Wednesday (5-15) was Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz' deadline for Catholics in his diocese to quit 12 groups or face excommunication. The list of the groups Bruskewitz deemed unacceptable includes Planned Parenthood, Catholics for a Free Choice, and Call to Action, a group advocating discussion of the ordination of women and married men. Excommunicated Catholics may attend Mass but are not allowed to get married in the church or receive sacraments. Some members of the Lincoln, Nebraska diocese plan to ignore the order.
6/18/2013 Supreme Court Strikes Down Proof of Citizenship Voter Requirements - On Monday, the United States Supreme Court struck down an Arizona law requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship before being allowed register to vote.
In an opinion written [PDF] by Justice Antonin Scalia, the Court ruled that the Arizona statute violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA, also known as the "Motor Voter Law") of 1993, which created a federal form that individuals can mail in to register to vote in federal elections. . . .
6/18/2013 Pakistani Women's University Bus, Hospital Bombed - A bus for a women's university in Pakistan and the hospital that treated victims from the blast were bombed on Saturday, killing 14 students and 24 others at the hospital.
The bus was transporting female students and teachers from Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University in Quetta, located in the southwestern part of Pakistan. . . .
6/18/2013 Taliban Attack In Afghan Capital As NATO Transfers Power - Yesterday, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) transferred responsibility for the country's security forces to the Afghan government after a bomb blast targeting a political official left three civilians dead in Kabul. . . .
