Daily News Digest

The Top 10 Stories of May 25, 2012

Jack Palmer — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“It just makes me nervous when you take genetic matter from something else that wouldn’t have been done in nature and put it into food.” - Cynthia LaPier, a mental health counselor in Massachusetts who engages in “guerilla labeling” of foods she knows contain genetically modified organisms.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of May 24, 2012

Jack Palmer — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“We never would have expected a Democratic president — let alone one seeking to be ‘transformative’ — to open up the Arctic Ocean for drilling.” - Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club on the Obama administration’s decision to allow Shell to drill for oil in the Alaskan Arctic.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of May 23, 2012

Jack Palmer — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“I feel freedom and for the first time, my voice and opinion really counts.” - Mounira Fawaz, after casting her vote in the Egyptian presidential elections, the first democratic election in the country’s history.
(Al Jazeera)

The Top 10 Stories of May 22, 2012

Jack Palmer — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“You’ve grown up quickly over the last year. You’ve learned at a younger age than most that we can’t always predict what life has in store for us. No matter how we might try to avoid it, life can bring heartache. Life involves struggle. Life will bring loss. But here in Joplin, you’ve also learned that we have the power to grow from these experiences. We can define our lives not by what happens to us, but by how we respond.” President Barack Obama addresses graduating seniors at Missouri Southern State University, marking the one-year anniversary of a powerful tornado that ripped through Joplin, destroying the local high school and much of the city.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of May 21, 2012

Duane Shank — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“The medals are supposed to be for acts of heroism. I don't feel like a hero. I don't feel like I deserve them. I witnessed civilian casualties and civilians being arrested in what I consider an illegal occupation of a sovereign nation." - Zach LaPorte, who served with the U.S. Army in Iraq in 2005 and 2006, on returning his medals at a rally in Chicago during NATO protests.
(Chicago Tribune)

The Top 10 Stories of May 18, 2012

Duane Shank — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"What is the Republican leadership afraid of? Are they afraid a bipartisan majority of this House will vote to follow the will of the American people and change our Afghanistan policy?" - Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), after the House Rules Committee refused to allow a floor vote on an amendment he co-sponsored with Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) for a faster withdrawal of troops.
(CNN)

The Top 10 Stories of May 17, 2012

Duane Shank — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"If you're eating out tonight, your chances of finding an entree that's truly healthy are painfully low." - Helen Wu, assistant policy analyst at RAND, on a new study showing that 96 percent of main entrees sold at top chain restaurants exceed daily limits for calories, sodium, fat, and saturated fat.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of May 16, 2012

Duane Shank — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“The world has changed, but the current arsenal carries the baggage of the cold war. There is the baggage of significant numbers in reserve. There is the baggage of a nuclear stockpile beyond our needs. What is it we’re really trying to deter?” - Gen. James E. Cartwright, retired vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former commander of the United States’ nuclear forces, calling for a drastic reduction in the number of nuclear warheads.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of May 15, 2012

Duane Shank — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"The church is supposed to be the lobbyist of the poor, and the church has given up on its calling and resigned itself to a powerless position. We've sort of forgotten that for a long time. These are some of the signs that we're stepping up. We need to reclaim that heritage." Shanta Premawardhana, president of the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education in Chicago, on clergy engaging people of faith in conversations during the upcoming NATO Summit about why they should work to end poverty, world hunger and war.
(Chicago Tribune)

The Top 10 Stories of May 14, 2012

Duane Shank — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the Day.
“Distrustful souls see only darkness burdening the face of the earth. We prefer instead to reaffirm all our confidence in our Savior who has not abandoned the world which he redeemed.” - Pope John XXIII, quoted by E.J. Dionne, Jr. in “I’m not quitting the church.
(Washington Post)

The Top 10 Stories of May 11, 2012

Duane Shank — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day
"It seems that on Mother's Day, moms say, 'Let's all go to church.' But on Father's Day, dads say, 'I'm going to go play golf.'" - Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research, on a new poll showing Mother’s Day is third in church attendance after Christmas and Easter.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of May 10, 2012

Duane Shank — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"SNAP participation at farmers' markets helps provide fresh fruit and vegetables to families and expands the customer base for local farmers - a win-win for agriculture and local communities." - Kathleen Merrigan, deputy secretary of agriculture, on the growing number of farmers markets now able to accept food stamps.
(Associated Press)

The Top 10 Stories of May 9, 2012

Duane Shank — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“If Mr. Mourdock is elected, I want him to be a good Senator. But that will require him to revise his stated goal of bringing more partisanship to Washington. He and I share many positions, but his embrace of an unrelenting partisan mindset is irreconcilable with my philosophy of governance …” - Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) after losing the Indiana Republican primary to a Tea Party-backed opponent.
(Washington Post)

The Top 10 Stories of May 8, 2012

Duane Shank — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"Our most important goal is to empower and liberate undocumented students, so we can come out of the shadows." - Jessica Lee, 20, an undocumented Bryn Mawr student from South Korea and co-founder of Students for Undocumented Dreams & Decision Equity Now, on efforts to make tuition at private colleges affordable.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of May 7, 2012

Duane Shank — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“This project is encouraging nutrition and sustainability, community building and engagement in the larger food justice movement. I’ve seen it all along as another doorway to the work we do here.” Pastor Alan Sherouse of Metro Baptist Church in midtown Manhattan on the church’s rooftop neighborhood garden.
(Associated Baptist Press)

The Top 10 Stories of May 4, 2012

Duane Shank — Fri, 04 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"The Amazon is Brazil’s No. 1 priority from a strategic viewpoint, given its importance to humanity as a source of water, biodiversity and food production." - Gen. Eduardo Dias da Costa Villas Boas, chief of the Brazilian Amazon Military Command, on Brazil deploying troops to the Amazon rain forest in an operation aimed at cracking down on drug smuggling, gold mining, and illegal deforestation.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of May 3, 2012

Duane Shank — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“The C.I.A. needs to answer for this. And they need to stop it.” - David Wright, the Pakistan country manager for Save the Children, on the recruitment of aid workers as intelligence operatives.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of May 2, 2012

Duane Shank — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“Those who try to dam back the most universal of games are wasting their time. … Those who think Cuba will renounce baseball, the white globule with seams flowing through our veins, are seeing crocodiles in their soup.” - Michel Contreras, Cuban sportswriter, on why soccer will not replace baseball in Cuba.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of May 1, 2012

Duane Shank — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“If Republicans can’t support his right-leaning approach to the DREAM Act, then they can kiss the Latino vote — and their chances of seeing the inside of the White House — goodbye for a generation. If Democrats refuse to work with him then they open themselves up to accusations of favoring partisan politics over bipartisan legislative progress.” - Frank Sharry, executive director of immigration reform organization America’s Voice, speaking of Sen. Mario Rubio’s proposal to help children of illegal immigrants gain a more-permanent legal status.
(Politico)

The Top 10 Stories of April 30, 2012

Duane Shank — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"When stresses in the home increase because of unemployment and other hardships, domestic violence increases. We see it on the street." - Scott Thomson, police chief in Camden, NJ, on a national survey of law enforcement agencies finding more domestic violence related to the economy.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of April 27, 2012

Duane Shank — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“I call them my brothers and sisters because they are a genetic link to the same ones my ancestors hunted.” - Tote Gray Hawk, 54, a Sioux, speaking of 60 bison moved from Yellowstone National Park to northeast Montana’s Ft. Peck Reservation.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of April 26, 2012

Duane Shank — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"For years, we dreamed of America, but now that dream is no good. There are no jobs and too many problems. We don't want to go." - Pedro Morales, 18, of Jalisco, Mexico, explaining why immigration to the U.S. has stalled.
(Guardian)

The Top 10 Stories of April 25, 2012

Duane Shank — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"It’s risky for the teachers and it’s risky for the students, but these underground schools show the thirst people have for education under the Taliban." - Shukriya Barakzai, an Afghani parliamentarian who ran her own underground school when the Taliban held power in the 1990s, speaking of the recent growth in underground school networks for girls.
(Washington Post)

The Top 10 Stories of April 24, 2012

Duane Shank — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"I freeze. I have no idea where to even start with this. Part of me feels like I''m way too old to be flying by the seat of my pants like that." Paige Worthy, Chicago, has held at least six jobs since graduating from college in 2005, and is getting by with an unstable income and sporadic spending habits. Studies show that a majority of young people in the U.S. have poor financial literacy.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of April 23, 2012

Duane Shank — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:34:48 +0000

Quote of the day.
"Most people were spanked when they were kids, and they think that's the proper way to discipline. They make the erroneous correlation that spanking equals good discipline and if a child isn't behaving, he must not have been spanked enough -- that's fallacious." George Holden, a Southern Methodist University psychology professor, is chairman of the 2011 Global Summit on Ending Corporal Punishment and Promoting Positive Discipline.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of April 20, 2012

Duane Shank — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:18:35 +0000

Quote of the day.
“I don’t want to overemphasize my Catholicism here. But I know my religion. I know religions in general. In the New Testament, the one place where Jesus talks about the death penalty, he says, ‘Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.’ When I’ve reflected on the death penalty, the reality is I frequently ponder that passage.” Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy, who will soon sign a bill abolishing the death penalty in the state.
(Washington Post)

The Top 10 Stories of April 19, 2012

Duane Shank — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"I needed to know that. … Somebody needs to take care of this problem, or inform the people in this neighborhood." - Ken Shefton, Cleveland, on his discovery that the EPA had known for years that his home is a few blocks from an abandoned factory that spewed lead dust for decades. His son was recently diagnosed with having an elevated level of lead.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of April 18, 2012

Duane Shank — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“Most people in the country are looking at everything that’s happened; it just seems to be one disaster after another after another. People are starting to connect the dots.” Anthony A. Leiserowitz of Yale University, one of the researchers who commissioned a new poll that showed 69 percent of Americans believe that extreme weather was probably made worse by global warming.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of April 17, 2012

Duane Shank — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"What I am asking for is a campaign for the poor, the hungry, the middle class, the people who are going to be eviscerated by the Ryan budget. My church, the Catholic Church, needs to speak out loud on this issue." - Rep. Rosa DeLauro, speaking of a letter she sent to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
(Catholic News Service)

The Top 10 Stories of April 16, 2012

Duane Shank — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"Baseball likes to say things are getting better. It's not getting better. It's only getting worse. We've been in a downward spiral for a long time, and the numbers keep declining." - Dave Stewart, former 20-game winner and front office executive, now a player agent, on the number of African-Americans in major league baseball.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of April 13, 2012

Duane Shank — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"When I got there and couldn't find her in all the smoke, looked behind me and saw the kitchen really erupting with flames all over the ceiling, that's when I had very clear thoughts that I'm not going to get out of this place alive and got ... very religious.” - Corey Booker, mayor of Newark, NJ, on rescuing a neighbor from her burning house.
(CBS This Morning)

The Top 10 Stories of April 12, 2012

Duane Shank — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“I believe it was an accident, I believe that it just got out of control and he couldn’t turn the clock back. I would ask him, ''Did he know that that was a minor, that that was a teenager and that he did not have a weapon?''” - Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, speaking on the TODAY show after the arrest of George Zimmerman on a second degree murder charge.
(MSNBC)

The Top 10 Stories of April 11, 2012

Duane Shank — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“That immigrant culture that has renewed us … has been at the core of our strength. I don’t know when immigrants became the enemy.” - Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State, speaking at Duke University.
(McClatchy Newspapers)

The Top 10 Stories of April 10, 2012

Duane Shank — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"People who grew up within the war on terror are asking, what does it mean to be a Nato ally? Is India our worst enemy? We are bombarded by all this information and there is a deep need for answers. That leads to religious inquiry.” Maha Jehangir, a 30-year-old consultant, speaking of why wealthy, educated Pakistani women are drawn to conservative Islam.
(Guardian)

The Top 10 Stories of April 9, 2012

Duane Shank — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"From that vehicle, I was able to get to work every day. That car has taken me through four promotions. It gave me not only a job, but a career." - Leanette Watkins, of Madison Heights, Va, on the car she was able to buy with assistance from Ways to Work, a non-profit group that helps low-income workers get reduced interest loans on used cars.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of April 6, 2012

Duane Shank — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

The Daily Digest is not available today. But here are some links to Duane's usual sources to browse until our return:

The New York Times
The Washington Post
The Washington Times
The Los Angeles Times
The Boston Globe
The Chicago Tribune
McClatchy
The Christian Science Monitor
The Wall Street Journal
USA Today
The Globe & Mail
Toronto Star
BBC
Guardian
Haaretz
Al Jazeera

The Top 10 Stories of April 5, 2012

Duane Shank — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"Life is short. You have the power to correct a lot of wrong. Never think a person in prison is lost." - Juan Rivera, who spent nearly 20 years in prison before his murder conviction was overturned by an Illinois appeals court.
(Chicago Tribune)

The Top 10 Stories of April 4, 2012

Duane Shank — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:08:22 +0000

Quote of the day.
“Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his “A Time to Break Silence” speech at Riverside Church on this date in 1967; one year later, on this date in 1968, he was assassinated.
(American Rhetoric)

The Top 10 Stories of April 3, 2012

Duane Shank — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"This is not so much our triumph as a triumph for people who have decided that they must be involved in the political process in this country." - Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese pro-democracy leader, in a victory speech at her party headquarters following parliamentary elections in which her party won all 44 seats it contested.
(Al Jazeera)

The Top 10 Stories of April 2, 2012

Duane Shank — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“France is a rich country. But the working poor are living in the same condition as in the 19th century. They can’t pay for heating, they can’t pay for their children’s clothes, they are sometimes living five people in a nine-square-meter apartment.” - Jean-Paul Fitoussi, an economics professor at L’Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris, on the effect of Europe’s economic crisis.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of March 30, 2012

Duane Shank — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“I’m old, but I’m still able to do my duties.” - Pope Benedict XVI when Fidel Castro brought up their similar ages (both are 85) during their meeting in Havana.
(McClatchy News)

The Top 10 Stories of March 29, 2012

Duane Shank — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"As the father of a 6-year-old girl, I want to make sure the planet we leave her is at least as beautiful and healthy as the one we grew up on.” - Michael E. Mann, Penn State University, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with other scientists who participated in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
(CNN)

The Top 10 Stories of March 28, 2012

Duane Shank — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"Legislators are much better informed on the issue. I think that legislators … have been watching what's happening on the national level." - Tommy Norment, Virginia state Majority Leader, the only Republican who voted against a state immigration law when it died in a Senate committee.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of March 27, 2012

Duane Shank — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:56:22 +0000

Quote of the day.
"We still give food to people even when they say they don't want to pray." Paul Brock, founder of the non-profit Community Provisions of Jackson County, IN, which had its emergency food assistance from the federal government suspended due to volunteers asking recipients if they would like to pray.
(USA Today)

1. Pope Benedict arrives in Cuba in footsteps of John Paul.
Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Cuba on Monday in the footsteps of his more famous predecessor, gently pressing the island’s longtime communist leaders to push through “legitimate” reforms their people desire, while also criticizing the excesses of capitalism.
(AP/Chicago Sun-Times)

2. Santorum fails to capture Catholic vote.
Mr. Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, has trailed Mr. Romney among Catholics in 10 of the 12 states in which Edison Research conducted exit polls that asked about religion.
(New York Times)

3. Supreme Court begins review of health-care law.
The Supreme Court opened its historic review of the national health-care overhaul Monday with an indication that it will be able to decide the constitutional question of whether Congress exceeded its powers despite arguments that the challenge was brought too soon.
(Washington Post)

4. Five Supreme Court takeaways.
The first of three days of arguments dealt only with a highly technical piece of the health care law, but it provided some clues about how the rest of the week’s arguments might go. Among the Day One takeaways:
(Politico)

5. Poll finds support in U.S. for Afghan war drops sharply.
The survey found that more than two-thirds of those polled — 69 percent — thought that the United States should not be at war in Afghanistan. Just four months ago, 53 percent said that Americans should no longer be fighting in the conflict, more than a decade old.
(New York Times)

6. Leaders warn over nuclear threat.
World leaders call for closer co-operation to tackle the threat of nuclear terrorism at a summit on nuclear security in Seoul.
(BBC)

7. Annan says Syria accepts peace plan, fighting enters Lebanon.
Syria has accepted a ceasefire and peace plan drawn up by U.N. and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan, his spokesman said on Tuesday, even as Syrian troops thrust into Lebanon to battle rebels who had taken refuge there.
(Reuters)

8. U.S., Australia to broaden military ties.
The United States and Australia are planning a major expansion of military ties, including possible drone flights from a coral atoll in the Indian Ocean and increased U.S. naval access to Australian ports, as the Pentagon looks to shift its forces closer to Southeast Asia,
(Washington Post)

9. Arab spring leads to wave of Middle East state executions.
Middle Eastern countries have stepped up their use of capital punishment, executing hundreds of people as rulers across the region seek to deter the wave of uprisings sweeping the Arab countries.
(Guardian)

10. Oil clashes along Sudan borders.
Clashes break out in oil-rich border areas between Sudan and South Sudan in what is described as the biggest confrontation since the South's independence last July.
(BBC)

The Top 10 Stories of March 26, 2012

Duane Shank — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“We can’t stay at home any longer; we want to come to school, to learn. I’m fed up. I want to be in school.” - Aruna Mustapha, 16, who lives in a town in Nigeria where a violent insurgent group is burning school buildings.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of March 23, 2012

Duane Shank — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:46:24 +0000

Quote of the day.
"If he isn't made a saint, the Vatican is underestimating his staying power, the message of social justice. It transcends the civil war and it's a universal message." Nancy Kelsey of Detroit, speaking of Archbishop Oscar Romero, martyred 32 years ago tomorrow, whose memories still live among Salvadorans who witnessed the war, and whose message now resonates with their U.S.-born children.
(Catholic News Service)

1. Fury over Travyon Martin shooting grows as police chief steps down.
The aftershocks of Trayvon Martin's killing continued to reverberate Thursday from Sanford to South Florida, as the embattled police chief and state attorney overseeing the investigation stepped down hours after more than 1,000 Miami-Dade high school students staged a walkout to protest the lack of criminal charges in the case.
(McClatchy News)

2. Soldier faces 17 murder counts in Afghan killings.
Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, accused of killing Afghan civilians in a shooting rampage in Kandahar province last week, will be charged with 17 counts of murder, a U.S. official said on Thursday.
(Reuters)

3. 'Hell no, we won't glow.'
A 93-year-old anti-nuclear activist was among more than 130 protesters arrested at the corporate headquarters of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant Thursday, the first day of the plant's operation after the expiration of its 40-year license.
(MSNBC)

4. U.S. inches toward goal of energy independence.
Taken together, the increasing production and declining consumption have unexpectedly brought the United States markedly closer to a goal that has tantalized presidents since Richard Nixon: independence from foreign energy sources.
(New York Times)

5. Water wars between countries could be just around the corner.
Water wars could be a real prospect in coming years as states struggle with the effects of climate change, growing demand for water and declining resources, the [UK] secretary of state for energy and climate change warned on Thursday.
(Guardian)

6. General says Afghans need big U.S. force beyond 2012.
The senior allied commander in Afghanistan suggested on Thursday that he might not advocate any further drawdown of the American force in Afghanistan going into 2013 once the so-called surge forces ordered by President Obama leave this fall.
(New York Times)

7. Syrian rebels running out of supplies.
Syrian rebels battling the regime led by President Bashar al-Assad are running out of ammunition as black market supplies dry up, neighboring countries tighten their borders and international promises of help fail to materialize
(Washington Post)

8. Intel shows Iran nuclear threat not imminent.
The U.S. and its allies generally agree on three things about Iran's nuclear program: Tehran does not have a bomb, has not yet decided to build one and is probably years away from having a deliverable nuclear warhead.
(Reuters)

9. International condemnation for Mali coup.
The UN Security Council has condemned a coup in the West African nation of Mali, while top officials said fallout from the conflict in Libya had increased the frustration of soldiers who toppled the president.
(Al Jazeera)

10. Tibetan self-immolations rise as China tightens grip.
Over the past year 29 Tibetans, seven of them in the last three weeks, have chosen a similarly agonizing, self-annihilating protest against Chinese policies. Of those, 22 have died.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of March 22, 2012

Duane Shank — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“Iranians see our page and break down with excitement. They always thought we hated them. The power of this initiative is that it bypasses governments." - Michal Tami, an Israeli who with her husband, Roni Edry, launched a Facebook page to Iranians saying, “We will never bomb your country. We love you,” that has received daily responses from hundreds of Iranians.
(Haaretz)

The Top 10 Stories of March 21, 2012

Duane Shank — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"We've just got to be very, very creative about this. There's got to be an extra mile that we walk here to do this. And it's absolutely worthwhile." - Michele Deverich, executive director for a consortium of health care companies committed to hiring veterans. Nearly 30 percent of male and 36 percent of female veterans ages 18 to 24 were unemployed in 2011.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of March 20, 2012

Duane Shank — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"I was humiliated and horrified. We're talking about the children I gave birth to. Of course they're my children." - Ellie Lavi, a Chicago native, told by a U.S. Embassy staffer that her children were not eligible for citizenship unless she could prove that the egg or sperm used to create the embryo was from an American citizen.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of March 19, 2012

Duane Shank — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"Every time they use violence to put us down, it only increases the number of people that are empathetic to the cause. It adds fuel to the fire and draws attention to the movement.” - Ed Needham, Occupy Wall Street, as dozens of protesters were arrested when police cleared New York's Zuccotti Park, where demonstrators had gathered for the movement's six-month anniversary.
(Reuters)

The Top 10 Stories of March 16, 2012

Duane Shank — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"There will be efforts to paint him as a rogue soldier rather than focusing on how we treat GIs in general or whether we should be over there to begin with." - John Henry Browne, attorney for the soldier accused of killing 16 Afghans.
(MSNBC)

The Top 10 Stories of March 15, 2012

Duane Shank — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“What was amazing was that suddenly everyone felt like family. Your feeling of disconnection from society is broken, and suddenly you are with people who agree on this one thing you have all been afraid to talk about.” - Rami Jarrah, 28, describing the moment he rose to join hundreds of people chanting for freedom in the landmark Umayyad mosque in Damascus, Syria, a year ago.
(Washington Post)

The Top 10 Stories of March 14, 2012

Duane Shank — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“A huge problem is that the soldiers are not given time to heal before they are redeployed. It is a military-wide problem, and there is a lot of it going on at this base.” - Jorge Gonzalez, a veteran from Joint Base Lewis-McChord who served 15 months in Iraq and now is executive director of Coffee Strong, a coffee house and nonprofit resource center for soldiers.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of March 13, 2012

Duane Shank — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"We realized that the more public we are with our stories, the safer we are.” - Mohammad Abdollahi, brought to the U.S. as a 3-year old, on why he got arrested during a protest of immigration policies and now works for the National Immigrant Youth Alliance.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of March 12, 2012

Duane Shank — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“Part of it is being ready for cataclysm every day. I started carrying precisely to protect not just myself, but my family, and anyone around me who needs help." - Shane Gazda, a hospital maintenance engineer in North Carolina, on why he owns and carries a handgun.
(Christian Science Monitor)

The Top 10 Stories of March 9, 2012

Duane Shank — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"These are just a bunch of kids from California, they could be off surfing or whatever but they're not. They're giving a voice to people who before no-one knew about and no-one cared about and I salute them." - Luis Moreno Ocampo, chief prosecutor at the Internatlonal Criminal Court, defending the makers of the KONY 12 video on Joseph Kony and the “Lord’s Resistance Army” in Uganda.
(BBC)

The Top 10 Stories of March 8, 2012

Duane Shank — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"I think the World Bank has made many, many mistakes over the years it has been led by Wall Street, by bankers and politicians. It has not been led by development experts. This has caused it to make truly consequential blunders of huge proportions." - Jeffrey Sachs, Professor of Economics at Columbia University, explaining why he wants to be the next president of the World Bank.
(Al Jazeera)

The Top 10 Stories of March 7, 2012

Duane Shank — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"I fear for class warfare. It's so egregious these days, the disparity, and it's not just a talking point. If you''re not white, educated and almost willing to sacrifice your soul to a corporation, you'd better be afraid.” Kris Rankin, 65, of Dayton OH, speaking of the economy.
(Los Angeles Times)

The Top 10 Stories of March 6, 2012

Duane Shank — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"She is wondering if she can get up, or if she will fall down. Women in Afghanistan need to be careful with every step they take." - Shamsia Hassani, 24, one of Afghanistan's first street artists to use graffiti to chronicle violence and oppression, describing a drawing of a distraught woman in a burqa slumped on a cement stairwell.
(Reuters/Chicago Tribune)

The Top 10 Stories of March 5, 2012

Duane Shank — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"The authorities think progress is demolishing our community just so they can host the Olympics for a few weeks. But we’ve shocked them by resisting." - Cenira dos Santos, 44, who owns a home in Rio de Janeiro’s Vila Autódromo settlement, which the Brazlian government wants to tear down for the 2016 Olympics.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of March 2, 2012

Duane Shank — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"This is one thing that we all should do for our children every day; no matter if they''re ornery, whatever they''re going through. You grab your child, even if they''re mad at you, they''ll get over it. Life goes on. You grab your children, you hug them and kiss them and you tell them you love them.” - Phyllis Ferguson, mother of Demetrius Hewlin, 16, who died in the shooting at a high school in Chardon, OH.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of March 1, 2012

Duane Shank — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“This work is so relational. It not only meets the needs of patients, but the needs of ongoing goodwill to volunteers and staff. I get up in the morning because I know it''ll make a difference in somebody''s life health wise, but it also makes your day.” - Jack VandenHengel, Executive Director of Shepherd’s Clinic in Baltimore, whose mission is to provide health care for people without insurance.
(Associated Baptist Press)

The Top 10 Stories of February 29, 2012

Duane Shank — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“I see a vital need for the political center in order for our democracy to flourish and to find solutions that unite rather than divide us. … Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term.” - Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), announcing that she will retire rather than run for re-election.
(Washington Post)

The Top 10 Stories of February 27, 2012

Duane Shank — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.

“I didn’t have any feelings about other people. I mean, in that way, I was a predator. [Now] I’m a protector.” - Ramon Cañas, who along with other convicted killers at the California Men’s Colony helps care for prisoners with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.

(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of February 24, 2012

Duane Shank — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"Hospitality is not at the margins of scripture. Jesus wasn''t kidding around when he said, ''I was a stranger and you welcomed me,''" - Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, at the G92 South Immigration Conference at Samford University, Birmingham, AL.
(Reuters)

The Top 10 Stories of February 23, 2012

Duane Shank — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“We must tell the story, the whole story of the last 400 years, without anger or apology.’’ - Rep. John Lewis at the groundbreaking for the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
(Washington Post)

The Top 10 Stories of February 22, 2012

Duane Shank — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"The ashes are an invitation, opening the door for us to the practices of Lent, a first step, a reminder of our mortality and God's creative power. We take that invitation and that core truth out into places where people really need that.” - Rev. Emily Mellott of Calvary Church in Lombard, Ill., joining more than 70 Episcopal parishes in 18 states to bring Ash Wednesday to the streets by offering the Christian sign of repentance to anyone who seeks it at train stations, coffee shops, and street corners.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of February 21, 2012

Duane Shank — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
“It doesn’t matter who the dead are or who they belong to. They deserve a proper Islamic burial.” - Abdul Hakim, who retrieves insurgents’ bodies from American and Afghan authorities and returns them to their families and comrades.
(Washington Post)

The Top 10 Stories of February 20, 2012

Duane Shank — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"When you know about those situations those kids are bringing into the school and we are asking them to sit down and concentrate and do their work, and they might be hungry and we haven't been made aware of it yet - we definitely want to do everything we can to help the kids.” - Doug White, principal of Garfield Elementary School in inner-city Kansas City, on why his school, like many others, is now providing three meals a day to eligible students.
(Miami Herald/McClatchy)

The Top 10 Stories of February 17, 2012

Duane Shank — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"Anthony died as he lived — determined to bear witness to the transformation sweeping the Middle East and to testify to the suffering of people caught between government oppression and opposition forces." - Jill Abramson, executive editor of The New York Times, announcing the death of foreign correspondent Anthony Shadid while on a reporting assignment in Syria. Shadid’s dispatches for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and The Associated Press covered nearly two decades of Middle East conflict.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of February 16, 2012

Duane Shank — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"We fully appreciate the need for the country to have appropriate defense, but urge the government to abandon this extraordinarily expensive project which relates to a defense context that has long since disappeared." - Jonathan Edward, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, on why Christian leaders are urging the government to scrap plans to replace its fleet of nuclear-armed submarines.
(Associated Baptist Press)

The Top 10 Stories of February 15, 2012

Duane Shank — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"The Holocaust shows not only how low humanity can go, but also how high it can go. Someone in a camp who shares his last bread with a friend sheds new light on the word friendship." - Dorit Novak, director of the Yad Vashem Memorial and Museum’s International School for Holocaust Studies in Jerusalem.
(New York Times)

The Top 10 Stories of February 14, 2012

Duane Shank — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"There's no real record or lists of people who are buried there. We felt it was proper to let other visitors know these sites do exist." Chris Brantley, an Army Corps of Engineers project manager directing an initiative to plan a memorial at two slave cemeteries west of New Orleans commemorating the lives and deaths of those buried.
(USA Today)

The Top 10 Stories of February 13, 2012

Duane Shank — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"One of the things I've always loved about archaeology is the way it can tie up with legends and myths. The fact that we might have the Queen of Sheba's mines is extraordinary." - Louise Schofield, an archaeologist and former British Museum curator, who headed an excavation in northern Ethiopia that discovered an ancient gold mine.
(Guardian)

The Top 10 Stories of February 10, 2012

Duane Shank — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Quote of the day.
"It seems that the authorities are increasingly getting the upper hand online. Basically they are already shutting off access to all interesting Web sites. We will resemble an isolated island in a changing world if this happens." - Maysam, a prominent Iranian blogger, on Iran’s cyber police trying to get control over what is uploaded, posted, and discussed on the Internet.
(Washington Post)