cancer, fought the closure until the end, leading loved ones to say that the unusual memorial would be most fitting. "I have mixed feelings about this, but on the other hand, I think my mom would be very happy and would approve," her son Alfred...

Hillary Clinton's campaign says it's not keeping contributions from fundraiser Norman Hsu. REDWOOD CITY, California (CNN) -- Embattled Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu turned himself in to authorities on Friday on a 16-year-old grand theft charge, according to a San Mateo County, California, Superior Court spokeswoman. Hsu was being held on $2 million bond at the Maguire Correctional Facility in Redwood City, the San Mateo County seat. A bail reduction hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday. Hsu had been a top contributor to Democrats, including presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge has upheld the government's practice of allowing development to proceed even if it is discovered after a project begins that the work could endanger protected species. The National Association of Home Builders praised the ruling Friday, saying its members might have had to delay some projects if U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan had not agreed with the "no surprises" approach to development. "The vast majority of endangered species exist on private property, and there is no way to protect endangered species unless sufficient incentives are given to private landowners," said Duane Desiderio, the...

Source: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Date: August 31, 2007 Global Warming Will Bring Violent Storms And Tornadoes, NASA Predicts Science Daily — NASA scientists have developed a new climate model that indicates that the most violent severe storms and tornadoes may become more common as Earth's climate warms. Clouds over North America on August 2, 2000, as measured by GOES-11. (Credit: NASA/NOAA)Previous climate model studies have shown that heavy rainstorms will be more common in a warmer climate, but few global models have attempted to simulate the strength of updrafts in these storms. The model developed at NASA's Goddard Institute...

Springs elementary gives tag a timeout By BRIAN NEWSOME THE GAZETTE On the playground of a northern Colorado Springs elementary school, tag is not “it.” The touch-and-run game and any other form of chasing was banned this year at Discovery Canyon Campus’ elementary school by administrators who say it fuels schoolyard disputes. “It causes a lot of conflict on the playground,” said Assistant Principal Cindy Fesgen. In the first days of school, before tag was banned, she said students would complain to her about being chased or harassed. Fesgen said she would hear: “Well, I don’t want to be chased,...

Rendell: Suspect's money goes back -- if he's guilty 5:10 PM EDT, August 30, 2007 HARRISBURG - | Gov. Ed Rendell this afternoon defended his decision to keep a $40,000 donation from a prominent Democratic fundraiser who is wanted on a felony fraud charge in California, saying he will only return the charges against him are sustained. In a conference call with reporters, Rendell said fund-raiser Norman Hsu "gave me that money legally. He hasn't been convicted of anything … We'll see what the court system does. If the court sustains it, we'll give it back." The Los Angeles Times...

David Binder's excellent column on Kosovo needs additional clarification ("Kosovo's grim future," Op-Ed, Wednesday). There is an elephant in the middle of Kosovo, and everyone pretends not to see it. The U.N. Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is getting the blame, but let's be clear: UNMIK is only the umbrella. NATO is the real power in Kosovo. Kosovo's criminal leadership regularly consults with NATO and comes to the United States for in-depth consulting with the administration and key political figures that publicly support them. In fact, one administration official was so oblivious to the reality of Kosovo as to suggest that...

After five terms in the U.S. Senate, Warner, 80, said he will not seek re-election in 2008, when his term expires. He is considered one of the nation's senior statesmen and one of the most powerful members of Congress on defense issues. Warner is the state's second-longest serving senator after Harry F. Byrd Sr. (D), who spent 32 years in the U.S. Senate. "I've tired to be true to myself and true to all the people of the great Commonwealth," Warner said. "I've done my best. There is a fullness of time and ground. I yield that time, so others...

WASHINGTON — Idaho Sen. Larry Craig will resign from the Senate Saturday after pressure from fellow Republicans to step down after an arrest in a men's room sex sting, according to a report. Craig decided to resign with plans to make the announcement on Saturday, the Associated Press reported. Craig will hold a news conference in Boise on Saturday, his spokesman, Dan Whiting said, but he would not say whether the three-term senator planned to step down. Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, however, appeared to have settled on a successor: Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, according to several Republicans familiar with...