Catholic Hospital Sides Against Religion

Seven years ago, 28-week-pregnant Lori Stodghill was at the St. Thomas More Hospital in Canon City, Colorado after going into cardiac arrest in the lobby of the hospital. She and her unborn twin boys both died. Jeremy Stodghill, Lori’s husband, sued the hospital for the deaths of his sons and wife but they took the defense that an embryo is not a person until it is born. The hospital won the case and sued Stodghill for $118,000. However, they offered to drop the charges if he would drop his appeal of the case. Now Stodghill has petitioned the Colorado Supreme Court to rule on the case. He is also hoping that the Catholic Church will speak out.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/26/us/colorado-fetus-lawsuit/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Flooding in Indonesia

Flooding in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta has resulted in the death of 15 people, with almost half of the deaths being caused by electrocution. Though the month of January is when the monsoon rains are most common, the city received more rain in the past week than it normally does throughout the entire month. The polluted water has forced 19,000 of the 95,000 people that are affected by the flooding to relocate.  The water has even begun to flood the presidential palace. A state of emergency has been declared as schools and businesses remain closed.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/18/world/asia/indonesia-jakarta-floods/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2

Gun Control Debate

After the shooting that occurred at a school in Newtown, Connecticut that killed 27 people, the citizens of the United States have been calling upon the government to implement stricter laws on ownership of guns. Vice President Joe Biden has been given the task of creating recommendations for President Obama on this important issue. Biden has discovered that many people strongly believe that background checks should be performed on everyone who tries to purchase a gun. After Biden’s meeting with the National Rifle Association, the group was disappointed that the conference did not focus as much on mental diseases and school safety as they had hoped.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/10/politics/gun-control-battle/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews 

Jobs Report for December

Economists that had been surveyed by Briefing.com believed that the unemployment rate would stay the same and 150,000 jobs would be created in the month of December. The actual report stated that 155,000 jobs were created in December and the unemployment rate fell by a tenth of a point from November to 7.7%. The increase in jobs and slight decrease in unemployment rates in 2012 was about the same as in 2011. “That’s not enough to make a significant dent in the unemployment rate,” said economists. The number of long-term unemployed Americans was about 4.8 million, which was not very different from 2011.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/04/news/economy/december-jobs-report/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Handcuffed Teenager Shot and Killled by Police Officer

Last Wednesday, 18 year old Lamon Khiry Haslip was handcuffed by police who were in Moreno Valley, California in response to a “man with a gun” call. On Friday, the teenager died from his wounds at a hospital. After Haslip was arrested, the police say that he moved and revealed that he had a gun. The witnesses to the shooting say he did not resist his arrest. Although his neighbors, friends, and pastor are aware that he was a part of a gang, they do not believe that anyone should be shot while handcuffed.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Teenager-Fatally-Shot-by-Deputy-in-Moreno-Valley-185339072.html