Eyder Peralta

The Boy Scouts of America has sent a detailed survey about its exclusion of gay members to 1.1 million scouts.

As The New York Times reports, the survey doesn't just pose a simple yes or no question on whether the Scouts should lift its ban on gay members and ...

The percentage of American Catholics who identify as "strong" members of the church has declined to a 40-year low.

That's according to new analysis of the General Social Survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

The analysis found that in 2012, only about 27 percent of ...

Florida's lieutenant governor abruptly stepped down on Wednesday, two days after Florida law enforcement officials questioned her involvement with a non-profit under investigation.

According to The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union, Jennifer Carroll sent a resignation letter to Gov. Rick Scott that did not give a motive for her resignation. Adam ...

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $9.9 million to four men who allege they were abused by former priest Michael Baker, the men's attorney tells the AP.

The Los Angeles Times reports the settlement stems from what Cardinal Roger Mahony, who is in ...

Ewald-Heinrich Von Kleist, the last survivor of a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, has died, the Associated Press reports quoting his wife.

Von Kleist, a former German army lieutenant, first volunteered to wear a suicide vest in 1944. He was scheduled to meet Hitler to model a new uniform and ...

The group of scientists working with NASA's Curiosity rover made a big announcement during a press conference today: "We have found a habitable environment that is so benign" if there was water there, "you be able to drink it," John P. Grotzinger, professor of geology at Caltech, said summing up ...

Google has agreed to pay a $7 million fine to settle claims from 37 states and the District of Columbia that the search giant improperly collected data from unsecured wireless networks across the United States using its "Street View" vehicles.

As we've reported, Google raised eyebrows back in 2010 ...

It became the iconic photograph of Israel's military strikes in Gaza last November:

It showed Jihad Misharawi, a BBC Arabic journalist, carrying the body of his 11-month-old son, Ahmad. Misharawi is wailing, asking "What did my son do to die like this?"

An easy inference to make from the photograph ...

We'll get back to the news in no time. But first, some fun.

If you've followed this blog, you'll know that we like a good dance video. Today, we've come upon two.

First (hat tip: Gawker) is a video of Josh Griffith, a self-described "big nature nerd/mountain man ...

The judge in charge of the case against the alleged Colorado theater shooter said he would warn James Holmes that if he pleads not guilty by reason of insanity he could be drugged for interviews with the state.

Denver's ABC affiliate reports:

"Judge William Blair Sylvester issued an ...

In separate events, the Chinese and American governments called for standards regarding cyberattacks.

The New York Times reports that in a speech, today, President Obama's national security adviser, Thomas E. Donilon, called on China to takes steps to stop the attacks.

The Times reports this is the "first direct ...

Lawyers for former Sen. Larry Craig argued today that using campaign money for a legal defense over his 2007 arrest was proper because he was arrested while on official business.

If you recall, Craig, a Republican from Idaho, was arrested during a sting at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Craig ...

Update at 8:35 a.m. ET, March 12. Nearly Unanimous:

"An overwhelming 99.8 percent of Falkland Islands voters have backed keeping their government just the way it is: a British Overseas Territory," The Associated Press writes. "Of the 1,517 valid votes cast, only 3 islanders voted "no" to the ...

There is one bit of news from last week's Kenyan elections that's just now getting international attention: Malik Obama, President Obama's older half brother, suffered a crushing loss in his bid to become governor of Siaya.

Kenya's Daily Nation reports:

"Standing well over six feet, Obama, who describes ...

A French mother was in court Wednesday for what she says was a simple birthday celebration but what the government alleges is a clear provocation, an allusion to terrorism.

The BBC reports that Bouchra Bagour, 35, has been charged with "glorifying crime" after she sent her three-year-old son — ...

For the first time, the Bulgarian National Assembly is expressing "regret" for deporting more than 11,000 Jews to German death camps.

The declaration passed today is truly bitter sweet, because while it calls the deportations a "criminal act," it also praises Bulgarian citizens and politicians for saving more than ...

During a ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, John Brennan was sworn in as the director of the Central Intelligence Office by Vice President Joe Biden.

According to the White House, Brennan took his oath by putting his hand "on an original draft of the Constitution, ...

Presidents and dignitaries from around the globe are gathered in Caracas this morning to pay their final respects to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

CBS News reports:

"Hours before the visiting dignitaries arrived, Venezuelans in their hundreds of thousands were still filing past Chavez's glass-covered casket in a round-the-clock ...

It has some people saying: This is why we can't have nice things.

According to the student newspaper, the Columbia Spectator, ever since the dining halls at Columbia University were stocked with Nutella, students have been consuming "up to 100 pounds per day."

And by consuming, they mean eating ...

The mourning over the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez took a Lenin-eque turn today: Acting President Nicolas Maduro announced that his remains will be on permanent display at the Museum of the Revolution, "close to the presidential palace where Chavez ruled for 14 years," the AP reports.