| It's not just Norway – some developing countries are seeing gains in happiness index, too Posted: 21 Mar 2017 03:06 PM PDT ![It's not just Norway – some developing countries are seeing gains in happiness index, too]( "It's not just Norway – some developing countries are seeing gains in happiness index, too") The World Happiness Report, an index that rates nations based on factors such as income and life expectancy, released its 2017 list Monday at the United Nations. The list doesn't contain any surprises among the happiest or least happy nations, where Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, and Finland rounded out the top and the Central African Republic, Syria, Tanzania, and Burundi came in among the bottom of the list.
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| With health-care vote, Republicans seek to prove they can get things done Posted: 21 Mar 2017 02:52 PM PDT ![With health-care vote, Republicans seek to prove they can get things done]( "With health-care vote, Republicans seek to prove they can get things done") On Tuesday morning, President Trump came to the basement conference room of House Republicans to do what he was supposedly born to do: Seal the deal. In this case, that meant lining up enough House votes to pass the GOP plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act on Thursday. The North Carolinian opposes the GOP health-care bill.
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| Biden returns: What's next in the Obamacare fight? Posted: 21 Mar 2017 02:25 PM PDT ![Biden returns: What's next in the Obamacare fight?]( "Biden returns: What's next in the Obamacare fight?") In the eyes of some Democrats, he might be the hero the party deserves – and the hero it needs. Joining House minority leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats on the steps of the Capitol, an Obamacare rally will mark an unusually political start for a post-vice presidency. The Democratic leaders will gather on the front steps of the Capitol at 10 a.m. Wednesday in a joint celebration of Obamacare's 7th anniversary and in protest of its potentially imminent repeal, according to Politico.
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| Martin McGuinness: How being honest about his IRA ties let him become a peacemaker Posted: 21 Mar 2017 02:17 PM PDT ![Martin McGuinness: How being honest about his IRA ties let him become a peacemaker]( "Martin McGuinness: How being honest about his IRA ties let him become a peacemaker") This morning I awoke to the news that Martin McGuinness, the former first minister of Northern Ireland and a noted commander of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), had died. Although McGuinness nominally stood down as first minister in January of this year because a scandal had engulfed his coalition partner, the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), he stated that for health reasons he would not himself be seeking re-election. Of course, as an IRA commander, McGuinness was a man who knew a thing or two about death.
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| Long a way station for refugees, immigrants, Mexico now playing host Posted: 21 Mar 2017 02:13 PM PDT ![Long a way station for refugees, immigrants, Mexico now playing host]( "Long a way station for refugees, immigrants, Mexico now playing host") Five times over the past 14 years, Melvin, a young Honduran, attempted to cross the southern border of the United States. Five times, he was caught and deported back to Central America. Melvin and his family, who suffered death threats and extortion by local gangs in Honduras, applied for refugee status in Mexico, and are now awaiting the government's response.
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| When ex-offenders deserve forgiveness on their records Posted: 21 Mar 2017 01:49 PM PDT ![When ex-offenders deserve forgiveness on their records]( "When ex-offenders deserve forgiveness on their records") Scholars who study forgiveness often say that it can benefit both the forgiver and the forgiven, assuming the forgiven has paid a price for his or her wrongdoing and shows contrition. Forgiveness, in other words, is a two-way street toward healing a relationship. The idea has now been put to the test in a research report on what is an increasingly popular type of government forgiveness: allowing many ex-offenders to control public knowledge of their past crime.
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| Youth opioid use has declined somewhat. What's behind the drop? Posted: 21 Mar 2017 01:34 PM PDT ![Youth opioid use has declined somewhat. What's behind the drop?]( "Youth opioid use has declined somewhat. What's behind the drop?") The rate of exposure to prescription opioids among children and teenagers in the United States dropped between 2009 and 2015, after a rapid increase in the early 2000s, a new study published on Monday shows. By looking at reports from the National Poison Data System over a 16-year period, a team of researchers at the University of Michigan found evidence that the US opioid epidemic has also extended to young children, as poison control centers across the country recorded an average of 32 calls a day from families for exposure incidents – which meant that, over that time period, somewhere in the US such a call was being made once approximately every 45 minutes.
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| Defeating ISIS: Is Trump administration ready for the long haul? Posted: 21 Mar 2017 12:47 PM PDT ![Defeating ISIS: Is Trump administration ready for the long haul?]( "Defeating ISIS: Is Trump administration ready for the long haul?") Is it possible to defeat the Islamic State in a year? President Trump has directed the Pentagon to deliver plans to achieve that goal.
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| The Cybersecurity Podcast Posted: 21 Mar 2017 12:03 PM PDT ![The Cybersecurity Podcast]( "The Cybersecurity Podcast") Cybersecurity is not just about computers and digital processes. The most important, and most interesting, part of the story is the people behind the keyboard.
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| Why were Confederate battle flags flown during March Madness? Posted: 21 Mar 2017 12:03 PM PDT ![Why were Confederate battle flags flown during March Madness?]( "Why were Confederate battle flags flown during March Madness?") It has nothing to do with basketball, but an incident during NCAA March Madness games served as a reminder that the south still struggles with the complicated symbol that embodies the scars of the Civil War and modern racial tensions. The Confederate battle flag flew conspicuously over the parking garage for the South Carolina stadium hosting two NCAA March Madness basketball games on Sunday. A small group hoisted the large flag to protest the NCAA's opposition to the symbol, which had resulted in a boycott of Greenville, S.C., as a game site since 2001.
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| Cinco de Mayo cancelled in Philadelphia amid immigration fears Posted: 21 Mar 2017 12:01 PM PDT ![Cinco de Mayo cancelled in Philadelphia amid immigration fears]( "Cinco de Mayo cancelled in Philadelphia amid immigration fears") Organizers of a prominent Mexican festival in Philadelphia have cancelled this year's parade over concerns that immigration authorities could target attendees. Edgar Ramirez, one of the six organizers who decided unanimously to cancel it, told local station WCAU-TV that the decision was a "sad but responsible" one in light of the "severe conditions affecting the immigrant community," citing recent large-scale immigration raids that include a roundup of 248 people in Pennsylvania and neighboring states this month. "We have people who travel all the way from Chicago, Connecticut and New York," Mr. Ramirez told the station.
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| Ivanka Trump gets West Wing office, access to classified information Posted: 21 Mar 2017 11:59 AM PDT ![Ivanka Trump gets West Wing office, access to classified information]( "Ivanka Trump gets West Wing office, access to classified information") President Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, will get an office in the White House's West Wing, along with government-issued communications devices and access to classified information, giving new prominence to her background role as an advisor to the president. Ms. Trump, whose husband, Jared Kushner, also serves as a senior advisor to the president, will not be paid for her work nor will she receive an official title, according to Jamie Gorelick, an attorney and ethics adviser for Ivanka.
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| US Secretary of State Tillerson to skip meeting of NATO foreign ministers Posted: 21 Mar 2017 09:48 AM PDT ![US Secretary of State Tillerson to skip meeting of NATO foreign ministers]( "US Secretary of State Tillerson to skip meeting of NATO foreign ministers") Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will skip a semi-annual NATO summit set for early April, in a rare no-show for the top diplomat from the country that serves as the alliance's de facto leader. Mr. Tillerson will instead attend an overlapping two-day talk in Florida between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, leaving Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon to represent the United States at the NATO meeting, where European governments hold discussions on nuclear policy and strategic matters of high confidentiality. The month after the summit, Tillerson will attend a G7 meeting in Sicily, then travel to Moscow to meet with top diplomats from Russia, topping off a schedule that seems to underscore early signs of a radical shift in diplomacy under the Trump administration – one that has ruffled feathers with many old allies.
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| Legendary tomb of Jesus resurrected Posted: 21 Mar 2017 07:24 AM PDT ![Legendary tomb of Jesus resurrected]( "Legendary tomb of Jesus resurrected") Believed by the devout to house the final resting place of Jesus Christ, Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre will open to the public on Wednesday after nearly a year of restoration. An ongoing dispute between the religious groups controlling the site had brought the burial place, known as the Edicule, to the brink of collapse. "We are at the critical moment for rehabilitating the Edicule," director of the restoration Antonia Moropoulou told National Geographic.
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| In Gorsuch hearings, questions of religious liberty and the law Posted: 20 Mar 2017 09:09 PM PDT ![In Gorsuch hearings, questions of religious liberty and the law]( "In Gorsuch hearings, questions of religious liberty and the law") Of all the people to speak on the first day of what promises to be a grueling week of hearings, Judge Neil Gorsuch – the man whose confirmation to the US Supreme Court is being deliberated – was notably concise. "In my childhood it was God and Byron White," he said, referencing the former Supreme Court justice whom he clerked for. Indeed, "God and Byron White" could be a succinct description for the lines of inquiry Republicans and Democrats can be expected to take when the Senate Judiciary Committee begins questioning Judge Gorsuch Tuesday. As the minority, Democrats can't boycott him the way Senate Republicans did with Judge Merrick Garland, nominated by former President Obama.
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| In day of testimony, 'Russia problem' deepens for Trump White House Posted: 20 Mar 2017 04:20 PM PDT ![In day of testimony, 'Russia problem' deepens for Trump White House]( "In day of testimony, 'Russia problem' deepens for Trump White House") Russia is a serious problem the White House can't just tweet away. If nothing else, the Kremlin is probably pleased with its effort to sow discord and division in US politics, agreed FBI Director James Comey and National Security Agency Director Adm. Mike Rogers at the House Intelligence Committee hearing. "Absent some change in the dynamic, this is not likely to stop," said Adm. Rogers of Russia's multi-pronged effort to influence American elections.
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