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BAGHDAD – A car bomb exploded in a crowded outdoor market in the northern city of Kirkuk on Tuesday, killing at least 27 people, police said, a deadly reminder of the challenges facing the Iraqi government even as it celebrated the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from cities. The bombing marred what had otherwise been a festive day as Iraqis commemorated the newly declared National Sovereignty Day with military parades and marching bands. It also came hours after four U.S. soldiers were killed in combat Monday in Baghdad. Although there were no immediate claims of responsibility, the bombing and the...

WASHINGTON—With the 2010 census months away, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on Tuesday hired three experts to assess potential problems as the government waits for confirmation of President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the high-stakes count.

Denver, CO (LifeNews.com) -- Although they were not successful in getting their states to sign off on state constitution amendments for personhood for unborn children, pro-life advocates in Colorado and Montana are giving the effort another try. A large majority of Colorado voters rejected one amendment while Montana voters never had a chance to vote on the proposal there.Backers of the amendments will host kickoffs in both states on measures they say will recognize the rights of all citizens, including children who haven't been born. In Montana, pro-life state Rep. Wendy Warburton is working with the Montana Pro Life Coalition...

Gospel superstar Andrae Crouch and his twin sister, Sandra, confirm meeting with Michael Jackson and praying and singing with him weeks before his death. Jackson, raised as a member of the Jehovah's Witness sect and reportedly a convert to Islam last year, sought out the Crouches for inspiration for his upcoming tour, for which he was unprepared, according to a report in Assist News Service. But while some blogs have reported that meeting led to a spiritual conversion by Jackson, the Crouches say they are not certain. "Not sure where that came from," said Sandra Crouch on her Facebook page....

First off, let me say that given the historical hatred for Jews in the world, I am loath to write an article critical of members of my own faith. But this needs to be said, and I'm going to say it. To all Jews reading this, take the time and fully digest the ideas being discussed here. Yes, I'm Jewish, but unlike most of my brethren, I voted McCain. Living in New York, I've been amazed by just how many fellow Jews supported Obama in the 2008 election. Many of them Liberals, proud, loud, outspoken Liberals who won't even debate...

President Obama says the coup in Honduras is 'not legal' and supports President Manuel Zelaya.

Randy L. Rasmussen/The OregonianCarl and Raylene Worthington held hands as they observed the opening of their trial Monday in Oregon City. The couple, who favor faith healing over medical treatment, face criminal charges in the death of their 15-month-old daughter. OREGON CITY -- Prosecution and defense attorneys differed sharply Monday on what led to the death of 15-month-old Ava Worthington. Ava, malnourished and in obvious distress, "died a needless death" because her parents, Raylene and Carl Brent Worthington, failed to provide adequate medical care, said Greg Horner, chief deputy district attorney."This child had a cold, and it didn't appear...

Sorry, been meaning to say this for a couple of days. It’s not very fair that the Americans, who couldn’t give a fig about soccer, are getting really good at it. Meanwhile, dear old England, as far as I can see, have got tons of work to do before they become serious contenders for next year’s World Cup in South Africa. I’ve been saying since the World Cup was played in the US in 1994 and the hosts lost narrowly to Brazil, that the USA would win the trophy before England did so again. And I haven’t been proved wrong...

“Never before have so few stolen so much from so many for so little.” -Jefferson Paine Open Letter to: Mr. David Reichert Republican Representative Washington State Delegation June 30th, 2009 Dear Mr. Reichert, Please, resign your seat in the U.S. House of Representatives because of your “Yes” vote in favor of the abominable “Cap and Trade” or “Climate Change” bill - and without having even read the final bill in its entirety before voting on it. Your egregious voting record does not represent me, or of any Republican that I know. Since your debut in Congress, I have been watching...

June 30, 2009 (PRI) - Is pro-choice the new pro-life? According to the New York Times, it doesn't really matter, because you probably don't understand the terms anyway. According to the Times the recent Gallup Poll showing that a majority of Americans are pro-life is faulty at best, and downright sinister at worst. The poll, conducted May 7-10, found that 51% of Americans are now "calling themselves 'pro-life' on the issue of abortion and 42% 'pro-choice.' According to Gallup, this is "the first time a majority of U.S. adults have identified themselves as pro-life since Gallup began asking this question...

Well, here we go again on the Barack Obama birth certificate controversy that just won't die because it's one of those zombie issues like who really killed JFK. No less an authority on politics, history and government archives than the Pat Boone is now raising serious questions about the legitimacy of the entire Obama administration and everything it has done since those 21 guns went off shortly after noon on Jan. 20. This is because a lot of people, including firebrand conservative Alan Keyes (as The Ticket described here in February) and now Boone, insist or suggest or imply that...

Hotel owners are facing the same problems as homeowners, being upside down on their properties with no good escape. Please consider Hotel foreclosures jump in California. In California, 175 hotels are in default -- the first stage in the foreclosure process -- according to a report from Atlas Hospitality Group, an Irvine-based brokerage firm. Another 31 have been foreclosed, nearly one third of them in the Inland region. Of those in default or foreclosure, about 75 percent obtained new loans between 2005 and 2007 for construction financing, re-financing or to buy the hotel, according to the firm. Atlas Hospitality estimates...

What exactly is in Benedict XVI’s new encyclical on the economy and labor issues is not yet known. Catholic leftists and progressives, though, are already trembling with excitement. Three glaring errors have already appeared in these heavily panting anticipations. An accurate presentation of real existing capitalism requires at least three modest affirmations: 1) Markets work well only within a system of law, and only according to well-marked-out rules of the game; unregulated markets are a figment of imagination. 2) In actual capitalist practice, the love of creativity, invention, and groundbreaking enterprise are far more powerful than motives of greed. 3)...

BIRMINGHAM, June 30, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Planned Parenthood counselor in Birmingham was caught on hidden camera telling an alleged 14-year-old statutory rape victim that the clinic "does sometimes bend the rules a little bit" rather than report sexual abuse to state authorities. This is the seventh Planned Parenthood clinic implicated in a multi-state child abuse scandal involving the deliberate and unlawful suppression of evidence of statutory rape. (View video here) Lila Rose, 20-year-old UCLA student and president of the non-profit Live Action, went undercover at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Birmingham and told a counselor that she was...

I've always had the notion that the Democratic Party contradicts itself. We see evidence of this on a daily basis with the current Obama Administration. Sometimes it's hard for me to put thoughts into words; such is the case today.

The roots of ACORN becoming the bogeyman in conservative circles could likely be found in that group's involvement in the Community Reinvestment Act. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if conservatives blamed the CRA, wrongly in my opinion, largely because ACORN is so tied to it.

At the height of his stardom, Michael Jackson shot to the top of the charts around the world with the sanguine message, "It don't matter if you're black or white." In his death, as in his life, the reality has been more gray. Cultural institutions of Black America -- from Harlem's Apollo Theater to the Black Entertainment Television (BET) awards in Los Angeles -- witnessed an outpouring of grief since the King of Pop died Thursday. But for some residents in South-Central Los Angeles, Jackson leaves a deeply complicated legacy -- an African-American who tore down racial barriers with his...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. official says a North Korean ship has turned around and is headed back the way it came, after being tracked for days by American vessels on suspicion it was carrying illicit weapons. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence, says it is unclear whether the Kang Nam is going back to its home port in North Korea or diverting elsewhere.

WHEN I got the call Dec. 11 that Bernard Madoff was a fraud, and that my husband's and my money -- $1.6 million -- was likely all gone, my brain couldn't comprehend it, nor what the next six months would entail. For days, Dominic and I just held each other. We didn't want to be apart. I remember the weather in Phoenix being unusually cold and raw. It seemed appropriate. Dominic and I were fortunate to have been able to travel in our motor home and see the country for the last four years. We loved retirement and even had...

As a senator, Joe Biden had pushed a plan to partition Iraq. Now the White House wants him to lead efforts toward political reconciliation in the war-torn country. Vice President Biden, who as a senator advocated a plan to partition Iraq, has been tapped to oversee political reconciliation among Iraqi factions, the White House announced Tuesday. As the U.S. military met its deadline to withdraw from Iraqi cities, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said President Obama asked his No. 2 to work with Gen. Ray Odierno, the top commander in Iraq, and Amb. Christopher Hill on mending fences in...